Day 44: Arts and Crafts Room, Second Shift

[gothamsfuture]

Astor hadn't talked much after introducing himself, which hadn't bothered Terry. With all the crap their little hospital of horrors piled on the patients, he couldn't blame a guy for not wanting to open up to some stranger. Plus, not talking meant he could get a decent meal in, and then check out the bulletin for the latest in Landel's news and

Comments

[euphemise]

Euphemia was in no mood to argue with her nurse when she gently nudged her towards the arts and crafts room. While it was true that she'd rather like a nap, she could always ask if it would be all right for her to have one later. So, she smiled and went along with it.

She couldn't say she had much interest in the crayons and - while it was pretty - glitter, but there was paper there and she knew a little about origami. Certainly there wouldn't be any objections to making some things? It might even cheer people up a little if they were just left around for them to find.

With that, Euphy nodded and set herself to folding cranes.

[for exorcist-Kagura, IIRC?]

[cursed_exorcist]

[from here]

After she had finished her shower, her nurse had shown her to the arts and crafts room. Looking around, Kagura wasn't exactly sure what she should be doing; she wasn't exactly in the mood for drawing. Even though she tried to ignore it, her drama with Yomi last night was still fresh in her mind.

"Sara, why don't you help Diana out with her origami," said her nurse.

Kagura could certainly fold cranes, but she didn't want to intrude on the other girl. Unfortunately, with her nurse ushering her forward, she had little choice in the matter. At least, the nurse had chosen to give them some space.

"Um, hi. I'm Kagura. Need some help there?"

[Sorry for the delay]

[euphemise]

[and sorry for my own fail! ^^;; ]

Euphemia turned and smiled at the woman that had sat down next to her. "I'm Euphy," she said, and then nodded, passing a pile of paper over. "They say the more people the merrier, right?"

She paused, trying to figure out if she wanted to try and string these together now or wait a while. She decided waiting would be best.

"So, where are you from, Kagura-san?" She added the honorific without thinking too much about it. It was simply a matter of respect in her mind - even though she tended not to use them with friends after a while.

[cursed_exorcist]

[No worries. At least we're even now!^^]

"Yeah," Kagura cheerfully replied, returning Euphy's smile with one of her own. The pink-haired girl seemed like a nice person that Kagura could get along with. She even knew how to use honorifics. Kagura hoped they could become good friends. "I'm from Tokyo, Japan. What about you Euphy-san?"

[euphemise]

The princess smiled again, picking up on the older girl's smile. "Ah, is that so? I've lived there for the past few months," she said. Or at least in the settlement that had once been called Tokyo, before the takeover. But, there wasn't any need to mention any of that now. "It's very different from my original hometown, but I've really grown to love it in the time I've been there."

She finished folding a pink crane, then took up a sheet of purple paper. "Though I do miss some things about the Britannian mainland, I really consider Japan home now."

[cursed_exorcist]

"Really? I'm glad you like it." Wow... Hearing a foreigner talk that way about Japan was kind of humbling. Kagura had grown to love her homeland, because while it might have been the residence of her saddest memories, it was also home to her happiest ones. You just couldn't take the good without the bad. She agreed with Euphy's sentiment about her homeland. "Yeah, there's no place like home

[euphemise]

"I really do." Euphemia smiled again. It was hard not to smile, really - even though with that came the reminder that she needed to get back home. She wanted to see everyone in the SAZ happy and settling in, and more than that...she had a promise to keep. "And you can say that again. There's definitely no place like home." Flaws and all, that was still true, no matter what

[cursed_exorcist]

As soon as Euphy burst into laughs, Kagura did the same. The pink-haired girl endeared herself to Kagura pretty quickly, which was quite a feat, though that might have been Kagura's fault in the first place. It was hard to have friends when her exorcism job took a lot of her time. Not that it mattered anymore. "Yeah, all I had for breakfast was a few pieces of fruit. I don't know what I was thinking."

As Kagura listened to Euphy's explanation, she could tell it was a difficult issue, so Kagura let the subject drop, gently. "Oh, okay."

Remembering Euphy's earlier response to her offer, Kagura quickly went to work on making cranes, the familiar process coming to her with extreme ease. Having dexterous hands helped too. "So are you making these for someone?"

[euphemise]

"I didn't have much appetite this morning, either," Euphy admitted. "I normally love French toast, but I just wasn't feeling up to much earlier. But that just means we'll have to look forward to lunch, right?" She smiled at her new friend. "I'm kind of craving something like miso ramen."

She had to admit, she was relieved when Kagura let the subject drop. "It's a little complicated to explain without a map," she said. That was the least of the problems with describing Britannia, but it was the most relevant right now. The territory was expanding at a large rate, and she herself wasn't in the loop any longer as to what was being planned.

"I'm making them for, well, everyone," she replied, smiling a bit sadly. "The legend says that if you can make a thousand, a wish will come true. My wish is for everyone to get to go home, because no one deserves to be in a place like this."

[cursed_exorcist]

"They both sound pretty good," Kagura said, completely agreeing. Euphy had some good taste. Then again, Kagura could eat anything right about now. Just the thought of food made the inside of Kagura's mouth water.

"I'm familiar with the legend," Kagura said, tentatively. Somewhere in her heart, the little girl who believed in wishes coming true was crying in a corner. In Kagura's opinion, you were better off not relying on a higher power to grant your wishes. You'd just get disappointed in the end, but she didn't share any of this with Euphy. She didn't want to depress the girl with her real-world experiences. "I agree. I want everyone to get out of this creepy place, but I don't know what I can do. If I had a weapon, like a katana, maybe I could do something, but..."

[euphemise]

"They do," Euphy agreed. Though she had to also admit that just about anything sounded pretty good.

"Hm," she said, thinking that situation over. She didn't much like the idea of anyone starting a fight just to break out of the place, but if everything about monsters was true, which it seemed to be, it was safer to have some kind of weapon than not have one. The thought wasn't pleasant, but it wasn't something she could deny, either.

"There are a few people who make those kinds of things. I think I saw someone talking about it on the bulletin board."

[cursed_exorcist]

"Really?" Kagura tried wrapping her mind around the idea that people were able to forge weapons despite the watchful eye of their kidnappers. Even though this was literally a prison, she supposed it was possible, if they had the right tools. "Thanks for letting me know. I'm in F10 if you ever need a hand, Euphy-san!"

[euphemise]

"Thank you, Kagura-san," she said, with a bright smile. "I'm in F18 - just down the hall. If there's anything I can do, just let me know."

[cursed_exorcist]

"Sure!" Kagura replied cheerfully. "Especially during the nightshift. It's pretty dangerous, so we could look out for each other."