Day 53: Sun Room

[gald_digger]

When the intercom came on to announce the shift change, the feeling of dread returned. Anise had calmed down considerably since the morning, and she felt more ready to discuss the previous night with Ilia... but not as ready as she wanted to be.

Since the Music Room was bound to be noisy and crowded, Anise opted for the Sun Room instead, hoping that Ilia would come to the same conclusion. She took a seat on one side of a couch in the middle of the room, and waited there. If Ilia didn't show up after a while, she'd go try the Music Room.

Even though this talk had been on her mind all day, Anise still didn't know what she would say. And if she explained the truth behind her shadow's words last night... what would Ilia think? On the one hand, Ilia had shown herself to be a compassionate person, and it was hard to picture her treating Anise differently. But on the other hand, Anise hadn't known Ilia that long... and Ilia was a soldier. She would understand the gravity of Anise's actions, and the sorts of consequences that usually waited for people like her.

With these worries weighing on her mind, Anise leaned against the arm of the couch as she waited.

[For Ilia.]

Comments

[avengingfists.livejournal.com]

Ilia's leg had done relatively well as they day had progressed, but now that she had been on the move for a while it was starting to ache. She moved a bit slower when she made her way out of the cafeteria, but maybe it was a good thing. She would be lying if she said was looking forward to the meeting with Anise. The last two days with the girl had been a good time spent fostering a budding friendship, but could such a new relationship hold water after a night like last? After all, Ilia had practically abandoned the girl there at the end. When she had needed her the most Ilia had selfishly ignored Anise and attacked the Shadow taunting her, letting her rage take over until she couldn't even think about anything else.

Great friend that Ilia had turned out to be.

Ilia had started her way towards the Music Room but when she happened to glance about the Sun Room on her way she spotted her. Sighing, Ilia moved towards the couch. Whatever high she had been floating on during her time with Claude had all but vanished. And now she wished she hadn't eaten that pizza. She was feeling more sick to her stomach with each step closer to Anise.

When she was a few feet away, Ilia stopped and just stood there facing the younger girl. She stood awkwardly for a moment, then cleared her throat and tried to smile. This was way too awkward. "Um, hi Anise."

[gald_digger]

It didn't take long for Ilia to find Anise, which may have been a relief in its own way. During the time that Anise was alone with her thoughts, her stomach had managed to twist itself into a knot with all her worrying. When Ilia greeted her, she nodded and offered a small, awkward smile in return. "Um... hi." After all the fun, light-hearted chats they'd had over the past few days, it felt wrong for there to be this much tension in the air. Looking over her shoulder Anise gave the other side of the couch a brief glance. "You can sit down... if you want."

Ilia probably knew what this was going to be about, but it was Anise who had asked for them to meet, so it was probably up to her to get the ball rolling. Part of her was starting to question whether this was a good idea, though. Ilia looked about as uncomfortable as she felt... Maybe this should have been left until later.

But they were both here, so there wasn't going to be any turning back now. Anise shifted in her seat, pulling Tokunaga to her front and holding it tightly in her arms like a younger child might hold a security blanket. She swallowed hard, and then began. "After last night, I thought... maybe I should clear some things up."

[winged_moon]

Once lunch was over Yukito expected Yue to re-take control; since they were in his body at the moment and nothing else was pressing, it made sense to him. And yet the guardian showed no sign of a desire to interrupt his silent brooding, and when gently prompted only withdrew father into himself. Did the situation with Fai really bother him that much? Apparently so. Or it could be that plus the situation with Sakura, or only Sakura. It wasn't like there was ever any lack of stuff to worry about here, especially for Yue.

Yukito just gave a mental shrug, determined not to let matters drag him down; Yue could worry more than enough for the both of them, after all. Instead he just wandered over to investigate the bulletin, pausing on a particular note signed "R.Aoyagi." Was that... Ritsuka? The boy who'd been so concerned about the people taken for experimentation? This note seemed to imply so, given its content, and Yukito read over the responses with a thoughtful air.

