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

Comments

[rischiarare]

Getting out of a bed was a struggle for the Nobody when daylight cracked its way into his room and roughly shook him by the shoulders - which ached. It then lit his legs - also aching - and briefly slipped over his arms before the fake florescence of the overhead lights bled the sun out. Unsurprisingly, they hurt too.

Whatever Scott's shadow had been, it was a lot tougher than a Shadow... or Roxas was a lot weaker. The latter was more a fact than anything else if he considered how he couldn't move like he used to, or summon a ball of light in his hands that would bleed and squirm like a live thing, or even just summon the Keyblade when he needed it. No, now it came when it felt like it, like the weapon had a mind of its own and only came when absolutely necessary. Still, the shadow, the way it had spoken, all of it had unnerved Roxas. The Heartless were monsters, sure, but they still had that small little light inside of them. It could be unearthed. And he knew Heartless; he knew how they moved and how they could be defeated. But whatever the other-Scott had been, it had not light inside of it. It didn't hide a Heart.

Whatever it had been, he hoped to not have to see one again. If the Keyblade couldn't hurt it, he wasn't exactly sure how to fight it. It was hard enough just to get out of bed now, even after using it such a short amount of time - the first time he sat up, he immediately flopped back down. After some rolling about, absorbing the pain of his fatigued muscles and bruised shoulders, Roxas did eventually roll out of bed only to nearly fall onto the floor. He shuffled about slowly (not like a zombie) to hide the pipe underneath his mattress again and follow his suddenly-appearing nurse to the Sun Room. He realized he'd missed breakfast again, and his stomach growled unappreciatively as he passed close enough to the cafeteria to smell the remainders of food.

At least he had the chance to check up on the bulletin, spotting the note to the Arts and Crafts Club from Sora almost immediately. Or, at least, he could see some of it, the other part somewhat blocked by a woman also reading the board.

Picking up a pen, he announced himself with a well-spoken "Um," before following up with "could you move just a bit to the left? Sorry, I need to see the rest of this."

[thatdemonbitch]

Sure enough, it was the Arts and Crafts Club bulletin post -- well, that along with the History Club post and something that was apparently posted by the Spock (it was a clever pseudonym, if nothing else, and whatever friends the guy had seemed to go with it) -- that had caught Ruby's attention most. When she realized that Roxas was asking her to move aside so he could get to that one specifically, her original annoyance at being interrupted shifted to something of interest.

It didn't take a genius to realize that there was some kind of code being used with the dreams, and the mentions of shadow monsters synced up to a certain degree with the laundry list of monsters that Sam had written about in his notebook. More importantly was the fact that, if this kid were interested in actual arts and crafts, Ruby was Queen of the Nile. He had information and she wanted it.

Immediately the annoyance disappeared as though it had never been there at all and she offered a sheepish, wholly faked smile. She'd gotten pretty good with those acting skills, even if it usually only did her good in short bursts like how quickly she'd booked it out of Sam's crappy motel room when Dean showed up.

"Yeah, sure, no problem." She side-stepped and started to rifle through another bulletin post -- something juvenile and agonizingly passive. Her gaze slowly dragged away from the note, though, and over to the tiny blonde who'd interrupted. "So, are you a part of that club or something? What's the deal, you guys working your way up to a thousand paper cranes to wish your way outta here?"

Sure, it wasn't the best way to pump the kid for information, being so direct, but it made her seem more open and trustworthy to be so forthcoming with her curiosity. Tactics, after all, were half the battle, and he was looking like the best source she was going to get now that Sam was all outta usefulness for the day. She released the one she was looking at and pointed to the history club notice, shrugging.

"I noticed there were a few groups doing the club thing, but I'm pretty new so I guess I missed the boat or something." Maybe that would make him more inclined to try the heroic rescue and treat her like a newbie, pumping her full of useless information she'd already gotten out of Sam anyway but hopefully including the important parts of what the clubs really did.

