Claude was relieved to find the girl waiting for them in the hallway, and he swiftly approached her alongside Guy. "Hey, Anise!" he greeted with a chipper smile that might have made it hard to believe he'd been in a darker mood just a few minutes ago. There wasn't any reason to drag things down now that the three of them had met, so Claude was determined to do his best to stay positive for everyone.
Normally he would have noted how strange that kind of uniform looked on someone so young, but he'd already seen Anise during fourth shift. Their meeting hadn't been under the best of circumstances, though, and so Claude chose not to mention it for now. He doubted Anise wanted Guy to suddenly hear about how Sync harassed her today, though he did wonder if he'd eventually need to say something. He hoped not, even if it did upset Claude to know that Sync bothered his friends when he wasn't looking. He wasn't naive enough to believe this was the first time it had happened, after all. In fact, Guy probably had his fair share of unwanted daytime run-ins with that bastard, he inwardly realized with a flash of anger.
Of course, once Guy brought up Natalia, Claude could only anxiously wait to hear Anise's response. Even though he'd somehow missed all the bulletin messages asking after Natalia, he couldn't help but worry ever since Guy had told him it'd been awhile since anyone had seen her. Naturally, he wasn't going to outwardly assume the worst (there were several perfectly reasonable explanations on why she'd stay silent so long), but after losing Dias and Ashton to this place, he knew no one was truly safe from what the institute did to people here.
Big smiles, Anise reminded herself when her friends' faces came into view.
And that was exactly what she gave the two men when she moved to greet them. "Guy, Claude! Glad to see you made it!" Even though the smile was a bit forced, Anise was glad that this meet-up was already going smoother than last night's.
Her smile faded when asked about Natalia's whereabouts, but she was already prepared to say what she had to say about that. "She's gone," she confirmed. As much as it hurt to know that another one of their friends was taken, Anise knew they couldn't dwell on it. She quickly followed it up with some good news. "Um, I ran into Tear, though! It sounds like she's going to go look for a weapon tonight." Since disappearances could happen suddenly and without warning, she figured they'd be glad to know there was one friend they didn't need to worry about.
Recovering her smile, she went on to ask, "So, where to? The ruins again?" On the one hand, Anise knew a way there that was safer than wandering deep into the woods. But on the other... she remembered the kinds of creepy sights that were at the ruins. Some sights even went beyond the realm of creepy and into terrifying. "I should warn you, though. The ruins aren't as fun as they sound." Anise preferred exploring ruins that had more treasure and less corpses, personally.
The news that Anise gave was more or less what Guy had been expecting to hear. He had never really let his hopes get too high, even though Claude and the others had maybe been holding out that Natalia might still be here after all. Still, he had pretty much figured that if Natalia had still been around, she would have made herself known, so he took the blow surprisingly well -- or as well as he could, at least.
It was good to hear that Tear was accounted for, though. Guy had been curious about why she hadn't replied to Claude's message, but it seemed that she'd made other plans after all. He hoped that the girl had arranged to go with someone else, though he was sure that Anise would have asked that when they talked. "I'm glad to hear that she's okay, at least," he said with a nod.
As for their plans, Guy had planned on going to the ruins from the start, since it seemed silly to ditch that idea when they'd put so much work into it the night before. Even if Anise had a warning to give, he was quick to brush it off. "I doubt any of us are in this for fun," he pointed out. If they were, then that was probably a bad sign as far as he was concerned. "But were we on the right track last night, or is there a better way to get there?" The forest had proved to be confusing and dangerous, so if there was a way to avoid it then Guy was all ears.
His heart sank at the news of Natalia's disappearance. No... That just couldn't be! They'd barely gotten to know each other at all, yet there was no denying the fact that Natalia's face had been the first thing he'd seen when he recovered his vision. She'd been the one to heal him. It was hard to imagine someone so strong-willed bending to the institute. Of course, the same could have been said for Dias. Still, it was hard for him to just accept she was gone. After all, Tear had miraculously reappeared not that long ago -- with her old memories intact, even!
Yet neither Anise nor Guy spent more than a moment discussing what she'd discovered. In truth, there wasn't much they could say, and he got the feeling that they hadn't really expected anything different. It was a hard, painful reality of this place, though Claude couldn't tell whether he felt admiration or heartache at how quickly they were able to move onto other things. Maybe it was a mixture of both. It was a testament to their strength in the face of unspeakable atrocities, but it also showed how much this place had worn on them over time. The loss of a friend within the confines of the institute was sickeningly common, to the point where people suffering were forced to just push ahead.
His grip on his flashlight tightened, but Claude didn't say anything on the subject. Instead, he listened to Anise and Guy discuss Tear's whereabouts, as well as the ruins. While ruins could be interesting from a scientific standpoint, he wasn't sure how many people could call something like that "fun", especially when it was put in the context of Landel's.
Either way, they were fortunate Anise had already been there and knew what to expect. It was too bad she hadn't remembered any of it last night, but Claude was just thankful they had her back.
Guy didn't seem to take her warning very seriously, though maybe it was partly Anise's fault for the way she worded it. "I just mean, like... it's creepier than most places around here," she clarified. "... But it's not really any more dangerous, I think. I just thought I should mention it."