They didn't have any specific plans for tonight -- they never had any specific plans for the night, lately. And though Ritsuka seemed to have several volunteers, Yukito doubted that there could be too many people heading up to those rooms, especially given his impression of the boy the last time they'd met. Yue, he discovered, wasn't interested in conversation, but the guardian at least didn't outright reject the idea. So maybe it was a possibility, then?

Yukito idly tapped his pen against his lip as he read the note over again, wondering if he should just sign the group up as potentially interested, or if he should check with Touya first. Maybe they should worry more about Sakura than the people taken for experimentation, but... she was still there. Just sleeping. Again. Or still. Hm.

[for Ritsuka]

[forgot-it-all.livejournal.com]

With lunch over, Ritsuka left the room as quickly as possible. He made up some excuse to his nurse about why he didn't want to listen to music right now and then ditched her at the door, heading across the Sun Room toward the bulletin board. He hadn't checked it since he went into the cafeteria, so he really needed to make sure that the nurses hadn't ripped it down or something. He had tried to be careful about his wording, but he wasn't the best at codes so it was possible that the nurses had figured him out.

Really, he hadn't put much thought into it other than keeping Muraki's name off the post. Whoever had been asking after doctors might still be looking for him and until Ritsuka knew for certain that Muraki was safe, he wasn't about to go flinging his name around like an idiot on the board.

Finally reaching his destination, Ritsuka leaned his hands on the wall and pushed up onto the balls of his feet, trying to see if his note was still there. There were some other people hanging around, but he didn't pay them much attention at first. The only one who was really of any importance was a steely looking guy who was staring at the board and inconveniently right in Ritsuka's way.

Rocking back onto his heels, Ritsuka stared up at the taller man, knowing that if this were the night his ears would be flicking in annoyance. So how exactly did he ask a stranger to move without seeming completely rude?

[tsunagari.livejournal.com]

He'd already been in the sun room earlier, but the music room was just so... full of noise. When given the option, Sai chose to return to the sun room. It wasn't as if there was any activity in this place he hadn't already sat through, so he didn't feel as if he was really missing out on anything.

He grabbed one of the felines off the floor by the scruff of its neck, finding a seat and placing it in his lap so that he appeared occupied. The kitten was a little put out by this at first, but ear scritches were ear scritches and it didn't stay annoyed for long. The ninja, meanwhile, was looking distinctly... bored? If his bored expression appeared any different from his typical expressionless one, it was hard to tell, but possibly noticeable to anyone who actually knew him.

[free]

[longlivetheking]

The Sun room was thankfully lacking in people creating irritating amounts of noise, so Scar couldn't help but relish the small victory he had in convincing his nurse that, no, staying in the music room wouldn't be beneficial for his poor head. It wasn't as though he would be missing anything important, either way.

He had never claimed to understand why the nurses would drag him to the other activities; he'd always end up glaring at the opposite wall rather than actually participating. Part of it was the lack of interest, and the music room wasn't any different. It wasn't as though he minded the music in itself - it could be rather entertaining, after all - but he wasn't quite a fan of all these silly human means of creating some horrible excuse thereof. Or listening to it, whatever the case may be.

The Sun room was unsurprisingly silent when the former lion entered, but that was hardly to be considered a bad thing. After briefly checking the board, he sat down awkwardly on one of the many available couches with a sigh. Glancing up provided him with a clear view of the railing part of the second floor, along with the staff looking down upon them. His eyes narrowed slightly at them, before something at his feet forced his attention; a kitten had made its way over, curiously looking at him before it attempted to climb onto his lap.

Certain differences aside (most notably its lack of speech, which was almost something to be thankful for...), Scar couldn't help but to reminded of a certain irritating little hairball. Though word had it that the hairball wouldn't be quite as little anymore by now.

He glared at the creature as if its mere presence has offended him. "Leave! Go bother someone else," he told it, yet painfully aware that - in a human form - animals were no longer able to understand him. He pushed it off him, but to his irritation it once more tried to climb onto his lap as if it was playing some ridiculous little game.

Irritating little--

[Free!]

