Day 54: Lunch

[full_score]

All things considered, last shift had been pretty low key. After this morning's disaster, though, that was perfectly fine by Claude. Some fresh air and a chance to make sure Guy and Okita were all right weren't things to take for granted. It was also good to have a fairly normal, conversation with Guy that didn't slip off into awkward territory

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[poorexample]

Right as Castiel was determining whether or not he should sample a bite of the fish, a voice sounded from the other side of the table. He glanced up, taking note of the young man who he'd run into during his first night in this place. They had both spent that time confused, searching for an exit and even finding one; the broken lock, the diseased dog, and then the sudden loss of language.

Yet they were still stuck in this place. Castiel was surprised to see that Orihara seemed to be in good shape, but maybe the man was smart enough to know when to run and when to fight. It was a good lesson to learn, especially in a place like this.

In fact, he would probably be better off if he chose to run more often; his vessel certainly would be in a better condition if he did.

"Yes. And you're Orihara." He didn't make a question of it; his memory was too good for him to doubt even a name that was more foreign to him. As for what to make this conversation about, it was a simple matter for Castiel. He had no idea if this stranger had a specific question for him, but he certainly did.

He'd work toward it, though. First things first was seeing if Orihara had any information to offer him, as that was more or less the only thing he could get out of most of these daytime interactions. "Is it possible you've gotten any closer to escape?" He knew what the answer was likely to be, especially from someone so normal, but still he asked.

Though that brought up another question. Castiel had been realizing more and more that there was something out of the ordinary about the majority of patients here; what was it for Orihara? Or was he an anomaly?

[predictator]

Castiel recognized him, and Izaya couldn't quite decide if that was good or bad. On the one hand, it saved the trouble of reintroductions, but on the other, it meant he definitely remembered him from the night they'd met. Izaya didn't think he'd said or done anything that might have made him stand out, but he hadn't yet had the faintest idea of the situation he'd found himself in. Had he known then, he might have acted differently.

But that night was already passed, so it was far too late to change anything about it. Castiel was still in one piece, and that was an encouraging sign: maybe he could be of use.

Izaya took a moment to pick up his utensils from his tray after he'd settled. "I'm afraid not," he answered with a shake of his head. "I've actually stayed in most nights."

That he'd remained in his room at night several times was an unfortunate fact, though in truth he hadn't exactly meant to stay in. He chose not to voice that part, however; Castiel was free to draw his own conclusions.

"If you've gotten closer to that end, though, I'd be interested in hearing about it. We arrived at the same time, after all... It would be nice to know that at least one of us is making headway."

[poorexample]

The fact that Orihara had chosen to stay in his room for most of the nights lent credence to the theory that he really was more normal than most people here. The proper reaction to this sort of dangerous environment would be to hide, but that had never been an option for Castiel. Perhaps Orihara had decided to play it safe and wait until someone else found a way out for him.

It wasn't entirely unreasonable of him to do so, especially if he was unable to handle fighting the monsters. Seeing how he'd stayed out of that encounter with the dog, that was likely.

But still, he'd known how to pick a lock, and Castiel still got the feeling that that wasn't something the average human knew how to do. If he wanted to learn more about that, chances were he was going to have to share some of his own information.

"I've made a few more attempts," he started, still not sure he wanted to try any of the food -- even if his middle was starting to get that hollow, uncomfortable feeling. "In one instance I tried to get over the wall in the field we were just taken to, but something I believe was a vengeful spirit prevented me from doing so."

Orihara's response to that would also give Castiel an idea of how normal he was. If he reacted the way Sam or Dean would to hearing the term "vengeful spirit," then he'd have to be reconsidered.

[predictator]

Oh, good; Castiel was willing to share. There wasn't much information there overall, but his willingness to share anything without being persuaded made things easier. The fact that he was stopped from going over the wall was useful enough in its own right, too.... to a certain extent.

"Vengeful spirit?" Izaya repeated, his tone flat. He gave a small laugh, his expression turning quickly to amusement. Interesting, interesting! "You mean like a ghost?"

