Day 30: Men's Showers (Third Shift)

[notachick]

The lockdown had been interesting. The fact that the staff had enough power to put down a rebellion that quickly and then lock people into their rooms just as fast was something of a feat to be admired. Their efficiency would have been much more impressive if Okita had been on the other side of it, however. As it stood, he had to keep his

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[prince_of_jurai]

[Free for Interaction!!!]

It was a relief when the nurse came to escort Tenchi to the showers. His roommate had never shown up and the room was beginning to feel a bit oppressive. He felt the sudden need for a nice warm shower. It would clear his head and perhaps give him a chance to think about a way out of this nightmare.

Ignoring the nurse's praises for not getting involved in the riot, Tenchi concentrated on what Hughes had said. He wasn't looking forward to nighttime. Not at all.

Once they had reached the showers, Tenchi's nurse turned and left him. Obviously she thought he could handle things from here. Tenchi quickly ducked into a changing stall, and then found an unoccupied shower. It took him a minute to remember how they worked. Washu had...renovated...their showers a long time ago. Instead of showers, they had onsen in their bathroom. Still, it wasn't difficult to remember a time before hot spring showers.

Turning the knob, Tenchi stood in front of the shower head and spread his arms out, ready to accept the glorious offering of warm water that would wash away all his stress.

The yelp that he released a half-second later would, most likely, have been heard from across the Institute. He wasn't expecting COLD water! Still, after a few seconds, it began to warm up and Tenchi was in heaven. Collecting his thoughts, he began to to think.

How do I get out of this place...?

[accursed_rock]

Blushing furiously, Zelgadis stepped into the public showers. His days always seemed to descend from bad to worse around here-- first the brawl, now this.

He stepped in front of a silver spigot, hoping water would simply pour down. After a moment he realized this wasn't going to happen, and became more embarrassed still. How did one control this water? He glanced from side to side, hoping someone would take pity on him and tell him how to use this...thing.

[felled_hero]

Well, that had been something of an interesting start to the day. Hughes wasn't surprised at how quickly the riot was quelled, or what had happened to those who'd been involved.

He just smiled and nodded at his nurse as he was ushered into the showers. This sort of thing was routine to him, and he stripped and headed into the main shower room with a yawn.

He spotted the guy he'd been talking with at breakfast, before the riot erupted, and headed over. He nodded to the man next to him, not recalling a name.

"Hey," he said in greeting, turning on the faucet on the other side of Tenchi. "Figured I could fill in anything I didn't over breakfast, if someone else hasn't already. You guys weren't busy, were you?"

[prince_of_jurai]

Tenchi felt bad for the one guy next to him. It seemed like he didn't know how to use the faucet.

"Um, you've got to turn it to the left." he said, pointing to the faucet."

As he was finishing his short explanation, he heard a voice to his other side. Jumping, he turned to see Hughes standing next to him.

"Oh, hello Mr. Hughes. No, after the riot began I was escorted back to my room alone. I don't know what happened to Miss Sierra."

Tenchi fumbled with his soap a bit more.

"Mr. Hughes? You mentioned that there are...monsters...at night. What happens to the nurses, orderlies, and doctors?"

He didn't particularly like the nurses, but he didn't wish harm on them either. He'd prefer if they all just went home or something.

[accursed_rock]

Pretending he'd known that all along, Zelgadis turned on the shower, felt the cold water, yipped and fell backwards onto his rear end. Yes, the day was definitely getting worse.

[felled_hero]

"Yeah, it takes a while to heat up sometimes," Hughes said, sympathetically. "But at least we've got hot water." Small blessings and all that.

"The staff? Well, the doctors go home at night," he said, giving the good news first. "The rest... they're monsters. I don't know how they're normal during the day, but at night they change. I've seen it happen with my own eyes."

Which added another level of horror to this place. He didn't mind his nurse during the day. She was friendly and he figured she was probably a pretty nice person. But at night....

[prince_of_jurai]

Tenchi shivered, and not from the water. Taking a look at his hands, he nearly yelped again. His skin was wrinkling faster than his grandfather's nose when Tenchi was caught skipping out on chores.

Apologizing to Hughes, Tenchi shut off the water and quickly exited. On his way out, he was joined by his nurse who escorted him to the Sun Room.

To here

[accursed_rock]

Zelgadis got up as the water turned warmer, grabbing a bar of soap. He wanted to get out of here quickly, but he was loathed to not have a thorough shower after such a messy few days.

"Thanks," He nodded to the taller man.

[felled_hero]

"It's fine." Hughes shook his head, wincing internally as Tenchi practically fled the room after that bit of news. He couldn't blame him, really. It wasn't comforting to know that the nice ladies who escorted you around during the day were potential enemies after dark. He shook his head and turned to the other man, the one who'd been having trouble with the shower.

"I'm Maes Hughes, I don't think we've met."

[accursed_rock]

Trying to shield as much of his body as he could with the steam from the shower, Zelgadis spoke from behind the mist-cloud.

"Zelgadis Greywords."

[felled_hero]

"Nice to meet you. I'd shake your hand, but..." Showers. And while Hughes was used to group showers, having lived in the barracks when he first joined the Military, he knew not everybody was used to casual conversation and greetings whist naked and soaking wet.

[accursed_rock]

Zelgadis mumbled something in reply to Hughes' comment and proceeded to do his best to hide himself in the steam.

What should he say? It was an awkward situation, and although this man didn't seem as likely to beat him up as almost everyone else he had met had... Zelgadis wasn't much good with conversation.

[felled_hero]

Right. Hughes cleared his throat and got on with his shower, nonplussed at the noncommittal reaction. Some guys just couldn't get the hang of group showers, no big deal.

And shortly thereafter, his attention was distracted anyway. What was that bastard Kimbley bothering Roy about now? (The added layer of being in the showers wasn't lost on Hughes, but he didn't bother to give it conscious thought.)

He'd have to grab Roy after their showers and make sure everything was alright.

"So," he tried again, leaning forward to rinse out his hair. "Been here long?"

[accursed_rock]

Hughes' movement prompted Zelgadis to remember that his hair also needed a wash-- it was unfamiliar having hair that wasn't wire and actually required regular shampooing.

"About... three days? I think."

There had been so much going on it was hard to keep track, but still Zelgadis mentally berated himself for not being more on top of such important information.

[felled_hero]

"Yeah, it's hard to keep track." Hughes knew how that went. "I think everybody ends up adding 'I think' to that." He laughed a little bit, trying to ignore Kimbley and Roy. It'd only get him riled up, and there was probably nothing to get riled up over.

"Time's all funny here. I'd say I've been here a month or two, but I'm really not sure."

[accursed_rock]

Zelgadis happily began to wash his hair, pleased with the remembrance of the curse being broken.

He relaxed a bit, no longer tense thanks to the pleasant company. He'd always been so ashamed of his body, but now...

"How have you managed to stay alive so long?"

The thought of the institute's nightly beasts removed some of the calm.