[rischiarare]

Roxas just gave her a look - the one where he just stared at the other person, his mouth turned down, trying to figure out what she was talking about. He knew it wasn't exactly anyone's fault that Roxas was so far out of the loop, but he couldn't help but get annoyed with the sheer amount of questions he had to ask to keep up. By this point, he just kind of glanced over stuff he didn't understand, trying to formulate it out himself. Paper cranes... okay, that had to be origami, right? He'd read about how cranes were the "original" shape to fold, but what did that have to do with wishes?

Once she announced her newness, though, any irritation he had vanished. It was bad enough for him, not knowing what half the stuff around him was, but it was even harder being new and not being prepared for what the institute was and would be. "They're groups of patients who work on different projects, but the names are just codes. The staff is kind of picky with what goes up on this board." He wrote a quick reply to Sora as well as Scott, checking up on the both of them - a glance around the room showed they weren't around, so the notes must have gone up a little earlier.

Oh - but if she was new, maybe she didn't know why the code was necessary in the first place. A bunch of people talking about their dreams had to be pretty weird, didn't it? And if what he'd heard was right, institutes like this were supposed to be full of crazy people. He hadn't exactly met any crazy people yet, so he was starting to think maybe the head doctor was the only one. "How new are you? I mean, you know about what happens at night, right?"

[thatdemonbitch]

The flash of frustration didn't miss Ruby's perception and she couldn't help but wonder exactly which part of what she'd said had set him off. Regardless, he seemed to accept it after she outed herself as a newbie, and for that she was grateful. The last thing she needed to do was step up from news about getting stabbed to pissing off the next person she spoke to. After all, it wasn't like she'd made any friends with the nurses thus far.

Besides, judging by the fact that he was replying to that exact post-it, he'd be the best source of information she could get on the subject. Didn't beat a direct line to the men -- or, apparently, boys -- themselves. Unfortunately, that meant doing what she could to keep it friendly and get him eager to help her out. Which meant playing the damsel card that Ruby hated.

"I got your basic FYI," she explained with a casual shrug, trying to work up some apprehension in her expression to give a good reaction the monsters, while keeping it as subdued as she could. It had to be noticeable, but look like she was trying to keep from looking that easy to shake. After all, most people didn't wake up in an insane asylum ready to share their feelings with the first kid to step up to bat. "Pretty sure there was a beginner's guide written up somewhere that the guy was reading off of, but I'm not exactly sure about how well that prepares you for the real deal, you know?"

Another shrug; this time, dismissive, hammering in that she didn't want to focus too much on her own insecurities about the subject. She was supposed to be nervous about the nightly creepy crawlies, even if she wasn't really. Monsters were old hat, just because they'd thought up some new kinds didn't meant she needed her panties bunching.

"Guess we'll see when the night rolls around." Reaching up to the bulletin board, she pulled down the original post about the arts and crafts club. She'd pin it back up later, of course, but for now she wanted to make a point, and holding it in hand made for better visual aide. "So, the codes for these projects that us so-called patients are working on. What's the translation?" She accompanied the question with a chuckle and a wry look intended to make him feel more at ease. "I mean, I'm doubting they're finger-painting the hallways or hoping Sun Tzu's Art of War will help them overthrow the nurses. So, what's the deal?"

She tacked it back to the board, keeping her attention fixed on it while she pinned it in and then cast a sidelong glance at Roxas. After a purposeful pause, she gave a little half-smile, one that looked more genuine, and worked on a less snarky 'admission.'

"Apparently, History Club's recruiting. Better figure out what I'm in for before I volunteer, right?"

[rischiarare]

The Nobody followed her words well enough with the occasional nod to show he was listening until she mentioned something weird again. Why would anyone be wasting time putting paint on the hallways? Unless paint served to ward off monsters or something, there wasn't any point in that. Either way, it was good to know someone was telling the newer patients what was up, preparing them for the night. He knew some of the people here had woken up during the night, and he couldn't really imagine how hard that must have been. Waking up during the day had been confusing enough as it was without the threat of something lurking around the corner - literally. Despite that, it was probably good the people here didn't seem unprepared for anything dangerous. Like Scott, even the normal people knew how to defend themselves.

