Night 54: Main Hallway, 1-West

[sanguinario]

[From here.]

The big connecting corridor. He may be in a rush, but this hallway deserved extra caution. What would he do if he tried to get to Stefan and ended up mauled on the way there? The first night when he'd smelled blood here, it was still a bit... haunting. It meant there was a chance of something lurking, dragon or not

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[forgot_it_all]

Albedo seemed to have noticed Ritsuka's discomfort with the weapon because he was doing his best to hide it now. Ritsuka still didn't like that Albedo was carrying it at all, but then he and the other boy had discussed this earlier and had agreed to disagree. Albedo had his own ideas about violence and, while Ritsuka could never agree with them, that was Albedo's prerogative. He had the right to think and feel and act as he thought was necessary, especially here where it was so dangerous. Even if Ritsuka didn't like it and didn't want Albedo to ever be forced into using that weapon around him, he could understand Albedo's desire to have it.

Soubi had been the same way. Although Ritsuka had hated that battles were a part of his life now, he knew it was necessary. He himself could never raise a hand against another person, but those around him seemed to do it often - and usually for his sake. He wondered if there would ever be a time when violence would no longer be an answer, but he had a sinking feeling it wouldn't be in his lifetime or any lifetime.

His hand brushed past one of his ears and it flicked in response. "Only when they're still a child. Adults...don't anymore. We lose them after..." And here Ritsuka trailed off, face flushing slightly. Scientifically speaking, it wasn't all that embarrassing to speak about. It was a fact of life, like how one had growing pains during adolescence or lost hair everyday. But actually discussing it? "...we stop being children. Uh, I'm guessing people where you are don't look like this, huh?"

[purpletaint]

In actuality, Albedo had no such desire for a weapon as such. His existence was a weapon, made more by the fact of U-DO. What need did he have for a weapon, even now? If he could not protect himself by way of his own body, he had become something he no longer was. Something he was not willing to be. The fact of the shotgun--and the contemplation of the sword, as well--had been because of a very simple fact. He had promised to protect Ritsuka. And Albedo had already been shown how faulty that wish was in this place. To protect others, you needed weapons, and if he had been alone, the shotgun would have remained forgotten in his closet.

But that was neither here or there. Albedo watched, entranced by his own fascination. Both when the other boy brushed past it and it moved seemingly of his own will, and now the quaint flush spreading across Ritsuka's cheeks. If Albedo was a few steps back from the situation, the insinuation might have been obvious. As things stood, he just accepted it as fact and moved past it. Instead of questioning, he moved closer. Both were close to the same height, Ritsuka having the slightest distinction. Albedo was all but pleased. There were so few at this age, at this height. It hadn't mattered in the weeks before, but now there was something like relief. Something like possibility.

He moved his hand to reach to an ear slowly, allowing Ritsuka ample time to duck if he wanted to. He was curious. This remained as fact. As he moved, he answered. "Not quite. There are some that have body modifiers and the like, but I've never seen someone like you." He smiled then, brightly. "I like them."

[human_sponge]

[From here.]

The moment that Peter approached the stairs, he noticed two younger patients standing close-by and was about to dismiss them until a certain movement from their direction caught his eye. One of the boys was reaching for the other's head -- no, a shift of his flashlight made it clear that there was something on his head.

Those were ears. Oversized cat ears. On a human.

Suddenly, "cat-like" made a lot of sense, especially when Peter noted the tail at a delay. So this was Ritsuka? While he hadn't necessarily gotten the sense that "R. Aoyagi" was old, he hadn't expected him to be this young, either. And he was with another boy who looked just as young if not younger.

And said boy was holding a shotgun.

It was the sort of surreal scene he should have been used to by now, but Peter still felt like entering it would just make his life even more bizarre. Then again, when had that ever deterred him? The ears and tail were definitely strange, but it was the shotgun being held by someone so small that really got to him. How could he let the kid carry something like that around?

