Day 24: Breakfast

[blood_and_pocky]

Aidou Hanabusa, a vampire, was one of the first into the cafeteria, which was swimming in dim sunlight. A grey morning suited his mood.

The fact that his biological clock was pitching fits was only the cherry on top of the cake; the last thing he wanted to do was sleep. "Waking up", once again, with no memory of how or why he'd been brought back

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[blacksustenance]

Eddie Brock woke up with the taste of Mute Guy's eyeball on his tongue.

He also felt nauseous, but it really had nothing to do with popping the asshole's eye into his mouth like a grape; sitting up and wincing, they knew it was that creature's brain from last night acting up like a really, really bad tuna sandwhich. At least he wasn't throwing up, which was probably a plus. And the discomfort over their first meal was canceled out by the second, which, while mostly tasteless, still had that little extra flavoring that one got when one carried out their revenge.

Brock didn't argue on the way to the cafeteria, a faint, cocky smile still on his face, a spring in his step. For once he was in a good mood, and while his face throbbed from where he'd been punched (he'd been "sleep-walking", according to the orderly, and injured himself), he still had that deeply satisfying memory of giving someone what they so deserved.

An additional bonus was that the sight of normal, human food now didn't nauseate him either. Carrying a tray toward the table, the blond sat down and began to dig in, taking a big bite of a bagel loaded down with cream cheese. A grin spread across his face as he savored it, keeping an eye on the door in case Mute Guy tried anything, and turning the taste of bagel and eyeball on his tongue.

So good.

[perfect_meld]

And Kasady thought he was the master of the shit-eating grin, but Venom was rivaling them with that particular smile spread across his face.

"Well, well, what's this? You almost look like you got the Spider's ass this time," ask Kasady, as the serial killer sat down across from the other pair. There was a faint note of disdain at that last part.

They'd never fully understood that portion of Venom's obsession with Spider-man. The brat was flat-out annoying, getting underway constantly like one of those dog-rats you saw the Big Stars carryin' all over the place: personally, Kasady would've been content to just have the Spider smashed into the sidewalk.

[blacksustenance]

And here was Kasady to rain on his parade. Brock refused to rise to the challenge behind the remark, deciding to remain in his smug little afterglow for as long as he could manage it. Lord knew he didn't get enough of what he deserved and while he was half-convinced that God was watching out for him - sort've; He had dropped the symbiote unexpectedly in his lap after Brock asked Him to smite Peter Parker - there simply wasn't a whole lot he could enjoy in his life.

Swallowing the bite of bagel and cream cheese, Brock eyed the other Host. It bothered him a bit to know that Kasady was so able to read their mind, to read what he'd thought private and more than a little bit weird. It was rather like a stranger you'd never seen before walking into your house, laying up shop, sitting in your favorite chair and somehow knowing how to work your cable.

"I just had a productive night," Brock said, and washed down the bagel with milk. "A very productive night."

Although they could've done without getting hit in the head with a shovel. He wouldn't be surprised if there was a lump there, but it beat a concussion.

"What about you?"

[perfect_meld]

"Added a few items to the menu." Kasady replied. It was a start, even if he hadn't gotten Mr. T's name yet, but it'd be easier to approach him again now. Either last night was a coincidence, or people really seemed to get drawn to that guy too, so.... get near that man, and get closer to the food source.

Kasady wasn't about to let the matter drop though, not when Pinky up and got his and his Other's curiousity.

"You got our attention, so come on, man, spill it."

[blacksustenance]

Adopted a few items to the menu...? Brock tried turning that over in his mind and found he wasn't quite sure what the other man was talking about. He looked serious (enough), at any rate, that they were reasonably sure he wasn't shitting them, although Brock was sure that he could sell the Bible to the Devil himself if he got it in his mind to try. Despite his background, Kasady could lay on the charm, acting all buddy buddy like they were old pals.

If Brock didn't know better, he would've fallen for it hook, line and sinker.