"My friend just started, um... managing the arts and crafts club. It's been here a while, I think. Their focus is to basically explore the institute and gather up items and stuff that people need." Like the batteries - he'd meant to offer some to Neku. Maybe he could do that tonight. At least Roxas had his flashlight back and was stocked up if the light decided to die again. He was pretty sure the overhead lights wouldn't be on tonight. "There's not a note up for them now, but there's a cake club too. They're kind of weird because I think they actually do make cakes. No one seems to take them seriously." He shrugged at that; it was the way he saw it, at least. Cake was good (supposedly, he'd never had it himself) but there were a lot of other things to worry about, right?

Not that he would have turned down the opportunity to make some sea salt ice cream...

"The history club... I don't know everything about them, but I know they spend a lot of time collecting stuff about the patients, like files and whatever." Maybe he should try to recruit her? Isn't that what Sora would do? It seemed like their numbers were dwindling anyway - "Hey, do you want to join the arts and crafts club? We could help you tonight if you wanted and try to get you a weapon. I mean, if you can use one. Or want one."

[thatdemonbitch]

How benevolent. Ruby was sure she was getting cavities just hearing about all the community service his little club did, but she kept her smile rooted in place as he explained, expression open but analytical, filing away the information he fed her. When he offered the invitation into the club, she almost wanted to scorn him for it. It was ridiculous, how trusting people could be with a smile and enough faked uselessness.

How was he so sure she wasn't working with Landel? It seemed like a stupid mistake to make, but she was going to let him make it. That didn't, however, mean she wanted to be a part of a club that was willing to be that stupid about recruitment.

So, the arts and crafts clubs gathered necessities -- like what, exactly? Weapons, obviously, but what other items would they be picking up? She supposed she'd find out when the sun went down, though, so there wasn't much use in wondering about it for now. Instead, she tried to figure out if he was serious about the cake club, and decide what exactly the history club could be getting out of the patient files.

Either one seemed like a good choice for further exploring the institute, though, which was going to be the first step if she wanted to find whatever was dampening their powers. She had a feeling if Sam couldn't quite feel the thrum in his veins, it meant that her own limitations weren't going to end at being trapped in a coma patient.

Right. The invitation. She considered it for a moment longer, then nodded decisively. Sure, Sam had plenty of weapons by his own account, but she wasn't sure she'd be able to persuade him into handing over that demon knife. It was hers, but he'd needed it once already, and he'd probably want a surefire way to lay her down again if she went all terminator on him. That, and as much as she wanted to hook up with Sam again when the lights went out, there was no guarantee. Especially since she hadn't managed to give him her room number -- stupid. After all that trouble she'd gone through to observe it.

"Yeah, totally. I mean, it's practically a freaking menagerie in here from what I've heard, I should probably try to arm myself, right?" She turned, crossing her arms over her chest and leaning against the wall beside the bulletin board. Her chin tilted up a little bit as she gave Roxas a look of appraisal. "Pretty gutsy for you to join up in the first place, you know."

[rischiarare]

Roxas was pleasantly surprised when she agreed - everyone else he had asked had either not answered (mostly because they had been interrupted) or had just turned him down. The success brought a small smile to his normally expressionless face; he made a mental note of shooting Sora a sentence or two on the bulletin about it. Once he got her name -

By this point, Roxas had realized her references and stuff weren't going to stop, so he just nodded along to her comment about menageries (he thought it was an institute or an asylum. Maybe menagerie was just another word for that?) glad that she was taking to the idea so fast. She seemed pretty well-adjusted to the fact that she'd need a weapon having not even hesitated about getting one, so maybe she was used to fighting. The best weapon he knew to get by his own experience was a pipe from the bathrooms, but maybe Sora had some better ideas. He knew there was a shed outside, so maybe there was something out there. "Oh, um - good! Welcome to the club, then." That was a good enough introduction, right? "Is there something you're good at using?"

