Though Claude wanted to move as little as possible, part of him couldn't help but feel grateful when his nurse led him out of the cafeteria. His conversation with Haseo had been kind of awkward, to say the least, and the smell of breakfast foods hadn't done much for his stomach. His nurse was concerned that he hadn't eaten much, but Claude didn't have much to say to her about it
( ... )
When Anise exited the Cafeteria, she saw that the Sun Room had been transformed while she was eating. The sunlight was blocked with a cover over the ceiling, and the furniture was arranged in rows, all facing in one direction. That's right; they were saying something about a 'movie
( ... )
The couch bounced a little from another patient falling into place beside him. Whoever it was, it didn't feel like they weighed very much. Maybe it was a kid? Claude didn't immediately look over at them, thinking that whoever it was probably just wanted to enjoy the movie in peace. When he heard a sudden, girlish squeak, though, he visibly jumped and sharply turned his face toward the source
( ... )
He recognized her just from her voice? That made Anise kind of happy, though this wasn't really the time to be thinking about that.
"Boooo! How can I not worry when I see you looking like this?" Anise protested with a pout. Eye damage was really serious! Was he going to recover? She was about to ask, but quickly realized it was a bad idea. Few things were certain at Landel's, and if Claude didn't know if he'd have his full sight back, it was probably best not to push that subject
( ... )
It might have been silly, but he was relieved that she didn't contradict him when he called her by name. Now that he couldn't rely on seeing those he came into contact with, it made conversations like these filled with much more uncertainty
( ... )
Claude's response brought a small smile to Anise's face. He wasn't asking for much, but Anise figured she would do what she could. After all, she hated feeling indebted to people. The closer they could get to being even, the better.
...And it was kind of nice knowing there was something she could do to help, besides.
"Oh, that?" Anise nodded, though she quickly realized how ineffective the automatic gesture was. "Yeah, I saw his message just a minute ago when I checked the board." She turned to look at the bulletin board, wondering if the nurse would scold her again if she just walked over there and back again. Not that she cared too much about what that old hag said.
"You want me to see if anyone replied?" she offered. Since it was basically a check-up note, she could see Claude wanting to know who he could count as being 'definitely safe.'
So he'd gone ahead and posted up a note after all. Not that Claude was surprised, considering how reliable Guy was, but it was still nice to know regardless. Hopefully everyone it was addressed to would have no problems seeing it despite the movie that was playing. But if Anise had at least managed to catch sight of it, then maybe that was a good sign.
With his question answered, Claude would have been fine to leave it at that. Not that he wasn't anxious to know how his friends were faring after last night's weirdness, but it seemed like it'd be kind of a hassle to ask Anise to get up from her seat just to check a message that didn't really concern her much. After a brief pause, though, the girl offered to do so on her own. Though it might have been difficult to see between the bandages and the dimmed lights, Claude's face brightened a little at the suggestion.
"Actually, that would be really great," Claude answered. Then, he quickly added: "If it's not too much trouble, anyway."
"No trouble at all! Wait here." Anise hopped out of her seat and, ducking her head so that she didn't block anyone's view, made her way over to the bulletin board. She had to squint to read everything in the dim light, but fortunately she remembered where the note had been. Once she committed a few details to memory, she hurried back over and rejoined Claude on the couch
( ... )
It sounded like Anise was eager to help, which in of itself was a kind gesture. Claude heard her get up from her seat and quickly make her away from the couch, presumably toward the bulletin board. As he waited for her to come back, the blond allowed his hands to rest in his lap. Sometimes he'd subconsciously tighten his uninjured one into a fist when he was left to his thoughts for too long, but thankfully the sounds from the movie were enough to keep him distracted long enough for Anise to check the note and come back
( ... )
It would be unreasonable to expect that Claude wouldn't worry about his friends, but it looked like he wasn't going to mope about it or anything. Good. They didn't have to pretend they didn't know what awful stuff could happen here, but they couldn't get worked up over the what-ifs, either
( ... )
As horrible as Landel's was, Claude was glad that it at least had some interesting things that other people might find pretty cool. Though it sounded like Anise was less than thrilled with the movie that had ultimately been selected by the patients. Someone expecting something else would probably be kind of put-off by a story about a massive ape. While such fantastical story ideas weren't uncommon in Earth fiction, some people were bound to find the story downright absurd
( ... )
A great classic? This? Anise gave the screen a dubious look, but she supposed she was from a whole different world. Maybe people on Earth had weird tastes.
