Day 59: Library

[gald_digger]

Anise couldn't get out of the Cafeteria fast enough. The stench of rotted food was overwhelming, and she was starting to feel sick. Most of her nausea came from seeing the people around her eating it, though. Even her friends! Anise didn't know what to do... What if lunch ended up being the same

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[melodists]

The morning began with a disastrous affair for Tear as she awoke in her own bed. Specifically, as she realized she had gained consciousness after breakfast. After the scheduled appointment with the leader of the Search and Rescue group.

If she had any less self-control, the teenager might have screamed at her mistake. Instead, she flew through her morning routine and followed her escort out to the main corridors while looking absolutely horrible. She felt ashamed. Her mistake was unacceptable. For one who awoke at the crack of dawn every morning, she had overslept on a day she had promised business. If Tear wasn't the type to take responsibility for her actions (or inertia, in this case), she might have found a hole to cry in.

As she was, she had to regain control. Her escort left her in the library, and Tear quickly set to work writing out an apology for Javert for her horrendous mistake. Before she could sit down at one of the chairs, however, her eyes quickly found a familiar sight: a teammate clutching at her stomach as though utterly sickened. Tear stopped short and with obvious concern, walked over to the other.

"Anise?" she called out. "Are you all right?"

[gald_digger]

Anise was visibly startled when she heard her name; she didn't think anyone was looking her way. She dropped her hand and whirled around to see Tear, who had a worried look on her face. "I, um, I'm fine!" she stammered, feeling like she needed to say something while she tried to think of a better response.

"I mean, I'm... a little under the weather, but I'm not really sick or anything," she corrected herself after she had a moment to collect her thoughts. Anise still felt a little light-headed and was visibly pale, but she'd managed to keep her nausea under control, which she figured had to count for something. Still, what could she say to Tear? 'That food you just ate may have been a month old and infested with bugs'?

Wait, did Tear even eat breakfast? Now that Anise looked at her, she seemed a little unkempt, like she'd been in a rush, which was unusual for her. "Um, anyway, what about you? How do you feel? Did you eat breakfast?" That was a question that could be taken multiple ways, depending on if Tear saw what Anise did or not.

[melodists]

Tear blinked at Anise's reaction. Her inner medic was already compiling a possible list of illnesses (one simply could not be "under the weather" and "not sick" at the same time), but in the end, she wrote it off as a simple effect of being caught unaware. Though, Anise still displayed signs of nausea...

"I'm sorry if I startled you," she said. "You just seemed unwell." The Melodist paused, as though trying to determine if her suspicions were worth pursuing or not. "Are you certain you're all right?" she asked again while giving Anise a pointed look. It spoke of two things: (1) Tear would be very displeased if Anise was lying, and (2) she wouldn't ask the girl again depending on the answer.

When Anise called attention to breakfast, however, Tear instantly turned bright red, once again reminded of her hideous failure. Thus, it was her turn to stammer. "I-I, uh," she started. "T-That is--" What exactly am I doing? She shook her head, shame pouring from every orifice. "I...overslept this morning."

[gald_digger]

Anise was a little hesitant to answer when Tear repeated the question. She wasn't really looking to lie or anything, but she didn't know how to explain... or if she should explain.

Fortunately, Tear's reaction to her own question served as a short distraction from that, and Anise gave her a curious stare before the older girl finally admitted to oversleeping. "Wow! That's pretty rare for you," Anise chirped in response. Seeing Tear get so flustered brought a little bit of her vigor back - it gave her something to focus on other than the food.

"That's probably a good thing, though," she went on to add. Since Tear hadn't eaten, it was probably okay to talk to her about what happened. "There's something weird going on with the food. When I went to breakfast this morning, it was... everything looked rotten. It smelled horrible."

[melodists]

To be reminded of one's habits merely cemented the details of her failure even more, and Tear vowed to never oversleep again. Never again will she let down her friends and their expectations. Never again will she thoughtlessly miss a critical appointment. No institute power nor lack of sleep will prevent her from rising before dawn.

So ingrained was Tear in her future goals that she nearly missed Anise's next explanation. Fortunately, her mind managed to catch up to the present, and with some trepidation, she blinked at the younger teen. "Everything looked rotten?" the soldier echoed, one hand going to her mouth. Needless to say, such a prospect not only explained why Anise was glad for Tear's lack of presence but also her present condition.

