The same thing? The phrase took a moment to process, leaving Tear a beat behind and somewhat perplexed. She remembered a second afterward, a fact that evoked some irritation. The staff had not informed anyone of her stay in the medical wing; she was good as missing in those two days. The Melodist would do well to remind her nurse of that mistake.
For now, there were reassurances to offer. The last thing she ever wanted was another to worry over her welfare. "I'm sorry," she said, the apology well-worn but sincerely meant. "They put me in the medical wing for a couple of days. I wish the staff had been more upfront about my whereabouts." Here, the girl paused and allowed her lips to curve upward. "I'm glad you're all right, though."
When Claude offered her a seat, Tear took it with a nod, grateful for the chance to speak with the young man. Though they were from differing organizations and worlds, there existed something like a common element between them. At the very least, she was curious. First, however...
When Tear offered an apology, Claude shook his head. "Oh, no need to be sorry!" he said. It wasn't like Tear had any control over where the nurses put her, much less what they told other people. "I'm just happy you're okay."
Seeing how they'd barely spoken before now, he'd wondered if Tear would think it strange for him to invite her to talk for the shift. But since she was a friend of Guy and the others, Claude regarded her as a friend of his as well. Thinking back on some of the conversations he'd had with Luke and Guy, he knew he'd heard nothing but positive things about her. He was honestly interested in getting to know her better, since it sounded like she was a dependable ally to have in a place like this. Thankfully, she was apparently open to chatting, since she took the seat next to him without any hesitation.
When she asked about this morning, Claude rubbed the back of his neck as he recalled the chaos from before. "Well, I didn't get sedated or thrown into solitary," he explained. "I probably should have gotten out of there sooner than I did, but no one at my table was injured by the soldiers." Not that getting gassed was a lot of fun, but Claude didn't see any reason to dwell on that now that it was over with.
"What about you?" he asked, more than glad to turn the subject away from himself.
Their length of acquaintance proved short compared to others, but Claude appeared genuinely glad for her presence. She didn't think it too odd: unless otherwise shown, a friend of a friend was a welcome sight. And Tear trusted Guy enough to trust his friends. Thus, she acknowledged Claude with a nod, her expression displaying the barest hints of gratitude.
It vanished in the next minute.
When the conversation continued onto breakfast, Tear pressed her lips together into a thin line. Although she was glad Claude managed to escape the most brutal sections, she could tell he got caught in the gas. It made this morning all too real--that the staff were willing to allow casualties for calm. "It's good to hear you weren't injured at least," she said. "My table-mate and I managed to avoid everything but the food. It was a close call; they released the gas as we walked out the door."
Claude actually managed to avoid getting hit by the food, though he had to admit that he would have rather contended with that than the gas. With the extra military presence, was that going to become the norm for dealing with too many unruly patients? That would be terrible, but he couldn't exactly put it past this place, either.
"Wow, you were really lucky!" he said with raised eyebrows when Tear explained her narrow escape. "I'm glad you both made it out all right."
Just as a soldier passed them, Claude paused and glanced at him from the corner of his eye. Their professional way of patrolling the area was a sharp contrast to the hovering nurses and their sedation needles. These people actually hit you with the butt of their guns if you weren't careful. While he wouldn't deny that the nurses' condescending way of treating patients was obnoxious, he'd never wished that harsher guards would replace them.
Once the soldier was out of earshot, Claude turned his attention back onto Tear.
"I wonder how much trouble Landel's going to get into for what happened..." He looked up at the intercom for a moment. "We weren't supposed to hear that last message, right? It sounded like things were getting pretty intense in his office."
Lucky was correct. "Me, too," said Tear, who then heaved a sigh. "The person I was with was only a child." An older one, to be certain; Sakura was closer to the age requirements of admittance into the Oracle Knights. As far as the teenager could tell, however, she remained firmly outside that requirement. Not to mention, Sakura was also a civilian. The possibility of her experiencing the effects of the gas did not sit well with Tear.
Like with Claude, her eyes followed the passing soldier, etching his path in the forefront of her mind. There were an increasing number of them this particular shift. With more suspected on the horizon, she had to wonder if their presence had been planned or entirely unexpected. She couldn't say which was worse.