Maybe that wasn't what Castiel had meant-there could be all sorts of things meant by 'vengeful spirits', ranging from ghosts to dullahans and beyond-but the idea of ghosts, of something lingering behind after a human had died, of an existence after death, was fascinating in and of itself. It was a topic of particular interest to Izaya, who had become convinced in the existence of the afterlife, and for right now, he wanted to know more. At the least, he wanted to know what the 'spirit' was like, and what Castiel meant by it.

"And what was this 'vengeful spirit' like? ...Ah, unfriendly, I'd assume, or else you wouldn't have called it 'vengeful'."

[poorexample]

The young man's reaction was difficult to judge. While he didn't seem skeptical, he also wasn't treating the subject as if it was something familiar, like the Winchesters would have. Instead, he was expressing a strange sort of interest -- though many humans were morbidly fascinated in things that frightened them, or things that they couldn't understand.

That likely included angels as well.

While talking about the spirit wasn't going to help either of them when it came to working toward escape, it was at least a subject that Castiel knew a decent amount about. If Orihara wanted to know more, then he didn't mind explaining so that the man would at least know what to do if he ran afoul of one.

"Yes," he said once the other had quieted, "like a ghost." It was as good a term for it as anything else, after all. And one that was likely more accessible to the average person. "It manifested first in that the area felt off -- it was silent and cold there in a way that was clearly not natural." He had no idea if someone who'd never experienced it before would even be able to sense it, but he could at least relate the details.

"However, as we started to attempt scaling the wall, the vines there turned into what seemed to be human hair -- and yet we never saw what it was attached to. The hair was preternaturally strong, and it continued to tighten around us and prevent any movement until the night ended." It had ultimately been a rather tame haunting by most standards, but they'd been stalled, which had likely been the whole point.

[predictator]

Izaya started on his fish as the other man began explaining.

Listening to Castiel describe the 'spirit' he'd encountered was so very different than those few times Izaya had heard the idea mentioned when meeting with various people who wanted to commit suicide. But Castiel was different than those humans, too; he didn't imagine that he wanted to die like they had-or if he was under that delusion, he had yet to say or do anything that might have revealed it. Instead, he was making attempts to escape the hospital. The want to escape was a sign of life, proof of the desire to live: if he'd wanted to die, there would have been no reason to return to the life he'd been living.

Castiel was describing the encounter at the wall calmly, too, and wasn't grasping for words. Whether he'd believed in the existence of spirits before or was only convinced recently Izaya couldn't say, but it seemed to be a solid belief rather than a passing fancy. But from the sound of it, the 'vengeful spirit' wasn't necessarily some remnant of life after death. If he'd been asked before, he would have clearly stated that he didn't believe spirits existed and there was nothing after death, but his way of thinking had changed. Celty was the only being he had as a direct reference for comparison, but even she seemed more human than vines turning to hair from an unseen head. But no matter whether the spirit might have once been human or not, the information could prove useful around here. He would make note of it, for the future.

"I see; I see!" Izaya finally said, once it became clear that Castiel had finished saying his piece. "How scary! You couldn't free yourself-ah, yourselves-at all?"

Despite his words, he didn't sound or look scared in the least.

[poorexample]

It wasn't something that Castiel would have described as scary, though he imagined it would have felt that way to most humans. Still, Orihara seemed more excited than anything. Was it because he still didn't understand the full extent of the danger he was in? Or did he have an interest in the occult that surpassed his own survival instinct?

"No, we were effectively trapped there. It's difficult to know what the spirit would have done after that, but an attempt to kill would have been likely." When ghosts actively searched the living out like that, it was usually only for one of two reasons: to warn, or to kill. And most of the things he'd encountered in this place looked to kill.

Not one to question someone else's behavior too much, Castiel decided to not bring up the fact that Orihara was more invigorated by this discussion than he was bothered by it. If it was his desire to run into ghosts, then he would have to take responsibility for the danger he would be bringing upon himself.