Anise knew that Guy could handle the horrific sights in the ruins (they'd seen some awful things during their time together on Auldrant, after all) and maybe Claude could too... but she didn't want to lead them there without some kind of warning. She'd told Luke all about what she saw, but it looked like he disappeared before he could pass the information on to Guy. Without much time to stand around and talk, Anise supposed she'd just have to explain important details as they came up.
In any case, it sounded like Guy was set on going, and Claude wasn't voicing any objections, so it was time to move on to talking about how they'd get there. "I think we were close before, but I know a way that's faster and easier than going through the woods," Anise explained in response to Guy's question. "The first part's the same, though, so we'll have to start by getting over that wall."
With that more or less decided, she made her way to the door to the field outside and opened it. It was probably best to move quickly, so they'd have lots of time, and monsters would have less opportunities to come after them.
Normally he would have noted how strange that kind of uniform looked on someone so young, but he'd already seen Anise during fourth shift. Their meeting hadn't been under the best of circumstances, though, and so Claude chose not to mention it for now. He doubted Anise wanted Guy to suddenly hear about how Sync harassed her today, though he did wonder if he'd eventually need to say something. He hoped not, even if it did upset Claude to know that Sync bothered his friends when he wasn't looking. He wasn't naive enough to believe this was the first time it had happened, after all. In fact, Guy probably had his fair share of unwanted daytime run-ins with that bastard, he inwardly realized with a flash of anger.
Of course, once Guy brought up Natalia, Claude could only anxiously wait to hear Anise's response. Even though he'd somehow missed all the bulletin messages asking after Natalia, he couldn't help but worry ever since Guy had told him it'd been awhile since anyone had seen her. Naturally, he wasn't going to outwardly assume the worst (there were several perfectly reasonable explanations on why she'd stay silent so long), but after losing Dias and Ashton to this place, he knew no one was truly safe from what the institute did to people here.
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And that was exactly what she gave the two men when she moved to greet them. "Guy, Claude! Glad to see you made it!" Even though the smile was a bit forced, Anise was glad that this meet-up was already going smoother than last night's.
Her smile faded when asked about Natalia's whereabouts, but she was already prepared to say what she had to say about that. "She's gone," she confirmed. As much as it hurt to know that another one of their friends was taken, Anise knew they couldn't dwell on it. She quickly followed it up with some good news. "Um, I ran into Tear, though! It sounds like she's going to go look for a weapon tonight." Since disappearances could happen suddenly and without warning, she figured they'd be glad to know there was one friend they didn't need to worry about.
Recovering her smile, she went on to ask, "So, where to? The ruins again?" On the one hand, Anise knew a way there that was safer than wandering deep into the woods. But on the other... she remembered the kinds of creepy sights that were at the ruins. Some sights even went beyond the realm of creepy and into terrifying. "I should warn you, though. The ruins aren't as fun as they sound." Anise preferred exploring ruins that had more treasure and less corpses, personally.
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It was good to hear that Tear was accounted for, though. Guy had been curious about why she hadn't replied to Claude's message, but it seemed that she'd made other plans after all. He hoped that the girl had arranged to go with someone else, though he was sure that Anise would have asked that when they talked. "I'm glad to hear that she's okay, at least," he said with a nod.
As for their plans, Guy had planned on going to the ruins from the start, since it seemed silly to ditch that idea when they'd put so much work into it the night before. Even if Anise had a warning to give, he was quick to brush it off. "I doubt any of us are in this for fun," he pointed out. If they were, then that was probably a bad sign as far as he was concerned. "But were we on the right track last night, or is there a better way to get there?" The forest had proved to be confusing and dangerous, so if there was a way to avoid it then Guy was all ears.
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Yet neither Anise nor Guy spent more than a moment discussing what she'd discovered. In truth, there wasn't much they could say, and he got the feeling that they hadn't really expected anything different. It was a hard, painful reality of this place, though Claude couldn't tell whether he felt admiration or heartache at how quickly they were able to move onto other things. Maybe it was a mixture of both. It was a testament to their strength in the face of unspeakable atrocities, but it also showed how much this place had worn on them over time. The loss of a friend within the confines of the institute was sickeningly common, to the point where people suffering were forced to just push ahead.
His grip on his flashlight tightened, but Claude didn't say anything on the subject. Instead, he listened to Anise and Guy discuss Tear's whereabouts, as well as the ruins. While ruins could be interesting from a scientific standpoint, he wasn't sure how many people could call something like that "fun", especially when it was put in the context of Landel's.
Either way, they were fortunate Anise had already been there and knew what to expect. It was too bad she hadn't remembered any of it last night, but Claude was just thankful they had her back.
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Anise knew that Guy could handle the horrific sights in the ruins (they'd seen some awful things during their time together on Auldrant, after all) and maybe Claude could too... but she didn't want to lead them there without some kind of warning. She'd told Luke all about what she saw, but it looked like he disappeared before he could pass the information on to Guy. Without much time to stand around and talk, Anise supposed she'd just have to explain important details as they came up.
In any case, it sounded like Guy was set on going, and Claude wasn't voicing any objections, so it was time to move on to talking about how they'd get there. "I think we were close before, but I know a way that's faster and easier than going through the woods," Anise explained in response to Guy's question. "The first part's the same, though, so we'll have to start by getting over that wall."
With that more or less decided, she made her way to the door to the field outside and opened it. It was probably best to move quickly, so they'd have lots of time, and monsters would have less opportunities to come after them.
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