"I'm not sure," she replied as she finally glanced back to Claude. "They don't trust him; that much is obvious. What they plan to do with that, however..." Ah, they could go in multiple directions, couldn't they? "It's admittedly worrying."
The presence of children only made the use of gas that much more despicable. Claude had already realized that, but Tear brought it to his attention once more. His expression grew grim, though inwardly he was thankful that he'd heard back from Leon, and that his friend had managed to stay out of trouble. There were so many others who hadn't been so lucky.
As much as he despised Landel, Claude could at least say that he'd never gassed them during the day. If the military kept a strong presence here, then chances were that Landel wouldn't have much say in whether they did it again in the future.
"You're right," he said as he rested his hands on his knees. "Those soldiers obviously have a different way of running things than the nurses. If they try to wrestle power away from Landel, it could be bad news for the rest of us." There wasn't any use in getting worked up over it now, though. As much as Claude hated to admit it, their options were pretty limited at the moment.
He let out a breath and leaned against the back of the sofa. "I guess there isn't much for us to do except wait and see what happens. Everyone will just have to try looking out for each other in the meantime." Considering how the riot this morning had been started by one of their own, though, Claude knew how naive that probably sounded. But he still believed most of the patients here were good people, which was why he still said things like that from time to time.
Claude was correct in the absolute sense. Should a takeover occur, Landel's Institute would transform into a beast of another nature. Though Tear and her conversation companion might know what to expect and react accordingly, the rest may be taken unaware and overwhelmed. This was terrible no matter how you looked at it; battles and deaths may harden a person, but the military forced discipline and at times, utter humiliation. Tear remembered how hard it had been to adjust, and her introduction had some cushioning.
The Oracle Knight gathered her hands onto her lap, the expression on her face appearing controlled yet off. "I agree," she replied, "especially if we lose our privileges in the day. We both understand what that can mean." Or so she hoped. Knowledge and experience in this could be a plus.
Here, she sighed for a second time. Any cordial, light conversation had been thrown out in the wake of this morning's events. It couldn't be helped, of course, but she had hoped to understand Claude better as a person. Preparing for the worst wasn't exactly the way she wanted to go about it.
Therefore, she turned to the other with a guilty air. "I apologize," said Tear. "I hadn't meant for this conversation to get so serious." Whether or not an apology was warranted did not matter. She just wanted him to know she never intended this development.
It was true. There were a lot of privileges the soldiers could revoke if given the chance -- access to their things, a chance to write on the bulletin board, free shifts where they could choose how to spend their time, just to name a few. That would mean their freedom would be even more limited than it was now. He had a feeling the punishment for getting in trouble with the staff would be more severe than just a sedation needle, too.
He hadn't expected Tear to apologize, of all things, though. Talking about the riot this morning was only natural, since quite a few people had gotten hurt from it. If anyone had to be blamed for being such a downer, it was probably him for bringing up the intercom leak from earlier.
"No, I'm sorry, too," he sincerely said, scratching the back of neck. "I've wanted a chance to talk to you for awhile, actually, so I didn't mean to drag down our chat like that." Claude offered her a smile. "You said you were part of the Oracle Knights, right? Anise told me a bit about them the other day."
For now, there were reassurances to offer. The last thing she ever wanted was another to worry over her welfare. "I'm sorry," she said, the apology well-worn but sincerely meant. "They put me in the medical wing for a couple of days. I wish the staff had been more upfront about my whereabouts." Here, the girl paused and allowed her lips to curve upward. "I'm glad you're all right, though."
When Claude offered her a seat, Tear took it with a nod, grateful for the chance to speak with the young man. Though they were from differing organizations and worlds, there existed something like a common element between them. At the very least, she was curious. First, however...
"Did you get caught up in this morning's events?"
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Seeing how they'd barely spoken before now, he'd wondered if Tear would think it strange for him to invite her to talk for the shift. But since she was a friend of Guy and the others, Claude regarded her as a friend of his as well. Thinking back on some of the conversations he'd had with Luke and Guy, he knew he'd heard nothing but positive things about her. He was honestly interested in getting to know her better, since it sounded like she was a dependable ally to have in a place like this. Thankfully, she was apparently open to chatting, since she took the seat next to him without any hesitation.
