Day 19 - Male Showers

[class-one.livejournal.com]

It was in complete silence that Zack was moved from the cafeteria to the showers. Usually one would have expected him to be chatting with the nurse despite the fact that she happened to think he was a certain Parker Johnson, but... No, not today.

As he entered the showers, he stripped without having to be told (being in the military had accustomed him to this sort of thing) and paced over to a random shower head. Considering he had first pick, he chose one that happened to be slightly removed from most of the others. Once again, not his usual behavior, but...

Cloud was dead. He felt like he was going to vomit, but he didn't exactly want to--he'd just eaten and he'd like to keep that food in his stomach to keep his strength up. Still, he'd broken them both out of there and dragged Cloud across two continents with the intent of making sure he was safe...

He wondered if this was how it had felt for Cloud, when he'd been shot down, killed right in front of him.

...At least he hadn't had to witness it.

Turning the water on hotter than was probably healthy, Zack began to scrub himself down. Hopefully one of the people he'd contacted - Vincent or Kadaj, since they would have to be male - would find him and he could actually talk to someone about the whole situation. Because internalizing wasn't doing him much good.

Comments

[soul-defender.livejournal.com]

A whining squeak from the shower nozzles sounded as Ichigo paced across the cold, damp tiles of the drenched floors, positioned himself beneath the metallic spout, and let the water start to flow against him. It was surprising how quiet he had been in entering and disrobing; perhaps he was actually growing accustomed to the motions of Landel's daily schedule, no longer needing a reason to protest? The thought hadn't crossed his mind for a moment, in truth. He looked and acted perfectly casual, as if it was the start of another normal day, and a healthy shower was the next to-do on his list.

Immediately, Ichigo's lean body took on a soft, soaked glow as beads of water dotted his skin. His flaired hair grew heavy and sank down around him, and as he brushed away the orange bangs from his eyes, he let himself relax, his shoulders slumping down near his chest.

At the moment, there was only one other soul in the room. Briefly, from his distanced spot among the jets of water, Ichigo took a modest look at the man with the wild black hair, but said nothing. He looked like he could use a little peace; maybe a rough night had gotten the best of him. Instead, wielding his usual straight-faced look of indifference, Ichigo began to work a spot of shampoo into his hair, fingers scrubbing gently.

[felled-hero.livejournal.com]

Well, breakfast had certainly been interesting. Hughes still wasn't entirely sure what had happened, but he figured he'd have a chance to talk to that bright haired man who'd seemed to know so much again. And hopefully without any further interruptions. But for the moment, it was shower time.

Without much prodding from his nurse, Hughes headed into the shower room and stripped. It was relatively empty at the moment, just Ichigo and... wait. Hughes narrowed his eyes, pausing as he headed for a shower head. Was that... was that Zack? He remembered Quistis' words from what seemed like ages ago. "They're gone. Just... gone." But that looked like Zack.

And he also looked like he wanted to be left the hell alone. As curious and startled as Hughes was to see the other man again, he wasn't about to go and bother him. Besides, he knew enough about this place by now to know that if people were gone and then came back, chances of them remembering things were slim. Instead, Hughes just cast a sad smile in the man's direction and headed to a shower head, wondering if Roy would show up soon.

[hopeless-havoc.livejournal.com]

"Hope you don't plan on hogging all the soap," Havoc said with a chuckle, as he stepped up to the shower head to the left of Hughes.

Havoc had somehow managed to sleep through night shift, but he knew things were different. Again. But again, Hughes was still here. He assumed Roy was as well. He wouldn't think otherwise because that was a thought his mind would not allow. His mind had also conveniently 'forgotten' what he'd heard his two comrades arguing about outside his room the other night. Not that he had a problem per se with their...relationship. It just wasn't something he could understand. The colonel was a ladies man and the major was married. So Havoc was just going to pretend there was nothing going on between them and leave it at that. Besides, there were bigger concerns than his commanding officer's private life. Namely survival and getting home.

