When the cheery jingle sounded over the speakers, the Head Doctor could be heard humming a song that suspiciously sounded like pieces of "Superstar" from today's movie. Then, as if realizing people were listening, he abruptly cleared his throat.

"Good evening, patients!" he greeted after a quick recovery. "I do hope everyone had a pleasant day. And what better way to end things than with a scrumptious steak dinner? We'll be including fries on the side, as well as offering our usual assortment of water, milk, and juices. Of course, we also carry vegetarian options for those of you who don't eat meat. Enjoy!"

The intercom turned off, leaving the nurses to escort patients to their rooms.

((Please make all dinner threads under this post with your character's room number in the subject line. For updated roommate assignments, refer to the latest Lounge Post. Thanks!))

Well, that went well! Anise had gained herself a gorgeously handsome new friend. She just hoped that weird illness didn't get either of them killed before she could get to know him any better.

... Yeah, that was morbid. It was hard not to think about, though.

Before going to the Cafeteria, Anise made a stop at her room to grab her journal, maps, and a pen. Once she finished eating, she could get a start on copying the maps for Barnaby. He was going to be so glad he met her!

With that done, Anise made her way to the Cafeteria, where she picked up an assortment of food, making sure to get some meat, vegetables, and milk on her tray. She then sat down at a table and set her notes aside while she started on her meal. It was hard not to feel self-conscious about the rash on her arm, though the makeup she used had blended the discolored part enough that it couldn't be seen from a distance. Anise just hoped no one would come specifically looking for it.

[Ilia!]

This time, when the darkness faded and the next thing Skulduggery became aware of was that same bed underneath him, he didn't take the time to absorb the jarring feeling and sort out what might be going on. He leaped off the bed immediately, almost stumbling in the process - damn balance - and took a moment to realize that his eyes were burning and he could barely see a thing.

The room was blinding. The light itself wasn't an issue; it was the fact that Skulduggery's eyes had to slowly adjust to it, a sensation he hadn't experienced in ages and had never expected to experience again. He had a hand pressed to his forehead and was blinking rapidly when a woman knocked on the door and came in.

She was... cheerful. Everything was cheerful, from the bright light and noises outside to the intercom announcement that interrupted the woman's sudden spiel. It was such a startling change from just a few minutes ago that Skulduggery found himself lost for words while the... nurse... nodded brightly at him. She'd said something about a mental hospital, something about a man called Erik, and something else about 'not real' and 'getting better.' With Skulduggery's mental prowess - even operating at less than its usual efficiency - it was easy to work out what she meant.

He studied her openly once the light wasn't so blinding. "You're either a very convincing liar, utterly insane, or a psychopath. Let me find out which one." His head tilted. "Would you believe me if I said there was a woman last night who had been mortally wounded, but who was still walking around?" He cut her off before she could answer. "No, obviously not. And I don't think you're a psychopath who murders people for fun. A convincing liar, then. That doesn't clear anything up in the slightest, but I suppose it's something."

"Mr. MacAuley, you were sleeping all of last night. Are you sure you didn't just have a nightmare?"

Skulduggery wanted to point out that as a skeleton, he didn't sleep, and he certainly didn't have nightmares. The blurriness at the edges of his vision, however, reminded him with a jolt of his mysterious transformation to human. Suddenly, annoyingly, the nurse was making much more sense.

Was it... real, then? Everything with Yomi and the chapel - had that all just been a vivid hallucination? Had his entire life just been a vivid hallucination, like the woman was insisting?

In a slight daze, Skulduggery asked to see the chapel. He was standing there alone now, examining the fountain carefully for any sign of its demonic visage from before. But now it was just a fountain, the water was just water, and despite Skulduggery's best efforts, the water didn't respond to his Elemental magic. It remained stubbornly in its basin without so much as a ripple, silently mocking him.

Skulduggery sat down heavily on one of the pews, mystified. He wasn't insane. He joked sometimes that he was, and it might partly be true, but he wasn't insane on a level like this. He didn't just make up his whole life as he pleased.

[Free! But be prepared for a barrage of questions.]

[From here.]

But being outside was probably just as dangerous, if not more dangerous, than it was being trapped inside the bus with that nurse.

Besides the many other deformed nurses that were roaming around here, Zero caught sight of numerous forms flying overhead, casting large shadows on the ground as they passed by. They looked like...eagles. But deformed and horrific-looking, just like the nurses. At first, they seemed content to simply circle overhead, screeching, like vultures swarming above a carcass. But then many of them suddenly swooped down and headed straight for some of the prisoners running in the street.

