Day 55: Courtyard [2nd Shift]

[sheepwood]

After what seemed like an eternity of being amused, irritable, bored, in pain, in excruciating pain, and any combination of those, Guybrush was met by the same soldier who had led him to the cafeteria. He wasn't offered a trip to the Sun Room to check the bulletin board, but didn't push for it anyway. That would have been more walking, and moving

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[razing_phoenix]

Guy was more than happy to move onto the next shift after how his morning had gone. It would have been one thing for that man to have behaved that way if Guy was the one who'd approached him, but that hadn't even been the case. He supposed he could be thankful that his kind was rather rare among the patients (should they still be referred to as patients now?), but it was still enough to qualify as annoying -- which took a lot, for him.

He had to wonder if the military forces had a hard time using the intercom, though. Had it really been necessary to send someone into the middle of the room to yell like that when they had another way to get information across that was much easier? Guy could only theorize that it was a method by which to make the soldiers' presence in this place more real, but he thought they'd already established that rather well.

Upon being led out to the courtyard, Guy was handed a jacket by his escort and advised to put it on due to the cold temperatures outside. He wasn't going to argue with that, especially since the garment seemed to be good quality. Though as he pulled it on, he noticed something stitched on the front: D. Browne.

If they really wanted to conserve resources, then they had they wasted money making personalized jackets?

Sighing, Guy moved out into the courtyard and then quickly realized why the jackets had been needed. It was lightly snowing. He smiled at the sight, as it was a rare one, and then moved to take shelter under the trees. It seemed cruel to force them out into cold like this when they could just as easily stay inside, but Guy wasn't going to complain; the brisk air was refreshing after all that cleaning.

[For Lion.]

[hersalvation]

Lion also couldn't have been happier to move on to other things; the past shift truly did feel like it lasted an eternity, if only because she was so focused on wanting it to end already. And Peter's company... well, it hadn't been bad, but the poor kid had seemed so miserable that it felt wrong to have called it good. He was clearly unhappy, but then, so was Lion, considering the situation she suddenly and mysteriously landed in. If there were supposed to be any good impressions about this building so far (doubtful of it, though), Lion certainly found none of them.

From what Peter had told her, it sounded like it might have been the start of a long, grueling process, being stuck here. Lion was already wondering how long this was going to last.

And then, if she were going to be pulled away from the cafeteria and to elsewhere, unlike before there was no way she was going to protest as long as she didn't have to do any more work. After being given a jacket (unsurprising; she noticed while walking through the big, windowed room earlier that morning that it must have been snowing) and led outside, it didn't look like that was the case-- she was being given free reign now. Good. Maybe now she could at least try to regain her lost dignity back.

But snow. Why was it snowing? Lion didn't have the time to ponder on this earlier, as much more pressing matters had distracted her plenty. She didn't have company again, though, and she had somewhat of an idea of what was happening now-- sort of. Nonetheless, Lion's mind went back to the weather. It was much too early for there to be drifting snow... That would be back home, though, wouldn't it; she had to remind herself that this place more than likely wasn't even in Nijima, or near it. On the other hand, this sort of weather was plenty more pleasant than the incoming typhoon Lion last remembered that was supposed to hit Rokkenjima. And serene, somehow, because even though it wasn't very heavy it still made her think of peaceful moments like happily playing in the snow and having fun with it.

... Well, she also wouldn't get very far if she just mulled on the weather, either. Not only that, but wandering by oneself in such an unfamiliar, foreign place felt so... lonely was a strange way to put it. Lion couldn't say she ever really felt lonely, because even though she never was the most social person out there who hung out with a lot of others her age (family business was more important, as were studies, and Jessica had done that enough to make up for the both of them regardless), at the very least she had her family around, or one of the many servants who tended to come and go. But at this particular moment, with no faces she knew around in an unfamiliar system she had to start getting used to and quick, it was easy to start feeling... exactly that.

Time to rectify that, she supposed. If she got lucky, maybe someone would be willing to strike up a conversation-- and she was still searching for information too, if they were willing to give as such.

"Excuse me," Lion piped up toward someone who was standing alone, huddled underneath the trees as she passed by. "Do you mind an interruption? Unless it's any sort of bother."

He didn't look like he was doing much to begin with, but it was always polite to ask.

[razing_phoenix]

Suddenly being approached by someone was no surprise in this place, though as Guy turned to face the person who had spoken up, he was faced with a troubling realization. Much like Okita, he really couldn't stay at first glance if the person speaking to him was male or female. If he hadn't had a phobia he wouldn't have minded either way, but in his case it was important to know. Only if the stranger got close enough for it to matter, but he still didn't like the uncertainty.