[felled-hero.livejournal.com]

"Hey stranger." Hughes turned and grinned, wiping water out of his eyes. He hadn't seen Havoc for a few days, but that wasn't altogether abnormal. With so many people and so many people needing things, it was hard to always find the time for the people he just plain wanted to talk to. And night shifts were too crazy to depend on for meeting up with people.

"How you holding up?" he asked, reaching for the shampoo. Sometimes, with Roy or Havoc in the cafeteria or the showers, it almost felt like home. Almost.

[muted-flame.livejournal.com]

Roy protested the entire way from the cafeteria to the showers. Even if it wasn't a communal shower as it had been before, there were enough adult males that he didn't want seeing him naked.

It was not because he was being coy. That was hardly the problem. He was a military man - communal showers were a way of life. He didn't mind parading naked in front of people, but there was certain red lines on his skin that he needed to make sure certain people didn't see.

Greed was one threat. Hughes was a larger one.

"I'm not--" he hissed as an orderly pushed him into the steaming room. "Stop!" He wrenched away and turned to face the burly man, fists clenched. Roy wasn't sure what he planned to do and a part of him realized how stupid such a stunt was, but...

"Do you want to be put in solitary, Mr. Wilson?" the nurse who was standing in the doorway asked.

...No, no he did not want to be put in solitary. The alchemist tried to weigh his options. On one hand, Hughes might find out just how much of a homunculus he was. On the other, he was stuck in a room on his own for who knew how long--and he might end up at the whim of the Head Doctor's experimentation.

Shit. He'd just have to risk it. Glaring at both the orderly and the nurse, he began to strip. They acted as if those blatantly obvious red marks weren't there. Roy wrapped a towel around himself that he kept on until he moved toward the furthest end of the shower, near--wait, was that Zack?--one man, but away from everyone else.

Zack (who probably had had his memory wiped, he realized) seemed caught in his own problems and he wouldn't understand the significance of the red markings, anyway. Carefully pulling his towel off, Roy began to quickly clean himself off, intending to get it over with as quickly as he could.

[grabby-hands.livejournal.com]

The nurses ushered the patients into the showers quicker than Greed could growl at them, and although he got separated from his new ally in the rush, he made sure to keep track of where he went in the crowd.

At least, the homunculus thought as he got to the locker room and began taking off his clothes and throwing them to the ground, he'd be able to rid himself of this ridiculous getup. Greed had never been one to prance around in only the clothes that he could make appear or disappear along with his form, but the stuff these people had dressed him up in made him feel like nutcase with no sense for looks, which... he supposed was the point.

Still, the fact that his natural, tight-fitting clothes were gone and he was unable to bring them back was more than a little disconcerting.

Whatever. Greed was something of an exhibitionist and didn't have much shame when it came to his good looks. His red lines and mark were still there, at least, and he figured a shower would be a good damn time to think and come up with a plan.

He'd just about finish rinsing when he glanced to the side and found himself staring.

We're those--

No fucking way. Greed stared at the man who claimed to use an eye of some alternate version of him from fuck-knew-where and found himself not believing what he was seeing. Those were his marks, his telling signs of his sin, and for someone else to have them was encroaching on territory and individuality that was very dear to him.

He walked over to the other guy, grabbing him by the wrist and twisting him around to face him. His eyes were narrowed as he spoke loudly, over the sound of running water.

"You didn't tell me about those."

Shit. The hell did that mean? Those were supposed to be Greed's and Greed's alone.

[muted-flame.livejournal.com]

Roy had been hoping that he'd be able to get all the way back to the locker room and clothed without anyone noticing that something was wrong. He'd almost made it, too. He was just rinsing off his hair for the last time when he was spun around with a strength he hadn't expected.

Hughes wouldn't have handle him that roughly.

He frowned in response to Greed's statement. As if he had to tell him everything. He could keep secrets just like everyone else, though he realized he had to deal with the consequences when people found them out.