[ninelivesonce]

[Let know if this isn't OK?]

Released? How could... Taura wasn't even sure how to finish that thought, except in a bewildered heap of hurt and curiosity and disbelief. She pinned a note on the board, a few first tries going in the trash before her hands would stop shaking with suppressed rage or sadness; which it was she refused to acknowledge lest it overwhelm her.

A little squeak caught her attention -- the same kitten that Leela had been playing with was now demanding attention from Mr. Scar. She swallowed hard. She couldn't make the apology she wanted to, but she could at least...get a start on it. She cleared her throat, a low rumble.

"Mr. Scar? Can I," bother you, "talk to you?"

[bitpartgod.livejournal.com]

"What's the matter, Mr. Williams? Don't you want to go to the music room? You could relax and listen to a nice CD for a while!"

Kibitoshin nearly shuddered. Right now, the music room sounded (no pun intended) like the exact opposite of what he needed- loud, busy and full of noises that would probably either scare the life out of him and make him look silly or just plain give him a headache. It wasn't even as though he could play an instrument, and as much as he would have liked to learn one day (maybe the guitar. The guitar was cool, right?) he didn't think he'd pick it up while he was here. And anyway, he still didn't quite get Earth music...

The Sun Room, even with the cats, was a much more welcoming alternative. With a sigh he sank heavily into the cosiest looking armchair chair in the room, disappearing slowly into soft cushion and padding like a man stuck in exceptionally comfortable quicksand. He seriously needed to take it easy more often. Worrying all of the time like this was starting to get tiring- if it wasn't whether or not one person was around, it was that nightshift was coming or that someone was injured. Oh, dear. If he wasn't careful, he'd end up aging himself. Going grey before his ti-- well. That was beyond him anyway, obviously.

I'm so laate baww I'm sorry Dx!

[monkeyboy]

"Billy, stop running--put that cat down! If you trip, you're going to hurt it, be careful! Just stop for a minute...!"

Goku couldn't really hear his nurse's warning over his own rambunctious laughter. The same yellow tabby he had been petting earlier was bundled in his stubby arms as he ran away from the white woman that constantly hounded him. She wasn't very fast, it was kinda funny!

"Billy--!"

"HEEEY, I remember you!" The young boy jumped in front of Kibitoshin, the tempered cat swaying like a rag doll in his grasp. "You're uhh, uhh...." Goku pointed at him with severe focus. He knew this! "Ki--Kib... Kiib..." Augh, it was right on the tip of his tongue! "Kib........... .......... huh. "He dropped his hand and the beetling between his brows lifted; Goku gave up. "Well, how ya been?" That genuine smile of his spread across his face, but departed once his white woman came over. That big mouth pulled down into a snarl while he widened his stance for attack.

"Billy, you really need to let the cat go--"

"No, he's mine, witch!" After his talk with Claire, Goku didn't want these people laying a finger on people or animals. His little hands gripped the cat tighter, which was a bad idea. It began to groan and finally the cat sunk its back nails into Goku. He yelped, instinctively letting go, and the cat went scrambling up his face and over. It hurt as bad as it looked. "O-O-Ow, ow, ow--I thought we were friends!? Saaa...!" His cheeks were on fire!

The nurse sighed, weary from just watching the exchange, and turned to Immanuel. "Will you please keep an eye on him and help him calm down. He's been hyper all day... I'll go get an anti-septic for his scratches. Don't touch them, Billy, I need to clean them first..."

[itneverwas.livejournal.com]

The Sun room was relatively empty as Xemnas entered it after lunch, which was unsurprising; most would be partaking with the activities in the music room after that...curious announcement had interrupted their lunch. When given a choice of his own, however, the Superior preferred to return to the lounge over entering a room filled with unnecessary noise.

The Superior paused before the bulletin, orange eyes going over the notes posted upon its surface. None were of any interest, none provided him with the pieces of information he sought. It was unsurprising that he would be none the wiser as he selected one of the many vacant seats within the room.

The radiance of day was near its end, and the night would provide him with new opportunities.