At least in this case he recognized it, meaning he wasn't likely to end embarrassing himself as much as he had with Okita. But even as he tried to find something to make it clear, he was coming up short. The long hair and soft features said girl, but the flat chest and something about the mouth and eyes felt more male. The tone of voice was ambiguous, too.

Maybe it would become clear if they continued speaking. After all, the stranger was asking him for help, and that should have been his first priority.

So putting the issue of gender aside, he brushed some of the snow from his hair (it was a shame the jacket didn't have a hood) and then quickly waved the other patient off.

"It's no bother at all! What did you need?"

[hersalvation]

Oh, good. It wouldn't have been troublesome if this person did want some time to themselves, but he seemed to be in fairly good spirits by the tone of his response. ...Considering, anyway. Lion wouldn't have been able to blame him if he was feeling less than great, as she wasn't either, but not everyone was so open about it. Nonetheless, she presented to him with a small, amiable smile and joined him under the trees.

"Not too much, I admit," Lion replied, crossing her arms behind her next to another close by tree. "I suppose I figured two was better company than one, especially with such temperatures." With that, she nearly had to suppress a shudder; it wasn't so bad when she first walked out here, but now the cold was starting to catch up to her. "...Speaking of, it's a little unusual that it's snowing this time of the year, isn't it? It makes me wonder where this area is. Would you happen to know, by any chance?"

[razing_phoenix]

The other patient had a point; huddling together in the cold was a good way to not get frostbite if you were out in low temperatures for a long time. For that reason, Guy was glad that they weren't going to be outside for that long. If they'd had to resort to getting that close to each other, his confusion over the stranger's gender could have become problematic. And he was far too polite to outright ask about such a thing, which would have meant finding out the hard way.

Despite that comment, the stranger was keeping a safe distance for now, which Guy was grateful for. The statement made about the weather struck him for a few reasons, though. For one thing, snow on Auldrant really only reached the northern areas, and there it was practically a year-round thing. But if the other patient hadn't been expecting this weather, that likely meant that they were new to this place and hadn't figured out just how far they were from home.

"Well, that's probably because the season here is different from wherever you're from," he pointed out with a shrug, hoping that he wouldn't be judged for believing in there being multiple words like he had during the first shift. "It might even be a different time of year -- we're never told the date." Even if they were told, it wouldn't mean much to Guy. He was sure that they measured out time differently on Earth, after all.

[hersalvation]

A different season? Lion's expression became skeptical at the way those words had been phrased, as if she should have expected something should be off with the seasons and dates between here and wherever "home" had meant for each person.

"It isn't October?" she asked, sounding uncertain. "Last I was aware, it had only been the fourth... I figure a day or two could have passed, but I can't imagine I've been out of it so long that winter has already come." Which couldn't have been the case, if "different season where you're from" was any hint; the weather would have had to been especially odd that day for it to ever snow anytime in October. "Do you mind explaining a bit more? I'm afraid I don't understand what you mean."

[razing_phoenix]

Maybe if he was from Earth he would have been of more help, but Guy didn't even know what October meant. The way the other patient was talking, it seemed like it was a name of a month, but Guy didn't have any idea of what season or weather it fit in with. It obviously wasn't winter, though, which was why the newcomer was confused.

Guy glanced down at some snow that had gathered on the grass and let out a sigh, wondering if there was any easy way to explain this to someone without sounding completely insane. "Basically, time is different here. Even if it was a certain time as far as you remember, it won't necessarily correspond with what it is here. That goes for years, too. Some people are from the past, some from the future. There's no way to explain it, but... a lot of people believe that time where you come from doesn't progress while you're stuck here."

The whole issue of memories made that theory rather sound, and even after that night when he'd seen Baticul again, Guy remained firm in that belief. He knew it was the sort of thing that took a while to come to a conclusion about, though, and so he didn't expect for the stranger to accept it immediately.

[hersalvation]

The skeptical expression she donned didn't last for too long as he spoke; his explanation was rather strange and out there, but Lion grew more thoughtful on it rather than dismissing the idea. Time wasn't only 'different' here for her, but it was for everyone? From the past, from the future... And from the sound of it, between what she had been hearing from both Peter and this person, nobody had come from wherever here happened to be.

"So, is this to say we're on something like... a different plane of existence from where we had been previously?" It was the only conclusion Lion could come to; something similar to that happened back at Rokkenjima, but without all this different times nonsense-- or at least from what she understood, that was it. Maybe she could have been guessing wrong-- considering how haphazardly she had been tossed into that strange situation back at the mansion, Lion could very well have been mixing up the details from around the start of it all. Even now, she was no expert on the subject, and this time the person who was wasn't around to explain it, either.

