Night 59: F-A Block Hallway
[from here]
No, something was different. It wasn't until she reached the next hallway that Anise realized, but she could feel fonons - in the air, and in her body. It took a moment to process this, but as she thought about it, she quickly grew excited. Could this mean ( Read more... )
No, something was different. It wasn't until she reached the next hallway that Anise realized, but she could feel fonons - in the air, and in her body. It took a moment to process this, but as she thought about it, she quickly grew excited. Could this mean ( Read more... )
The air was different, almost fresher now that shackles put on her were off for the time being. The prison itself might not have been encouraging escape, but the people inside it… well, there were those who had had no business being a prisoner to anyone or anything--until Landel’s inhibitors had come along, anyway. And now they were liberated again.
Yomi wasn’t the only one, either.
The sheen of blood on her katana was still wet when she entered the corridor, a pleasant smile on her face that some might have taken to be slightly predatory. Oh, ho! The question for everyone was now what to do with the time that they had, if that time happened to be limited. Which it probably was, since the Institute’s owners would be doing everything they could to repress their captives again. Or they would be, if they had any survival instinct.
The sesshouseki’s senses extended outward like a bright, burning web, and Yomi clocked those in the hall who were caught up in the sweep. Rose was among them, she noticed, concealed where normal eyes couldn't find her. An inhuman entity back in her prime. "Hey," she called, turning in Rose’s direction. "Mind telling me what day it is?"
She wasn't concerned about memories overcoming her anymore. She wasn't concerned about much of anything.
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"Yomi?" she asked, cocking her head to the side, studying her. There was something different about her, something that made Rose wary, just in case. If whatever had been restraining her was gone, it was likely it was gone for everyone. Which made every patient in this place an unknown at the moment. Rose hated the unknown. There was no way to predict anything about that and even she couldn't plan for everything that possible could happen. Not in a place like this.
She had to think a moment to answer Yomi's question, a puzzled frown on her lips. It was such a random thing to ask. "It's Tuesday. Why?"
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And why shouldn’t she have? They had hit it off fairly well on the fieldtrip, so that meant they were well on their way to friendship, right? Yomi remembered her, too, of course. Rose, her new pal. So helpful.
Making acquaintances, making friends, was a consequence of boredom and of having one’s autonomy infringed upon; even the most inhuman of their fellow prisoners received their fair share of socialization courtesy of the Institute. But what did that mean when their captors’ hold on them had slipped a little? Just how much of that grudging camaraderie remained when the incentive for it was gone?
For now, she just smiled. "Tuesday, you say? Ah, that’s good to hear. I’ve been out of commission for some reason, and time got away from me. Guess I wasn’t unconscious too long."
Unless she had been sleeping for a full week.
"Did something happen today to bring this all on?" she asked, gesturing around her with her sword.
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Unfortunately, she had just as few answers to Yomi's next question. "I don't know," she answered honestly, glancing around, sliding her hand against the wall, still relishing in her returned senses. "Things have been strange and tense among the staff all day. Something was up in the background, although I'm not aware of what. They didn't feel like sharing, I guess," she added with a cheeky grin. "And then as soon as darkness fell, this happened."
She waved her hand about the darkness to emphasize her point. "Things seem to have gone haywire. Something big's happened. Those here with abilities seem to have them returned. Also there are things loose. Lots and lots of things."
She could hear them, smell them. There was blood thick in the air tonight and it made her stomach rumble. She turned her head away and felt her eyes darken, the skin tense, visible sign of her hunger, but she did her best to ignore it, calming herself and her instincts. Escape first, then dinner. Priorities were important.
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“It seems to happen from time to time, the unconsciousness part.” It was a fair explanation to soothe the other’s curiosity. “Either way, I’m better now. Much better.” As she said this, her eyes followed Rose’s movements. Rose’s tone of voice said a lot, too, more than Yomi’s did, but Yomi was confident the other female could make out her features in the dark, and it was Yomi’s smile she let speak for her. Yes, she was feeling better and without needing to be told, she thought Rose was, too. “Something big” indeed.
“Sounds like trouble in paradise,” was her reply. Despite the fact that Rose was something abnormal herself, it was doubtful she would be able to grasp the sesshouseki’s tumultuous emotions--the fear, the rage, the hatred. They were on a level all unto their own. Even so, for all their differences they still shared something in common: delight at the military’s troubles and finding their strength restored. Rose’s grin wasn’t lost on her, and there was a similar mischief to her expression when she brought her katana up for inspection, eyeing the stain left behind by her first kill of the night. “Ah, about those things running loose, I ran into one of them already. I guess it would be too easy if they didn’t flood the halls with fodder for us to cut down.” Well, Yomi would be happy to cut them down. Rose, though… She looked over at the other female from across the blade. “You can sense it? That their numbers have gone up?”
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"Well, that's the first one of those I've seen," she pointed out. It certainly looked a lot more useful than her flashlight, anyway. "Where did you manage to find that? Something tells me it wasn't lying in a kitchen drawer somewhere."
The topic of monsters was one Rose could answer a bit easier, although she still chose her words with care. From observing the past few days, she knew there were others within the institute that had abilities beyond the norm. It wouldn't be totally unexpected that she might have some too, although she had no intention of revealing what she was to anyone who didn't already know. At least, not yet. She didn't need potential allies running away screaming in fear that she was going to eat them.
