Day 53: Sun Room, Morning

[scarefaux]

With breakfast finished and a new acquaintance made, the Scarecrow's mind turned to his other friends. The disappearance of Depth Charge's friend had brought back memories of how he'd felt when Kaiji went missing: helpless, useless, as though he should have and could have done something more to find him. If only he had his brain, then maybe he

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[boketa]

Goku had enjoyed talking with Kairi and, of course, eating, so when his nurse came to take him into the Sun Room, he was less than pleased. He glowered at her approach and all but grabbed onto the table for dear life so she couldn't take him away. It hadn't worked; the table was too wide for his small hands and far too slippery.

As gently as she could, the woman wrapped a hand around his wrist and dragged him, as per usual, to the spacious and plush room. As long as he didn't bite, the nurse simply ignored his growling.

"You're a little high strung today, Billy, so why don't you sit here and calm down," The young boy had eaten three waffles and a pile of fruit. The nurse knew that his sugar levels were probably off the charts, so she needed to find him something soothing and interactive for him that way he wouldn't distract the rest of the patients.

Letting Billy find a seat, the nurse found the solution in the form of a quiet cat. The rambunctious boy had told her on several occasions he enjoyed the outdoors, so the nurse could only assume he was an animal person as well. "Here, Billy. Be real gentle with him, okay?"

"Okay!" Goku's bad mood was completely erased when he saw the big tabby in his nurse's arms. He held out his stubby hands for it. "Hee hee..." The monkey boy cradled it gently despite his usual carelessness. "Hi! I'm Goku!" He greeted, though he obviously didn't expect a response from the cat, Goku was just being courteous. Since living alone in the wilderness for years, he regarded the local animal population as part of his family.

"You're really fat, haha!" Goku laughed as he rubbed the tabby's belly.

[Come forth jungle momma!]

[savagesolitude]

Claire had been allowed to briefly go back to her room after breakfast. To 'grab her diary', she'd told the nurse. While the journal was clutched in her hands now, it wasn't the whole reason for the trip. That would be the candy bars tucked into her pockets, the bulk of which was well hidden by the edge of loose cotton shirt just a size too large. She had spent the whole time in the cafeteria weeping onto Bella and talking in hushed tones, so the waffles had gone to waste. Not to mention she still wasn't sure if she could risk poisoning.

Yet she couldn't stand another minute without food. If there was one good thing about the miserable time in that town last night, it was the chance to grab some snacks. Candy was terrible for you, she knew, but it was better than nothing. At least it would be a nice treat after eating nothing but papayas and fish.

She drifted somberly into the Sun Room, her mood having not improved much in the last hour. But there was something good in here. She spotted a familiar head of unruly hair, a childish laugh from behind the arm of a sofa.

A silly notion tugged at her lips. The corners tilted into a smile.

Subtly, her eyes flicked between the nurses stationed around the room. They weren't checking on her. Neither were the ones on the balcony, at least not yet. She could risk it if she angled herself properly.

Claire approached silently from behind, one hand dipping into her pocket. She waited until she was right up close to the sofa, then leaned over Goku's head with a smile. While the rest of the room saw only her back, she deftly pulled out a yellow-clad candy bar and dangled it in front of the boy.

"I found you a present."

[boketa]

"Ah--?" Something was in his face! Goku's big, vacant eyes honed in on the strange shiny, yellow rectangular thing. It shifted slightly in the owner's grasp, and the monkey boy followed it with keen focus. The fat cat in his lap looked up and sniffed the wrapping before a paw came up to inspect it.

"H-Hey...!" Pulling it down so the cat couldn't get to it first, Goku held it tightly in his hand, watching it with childish wonder.

".......................... What is it?" He turned it back and forth in his mighty grip.

[savagesolitude]

"It's a candy bar," Claire told him quietly. What kind of life must Goku have led if he didn't know what a flashlight or a candy bar was?

She circled around the sofa to take a seat next to him, still angling herself to keep the sweet from view. "You peel off the wrapper..." She did so. "...and the candy's inside."

