[from here]

The room into which Morrigan stepped was no brighter than the hallway outside, and she stood still in the doorway for several moments as she made sense of the shapes of the furniture. Some sort of dining room? No, it looked more akin to a sitting room than anything used for meals. Used for meetings, perhaps, or lessons. It was hard to discern purpose.

She picked her way over to the tables to search for anything of use, either as a weapon or that might tell her where she was. She found books, first, thin ones with oddly slick pages that, on first contact, had her jerking her hand away to rub it clean on her trousers. It soon became clear that it wasn't any sort of residue left on the pages, however. It was just the nature of the things.

Slippery books. Revolting.

With a mutter of disgust, she continued her search. There had to be something worthwhile somewhere in this place.

[from here and waiting for the opposite one.~]

The hall was as empty as she had seen it. Silence glistened as severe as any palpable source. Voices echoed in the distance, but here there was nothing. No one. No sounds, but the dull creaks of a settling building and shifting ghosts. Last night gave rise to a new awareness. She did not take the emptiness at face value, did not trust the lack of others for what it was. The one on the board had offered the possibility of a monster, but Rei knew the feel of another body against her.

No, her assailant had been human. This remained fact. Over the edge of her plug suit, the bandage felt heavy. Weighted. A reminder to be productive if nothing else. She needed no other reason to devalue her own worth.

[down to here]

The latest intercom announcement filled Aigis with a sense of dread. Aborting her attempt at writing in her journal, Aigis stood silent for a moment then paced to the closet to retrieve her baseball bat. She would normally have offered her roommate some assistance during her first night in the institute, but Kay had already expressed during dinner that she had plans with a friend. It worked for Aigis. She had plans herself. The unhappy task of receiving one last memento from her released friend.

It shook her to the core, thinking how her friend had disappeared so suddenly. They had only just met up, and now she was already gone. It was almost too much, too powerful of an emotion for the android to fully realize.

"I wish you safety in your endeavors tonight, Kay-san," Aigis whispered solemnly. Then, grabbing up her flashlight in her free hand, Aigis moved to the door and made her way down the hall.

[to here]