Night 57: Main Hallway, 1-East

[antiheroed]

[ from here]As far as Riku knew-which wasn't a reliable piece of information in the least-this was approaching new territory for him. It was the first time he tempted fate by going somewhere without one of his friends since he first woke up in this place. If it wasn't Sora or Kairi that was there with him, it was Naminé; to some degree, each one had

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[from here]

Vino slipped out the door tot he medical wing and back into the hallway. Ah, now here were some people! But strange, hadn't he seen some of these people on the way here? Which meant that he should have passed by them or run into them in the medical wing, at least.

Well, whatever, he had a purpose tonight. But as he turned and started on his way back whence he came, he paused, blinking. What was that on the floor? It definitely looked like some sort of weapon, for sure.

Curious, Vino moved closer. Upon closer inspection, it looked to be a red chainsaw. Of all things to find on the floor at random! He'd never handled one before. Perhaps...?

Vino pondered the possibility for the moment, but a cry interrupted his thoughts. He looked up to see someone frantically running around, seeming to be searching for someone, this "William" person probably. The person had long red hair (the third redhead in a row Vino had seen today!) and he... couldn't quite tell if it was male or female. The voice had sounded male, but the ostentatiously feminine clothing seemed to suggest otherwise...

Confusing! Besides, where had they gotten their nice clothes when he only had the drab, gray, Institute-issued outfit to wear? How unfair!

Although he had a destination in mind, Vino was curious. And the chainsaw was tempting. New and unknown things had always piqued his interest. In fact, now that he looked at it, the red chainsaw seemed to match the overall red theme of the person he saw before him. It wouldn't hurt to ask, right? It'd be the polite thing to do, rather than just nabbing it, even if he wanted to.

"Excuse me, is this yours?" he called out, going straight to the point. The person looked busy, after all.

[deadlyjuliet]

"William, if you don't respond I'm going to be very--!!" Grell couldn't finish his threat. Not that threatening William T. Spears ever did any good. The man's heart was frozen solid and his ability to feel mercy as good as nonexistent - which was why Grell loved him so. A good man made you work to catch his attention and was well worth the effort necessary to bask in even a moment of his favor.

And speaking of catching attention... Grell turned, hands balled into fists at his side. Who was talking to him when he was busy trying to find Will?! Apparently a wine-dark redhead who was holding his chainsaw out to him. Grell shot a glance over his shoulder, the green of his eyes flaring for a second, but he couldn't feel anything. It was like the voice had come out of nowhere. Not even the faintest trace of another death god in the area. Either his power had come back and had been lost again or what he'd heard was a phantom. A nasty phantom at that. One that seemed so very real...

Grell clicked his tongue in distaste and turned back to the stranger, holding one hand out. "Yes, it is." A closer look and Grell's unhappiness did a quick 180, a smile spreading across the death god's face. "Thank you. How kind it is of such a handsome man to return it to me."

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[I am so sorry for the lateness, aslkah]

Vino blinked and wondered what to do when the stranger turned around, gave him a haughty look, and continuined on with their (his? her?) business. So he... waited, for lack of a better thing to do.

... Well, okay, maybe he also waited because he was genuinely curious about whether this crimson-clad stranger was a man or a woman. And he might have been curious about where they had gotten all their clothes. Definitely not Vino's type of dress, as he preferred black and things that were easy to move around in and that kept most of the blood from getting on his skin because washing off the smell was a pain. He hated having to clean up after messes, even if they were his own.

So meanwhile, Vino waited, the weight of the chainsaw unfamiliar to him, but interestingly so. Surely the person wouldn't mind if he just looked the thing over before having to give it back? But before he could even hold the heavy weapon up closer, the stranger had turned back and was now holding out a hand for it, manner dismissive. Aww, what a pity, but good manners were good manners.

Vino handed the chainsaw back a little wistfully. It could have been interesting, but then he'd always seem to prefer the simpler weapons himself. The handrail he'd stolen from the restroom would suffice.

Huh? Wait, what had--?

"What?" Vino said. ... He'd just been complimented, right? But hadn't this person been almost possibly annoyed before? But then so suddenly--! Weird! Not to mention, he still couldn't figure out if this was a woman or a man! Maybe he should ask...? But isn't that impolite...?