When she asked about this morning, Claude rubbed the back of his neck as he recalled the chaos from before. "Well, I didn't get sedated or thrown into solitary," he explained. "I probably should have gotten out of there sooner than I did, but no one at my table was injured by the soldiers." Not that getting gassed was a lot of fun, but Claude didn't see any reason to dwell on that now that it was over with.
"What about you?" he asked, more than glad to turn the subject away from himself.
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It vanished in the next minute.
When the conversation continued onto breakfast, Tear pressed her lips together into a thin line. Although she was glad Claude managed to escape the most brutal sections, she could tell he got caught in the gas. It made this morning all too real--that the staff were willing to allow casualties for calm. "It's good to hear you weren't injured at least," she said. "My table-mate and I managed to avoid everything but the food. It was a close call; they released the gas as we walked out the door."
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"Wow, you were really lucky!" he said with raised eyebrows when Tear explained her narrow escape. "I'm glad you both made it out all right."
Just as a soldier passed them, Claude paused and glanced at him from the corner of his eye. Their professional way of patrolling the area was a sharp contrast to the hovering nurses and their sedation needles. These people actually hit you with the butt of their guns if you weren't careful. While he wouldn't deny that the nurses' condescending way of treating patients was obnoxious, he'd never wished that harsher guards would replace them.
Once the soldier was out of earshot, Claude turned his attention back onto Tear.
"I wonder how much trouble Landel's going to get into for what happened..." He looked up at the intercom for a moment. "We weren't supposed to hear that last message, right? It sounded like things were getting pretty intense in his office."
Reply
Like with Claude, her eyes followed the passing soldier, etching his path in the forefront of her mind. There were an increasing number of them this particular shift. With more suspected on the horizon, she had to wonder if their presence had been planned or entirely unexpected. She couldn't say which was worse.
"I'm not sure," she replied as she finally glanced back to Claude. "They don't trust him; that much is obvious. What they plan to do with that, however..." Ah, they could go in multiple directions, couldn't they? "It's admittedly worrying."
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As much as he despised Landel, Claude could at least say that he'd never gassed them during the day. If the military kept a strong presence here, then chances were that Landel wouldn't have much say in whether they did it again in the future.
"You're right," he said as he rested his hands on his knees. "Those soldiers obviously have a different way of running things than the nurses. If they try to wrestle power away from Landel, it could be bad news for the rest of us." There wasn't any use in getting worked up over it now, though. As much as Claude hated to admit it, their options were pretty limited at the moment.
He let out a breath and leaned against the back of the sofa. "I guess there isn't much for us to do except wait and see what happens. Everyone will just have to try looking out for each other in the meantime." Considering how the riot this morning had been started by one of their own, though, Claude knew how naive that probably sounded. But he still believed most of the patients here were good people, which was why he still said things like that from time to time.
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The Oracle Knight gathered her hands onto her lap, the expression on her face appearing controlled yet off. "I agree," she replied, "especially if we lose our privileges in the day. We both understand what that can mean." Or so she hoped. Knowledge and experience in this could be a plus.
Here, she sighed for a second time. Any cordial, light conversation had been thrown out in the wake of this morning's events. It couldn't be helped, of course, but she had hoped to understand Claude better as a person. Preparing for the worst wasn't exactly the way she wanted to go about it.
Therefore, she turned to the other with a guilty air. "I apologize," said Tear. "I hadn't meant for this conversation to get so serious." Whether or not an apology was warranted did not matter. She just wanted him to know she never intended this development.
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He hadn't expected Tear to apologize, of all things, though. Talking about the riot this morning was only natural, since quite a few people had gotten hurt from it. If anyone had to be blamed for being such a downer, it was probably him for bringing up the intercom leak from earlier.
"No, I'm sorry, too," he sincerely said, scratching the back of neck. "I've wanted a chance to talk to you for awhile, actually, so I didn't mean to drag down our chat like that." Claude offered her a smile. "You said you were part of the Oracle Knights, right? Anise told me a bit about them the other day."
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