"I didn't plan to," he said coldly. The homunculus was giving him the impression that he was expected to be completely subservient. Even if Greed wasn't claiming that he belonged to him, he was acting that way.

He didn't like it.

So, with that, the turned back to the shower head and continued what he was doing. It wasn't much longer before all the conditioner was out, so he reached forward to turn it off with the intention of getting away before Greed drew too much attention to them.

[explosives-r-us.livejournal.com]

Escorted by another nurse, Karasu stepped quietly without a word down the hallway, visibly content enough to keep his questions to himself as well as his protests. What –was- there to protest? A shower certainly wasn’t going to hurt anything and soon enough it would be over.

Stepping through the sunroom, the demon kept a steady gaze forward, unable to keep himself from glancing around through the corners of his eyes at this and that. It was a new place to him, after all. New, unfamiliar, and anything could—

He stopped. Stopped walking, stopped thinking, turning his head toward another area of the sunroom. The befuddled orderly gave him a questioning gaze and urged the demon to proceed through the door with a firm tug on his arm.

Karasu kept his gaze fixed on the treasure that his eyes were ecstatic and very nearly surprised to behold, but shortly turned his head away, giving the being one last glance before finally complying with the nurse and stepping into the bathroom a moment later. A smirk played across his features that were all hidden by his mask, so that not even the nurse new what was so amusing.

//Kurama… Kurama is here//, thought the demon, unable to tell if he was surprised or confused. Another urge by the orderly sent him into discarding his clothing and with a bit of hesitance, his mask, very much wishing to keep it with him. He was unsure of his surroundings and his energy that normally sparked into an explosive in his hands seemed non-existent.

Shortly after, Karasu stepped over into the showers, his eyes glancing around for an empty space and amongst the others occupying other spaces. His mind however, was in another realm of questioning; far beyond that of being mentally aware of where he currently was.

Finally, the demon settled under one of the remaining shower heads, allowing the water to run against his face and more so his body, closing his eyes for a mere moment as he slipped into deeper thought, long ebony hair feeling heavier as the water weighted it down.

One less thing to wonder about, he figured, was the fact that he was not dead—not now and perhaps not anymore even as strange as it seemed. His main concern was his energy and of course… the being that he had taken a brief passing glance at in the sunroom. It was Kurama… was it not…?

[beloved-lives.livejournal.com]

Seimei undressed carefully, neatly placing his clothes in the space provided. It would be nice to be clean, and he approached an available shower head next to some other guy -- not that he cared much or noticed. He was the type of person who was very much aware and assured of his own physical beauty, and thus carried no shame about revealing it to others. However, he was not an exhibitionist, either, in that regard. No doubt, anyone here would find his cat-like ears and tail quite unremarkable, in a place where every second person had some additional appendage.

But the hot water felt so good, it was the best thing he'd felt since coming here, and he was going to make the most of it.

An idle glance around and -- he recognized one of the other patients. It was Roy. Or at least, he thought so. They'd only had a brief acquaintance, a pleasant walk in the courtyard, a light conversation.

Later, he would have to renew that familiarity. One would need... friends, after all. Closing his eyes, Seimei tipped his head back into the spray, the water washing away the soap. It wasn't the quality he was used to, but it was a bath. He couldn't complain.

[repolarization.livejournal.com]

Ginji entered the showers with the smile still on his face. He was pleased to have eaten an entire meal and to have made a friend. That and he had promised to meet someone else and there were a lot of other reasons that he felt pretty cheerful. He should have been in a worse mood.

After all he had woken up in the strange place that had turned out to be a hospital. His powers were very diminished and he had no idea what was going on. But that stuff was too confusing to think about right now. Much better to smile and feel cheerful.

It was then that he realized he would have to shower in front of other men. Some of them looked older than him too. He felt a little nervous about that fact but it was better than bathing in a public fountain which he had done before. Then again he had had his boxers on then. Oh well, he would just have to make it quick and then get redressed. It wasn't like he really needed a shower anyway.