Either way, he'd said all he could about the spirit -- unless Orihara pushed the subject -- and so he started to steer the conversation in a different direction. "Another attempt to find out more about this place occurred when the radio gave a clue." That had actually happened on the same night, with Gabriel, but he didn't need to explain that. "I believed that the answer to that clue might be behind a door, but with no knowledge of how to pick a lock, I was completely unable to get past it." Brute force had gotten him nowhere, either.

"I believe that lockpicking is a skill I'll have to learn before I can learn some of the true secrets of this place." It was a rather direct way of bringing it up, but Castiel wasn't one for subtlety in most cases.

[predictator]

Oh, the 'attempt to kill' must have been where the 'vengeful' part would kick in. He would have liked to know the reasons the spirit would have had for it, what drove its behavior, but those weren't questions suited to asking Castiel. Anything about the spirit's motives from him would have been mere conjecture.

Besides, it seemed that Castiel had another topic in mind, and something he wanted. Lockpicking was a skill that Castiel knew Izaya possessed, so bringing it up like this... It was obvious the man was leading towards asking for help to that end, which provided Izaya with a business opportunity.

"And you want me to teach you?" he questioned, looking to cement the idea in Castiel's mind in case it hadn't already been made up. "I can do that, but you'll have to do something for me in return."

This could be the first transaction of many, or so he hoped. Money wouldn't be a commodity readily available here, but there were other methods of payment that could prove even more valuable.

[poorexample]

The moment that Castiel had considered asking Orihara about this, he had assumed that it would be a transaction rather than a favor given. He wouldn't have wanted it any other way, and so he didn't outwardly react to the implication that he'd have to pay the man back.

The question, then, was what to give him. Protection was the first option that he thought of, mainly because he recalled the first night and the way that Orihara had remained on the sidelines of the fight. More than that, the fact that the man had been staying in his room at nights seemed to indicate that he wasn't comfortable going out on his own.

And yet he was curious about spirits, which meant that he likely wanted to wander more than he had been thus far.

Still, the return payment was ultimately up to Orihara, and so Castiel nodded to indicate that he agreed with all that had been said thus far. "Is there something you had in mind, or would you prefer an offer?"

[predictator]

So far, so good. It seemed that Castiel was the reasonable type about this sort of thing, instead of one of those people who would sometimes come to him expecting to get something for nothing... Well, not that he ever truly accepted 'nothing' as payment, even in cases where a client left his office thinking his information had been 'free'. When it came to his hobbies and interests, he didn't always require cash up front.

"Information," Izaya stated, "if you learn something valuable enough. Or I thought you can simply owe me a return favor, help when I need it... But I'd also be interested in hearing what offer you might have in mind; I don't know your particular skills, after all."

He was drawn most to the idea of information-especially if, as Castiel said, he'd nearly discovered something interesting before-but he wasn't going to restrict himself to that alone. Having a pawn to call on later could be even more beneficial as long as he remained here.

[poorexample]

All things considered, information was a simple thing to ask for. It wasn't something that was going to compromise Castiel if he offered it, especially not to someone like Orihara who seem largely disconnected from the whole issue of the oncoming Apocalypse. At the moment that had all been stalled in lieu of getting out of here, but he still couldn't help but wonder how much the two events were connected.

However, the appearance of the military made this all feel far more human. Maybe the wrong sort of power had been granted to a human who had not known the right way to wield it. That was always a possibility.

Either way, knowing of people who gave up their souls as part of a deal, Castiel found the man's request to be reasonable. He nodded. "Information is something I can offer provided that I find something worth sharing, but that in itself is no guarantee. I'm also willing to provide protection for a night or more if you require it. I'm an adequate fighter."

Orihara should have known that for himself. While Castiel knew that he'd be more valuable with a knife in hand, he was willing to improvise for the moment. Though if Orihara was also in search for a weapon, they could always make things more efficient by searching together.

It felt odd, to be making plans with someone who wasn't Sam or Dean, and yet Castiel knew that he couldn't rely on them with how things were currently. He'd have to adapt as best he could.

[predictator]

Between information and protection, information was the more valuable commodity to Izaya... depending on what it was. Izaya was confident he could protect himself-even if he had little problem leaving fighting up to people who didn't realize that. But if Castiel could be the start of a network here...

