Day 48: Women's Showers (4th Shift)

[number1smiley]

With her torso wrapped once again to hide the disfigurement left behind from her hybridization, Teresa found she was the first in the showers. It figured that the handlers would take care of her and her... unsightly mark before anyone else had a chance to catch a glimpse. It wasn't as if Teresa cared, unless it was someone she knew personally,

Comments

[goldenroulette]

"No. This is absolutely undignified. I will not go into a room with others and..."

"Victoria. Take down your hair, please, and let us unwrap those bandages. If you don't, we'll be forced to take more dramatic measures."

Beatrice pouted her lips, clearly displeased. "Muu. What about my privacy? My dignity?"

While she was busy complaining, the nurse had taken initiative, removing the bobby pins from her hair. The witch set her jaw, pouting even more than she had before.

"I can do -- "

"You had your chance."

Beatrice's long braid uncoiled, and as she felt that, her frown grew deeper. She sighed, having resigned herself to her fate, and let the nurse finish taking her hair down and undoing her bandages before finding the shower stall furthest away from anyone else. The witch turned the water on as hot as it would go, and while it hurt when it touched the injury to her side, it still felt good running through her hair. She simply stood there for a moment, letting it run down her back, as she thought about Battler's bulletin message to her.

Something wrong with the board? That...isn't possible. Unless those two did interfere? But...ah, it's useless. It's useless to even think of it until I've spoken with him. She sighed again, staring into space for a moment.

[free, if you want a rather moody witch.]

[mind_the_sukima]

[Sauntering over from here]

Ah, that had been amusing. Hopefully tonight would be full of even more fun. But that would have to wait; now was the time to make sure she was all freshened up for it.

Turning on the shower and stepping under the water, Yukari glanced over to notice another wavy-haired blonde besides her. This one didn't seem to be in nearly as good a mood though. Distracted, if anything.

"Something on your mind?" she asked curiously.

[goldenroulette]

"Eh?" Beatrice turned, surprised at the sudden question. She took a moment to compose her features into something a little more dignified, then nodded.

"Indeed. There is something on my mind. Suppose you were playing a game with someone, and something happened to interrupt it? I'm not speaking of a minor interruption..."

She paused, thinking of how to phrase it. "Say, a game of chess. Only someone else comes along, interrupting the game you and your friend were playing quite skillfully, and decides all of the pieces are now mahjong tiles. What would you do in such a situation, Miss...?"

[mind_the_sukima]

A smile came to Yukari's face - what an interesting question. Of course, that was the dilemma almost all of them faced here in the institute. The youkai was one of the lucky ones who had nothing in particular on her plate when she was spirited away - oh, the irony - to this strange new game.

However, it seemed this woman was speaking of something else - Landel had pulled them away from their chess board and placed them in a mouse maze instead.

"Yukari," she supplied with a nod. "As for the game... well, I've always preferred mahjong to chess, but I'm sure that's not your point." She chuckled a little - playing either game with Yuyuko was always an interesting experience, but at least with mahjong a certain baseline was reestablished every hand; their chess games, on the other hand, tended to morph into something completely incomprehensible before it was done. "Well, I think it would be great fun to play with the new mess the rude interrupter had made - and beat them at it, of course. It's the least they can expect, invading so brashly."

[goldenroulette]

"Beatrice," she answered, nodding herself, before listening to Yukari's answer. The more she talked, the more a smile played across her face.

The question itself wasn't even referring to Landel, but that was all right. Even if the game in question was more serious in reality than just simple chess or mahjong, the answer still applied. There was an intruder, and if that intruder was enough to worry her opponent? It was one thing to see him emotional. That was part of their interactions, one she was used to.

Beatrice wasn't used to hearing calm warnings from Battler, and the fact he'd taken the time to do so...well, it couldn't mean anything good. So simply going along with the change was unacceptable.

"I see. Besting someone at the game they tried to interrupt, by using their own rules, and then making them kneel down and kiss my shoes once they've been soundly beaten. I like how you think."

[mind_the_sukima]

Yukari's smile widened as well - the way Beatrice elaborated was not only amusing but appealing. Well, the youkai wasn't so sadistic that she could think of wanting to extract that kind of humiliation from her usual opponents, but from someone who interrupted her fun so rudely? Perhaps that celestial, if she ever dared to upset Gensokyo instead. That was her chess board, though it surely included more than just chess pieces. A mess of shougi, Othello, dominoes and cards, but she couldn't forgive anyone who upset that delightful chaos by turning the board over. That would be someone she would grind into the ground, pressed into the border of earth and sky until they fell into the gap between existences.

"It seemed a fitting punishment - poetic justice, hoist them by their own petard," she replied with a small laugh. "If only they had asked nicely to be invited to play, perhaps they deserve more sporting treatment - to laugh, talk and drink tea as we play - but if they can't even have that much etiquette, then they shall be taught a lesson without mercy. For their own good, of course."

The dark chuckle that followed directly contradicted that last statement.