By the time lunch ended, the gloomy weather had become a raging storm. Soushi held his coat tightly as they were separated once again, and followed his guide to the outdoor greenhouse. Luckily, the temperature changed and balanced out nicely once they were inside and he shook himself free of the coat.

The greenery was a welcome change, but it was hard to appreciate it when every passing moment only filled him with more worry. While he had obtained a great deal more information today than in his first day in the institution, he was still no closer to finding Ririchiyo or a means of escape. There was a dull ache in his chest that had nothing to do with any physical ailment and everything to do with her absence.

An audible sigh escaped his lips as he picked up a small trowel and gloves and took to the nearby plants, attempting to distract himself and failing miserably.

[Kurogane]

[from here]

When Lingormr had mentioned that they were heading out to get medical supplies, surgical ones, to be specific, he'd expected the place to look a bit more like a doctor's office and less like some kind of chapel. There were benches neatly placed, and a podium of sorts, along with other things one might expect at a place of worship, rather than any sort of medical office.

Soushi finished sweeping the room with this light and looked questioningly to Lingormr. Had he walked into some kind of trap? Did the man already suspect something?

"I don't think this is the right one," he said quietly, his tone a mixture of uncertainty and reproach, as any child might be when an adult has made a mistake. It was possible he'd simply picked the wrong person to follow and Lingormr had no more clue of where he was going than Soushi did. But the man had seemed fairly sure of himself. He tilted his head curiously at the other and waited to see if there would be some kind of explanation.

[From here.]

It seemed that they really were the first pair of people heading out this way, if the silence in this part of the hall was anything to judge by. Castiel could hear some voices behind them, so there was a chance that other patients would catch up with them soon.

That was fine. With any luck, there would be enough flowers to go around. And if something did end up attacking them, it would be better to have back-up.

As he tried to force his wounded body closer to the next hall they'd need to take to reach the greenhouse yard, Castiel glanced over at Lust. "How about you?" he asked. "Who are you doing this for?" He found it hard to believe that she was coming out of the goodness of her artificial heart.

[From here.]

They'd already neared the Sun Room and the door that led to the building's exit, but Castiel wasn't aiming for either one tonight. It was still quiet on this side of the building, which seemed strange to him. He was using crutches, after all... He would have expected that plenty of other patients would have beaten him and Lust to this point.

It didn't matter. If their path wasn't littered with obstacles, that would make it easier to reach the greenhouse. As for Lust's question...

"There is one person I know who I believe is still ill," he explained. "Her name is Aigis. She used to be an android, though she's been made human here." Just like him, and perhaps just like Lust. Though she was a created human, so he had no idea if she could ever be the real thing. Did she even have a soul? There was no way he would be able to feel for it in this place; he didn't have that kind of power at the moment.

"We have a few things in common, but she hasn't been taking her illness very seriously." Which frustrated him, especially since she had struck him as the goal-oriented type. Did she really have that little concern for her own well-being?

"Goodness, is it really already time for dinner? Time certainly does fly! And such a lovely day, too. I certainly wouldn't mind having a nice cup of cocoa out on the patio or something..."

That was how the Head Doctor greeted them, although it apparently didn't take him long to realize he'd gotten a little off topic.

"Now then, it's time for the nurses to escort you all back to your rooms, where you'll have the opportunity to tuck into a scrumptious plate of turkey and gravy. And, of course, we always carry vegetarian options for those who don't eat meat. We also have our usual assortment of water, juice and milk.

"Also, some of you will be receiving some extra help in warding off whatever bug some of us have been catching. Please take care, everyone, and be sure to wash your hands! I'll talk to you all again later. Enjoy your dinner."

The intercom clicked off, leaving patients with the prospect of preparing for yet another grueling Nightshift.

((Respond to this post with your character's room number in the subject line. New room assignments are listed here. If you have any questions, let us know!))

After that miserable breakfast, Kratos was truly ready to go hide himself away in some dark corner of a room and refuse to speak to anyone for the rest of the day. It was utterly pathetic that he was actually giving that kind of behavior serious thought, but somehow, in the wake of Sora's death, everything, from company to even eating, seemed too loud or too exhaustive; his energy seemed to slip away the instant he gained it.

Ironically, this behavior was not previously unknown to him; it was just that the last time he'd fallen into this kind of slump, his circumstances were such that engaging in extreme antisocial behavior and refusing to eat did not carry severe consequences like they--that was also pathetic, that he'd just entertained the idea that the days following Anna's death could have been more bearable than now. Could he possibly frustrate himself even more? The paradoxical part was that he enjoyed doing it in a strange, perverse way.