Shooting Kasady a suspicious look over his bagel, he debated not telling him. It wasn't like it was his business, he tried to tell himself, but it really came down to it that they didn't want Kasady getting any ideas to finish the job they started. But on the other hand, he was in a pretty good mood and it was just far too tempting to gloat a little bit.

"I was trying to feed last night," Brock said. "On one of the monsters; another patient saw me on accident and got it in his head to get all pissy about it and try to attack me.

The blond paused with relish. It was sick, he knew it was sick, but it felt good all the same.

"So I took his eye. And made him watch as I ate it," Brock finished.

[perfect_meld]

Kasady managed to look impressed. He whistled.

"Didn't know you still had it in you, Pops. Nice touch."

It was the closest they were going to ever get to being nice to the decreipt pair, and there wasn't any way in hell it was going to be a regular thing, but well... that was some pretty nice handiwork right there, and Kasady was definitely one to respect something nearly as equally fucked up as the things he'd pulled before.

[blacksustenance]

He was still human enough to expect every reaction to what basically amounted to spiteful cannibalism except what he actually got: acceptance. Taken aback Brock paused for a second, absorbing this, and realized that he'd have to get used to it. It almost overshadowed his strange, unexplained desire to distrust Kasady - but maybe that was just his symbiote's inability to be a team player coloring his own biases.

He still didn't get why Kasady kept insisting on calling them "Pops". From what little he understood of symbiotes birthing other symbiotes, it tended to be something you didn't just forget as easily as where you last put your keys.

But that was really the only explanation he could find for how there was suddenly another symbiote-host pair on Earth; Earth was, after all, as far from the center of what the Other called civilization as one could get. The chances of another symbiote miraculously finding its way here were lower than low

Still, praise was praise and he allowed himself to soak in it - he'd been hungry for it back at the Daily Bugle, in his mundane life, and he couldn't help but enjoy it here as well.

"Thanks," Brock said. "I think."

He finished off the bagel, licking his fingers and glancing over at Kasady. His symbiote continued to radiate feelings of distrust toward this child, but he personally felt in a bit of a charitable mood, most of which could probably be attributed to the delicious taste of revenge from last night. That and it seemed like the other was on his best behavior, so...

"So what'd you do last night?" the blond asked.

[voiceless_rage]

Caim's eye was gone, torn from its socket by devil-clawed fingers and eaten by the cannibalistic man that fed even on the hospital's monstrosities. And so he had returned the favor, trying to knock the man away and lunge for him, take out his eye, make them equal in this one single fight --

And then he was lying in his bed, the place where his left eye had once been throbbing with a dull pain. Immediately he clapped a hand to his face, attempting to feel for the socket and confirm that it was missing, but a tightly-wound bandage and padding covered it. Had he passed out, and had the people behind this place wrapped his eye like this while he was so? And had they kept him from returning the favor to Brock and ripping half the man's face off to permanently scar him, forever mark him as a demon who fed on both human and accursed flesh?

Silently howling with rage, Caim slammed his fists into the bed and sat up. It hurt, and he hated to realize it. But he could handle it - there were worse wounds to be had. And hadn't he once suffered from a body-long slash down his back, yet continued fighting the Empire scum up until he met her? He had to control his pain, channel it into the hatred that so often threatened to overflow his mind.

And more than that, he had to get vengeance. An eye for an eye - literally.

When the woman came in to fetch him, her explanation for his missing eye was that an infection from the wounds inflicted by the Corinthian had forced them to take overnight action. His leg? An accident during the surgery. A minor inconvenience (but he could feel the blood seeping into the bandages already, could feel the monstrosity's disease-laden blood and pus sneaking through his body). Darkly, he followed her, going to the cafeteria for the food she insisted he eat.

