Nightshift 28: Main Hallway, 1-Center

[broken_exorcist]

[[From here]]

Allen struggled to keep Sanji from falling over as they walked further into the institute. The halls were so dark without the portable lanterns, it was difficult to see much going on in front of them. He didn't like it, but there wasn't much he could do about it for the time being.

"Whatever is close I guess," Allen replied to Sanji

Comments

[small_fortune]

No, I'd rather not be paired with them again, as it's like walking along with two bloodthirstier versions of my own subpersonalities. Right, that probably wouldn't go over well...

"We didn't have difficulties getting along, but prior to Madame Lust's presence, Gluttony seemed somewhat directionless. Since I lack a map and my only familiarity with this place thus far is based on the bulletin board's information, I can't travel well alone or lead another unless I plan to wander aimlessly. The problems with that are obvious."

The Colonel was a surprise encounter, but Mark was less surprised than he was pleased to meet someone he'd researched already rather than more strangers. There had to be hundreds of individuals here, each one odder than the last.

"I wouldn't demand your company, but if you want to travel with me to my room, I wouldn't argue either," Mark answered honestly. The survival edge that had been awakened by the nurses' change was nearly gone now, and he had to consciously remind himself to stay alert as they walked, Killer prodding at the back of his mind to keep him from being too distracted by his own thoughts.

[muted_flame]

While Roy had never met Gluttony himself, he had heard the reports. At Lust's command that she be with him during the assignments, Roy hadn't seen any reason to argue. She kept the other homunculus in line, which as far as he could tell, was necessary. He didn't need the sin gnawing on one of the other patients, after all.

Still, he could understand why Mark was a little wary to continue working with those two. They weren't exactly friendly, after all. "I'll try to get a hold of a map for you, if that would help," he spoke up, "and if you want to continue working with us, I can also try to find some other patients you'll work better with." It was actually good that they had the chance to discuss this, since he could get a better idea of what Mark would be best at.

So the decision was left up to him. As Roy saw the door of his own block nearing, he had to stop and consider. It wasn't that much farther to go, and the chance of them getting attacked were rather slim -- though that could just as easily mean that Mark could go the rest of the way on his own. He turned to the shorter man and looked him over. "Do you need to get to your room specifically for something, or did you just want to get back to the room blocks?"

[small_fortune]

"A map would be very useful," Mark answered without holding back any emphasis. On his second night here, he still had only a vague idea of the first floor's layout, and of that, mostly the path between the cafeteria and the room blocks. But what would Roy want in exchange? For now, "I would rather keep working with a group, and I don't see any reason not to work with yours, if you're still interested in my talents." Roy's command style was different from what Mark had seen of Miles's, a flexibility that was easier to concede to work alongside. And Mark had to admit, as much as he'd like to pretend he had moved past worrying about such things, part of him was pleased that Roy didn't seem to be judging by appearances.

As they paused outside a door Mark recognized as an entrance to the patient blocks, he could tell Roy was looking him over and looked back, though not quite so harshly. "I was thinking that I'd be better off with at least my flashlight. That was my main goal in reaching the rooms. After that, I had no plans." It was almost an invitation. Hiding in his room all night didn't exactly sound appealing. And even less appealing was the option of travelling alone.

[muted_flame]

"I don't actually have one myself, but a lot of patients do and most will make copies if you ask them." It shouldn't be hard for Mark to find someone willing, Roy didn't think. He really needed to get one himself, actually, though it helped that he had a fairly good idea of where most things were on the first floor by now. The second floor was a different story.

"I still don't know very much about what your talents are, but we need all the help we can get." This sort of flexibility was something he had adapted to while at Landel's. He had run a fairly tight ship back in Amestris, keeping only those soldiers who he worked well with, who worked well with each other, and who were competent. In this situation, practically anyone who wanted to help was welcomed.

The invitation was noted, and Roy knew that it wasn't right for anyone to spend a night alone. He might as well keep Mark around, at least until he found Hughes--and they could even take him along if it came to that. "Why don't you just stick with me?" he offered, though he didn't continue moving, waiting for a response.

[small_fortune]

He didn't have one? For a moment, Mark was startled, but then it made sense. If Mustang had been here long enough to build up a power base, he'd probably been here as long as, or before, maps were starting to be drawn up by other patients. No use for a map for someone who'd already done plenty of exploring and become familiar with the building on his own. Still, it was too bad Mark hadn't had time to reach into his dresser and retrieve his notebook before they'd been taken off on this little trip to fantasyland, he might have at least started on a map of his own. Assuming he could see anything well enough in the dark to draw it out...

"I did some data analysis for a military organization, for a while. When I was brought here, I'd been studying economics and working on some private investments. I've had some training on how to fight..." No, you had some training on how to kill. "Although there's very little like what we saw out there in my world." That was a brief and honest assessment of his skills, a little more detailed than the board.

For some reason, he felt an odd perverse urge to refuse when Roy offered, but repressed that. "Thanks, Colonel." He didn't offer any promises about not slowing the other man down, since he wasn't sure he wouldn't.

[muted_flame]

While those were useful skills, Roy wasn't entirely sure how much help they would be here. Not that he intended to discount what the man could do, of course, but it wasn't always easy to sort people. "Where do you think you would be best placed?" If anyone was going to know, it would be the man himself. Considering they'd ended up with the chance to talk it over, Roy didn't see why he shouldn't get as many details as possible.

Many of the patients hadn't seen anything like what Landel's had thrown at them, and even Roy had been taken by surprise at times. He'd seen some ugly things in his life, but Landel's knew how to chip away at them in all sorts of ways.

That was settled, then. With the way his night vision had increased ever since he'd gotten the homunculus eye, Mark could be trusted with his flashlight if they decided to head out together. Without any further delay, he headed into his patient block.

[muted_flame]

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