[Erika~]

[witchoftruth]

Erika had actually been thinking of heading to the music room to gleefully watch what would certainly be a blatant display of idiocy, and she was even walking in that direction when she spotted a familiar mess of silver hair. On second thought... perhaps she found a better use for her time. She seemed to have a tendency to consult with Xemnas whenever something interesting in the Institute happened and there was no reason for her not to continue that trend. After all, Isaac had nothing new he could tell her, but she was sure that her "friend" could make up for that. So she turned away from the music room door and headed over to where the other man was sitting.

"Good afternoon, Xemnas. Do you have some time to spare?" It was obvious that he had nothing better to do, but perhaps Erika wanted to make sure that she would be able to monopolize what time he had for this shift. Perhaps she was a little overeager since her time spent at lunch provided her with little clues.

[herr-inspektor.livejournal.com]

Lunge walked out of the cafeteria with a surprising but not entirely unwelcome sense of calm. There. With that done, his experiences could be pushed aside- encrypted and protected in the prison of his mind until it needed to be rolled out again and put on paper for the courts. Which, speaking realistically, could be weeks from now. Months. Not that it especially mattered- it had been designed as a distraction of course, and to acknowledge it any more than was entirely necessary would be to let the Institute win. He refused to let it rob him of any more of his time. Not again.

His nurse took him straight to the Sun Room- someone else would likely have found something amusing in his nurse's immediate unspoken understanding that her charge wouldn't take well to a trip to the music room, but even if Lunge had been the sort he wasn't in the mood. There was still the evening to consider. Plans. Contacting L to see what he had to suggest. The pull of the third floor was ever present, of course, but without a way of reaching it they were stuck. The question was whether or not it was worth spending the time to find a way up, be it by guile or force, or whether there was something other thread to pull on that would unravel this place faster.

He sat back in an armchair, thoughtful. My, but Landel had sounded anxious, even more than he had before. There was always the possibility that it was all an elaborate act of some sort, but what would be the purpose of that? He'd already had the man down as highly-strung, after all, and last night had only gone to prove that even more- though, yet again, it had come with the question of authenticity. It was so easy to fake a recording, so easy to put on an act over radio waves...

[vitale.livejournal.com]

Bella woke up feeling somewhat groggy, her stomach grumbling. Had she skipped lunch? Had to have, she thought to herself as she was led through the hallways, Oh well. There's always dinner. The last thing she remembered was talking to that girl she had never seen before, and then suddenly she was waking up. She couldn't even remember falling asleep! A part of her was somewhat upset about missing lunch, considering she was hungry, but she knew she could wait.

Yes. Wait for dinner with Claire, who probably hated her. To say she was dreading it was an understatement.

Sighing and feeling somewhat gloomy (with good reason.), Bella lifted her head and peered around the Sun Room, noticing a familiar face who she hadn't seen in a while. The last time she had seen him, they had been looking for a note, and then ...

"Inspector Lunge," Bella greeted, moving towards the older man with a small smile. "Long time no see."

The teenager flopped herself down on a chair close to the one the man was sitting in, deciding that at least he would be good company. He had been the one to help her on her first day, after all, and she at least knew that he was trust worthy. After all, who knew what would have happened to her if he hadn't warned her of what was to happen once the night fell?

"How've you been?" she asked, situating herself in the chair until she was comfortable. "I would have asked you that night, but ... well, you know what was going on."

[doctorbadtouch.livejournal.com]

Claire had said she would find him later in the day so the doctor went where he would be most easily found: the place they'd first met, by the window. The glass was still chilly to the touch, but the sun was bright and clear. It must be what? November? Early December by now? He sat on the couch and let his eyes drift shut while he waited. Infrequently he spent this part of winter in Kyoto with Oriya, and sometimes Ukyou as well. The girl never really stopped trying to celebrate his birthday. Oriya simply knew better, but wished him well all the same.

It was an odd thing to remember. He couldn't say he had any particular fondness for it, but Kyoto had always been...calming. He returned every year, to the place if not the people in it, but he had never missed it. Not once. He supposed before this he had known where he was going, what he was doing, and what he would accomplish - or fail to accomplish in a very permanent way. Now he was drifting, seeking the anchor of familiarity.