That question probably wouldn't have occurred to him if he wasn't a Keyblade wielder and if Jim hadn't given him such a weird look about the thing earlier. He didn't know if he'd be able to provide any requests, but he could try! It was best to get everyone something they were comfortable with in order to keep them more protected. Or at least it seemed like a good idea to him.

Even though he wasn't sure what that last look from her was for, he sure knew what "gusty" meant... just not what she meant by it. "What do you mean?"

[thatdemonbitch]

It was impossible not to notice how much happier Roxas looked after she agreed to join his little club. It was almost endearing -- almost. Still, she felt a smirkier kind of smile curve her lips because, hell, bringing joy into a child's life was apparently pretty damn validating, and it was hard not to. It was the same proud half-smile mingled with excited puppy-face that Sam made -- used to make. Not so much on the smiling anymore, even with Dean back.

Still.

She was chalking the smile up to how pleased she was that she was getting her hands on a weapon so quick instead of just Tiny Tim over here bringing joy into her life. Definitely more conducive to maintaining her pride. In fact, focusing on the weapon topic made everything a little easier. Having a purpose -- a goal -- was helping her ignore that thrumming in the back of her mind that was a constant reminder that the immeasurable pressure in her head that made her want to scream was her inability to smoke out and find a real solution.

So, instead of letting herself consider that, she considered weapons. Sam had mentioned having his gun and her knife, but something told her that this kid wasn't exactly going to have an arsenal stashed in his mattress. She might have to deal. Rather than give him a specific request, she just shrugged a shoulder some and took a step back to address his question before getting into her own answer.

"You're a kid. Going out every night and fighting monsters ain't exactly trick-or-treating. I mean, don't get me wrong, I'm sure you're great at it, but it's not like throwin' yourself out there in the first place is the easiest thing in the world." A pause. "Gutsy's a good thing, relax. But, to answer your question as far as weapons go, I'm a slash and stab kinda girl. I'm guessing we don't go shopping at the local guns and knives store, so I'm up for non-bladed recommendations."

Truth be told, it was mostly because she didn't have the slightest idea of what was around to use as a weapon that she didn't just decide for herself. She'd seen a grand total of three rooms in this institute now and had only a vague idea of the others based on the map she'd traced. Not promising, and not altogether too informative. Ideally, her round tonight with Roxas and his pals would be better.

"Better question," she added suddenly. "You got a name to go with all the hack and slash heroics?"

[rischiarare]

Since the subject was weapons, his thoughts flashed to the gun he had hidden under his mattress back in his room, snatched from the Sheriff's Office out from under zombified hands. He'd made a kind of unacknowledged promise with Sora about it, though - it definitely needed to go to someone who was trustworthy. She seemed like a really nice girl, but he obviously couldn't be sure yet. Maybe if she helped out a little, he could offer it. Roxas obviously couldn't use it; actually, he really had no idea how to outside of pulling the trigger, which was the gist he'd gleaned from Xigbar's weaponry. The big difference was that Xigbar's guns looked nothing like the ones Sora and he had snatched.

The Nobody's smile lessened measurably at the line he'd been hoping not to hear, the whole kid spiel. "I'm used to it," he said with a shrug that matched her nonchalance, not trying to sound a little smug about it but doing so anyway. "Fighting monsters, I mean. And I know how to, so I'm not afraid."

Slash and stabbing... that was his style, but she obviously wouldn't be able to use the Keyblade. Actually, he wasn't really sure himself where he could find knives or anything like that. Maybe he could find Sora later and ask?

"Oh, sorry!" he said quickly when she asked for his name. He should have already offered it. "I'm Roxas. I don't know much about where to find weapons. The best I have is a pipe, but I know someone who can probably recommend something better."

