Day 53: Music Room
Well, if it wasn't his favorite time of the week. They say distance makes the heart grow fonder. Of course in this case, distance makes Klavier feel like an abused, neglected animal who was only now being allowed a taste of actual food. These people were such savages. It was still absolutely absurd that they were allowed access to this room so
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On top of that, he had the stress of having to hide his relation to his own mother. That meant being dishonest about more than a few things. And, as the institute had demonstrated time and time again, he probably wasn't going to be able to keep it up forever. But what else could he do? Somehow, hey, there, Ilia, you don't know this, but I'm actually your son from about twenty years into the future, didn't quite cut it.
Now it was the final shift of the day before dinner, though, which meant he had some time to kill before he got sent back to his room. As if sensing his mood, the nurse suggested he go to the music room in order to relax. That sounded like as good a place as any, if only because it was one of the areas he didn't get to go to so often.
Once he arrived, however, he didn't immediately look for an instrument or a disc player like he normally would have. Instead, his attention was drawn toward the group of patients who he soon realized had signed up for that "Sex Bob-omb" band. Weird name aside, it didn't sound like such a bad idea. Claude would have been tempted to do it himself, if a) he didn't already have a bunch on his mind, and b) he'd developed some sense of pitch at some point in his life. And, quite frankly, if he hadn't done it during his travels, he wasn't so sure he'd magically discover it while playing around on a recorder in here. On the other hand, his rhythm sense wasn't half-bad, if he said so himself...
Either way, it meant he was content with just watching for now. Claude leaned against the wall of the room, folding his arms over his chest as he got a better look at the people who were involved. They sure seemed like kind of a strange bunch...except, say! Wasn't that Tifa over there? Her piano playing had been soothing to listen to, from what he remembered, and the thought of her signing up for that band stuff was enough to put a smile on his face.
[For Leon]
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Having already napped in the sun room, he was easily escorted to the music room for a change of pace. He too had his attention drawn to the group setting up to play, and unlike Claude the young mage had a fair amount of confidence in his own ability to provide accompaniment. In fact, he was soon wondering if they had a violin available, and if he'd be allowed to join in with it if they did. Every group could use a violinist, couldn't they? Of course, not knowing anyone involved very well made asking such a thing difficult.
He almost missed Claude, hanging back against the wall as he was, but as soon as he noticed him he was headed that way, band forgotten. The message he'd left on the board hadn't been outright troubling, but it worried him all the same. Leon gave his friend a smile as he got near. "Hey!"
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Once again, he was grateful to have the chance to look Leon over himself, rather than having to rely on his other senses in finding out whether he was injured or not. All in all, he appeared to be in good health. If it was true that he hadn't gotten harassed by his shadow last night, then that was all the better.
Maybe all that alchemy he'd been working on had done a good job of keeping him out of trouble. That wasn't too surprising, though, since Claude imagined Leon stayed quite busy with helping other patients.
"What have you been up to?" he asked him after a moment.
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Maybe if he'd missed whatever had his friend worried, he was simply better off for it and bringing it up wouldn't do anyone any good. He was curious, but he didn't want to get into a bad subject, either. If Claude wanted to talk about it, he would. It might even be nothing.
"Just the usual." He gave a little shrug. "Seems like there may be a no show tonight, though, so I might end up without plans."
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Either way, it sounded like things hadn't been set in stone yet. It was possible whoever was next would get back to him over the board after all. And then there was that mysterious message from Mordio, asking about heraldry, that had been posted right after lunch...
"You know, it's really nice of you to volunteer your time like that," he commented. "I guess these days you're the only alchemist the patients here have to rely on."
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Right now, he was getting that only when he was done with the list or whenever there was a no-show. Or he would in theory, except that so far he'd ended up giving up some of that time to others as well. Tonight, for example, it looked like he'd be talking to another patient about heraldry. Hopefully she wouldn't be asking him to write a book too.
He felt as if they'd had some of this conversation before, but he didn't mind. Claude cared about how he was doing, and that lifted his spirits.
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"It's important to make sure you don't stretch yourself thin," Claude agreed. "How were you thinking of changing things around, though? Are you going to shorten your next list?"
Claude wished there was at least one other alchemist here to help take the load off of Leon. Unless someone like Ed came back again, though, that seemed unlikely. At least it sounded like the boy was being mindful not to push himself too hard.