He usually found something eventually, up to his elbows in blood. Killing was a purpose all its own. Maybe it would cure him of this nostalgia for a while. He'd have to make time, tomorrow night maybe, to go out for a quick and brutal hunt.

He listened for the sound of approaching footsteps, content for the moment with the quiet of the sunroom. The cats didn't bother him. Animals had never seemed to like him very much.

[paging jungle bb]

[savagesolitude.livejournal.com]

She did not forget her promise from the board.

Shortly after lunch, Claire had padded her way from the cafeteria to the Music Room. She'd circled around it twice, then stalked down her nurse and demanded to return to the Sun Room. Though it was a place of interest (namely for the disc collection and the chance to resolve a long-time curiousity), she didn't find what she was looking for.

Her luck in the Sun Room was quite the opposite. She had spotted Muraki before she had even stepped onto the carpet. The room was strangely empty now, and that head of white hair was impossible to mistake even in the biggest of crowds. He was by the window, just like last time.

Claire slowed her pace when a cream coloured kitten nearly got tangled in her feet. She frowned, hefting it into her arms and pressing it against her shoulder. It clung to her shirt there, mewling. A hesitant finger stroked behind the downy soft ears and was met with a purr.

She supposed she could use the extra company. Claire coddled the tiny thing and quietly claimed a seat beside the man. "Muraki?"

[tasteoftruth.livejournal.com]

Badd tried to be one of the first in the Sun Room after lunch, but the crush of prisoners/patients blocked him out. He nudged a few out of the way and skulked through the crowd to hide behind the doorway of what people seemed to be calling the 'Sun Room'. From there he could see all the patients enter, but they wouldn't see him until they turned to the side.

He knew he shouldn't want her to be here, it was dangerous and she was young. But part of him ached for a chance to see her again, a friendly face in this house of monsters and madmen. Their meeting during the trial had been far too short and prison would only allow monthly visitations even in minimum security. But putting his own happiness above hers was treason, blasphemy, unthinkable. She was a surrogate daughter and his partner's heritage bound up in one vulnerable, gangly, and not very sensible little girl and protecting her was the one duty left to him.

Badd lurked and waited with his chest so tight he could barely breath.

[Kay come hug your uncle okay]

[uncle baaaaaaaadd ;_; ]

[stealthetruth.livejournal.com]

Leaving her lunch with Ema, Kay paused to pull off her makeshift Yatagarasu pin, palming it-- careful not to bend the paper wings-- and lurking on the cafeteria side of the door for a few long moments. Someone knew about the Yatagarasu, in the foreknowledge way and not the having-read-Kay's-notes way, and they were being mysterious and evasive and it could mean a lot of really not-good things.

But she had to leave the cafeteria at some point.

She took a deep breath, and shook her hair into her face a little, to hide her features from a casual glance. Walk normally, Kay. You're no one, just another girl....

She couldn't keep herself from glancing to either side of her, though, to see if it was someone she recognized--

Oh my god Uncle Badd--

She made a squeaky noise of surprise, turning towards him with wide eyes and a gasp on her lips.

Then she squealed "Uncle Badd!" in delight, flinging herself towards him and wrapping him up in the biggest hug ever.

[fourstonewalls]

Lana slipped out of lunch as soon as the nurses allowed, and set to pacing a between the bulletin and the door of the music room, watching for Damon to emerge.

When he did, she didn't falter in her measured walk, timing it with no visible effort so that she came up to his shoulder just as he neared the Music Room door.

"Damon? A word, if I may. I promise this won't take too long." The occupants of the room might even thank her, though he wouldn't, if he had managed to notice the programmable keyboard.