It didn't take him a minute to see Brock facing the door, as if waiting for him. Caim gave the man (another was sitting nearby, but who cared? That man was unfamiliar) a look of pure disgusted hatred before turning away and allowing himself to be handed a tray of food. He took it over to Brock's table, slammed it down, and immediately scrawled a barely-legible note for the man.

Before I leave this place I will rip your face in two, you flaw of existence.

[perfect_meld]

Kasady nearly jumped as a patient seemed to come out of nowhere and slam his tray on their table. What the hell--?!

That's when two things registered. One, that this was that weird guy from nights ago who seemed to believe talking was a sin, but had some better instincts than most cattle. Two, this was probably the one Venom was talking about, considering the whole rage thing and bandages on him.

The serial killer watched this, arms folded, trying not to grin too much. It was hard though, because, wow, but this was somethin'. They couldn't read what Silent Bob was writing since it was upside down, but judging from how pissed he looked, and how he might as well be stabbin' that pen into a body instead of paper, it was probably a death threat.

It struck him that it would be more socially expected to stand up, stick up for Dad. But what was the fun in that?

Kasady just watched, grinning.

[blacksustenance]

Unlike Kasady, Eddie Brock wasn't making much of an attempt - if any - to hide his own grin: he smirked openly as Mute Guy found his way to their table and slammed his tray down. The derisive smirk only grew as he watched the other patient scribble out a message, the pen scratching rather loudly against the paper and the table under it as if he was wishing it was something else other than just plain paper.

Lazily reaching out to take the note, Brock quickly scanned it over. This was just too delicious: here was the poor little human cripple, all pissed off he was minus an eye and not being able to do anything about it.

Looking up at the other patient, Brock made a point of crumpling the note and sneered at him:

"I'm just seeing a lot of empty threats here, cripple," it felt liberating to be so politically incorrect to boot. Brock decided to cherish the feeling, petty as it was. "And anyway, if anyone's flawed, it's not me. At the rate you're going, you'll be minus another eye and then...why, I guess we'll have to start working our way through your limbs next."

Despite his words, Brock's face was still schooled in a decidely friendly expression, as if he was back at the Bugle and nothing more. He smiled.

[voiceless_rage]

Maybe it was that ingratiating smile that refused to leave Brock's face. Maybe it was the presence of another, grinning just as ridiculously. Maybe it was the way he spoke, all dripping sarcasm and superiority. Or maybe it was what he said - the repeated use of the word cripple, the insinuation that Caim was the flawed one, the straightforward, unabashed threats. Whichever it was, something made Caim clench his hands into fists so tight his knuckles turned white and grind his teeth together.

YOU ...

Without warning, Caim whipped one hand out and up and slammed his fist into Brock's face. For one brief moment he relished in the feeling of bones snapping and blood spilling out under his fingers - but to his dissapointment, his fist hit Brock's mouth. Still, there was significant power behind the blow, and the man's lip split. Blood splattered onto Caim's hand.

You deserve DEATH.

His arm was trembling with the effort of not striking again as he pulled himself back, still glaring with all the hatred of a man damned to hell at Brock.

[blacksustenance]

Back when he was a normal human, Brock had lived a life that was, for the most part, pretty peaceful - he'd never gotten into fist fights or brawls, and he'd been safe behind the lens of his camera and press pass. Almost everything he knew about bodily pain or fighting had been lifted off of Peter Parker's genetic memories, imprinted in his Other.

Considering how he'd been shamelessly goading Mute Guy, Brock probably should've seen it coming. But he was still surprised when he suddenly found himself dumped on his butt on the floor, his mouth alternating between pain and numbness. Running a tongue over teeth that'd begun to form into fangs - bad idea - he was at least relieved to find that the asshole hadn't knocked anything out.

However, he could taste blood and judging from the stinging in his mouth, he'd just racked up a split lip from the cripple's sucker punch.

The cripple might have lost an eye, but he still could put some weight into his blows. Brock's face darkened with anger as he met the cripple's eyes; they were just plain better than he was and yet it still hurt.

