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.
He listened as she explained what she'd found. When he heard that Okita had asked about him, it made Claude wonder what he'd been up to lately. No doubt Guy saw him often since they were roommates. If he didn't see Okita sometime soon, he'd have to ask Guy how he was doing. Claude really did appreciate him taking the time to ask after him.
As for who the other person could be, it was difficult to know, especially since they hadn't signed their name. He was pretty sure Dad or Dias would have said who they were. The thought of Ashton accidentally leaving it off wasn't such a stretch, but he usually signed his messages, too. Maybe it had been Leon? At the very least, the fact he'd left a note on the board earlier meant he was still around and had probably seen Guy's note.
That meant most of the people Claude wanted to check on hadn't responded, though. Though his heart sank a little at that realization, he could tell Anise was trying to be optimistic about it, probably for his own sake.
"You're probably right," he said after a moment, trying not to sound as anxious as he felt. "Thanks for checking on that for me, Anise." Claude held back a sigh as he heard some of the dialogue from the movie. With no pictures to put the words into context, it was hard to figure out what was going on unless he was giving the show his undivided attention, which was probably asking too much from him at this point.
"Do they have things like this on Auldrant?" he quietly asked, figuring it was probably better not to dwell too much on the heavy stuff for now.
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.
"Nope! This is my first time seeing anything like this. Earth has some pretty cool stuff!" Anise replied cheerfully, her eyes wandering back to the screen. She had to wonder what Guy thought of all this. It probably took some kind of weird advanced technology to make and show these movies.
After a minute or so, when the movie reached another quiet part, she went on to add, "But I'm kinda disappointed, too... I voted for this one because it had 'king' in the title, but it turns out there aren't any kings in it. It's totally misleading! Boooo." Going by the title, Anise had hoped it might be a king's biography, or a royal love story, or something interesting like that! But instead, it was some story about a giant monkey.
She looked over at Claude for a few moments, and found herself frowning. That couldn't be much fun, watching something he couldn't even see. And with the noise from the movie, it couldn't be that relaxing, either. Maybe he was too polite to complain, but if Anise were in his shoes, she'd be trying to go somewhere else.
"Hey... do you want to maybe go outside and chat there, or something?" Anise suggested. She was starting to feel a little restless, herself. The initial awe at seeing a movie for the first time was starting to wear off as she realized she wasn't all that interested in the story. Maybe there was a better way they could spend their free shift. "This has to be pretty boring for you, right? And it's actually nice out today! ...Well, nicer."
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.
"It's considered one of the great classics on Earth," he explained. "Guess it's sort of hard to judge a movie by it's title, though..."
Normally he might have been interested in getting a chance to watch something so old, but there was no way he could watch anything like this today. Still, he hadn't intended on saying anything, especially since it wasn't like Anise got to see movies everyday. When the girl brought up the idea of going outside, though, Claude figured he probably shouldn't have been surprised. Neither of them were exactly having much fun with this, after all.
"It's nice out?" he asked, suddenly sounding a little hopeful. Truth be told, he could have used some fresh air right then. "I'd like that, but you think the nurses would give us a hard time for moving?" Not only that, but Anise was probably going to have to help him out, though he didn't want to voice that aloud right then.
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.
"N-no, I don't have any other injuries," he answered, though he could feel the tips of his ears burning a little bit as she held his hand. "Walking to the door together shouldn't be a problem."
Since all the rearranged furniture skewed his sense of direction, it was hard to imagine the layout of the room. But since they were heading toward the courtyard doors, then they probably just needed to go the way they came earlier. Just as long as they didn't mess around too long, anyway, since he figured the nurses would be watching them like hawks the whole time.
"Just be careful so I don't accidentally trip over someone's feet or something," Claude quietly cautioned.
"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.
He listened as she explained what she'd found. When he heard that Okita had asked about him, it made Claude wonder what he'd been up to lately. No doubt Guy saw him often since they were roommates. If he didn't see Okita sometime soon, he'd have to ask Guy how he was doing. Claude really did appreciate him taking the time to ask after him.
As for who the other person could be, it was difficult to know, especially since they hadn't signed their name. He was pretty sure Dad or Dias would have said who they were. The thought of Ashton accidentally leaving it off wasn't such a stretch, but he usually signed his messages, too. Maybe it had been Leon? At the very least, the fact he'd left a note on the board earlier meant he was still around and had probably seen Guy's note.
That meant most of the people Claude wanted to check on hadn't responded, though. Though his heart sank a little at that realization, he could tell Anise was trying to be optimistic about it, probably for his own sake.
"You're probably right," he said after a moment, trying not to sound as anxious as he felt. "Thanks for checking on that for me, Anise." Claude held back a sigh as he heard some of the dialogue from the movie. With no pictures to put the words into context, it was hard to figure out what was going on unless he was giving the show his undivided attention, which was probably asking too much from him at this point.
"Do they have things like this on Auldrant?" he quietly asked, figuring it was probably better not to dwell too much on the heavy stuff for now.
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"Nope! This is my first time seeing anything like this. Earth has some pretty cool stuff!" Anise replied cheerfully, her eyes wandering back to the screen. She had to wonder what Guy thought of all this. It probably took some kind of weird advanced technology to make and show these movies.
After a minute or so, when the movie reached another quiet part, she went on to add, "But I'm kinda disappointed, too... I voted for this one because it had 'king' in the title, but it turns out there aren't any kings in it. It's totally misleading! Boooo." Going by the title, Anise had hoped it might be a king's biography, or a royal love story, or something interesting like that! But instead, it was some story about a giant monkey.
She looked over at Claude for a few moments, and found herself frowning. That couldn't be much fun, watching something he couldn't even see. And with the noise from the movie, it couldn't be that relaxing, either. Maybe he was too polite to complain, but if Anise were in his shoes, she'd be trying to go somewhere else.
"Hey... do you want to maybe go outside and chat there, or something?" Anise suggested. She was starting to feel a little restless, herself. The initial awe at seeing a movie for the first time was starting to wear off as she realized she wasn't all that interested in the story. Maybe there was a better way they could spend their free shift. "This has to be pretty boring for you, right? And it's actually nice out today! ...Well, nicer."
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"It's considered one of the great classics on Earth," he explained. "Guess it's sort of hard to judge a movie by it's title, though..."
Normally he might have been interested in getting a chance to watch something so old, but there was no way he could watch anything like this today. Still, he hadn't intended on saying anything, especially since it wasn't like Anise got to see movies everyday. When the girl brought up the idea of going outside, though, Claude figured he probably shouldn't have been surprised. Neither of them were exactly having much fun with this, after all.
"It's nice out?" he asked, suddenly sounding a little hopeful. Truth be told, he could have used some fresh air right then. "I'd like that, but you think the nurses would give us a hard time for moving?" Not only that, but Anise was probably going to have to help him out, though he didn't want to voice that aloud right then.
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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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"N-no, I don't have any other injuries," he answered, though he could feel the tips of his ears burning a little bit as she held his hand. "Walking to the door together shouldn't be a problem."
Since all the rearranged furniture skewed his sense of direction, it was hard to imagine the layout of the room. But since they were heading toward the courtyard doors, then they probably just needed to go the way they came earlier. Just as long as they didn't mess around too long, anyway, since he figured the nurses would be watching them like hawks the whole time.
"Just be careful so I don't accidentally trip over someone's feet or something," Claude quietly cautioned.
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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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