Kind of like the one flying at Zero right now.

"Kh--!" The once-Reploid barely managed to dodge the monster as it dived for him by falling to the ground and rolling back onto his feet. The bird flew upwards again, slowly flapping its wings, then circled around as if to try again, another eagle joining it. To avoid them, Zero quickly moved out of the open, where he was obviously a target, and circled around one of the buses, keeping his back to it for cover. But he knew he wasn't going to be safe here...not when there were nurses on the ground and so many eagles above.

Not since the night he had become temporarily stronger had there been so much visible chaos... And if that one prisoner hadn't started a riot, this wouldn't be happening right now...!

As he stood contemplating the best route for escape, Zero glanced around quickly, searching the fleeing prisoners for anyone familiar or anyone who might need help. He was defenseless, so protecting someone else would only get him so far (and he certainly didn't want a repeat of two nights ago), but they all might have a better chance of survival if they grouped up...

[Leanne, Lana, and Harvey, WHERE YOU AT.]

The night hadn't been nearly as productive as Loki would have liked, though he didn't feel all that upset about it. He had all the time in the world, as far as he was concerned.

He would have to keep an eye out for those showing very visible signs of infection. It seemed to be a very rapidly progressing disease, which was interesting, but not necessarily all that helpful. Of course, the question of humanity was cute in terms of philosophy, but considering that Loki had never been human and had no desire to lower himself to that level, he found it amusing more than threatening. It would probably set the mortals into mental paroxysms, though.

The prospect of visiting the town Soma had told him about, that was certainly more interesting, and possibly useful. Particularly considering they were apparently to be given some money to spend. There had to be a book store in the town at the very least, an possibly something more useful. He had serious doubts that he'd be allowed to purchase anything overtly useful like specialized tools, but the knowledge was far more important and books were the best place to focus.

Loki smiled prettily enough for the nurse when she showed up and took the clothing offered. It was slightly less painful to look at than the normal horrible uniform - jeans and a green flannel shirt, though he wasn't enamored of the plaid pattern. The outfit also included a black jacket and gloves, necessary since the weather was still cold. He made certain to tuck his notebook and a few pens into the jacket, since even if he wasn't allowed to purchase useful books, there would no doubt be an opportunity to take notes.

And he had a message he wished to pass around as well. Hopefully there would be some sort of bulletin board in the town. If not, it could always wait another day he supposed. That didn't tend to make people less dead.

Loki went quietly to the bus, accepting the sack of food and the little booklet of coupons. He examined the card that came with it for a moment - apparently that was the money equivalent - then looked through the coupons. Really, of the choices the massage and the manicure sounded the nicest. He was particularly wary of the 'tasty meal' since in his experience, anything with 'tasty' actually in the name was destined to be anything but.

With his normal air of amusement mixed with despair at the general state of food in this place, he started picking through what passed for breakfast.

[Send me an angel!]

Lana was the first into the showers when the doors opened; she didn't really have a problem with communal showers, but she needed a few minutes to herself, a few minutes where she didn't have to watch her every reaction with the eyes of an ace interrogator. The tiles told no secrets, or, if they did, not to any of the other patients, and the near-scalding hot water spraying around her made an adequate do-not-cross line. She shampooed her hair, fingers tugging out the tangles one by one, and then ducked her entire head under the water. Her eyebrows needed plucking; with no makeup, no suit with tailoring that ran as close to military lines as could be respectful, no battles of wits that ran half on appearance and the other half on intimidation, she'd let things go. Pity. She'd need to fix that. They'd be in town tomorrow; perhaps she could purchase a few things then.

She had let herself relax. Taken a vacation, in this dead-end, because the only thing that had kept her going when everything had gone to hell was here, safe and sound and willing to forgive her. And now they were back to square one, at best. The worst-case scenario was what she needed the armor against.

She wrung as much water as she could out of her hair, tucked it behind her ears, and dressed in silence, as other women were still filing in.

[to here]

The line of questioning that Rita had begun at breakfast still plagued Loki, as did his own uncomfortable feelings about the entire concept of people being transformed into monsters. It wasn't a useful line of thought, and he needed a better direction to consider.

Hopefully, conversation with Soma would provide that. While she seemed quite stern at times, Loki found her presence oddly relaxing.