He undressed quickly and left his clothes in a balled pile before going to take a shower, however something caught his eye and confused him.

There was someone with cat ears and a cat tail. He had seen his friend Shido take on animal features before but those were mostly for fighting purposes. This was very different. He went closer to the other person, curious.

"Kitty?" he asked, a bit confused and innocently curious, just like a child would. He didn't mean to be rude, really, and usually he wouldn't want to make a conversation while completely naked... but this kitty person was just a bit distracting.

[beloved-lives.livejournal.com]

Okay, so -- someone was staring at him. But it wasn't offensive. It was more amusing to him to be examined so. He smiled -- he could be charming when he wished. He could be -anything-.

He flicked his tail, sending droplets of water over the blond. But it was a friendly gesture, rather than being a movement to warn the man away. It might even be called playful.

After all, he wasn't shy.

[31st-of-china.livejournal.com]

Showering wasn't something that Sanzo was particularly enjoying at the moment. What he wanted was a hot spring, steam, and to be completely alone.

That wasn't going to happen. Because after this, he had to look forward to the nurse from the cafeteria and some more bitching. Sanzo never thought he'd come down to this, but he wanted to be back in that cramped jeep and heading west again. He wanted the sutra, he wanted Goku where he could see him, and he was beginning to rethink his stance regarding the nurses.

The monk wasn't desperate enough to want Gojyo around yet. If he ever got that desperate, he'd probably just put a gun to his own head.

In any other circumstances, Sanzo might have found showering something more of a luxury. After days - sometimes weeks- on the road, dust and sweat started to build up. Sometimes blood. Streams and lakes didn't quite do the job, so Sanzo took care to enjoy what showers and bathes they had in the inns.

The monk stepped under an open showerhead, and began to quickly wash.

[bond-off-lame.livejournal.com]

Shower... again?

Now the redhead couldn't really complain about all of this, but he didn't know if he should be offended about what the orderlies thought of 'male hygiene'. Still, the somewhat pleasant conversation he got with Sora at Breakfast was enough to give a temporary high where even luxurious hot showers couldn't dampen his mood.

Unlike last time Axel wasn't as desperate to jump head on into the showers, so he carefully undressed and let his nurse remove the bandage around his back. And when the sticky job was through the redhead was handed a towel and ushered into the hot and humid environment.

He wandered around, looking around for a good spot since the place was getting crowded, but most of his findings left him with nothing but distressed atmospheres around some of the individuals. Quirking an eyebrow, the redhead sighed before meandering over to the nearest empty shower head.

For a moment he spent the time soaking his hair into a flattened soppy mess before taking a closer look at the individual next to him. Most would've found this perverted the way he studied him, Axel tapping his chin with his tongue poking out the corner of his mouth in deep thought while his eyes gazed up and down the blond stranger.

But his real motives weren't as lecherous, merely doing this because the guy looked familiar. Actually, after this long Axel had begun to take in a lot of faces and it was only then that he noticed that he had barely talked to anyone that he didn't already know.

"Hmm."

[31st-of-china.livejournal.com]

Sanzo didn't even notice the other man until he'd cleared the shampoo from his eyes. When the monk finally did open them, however, it was to find that some jackass had taken the showerhead next to him, - and even better - was blatantly staring at him. All of him. It was just the last thing Sanzo needed.

The priest nearly did a double-take though. It was the blazing red hair - coupled with what could only be a ghost of a leer - that nearly tricked him. For the briefest moment, Sanzo had that sinking feeling that the kappa had appeared at this place. As if a certain hermaphroditic boddhisatva had decided to thrown some more onto the pile of shit he already had to deal with. Goddess of Mercy? Whoever had given her the title had a poor sense of humor.

A longer look showed that other than the superficial details (hair, the invasive look), this inmate and Gojyo looked nothing alike.

