Nightshift 34: M61-M70 Hallway

[tyki_pon]

Both nightshift and his Noah kicked in after what seemed like forever. Tyki slicked his hair back and grabbed his things before stepping into the hallway. It seemed he was pretty early considering no one was around just yet, but that would mean no one would beat him to the kitchen, right

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[rappigs]

Dinner was something of a trifle; it always seemed to be the same thing, and, once again, Peony couldn't wait to get outside, where the real fun was. Even though his shoulder still smarted a bit from last night's injury, he felt rested from his earlier nap, and he certainly felt ready to go.

Peeking outside the door with his flashlight, he noticed that there was a little crowd in the hallway, one of whom was Gailardia. Welly welly well, Peony was famous for crashing parties, and he was quite tempted to drop in on their little conversation, but instead he sidled up to it, relaxing against the doorframe of his own room.

And he listened. Why not, right? One of them seemed to be a very cute girl, and he was always up for listening in on what was going on in the world of Landel's Institute's cute girls.

He hoped Guy was ready for tonight's big imperial surprise, too. Not that it should come as much of a surprise, but...

[razing_phoenix]

[From up above.]

It wasn't too long before Guy came dutifully to his emperor's side, not that it was much all that much distance to cover. "Hey, sorry for the wait," he said, even though it hadn't been much time at all. He looked the other man over - even though Peony had been injured last night, he seemed to be dealing with it well enough.

"You gonna be okay for tonight?" he asked, just to make sure, though he got the feeling Peony would just brush it off. "I guess we're waiting for Jade, right?" He also needed to ask about Claude, though that could wait for the moment. Maybe he could go and pick up his friend while Peony waited for Jade? That would probably be the most efficient way to go about it, though he still wasn't sure if Haseo was coming along tonight or not.

[visualize]

[From here.]

There was no doubt that there were many benefits with having both Guy and his Majesty in the same hallway as one another. It insured him that the swordsman would keep Peony put if need be, which ultimately meant he wasn't the one that had to deal with his friend if he had other matters to attend to. These thoughts were enough to entice a small chuckle as he strolled down the hallway, catching sight of both blonds without much difficulty.

It was easy to see that the colonel had no intention of venturing out tonight, having brought nothing more than a single pipe that he held loosely in his hand. Usually he would've taken the time to use the contamination effect to temporarily store the makeshift weapon, but he couldn't risk wasting any energy for what he was already planning for tonight.

"I hope you don't intend to kill yourselves tonight," Jade greeted the two with a smile before turning his attention towards Peony. "How's your shoulder?"

[rappigs]

"Oh, yeah!" Peony chuckled lightly. Were they waiting for Jade? Peony wasn't aware of that little chink in the plan... and he wasn't really aware that Gailardia already knew that he wanted to go to the basement again. Oh well, so much for his big surprise. It was kind of dangerous when even his servants found him predictable. He'd have to mix it up a little bit, wouldn't it

[full_score]

((From here))

As Claude rounded the corner into the next hallway, he held up his flashlight long enough to catch a glimpse of some figures up ahead. Sure enough, as he approached them, he spotted Guy, Mr. Peony, and...Jade, wasn't it? Was this the group that was going to the basement? It was a good thing he'd decided not to waste anymore time in coming back here...

They seemed to be talking about something, so the blond didn't feel right in just barging into their conversation. Instead, he slowed his pace until he was lingering close enough for them to pick up on his presence, but far away enough not to be intrusive. He couldn't help but feel a little bad for making them wait, but hopefully the sword in his hand would make up for it.

As an afterthought, he clicked his flashlight off. It was probably better to save energy when he could. He didn't know about Guy, but Claude wasn't too keen on making more battery runs anytime soon.

[razing_phoenix]

"Well, I'm not sure about that," Guy said with a quick laugh. Did anything actually impress Jade? Guy doubted it. Then again, if Peony was saying something like that, maybe it really was true. They were best friends, after all. Though maybe Peony was just trying to poke fun at the colonel

[visualize]

Jade couldn't help but give another laugh at his best friend's comment about being 'in awe' at Guy opening the door last night. While he couldn't exactly find it in his cold, dead heart to agree to that, the swordsman did lend a hand in their escape from that creature in the kitchen. However, he chose to sidestep Peony's first comment and honed in on his next, grinning slightly as he did so

[rappigs]

Ohhh! The pipe was for him? The emperor couldn't help but grin. "Would you look at that," Peony murmured, not moving his eyes from Jade's face as he took the pope. Everyone who had been to Peony's room knew how much he liked weapons, especially the rare kind. Thing was, in Landel's, every weapon was the rare kind. "I'll be sure to pay you back doubly." He gave his confidant one of those 'meaningful' looks.

