Day 59: Sun Room (noon)

[gald_digger]

[from the Cafeteria]There was relief once she was outside of the Cafeteria, but Anise still felt ill. As more people piled into the Cafeteria, she dragged herself around the blanket forts to a chair at the far end of the room. It was quiet there, and she couldn't smell the rotten meat from there. Anise settled into the chair, but she was light-

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[gald_digger]

The nausea was slowly fading as Anise remained in that position, but she soon heard a familiar voice calling her name. She'd heard it enough times by now to recognize who was speaking. "Claude...?" Another deep breath, and then she lifted her head just enough to see.

"Yeah..." she murmured in response, but quickly seemed to realize the reply that came out of her mouth automatically was too obviously not true. Slowly, she raised her body so she was sitting all the way up. A small, sheepish grin formed on her pale face. "I mean... well, I guess I feel kind of sick."

She didn't really want Claude to see her like that, but it was too late for that, and he'd already seen her at some of her other lowest moments, so it wasn't worth fretting over. For the time being, it was probably best to elaborate before he started thinking she was seriously ill or anything. "Um, not that I am sick! Just..." She sank a little in her seat, trying to relax her body a little as she tried to think of a way to explain to Claude. He'd already eaten breakfast, hadn't he? "I think there might be something wrong with the food." The only alternative explanation was that there was something wrong with Anise, and while she wasn't so naive as to completely dismiss that, she really didn't want to consider it first.

[full_score]

He listened to her explanation, relieved to see that she was able to talk with him, at least. It was also good that she wasn't trying to brush off her symptoms. The last thing a sick person needed to worry about was trying to put up a strong front.

Still, Claude couldn't help but notice the way the color had drained from her face. Whatever it was that made her feel sick must have been pretty bad. Frowning to himself, he eased down onto the sofa next to Anise and continued to carefully watch her. The last thing he expected to hear was something about the food, though, especially with her rank. Didn't she eat the same things as him?

"What do you mean?" he asked. "What was wrong with it?" Although he felt like he should have already been able to figure things out by now, he was honestly at a loss. It had tasted just fine this morning.

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It sounded like Claude really didn't know. There had to be others who saw what Anise did, but it didn't sound like anyone was saying anything publicly... Maybe it was like she thought, and they were all quietly wondering if they were the only ones. Maybe she should be the one to say something...

Anyway, Claude was asking what was wrong, and... it was probably best to just say it. "It's rotten," she replied, turning her head to face him. It was difficult, when it brought back the images of Claude and her other friends eating at breakfast, but she was fortunately feeling well enough to handle the thought without feeling too ill.

"It's mouldy and rancid and it's full of bugs. It smells horrible," she went on to describe, in case Claude might have thought her first answer was simple hyperbole. Anise shook her head, trying to clear away the mental image she'd just re-painted by describing it. "I don't think other people see it, but... I can't even look at it."

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Upon hearing her elaborate, Claude couldn't hide the surprise on his face, and his eyebrows darted up toward his bangs. "Rotten?" he echoed in disbelief. Then, realizing that it sounded like he doubted Anise, he hastily added, "I-I mean, not that I don't believe you, it's just--"

His gaze trailed over to the cafeteria doors for a moment. What Anise was describing sounded way too horrible to miss, and yet he hadn't seen anything like that at all. Neither Ippo nor Guy had commented on it, either. So what was different in Anise's case?

"It sounds like not everyone is seeing the same thing when it comes to the food," Claude said after a moment. That much was obvious, but he wanted Anise to know that he didn't think she was crazy or making things up. After all, he wasn't in any position to judge when he'd been chasing ghosts last night. Sighing, he turned back to look at Anise. He didn't quite succeed in hiding the worry in his face. "I'm sorry you had to see something so nasty. Do you feel any different aside from that, or are you just having problems with the meals?"

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Anise simply bit her lip as she watched Claude react to her explanation. It really had to be a surprise for him, considering he already ate the stuff. She nodded at his summary of the situation. "Yeah... I don't know if it's the food or if it's me, but... it's really creepy. And seeing people eating it... Like, what if they're the ones hallucinating?"

If that was the case, she was probably going to find out soon. Maybe breakfast didn't make people immediately sick, but that rotten meat had to get some serious reactions.

"Anyway, I haven't seen anything else weird, and I don't feel any different. It's just the food." Her stomach growled then, and she wrapped her arms around it as if to forcibly silence it. "I'm getting kind of hungry, though," she admitted. If this kept up, she'd be in trouble.

[full_score]

Judging by what Anise was saying, it sounded like she didn't feel any different. That was a good sign, but the fact the food looked so gross meant she didn't feel up to eating. Claude already knew from firsthand experience how a lack of meals could wear down on the body. Then again, maybe the fact he'd been spared from seeing the rot was a curse in disguise. Anise had a point that she might not be the one hallucinating after all.