How frustrating. Hopefully it wouldn't become too difficult to stumble through this information and sort it out on her own.

I'm am so, so sorry for the delay! I never got the notif. :C

[razing_phoenix]

Rather than getting laughed at or mocked (which wasn't so common here, but after his conversation with that older man this morning, Guy was a bit sensitive), it looked like he was actually being taken seriously. The fact that this place was no longer being touted as a mental institution probably helped. Most new patients had to take their own time figuring out whether everyone else was crazy or not, but right now that wasn't as much of an issue.

Since the stranger was trying to talk through it, Guy decided to do what he could to help. In the end, there was no way of knowing what answer was right, but he'd certainly made a number of assumptions during his time here, and he felt pretty justified in them.

"That's one way of looking at it," he said as he processed the words. "But most people just refer to it as a different world. The place I'm from is called Auldrant, for instance." And if this conversation continued to go well, then this patient wouldn't respond the way that other man had. "As far as anyone can tell, this is Earth, but... if you're from there, this might not be your version of it. I have a friend who's from Earth, but this place is way back in the past for him." So there were a number of factors that had to be considered, meaning it took some time to puzzle out.

it's okay i'm even later /)A(\

[hersalvation]

Different worlds, was it? It was another concept Lion had been somewhat familiarized with, although the term she had heard been used in these situations were 'Fragments'. Nonetheless, the meaning was all the same; 'different worlds' was likely more commonly used anyway, at least among those who weren't the kind of magical or divine being Lion had come to learn about.

Lion paused to roll around the name 'Auldrant' in her mind, but in the end it was, of course, completely unfamiliar. As expected, she should have figured, because it was told to her in a manner that he predicted she would know about it. Not to mention he spoke of Earth as if it were something unusual to him. ...Ah, this really was strange. Just how different can 'different Fragments' be?

All she followed up with was a nod. "I see. I think I understand. ...It's almost remarkable sounding, although the purpose this has been used for..." She trailed off, momentarily glancing off somewhere else into the courtyard. "Well, is anything but."

let's get this back on track. (gym)

[razing_phoenix]

Pulling his jacket tighter around him, Guy did his best not to focus on the cold. It was something he'd endured a number of times in the past, so he wasn't going to let it get to him. Baticul and Hod had both had very mild climates, but he'd gotten accustomed to more extreme temperatures during his travels. He would be fine.

"You more or less summed it up there," he told the new patient with a wry smile. "I'm really curious to learn more about Earth, but I just wish it wasn't under these circumstances. At the same, I may have never learned that other worlds existed if I hadn't been brought here." That didn't mean that he had to feel grateful, but it was a sort of Catch-22 that he tried his best not to think about most of the time.

"Still, I hope that you find something worthwhile in this place." Guy certainly had despite all odds, so all he could do was wish the same on others. "But did you have any other questions? I've been here for a while, so..." He had to admit he was a good resource, both due to his knowledge and his patience.

awyisss (rock)

[hersalvation]

...No, it wasn't "as if"-- this man clearly didn't have a clue about the world they were in. It was almost puzzling, because when Lion imagined different worlds being an actuality she had only thought of them as different variations of the one they currently lived in. So, it went even further than that, so much that this much of fiction could be reality?

Well, he probably thought much of the same, and unsurprisingly so he admitted he hadn't known about the existence of different Fragments; it wasn't too long ago that Lion didn't either. But to wind up someplace thoroughly different from your own... So far, nothing had been jarring barring the situation going down in the place they were at, but it must have been quite the opposite for him.

"I'll be frank, the morning had left a lot to be desired," Lion said, a hint of flatness in her voice. Peter was a nice boy, but he was about the only thing that made being in the cafeteria back there worthwhile at all. And even so, she was still feeling a little bitter about it. It was something she heavily hoped wouldn't become routine. "But if there's anything at all to gain while here, I might be interested in making a grab for it. To make it worthwhile, and all."

For all the bad to be said about Landel's, Lion definitely wouldn't have minded even the smallest amount of good to come out of all this.

And then, she regarded him with a curious look; Peter had explained things fairly thoroughly, or at least it sure felt like he had, but that last statement made her wonder about one thing; "For how long, if you don't mind my asking?" Lion had been under the impression some had been around long enough to understand what was happening, but that mention of 'a while' made her wonder just how long it all had been going on for.

[razing_phoenix]

Seeing how this patient had started off their time here (it was remarkable that he still couldn't pin down a gender, but he was just going to try his hardest to not think about it either way), it was no surprise that they were less than impressed with what Landel's had to offer. Sadly, that wasn't bound to change. The night was worse than the day in most ways, especially for anyone who wasn't used to fighting. Granted, waking up somewhere and being forced to clean a whole cafeteria when you had no idea of what was going on was hardly the best start, but...

