The dinner announcement came as something utterly unexpected. Rather than Harrington's excited tones, the calm accented voice of the General drifted through the intercom speakers
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For a moment, Rapunzel was tempted to hide the dagger from Tsubaki. Even after the night they'd shared, she wasn't sure the feelings called up by the dagger's familiar shape were ones she wanted to talk about with her roommate (or anyone else) right then. It was too late to put the weapon away once Tsubaki looked up, however. And besides, Rapunzel told herself, Tsubaki seemed like a good person to have as a friend; she could trust her, she thought, even as her stomach looped up in knots.
"This was in my box just now," Rapunzel explained after her hesitation, lifting the dagger to an angle Tsubaki could better see it from. "I've never seen this particular one before, but it really looks a lot like..." She ran her teeth over her bottom lip, then sighed softly. "It looks a lot like one my Mother has."
There was a beat, then Rapunzel corrected herself, unable to help the dull bite in her tone as she set the dagger down on the desk: "Had."
She shook her head. Her messed-up past wasn't the important part of this, she was sure. "Is there something in your box too?" she asked, indicating the metal box on Tsubaki's desk. "If there is, maybe it's something they gave us for 'helping' last night."
It obviously meant something, the weapon, but just what Tsubaki couldn't say. The way Rapunzel looked at it didn't point to a simple bout of homesickness or sadness, even though when somebody used the past tense like Rapunzel did, it wasn't usually in a pleasant sense. Asking just what she meant by "had" likely wouldn't summon the most pleasant of memories, at that.
She blinked, watching the other girl's face, before absently turning to face her own box. It wasn't her place to comment on a matter that had come about because of a reluctant surprise.
"Let's see..." Putting her journal down, she lifted the lid. "When new things show up in the rooms, it has to be because they put them there..." There was indeed something mixed in with Tsubaki's things that hadn't been there before--a box of some unknown substance. She picked it up and shook it. Unlike the dagger, it wasn't something that pinged a personal memory for her. In fact, what was it? She had the idea to sniff the contents, but as she read over the small label, she realized what it was.
Oh. Poison for some kind of vermin, it looked like.
If it was a reward for a successful mission, rat poison was a bit…
“This wasn’t there before,” she said for Rapunzel’s benefit, stopping herself before she wrinkled her nose. “It’s a box of, um, poison.”
"Huh..." Whatever kind of poison it was, it didn't seem to hold the kind of significance for Tsubaki that the dagger held for Rapunzel. That was strange. Were they just random rewards that the military had pulled out of a junk drawer, then? She wouldn't have been surprised.
Probably better to get their minds back on more important things, she thought. "Who knows? Maybe it'll come in handy sometime, like tomorrow night. We could go out together and... take care of that thing we have to take care of," said Rapunzel, subtly nodding her head toward her bed, where the stolen disc hid sandwiched between mattress and box spring.
"Think there's anything we can do about that?" she asked, pulling her dress and frying pan out of her box and leaving the dagger where it was for the moment.
"Huh" was a good way to put it. Tsubaki wasn't opposed to using poisons on people if the circumstances called for it, if the vermin poison was indeed the reward for making it through the mission, it was a morbid gift for an already morbid system of forcing people into dangerous labour.
She didn't know what to do with the box, either, and settled for putting back inside her storage container along with Rapunzel's painting. They would be relatively safe inside there. The poision just wasn't something she was ready to try and take out of the room with her. She wondered if Rapunzel was going to leave the dagger behind, too; it obviously hadn't invoked good feelings.
Tsubaki looked over as Rapunzel brought up their plans and straightened up. Right, the other item they were storing in their room. "Yeah... hey, before we worry about that, maybe you could give me an opinion on something else I'm working on. You have an eye for art." Shielding her journal from view, she scribbled out a quick message and moved closer to show it to Rapunzel, who had taken out a long, pink dress from her box in the time that Tsubaki had had her back turned. Was that also a... frying pan?
On the page read:
Let's keep being careful about what we say and do over that. They have ways of watching us, and probably listening, too. I have an idea for when things die down, but I think we should keep it with us as much as possible so there's less chance of it being found.
There were only so many angles a camera could get of a room, and Tsubaki positioned herself and the journal to block as many as she could think of within reason. Avoiding the Institute's invisible eyes and ears was likely a futile cause, but the only other option was to become paranoid of all forms of communication, and that was... well, that was kind of impossible given the situation.
To keep the flow of conversation natural, she added, "Um, how come you have a frying pan?"
"Oh?" Rapunzel was confused. What did wanting an opinion on art have to do with the disc? It wasn't until Rapunzel carried her things over to Tsubaki and her journal that she realized what her friend was doing. Ohhhh. Duhh. She shouldn't have been surprised. She had been half-doing the same thing herself, if only out of vague paranoia. Now that she knew that yes, the Institute did have ways of watching and listening, she knew that she had to be extra careful to keep up that kind of talk.
"Looks good to me! I think you should keep it up," she answered, eyes shifting back and forth for a moment over the paper to make it look as though she were appraising it.
And then the conversation turned to her choice of weaponry. "Oh, this?" She had to grin a bit, thinking back to Eugene and his "daring" duel with Maximus. "Only one of the most underrated weapons in history," she answered, striking a "Flynn Rider"-like pose with the pan in hand. The movement just happened to create a curtain of hair hanging off her outstretched arm, which just happened to provide Tsubaki with an opportunity to either add to the note or slip it away, whatever she wanted to do next with it.
Not the most covert operation in history, but unless all eyes were rooted on their cell and what they were doing in it, the message would do the trick. Realistically, it was likely they were being watched extra closely because of the mission, but the entire day had passed without so much as an out of place look from the soldiers. Tsubaki thought there was no immediate reprisal in store, at least.