It looked like Claude was on board with her suggestion, though, so Anise jumped up to her feet, then stepped over and took Claude's uninjured hand. "It's fine, it's fine! Here, I'll help you." She gave it a light tug, making it clear she intended to guide him out of the room like that. "You aren't hurt anywhere that I can't see, right?" she asked, just to make sure. She didn't want to pull him around carelessly if it turned out he had a leg injury or something.
Looking over, she could see the nurse who had scolded her earlier, giving her a displeased look. Oh well! If they slipped by without lingering too long in front of the couches, she probably wasn't going to give them a hard time.
Anise made it sound like she had things under control. Since Claude had no way of knowing how the nurses were reacting, he was just going to have to trust that she knew what she was doing. In fact, he didn't even have to mention that he wouldn't be able to get through the sun room on his own. Anise's smaller hand grasped his own, and he slowly stood up once she began gently tugging on him
( ... )
"Leave it to me!" Anise assured him. She stepped backwards through the aisle, watching Claude's movements carefully as she guided his hand. Whenever it looked like he might veer off to the side, she lightly placed her other hand against his arm, trying to straighten him out.
It was a slow and awkward process, but they eventually made their way out of the aisle without stumbling over anything - or anyone. "Okay, we've got more space now," she informed him. When she started moving again, she was facing forward and walking at a more normal pace. It wasn't long until they reached the door to the Cafeteria. Anise slowed down again there, making sure Claude knew where the door frame was as she led him through.
The process was repeated as they walked around the perimeter of the Cafeteria, eventually reaching the door on the west side of the room. A nurse who had been keeping an eye on them for the past few minutes stepped ahead and held the door for them, smiling amicably as they entered the Courtyard.
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"Boooo! How can I not worry when I see you looking like this?" Anise protested with a pout. Eye damage was really serious! Was he going to recover? She was about to ask, but quickly realized it was a bad idea. Few things were certain at Landel's, and if Claude didn't know if he'd have his full sight back, it was probably best not to push that subject ( ... )
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...And it was kind of nice knowing there was something she could do to help, besides.
"Oh, that?" Anise nodded, though she quickly realized how ineffective the automatic gesture was. "Yeah, I saw his message just a minute ago when I checked the board." She turned to look at the bulletin board, wondering if the nurse would scold her again if she just walked over there and back again. Not that she cared too much about what that old hag said.
"You want me to see if anyone replied?" she offered. Since it was basically a check-up note, she could see Claude wanting to know who he could count as being 'definitely safe.'
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With his question answered, Claude would have been fine to leave it at that. Not that he wasn't anxious to know how his friends were faring after last night's weirdness, but it seemed like it'd be kind of a hassle to ask Anise to get up from her seat just to check a message that didn't really concern her much. After a brief pause, though, the girl offered to do so on her own. Though it might have been difficult to see between the bandages and the dimmed lights, Claude's face brightened a little at the suggestion.
"Actually, that would be really great," Claude answered. Then, he quickly added: "If it's not too much trouble, anyway."
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It looked like Claude was on board with her suggestion, though, so Anise jumped up to her feet, then stepped over and took Claude's uninjured hand. "It's fine, it's fine! Here, I'll help you." She gave it a light tug, making it clear she intended to guide him out of the room like that. "You aren't hurt anywhere that I can't see, right?" she asked, just to make sure. She didn't want to pull him around carelessly if it turned out he had a leg injury or something.
Looking over, she could see the nurse who had scolded her earlier, giving her a displeased look. Oh well! If they slipped by without lingering too long in front of the couches, she probably wasn't going to give them a hard time.
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It was a slow and awkward process, but they eventually made their way out of the aisle without stumbling over anything - or anyone. "Okay, we've got more space now," she informed him. When she started moving again, she was facing forward and walking at a more normal pace. It wasn't long until they reached the door to the Cafeteria. Anise slowed down again there, making sure Claude knew where the door frame was as she led him through.
The process was repeated as they walked around the perimeter of the Cafeteria, eventually reaching the door on the west side of the room. A nurse who had been keeping an eye on them for the past few minutes stepped ahead and held the door for them, smiling amicably as they entered the Courtyard.
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