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

Comments

[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.

"You're not coming with us?" he said to Jade, blinking a little. He wasn't sure how he felt about that. Peony could be kind of strange sometimes, and from what little he'd seen of Jade, he imagined he'd be getting a double dose of weird if they both came along. Not that he had anything against Guy's friends, of course! But, well...Claude knew firsthand how some people just took a little getting used to.

On the other hand, it'd mean it was just him, Mr. Peony and Guy for the night. Hopefully they'd be able to handle themselves well enough with two fighters and an Emperor with a pipe. At least the meat cleaver Guy had was a step up from a bat...

[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.

At Claude's question, Guy took it as his cue to turn to Peony with a tilt of his head and a flick of his hand. "How about Haseo?" He hadn't heard any mention of him yet, but that didn't mean that Peony didn't have something under his sleeve. So much for not hiding things.

Noticing that Claude had one of Ashton's swords in hand, Guy couldn't help but draw closer to his friend to give the weapon a better look. It wasn't particularly well-made, but he imagined it was the best the alchemists could muster with such limited resources. He was sure it got the job done well enough, though the sword was a bit too short for his liking. Then again, Ashton used two short swords, so that would explain it.

In any case, it was much more polished than his meat cleaver, not that Guy was ungrateful for Jade's donation.

[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.

He wasn't sure who Haseo was, but maybe he was another Auldrantian? Either way, it didn't sound like he was showing up tonight, so he guessed it didn't matter at the moment. Maybe he'd meet him sometime during their captivity. With how much free time they all got during the day, it was certainly possible. But tonight it was just going to be the three of them, it seemed.

The blond blinked when Peony rested a hand on his shoulder. "I-it's just part of my uniform, so..." Nothing special there. It wasn't like he went around wearing a jacket with his name on it for the hell of it, although it was probably some kind of fashion statement somewhere in the universe. "Anyway, let's do our best. We shouldn't come across anything we can't handle as long as we stick together, right?" And as far as treating him gently went, he was kind of hoping the older man would be willing to return the favor.

He smiled anyway. "Ready to go whenever you are."

[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.]