"No wonder you looked ill," she muttered, expression torn between horror and exasperation. "I'm guessing no one had breakfast, then."

[gald_digger]

"That's the thing," Anise continued slowly, her brow furrowed in confusion and disgust. "People kept eating. And not just weirdos, but lots of people. Even our friends." Honestly, Anise probably could have dealt with just the rotten food, if that was all she had to see. But seeing people eat it like there was nothing wrong? That was what really tested the limits of her nerves and her stomach. And even her friends... What if they got sick?

Anise's gaze wandered and her voice grew softer as she tried to guess at what really happened. "I don't know if there's something wrong with me, or if they just can't see that it's rotten, but... it's seriously creepy."

[melodists]

Tear soon found herself struck dumb. The military serving rotten food was one thing. There, you could attribute responsibility to a single source and avoid getting sick. What Anise was saying, however, meant something else altogether. Here, she was questioning her perception, and with that, the scenario became complex.

Before the recent days, Tear might have suggested they examine the food and compare what each saw. In light of them, however, she understood it couldn't be as straightforward as observation and solid proof. Landel's Institute had the power not only to change the objects before you but also perception itself. Tear had experienced both sides multiple times now. Perhaps this was another oddity to consider.

The older girl placed a hand on Anise's shoulder in an attempt to reassure. "Have you found anyone else who can see the rotten food?" she questioned. "I have a feeling you might not be the only one."

[gald_digger]

It was hard to tell what Tear thought about the subject. If Anise was the only one who saw the food as rotten, then it'd be easy to assume she was wrong... but it wasn't just the way it looked, but how it smelled too. It couldn't just be a simple hallucination... could it?

At the older girl's question, Anise frowned slightly as she thought. "I didn't hear anyone else say anything about it, and no one said anything on the bulletin... but some people in the Cafeteria looked kinda grossed out too, so I think there might be others." If no one else was saying anything, maybe she ought to put a note up about it. Maybe lots of other people were sitting around and wondering if they were the only ones, too.

"Anyway, um... be careful at lunch, okay? Since we don't really know what's going on, the food might be weird." Even if it didn't look weird to Tear, there was no telling if it was really dangerous or not.

[melodists]

Others showing discomfort at the food added to her suspicions. By now, Tear was certain the military was tampering with everyone's perceptions. Her countenance again displayed a kind of horror, though there was an added element of anger underneath. "What could they be thinking?" she wondered aloud, before reconsidering Anise. "I will. I promise. Though if the food continues to be like that, Anise, you should request to stay in the Sun Room."

Because the last thing her friend needed was getting sick over something neither she nor anyone else could control. Tear sighed in resignation. If this continued, she would have to have a word with one of the soldiers.

For now, they might have to switch topics. Thankfully, Tear had been reminded of another, which she brought up immediately. "Oh, also," she began, "I didn't get a chance to respond to it, but I read that Guy and Claude saved you the other night. I'm glad you three are okay, but could you tell me what happened?" It had been worrying, to say the least.

[gald_digger]

Tear's advice was answered with a nod. "I will. Don't worry, they'll let me go wherever I want. My badges get me special privileges, I guess." Anise hadn't made much use of them because there weren't that many other people who could wander freely, and it wasn't much fun to be alone during the day. This was probably a good time to take advantage of it, though.

It was hard not to feel a little uneasy about the whole thing, though. Whether the food was bad or not, the fact remained that Anise couldn't eat any of it. If it continued, she wouldn't have any energy for the night. And if it continued for days... What would happen then?

Well, maybe it was too early to worry about that.

Anise was a little surprised when Tear suddenly asked about her little near-death experience from two nights ago, but she supposed there were enough details mentioned on the bulletin to make it sound dangerous. Which... well, it was. "Um, well... I don't know how well I can explain it..." Or if she could explain it at all, if that weird mental block applied to the caverns, too. "We were exploring and somehow we wound up in, like... a sunken ruin, or something. I blacked out and got separated from the group, and the next thing I knew, I was in a cage, and it was sinking!" It sounded totally crazy, now that she actually tried to put the experience into words.

[melodists]

Glad for the agreement, Tear left the topic fully with a single nod. Anise knew what needed to be done to keep herself well, and if the matter became a daily issue, her teammates and friends would do everything in their power to correct that. For now, best to focus on less sickening lines of conversation.