Then he waved the pipe in the air. "But finally! Answers! You've kept me waiting so long," he whined. "Tomorrow, then. On the bus. I'll be seeing you there." He said it with so much finality that there was no way it could possibly be questioned.

His youngest subject was greeting someone else at the moment, so Peony finally turned his gaze and his shine-tube over to Claude. "O-ho! Gailardia's traveling buddy revealed. Good choice." Oh, tonight was going to be fun.

"I think it's just about time to get going, unless Jade had something else he wanted to say.."

[full_score]

When the others greeted him, Claude fully approached the group. "Hi," he said with a small grin. "Sorry I'm a little late." He didn't think they'd been waiting too long, but it still looked like he was the final person to show up for their outing.

The blond eyed the pipe Peony was holding, but didn't say anything. It was probably a good thing he had something to protect himself with, although if he was an Emperor from Auldrant, he imagined making sure he didn't get hurt was on their list of priorities for tonight. Between that and getting through the basement, Claude figured they'd have their hands full

[razing_phoenix]

It looked like Jade was keeping secrets again, though apparently he was going to spill the beans come tomorrow. It didn't sound like Guy was allowed to join in, though he was sure he would get the whole scoop from Peony the following night. Unlike the colonel, Peony wasn't much for hiding things or being mysterious

[visualize]

"I'll make sure to hold you against that," Jade replied without skipping a beat, though unlike his friend he didn't bother to play along with his teasing act. Instead he merely grinned at his Majesty's demands, nodding simply as if deciding he'd play along with Peony for the time being, but even he knew that it was as perfect a time as any to at least discuss what progress they've made so far.

"If Guy is right then there's no need for a group of four to go to the basement," The colonel replied to Claude with his usual smile. "And besides, you already have one old man to worry about. You'll hardly get anything done if there were two."

One would think that Jade was being rather humble with his words, but those who knew him well enough knew better than to believe his 'sincerity', especially with the light laugh that followed.

[rappigs]

"Holding me against it? Ew, you know I wouldn't let you hold me against something in a million years," Peony replied, turning his entire body away from Jade with his eyes closed, and clicking his tongue disapprovingly. "Gross." Of course it was all in fun, but there was no reason to give Jade even an inch. Ever.

At Gailardia's mention of Haseo, Peony swayed a little bit on the spot. He hadn't been able to get a hold of Haseo today, even though he hadn't really tried. Young men had to get along with their spirited, fancy-free lives! That was simply how it was. "No Haseo, though with any luck I can wrangle him into hanging out tomorrow."

Finally, he took a few steps toward Claude and laid a hand on his lanky shoulder, leaning in a little bit. "Nice jacket. And yes, you're with me tonight! Please treat me gently." He hoped the irony in his words wasn't lost. He couldn't help but tease the young man.

"Shall we?"

[full_score]

Claude almost made a face at Peony's remark, but had enough restraint not to make any kind of comment. It was probably just the typical banter between a couple of good friends. Well, hopefully. He hadn't spent enough time with the two of them to really know

[razing_phoenix]

It seemed like everything was in order, then. It was just the three of them, Jade was going off to do his own thing, and Peony was making Claude uncomfortable again. That was more or less what Guy would have expected.

Lifting the meat cleaver up and resting the blunt edge on his shoulder, Guy glanced over at the two other blond men (they made quite the trio, didn't they?) and nodded. "Let's go, then. I'm sure I'll see you tomorrow, Jade." That actually wasn't so certain, considering the field trip, but Guy figured there was a good chance he'd at least catch a glimpse of the older man, even if they didn't get to talk.

Guy gave Claude a reassuring look (Peony wasn't so bad once you got used to him!) and then led them down the hallway, figuring it was best that he took the lead. Peony certainly couldn't do it, and Guy didn't think that Claude knew the way to the basement.

Reaching the end of the hall, Guy turned left.

[Guy, Claude, and Peony go here.]