A taboo offspring?

The monk already had his share of half-breeds. Gojyo was enough to last a life-time. The thought that this other prisoner could be even remotely similar to the roach was nearly unbearable.

"What the hell are you looking at?" Sanzo snapped.

[dead-draven.livejournal.com]

Eric followed his nurse to the showers with a small twinge of regret that he would have to break discussing his plans with Adelheid until later-the poor boy had been sent to the Game Room despite the fact that he was nearly eighteen.

The nurse gave him a gentle shove into the showers. He stripped everything without hesitation. Removing the Landels-issue clothes was somewhat satisfying, actually, and just getting those mentally chafing symbols off of his body felt wonderful. He left the electrical tape wrapped carefully around his forearms, but that was all. He flicked a shower head on and stood beneath, face tilted toward the spray.

Oddly, the makeup on his face didn't wash off. It stuck like paint to his skin as he rinsed his hair and body, shaking his head and spraying a few droplets from the now soaking wet black shag that fell about his shoulders. He didn't much care if he was approached by someone to talk, but certainly wasn't initiating anything, humming softly to himself under his breath. Water slid over the countless scars on his chest, scars he shouldn't have (and hadn't) lived through. He was oblivious to all that, though, oblivious to his appearance and the people around him, the chatter in the room. His mind was clearly off somewhere else, just as at ease in a shower as on a rooftop, covered with the blood of ten men.

[not-a-savior.livejournal.com]

Before Nowe knew it, his nurse had come over to the breakfast table, explained to him that it was time to head for the showers, and was leading him toward where all the other 18 and over males were headed. He looked around him, and as his nurse ordered him to strip down and take a shower, he found himself hesitating. The rest of the men in there seemed to be rather... large, to say the least. They were all huge and muscular, and Nowe, while not exactly scrawny, felt a bit nervous entering a shower full of guys that were, for the most part, seemed at least twice his size.

Sucking in a deep breath, he removed the Landel's standard-issue clothes and stepped into the showers, looking for an empty showerhead. He found one near a black-haired, muscular-looking guy who seemed to be horribly depressed about something. He didn't seem to want to bothered, so Nowe switched the shower on and started cleaning himself off unobtrusively. Drawing attention to himself in the shower when he was naked and defenseless was probably not a good idea at all. Still, he couldn't help but steal furtive glances over at the black-haired man. He really wanted to ask him if he was okay. Nowe's compassionate side was awfully persistent, after all, and his sense of self-preservation took a back seat to it. Standing still for a moment, Nowe fought the small battle within himself and finally his compassion won out, and self-preservation was put on hold. He wandered over to the taller man, touching his shoulder lightly, trying not to startle him.

"Um, excuse me, I know it's probably none of my business, but are you alright?"

Damn his soft side, anyway.

[class-one.livejournal.com]

Unfortunately, through a combination of too hot water and consuming thoughts, that attempt to not startle him failed. Zack jerked, tensing out of soldier's instinct as he swiveled to face the stranger.

Right. He was in this place, Landel's, and this was just another patient making sure he wasn't about to have a breakdown.

The problem was that he wasn't sure how to answer that question.

Zack paused, attempting to collect himself. It wasn't hard to realize that if he were in the other's shoes, he'd be doing the same exact thing.

"Hey, it's all right. Um..." He sighed and ran a hand through his long, black hair, which had lost some of its spikiness under the weight of the water. "I'm not doing so good, but... Well, I've got to keep going, right?" The intensity of the water's temperature was starting to become obvious to him, especially when he glanced down and saw how flushed his skin was. Frowning, he leaned forward to turn it down to a more reasonable temperature.

[not-a-savior.livejournal.com]

Nowe tried not to flinch himself when he realized he'd managed to surprise the other man despite his efforts, and upon the man's response he stood awkwardly for a few seconds. It was difficult to find something to say, and somehow standing there completely naked wasn't helping either. Nowe wasn't really used to communal showers. Hell, he'd been raised by a dragon for the first few years of his life, he wasn't used to showers.