Though he had to wonder if perhaps he wouldn't end up seeing her this shift after all, since she might be included in the group that was being herded to the showers. (As much as the statement also was one he greeted with relief, since he was wondering when he'd get an opportunity to bathe. The thought of being trapped in a building with a great many mortals and no bathing facilities had been too horrifying to contemplate.) He'd always been a bit bad at guessing the ages of mortals, mostly because they were so ridiculously short-lived.

Having already established a neurotic fear of the cold with his nurse, there was no difficulty convincing her that he'd be much better off in the Sun Room. Loki settled into his habitual seat, taking a moment to coax one of the cats into his lap. All settled in, he propped his notebook on the arm of the chair and went back to writing.

[Soma?]

A misplaced sense of familiarity met Barnaby the moment he opened his eyes, and the sight of the blank, white ceiling from yesterday morning greeted him. After rubbing his eyes with the heels of his hands, Barnaby sat up and felt around for his glasses. Had he blacked out again and wasted an entire night? Where was Kotetsu? And what had become of the man who had seemingly vanished before his very eyes at the end of dinner?

Once Barnaby slipped his frames onto his face, the world came into clearer focus, even if he didn’t get any answers out of it. He was in his room, and someone had apparently stripped him out of his street clothes in favor of the hideous hospital pajamas. Barnaby wasn't sure what he found more offensive -- that someone here had once again touched his things without his permission, or that he’d been undressed while unconscious for the second time since his arrival.

The thought made his skin crawl.

Just as he looked over to find a lump in the bed next to him, though, his assigned nurse came to retrieve him. He would have to confirm Klavier Gavin's whereabouts later. For now, he had no choice but to allow the nurse to escort him into the cafeteria. Strangely, she seemed to be under the impression that he and the other patients had slept soundly the whole night. While he might have assumed it was an act, Barnaby got the feeling that she genuinely believed what she was saying.

Regardless of her intentions, he knew she wasn't going to be any help. Instead of trying to ask her anymore questions, Barnaby left a note on the bulletin board concerning his roommate. If his observations from yesterday were any indication, he'd get some responses, at least. While he could have taken the time to leave something for Kotetsu, Barnaby didn't feel inclined to do so, especially when he knew he probably wouldn't check the board anyway.

He had no appetite this morning, but his nurse wouldn't leave him alone until she'd assembled a tray of fresh, fluffy pancakes for him. Honestly, Barnaby didn't see why some people felt the need to butt into his personal choices like this. At least there wasn't anyone forcing him to eat -- for now, at any rate. He sat down at an empty table close to the wall after setting his food down, privately hoping that she wouldn't try to find a "friend" for him to eat with this morning. He was tucked out of the way, so maybe she would forget about him for a few minutes as long as he didn't draw any unnecessary attention to himself.

Hands neatly clasped on the table, Barnaby didn't look at anyone in particular as patients filtered into the cafeteria for their morning meal. There were too many questions buzzing in his mind for him to focus on the names and faces of people he didn't care about. If Kotetsu wanted to find him, he could. It wasn't like Barnaby was going anywhere.

[For Kotetsu.]

So Landel had not done away with all of the General's policies. Perhaps they had come to some agreement the night before Landel's reinstatement as Head Doctor. Or was he just stealing a few ideas from their temporary captor to use for his own nefarious plots? Either was possible, but whatever the reason it spelled out no goodwill for the incarcerated.

Aigis put the man's words out of her mind. No doubt he was just attempting to bait her into incoherent rage. She was more controlled than that, however. Besides, she had a few friends she had planned to meet. One for a healing and another for a supply run. She didn't have time to keep either waiting.

Grabbing her things, Aigis slipped out of her room and out into the dark corridor, traveling the familiar walkways with practiced ease.

[to here]

Like clockwork, the intercom came on at the end of the hour. And like clockwork, the Head Doctor began the first of his concluding daytime announcements with abnormal levels of cheer and good will.

"Good evening, everyone! What a fun-filled day we've had, hm? You must all be tuckered out and ready for bed."

Why, the man seemed unwilling to say.

"Never fear. We're nearing the end." He paused thoughtfully. "The main course of our dinner menu tonight is gourmet spaghetti topped with our signature marinara sauce. We have garlic bread and Caesar salad for your sides as well as your choice of vanilla, strawberry, or chocolate ice cream for dessert. As usual, we will have our assortment of drinks and vegetarian alternatives. If you're partial to that little extra omph, we have parmesian cheese available upon request."

