Day 56: North Street (Morning)

[escapedpandora]

Maybe it was the sudden influx of normality (or what passed as such a thing here) along with the townspeople, but it barely took a few minutes before Hope couldn't stand to be walking along the shops down the street anymore. He didn't want to listen to people laugh and coo over gossip and shopping lists, with their smiles and happily ever after

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[exterrabang]

"Yes, I woke up here this morning with no idea how I came to be here. I assume it was much the same for you?" And everyone else here. What was this place? There had to be more to it than there appeared to be. He had some clue, from the vague warning he'd received earlier about the futility of trying to escape at night, but the lack of details was more ominous than reassuring.

In addition to that nagging worry, he could not help but feel a sharp pang of concerned for this person, particularly at the way he picked at his muffin; though his actions belied a disinterest in eating, his eyes told a much different story. But he couldn't be sure, and pointing it out would likely only make him more uncomfortable, so Elfangor opted to take a more... indirect route, to see if he was correct in his assessment.

"I've heard that the hospital was recently taken over by some sort of militia force. It is strange that they would continue to provide things such as this outing, which I understand is not necessary but gives the impression of continued 'normalcy' at the institution." He flipped through his coupon booklet in bemusement. "The free meals I somewhat understand, but facials? Manicures? It just seems a bit odd."

[escapedpandora]

He nodded, but then shook his head, unable to decide on his own answer. "I got here... last night, I think? I don't know. It was all dark."

Completely dark. Darker than anything he'd ever experienced before. Hope had never known the world could be darker than when he closed his eyes, but he had been proven wrong last night. There had been no night lights, no glimmer of stars in the sky and no glow from the land. It had been... frightening, to say the least.

"I heard about the military." At least, he had just heard about that from Anise. She had tried to explain things to him, but it was still confusing. And the most important questions (why they were here, and how to get home) went unanswered seeing as no one seemed to know. "Maybe they're trying to pretend that they haven't taken over."

His curiosity was peaked at the coupon booklet, though, and he leaned over just slightly, shifting in his seat. He hadn't gone through his bag yet, especially since the first thing he had seen was the muffin, but... "Free meals?"

[exterrabang]

He inclined his head. "If they aim to make things appear as normal from an outsider's perspective, then perhaps there is potential assistance to be found in the outside world. Alternatively, garnering too much attention could just allow a stronger and possibly even less benevolent force to take over. It is difficult to say. But they must be fairly confident in our unwillingness to take that risk, if they are allowing us out, even with covert supervision."

When he glanced over at his coupon booklet, Elfangor gave a small smile. "Yes, it seems we can obtain two free meals during this outing, at establishments called Twin Pines and Tasty Burger. I suppose it would not do for them to allow their prisoners to go hungry--no telling what sort of trouble humans might be inclined to cause when their needs are not adequately met."

It was only after he'd made the attempt at a joke that he realized that saying humans in this context might give indication that he did not strictly fall within that category. Well. Perhaps he might overlook it.

[escapedpandora]

Hope might have reacted badly to the idea of someone not being human once upon a time, and there was still a part of him that recoiled at the thought... but with the knowledge of different worlds (and the knowledge that l'Cie weren't human anymore), he couldn't bring himself to linger on the thought. Instead, what seemed more important had been the thought of food, and free food.

Two places? He would have to walk around town, then, rather than just settling himself up here. It only took him a moment to wonder if he really wanted to wander among people in search for food, but his stomach was more than ready to make that decision for him.

"Prisoners, huh?" Maybe that's what they really were, rather than hospital patients. It would explain things just as well, after all. (He was wondering, however, what kind of food they would have at a place called Twin Pines.) "I wonder why they'd actually want us as prisoners, though..."