It was something called an O'Henry. Not a brand she recognized, but sweets were sweets. There seemed to be a lot of peanuts on it, all coated in chocolate. Claire beamed secretively at the boy, quickly passing it off into his hands and avoiding the curious cat. "Here. Try it."

[boketa]

"Candy bar--Oh! Candy!" While he had been living with Bulma, her house had been full of those sweet things. A lot of them were just too sugary for his taste buds to handle. This yellow thing reminded him of peeling back a banana, except the inside looked shriveled and rotten or, more accurately, like an animal turd.

".........." He gave her a questioningly look, then went back to staring at the brown log of "candy". After holding it for so long, the tabby in his lap seemed happy to take the initiative, licking the end of it eagerly. Well, if the cat wasn't scared of it that meant it was perfectly edible, right? He took a bite and met some resistance as a sweet, sticky substance entered his mouth. Chewing was just as difficult. "Auhh, i' stah too mah teeh!" It took a rigorous session of whining, kicking, chewing, and more whining before it finally went down his throat.

"Saaa...!" He panted before staring back at the bar and taking another bite. "Wher'd yoo ge' 'em?" He hadn't seen them in the cafeteria earlier.

[savagesolitude]

She watched him as he pondered the gift, expression unreadable save for the tiny tilt of a smile. It widened when he finally took a bite, even if it meant letting the cat have a lick first.

"I went to a town last night," she said, voice low in case the nurses were listening in. They were such nosy twats. Carefully, Claire stowed away the empty wrapper with as much stealth as she had opened it, sliding back into her pocket. "There was a rack full of candy, so I brought some back with me."

She reached over and scratched behind the cat's ears with a smile. There had been a cat on the island for a time. It had been one of the Others, she thought. A pretty long-haired one. Tame enough that Claire could pet it, but it never stayed around. She'd found the bones outside the bear's cave ages ago.

This one was a lot younger, purring and twisting its head to better enjoy her touch. Claire's smile widened, watching it with lowered eyes. "Don't let them catch you with it. They'll think you stole it and take it away."

[boketa]

"Stole it?" Hmming loudly, Goku turned to glower at the nurses that were stationed all around the Sun Room. For girls, they sure were bossy. But Bulma had been bossy too. Maybe it was just a girl thing, like their lack of balls. Indeed, he felt sorry for those poor creatures.

Since he didn't want this food taken away, he obeyed Claire and decided to stuff the last of it in his mouth for safe hiding. He looked like he was smuggling a log in that big mouth of his. It seemed so strange that anyone would care so much if they ate outside that food room. Gah, this place had so many rules, it hurts Goku's little brain.

"Whe' wuh' they le' us go?" The monkey boy asked from behind the candy bar lodged in his mouth.

[savagesolitude]

"Yeah, stole it," Claire affirmed softly. "They don't have chocolate here to give us, so I brought some in from outside. I went to a town last night." Claire managed a half-hearted smile at that. The trip had been a grim disappointment, but she didn't want to trouble Goku with the details.

Once he'd gobbled up what was left of the candy bar Claire let herself relax, leaning back into the comfort of the cushions. One hand remained on the cat's head, stroking it lazily behind the ears. "I don't know." She frowned, fixing a solemn eye on Goku. "I don't think they're going to let us go, Goku. We have to find our own way out."

[boketa]

While Goku didn't appreciate sneaky tactics, it helped to win him over now that the hot item was now happily becoming one with the boy's digestive system. "What's the point of keeping us? It's dumb. They ain't, like, doin' anything with us like uhhh..." Words escaped him omentarily, but that was nothing unusual. "Booby traps or soldiers or uhh uhhh rooms that get smaller and then squish you...!" Goku's experience with villainy was limited, but he knew that they always tried to get him and beat him. These guys, on the other hand, just fed him and made him sit and get bored. They weren't very good at this bad guy stuff.

But the monkey boy was glad Claire was on the same page as he. Goku was getting tired of this place. He had stuff to do, and sitting here was not good for his training. Finding a way out themselves would be fun. "Hee hee, the best way...!" The young boy was so excited, he couldn't help but sock his palm with an anxious fist.