[closed to Damon Gant]

[gargantuanlaugh.livejournal.com]

Gant supposed lunch could have gone much worse than that, but he still left the cafeteria feeling a little shaken. That Showy was just too shrewd for his own good. But at least there was going to be something less strenuous to look forward to this shift. The note on the bulletin about the band practice had piqued his interests, if only because he expected it to flop. Really, Sex Bob-omb? From that name alone, he could guess it was going to be just a bunch of foolhardy teenagers letting out that teenage angst that grew stranger with each passing generation. Good for a laugh at least.

But it wasn't to be. Before he reached the room, Lana was there waiting and asking for a moment of his time. Which surprised him. He had begun to suspect that Lana had been avoiding him as they hadn't even talked since their run-in his first night incarcerated here. He couldn't rightly blame her. Without the force of his office backing him, he had very little power to dictate her movements here as he had back home. Or maybe he was just imagining her previous reluctance to seek him out and they'd merely been missing one another the whole time? Anything was possible, really.

"A word? Certainly, Lana. Anything for my old partner." He gave her a smile and allowed her to lead them to secluded corner of the Sun Room. He kept his hands clasped behind his back and gazed at her through his colorless lenses. "Now what's on your mind? If you need my help with anything, you know all you need to do is ask." Of course there was a price that would come with any request she may have, but he left that unspoken.

He really was lucky to have run into her. He had been looking forward to swapping information with her on this place. Perhaps she had found out something nice, like where the pool was located. Oh, that would be just swell.

[see-my-back.livejournal.com]

While things never quite seemed to go how she hoped around Sasuke, at least she'd gotten to see him at all. She left her half-eaten lunch behind and let the nurse push her toward the next room. Since she had little interest in music, she stuck with the Sun Room, finding the bulletin a little more productive than practicing her instrumental skills. Besides, Sex Bob-Omb? She wasn't even sure what it meant, far less how well they'd play. She would prefer not to have a headache right before night began thank-you-very-much.

And so, after updating her notes on the bulletin, she took a seat on one of the couches, teasing a kitten with the end of her pen while she tried to organize her thoughts. There was the meeting tonight, and if nothing else, she could help Aoyagi with any of the injured after their experiments. It was just too bad that they couldn't stop them in the first place, but at least they could be ready to run clean up afterward. The details of what went on in many of the experiments on her own teammates was enough to make her curious. She wasn't able to comprehend some of them, but she was still learning. If Tsunade where here, then maybe she'd...

But it was no use thinking like that. She'd just have to do her best with the knowledge and supplies they had available. The kitten seemed to be getting bored with her pen, so she reached down to pet it, only to be swatted at by the cat's soft paws.

"Brat," she smirked.

[Kurt!]

[fuzzy-diablo.livejournal.com]

Kurt, as was his usual habit, managed to sneak out of the Cafeteria with a slice of pizza between his teeth. He'd already eaten nearly one half of an entire pizza, he might get hungry later! Before dinner! And then what would he do?

This excuse seemed to work whenever a nurse asked him why he was still eating--and it was usually this excuse or, 'Growth spurt!' Either one was good for a spare waffle or slice of pizza.

Now it was time to be lazy with his slice of pizza. He spotted a couch that seemed ripe for the taking, ran at it and vaulted over the back. He noticed when he was still in the air not only that the couch had someone he (or really Nightcrawler) knew sitting on it, but that he was about to land on a kitten.

Kurt made a strangled noise of shock and pushed off to alter his momentum. His feet didn't quite make it under him, so a quick twist of his shoulders meant he found himself groaning up at the ceiling, his pizza slowly sticking to the front of his shirt.

Maybe this was why he shouldn't take food out of the cafeteria.

[not-rly-fai.livejournal.com]

It wasn't long before he was hurried off again, this time to the last shift before dinner. He supposed he really ought to start making plans for this evening, but if at all possible, maybe it was best if he just went by himself tonight. He'd put Tsubaki through enough last night and Kurogane wasn't exactly at the top of his list either. Involving Yue or the others was the last thing he wanted, so it left him with few other ideas. Besides that, he did have the ring. All he had to do was smash it before the others arrived. A tempting thought.