[thatdemonbitch]

"Hey, I'm not judging. If you're good, you're good, age be damned. Just surprising, that's all." The response was quick -- the last thing she wanted was to offend the kid. So far, he'd been looking to be pretty damn put together, and as much as it was a slight twist in her gut as far as knocking around her ego went to put faith in somebody who looked like he hadn't been around much more than decade, she knew that if a hunter were that age, they'd be plenty capable and it was just a matter of accepting the fact that they could be handy when they learned how. He was too useful for her to offend that quickly.

"Impressive, but surprising," she added after a beat to make sure he knew she was serious about not putting much stock in his apparent age.

A pipe wasn't exactly glamorous, but it'd do in a pinch. She didn't make a habit of abusing the super strength -- not only did any display of demon signs spook Sam, but it was all dick measuring. There were better ways to get out of a tight situation -- like roping herself an antichrist who'd pull her out of them so she didn't have to.

For now, though, she was less worried about what would spook him and more worried about what would put the monsters down in a pinch. Playing baseball with a pipe and a spirit would get her through until she found a better alternative or got that knife back from Sam.

"Ruby," she returned when he introduced himself. It was weird to know that Dean had popped back to life and Sam was hiding her from him to a certain degree, but acknowledge that she didn't need to swap her name out for something more human-y to accommodate that. Dean wouldn't think twice hearing the name Ruby when he didn't know the demon that was attached to it.

Talk about a relief.

"So, where's the clubhouse? Gotta have some kind of meeting point for when the lights go out, right? I'll show up, we'll play boy scout and you can show me if the lead pipe's in the conservatory." On second thought, considering the stink faces he'd been making at the references, maybe throwing one out about Clue would be in bad taste. He might just start wondering if there was really a conservatory in the institute and, if so, how the hell she knew about it.

[rischiarare]

Ruby's reassurances worked completely: Roxas immediately perked back up, nodding as if that was completely all right with him. As long as he wasn't treated like some kind of... well, some kind of kid, he wasn't offended. Besides, he knew how he looked. He wasn't really the most intimidating figure around.

As for meeting places... well, it was a good thing she explained herself a little bit after that one quip or else he'd be lost again. "You know that big hallway, the one right outside all of the patients blocks? It's right beside those nurse stations." Which he was still kind of annoyed were locked every night - he'd tried them with a passing hand on the knob every night he walked by to no avail. There had to be something important in there, right? Why else would they go to all the trouble? "I can meet you out there." The Nobody figured that was the best course of action. If she was new, she probably wouldn't know her way around the boy block or anything.

"It's not in the conservatory, though -" whatever that was - "it's in the bathroom. You could actually get one on the way out of your block if you can kick it off the sink hard enough. It's not much, but it's better than nothing until we can find something better."

[thatdemonbitch]

If she could kick the sink hard enough. Hah. Power limitations or not, she didn't exactly foresee herself having problems with one dinky little bathroom sink. She kept the laugh to herself, though, and instead offered a warmer kind of smile to the kid. For a minute there, she almost felt bad for him; he was useful -- smart -- the kind that had better things to do than get locked in some crappy hellhole. But it was a little late to start feeling empathy for the victims, so it faded as fast as it came. After all the shit she'd done in the past six hundred years, she wasn't sure she even had the right to feel sorry for them anymore.

"Nurse's stations. The ones I passed on the way out here?" She nodded her understanding. "I'll try and grab something handy on my way, meet you outside of 'em." Maybe playing Dora the Explorer with short, blonde and spiky would help her get the lay of the land, figure out how tough it'd be to get to Sam without getting jumped.

"So, what's the deal, I bust open my door with a karate chop or do they just let us wander around?" Sam hadn't exactly covered it, but given the monster sightings, it was pretty easy to assume. Still, it was better to double check. She didn't wanna assume they were gonna get some kind of free reign in a crappy rendition of The Most Dangerous Game only to find it was a war in and of itself to get outta the room.