"Again, it's probably none of my business, so I don't blame you if you don't want to say anything about it, but... did something happen? I mean, it's depressing that we're stuck in this place to begin with, but it seems like something more happened to you than just that." Nowe paused awkwardly again. He was sort of just rambling, trying to make some kind of conversation. He'd noticed how hot the water was, the empty look in the man's eyes... he recognized it, that look of numbness. It was how he himself had looked in the mirror after Oror had been killed.

"You've lost something... someone... important to you?" He suggested, his tone suddenly soft.

[http://users.livejournal.com/_sixth/]

Oh, no. No, no, no. Zexion was all for showering and excessive good personal hygiene, but this place was really pushing his buttons. Communal showers? That was something Number VI did not approve of.

Communal or not, a shower did seem very appealing at the present point in time. What with all the running around at night and the overload of stress, his skin was beginning to take on that disgusting creepy-crawly feeling. A good scrub would not only make him feel physically better, but possibly calm him down enough to think more clearly.

Nevertheless, Zexion still put up a struggle when it came time to disrobe. Of course, he was somehow polite about all of it, all while trying to slyly worm his way out of the whole affair. He even went so far as attempting to 'reschedule' a private shower, but, alas. Even he had to face failure now and then.

After grudgingly admitting temporary defeat, the Nobody swiftly undressed, only to replace his drab uniform with a tightly-wrapped towel. Eyes forward, the young man crept out into the showering area, quickly claiming a relatively open space as his own. With a frown, he turned the taps, wasting precious time by repetitively adjusting the water temperature.

[brilliant-azel.livejournal.com]

Azel was pretty blasé about the whole affair. He just didn't want to run into Darman here, while he was vulnerable. But he'd long accepted that it was better just to choose one's battles instead of arguing over every little thing.

He stepped up beside a blue-haired stranger, glancing sidelong at the other and smiling in a distant, but somewhat friendly way. He didn't attempt a greeting just yet, as he himself was preoccupied with watching who came in after him.

To him, this was a necessary task, no more worrying than sitting down to breakfast. But even the cool water didn't help his pounding head or ease that flushed, over-warm feeling that he had been unable to shake since he left the cafeteria.

Maybe after this, he would be able to find a quiet space to curl up and rest for a bit. No doubt, he wouldn't be able to escape the clone's notice for long... and he would need all his strength for the encounter.

The mercenary braced his hands against the tile, biting down on his lip in an attempt to keep his emotions in check. He had to keep his calm, no matter what, and try to stay focused and determined -- those things above all else.-

[clone-boy.livejournal.com]

Azel was right to be afraid - the room wasn't as crowded as the cafeteria and Darman had headed into the showers with the single-minded intent of finding him, thoughts of actually showering shoved to the side.

Darman strode up, heading straight for Azel, face blank of all expression. Before Azel could make a run for it, the clone closed the distance between them. He stepped toward Azel and strong-armed him away from the tiles of the 'fresher, one hand holding tightly onto his upper arm as he forced him away to the side.

"We're talking," Darman said. Despite the iron grip on the other's arm, the clone's voice was neutral, as if he was just talking about what they'd eat tomorrow...but the tensing of his jaw betrayed his annoyance. "You've giving me answers whether you're willing or not."

The clone marched him toward the corner of the showers, as far out of range of prying eyes as he could manage, watching his step on the slick, wet tiles under his feet. He wasn't sure how far he'd have to go to get what he needed, but he was sure that the rush of the running water would drown out some, if not all, of it.

[reduxvalentine.livejournal.com]

The orderlies that had escorted him strayed only momentarily, their scrutinizing eyes sweeping the room before turning to leave. Vincent sank down in a corner of the small locker area, staring darkly at the wall.

Cid wasn't here yet.

