Day 48: Lunch

[zack_fair]

Even with the nasty weather, Zack still felt refreshed after going outside. Humidity would have reminded him of Gongaga, but he wasn't sure he needed that. Not now, not when he wasn't even sure if he'd be able to get back home and see his parents again. Not that he should have the chance at all, but it was hard to think about nonetheless. Seeing

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[girlsandgadgets]

Well, that hadn't gone nearly as well as Edgar had hoped. Celes had been missing for day and night, and he'd had plenty of time to fret and contemplate what he'd say to her, should he ever see her again. What did he do instead? Chastise her for being human, for allowing the loss of allies to affect her. She wasn't a machine, some sort of magic-casting creature with no heart- still, he couldn't deny he'd expected better of her. Perhaps his luck would hold out and he'd see her during the nightly hours; however, he wouldn't be surprised if she avoided him entirely for a while.

The machinist sighed as he ran a hand through his hair, still frustrated. Half of him wanted to turn tail and ask the nurse if he could return to his room, feigning an illness as an excuse to work on his design and vent privately. The other half of him was close to starving and knew working on an empty stomach just wouldn't do. Better eat, then see what could be done.

Taking his tray from the nurse and thanking her politely, he took some food and had a look around the mess hall. Still mostly empty, though one person did catch his eye. He took the seat in front of Guy, a smile already gracing his lips. If he couldn't return to his room and work on his new toy, at least he could discuss his plans with a fellow enthusiast. That would get his mind off the pressing issues.

"I trust the day is finding you well, Guy," he said.

[razing_phoenix]

None of the people he'd thought about earlier sat with him, but in this case that was not a bad thing. Even though he'd only spoken with Edgar once so far, Guy still found himself excited to see him again today. More than that, the man had decided to approach him, which meant that he hadn't been annoyed by his enthusiasm yesterday.

While his immediate reaction was to grin across the table at Edgar, he couldn't actually answer his inquiry in the affirmative. His day wasn't terrible (he was back to full health and he'd found Ashton, as planned), but his concerns about Luke meant that his mood wasn't as good as it could be.

Talking to Edgar about his inventions and his moving castle would likely help that, but Guy also felt guilty about that. How could he let himself get distracted by even his favorite subject when his friend was dealing with the fallout of his brainwashing?

Still, he'd spoken to Luke and said what he could to him. He couldn't hover over his friend the whole day, even if he wanted to. Chances were Luke was tracking down everyone he'd even looked at wrong last night to apologize, so that would be keeping him busy. Guy had to stay busy himself, and while he could spend that time being more productive, it wasn't like talking about fontech (or another version of it, at least) was a complete waste.

"It... could be better," he finally said. "A friend of mine isn't having the best time, but I'm trying to make sure he doesn't get too down. Other than that, things are going pretty well. How about you?" Guy had enough self-control to not jump into technology talk right away, at least.

[girlsandgadgets]

"It seems we have more in common," Edgar said with another sigh. "I've got a friend who isn't doing very well, either. I'm fairly certain I just made matters worse, to top it off." He rubbed his eyes, still feeling the frustration from the previous shift. He was sure Celes would be fine, but he could have been more tactful in dealing with her.

"Aside from that, I'm well," he added. "I had a rather successful run last night and am eager for this evening to arrive." It seemed strange to be saying such a thing, given the abominations that wandered the halls at night. Still, he couldn't deny his desire to have a new weapon in his hands, ready for testing. With any luck, it wouldn't fail him on the first try, despite the crude construction.

[razing_phoenix]

That didn't sound good. While Guy wasn't sure if Edgar's friend had also been brainwashed ("not doing well" could mean a whole lot of different things), at least he knew he hadn't made things worse for Luke. "I'm sorry to hear that," he said with a sincere frown. "I hope that things clear up for them soon." He didn't want to overstep his bounds and ask for more details if Edgar wasn't offering them. They'd only just met, after all.

A successful night? They really were matching up, then. "Hey, me too," he said with a small smile. "Well, if finding a couple of knives counts as successful, anyway, but I'll take what I can get here." Anything that went into the positive column counted as an achievement in his book. It came from the multiple times he'd ventured out at night only to have things go horribly wrong.

"What plans do you have?" he asked as he did his best to keep his tone level. Guy had a sneaking suspicion that Edgar was doing something interesting, in which case he was already on the edge of his seat waiting for the details.

