Day 56: Bill's Hardware (early afternoon)

[yin_yang_fox]

The day progressed, and still the Digimon had maintained a casual air despite herself, moving around the town to take note of the going-ons instead of see to something herself. The credit given was still a question, but the more realistic side of her demanded that she purchase something, and test the boundaries that were set for them. Thought

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[gald_digger]

Oh - that was right. Anise supposed she should explain that kind of stuff, too.

The change in subject brought an immediate change in Anise's mood, and the girl brightened once again. "Oh, yeah! Well, the two things just about everyone needs are a weapon and a light source - hey, there's some over here!"

Jogging a little farther down the aisle, Anise stopped in front of some flashlights. They looked a little different from the ones at the institute, but the same basic shape. Some of them were smaller, though... Maybe she could buy something lightweight, so she could pocket it and have a free hand when she needed one! That would be handy.

"You should already have a flashlight in your room, though, so the weapon is the big thing to look for. The staff probably won't let us buy anything here that could be used to hurt anyone... so you're stuck with whatever the institute has." Which wasn't exactly the finest weaponry, but a metal pipe or a rod could usually do the trick against normal enemies.

"As for me, I've been exploring the area outside the institute, so something like this might come in handy!" she added, raising the binoculars to show. "Oh, and first aid supplies are always good to have."

[the_prosecutor]

Right, well, all of that made sense. Edgeworth wasn't exactly sure what sort of weapon he could find at the institute (or worse than that, one he was capable of wielding), but it was certainly an avenue worth exploring. It wouldn't do to be caught without some form of protection, though the idea that he wouldn't be able to buy something for it here was rather troubling.

"The institute is a hospital of sorts - wouldn't there be medical supplies there as well?" he asked as he looked over the flashlights Anise had shown him. The temptation to acquire one with a large range of light coverage occurred to him, but it seemed best to see just how effective the flashlight waiting at the institute would be for him. After all, he didn't even know how much money he had...which raised another question.

Slipping his hand inside the pocket of his jacket, Edgeworth began to fiddle with his credit card again. Just how much had they provided him with?

[gald_digger]

Anise nodded and promptly answered without missing a beat. "Yep! I found a lot of those in a storage room on the second floor. It's on the east side - the opposite side of the building from the patient blocks." It wasn't that long ago that Anise traveled there with Ilia, so she still remembered the location clearly.

It was kind of neat to see all the different kinds of flashlights, but one in particular caught Anise's eye. She didn't even recognize it as a flashlight until she read the label on the package. Keychain Flashlight...? She picked one up and turned it over, though she couldn't examine it very well through the bulky plastic packaging.

"Is this a flashlight too...? It's so tiny!" she gasped, turning the package around so she could read the description on the back. On top of being a pocket-sized flashlight and keyholder, the batteries recharged with a crank! While Anise didn't have a clue how that was supposed to work, it sounded like she wouldn't have to replace the batteries, ever. Seven dollars seemed a little steep for such a tiny thing, but so far Anise was sold.

[the_prosecutor]

Edgeworth made a mental note to investigate the building for first aid supplies; after all, it didn't make sense to purchase them if he could procure them on his own...which once again lead to the thought of how he would handle the money he did have. Saving was a good idea, but Edgeworth also didn't know how often he would have the opportunity to spend it. Seemingly oblivious to Anise's interest in the flashlight, he pulled the card from his pocket, looking at it front and back before he returned his gaze to the young girl in front of him.

"Anise," he said to garner her attention, his gaze flickering from the flashlight in her hand for a brief moment before returning to her face. "How much money have they provided us with, exactly?"

[gald_digger]

Deciding to purchase the flashlight along with the binoculars, Anise hugged both items to her chest. She didn't really need to look at them anymore - not until she was free to rip open their packages and play around with them. Er, work with them. Work. This was serious.

Edgeworth's next question reminded her that she might have heard something about their allowances on the intercom, but she didn't remember exactly what was said. "I think it depends on our ranks, and that depends on seniority." How that was measured, exactly, she wasn't sure, but it definitely seemed to be a major factor. "I got 25 dollars! I bet you got chump change, huh?" Poor guy. He wouldn't even be able to buy a cute little flashlight like hers!

[the_prosecutor]

Frowning, Edgeworth inspected the card for a moment longer before pocketing it once again. "Right, well...I suppose that I can hold onto it for the time being, then," he said, his gaze flickering down to the price tag on the flashlight Anise was holding. It was clear that she had been at the institute for a long time, and for them to only provide her with twenty-five dollars...that didn't say much for what they might have given him. It was best to save it, he surmised.

The binoculars in Anise's hands seemed to finally call a contradiction into question in Edgeworth's mind, and he instantly looked back at Anise, his brow tensing in thought. "...incidentally, did you say that you would be using those," he paused to motion at the binoculars, "while you explored outside the institute? Why not simply just escape if you can go outside?"

[gald_digger]

"Mm-hm!" Anise confirmed with a nod. Edgeworth's question made sense, though. When Anise was still new, she always thought that all it would take to escape from the institute was getting away from the building itself... but the reality of the matter wasn't so simple.

"If I could do that, I would have already. But... when it gets late into the night, I always end up blacking out and waking up back in my room. I don't know how they do it, but it happens every time, and it doesn't matter how far I get." The whole blacking-out-at-the-end-of-night thing was hard to get used to in the first place, but it was pretty bizarre how it still happened to people who weren't anywhere near the building. Then again, it seemed like the institute's sphere of influence was pretty huge...