"I'm not sure how much there is to gain, but two things I can think off right off the bat are friendships and information. You'll probably see a lot of things here that you never would have where you come from, and meet people who have lived in times and places completely different from your own." Those were the best aspects of the institute in Guy's opinion, though he knew that for some people even that wasn't enough. There was something to be said for looking for the silver lining, though.

The next question the patient asked was a typical one and simple enough for him to answer. Guy tilted his head to the side for a moment as he thought it over, though ended up wrinkling his nose when a snowflake landed on it. "Well..." Once again, he regretted the fact that he hadn't kept better track of the passing days since his arrival. It all blurred together after enough time had passed.

Keeping in mind that the Auldrant calendar didn't match up with the one on Earth, Guy decided to respond with days. "I'd say it's been around thirty days at this point. That doesn't sound like a long time, but believe me, it is." His rank made that clear enough on its own, though he wasn't going to get into that with a newcomer.

"Oh, and I forgot to mention." He gave a small bow of his head. "The name is Guy. It's nice to meet you."

[hersalvation]

As he mentioned it, the gaining of information suddenly seemed obvious; no doubt about it, Lion was already finding out some new things, and it made her wonder just how much more she'd learn. Back home, Lion studied hard because she had to, and not necessarily out of a thirst for knowledge, but here she was suddenly finding herself wanting to know more about the vast array of things that could be discovered from the people alone. Perhaps because, even though the place itself was already making its downfalls obvious (and there were more she had only heard about), the people here at least were already bringing something mysterious and new to the table; different realities was something that, to the average person, was either a ridiculous concept or one that was beyond actuality. How often did someone get to say they could meet someone who wasn't even familiar with Earth?

Helpful as this man and the boy in the cafeteria had been, Lion raised her eyebrows by a margin at the mention of gaining friendships. First impressions of the institute had lead her to believe that it didn't leave very much room for bonding in such a manner-- Lion had imagined such things like Jessica had liked to do, such as come together with one or two, maybe more friends and do simple things like have lunch together in the school cafeteria, or as Lion had done and participate in a sports team before she had graduated. Those were easy venues to meet people, but in a place that was, essentially, a prison of sorts? ...The skepticism didn't last for too long, however, as soon as he had mentioned just how long he had been here.

Thirty days. An entire month. At any other place, this amount of time would fly by, but given the right circumstances it could also last entirely too long... It wasn't very long, true, and truthfully she had been expecting to hear a longer amount of time. But given her feelings and thoughts about the place already when she had only been around for maybe a few hours, Lion was understanding when he claimed it was long.

And so, it made sense to gain friends-- or allies, at the very least-- during that time. In a place where everyone was stuck inside the same boat and had to band together during this supposed nighttime that was explained to her earlier, it was natural that no one wanted to stay alone. Lion couldn't blame them; she was feeling somewhat unnerved by the lack of familiar faces in such a daunting place, herself.

"So I take it you are rather experienced," she mused, although not as if she hadn't believed him before. It was curiosity, mostly; how long did one have to be around for it to be considered a 'while'? "I had a lot explained to me before coming out here, so to be honest, I'm not sure how much more I would need to know. But I wouldn't be surprised if there did happen to be a lot more to find out about."

--Ah, right. Where were her manners? After the man named Guy introduced himself, Lion brought up an arm across herself, and in a similarly polite manner bowed her own head. "I'm Lion Ushiromiya. It's a pleasure as well."

[razing_phoenix]

Lion Ushiromiya. It didn't mean a thing to him. Most of the names here were foreign, so he hadn't really known what to expect. Still, some names would have made the gender obvious; in this case, Guy had no clue. He knew he'd be better off if he stopped dwelling on it, and it wasn't as if the confusion had ruined the conversation by any means, but he still wanted to know.

There were ways to find out, such as keeping an eye on which showers were used or what room block was returned to, but the last thing Guy wanted was to be labeled as creepy. And he wasn't! He had a very good reason for needing to know, after all.

But that was all shoved to the side in the interest of trying to figure out what aspects of the institute Lion hadn't yet been warned about. While Lion seemed to think that a lot had already been covered, Guy seriously doubted that. There was just too much to touch on in one conversation. "Well, I'm guessing you heard about the nights, with the monsters. How about the brainwashing and experiments? Or the fact that we go into a nearby town once a week?" There was also the issue of visitors, the intercom and the radio, and the outside area that could be accessed. But the last thing he needed to do was overwhelm someone who seemed to be doing their best to take this all in stride. Which wasn't easy.