Elena was not exactly thrilled with the idea of playing in dirt. It was just...dirt. Gardening held no joy for her. Anything that anyone tried to plant in Midgar died almost immediately, so why bother? All of the plants in the little parks that Shin-Ra had created to keep the denizens of the Upper Plates happy were artificial. The only time she ever got to see plants that weren't fake was on daytrips to Kalm or holidays spent with relatives in Icicle Inn.

She'd never worked with them before.

Sighing, Elena accepted a pair of too-big gardening gloves. They had been pink, at one point, with little blue flowers. Now they were just a sort of spotty brown. Frowning, she poked at the small potted violet that a nurse had set in front of her with a little plastic shovel that looked like it had come from a child's playset. What was she supposed to be doing with it?

Kuja was, in fact, quite surprised to suddenly find himself in bed. An odd turn of events, as he previously remembered investigating the contents of a closet. If the genome hadn't known any better, he would have thought he hadn't even left the room. However, the items he was still holding obviously proved such thoughts untrue; he had left his room.

This cage was a peculiar one.

In any case, unlike the night the day seemed the appropriate time to perhaps take a rest from all the danger lurking in the darkness. While he was resting his wings, perhaps it wouldn't hurt to "socialize" with the other patients, as allies would certainly be more useful during the night (and not merely to open doors for him). Perhaps he had made a fool out of himself tonight, but such wouldn't happen twice. Not everyone was fond of an encore, after all.

The sorcerer silently stepped out of bed, noticing his roommate was still asleep. The man didn't waste any time, however, as he hastily stored the items into his own closet, camouflaging it with clothes. Nurses finding his newly acquired items was the last thing Kuja needed, after all.

After he had closed the doors of said closet, another door opened as an extremely cheerful woman came in. Such contrast with the night, but the actors played their parts well.

Perhaps too well...

Kuja allowed himself to be escorted to the cafeteria, his attempt to gain more information from the nurse proving to be completely fruitless. Halfway, he had given up, as the staff seemed not as stupid as the Alexandrian court. Either they were acting, or they were unaware of the role they were playing. Regardless, they were mere pawns.

After he had filled his plate with some food, he seated himself at one of the tables, purposely choosing a place where he could easily watch the others patients entering. Blue eyes studying the various canaries flying within their cage as they were finally allowed an opportunity to rest their wings, he picked up a fork and began eating his breakfast.

Night came, but Penelo was actually surprised to hear the Head Doctor say what he did. No rant? Maybe he just didn't feel like it tonight, which made Penelo wonder if something had happened to him. Maybe something that would be in their favor, but that seemed like wishful thinking.

Penelo grabbed her things, mentally repeating Protoman's room number in her head. M44. Kazuo had been absent for the whole day, so it was possible it would just be the two of them that night. She really hoped he was alright. He survived through the night... maybe he just stirred up some trouble.

It really was no use standing there and thinking of horrible things that could have happened to her friend (she supposed she could think of him as that for now), not to mention it was probably bad luck, so Penelo exited her room. Quietly, so she wouldn't disturb her sleeping roommate.

(from here)

The nice thing about wearing so many layers, Jack realized, was that it made for plenty of wraps and tourniquets. Slipping into the the empty bathroom afforded him the chance to wash out the wounds and the blood from his skin. That wasn't to say it did HURT when the water beat down on his injuries (the broken collar bone and chest slice especially stung).

The ache remained when he slid out from the shower. The night had just begun and he already felt like he should just go back to his room and curl into a ball. Jack ignored this desire. What did he have to show for his fight with Recluse?

1)A shanked thigh
2)A hole in his chest (which had thankfully stopped bleeding)
3)A sore head and hand
4)An undoubtedly fractured collar bone
5) Sore...parts
6) No flashlight

Sighing, he tore some of his extra clothing into strips and began treating his injuries the best he could with the items available. No, he wasn't going to give up so easily. He was going to find a way out of this hell hole. But where to look for an exit?

He didn't know too many locations at this place yet. The Sun room was out, but how about the rec field he had seen earlier? THAT was outside. THAT might be the way.

Cinching his final cloth bandage, Jack pulled his remaining intact clothing back on and heading out. He winced as he walked through the door. He hurt, but if he avoided that S.O.B., he could at least make it to the field...

From here

Kazuo made his way into the sunroom, and didn't see anyone there yet. He stopped and listened for sounds. Nothing. He glanced back at Usopp. "It looks empty," he said quietly, "but keep your voice down. We need to listen for anything that's coming."