[damned_nurses]

It had become rather obvious that all of the fights between patients broke out during meal times. That made some amount of sense, since all of them were crammed into one space, while in the other shifts they tended to be split up.

Some people also tended to be downright grumpy in the morning. In any case, that realization had led to more nurses being stationed around the cafeteria.

While a certain amount of crankiness could be forgiven, the line had to be drawn when it translated into physical assault. The punch might have gone unnoticed if it hadn't sent Mr. Lancaster out of his chair. A nurse was quickly bounding over to provide some damage control.

"Are you all right?" she asked with a small frown once she reached the downed patient. In her experience, punches could cause varying amounts of damage. Depending on how hard he'd been hit, she might have to take him to the medical wing. She offered him a hand while sending a glare in the culprit's direction.

"Now, Alex, you've been with us for a while. You should know better by now." Though she knew she wasn't going to get an answer. Mr. Cameron had refused to speak since his arrival.

[perfect_meld]

The grin turned slightly blood-thirsty at seeing the other patient abruptly plant his fist in Brock's face. Just the tiniest thrill at seeing the other pair getting the shit kicked out of them, even if it was because Teller got a sucker punch in. Kasady was planning to do a lot worse to Venom once they had the chance to properly do it, but they might as well get that thrill of watching someone else do it.

And the calvary arrived. They weren't about to defend Old Faithful, but neither could Kasady resist the lure to cause more shit to what was already a festering pile of it.

"Thank God you're here," the serial killer let out a heavy, "relieved" sigh. "He just came up and punched Eddie here, outta nowhere!"

[voiceless_rage]

If it could bleed, it could die - and considering what was on his hand, Caim knew that Brock fit the bill of mortality. So to see him in pain, to see him literally slam into the ground from the force of one punch gave Caim some small sense of satisfaction. It distracted him from his own pain, the throbbing peak where his eye used to be.

But of course there would be retribution. And in the form of a woman who helped keep them here.

He didn't care for what she said, instead choosing to focus his glare on Brock. He should know better? The man took out his eye - there was a lot more coming to him than one punch in the mouth, and Caim would see to it personally.

Then the other man spoke. In defense of Brock, and likely to get Caim taken away. He turned his glare on that other man and bared his teeth -

and swung his fist out again, aiming for the side of the man's face. He'd heard what Brock had said. He had no business jumping into a conversation that didn't involve him - or trying to lie his friend's way out of trouble.

[blacksustenance]

Wiping his bleeding mouth with the back of his hand, Brock decided that this cripple wasn't worth being sedated for - this time he didn't want to be given a tranquilizer cocktail, seeing as they were pretty dandy and well fed. His hand came away streaked with red, flecked with minute specks of green, and he hurried wiped his hand on a loose napkin once he accepted the nurse's offer to help him to his feet.

One punch really wasn't anything, to Venom, but unfortunately he was mostly human and he didn't have the extra protection of his symbiote actively trying to cover his flank. Or front. Just suck it up.

Brock was rather taken aback when Kasady unexpectedly took his side, and then realized that he was only adding the icing on Mute Guy's mess, all of which he'd started by spying on them last night. Putting on a wounded, hurt look (it was easy enough when you had to play sympathetic back home), Brock turned to the nurse.

"I-I think I'll be okay," he said, with more humility than he personally felt, and making a point to reach up to touch gingerly at his split lip as if he was shocked at the bleeding wound. Brock's eyes followed the cripple, narrowed slightly, and turned back to the nurse. "But how am I supposed to get better if I have to worry about people jumping me for no reason?"

Reasonable. Play reasonable, chummy, sane, however you wanted to call it, and it'd just help incriminate the cripple ever further - a job, it seemed, that he was having a heavy hand doing to himself already, especially when he suddenly lunged at Kasady. Despite his nice-guy act, Brock glared warning daggers at Kasady: don't you dare get psycho here! It was all fun and games in the privacy of the night shift, but this was different.