That thought killed Claude's appetite for the moment.

"If I had anything to offer you, I'd hand it over," he said with a small frown. "I guess it wouldn't be much good, though, huh." Some help he was. Unfortunately, there were some things that he couldn't easily fix.

"It kind of sounds like the military temporarily does things like this when they're mad about something," he commented, doing his best to sound positive despite the circumstances. "Maybe all of this will clear up by tomorrow."

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Claude's offer brought a small smile to Anise's face, even though they both knew it probably wasn't something he could follow through on. It was just nice to hear that he was willing to do that for her. "Yeah... I have some snacks in my possessions box, though. Maybe they're still good," she suggested, tilting her head in thought. It was going to be hard to try and fill her stomach on gels and chocolate, though.

It was true that most really bad things that happened at Landel's tended to be temporary... though waiting a whole day before she could eat again felt like torture. Maybe it would help if she got her mind off of it for a bit. Thinking about being hungry would just make her hungrier.

Anise looked over Claude for a moment, then realized the cast she saw him in yesterday was gone. "Oh, say, how are your injuries?" she asked, somewhat abruptly. "Did you take it easy last night?" Having read the bulletin, Anise had the impression that Claude and Guy didn't exactly do what they planned, though it looked like they were all right.

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He certainly hoped for Anise's sake that the food in her room hadn't rotted. If she didn't eat anything, then it would be hard for her to keep her strength during the night. With all the fighting they did, he knew they all needed every ounce of energy they could muster.

When she suddenly turned the topic back onto him, though, Claude blinked in surprise. "Oh, you mean my hand?" Glancing down at the faded bruises, he flexed it into a fist. "Yeah, it's a lot better today!"

While he could have told her about the forced drug trial, and the subsequent return of his powers, Claude didn't want to put that on Anise's plate when she already had enough to worry about today. Thankfully, accelerated healing wasn't so unusual here, and he could possibly try to pass off what happened as dumb luck.

"Well, I don't know if I could call it 'taking it easy'," he admitted with a scratch of his head. "We went to help Guy's roommate out about something, but things seem like they're okay now. Since we didn't have to fight anything, though, I guess you could say it was kind of a break." Physically, anyway. It had still been an emotionally and mentally taxing night.

"What about you?" Claude asked, genuinely curious. "Did you stay in, or...?"

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"Stay in?" Anise cracked a grin, like he'd just said something funny. She definitely wasn't one to sit out when there were things to do. "No way! I went out and explored the Medical Wing. I picked up lots of medicine, so let me know if you need anything!" She made the same offer to her other friends, so it was natural to extend it to Claude too. Besides, he was always helping her out.

"Anyway, it's great you healed up so fast," she continued, still sounding cheerful. Anise didn't know how bad Claude had been hurt in the first place, but yesterday he still looked like he was in bad shape. She was genuinely happy to see the cast gone.

That led her to her next question. "Do you think we should give the basement another try tonight?" If Claude was better, it was probably okay, wasn't it? Their biggest problem at the moment was probably the fact that Anise couldn't eat, but the last thing she wanted was to slow them down over something like that. She'd find a way to deal with it!

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Claude should have known that Anise wouldn't waste a night indoors if she could help it, but he'd still wondered how she'd spent her time. From what she said, it sounded like she'd found something productive to do. "The Medical Wing, huh," he echoed, looking interested now. It was good to know there was a place they could go for medical supplies, especially with how many of the nurse stations were locked off in some way or another. "Wow, that's great! Thanks for the offer."

Either way, he was glad to see that Anise decided to let the rapid healing pass without much scrutiny. "Y-yeah, it's a lucky thing," he said as he sheepishly rubbed the back of his head. It just meant he'd be ready for action later!

Speaking of which...when Anise mentioned the basement, Claude's expression became more subdued. "Well, I'd be up for it, but..." He scratched his chin, looking over at the bulletin board. "Maybe we should ask Guy about it." After all, whatever they decided, they all needed to be in agreement about it.

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Anise continued grinning as Claude thanked her, happy to show off her usefulness. Over the weeks, she'd collected a lot of things she could bring out and share with people in a pinch. She just hoped her friends wouldn't hesitate to rely on her.

When Claude trailed off on the topic of the basement, Anise tilted her head, wondering if there might be some reason they ought to put it off for longer. But then he mentioned Guy, and her expression eased back into a light smile. "Of course! We can't go without him, right?" Anise figured that was a given, though Claude's hesitation made her wonder if he had some reason to doubt Guy was ready.

"I don't think he'd say no, though. You guys didn't pick up any injuries I didn't hear about or anything, did you?" Since Guy was pretty determined to uncover the basement's secrets, there weren't a lot of reasons for him to refuse that Anise could think of, but that could be one. She couldn't see much under the military uniforms, so there was no telling if either of them was hiding a wound.