Right. Her room. Her thoughts flickered back to the empty bed that had been beside hers. She wondered if, come nightfall, that wouldn't be the case. Not that she was looking forward to bunking with some stinkin' human, but it'd be one more bitch to pump for information. At this point, she'd take all of it she could get however she could get it.

[rischiarare]

"Those're the ones," Roxas nodded. Good, so she had at least a basic lay of the land, at least around where her room was. "They're locked, though, so don't bother trying to get in." That was a project for another day. Besides, there had to be a key for the door lying around somewhere, right? There seemed to be a lot of stuff that just "accidentally" got left behind (if the radio clues were right a mental voice told him. He still couldn't be one-hundred percent sure.)

Huh. He would have expected Ruby to at least know the utter basics if she'd been out a night, but maybe she had woken up when the door was already open... or maybe she had woken up somewhere that wasn't a patient cell. He hadn't thought of that before, It seemed suddenly strange to him that they should all wake up in generally the same area. "Nothing like that, no," the Nobody answered earnestly. "The door should be open whenever the lights shut off. They all kind of happen at the same time; it's when the Head Doctor makes his final message but he's kind of... weird. He's always really weird at night."

Roxas was ready to leave it there for the moment, but he wanted to be on the safe side just in case. "You should be okay getting to the nurse offices. There's monsters around, but I've never seen one get too close to the patient rooms. If you see one, though, you should probably run." No shame about that, in Roxas's eyes. Besides, even if she said she was used to hacking and slashing, he couldn't exactly know for sure until he'd seen it. And he didn't want anyone getting hurt just because they weren't prepared. "It's probably too dangerous to be alone."

[thatdemonbitch]

Locked? A part of her wanted to give it a swing on her way by, just to see if some good old fashioned telekinesis would make them rethink the lock. But exerting herself prior to her little meet-up with the Justice League didn't sound like the greatest plan, so she'd have to leave that for her hunt for Sam's room at a later date. Priorities and all that.

"Sure thing," she nodded compliantly, appearing for all intents and purposes, pretty easy to get to agree and be a team player. Appearing to trust Roxas' judgment. For the most part, truth be told, she was putting some faith in him. The kid seemed genuine enough and he seemed to know what he was talking about, even if he was lacking in the reciprocation of trusting her abilities.

She just chuckled at the remark about running and filed away that info on Landel. Weird at night wasn't exactly low in terms of possibilities, but it was something. She could start a chart and work on figuring out what the hell the big boss around these parts was that he could turn his institute into a bad joke waiting to happen with angels and demons sharing breakfast time.

He'd also given her a heads up about safe zones from the monsters -- not a bad thing to consider, and definitely something she'd be keeping in mind on the nights she wanted to avoid tussling with them. Turns out she'd hit the jackpot on useful information with this one.

"I'll try and stay in one piece until I find you." It was the closest she was getting to a reassurance, but the half smile that was hidden there made it clear she wasn't entirely worried about what she ran the risk of getting jumped by in the darkness. She was the thing that went bump in the night, and while Sam had been able to share stories that spooked her about spirits around here possessing demons, she hadn't gone through it. It didn't sink quite as well as second-hand info and she was feeling damn prepared.

[rischiarare]

It was the best they could do, and Roxas figured if she wasn't capable enough to get to that hallway, she would've spoken up about it. Maybe everyone here was a fighter, some kind of fighter. Every patient he'd happened to meet seemed like one.

The intercom jingle echoed through the sun room, making the Nobody instinctively look up before looking back to Ruby. It was already lunch time, and for some reason the word "pizza" was making Roxas's mouth water. Giving a small thumbs-up and a grin, he said, "Sounds good. I'll see you there, okay?" If he didn't have a chance to find Sora before dinner rolled around, he'd have to just write another note to catch his attention. As leader of the club, Sora probably watched the board like a hawk anyway. He had a feeling he'd know somewhere to get a knife, and then they'd have one more relatively safe patient taking on the institute. It was a small gesture, but it was a good start to something bigger.