There was another pause, this time with papers rustling in the background. "Take care not to stain your letters now. Bon appétit!"

The intercom clicked off.

Now that one type of business had been more or less taken care of (for the moment), it was time for Rita to move on to her other business: magic research. She'd been so involved in her conversation with Taura that there hadn't been time to write down her latest discoveries. And besides that, she had an appointment.

Rita brought her notebook and a pen with her to the Greenhouse, where she quickly found a space to sit that was relatively near a few rows of flowers. The scent would at least make for some decent atmosphere, though she was a little concerned about how the humid air might affect her notebook pages.

The person she was meeting was apparently a blonde named Rapunzel. Since she hadn't arrived yet, Rita took the time to open her journal and start adding the information about Espers and related concepts she acquired the previous night. It was best to get that done while it was still fresh in her mind.

[Rapunzel!]

Needless to say, her night was a bust.

It wasn't that Ramona was trying to turn it into an absolutely safe evening in which she got nothing done. A part of her wanted to test the limits of her abilities and see what she could actually do in this place, but outside of the absolute confirmation that subspace was no longer a go, she couldn't bring herself to go much farther. Scott's words hung over her heavily. The fact that he had made it clear that he was going to continue being as affectionate as possible wanted to remove any chance of her dealing with anyone. So, though she hit another hall, she turned back around and headed back to her room. Ramona was the type of person who sometimes preferred sulking with company, but that wasn't on the plate for the night. (And she didn't want to call it sulking, either.)

She wasn't certain when she fell asleep, but when she woke up, she was sure the people in charge here had some kind of fast-forward button that they could hit whenever they got bored. That was definitely not the entire night, nor had it been the night before. Sometimes night just ended. Of course, Ramona could appreciate the need for a scene change. This place was already running on enough lame clichés to last it a lifetime. Sometimes they need to return to the daytime status quo to hit reset.

That all said, she was getting the feeling that her own waking up process was a little boring. Ramona was glad that her hair was short now because it made her feel a lot less neurotic about the lack of allowed primping. She cast a glance in the direction of her roommate's bed before she plodded out after her nurse. The woman was kind looking, which, of course, meant that she was evil. Then again, anyone could be evil. Ramona just wanted everyone to be evil right now.

(Maybe she was still sulking.)

"We've noticed that you haven't been socializing as much, Sandra," the woman said while grabbing her attention, and it was as if Ramona finally clued in that a conversation was supposed to be happening. Great, she was fitting the bill for crazy on top of incredibly irritated already. The nurse was definitely evil. And maybe a bitch, with the way her fingers freed her shoulder and she stepped back, snorted softly, and gave a shake of her head. "It's always when you're new that it's hard," the nurse added. "And we can tell you're rebellious."

"Wow, it's been a while since someone thought I was a punk rocker. Don't worry. I can socialize," Ramona assured her as she hit the cafeteria. But it looked like she was one of the first arrivals.

Ramona decided she'd get the woman off her back by grabbing a tray of food and not sitting too far from it. At least people might stumble upon talking to her if she looked available enough.

(And hopefully, that someone wouldn't be Scott. Even though she highly doubted his ability to get out of bed, he seemed to acclimate to this place enough to make an appearance with his face and his smiles and his stupid "I love you"s.)

[for America]

The intercom jingled at its standard time, with the Head Doctor still in his over-the-top, jovial mood. It seemed not even the evening light could keep down the love he held for his job.

"Good evening, everyone! I hope your soul is filled with music from last shift; I know mine is."

There again was a stretch of silence. When the Head Doctor continued, he sounded marginally disappointed.

"But now it's time to wind down the day with a bit of dinner. Tonight, we'll be serving turkey breasts and quality gravy, with sides of garlic mashed potatoes, steamed broccoli, grilled asparagus, and a small salad. For dessert, we will be having pumpkin pie with optional whipped creme. As per usual, we will have our vegetarian alternatives and a wide selection of drinks available. Turkey lovers, be sure to take advantage of the food; it'll be an entire week before you can have this delectable meat again."

He chuckled at the statement. One might have labeled it as dark.

"Anyway, enjoy! I will wish you all a good night momentarily!"

The intercom clicked off.

Anise had been lying snug in bed, only vaguely aware that she was awake, when her rest was disturbed by the one sound in the world she'd never wanted to hear again.

"Good morning, everyone!"

