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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[unheroed]

Other than the cleaning, that shift had been rather useful. Harvey had learned a bit more about the "Ringmaster," they had talked over how they were going to proceed with the basement from here, and they had even taken note of their abandoned member as he'd entered the room. It would be severe to say that Harvey was hopeful, but things were going a lot smoother than they had been for a while now -- probably since back when he'd been working with Jason -- and so he could appreciate that, at the least

[iwhipthefool]

So this was how things were going to be run from now on? Franziska did appreciate that it was a woman giving orders while the men were on attention, but she didn't appreciate that she had to listen to them. Worse yet, she apparently wasn't a high enough rank to earn special treatment. Never once in her life had she cleaned a floor or done any sort of manual labor. As a von Karma, there had always been someone to do that for her. And as a von Karma, the simple thought of doing it was beneath her.

Thus, when the woman announced that the degrading activity was over, Franziska snatched her jacket from the guard and stormed outside ready to escape the stupidity of the morning's activities. Unfortunately, she was hit with a blast of cold air and an instantaneous regret for not having chosen a smarter place to go. It had been chilly the other day, but this was wholly unexpected. It was snowing of all things. At least she was used to harsh winters thanks to her years in Germany, but apparently not everyone was

[unheroed]

Honestly, he didn't see why people would want to talk in this sort of weather except for one reason: distracting yourself from the cold. Harvey figured it was the best option he had at the moment, and so he wasn't necessarily bothered by the fact that the self-proclaimed prodigy had come to join him. It had been some time since the two of them had talked, though Franziska seemed as unshaken as always.

For some reason, he got the feeling that solid front she had wasn't completely genuine, especially since the first thing she did was try to point out his weaknesses. He realized that was probably her attorney instinct kicking in. It was always about breaking things down in the courtroom, whether it was people or arguments

[iwhipthefool]

Gotham. Franziska filed that detail away under the rest of the information she had about Harvey Dent. She had never heard of that city, but it could easily be on the east coast. Most of Franziska's work took her abroad or to Los Angeles only. As she listened, she closed up her jacket and folded her arms over her chest, looking out over the slowly whitening landscape. "Germany is just as cold

[unheroed]

It made sense that someone who'd grown up in Germany would be able to handle the cold unflinchingly, and so Harvey only nodded in response to that. He'd never been there himself, but he knew it was far enough north that it had to get pretty damn cold in the winter. While the leather jacket the soldiers had provided them was doing a decent job of keeping the warmth in, it would have been more helpful if it was fur-lined or something.

Well, either way, he wasn't going to complain. Especially not when a girl half his age and a head shorter than him seemed to be managing just fine.

Franziska had responded with a small amount of surprise to his question, as if it wasn't the most common thing to ask. But the two of them had gotten past the pointless personal questions along with the "how long have you been here?" stuff. It seemed better to just cut to the crux of the matter, and she at least didn't hesitate to reply. Not that it was a very helpful one, though it was amusing enough to earn a laugh out of him

[iwhipthefool]

The basement. Franziska folded her arms, clenching her fingers into one leather sleeve as she realized everyone was getting somewhere except for her. Why was she surrounded by such ineffectual people?! If only she could find someone who could actually do something here (and wasn't affiliated with her father in some form or another), perhaps she could start making progress, too. Of course, she had effectively alienated the one person with whom she had made any semblance of progress with this morning, but...

Ugh, just thinking of that made her sick.

Turning her head away, Franziska looked out over the snow, finding the quiet, frozen landscape soothing. It was easier to think when the world was blanketed in white. It seemed perfect that way. No blemishes. Just pure powder stretching into the distance. The courtyard would have been much better if there hadn't been people in it.

"How far have you gotten? Doing better than that night in town, I suppose," she said, unable to keep a slightly contemptuous tone from her voice.

[unheroed]

It looked like someone was holding a grudge

[iwhipthefool]

At least Harvey Dent proved useful. The basement area had been whispered about for quite some time and, while Franziska wasn't a fighter in any respect, a mystery wasn't something she could let sit for long. It merely meant she would need to dupe someone else to going in with her, someone who could fight, or at least act as a meatshield. Scruffy would be perfect, but Franziska hadn't seen much of him lately as she'd been busy with Battler being an idiot and Klavier being a fool

[unheroed]

Skill or strength. That was the question, wasn't it? It's what he and Sangamon had discussed at breakfast, and it was probably the first thing that someone was going to worry over if they weren't exactly the fighting type. Franziska had held her own against that zombie, but it had only been one and she'd still paid for it. He could see why she'd be apprehensive; hell, so was he. The mention of this coliseum was just another possible death trap