Day 28: Bus 1
Zelgadis was not happy, at all. Not that this was any change, but the events of the past few hours had given him more to angst about than usual. Nightshift had been dreadful: first he was attacked by a small green man and then covered in leeches, neither of which lead to warm fuzzy feelings
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Rabastan Lestrange was utterly terrified at the prospect of having to leave Landel's. It took two nurses, one orderly, and the head nurse herself to settle him down (with the help of a little blue pill) and reassure him that he was coming back to Landel's later that evening.
"Are you sure?" he asked for about the tenth time, uncomfortable in his Muggle clothing of jeans and a flannel shirt. Those trainers just did not fit his feet as nicely as boots did.
"Yes, Mr King. You'll be back before you know," the RN said soothingly, leading him to the buses.
That right there presented another problem. Rabastan had never seen a bus except for the Knight Bus, and this one looked nothing like that one. Suddenly, he found himself wanting Severus. Even Harry. Or Yazoo! Oh yes, Yazoo would make this less scary with his cat-eyes. Or Aya! Aya would be very nice too.
"IT ATE THOSE PEOPLE!" Bast yelped, top volume.
"Mr, King, it didn't -eat- them. They're getting on the bus. See?" The nurse, who was now glad Landel's had a good hearing plan, managed to get him calmed and explained what a bus was as best she could while trying to get all the patients in place. With that done (and the help of another blue pill), Bast looked pretty much ready to go.
At the stricken look on his face, she patted his hand gently. "You'll be back before you know it, Mr King. You'll like Doyleton."
Nodding miserably, although feeling very calm to say the least, Bast stared morosely out the window. They were taking him back to Azkaban.
She frowned, trying to get him cheered up some. "Now, Mr King, you know the Head Doctor wouldn't lie, would he? He wouldn't leave you there by mistake."
"Bast blinked at that, a tiny smile starting. No, the Head Doctor wouldn't, would he? And Alec might come too!
Seeing the bit of a smile, she patted his hand again and headed off to help the other patients. It was terrible when patients got institutionalized like Mr King, but she supposed there was no way to avoid it.
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Truth be told, MOMO had nearly forgotten about the field trip, until the nurse came in with some clothes for her to change into. That, needless to say, surprised her, but at least they were somewhat nice. Indeed, the realian was quite comfortable in the navy blue sweater, knee-length skirt (though it was admittably a bit longer than what she was used to), and pair of boots. She was also grateful that the long sleeves of the sweater hid the bites from the dragonflies she and the others had run into the previous night.
After being escorted to a bus and being handed her breakfast, MOMO began her search for a seat. It seemed to be filling up pretty quickly, or perhaps she was just late in getting there. Either way, after failing to see anyone she knew, the pink-haired Prototype paused near a man who seemed to be staring out the window.
"Um... excuse me, sir?" she began politely, putting on a smile, "May I sit here?"
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"Um... excuse me, sir?" she began politely, putting on a smile, "May I sit here?"
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It was probably best for everyone concerned that Rabastan had been calmed down by chemical means. Otherwise, the Death Eater would have probably snapped out at anyone who spoke to him right now unless they had been a friend of his. This stranger was not.
A flat gaze moved up and down her before Rabastan's muddled attention went back to his window. If Jack was here, he wanted to see him, not to mention any of his other friends. Surely one of them had to be around, right?
"If you wish," Bast mumbled through a yawn, re-seating his radio in his arms. If this was what the nurse called a 'bus ride', it wasn't too terrible.
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"Thank you very much," she said, taking the available seat. It was only after she was seated that she really took notice to the object he was holding in his arms. It seemed a little... well, odd to see someone carrying a radio during the day; as far as she knew, it was only really useful at night. Of course, it wasn't her place to question another persons preferences.
"My name's MOMO," the realian piped up after a moment, deciding to at least try and introduce herself, "May I ask yours, sir..?"
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"My name?"
Bast blinked at her slowly, having to run that question through his mind. When he answered, it was probably apparent why it took him a minute to gather all his thoughts.
"My name is Rabastan Duma Weatta Zehanpuryu'h Cheriour Kokaviel Roelhaiphar Uriron Paschar Apollyon-Abaddon Ghedoriah Itqal Lestrange. It's nice to meet you, Momo."
He paused there again, looking her up and down thoughtfully.
"As long as you're not a Muggle. You're not, are you?"
It was so hard to tell these days which was which and who was who. Patting his radio like one would a small pet, Bast eyed it thoughtfully.
"Jack should be here soon. He said he would be. So will the Head Doctor, but Jack might get lucky again."