[girlsandgadgets]

It seemed they'd both been lucky the night before, then. Edgar made a mental note that he still needed to find a decent close-combat weapon for himself. He'd picked carrying supplies over grabbing one from the shed- while it was his choice (and always had been a bit of a vice, getting what he wanted for a new tool over what he really needed), it still left him unarmed during the night hours. Unlike his brother, his hand-to-hand combat was fairly poor. Perhaps he'd put 'Acquire a weapon' on the agenda for the night, granted he found the rest of his supplies.

"Well," he said, leaning in and lowering his voice, "I'm slowly gathering materials to construct a little something I'm calling The Air Launcher." He couldn't help but grin as he said the name- it wasn't anything fancy, but it was appropriate, given the workings of the device.

He reached into his pockets, looking for his pen and journal. "Drat, I left my notebook in my room. Do you have a pen? I could draw you a diagram."

[razing_phoenix]

The moment that Edgar started to get that conspiratorial hint to his voice, Guy felt his heart race as he also leaned forward in his chair. Some part of him knew that his love of tech bordered on obsessive, but he didn't necessarily think there was anything wrong with that. It's not like it hurt anyone!

The Air Launcher. It definitely had a ring to it, and hearing that name only made Guy even more curious to know what Edgar had cooked up. Part of him wished he had the time to be running around and helping the man with his projects. Well, maybe some night... when he didn't have anything better to be doing. It was an irresponsible thought, maybe, but wasn't he allowed one of those every once in a while?

When Edgar asked him for a pen and Guy realized that he didn't have one, he almost panicked. He wanted to see what this Air Launcher was going to look like, but he didn't make a practice of carrying a pen around. Why couldn't they be in the Sun Room? Then he could have just run over to grab one from the bulletin board, but...

"No, uhh... maybe we could ask a nurse?" he suggested as calmly as he could. He hoped that Edgar would take that task up for himself, since Guy knew it wouldn't end well if he did it. To get a pen from a nurse, they'd have to touch hands, and--

The last thing he needed to do was embarrass himself in front of this man.

[girlsandgadgets]

"No matter," Edgar said with a confident smirk. "Having to borrow one simply provides me with another opportunity to talk to one of the lovely nurses. Excuse me a moment." With that, he rose from his seat and crossed the room to the wall where a lot of the nurses were chit-chatting. Glancing over them quickly, Edgar picked a nurse other than the one who'd been escorting him (she'd just roll her eyes at him, anyway) and got to work.

After a few minutes of convincing conversation, he returned to the table, pen in hand and smug grin on his face. For a place where the nursemaids believed everyone was insane, that had gone surprisingly well. She'd questioned why he wasn't carrying his own pen and was a little hesitant to give him hers, but he'd put on a convincing display of earnestness. Maybe he wasn't so rusty after all.

"Now then," he said, taking his seat back. He looked around the table for a moment. "Ah, here we are." Taking a napkin, he started a quick sketch of his idea. "This will only take a minute. I'm hoping to gather the rest of the materials tonight- I'm only missing a couple of key elements."

[razing_phoenix]

Guy watched the man walk off, a curious look on his face. So Edgar was fond of women, then? He hadn't noticed any sarcasm in his tone, after all. On top of that, he did seem to be laying on the charm as he asked one of the nurses for a pen, and he was ultimately successful. While Guy felt similarly to some extent (women were worth being admired), his interest could only reach so far.

Still, he'd learned yet another thing about this man, and it only made him more relieved that he hadn't had to go ask for the pen himself. If Edgar was the flirty type, then what would he think of Guy's phobia? He'd rather not get into it.

He shot the man a smile as he sat back down. "Thanks," he said, out of guilt for not being able to do it himself. Guy was usually more than happy to serve, but there were certain things he just couldn't do. He sat up straight in his seat when he realized Edgar was starting to draw, knowing that he should be patient and yet eager to see the finished product. When the man mentioned that he almost had everything he needed, Guy's eyes lit up as he imagination ran away with him. "That's great news! From what I can tell, whatever you make will probably be way more effective than the bats and pipes lying around." He had to assume that this Air Launcher was for offensive use. What else was really going to be handy in this place?

[girlsandgadgets]

"Hopefully," Edgar said, having finished drawing the gas tank on his sketch and moving onto the next part. While he wasn't the best artist and lacked drafting tools, he moved the pen carefully, keeping the lines as clean as possible- that was until he was smacked in the back of a flying chicken tender. The morsel landed on the floor beside his seat, having done its duty in jarring his pen.