With that in mind, Izaya made his proposal, "As you said, finding out something that's truly worth sharing is not a guarantee... but if you do find anything at all behind locked doors, I'd be interested in hearing about it. That information, plus protection on any night I spend teaching you, would be adequate compensation."

He set down his fork on the tray, lacing his fingers together. He wanted to take full advantage of Castiel's hospitality, but he needed to limit himself for now; ask too much, and the man might turn elsewhere, leaving Izaya out of an opportunity. His resources were rather limited right now, so he'd rather alter the terms than have that happen.

"Does that sound reasonable?" he added, seeking agreement.

[poorexample]

Everything that Orihara said made good sense, and it was a strange relief to be able to speak with a human and reach a mutual understanding on a topic. He didn't know what that said about himself or about Orihara, but Castiel decided not to dwell on it.

"Yes, that's reasonable," he agreed with a nod. His food had more or less been avoided until now, but with the main question out of the way, Castiel took a leap of faith and grabbed for a piece of the fish, holding it between his fingers awkwardly before he took a bite.

As he chewed on it, he considered what to address next. Clearly, it was the issue of when this would be taking place. "Are your plans for tonight already set in stone, or should we start then?"

Seeing how Orihara had been spending most of his nights in his room, there was a chance that he'd kept his nights open. Then again, that also meant that he might not be reliable when it came to showing up for their appointment. Still, if it turned out that he wasn't going to keep to the agreement, Castiel could always find something else to do with his time. That, at least, was easy for him.

[predictator]

Izaya watched silently as the other man picked up his fish to take a bite, a faint smile on his face. Castiel had agreed to the proposed trade-fortunate, although it made Izaya wonder if he could have proposed something a little more in his own favor and still been accepted. Ah, too late for that... But then again, if Castiel felt he wasn't being taken advantage of, it made him more likely to do business with Izaya again in the future. There was nothing wrong with starting small and moving on to bigger and better things after 'trust' had been established.

When Castiel asked about tonight, Izaya turned his attention to his own meal, cutting off a piece of fish. "I'm available tonight, yes," he stated. The sooner Castiel could pick his way past a locked door, the better; if Izaya was going to receive information the other found, he'd hate for him to lose another opportunity. "Should I find you somewhere in the hall? The spot where we first met, perhaps..."

He just hoped Castiel would be a quick study. If Izaya had to spend more than a few nights on teaching him, he would to need to reconsider requesting additional compensation for his time.

[poorexample]

This had gone surprisingly smoothly. Castiel continued to chew on the piece of fish. The grease didn't bother him, but it wasn't as heavy as he would have liked, seeing how he was used to red meat. It was enough to satiate, though, and so he didn't put it back down just yet. He did hope that something more to his liking would be served at dinner, however.

As he'd guessed, Orihara was available to meet that night. Seeing how he hadn't made any plans with the Winchesters, it wasn't like he had a reason to turn the young man down now. The sooner he could get this all worked out, the better.

"The hallway where we met is fine," he agreed. It was close to his room and most likely to Orihara's as well. Not having to exchange their actual room numbers kept this appropriately business-like, which suited him just fine.

It was at that moment that the intercom went off, complete with an odd announcement that Castiel had a difficult time following. Still, the meaning of it was clear enough: lunch was over. Setting down the fish and standing from his seat, he looked down at the human; pleased as he was that this had worked out neatly, there was no change in his expression. "I'll see you tonight."

[predictator]

As soon as the intercom had come on, Izaya's attention turned to it. Whether it had been turned on intentionally or not, the tail end of a conversation could be heard over it, and Izaya wanted to hear every word. It was fortunate Castiel wasn't the chatty type who might have tried to talk over it.

An automated announcement followed to end lunch and introduce the next shift. Castiel stood up at the end of it and bid farewell.

"See you tonight," Izaya confirmed, giving the man a nod. He didn't hurry to get out of his seat; a nurse would be along shortly, he was sure, and in the meantime he would finish a little more of his lunch.