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MOMO canted her head, mildly curious as to why someone would need to think about what their name was. As he answered, however, the answer became clear. At first, she stared for a few seconds as though trying to figure out if he was joking or not. Then, with a slight shake of her head, she blinked and scratched her cheek. Really, she had thought Multiple Observative Mimetic Organicus was long...
"It's nice to meet you too, Mister, uh..." She faultered, having to sort quickly through the various names, "Mr. Lestrange."
She couldn't say she had ever heard the term 'muggle' before. But, despite her confusion over the word, MOMO opted to shake her head and reply, "No, sir, I'm not." Which, as far as she knew, was true. She was a realian.
As Rabastan went on to pat the radio, her gaze returned to the object curiously. Although her attention shifted back to him immediately at the mention of the Head Doctor. The Head Doctor was going to be here... there... with them soon? The very idea seemed frightening. She wasn't entirely sure who Jack was either, but she really didn't want to think about the Doctor being there.
"Jack? Oh, is he a friend of yours, or something? If you were waiting for someone, I can move to another seat."
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He looked away from the window finally, staring blankly at Momo with his washed out blue eyes as if trying to remember her for a minute there. A faint smile shaped his lips again.
"Most people just call me Bast, Rabastan, or Get Out Of There And Put That Back Where You Found It Right Now. Mr Lestrange... erm, Lord Lestrange, is my father."
The news that she wasn't a Muggle appeared to please the crazy wizard as he resttled his radio in the crook of his arm. For some reason, he gave the device another kind pat.
"Jack is Alec Doyle or Mr Radio. He's the one who talks on the radio at night with the low music. The Head Doctor doesn't like him very much sometimes, I think. Doyleton is named after him. The place we're going, remember?"
Who knew if Bast was lying, telling the truth, just guessing, or honestly believed this all to be true. Most people had no idea where Bast got his information anyways.
"Jack said you should watch out for the blue man today too."
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He certainly seemed affectionate towards his radio. She was still curious as to why one would choose to carry it with them during the day, though.
"Oh, yes, Doyleton." Actually, she had forgotten where it was they were supposed to be going. But why would they go somewhere named for the radio man? "I didn't know he-- um, Jack that is, was going to be coming on the trip too."
Whether or not Rabastan was telling the truth, MOMO easily believed him. After all, the man on the radio had to have a name. And if the comments the Head Doctor occasionally spouted at night were any indication, they didn't seem to get along.
"Blue man?" she asked, tilting her head in slight confusion. "I... don't think I know any blue man."
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Bast leaned forward enough to peer at her. He wasn't the most observant of people to start with, but add in the sedative, and she probably could have stripped naked and done a tap dance on the back of the seats, and he would have thought it completely ordinary. Well, he probably would have remarked on her exceptional balance with those pleather coated seats.
Giving her a vague smile, he nodded in agreement with her. "Doyleton has to be named for Alec Doyle. Oh yes, he's coming. It's not the first time either. He sometimes comes out and walks with us. I'll get to see him sometime today if he doesn't get on the bus."
Bast paused there, head tilted as if hearing something. Picking up his radio, he pressed it to his ear, listening intently. Nodding, he tucked it back against his side as if it were a stuffed animal.
"You don't, not yet. But you will. It won't be bad, but it will be important."
He grinned at her then, perfectly calm and content. When the bus engine started up, it was going to be a completely different story. Pureblood wizard + Muggle public transport =/= good thing. He'd never even heard an engine before. A loud bus engine was likely to scare the hell out of him.
Pity MOMO being right beside him.
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Hearing that the man on the radio (Jack? Alec? Was it really necessary for him to have more than one name?) came out on occasion was surprising. As far as she could remember, she couldn't recall hearing something like that before. He seemed to be the one trying to help them, despite remaining cryptic in his messages, so the idea of meeting him wasn't as frightening as meeting the Head Doctor. "Well, since he's coming with us today, I hope you'll get to meet him." It seemed that was what Bast wanted, at least.
MOMO then smiled, though it probably looked a little nervous. "If it's important, then I'll be sure to keep that in mind." Although she had to wonder, was that supposed to mean a man who was dressed in blue, or an actual... blue-colored man? The latter seemed unlikely, but she wouldn't put it past this place to come up with something like that.
"Did you..." The realian paused, and pointed to the radio before continuing, "Did you hear about the blue man on the radio?"
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Poor MOMO went ignored most of the ride thanks to his fascination with the things outside and him trying to figure out the bus. The drugs he had been given probably didn't help matters much.
He did finally peer up at her when they came to a halt, Bast lifting his shoulders in a vague shrug. "Jack told me about it. He said there was a blue man or men that would be 'interesting' to you. I don't know if he means bad interesting or good interesting. I'd keep an eye out if I were you."
Giving her a last grin, Bast sneaked by and wandered off the bus, radio still at his side faithfully.
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