With a shaky breath he buried his face in his arms again, attempting desperately to quell the fury that had followed him to the showers. The numbness from before had been better.

It was ironic. Before Landel's, he'd been doing very well.

Vincent only then realized that his claw was a gold hand again.

[dawning-dreams.livejournal.com]

Cid didn't show up too long after, however, towel around his middle and tied to the side. As much as he was used to communal showers, he wasn't sure if he liked the idea in the context of fucking orderlies rushing him around as if he'd been wrong in insulting that asshole sadist.

The pilot knew he'd realized the night before that making new allies would be a damn good theory of thought to subscribe to, but seeing Vincent still practically comatose in the showers...

Cid felt something like irrational anger rise up in him, not about Cloud, not about Hojo, hell, not even about Landel's.

He stormed over to Vincent, grabbing him by his fleshy arm and pulling him up so the other man was facing him.

"You think that's gonna do Cloud any good?" Cid growled, blue eyes narrowed. He shoved Vincent back. "All that mopin' and weepin' and blaming yourself for something they fucking did to you?"

The pilot shook his head, bringing up a finger even as he stepped back under the head of one of the active showers.

'Now. Right now, you're gonna clean yourself up, get some fresh clothes on, and then we're gonna talk about a fucking strategy instead of how fucking guilty you are, all right? No point moping unless you're doing somethin' about it."

[reduxvalentine.livejournal.com]

"I'm clean," Vincent snarled, his eyes murderous and his fist clenched as he stepped back from the heat and steam of the showers. "They washed me because I was covered in lung."

He inhaled slowly, backing against the locker as his angry glare softened into an enervated gaze, and he shrugged heavily.

"Cid," Vincent started, the rancor gone from his voice, "An hour ago I woke up and realized I'd murdered my friend---our friend---and I almost killed everyone else." He paused, this vulnerability unsettling. "Killing people used to be part of my job," he said resignedly. "I'm still good at it, apparently."

That Hojo's words were getting to him was infuriating.

[braidless.livejournal.com]

Obi-Wan was a little surprised to discover that this Landel's facility used communal showers, but he chose not to comment about it to the nurse. Instead, he silently stripped and stepped deeper into the steaming room. There were several other people in there, all human males who didn't appear to be any younger than 18 or so. Obi-Wan wondered if there were others in different parts of the building (perhaps they were being separated by species, gender, or age), but he wasn't about to ask anyone. A room full of naked and vulnerable men was generally not the best place to make small talk, especially while he was still unfamiliar with the workings of this strange place.

So, the Padawan calmly found a shower head for him to wash himself under, making sure not to directly look at anyone. During his years as an apprentice, he'd learned the art of blending in and observing his surroundings. While adjusting his posture in a way that made him seem quiet, meek and unassuming, his ears were carefully turned to the conversations around him, hoping to pick up some stray bits of information that might be useful. To an observer, he was just an average man bathing under the steady stream of hot water, but his Jedi training was definitely at work.

It was easy for his rattled mind to drift a little as he stood with only the water to keep him company. So much had happened to him these past few days; it was hard enough to fully comprehend that he'd just woken up in a strange place that very well could be on a completely different planet. The timing for such a thing to happen could not have been any worse. He was supposed to meet with some of Jedi Council today, but now Master Yoda and the others were going to arrive at Naboo, only to find him missing. It was almost frustrating because he knew he had some serious matters he needed to attend to, most of which involving the fate of Anakin Skywalker. If he wasn't there to speak for the boy and ensure his place as a Jedi apprentice, what would become of him?

He'd made a promise to Qui-Gon, and he wouldn't let these startling change of events destroy that. He couldn't.

But these thoughts only filtered through his mind over the course of a few seconds before he brought his attention back to his surroundings. As of that moment, he didn't have control over where Anakin was or what the Council might say when they discovered Obi-Wan missing. He would have to do the best he could in figuring out exactly where he was and why so he could start planning a way to free himself.