"Uhh, hi," was what he eventually said as he pulled closer to the pair, hoping that he wasn't interrupting anything. He hadn't realized there'd be a third member to their group, unless these two had only been talking while waiting for him to show. But he was sure things would get explained soon enough. "I'm Peter." He stood there awkwardly, shovel in one hand, flashlight and the "handle" of his pillowcase in the other.

[forgot_it_all]

Thankfully, Albedo didn't seem to want to ask any further about Ritsuka's ears or the biology behind them. He was rarely in the mood to tell people about it, but he was especially skittish about telling kids his own age. It just seemed like such a taboo topic and since Ritsuka wasn't comfortable with it anyway, it made the whole thing that much harder.

Rather than ask anything, Albedo simply moved closer and then reached a hand up ever so slowly. Ritsuka's ears flicked on instinct as Albedo's hand drew closer, but he himself did not flinch away. Even if it was strange and he didn't usually like people touching his ears, Albedo was simply curious and... He was kind enough to say that he liked them. Ritsuka felt his face flush slightly and he turned his gaze away in embarrassment. "It's...nothing special..."

A moment later, a flashlight washed over them and Ritsuka turned his head in that direction. An adult was heading toward them and he had a flashlight and a shovel in his hands. Apparently, everyone but Ritsuka found a weapon necessary here. The thought left a sour taste in the boy's mouth, but he still bowed his head slightly to Peter. "I'm Ritsuka. This is Albedo. He's my friend and I asked him to come along tonight. Another pair of hands never hurts, right?" And he also wanted to keep an eye on those he knew here. Peter didn't need to know that, though.

[purpletaint]

Albedo wouldn't have thought to ask. Being genetically engineered gave rise to other improbabilities; being aware of different methods of existence and planes of space and time made the differences intriguing but without utter hold. It was only 'new', and something to experience, and for that, it was something he took joy in.

Ritsuka didn't move away, and Albedo's hand continued its circuit, fingers gently touching a velvet ear even as it flicked away. Soft. And infinitely interesting. He moved a finger along it, then dropped his hand, smiling. "They're nice," he said to Ritsuka's protest, finding the reaction given something of note as much as the appendages themselves. The smile stayed.

Even when the third of their party grew close. In the past, outsiders had done nothing good in interactions; had always made things worse, to be certain. So the wariness remained, something kept and held to, but Ritsuka's reaction was fresh, and the other boy's words as he greeted the man only made Albedo more languid. Friend, was it? The same as he had said on the board. There wasn't the anxiety present as there had been with Angel, the nervousness. Instead, it felt like something warm.

He made no effort to move away from Ritsuka, just looked back at Peter, form relaxed. "Hello," he gave, more congenial than normal.

[human_sponge]

So, from the sounds of it, Ritsuka had decided to invite someone else along. While Peter would have preferred to have been told ahead of time, he could adapt easily enough -- and so none of his uncertainty showed on his face. Even though he didn't really know what to make of a young boy with white hair who was carting a shotgun around, he didn't really have a choice here.

In fact, the stranger's calm attitude didn't really fit the weapon he was holding. Did the kid even know how to shoot that gun? Peter had his own experience, but he'd mainly used rifles and that had been back when he was younger, when his father had insisted on outings where they camped or hunted game.

It had never been his thing, though he also realized that he was the one who was holding onto a shovel at this point. Granted, that was done out of necessity. It was either kill or be killed, and the things that attacked weren't humans. Except for maybe those nurses, but... that probably wouldn't even be an issue now.

Speaking of which, he'd seen no sign of the soldiers out in halls tonight. Peter was relieved for that, but he also had to wonder if maybe they were just hiding somewhere.

"Yeah, that's fine," he said eventually, even as he gave that shotgun one more wary glance. "But we should get going, if you guys don't mind." They'd met up quickly enough, which was a large improvement over the night before, but that didn't mean that they could waste more time. So without another word, Peter led them up the stairs.

[To here.]