Day 30: Sun Room (Fourth Shift)

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((Reserved for Dias.))

The shower shift had been a bit brief for Claude's liking, though he figured it had more to do with the fact they didn't get to bathe very often, and less to do with finding the shower rooms enjoyable. Then again, did anyone really enjoy communal showers

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Dias had certainly had better days, even in this place.

When the riot had started, and he'd realized River was in the middle of it, the possibility of his not participating had flown out of the window. He'd launched himself at the first orderly standing between himself and his surrogate sister, with every intention of fighting his way to her side...an attempt that had failed spectacularly, as apparently the staff had learned to keep a close eye on him for signs of violence. He'd been swarmed within moments, and felt that prick in his neck that signaled the heavy drowsiness of his being drugged...the effects were only now starting to wear off, and his accompanying orderly was still hanging around almost too close for comfort

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Claude was glad Dias had sought him out. As worried as he'd been about the blue-haired man, he wasn't in the mood to organize a man-hunt at the moment, especially if it turned out that such a thing was uncalled for. And, thankfully, it was, because, well...there was Dias, alive and well.

The question apparently caught Claude off guard, and he subconsciously moved to shove hands into pockets that he belatedly realized weren't there. "I-I should be asking you that, shouldn't I?" The Earthling let his hands fall awkwardly to his sides. "But, yes, I'm, uh, fine." He managed a faint smile. "Thank you."

He eyed the swordsman for a moment, trying to find any signs of injury or illness. Dias seemed to be carrying himself well enough, though he looked like he'd seen better days. "When that riot happened today, I was wondering if you'd managed to stay clear of it or not. It was pretty chaotic, so I had no way of seeing you for myself." He frowned a little. "You're okay, though, right?"

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"I didn't try to stay clear of it," Dias replied flatly. He couldn't remember if Claude knew about his connection with River yet; Dias didn't think he'd told him, certainly, but it was possible Ashton had mentioned it at some point...Dias decided to assume that Claude didn't know, since if he had then he'd have all but known Dias must be involved if River was. "I was trying to protect River. But they overwhelmed me before I could get five yards." He wasn't exactly happy about that; even without a sword in his hands, he felt like he should have been able to get through anything that tried to stand between himself and River, and that not doing so was some sort of personal failure.

At Claude's inquiry as to his health, he shrugged slightly. "The sedatives are wearing off" was his noncommittal reply. "With how tired you looked just now, I thought maybe they'd gotten you with some, too." Apparently, he'd been wrong; Claude had looked tired when Dias had first addressed him, but he seemed entirely alert now.

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River. That was the girl he'd caught a glimpse of in the cafeteria, wasn't it? Claude hadn't been sure at the time, especially considering the chaos, and how she seemed to disappear from view after he'd turn towards Asch and Guy for that moment. Not to mention he'd only seen her once during his first night, and he hadn't exactly been trying to remember her face at the time

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Claude looked almost ashamed, as though he should have realized Dias was involved and done something to help. The sentiment was appreciated, even if it was foolish. "There was nothing you could have done," he said with a slight shrug. "There was nothing I could really do, either, and I knew that going in. But I wanted to protect River." It hadn't been a reaction that had anything to do with logic; knowing the odds were impossible hadn't even made Dias hesitate. He'd had to at least try to get to her, to help her. "It's probably just as well you weren't involved

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"I understand the feeling, though," Claude told him with a small frown. "Wanting to protect the people you care about even though you know there isn't much you can do." It'd been what drove him back to a doomed planet, cutting off all communication with the Calnus, and setting himself up for an imminent death in the process. He hadn't even been thinking much on the odds of getting killed, though he'd known it'd been a huge probability. What had mattered was staying with his friends, doing everything he could to save them until the bitter end

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"Just because it's understandable doesn't make it any better of an idea," Dias replied, looking away. "Both of us getting sedated fighting a battle we couldn't win would be pointless. Besides, it's better that at least one of us stayed alert." Dias had thrown himself into the fray mostly because he couldn't have lived with himself if he hadn't tried to protect River; he doubted Claude was so attached to him, although that the younger man would have willingly fought on his behalf regardless of the consequences was still appreciated

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Claude took pause at what Dias said, and he folded his arms over his chest. The swordsman had a point about keeping at least one of them alert. If they were both out of it and a real emergency cropped up, it could have been bad news. "That may be so, but that doesn't make it any easier for either of us to sit out when we see people in trouble."

Still, it was good to hear Dias say he knew Claude had his back, and the blond couldn't help but smile a little bit at that. It always felt good to know people he respected knew they could count on him, especially when times were tough. He'd probably want to crawl into a hole somewhere if other people felt like they couldn't trust him during these dangerous times.