He looked around and saw nothing but tables and chairs as usual.

The intercom jingle rang out both inside and outside the institute on speakers loud enough to broadcast clearly across the recreational field.

"It's been a busy day, hasn't it? Well, fortunately for all of us, it's nearly over, and we can all look forward to some rejuvenating shut-eye--that is, after dinner, of course."

The Head Doctor chuckled.

"Supper for tonight is going to consist of individual servings of chicken pot pie, with mashed potatoes and peas as sides. You may ask your nurse about the usual selection of drinks, and... Oh! Some of you might find that you have some new guests in your rooms belonging to... Group 5, I believe...? Please see to it that our new patients spend their first night at Landel's Institute as peacefully as possible!"

He paused, then added:

"Oh, and Nurse Hondor? Could you please report to my office? Thank you."

The intercom clicked off.

[ OOC: Remember how dinner shift works--everyone posts to this post with individual threads for each room. New characters waking up during this shift will do so in their respective threads, though if your roommate's player is unable to play with you during your intro, feel free to work something out so that your roommate is taking a nap or something. XD; ]

Not wanting to be dragged along on whatever Mission of Annoyance Schuldig had planned for himself at lunch, Farfarello instead headed straight into the cafeteria, alone.

The tranquil haze of the drugs was fading and the thought of being stuck in a room with dozens and dozens of strangers was starting to make the hair on the back of Farfarello's neck stand on end. He'd spent the last year and change mostly in solitary confinement, except for visits from Schuldig and the times he was let out for missions, and being expected to sit calmly and have his lunch while surrounded by potential threats was not something the Irishman wanted to deal with; unfortunately, he had no choice, so at least he could get there early and find a table close to a wall.

Much to Farfarello's surprise he was not only early, but the earliest patient to arrive in the cafeteria. He almost expected to find rank, disgusting food, as a result--if patients were so reluctant to come to lunch, surely there was a reason--but instead was reasonably pleased by what he found. Two sloppy joes and a token piece of fruit later, Farfarello retreated towards the tables, only to find that not one of them was isolated enough for him. So, he grabbed a chair, dragged it into a corner, and sat down with his back to the wall and his tray balanced on his lap.

He would get through lunch without getting sedated again, no matter what it took.

Renji's quasi-peaceful mood from breakfast was well and gone by the time he got out to the courtyard. Rather than dwell on the all-new problems with Rukia - and the fact that he had absolutely no idea how to deal with any of it - he tried to occupy himself with a mental checklist of the things he needed to do today. Meet with Roy Mustang at lunch, introduce Hitsugaya around, hopefully speak with Qui-Gon at some point in the day, figure out who would be doing what in the night...

He'd gotten seperated from the rest of the Shinigami during the shuffle out to the courtyard, so he found himself somewhere out of the way where he could work out what else he needed to do.

It wasn't that he was avoiding Rukia, really.

Mostly.

Because avoiding someone in this place, at these times, was pretty much impossible.

His normally grouchy expression seemed just a bit more sour.

The intercom clicked on in all its forced normalcy, the Head Doctor clearing his throat before he gave his usual string of orders.

"Ah, yes, first and foremost, I believe it's now time that our Group 2 batch of patients is taken from their rooms and introduced to our main population. Nurses, if you would be kind enough to oblige...? Thank you, and welcome to all the new faces!

"In other news, today is the day that we begin implementing our three-day therapy period for patients who need the most intensive treatment. We've in fact hired a new line of doctors to meet your needs, some of whom are specialized in psychology and others... well, others who have been assigned to patients with physical ailments relating to their mental instability. Those of you who have been assigned to attend therapy this shift will be escorted by nurses to your assigned doctor when your turn comes."

He coughed, then went through his normal routine of shuffling papers and fumbling when in truth, he most likely had a mind sharper than any number of tacks.

"Ah, here we go. As for the rest of you, it seems as if it's time for all patients to get some sun in the great outdoors! All patients in the cafeteria, please exit the doors to the east and west and head into the courtyard, please. Nurses, please keep a close eye on the patients so that they don't venture too close to the edge of the pond? Thank you!"

He paused, taking a deep breath before exhaling and ending his chipper update.

"I believe that's all! I trust you all have a pleasant and productive morning. Good day!"

[ Doctors: Same drill as last time, with each of you making your own post in this format: Day 24: Doctor's Office [Number], Dr. [Doctor Name]. Patients should respond to their respective doctor's post, each with their own thread. ]