"They're bold tonight," she commented, her eyes searching the darkness again. "They've never come so close to the rooms before, not that I've seen anyway. Hell, it was three days before I even spotted anything! And I can't exactly sense them. But I can hear them. And smell them. Trust me, there's a lot. Although not as many as there were. The other prisoners seem to be having fun carving their way through them. I smell a lot of blood."
Not that she could blame them. A little payback right about now sounded like the best thing ever. On her way out, of course. She turned back to Yomi, her expression curious, eyes bright with anticipation. "Heading somewhere in particular?"
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Yomi was in an agreeable state. She didn’t have an issue stopping to talk to someone like Rose, and telling the truth while she did so. True, there wasn’t anything holding her back from doing more than just talking--less so than usual--but there was also a much more profitable target for her appetites.
The corner of her mouth twitched up in a more amused smile for a moment. “You got all that already? Sharp senses,” she commented. The female might not have had a spiritual sense to go along with her other attributes (or at least not one she was admitting to), but her admission put her human guise into question. Since Yomi already had an idea what was lurking underneath, she didn’t need to ask what Rose meant, however. “I do trust you, as a matter of fact. We’re a lot alike in some ways, you know?”
Rose, on the other hand, probably didn’t know, but Yomi didn’t spare any time to ask questions.
“I’ve got some ideas,” she answered without pause. As if to extenuate her point, she started toward the door, adding playfully, “How about you, Rose, gonna stand there all night?”
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If something inside her clenched at Yomi's observation about her senses, Rose let nothing show on her face or in her posture, still looking relaxed and intent. "They come in handy," she replied - that at least was entirely truthful. "And no, I don't know. You've got great senses too?"
She didn't even have time for an answer before the other girl was moving towards the door and Rose blinked after her for half a second before breaking into a grin. "Nope. I have escapes to attempt and monsters to kill if they try and stop me. I don't mind company of you don't, however. Planning on anything specific, or are we being mysterious for the moemnt?"
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Still clad in the odd attire that this predicament had clothed her in, Saber approached the two woman she'd noticed from just around the corner, careful not to disguise her presence lest they think her a threat to their safety. There was no need to ready herself for battle until she was made aware of what the battle entailed. If it was indeed another War, these women could possibly be her opponents.
"I beg your pardon," she began, polite but direct to the point as always. "I recently awoke in this place and do not yet have my bearings." The Servant refrained from grimacing at such an admission of weakness. "I would be indebted to the both of you if you could enlighten me. Has another War started?" It was a question that would seem vague enough to an innocent but direct enough to a Servant or Magus.
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“Mysterious? Are you talking about me? I’m an open book,” she said. “But what makes you think you can escape? Until they’re dealt with, they can just keep bringing you back.”
Yomi had been speaking as she walked, but when a third presence interrupted their exchange, she stopped and looked back over her shoulder, expression noncommittal. A fluke had just tipped the scales a little more in the prisoners’ favour, but still, there was all this talking. Women standing around, doing little more than gossiping. How stereotypical.
“Ah, you picked a good time to wake up, newbie-san. Welcome to Landel’s Institute, a zoo for exotic creatures of all shapes and sizes. Some of us are off to rattle the bars of our cage. How about participating in that war?”
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Giving the new girl a sympathetic smile, Rose paused, hands propped on her hips as she nodded in agreement to Yomi's statement. "I don't know what war you've come from, but you've walked into another one. We're trapped here. There's things trying to eat us, although they're not having much luck at it tonight. I'm Rose, this is Yomi," she introduced, before turning back to her partner for the night.
"Alright, you have a point," she admitted in reference to their earlier conversation, despite the way her instincts were still screaming at her to run! Escape! She still didn't know if that was possible, even with her senses and other abilities back. "Where would you suggest we start, then?"
Rose still didn't know enough about this place to be making plans to overthrow the powers-that-be. Not by far. Did they have to find the general? Did Yomi even know where to start looking?
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Saber steeled herself, her expression hardening. There was no time for this. There was a battle raging, and she hoped to help those trapped with her to win it.
"I understand. You may call me Saber," she replied. "Rose. Yomi. If you would allow me to accompany you, I shall lend my blade to your cause." Nevermind that it currently didn't much look like she had a blade on her.
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No… no, they wouldn’t. The spectres could come in droves if they wanted, but tonight was different, and that was plenty of reason for Yomi to feel a certain battle-hungry excitement. The sesshouseki’s thirst fueled her spirits. It was ready. It wanted to be free. It wanted to destroy.
The promise of what was to come allowed Yomi to smile at the talk of joining forces like a brigade of avengers. They weren’t first on the list, but her fellow captives, new or old, weren’t her allies in this. They were fodder like the rest of the Institute’s associates. For now, though, it was a matter of picking her fights. Category As were dangerous precisely because they were just as deliberate as they were carnal. And Yomi… Yomi was no fool.
“You can follow me if you want.” The response was to Saber’s proposition, but it was for Rose as well. Since there was no way of telling what tomorrow would bring, why not make things as interesting as possible now? Yomi turned back to face the exit and used her katana to nudge the door open wider. It met the barrier and went no further, held there by the muted pink glow. “I don’t know about you, but I’m thinking of putting these emergency procedures to the test.”
[stepping out to here]
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