The girl's eyes shot open and she immediately sat up straight. There was no doubt about it. That was the Head Doctor, that bastard, and he was back! Now that she was wide awake, Anise realized she was wearing the institute's old uniform again, and that the decorative items in her room had been left alone.

It was hard to contain her frustration at hearing the man run through the breakfast menu as if it were any other day, and she ended up throwing a pillow against a wall before pulling herself out of bed. Didn't Marc get a chance to kill that guy? What about the army? Landel had to have pulled some dirty trick to end up back in the Head Doctor's seat.

Seething was only going to get Anise so far, though, and she knew she'd have to go out and face the day. She wasn't surprised when a clueless nurse came to pick her up, though she wasn't any less annoyed that the hag was carrying on as if nothing had happened. At least she had Tokunaga back with her...

Finally, she reached the Cafeteria, where Anise instinctively moved to line up at the real-food counter... before realizing they weren't divided anymore. More importantly, though, the food looked and smelled not only edible, but delicious. Whatever happened yesterday seemed to be over, thank goodness. She loaded up a plate full of waffles topped with strawberries and made her way over to a seat.

There was a lot to think about, but she needed to take things one at a time. Since she'd gone all of yesterday with nothing to eat but candy and chocolate (something she may not have objected to if she were a little younger), getting some real food into her body was Priority Number One. And Priority Number Two was... oh! Luke had to be around somewhere. He promised he'd meet her that day, so she had to keep an eye out for him!

[for Luke]

[from here]

Before being overran was a well enough warning any other night. Here, however, tonight-- The Digimon's reflexes were higher, tighter; she could feel the lack of general lag like a set of weights being removed. She was assured of her own speed and agility--of shifting from this reality if need be--and if she was utterly honest with herself, there were a few other things she was sure she could use again as well. She planned to move quickly, check for what three others had asked of her, and do as much as could be done before the night ended.

This did not allow for any interruptions. Like the straggling, moaning zombi a store down as soon as she stepped outside. If Renamon slipped from the visible spectrum there was no problem to be seen. However, she had a human with her that couldn't hide as well. There existed, briefly, a slow grin upon her features. No matter, then. It wouldn't be as subtle, but give her her dues. It wasn't as if she wasn't going to try at some point.

Renamon dashed forward a few steps, then leapt up into the air, hovering for a moment at roof level. Her limbs curled inward, a light glow surrounding them, before she thrust them out. As she did, what looked like ice chips appeared in front of her. The Digimon smirked. This fight had now become one-sided. "Diamond Storm!" The chips hardened, shining like glass, and tore down into the zombi below, ripping them to nothing but shreds. Renamon dropped down, landing lightly on her feet, looking over her work. The same amount of damage. If she hadn't still been in a human body, she would have thought everything was back to normal. As things were....

She glanced back to the man, briefly concerned.

[from here]

The upper hallway was empty, at least at this end, though Lana could hear something skittering around. She checked her pocket -- ran her fingertips along the grip of the gun in the breast pocket of her jacket, but she didn't take it out. It hadn't done them much good last night, had it?

"And I didn't mean Gant, actually." Had she? Not primarily, at least, which made that not quite the truth, but only fractionally a lie. By some people's standards, that wasn't a lie at all. Her were as absolute as they had to be behind the Prosecutor's bench. Mmm. Did that make it entirely true, or entirely false? She'd meant herself when she'd said it, behind Faraday and Badd, but the subconscious was a slippery beast. So easily convinced.

So easily deceived. "Some of us are trying to learn from our mistakes, but that doesn't mean we won't make them again. I hope Ema will forgive me for what I said to keep her from coming along tonight."

[Coming from here.]

Upstairs was dark and silent, although to Daemon, the faint pink glow that coated all the surfaces since the alarm went off seemed more concentrated here. Was it stronger, perhaps? Or was there just more to hide? He brushed his fingers against it curiously as he stepped out of the stairwell and into the corridor above, his senses already probing the thick blackness around them, searching to see if they were alone or not.

He doubted it. His instincts were telling him otherwise. Their captors were really pulling out all the stops tonight. He and Renji had already carved their way through more monsters than most people saw in a week around here. It made him wonder what was lying in wait in some of the bigger rooms...

The door opened at the start of the night, and the air in the meeting room seemed to stagnate, as if resonating with the presence of the newcomer. Formalities were offered first and foremost: all military personnel stood at attention and welcomed their commanding officer with a salute. In turn, Aguilar reciprocated the gesture, before moving on to stand at the head of the room. The two guards at his side followed without a single delay, situating beside the one who now held full reign over Landel's Institute.