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Then you had people sign up and vanish before their turn is ever reached, and new arrivals who don't have the opportunity to have a spot. He supposed he should be more worried than he was that he would just up and vanish, but perhaps he'd become too complacent after all this time. When you saw so many come and go while you yourself remained, it was hard to imagine the same thing happening to you.
"I'll announce when I have a free night to make a weapon, perhaps. Other patients can respond then and... I don't know. Maybe I'll draw names. Then it'll just be for that night."
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Claude rubbed his chin, thinking the idea over. "Well, I can definitely see how taking things one day at a time would be less hassle for you." With the way some patients came and went, and even came around all over again, there was no telling who'd be able to follow through on a promise they made even three or four days ago. Plus it would allow Leon more flexibility with his nights.
"I'll bet newer people would appreciate the chance, too," Claude added with a small smile. "But if you think doing away with lists would work best for you, it wouldn't hurt to at least experiment with it, right? If it turns out you don't like it for whatever reason, you could easily go back to how things were before."
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That was the plus side of being the only one in charge of this sort of thing. He got to decide how it worked out. It was a bit of a burden, knowing there was no one else for anyone to go to with their weapon needs, but everyone had been pleasant enough to him so far and things had gone along relatively smoothly. It would be even better if alchemy didn't wear him out as much as it did and he was able to craft more than one order a night, but this was better than doing nothing at all.
"Is this all right with you, Claude?" He tilted his head, watching his older brother figure carefully. "It doesn't bother you that I've taken this on, does it?"
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And in a place where everyone's combat abilities were limited, it was probably for the best that he'd chosen to channel his power into something so productive. Claude had spent so many nights getting his hands dirty and exploring, but what did he have to show for it? Two of his friends had died in the basement, partly due to his own inability to keep them safe. And all going out into the woods seemed to do was take Asch away from them and spew his and Guy's best-kept secrets into the open.
That thought was depressing enough on its own, so he pushed it aside and tried to focus his attention on the boy for now. "Why do you ask, Leon?"
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"It's nothing. I just wanted to make sure." He'd hate to think Claude spent any amount of his time worrying over what he was getting up to. Some worry was normal, of course - he worried about what the blond got up to all the time, but concern mixed with disapproval would make him feel bad about taking on these tasks. And he considered using his alchemy like he was a very important task.
"What have you been up to, by the way?"
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When the boy asked what he'd been up to, however, he was quiet a moment. He wished he had some positive news to give, but there wasn't much he could say in that department. Ashton and Dias seemed to be missing, which meant the two of them were likely the only ones from their group these days. Neither of them seemed to be ready to broach that topic out loud, though. On the other hand, Claude supposed it was true that Leon hadn't been particularly close to Dias, so maybe some of that wasn't even necessary to discuss.
"Oh, you know, the usual..." he said with a small shrug. "Now that my eyes are finally better, though, I think I'd like to continue exploring the institute." Claude straightened up in an attempt to look more confident. "There's bound to be a way back home. It's just a matter of finding it."
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Still, if there was anyone who could find a way out for all of them, it was Claude. That's why he was able to nod in response and not look depressed just at the thought. Big Brother would find a way out for all of them eventually. It would just be Leon's job to keep others equipped and capable of dealing with the Institute's monsters until then. If there was anything to face once they made an escape, at least some of the patients wouldn't be heading into danger unarmed.
"So your eyes are really okay? No lasting effects?" Maybe he shouldn't have changed the topic to this, but it was bad enough he'd found out about what happened to Claude as late as he did.
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He still owed her a big one after she put herself on the line for his sake. They hadn't even known each other for more than a day, and yet she'd willingly strained herself for his sake. It was comforting to know that some of the patients here were as good-hearted as people like her and Leon.
Of course, it would have been better if they didn't have to be subjected to this place at all. But that just made finding a way out all the more important, right?
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He had to push aside thoughts like that, though. It was good enough that there were those here who could. Patients healed fast in Landel's, but sometimes not fast enough - such as the instance with Claude's eyes. To hear that there was no lasting damage really brightened the boy's day. He'd been so worried since it had happened, what with seeing the results of other experimentations.
Though... "You'd tell me if something was wrong, right?"
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