[[ from here. ]]

Just a bit further now, just a bit further into the woods before the wolf would pounce on her. At least he wouldn't be wearing her grandmother's clothes this time. That ruse was always so irritating, not to mention amateur of a skilled assassin.

But wolves had never been proper assassins anyway. The steel blade was pointed and flew.

The intercom clicked on with its usual jingle, the Head Doctor clearing his throat before he made his last shift-changing announcement of the day.

"Well, now that everyone is clean and having fun, I suppose it's time for everyone to be escorted back to their rooms for dinner! Yes, yes, I know the game room can be entertaining and doctor sessions can be fulfilling, but we only have so much time in the day, don't we?

"Ah, and speaking of dinner, tonight, we'll be having an old favorite--seasoned steak, a baked potato, and peas! Yum, yum. You also get a choice of vegetable soup or caesar salad--just tell your nurse which you'd prefer--and may also choose from our usual variety of drinks."

He made his usual pause, perhaps contemplating what the night would have in store once the sun fully set. Now, however, wasn't the time to reveal such musings, and so he ended on his usual cheery note:

"That's about all for now! I hope you all enjoy your suppers."

And again the intercom turned off.

Scar felt cold and sick, though more the latter than the former. As he rose from his bed, he didn't quite know which way was up, and the artificial light coming from overhead seemed as hot and as blinding as the Ishbal sun.

His head hurt, but that was nothing new. After all, the last thing he remembered from the night before was fighting a homunculus off of Lust and then having a conversation about events best left forgotten. The man hadn't been his brother. He just hadn't. And if what Lust had said they'd done to her was true...

Scar stood with shakiness that he wanted to attribute more to a bizarrely weakened physical state than a mental one. Had he been knocked out by some kind of lurking monster before the morning had come? He felt as if he had been out for days, being a veteran of such circumstances, though as he took the practiced role of being an obedient follower behind the nurse and orderlies that came for him, it didn't seem as if much had changed.

This place was probably just playing tricks on him again, and he was tired of being the man left out of the loop. He grabbed some food he didn't really care for and sat down, not seeing anyone he knew already seated. On one hand, he wished he had someone to talk to, and on the other, it scared him that he was no longer used to being alone.

He dug his fork into his food and tried to block out any related thought.

It wasn't as if Phibrizzo didn't enjoy breakfast; he simply grew bored with it after awhile. Exchanging pleasantries with Haku only held his interest for so long and once the meal was finished, they lost all their charm. He was heading for the exit to go exploring on his own when a nurse put a hand on his shoulder and told him it was time to go somewhere else.

"Where are we going?" He asked, looking up at her with large eyes. She smiled back.

"The game room! You'll be able to find yourself a little playmate there."

A playmate? Probably not in the same sense Hellmaster was accustomed to playing, but it wouldn't be so bad to mingle with others his "age". If nothing else, it was a way to pass the time. And who knew- maybe a 'playmate' would present themselves. There was some fun to be had yet. Shuffling into the game room at the nurse's urging, Phibrizzo picked up the first game he could find and inspected it.

"Uno," he read back from the cover. Huh. He opened the box and pulled out a few cards of various colors and numbers. The small Mazoku cocked his head. How did this game work? Were you supposed to separate them and pile them in numerical order by color? It didn't seem like much of a game, but what did he know about the games children played?

Taking the deck in his hand, he meandered to a corner and sat down on the floor, making blue, red, green, yellow, and misc piles of cards as he waited for others to filter in.

The intercom clicked on with its usually cheery air and the Head Doctor seemed to call out the events of the day with a smile that was nearly audible.

"I trust that everyone enjoyed a hearty breakfast! Now, as I'm sure everyone is looking forward to the events of today, I will come clean with what they are! Yes, that's right, today, everyone will be getting showers, and during the next shift, it will be adults' turn to go to the bathrooms while our children play in the Game Room. Of course, we still have therapy sessions planned for some of you--nurses, if you'd escort the groups for this shift to their proper doctor offices?--and Doctors House and Wilson are back from their short absence to tend to their patients. We are unhappy, however, to announce that Dr. Nii Jiyani and Dr. Jonathan Crane have officially left our staff, and we are currently in the process of looking replacements, but fear not, patients! Those of you assigned to them will be attending nurse-run sessions in Group Therapy Room 1, the first group of which will be heading this very shift.

"I do believe that's it! Have a wonderful day, and remember to scrub-a-dub-scrub!"

The intercom clicked off shortly after the Head Doctor's last statement, as even he seemed to realize it came off as a little... bizarre.