"Ah, you're welcome? My pleasure, really." Mustn't forget his manners in the meantime, if he wanted to ask questions, right?

"It's a chainsaw, right?" he continued. "Hey, hey, it's kind of cool, isn't it? I've never held one before."

[deadlyjuliet]

[It's alright. Do you know if we're backthreading a fight...?]

For the barest of seconds, Grell wondered if this stranger would actually give the weapon back. It was such a rare thing here that some would be reluctant to part with it, even more so since Grell had so carelessly discarded it in favor of chasing disembodied voices. And yet, the redhead handed it over with just the slightest hint of disappointment. The familiar weight of the handle settled upon her palm and Grell pulled the blade away, swinging it up to rest on his shoulder with ease.

"Yes, well, my pleasure to have such a pretty thing return it to me," Grell said with a smile, setting his free hand on his hip. This man was normal by all standards and yet he didn't seem to flinch at the sight of a lady carrying such dangerous equipment. What a strange human. "And yes, indeed it is. It's not my usual one, but my baby won't come when I call her anymore, so this-" He shrugged one shoulder, causing the machine to rise and fall. "-Is what I use to get by. Quite handy."

"Oh, but this isn't right at all!" the god suddenly exclaimed, putting his free hand to his forehead as he shook his head. Where were their manners? "When first one meets a lady, is it not customary to introduce oneself? Here, I shall go first. Grell Sutcliffe, of London." Grell gave a shallow curtsy. "And you?"

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Perhaps he should have kept the chainsaw after all, Vino thought, as he watched the other redhead swing the thing effortlessly over their shoulder. He would have liked to see how well the thing worked if he ever managed to find a target to try it on.

"Ah..." It was decidedly odd being called a 'pretty thing' by this stranger. "Oh really? So you usually use another one? Where could you get one of these, do you know?"

His curiosity piqued, Vino would have continued asking more questions if it weren't for the person's sudden exclamation. Oh, right! Manners!

"Sorry about that! A gentleman's supposed to know these things, right? Ahh, it just slipped my mind." Lady? So this was a 'she' then? Even if he still sort of had his doubts. "The name's Vino, currently of this strange Institute place," he replied, with a sweep of his free arm and a small bow of his own.

"I don't like staying in one place, see? So I just give my current location when people ask where I'm from." Vino added, as clarification. "I do tend to stay in America in my travels, though! For now, anyway."

[deadlyjuliet]

"Nowhere you can go," the death god retorted, giving the stranger a half shrug. To be honest, he might actually have access to Doyleton considering that strange teleportation thing and the rings that came with them (how annoying that Grell had not received one), but it was much more likely that he did not and thus could not. As for the second chainsaw, it was hiding from him right now and making Grell very cross even at the thought of it.

Because why would you of all people be allowed such equipment?

Again, William's voice, this time right by his ear. Grell twitched his head in that direction, but saw nothing. Hell that was getting annoying. He returned his attention to the man - Vino - and raised an eyebrow. American seemed to be the right country what with his accent and his brash behavior. That was just like an American. Grell sighed. Why were there so many Americans here? Americans never knew how to be proper gentlemen!

"Vino, is it? Very well." He straightened after his curtsy and gave the man a once over. Human as far as he could tell. "Why so interested in such dangerous equipment, hm? It isn't for the faint of heart."

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"Do you know that for sure?" Vino asked, honestly wondering. He hadn't yet attempted to venture outdoors in the five days he'd been here, after all. Had no reason to, certainly, but he liked having his curiosity sated. "Not that I actually mind all that much at the moment. Aside from the change in menu and the utter boredom that is the medical ward, this institute is rather interesting, I think."

He blinked when he noticed the slight twitch, as if Miss (he'd have to get used to that title there, Miss, Miss) Grell had been distracted momentarily. When her attention returned to him just shortly though, he decided it wasn't worth mentioning. His questions were more important, after all.

And he would have continued on with more questions if his new acquaintance hadn't asked him a question first. Vino gave a grin, opened his mouth to reply--

And nothing. One second he was having a conversation with his third redheaded stranger of the day and the next... Something had shifted.

A moment later...

[Just ending this thread here. This'll be my last tag, though if you want to add anything, go ahead!]