With all the thoughts racing in his head though, music would only distract him. He decided to go with the bulletin board, subtly checking some of the earlier posts. Little as he wanted to reveal, as long as he was careful, there was no harm in it, right? The head doctor wasn't worried about the patients, after all, just that Marc fellow.

Smiling softly to himself, Yuuhi went about making a note here and there and flipping through the rest.

[Kanda - gah sorry I'm so late!]

[doyoustillsee.livejournal.com]

[.......Your late is NOTHING compared to my late...APOLOGIES, BB DX]

When Kanda had heard the words Music Room, he had absolutely dug his heels in. This place was irritating enough without all the added noise a bunch of idiots trying to play musical instruments would doubtless generate. And an hour+ of that sort of noise...he didn't have the patience for that.

Maybe the nurse recognised this, and decided that the Sun Room would be good enough. However-- "Don't let me catch you sulking in a corner the way you did last time, Katou. You have to talk to people and make friends, or it'll be a lot harder for you to get better." Kanda just snorted and rolled his eyes in response, shaking her off on entering the Sun Room and going over look at the bulletin board Kairi had mentioned.

There was already someone there, a tall blonde man; Kanda gave him a brief glance, then turned most of his attention to the board, still keeping half an eye on the other man out of habit.

[ryuuzaki]

The girl at lunch had been interesting. It wasn't in spite of the fact that she wore her instability on her sleeve, and face, and every other visible part; it might have been because of it, and because of the information she had given to him. He couldn't justify making a special search for snacks, in terms of the expidenture of time and energy, but he would certainly keep his eyes open for the little chocolate bars. He might get lucky.

He hated that so much was reliant on luck, these days. He should have been able to shape events to his own ends, to at least some extent. Now he couldn't even get a piece of candy by asking for it.

After the meal ended, he took a few minutes to peruse the bulletin board. The advertisement--"Sex Bob-Omb"?--suggested that it would be a bad idea to spend the allotted time in the music room, so begging off with a headache would be easiest. After attending to a few messages, and making what he hoped Lunge would understand were plans to visit the ruins again later, he took a seat on one of the sofas. Lunge himself was across the room, in conversation with a young brunette. Very young. L frowned, then gave his head a quick shake to clear it.

The journal, and the notes from Javert, were locked away in the desk drawer back in the room. He could only hope that the Walther and the ring and the other items he had been carrying with him the previous night were also there, since he'd had no time to check after he woke up. Thinking of any of it apart from the gun as "his" felt uncomfortable, now and then, calling up his reminder to himself: This isn't your life; this isn't a routine you want to get used to. At any rate, the location of the notes meant that he had little to do until he could excuse himself to his room for a "nap," and he knew that his chances of going there would be better if he tried to "nap" in the Sun Room first.

He left the soft slippers on the floor, perching on the end of one sofa in his bare feet, long toes digging into the cushion. Maybe the black and white cat would leave him alone this time.

[Closed!]

[stlg13bomber.livejournal.com]

Carter had considered going to listen to more music, but there were a bunch of people in there making an awful ruckus and he'd escaped to the Sun Room instead. After last night he could do with a little light and quiet.

He toyed at the cast around his hand and watched the kittens running about, feeling a small pang of nostalgia for the mouse he'd kept as a pet back at Stalag 13. Well, not a pet, but he'd fed it a little and it kept coming back, so that was sort of like a pet. It was nice to have a companion animal around who was willing to be affectionate with you and stay when you went to give it a nice petting or hug.

Carter wondered if anyone else around might know what that yearning was like.

[ZEX!]

[wantsyourzex.livejournal.com]

ZEX wasn't much in the mood for human music... it reminded him of his Captain, as so many things around here did, and after speaking with Wilson he just felt exhausted. He didn't want to give up, but it was getting increasingly hard to see what the point of it all was.

He just wanted to sit somewhere and close his eye and relax for a time without those invisible things hounding him, and the Sun Room sounded ideal for that. However, while he was walking through he caught sight of a familiar face.

"Carter?" Surely they'd understand each other now, if he and Wilson had spoken without much trouble. He looked at the white thing on his hand curiously. "What's that on your hand there?"