Normally, with the completion of formalities, he would allow the officers their seats. It wasn't good, after all, to conduct a meeting in such rigid postures. The Eagle, however, remained unmoving and instead, swept his eyes across the meeting room, before settling on a single occupant.

"Major Claude Harrington."

The addressed stiffened in his position, eyes wildly alert. "Yes, General?"

"Or perhaps Prescott might suit you better?" One might have expected a look of triumph from Aguilar. Instead, he stayed impassive, edging complete apathy. "Claude Prescott, curator of the Prescott Gallery."

A beat passed. The atmosphere between the two men touched close to ice, and without further prompting, the one called Prescott dropped his guard. He smiled serenely, giving a forbidden countenance to his superior. "I was wondering when that name would come up," he remarked, tone bordering casual. Gracing wonderment.

"It was only a matter of time." Aguilar nodded, and the guards at his side moved, their intentions obvious. "Claude Prescott, you are under arrest for conspiracy and--"

The General, however, immediately cut off, the declaration unfinished. His guards also halted in their tracks while the others seemed ready to shift away. The source of their reactions was obvious: in the place of the former military officer was a man glowing bright crimson, the barest flicker of flame surrounding his form.

"You sure you want to do that?" Claude questioned. "Knowing what I am?"

Undisturbed, Aguilar reached and pressed a hand to his breast pocket, where a circular medal of silver resided. "We've already calibrated your powers, Major," he calmly explained. "The instant you attempt to surpass your limitations, you will lose everything. I recommend that you cooperate." From anyone's viewpoint, it was apparent that the cooperation was more than recommended.

"Oh~" Here, Claude glanced at the patient assigned under him. Specifically, at the device locked around her wrist. "I wonder. I'm willing to risk everything at this point." As though to emphasize, he snapped his fingers, the flicker merging to a single flare at his palm. Which vanished as predicted.

But the prediction was not without its unexpected elements. The device at Maya's wrist suddenly emitted a high-pitched wail, forcing all eyes on the phenomenon. Then, without warning, Aguilar clutched painfully at his chest, tearing at the medal pinned to his breast pocket as if it was a hot poker.

"Y-You!?" The Eagle sounded astonished, glaring pointedly at Harrington. "What did you--"

"I did nothing," the other announced, "but someone else certainly did." The smile widened, stretching to ridiculous proportions.

Something clicked, and those who kept their observations on the General might have noticed smoke rising from his tightened fist. He quickly tore out the medal and flung it at the offending element in the room, simultaneously raising his other hand to the ceiling. "Retreat," he breathed before slamming his fist against the table below. Those who caught the order and would give their allegiance to the General followed suit, slamming their fists in turn.

In the span of several heartbeats, most of the room's occupants had vanished, leaving behind confusion and stagnant air.

Major Cartwright had spent the latter half of the day speaking with patients, but as dinner time came she had someplace else to be. As did three specially chosen patients. Everyone seemed convinced that this would go smoothly, but as the female soldier stood there with some sort of electronic bracelet in hand, she couldn't help fiddling.

In fact, this wasn't even supposed to be her job in the first place, but Harrington had asked her to fill in for him, saying that he had something else to attend to. The man certainly got around, didn't he?

She glanced to the two other soldiers who were also waiting for their assigned patients. As for her, she was actually going to be speaking with someone who she had met just the day before: Maya, her name had been. She had been polite and cooperative before, so hopefully that would hold true for this project as well.

Leaning herself against the wall, the soldier kept her gaze on the door.

[For Maya.]

After an intercom broadcast like that, Kurogane felt somewhat better about the little information he'd gotten from Harrington the previous night. The man only sounded competent when he needed to but was an idiot otherwise. Unfortunately that was furthered proof of the General not employing the brightest of staff members, making another option for information closed to them.

Kurogane was again some steps ahead of his escort when he reached the Sun Room and ignored the soldier further as the ninja headed to look over the bulletin. Last time he'd missed something, and he wasn't about to have that happen a second time. With some searching he located Tsubaki's messages to others he didn't know but found nothing either written by the magician or addressed to him. That being the case, he left the board without any of his own writing and sought out a chair over a couch. If he didn't leave open a space by him, he had a better chance of being left alone. Or so he believed.

[free bird! bear]