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

Comments

[bodhiandspirit]

That was an unexpected encounter. It looked like several people at Landel's were practitioners of some kind of magic, which left no shortage of fields for Rita to pursue. Hopefully some would involve techniques that she could use for herself. She still didn't know where heraldry fell as far as usability went, but that was one of the things she planned to ask about at her lunch meeting.

Trying not to roll her eyes too hard at the Head Doctor's attempt at chiding the populace, Rita made her way to the cafeteria counter, taking a small portion of fish, filling her plate mostly with side dishes. She didn't mind eating certain kinds of cooked fish, but if it tasted too fishy, it was going straight in the garbage. With that done, she set out to find the stranger she'd spoken to on the bulletin yesterday

[full_score]

Claude did his best to patiently wait as he watched other patients filter into the room. Guy was one of them, and he returned the other blond's nod from across the room. He wondered if he had any plans for lunch. Not that it mattered, of course, seeing how Claude had an appointment of his own, but...

Well, he just hoped this shift went a lot smoother than breakfast. Claude had a feeling it would. The soldiers were probably on high alert, and the more troublesome patients were either sedated or in solitary. Anyone would be stupid to try anything nowThankfully, he didn't have to wait long for Mordio. A young girl he'd seen in passing here and there approached his table, taking the seat in front of him. When she addressed him by name, he realized that she'd been looking for him. Claude almost asked if she was, in fact, Mordio, but his lunch companion quickly introduced herself

[bodhiandspirit]

"I don't really care which," Rita answered almost automatically, but then added as an afterthought, "... Rita is fine." Miss Mordio just sounded unnatural, after all.

Since her breakfast that morning had been ruined, Rita took an experimental bite of the fish, feeling hungry enough to give it a try. She chewed it with a slight frown, then deemed it passable. Not really good, but edible. That, at least, was fortunate, because Rita was starving.

"I've been doing research on the magic systems of other planets," she explained between bites, supposing Claude might want to know why a complete stranger had tracked him down. "I talked to Leon last night, and he lent me his notes so I could study many of the technical aspects of heraldry. I'm hoping you can help fill in the leftover gaps." Rita studied Claude for a moment, as if trying to determine how knowledgeable he was just from his face, then returned to eating her lunch for the moment.

[full_score]

Rita it was, then. She sure didn't seem like the most sociable person, but maybe she was just the sort who got down to business. Claude couldn't exactly blame her, especially with how strict the staff was about where they went, and for how long. When you had so little control over your time, it made sense not to want to waste it with small talk if there was something you really wanted to talk about

[bodhiandspirit]

Claude's father was a skilled mage? Perhaps Rita was talking to the right guy after all. If Claude was an outsider to Expel, his father probably was as well... and yet he'd become proficient in heraldry use. That meant there had to be a way for Rita to use it, too.

"My biggest concern at this point is the usability of heraldry," she said as she leaned back in her seat, crossing her arms. "I was told that to use heraldry, you need to be born with the 'Blessing of Mana'... but I also heard that there's a technique that allows even outsiders to use it." Leon had suggested that applying symbols to one's body could have that effect... but he didn't know the details of the process. Perhaps Claude did. It was plausible, considering his family history.

Rita stuck another piece of fish onto her fork and, before putting it in her mouth, asked, "Do you know anything about that?"

[full_score]

It was good to know she'd had a good talk with Leon beforehand. Out of the two of them, he was the more solid authority on the subject. Now that he knew Rita had a basic understanding of the concept, that made Claude's position a little easier

[bodhiandspirit]

"Hm... so it has those kinds of applications, too..." Rita mused, mostly to herself. Guy had mentioned that heraldry could power machinery, but he didn't seem to know many details beyond that. It seemed that heraldic crests could potentially be as versatile as Rita's blastia formulas. "Since the system is mana-based, there's a chance that it could be used on my world as well

[full_score]

Claude didn't see why it couldn't be used on Rita's home planet. As far as he was aware, heraldic crests weren't overly dependent on environmental factors. Then again, he wasn't exactly a top expert on the subject, either, so who was he to say

[bodhiandspirit]

That was odd. Claude had seemed so friendly and open when she first met him, but now he seemed strangely nervous. Was it because of Rita's line of questioning? She was reminded of something Kratos had said earlier, about the messiness of similar processes. Was there a negative side to heraldry tattoos that she was unaware of?

If there was, it was all the more reason for Rita to want to know more. She wasn't prepared to give up on her ideas just yet; not while there was even the smallest chance of it working. Rita needed the strength to break out of here, and to get back home. Making people uncomfortable was the least of her concerns.

"If there's anything you know about the process, I want to hear about it," Rita pressed on, locking her eyes on Claude's.

[full_score]

He shouldn't have been surprised that Rita wanted to hear more about it. The process itself wasn't so strange to discuss once one was familiar with the basic concepts of heraldry. Claude straightened in his seat, drawing in a small breath. His personal experiences had no place in this kind of talk

[bodhiandspirit]

No negative side effects. That's what Rita wanted to hear. Claude's impression that the process was straightforward was also encouraging. Using heraldry was beginning to seem less like a hypothetical dream and more like a goal that could be achieved within days, with proper planning and execution.

"Then there shouldn't be any problem if one were to attempt it here... right?" Rita was aware that she was making her intentions obvious, but it wasn't as though she had anything to hide. It had to be somewhat obvious from the way she kept digging for specific details, anyway. As for the heraldry crests, she supposed that the actual process of tattooing a symbol could require some innovative uses of institute supplies, but Rita was sure the building contained everything needed for that.

"That just leaves the symbol itself," she went on, picking up Leon's notebook and looking through it. She stopped at one of the pages detailing his heraldic spells, running a finger over one of the intricate symbols. "Maybe one of these spell crests would