It wasn't until after Claude had explained his reasoning for not finding the others that he realized he'd probably over-reacted and gotten a little too defensive. He wasn't entirely sure why he'd responded that way. Then again, the latest situation had definitely put him on edge, especially after the big blow up from a couple

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Well, Dias certainly couldn't argue with that. The whole reason he'd joined in with the fighting was because he couldn't have tolerated watching River struggle alone. He hadn't really thought Claude cared about him a comparable amount, however...they were friends, but they were also rivals, and there had been times Dias had wondered whether or not his being gotten out of the way one way or another might not benefit the younger man. That Claude wasn't able to stomach the thought of Dias being in trouble and not helping, especially in light of that, was...surprising. And slightly flattering

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"Oh, I don't know," Claude replied, and for a moment he came dangerously close to saying, Maybe going on a date?! He caught himself just in time, though he looked like he'd been on the verge of saying something else. It didn't take him long to decide he ought to add to that

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The way Claude had said that, it had sounded like he'd meant to follow it with some sort of accusation, and Dias shot him a piercing glance. However, the blond seemed to think better of it...but that just left Dias to fill in the blank as to what he might have accused them of doing. "You may as well just say it," he said flatly. No one had ever accused Dias of being indirect...

The questions about Alec did little to improve his mood, and he looked away. "He was hardly any more informative in person than he is over the radio, if somewhat less cryptic. All we got out of him that was useful was that the way back to our homes is through the basement; he wouldn't tell us anything else without payment, and he didn't elaborate what he wanted as payment before the night ended. It wasn't that productive. That, and he become hostile and uncooperative when I questioned him."

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The hard glance wasn't lost on Claude, but he did his best to ignore it. He hadn't actually said anything accusing, after all, so it wasn't like Dias could get mad at him for it. "Say what?" he asked, trying to feign ignorance. "I have no idea what you're talking about, Dias." Really, the idea of Dias going on a "date" with anyone was pretty damn ridiculous, now that he thought about it, and it almost made him feel embarrassed for thinking it in the first place.

"The way home is through the basement?" Claude echoed, looking even more curious now. "I don't know, I'd say that's pretty useful. I mean, I guess it's pretty annoying he didn't say more, especially since it isn't like we have a lot to offer in terms of payment. I'm glad you guys got to meet him, though." He would have gone himself, if Luke hadn't been taken for experiments. It just went to show how splitting up in groups tended to work to their advantage in this place, right?

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"Don't be dense," Dias replied coldly. "Ashton told me what he said to you. So if you have something to say, get it over with. We have more than enough problems in this place without you having some sort of grudge afgainst me." Truthfully, Dias would prefer to be doing almost anything other than having this conversation, but he wasn't so socially obtuse that he couldn't recognize when someone had an issue with him - that at least was a social situation he experienced on a fairly regular basis, and with Claude in particular. It wouldn't do either of them any good to close their eyes to it and hope that if they ignored it, it would simply go away. Better to get it out into the open and dealt with quickly, however unpleasant the process

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Claude's eyebrows furrowed, and he felt his face burning with the beginnings of a blush. "Wh-what?" he said suddenly. "I don't have a grudge against you! Really!" That wasn't what that uncomfortable, tight feeling was when he thought of Dias and Ashton together together, right? Why couldn't anyone see this from his side of the issue? No one understood how weird all of this was for him! And Dias sounded like he was trying to make him out to be the bad guy here.

Maybe I am, he thought guiltily. After all, he should be happy to see his friends be happy in a place like this, right? What the hell was wrong with him?

...Well, they're good and exorcised now, so you don't have to worry about it anymore. Now I won't be holding you up, so after we can get back you can go to the university with Rena too, or whatever.He hadn't forgotten what Ashton had said to him several days ago (though if felt like months by this point). The dragons were gone, Ashton didn't have any reason for Claude to hang around him so much anymore, and now he'

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Dias raised an eyebrow. "Then this isn't a repeat of what happened with Rena?" He still found it amusing that Claude had resented him so much back then, as inconvenient as it had been at the time and as much as it had upset Rena. Then, like now, he hadn't really done anything in particular, and yet somehow it managed to rub Claude entirely the wrong way...

It probably had something to do with the boy's insecurity, Dias decided. He relied a great deal on his friends, cared for them a great deal...so when someone else came along who seemed as though they might be superior to Claude in any way, he reacted badly, terrified that his friends were somehow being seduced away by someone who had more to offer. In this case, perhaps, literally. Personally, Dias found the whole idea ridiculous; then, like now, he'd known that his expertise with a blade had come with a price - he was scarcely fit to be around people anymore. He'd never been good at protecting them and the skills to socialize with them meaningfully had been eroded to the point

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"Of course it's not a repeat of what happened with Rena," Claude answered, albeit bit too quickly. Then, against his better judgment, he heatedly added, "You and Rena weren't even dating, Dias!"

He clammed up as soon as the words escaped his mouth, abruptly folding his arms over his chest and looking away. In truth, there were probably more similarities to the Rena fiasco than he cared to admit. But that didn't change the fact this was a totally different incident in of itself. For one, his fears in all of this were obviously justified, at least in his mind, given the way the last several nights had gone. And for another, it didn't involve Rena, but the person he'd intended to spend years with, if fate would have allowed it