At the mentions of a sunken ruin, her mind instantly went to the Zao Ruins for an unknown reason. That had been the closest to the description she knew, though it quickly became apparent that wasn't quite the case for Anise, Guy, and Claude when she recalled the bulletin conversation. There had been mentions of water, after all. Her brows furrowed in worry at the subsequent account of a blackout and a sinking cage, despite remembering that this story did have a positive ending.

"Where in the world were you exploring?" Tear asked. It didn't sound like the ruins Marc hid in, that was for certain.

[gald_digger]

Anise had tried to be vague about where she had gone, but Tear seemed to zero in on that part of the story right away. How much did Tear know about the basement, anyway? Anise always tried not to talk about it much, for worry of making people interested in going there. But maybe Guy mentioned something. There was no way to know at the moment.

Anise's shoulders sank a little as she realized she didn't have much choice but to tell the truth. She'd vowed to be more honest with her friends, after all. "It was... in the basement. In a part that most people can't get to," she explained after hesitating.

"Anyway, there was a big sea serpent, and Claude fought it while Guy got me out," she quickly added, hoping it might distract Tear from the topic of the basement.

[melodists]

No sooner had she asked the question than Tear realized the subtle change in Anise's form. Instantly, she grew worried, wondering what shifted in the last few seconds. When the younger girl finally answered, however, it took no time for Tear to connect the dots. As a show of disapproval--though not necessarily directed at Anise herself--she frowned.

She hadn't been personally informed about the basement, but the Melodist had been present during Landel and Marc's joint broadcast. Although the former Head Doctor's words were taken with a grain of salt, she also realized there existed areas in the institute she had yet to explore. One of them happened to be the mysterious basement that was referenced in that broadcast, and knowing her teammates had chanced exploration there registered as concerning.

But despite her intuition, Tear couldn't bring herself to pursue the matter. Anise didn't appear comfortable, and there were other things to concentrate on. For now, she could be glad that they had escaped with their lives.

With an audible sigh, Tear continued, "I'm relieved everyone made it out." She would have been devastated otherwise.

[gald_digger]

If Tear's sighing was any indication, Anise hadn't distracted her at all. At the same time, though, the older girl dropped the topic herself. It looked like it was more out of consideration of Anise's feelings than anything, which made her feel both guilty and relieved at the same time.

A small smile returned to her face. "Me too," Anise agreed. It was a close call - much closer than Anise wanted to admit. She really didn't want to think about what could have happened if they didn't have timing and luck on their side that night.

"Anyway, what have you been up to?" Anise asked abruptly, hoping to turn the conversation in a less awkward direction. "I heard something about a paramedic group." That was just over the bulletin, though, so it didn't hurt to confirm.

[melodists]

Distancing themselves from the talk of the basement did restore a bit of life to the conversation. Furthermore, the talk of the paramedic group that Anise had brought up served to distract Tear momentarily. Her face lit up in determination. "Oh, that's right. Yes, you heard correctly," she began. "I'm currently working with another patient on getting a mobile medical unit going. So far, we're in the midst of organizing volunteers."

She smiled wistfully, an obvious show that Tear was pleased with the developments so far. Only for the smile to drop as though it had never been. "Except I needed to meet with the leader of the Search and Rescue group this morning to discuss the possibility of working together," the girl groaned, bringing a hand to her forehead.

The conclusion here was simple: she hadn't been able to attend this very important meeting due to sleeping in.

[gald_digger]

Well, that explained a few things. Unfortunately for Tear, Anise wasn't one to hold back on commenting on the embarrassments of others. "Hehe. No wonder you looked so flustered about it!" Sleeping in usually wasn't a big deal, and people at Landel's seemed to do it all the time by accident, but it made sense that Tear was worried that it would make her look unreliable.

"You shouldn't worry about it too much, though," she added, a little more sympathetically. "I bet they'd understand if you explain. This kind of stuff happens to everyone sometimes. Even the Colonel!" And while the Colonel hadn't been around for a long time, it really said a lot if it was something even he couldn't avoid.

"Oh, and if you ever need supplies, come to me, okay? I've got lots of first aid supplies and medicine. You can even come grab some out of my room when I'm not around, if you need to." There was no telling when or where an emergency could pop up, so Anise figured it'd be nice for Tear to have that option. Besides, she'd grabbed extras because she wanted to share!