He wrote out a few listless, largely formulaic responses over the board to some notes he'd pinned up right before breakfast, and then wandered over to a nearby couch, where he sat down, stared at the coffee table for a moment, and then slumped back against the couch, one hand draped across his eyes, with a sigh. For a few seconds, he stayed that way, letting the wave of emotion wash over him--it was simply too much; he had reached the point where he was willing to give up and acknowledge that--and then, as if a switch had been flicked, Kratos straightened up, everything once again carefully masked. He exhaled, slow and steady, and looked down just in time to see a cat pass by, meowing for his attention.

He wasn't particularly fond of animals, as he'd once told Lloyd, but right now, all he wanted was something to distract him, and a cat was much preferred to a person; after all, the cat didn't talk, nor did it require him to talk. Kratos reached down to scratch it between the ears and then paused as it leaped onto the couch to curl up next to him. It was a stretch to think that he might be able to spend an entire shift petting a cat (also pathetic, but in a different way), but he would do it for however long it held his attention, or vice versa.

[Flora!]

For the first time since Kyousuke arrived, waking up didn't feel the slightest bit strange or out of place. It was still like night had suddenly stopped, with nothing in-between then and now, but instead of being disorienting, or like there was something missing, it was like waking up from a nightmare. His breaths came heavy and anxious, everything flooding back to him, but unlike last night, he had more mental clarity, and he actually understood what it meant.

Sora... was dead.

After a moment, his breathing seemed to ease up, and he sat up slowly, and simply stared down at his blanket. The motion hurt quite a bit, a lot worse than it had yesterday morning, but he seemed to be in decent shape, all considered. Sore, battered, a little faint, but compared to worst of it...

He wondered if he should feel upset right now, or want to yell, or cry, but the truth was, he didn't. If anything, he was just numb. Tired and listless. He wasn't sure what to think or feel about anything, but somehow it seemed distant and disconnected, like something that hadn't actually happened. Yet, if he lingered on it too long, the lifelessness grew into something nauseating, heavy and constricting in his chest, and he didn't even notice until he realized he was gripping his bedding unnecessarily hard. So he forced himself to relax, and not focus on it too much. ... He preferred the cold sort of nothingness.

When the nurse arrived, she wasn't empty-handed, unfolding a wheelchair by his bedside and looking at him expectantly, as if she wanted him to settle himself into it. Looking at it was strange and uncomfortable, and he found himself refusing automatically.

"... I can walk fine. I don't need—"

"What you don't need," the nurse said sternly, "is to be overexerting yourself. You got to walk around yesterday, and what do you do? You go and reopen your injuries! Honestly, Mr. Taylor, you might be young, but you need to take better care of yourself! Today, you're resting, and if you're good about it, we'll see about maybe taking the chair away tomorrow."

That was bad enough, but then she wouldn't even let him wheel himself, and pushed him along from behind. This was totally unnecessary... But though it made him feel helpless, Kyousuke didn't have the energy to argue, so he let her do what she wanted. She asked if he wanted to make a quick trip the bulletin, first, but... Would the news be there? There were people who deserved to know, but there would be reactions to it, questions he didn't want to answer, and feeling his stomach give a lurch, he decided he didn't want to deal with it. Any of it.

Once in the cafeteria, the nurse asked him about breakfast, but Kyousuke insisted he wasn't hungry. ... He wasn't. Sensing he wanted to be left alone, she wheeled him off to an easily overlooked portion of the cafeteria, but quickly returned, setting food and some juice in front of him, "just in case." She set a small paper cup with a couple of painkillers on the tray, and after that, she left, leaving the boy to stare down the meal he didn't really want.

[ Kratos! ]

Although the torrential rain from last night had subsided, an eerie fog settled over the grounds like a thick blanket that only seemed more pronounced as daylight spilled from the horizon. Those who were superstitious might have seen it as a bad omen.

"Good moooorning, ladies and gentlemen!"

The Head Doctor's enthusiasm, on the other hand, wasn't deterred by the weather in the slightest.

"Did you all sleep well? I know some of you are still feeling a bit ill. Rest assured that we're doing everything we can to monitor the situation. In the meantime, I want to stress how important it is to keep your hands clean. Your nurse will be happy to either provide you with a little hand sanitizer or escort you to the bathroom sinks if you so desire.

"Now! As for breakfast, you've all got some fresh waffles waiting for you in the cafeteria! Included is our usual assortment of water, juices and milk, as well as an optional side of bacon, scrambled eggs, or sausages. Mmm-mm! I can practically smell all that from my office. Enjoy!"

As soon as the announcement ended, the staff began to round the patients up for another exciting day in Landel's Institute.