Day 43: Sun Room, 4th Shift

[euphemise]

The late-afternoon sun filled the large, open Sun Room. It was almost enough to make you sleepy, Euphemia thought, as she walked in, brushing a little glitter off her shirt. She didn't particularly feel like she was up to much - the worrying about everyone had drained her, as much as she'd tried not to think too much about it

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[no_barbarian]

Naturally the kid would ask something that Teisel couldn't answer. Feeling foolish, he twirled a piece of his hair. "Beats me, kid. I've been having some..." Blackouts? Memory problems? Or was Todd just lucid all those times that he couldn't remem- No. That was no road to go down now. That doctor had called him by his name; that should be enough proof that he wasn't some nutcase. "Well, I've had some issues the last couple days, you could say, and I'm not caught up on the news yet. Tell you what, though," he grumbled, "If Landel is out of the picture then I feel friggin' cheated."

One of the things that kept Teisel, and probably half the patient population, going was the thought of giving that man his just desserts. Explosively. Having someone new in charge was galling on several levels. For one, it was looking like taking out the head doctor wouldn't really get them anywhere if someone new would just step in to fill the hole. Also, a new head honcho meant the rules of the game were likely to change, and just when Teisel was getting used to the way things ran here, too. Noticing that he was beginning to sulk, he shook himself out of his thoughts. "A new boss might make things around here more dangerous. Landel's a bastard, but he seemed happy enough to just watch us run around. These new clowns might be more...what's the word? Proactive."

It was upsetting, now that he really thought about it. Sure, sometimes a nurse would take over the announcements for ol' Pencil Neck, but today's announcements were different. Official. Businesslike. Teisel hated businesslike. "We'll have to get you back on your feet and armed. You can't afford to get hurt like this again." Teisel's nerves couldn't afford Forte getting hurt again. He had more than enough to worry about.

[runner_up_robot]

Forte shared Teisel's sentiment. Sure, the patients all couldn't be the one to finish off Landel, but he would've liked a good swing at him. And it wasn't even a patient, apparently, but those zombies - mindless and probably didn't even enjoy it. But he still let Teisel's concern fly right over his head (the pirate being less persuasive than Sheena).

"Don't worry, I'm sure I'll be back on my feet again - and if I could live through that, I can live through anything." He looked down at his slung arm, and added, "but I do need something to block with besides my- this arm. It's definitely not as durable as my real one." Saying it out loud, he realized he'd started to think of this as his own body, but he needed to remember it wasn't - he was just stuck in it until he found a way to fix himself - all the more reason he shouldn't worry about it being damaged if he could keep going.

[no_barbarian]

"That," Teisel snapped, "is exactly the attitude that'll get you in trouble again! You're worse than Tron!" Stumbling momentarily over the comparison, Teisel cleared his throat. Once he'd composed himself somewhat, he went on. "If you lived through one monster, it means you lived through one monster. Once."

Pulling himself out of what would have been an impressive scolding, Teisel sighed. "I've been using a length of pipe the last few days. Seems to work pretty good. 'Course," he went on, "you can't swing much of anything with your arm like that." It was probably a little cruel to point out Forte's temporary handicap like that, but the kid seemed to be under the impression that his injuries were no big deal. He had to get it through his thick head that keeping himself in one piece was more important than winning a fight. ...Well, when it came to monsters, anyway.

[runner_up_robot]

Forte scoffed at the chiding. Obviously, he wasn't going to run out now, when he couldn't even stand without his side screaming at him. His response was also a lot less sincere than the one he'd given Sheena.

"Fine, I'll take care of myself. And I can wait to get a weapon. I'll just get myself healed, and wait until I can get even stronger before I try again, the same as I always do.

"And I can't move my arm because I still have my face." He didn't actually stick his tongue out at Teisel, but the intention was clear from his tone - he was still intent on being proud of himself, regardless of his current condition. If he had had a metal pipe, he'd probably be fine now.

[no_barbarian]

Mollified, Teisel nodded his approval. "Good. See that you do." Come to think of it, Tron made a lot of the same assurances to get out of a lecture, not all of which she followed through on...

"You face wouldn't have been much of a loss," Teisel snapped back. He wasn't in the mood for any sass. Not that he usually was in the mood for it, but still.