“Thanks. I’m glad for the input,” she said, folding the paper closed with one hand. Even if Rapunzel didn’t have firsthand experience with the security cameras like Tsubaki did, the other girl had an idea now. Time and secrecy would let the heat surrounding their theft die down a little, if nothing else.
Rapunzel was clever, though! Watching her display her “weapon,” Tsubaki almost missed what the blonde was up to until there was already a veil of hair shielding their secondary exchange. For someone who had spent so much of her life in isolation, Rapunzel wasn’t somebody to be underestimated under pressure! Not wanting to push their luck too much more, Tsubaki just used the opportunity to give a concealed thumbs up, and slip it into her clothing with a little sleight of hand of her own. She gave a small laugh where the posing was concerned. “Is that so? I’ve never tried. It’s useful for you?”
A frying pan was kind of a blunt force weapon, she supposed. Enough to distract an enemy and get away quickly.
"This was in my box just now," Rapunzel explained after her hesitation, lifting the dagger to an angle Tsubaki could better see it from. "I've never seen this particular one before, but it really looks a lot like..." She ran her teeth over her bottom lip, then sighed softly. "It looks a lot like one my Mother has."
There was a beat, then Rapunzel corrected herself, unable to help the dull bite in her tone as she set the dagger down on the desk: "Had."
She shook her head. Her messed-up past wasn't the important part of this, she was sure. "Is there something in your box too?" she asked, indicating the metal box on Tsubaki's desk. "If there is, maybe it's something they gave us for 'helping' last night."
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She blinked, watching the other girl's face, before absently turning to face her own box. It wasn't her place to comment on a matter that had come about because of a reluctant surprise.
"Let's see..." Putting her journal down, she lifted the lid. "When new things show up in the rooms, it has to be because they put them there..." There was indeed something mixed in with Tsubaki's things that hadn't been there before--a box of some unknown substance. She picked it up and shook it. Unlike the dagger, it wasn't something that pinged a personal memory for her. In fact, what was it? She had the idea to sniff the contents, but as she read over the small label, she realized what it was.
Oh. Poison for some kind of vermin, it looked like.
If it was a reward for a successful mission, rat poison was a bit…
“This wasn’t there before,” she said for Rapunzel’s benefit, stopping herself before she wrinkled her nose. “It’s a box of, um, poison.”
Reply
Probably better to get their minds back on more important things, she thought. "Who knows? Maybe it'll come in handy sometime, like tomorrow night. We could go out together and... take care of that thing we have to take care of," said Rapunzel, subtly nodding her head toward her bed, where the stolen disc hid sandwiched between mattress and box spring.
"Think there's anything we can do about that?" she asked, pulling her dress and frying pan out of her box and leaving the dagger where it was for the moment.
Reply
She didn't know what to do with the box, either, and settled for putting back inside her storage container along with Rapunzel's painting. They would be relatively safe inside there. The poision just wasn't something she was ready to try and take out of the room with her. She wondered if Rapunzel was going to leave the dagger behind, too; it obviously hadn't invoked good feelings.
Tsubaki looked over as Rapunzel brought up their plans and straightened up. Right, the other item they were storing in their room. "Yeah... hey, before we worry about that, maybe you could give me an opinion on something else I'm working on. You have an eye for art." Shielding her journal from view, she scribbled out a quick message and moved closer to show it to Rapunzel, who had taken out a long, pink dress from her box in the time that Tsubaki had had her back turned. Was that also a... frying pan?
On the page read:
Let's keep being careful about what we say and do over that. They have ways of watching us, and probably listening, too. I have an idea for when things die down, but I think we should keep it with us as much as possible so there's less chance of it being found.
There were only so many angles a camera could get of a room, and Tsubaki positioned herself and the journal to block as many as she could think of within reason. Avoiding the Institute's invisible eyes and ears was likely a futile cause, but the only other option was to become paranoid of all forms of communication, and that was... well, that was kind of impossible given the situation.
To keep the flow of conversation natural, she added, "Um, how come you have a frying pan?"
Reply
"Looks good to me! I think you should keep it up," she answered, eyes shifting back and forth for a moment over the paper to make it look as though she were appraising it.
And then the conversation turned to her choice of weaponry. "Oh, this?" She had to grin a bit, thinking back to Eugene and his "daring" duel with Maximus. "Only one of the most underrated weapons in history," she answered, striking a "Flynn Rider"-like pose with the pan in hand. The movement just happened to create a curtain of hair hanging off her outstretched arm, which just happened to provide Tsubaki with an opportunity to either add to the note or slip it away, whatever she wanted to do next with it.
Reply
“Thanks. I’m glad for the input,” she said, folding the paper closed with one hand. Even if Rapunzel didn’t have firsthand experience with the security cameras like Tsubaki did, the other girl had an idea now. Time and secrecy would let the heat surrounding their theft die down a little, if nothing else.
Rapunzel was clever, though! Watching her display her “weapon,” Tsubaki almost missed what the blonde was up to until there was already a veil of hair shielding their secondary exchange. For someone who had spent so much of her life in isolation, Rapunzel wasn’t somebody to be underestimated under pressure! Not wanting to push their luck too much more, Tsubaki just used the opportunity to give a concealed thumbs up, and slip it into her clothing with a little sleight of hand of her own. She gave a small laugh where the posing was concerned. “Is that so? I’ve never tried. It’s useful for you?”
A frying pan was kind of a blunt force weapon, she supposed. Enough to distract an enemy and get away quickly.
Reply
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