Instinctively, his hand went to the back of his head as he turned around, his fingers feeling the greasy residue left in his hair from the contact. His eyes followed the sound of giggling, landing on Celes at a nearby table. He gave her a stern look, resisting the urge to approach her and returning his attention to his drawing. He'd done enough damage already. Clearly, she'd not yet forgiven him for their tiff and was handling it in the most mature fashion possible. At least she was feeling playful.

He was silently thankful for the shower he would take the next shift- he felt dirty enough without the slick spot on the back of his head. "And that would be the friend I mentioned," he said, fixing the squiggly line in his drawing by turning it into a curve. It wasn't exactly as he'd planned, but it's work. "I do hope your troubled friend doesn't deal with stress relief in a similar fashion."

[razing_phoenix]

Having the patience to wait for the drawing to be finished (and without leaning over the table to watch Edgar's progress) was difficult, but Guy managed it with the best of manners. He didn't need to give this man the wrong impression, after all. Guy could keep him composed in almost any situation, but things just changed when fontech (or women) got involved.

He caught the way Edgar suddenly jerked forward, but didn't understand what had caused it until he glanced down to the floor and saw what was laying there. Someone had... hit him? Lifting his head, he followed Edgar's gaze until he saw none other than Celes sitting at another table.

Wait, so Edgar and Celes were friends? It sounded like it. Guy's eyes widened as he fully absorbed the strange coincidence. "Celes?" he asked. "I've spoken to her a few times, too. She healed me once," he explained. She wasn't really the sort to throw food (at least as far as he'd been able to tell), so Edgar must have really gotten to her.

When the man brought up Guy's own friend, he had to smile as he considered whether or not Luke was the type. "He might," he conceded, "if he was annoyed enough." Luke was more likely to toss food at someone like Jade, though -- or that was Guy's guess, at least.

[girlsandgadgets]

"Well, I wouldn't have thought Celes the type for such behavior," Edgar said lightly, attempting to look more serious about the event than he felt. "She's apparently annoyed enough. She'll calm down... eventually."

Another couple of seconds, and Edgar was finished with his sketch. "You'll have to forgive the crudeness of this drawing, but I think it will give you a general idea of what I'm considering." He took another moment to look over it- again, he noted its roughness, but it was a doodle on a napkin of a contraption he was planning. There were bound to be some discrepancies. Satisfied, he turned the drawing to face Guy.



"On the back here," he said quietly, stealing a glance around to make sure the nurses were out of earshot, "Is a tank of pressurized gas I found on the second floor. Portable, doesn't weigh a great deal, though it is a bit clumsy. I'll strap it to my back or just over my shoulder, granted I can find some proper material."

He trailed his finger along the image. "I control the amount of air released from the tank with a valve here. Air runs through this tube to the pipe on the end. The fun starts when ammunition is put into the pipe. The pressure will force anything that is jammed into the pipe out, creating a high-speed projectile."

[razing_phoenix]

So it wasn't just him, then. Edgar also agreed that Celes resorting to throwing food was a bit out of the ordinary. The man didn't seem too concerned about it, though, which was good. Hopefully the two of them could clear things up. Guy knew that he hated it when he and Luke were at odds about something. It didn't happen often, but when it did he couldn't get rid of that anxious feeling. While he was curious to know what had happened between Edgar and Celes, he knew better than to ask. Edgar would have offered up the information if he wanted to.

Besides, there was something else that was pretty much guaranteed to distract him. Guy quickly shook his head when Edgar apologized for the drawing quality. He wasn't much of an artist himself, so he was hardly going to judge. The minute that the drawing was turned to face him, he pulled forward in his seat so that he could give it a careful examination.

Guy was perfectly quiet as Edgar gave his explanation, following the man's finger as he traced out the way the device would work. It all made good sense to Guy, and he was a little amazed that the other man had managed to find all the supplies he needed for something like this. It showed what a little perseverance could do!

"Huh," he remarked as he continued to eye the sketch, "that sounds like it'll work great. I don't bet Landel imagined anyone would get this creative. I'd love to see it in action once it's done!" Finally, Guy pulled away and settled back into his seat, but his eyes were still on Edgar. "What do you still need to find before you can finish it?"