Day 50: Courtyard (3rd Shift)

[toxicspiderman]

Getting up before the 7-11s opened on Sunday was anathema to any right-thinking man. Sangamon Taylor was no exception. When he wasn't on a field trip to Nowheresville. Where the locals were unconvinced that the Pope was going to personally write them a strongly worded letter if they had fresh Coke with their pancakes. Moving from bed to couch

Comments

[idontregret]

At least it wasn't raining today. That was an odd thing to think, after the junkyard, but real rain was much more unpleasant. Not to mention that the fewer reminders he had about the program he'd been created for, the better. Heat had been handed one of the usual robes from one of the nurses before heading outside, and he pulled it tight against himself now as he sat against the far wall. He might have gone for a jog, if circumstances had been different.

Right now his stomach was protesting its emptiness and there was nothing the demon could do about it. At least out here the smell of food from the kitchen, as well as that of the flesh of other patients, was gone or diminished. It hadn't been so long that he figured he was in danger of losing himself. Not yet. But that didn't mean he enjoyed starving any more than the next guy.

He might have tried watching a movie, but he was still a little disappointed that the one he voted for hadn't been picked - never mind that he didn't know what any of them were about. So it might

[nakedinmoney]

One look into the sun room had told Bela that it was a poor decision to go for the movie -- if she wanted information, she'd have to find other patients to talk to, and that meant exploring this place a little better. That'd have to wait until she had the opportunity, of course, but for now, her nurse suggested the courtyard for the meet and greet. Charming.

Either way, it had convinced her, because interrupting the movie to gossip seemed exceptionally juvenile. The daylight when she first passed the institute doors caused her to blink excessively to try and help her eyes adjust -- she refused to squint, it looked absurd and did nothing to help cases. It wasn't exceptionally bright out, but in comparison to nothing but sleep and fluorescent lights, it was bright enough.Outside, there was only one patient standing alone, and Bela could work much easier without confronting a group, so she beelined for him -- her? it was hard to tell with hair like that, not that she'd go advertising that fact. She greeted the individual with a

[idontregret]

If she couldn't tell his gender at first glance, his voice as well as the physique revealed when he uncurled himself would make it quite apparent. Heat remained seated, turning his head upward just enough to level a blank stare at the woman. He didn't recognize her, but then he didn't keep track of all the new arrivals to the Institute either.

He also wasn't sure how to answer her question about the ape. The word caused his memory to drag up an image of something that reminded him of some of the demons he knew - Onkot or Thoth or even Nue, but he didn't recall seeing anything like that in Landel's over the past few days. It might have been too late to keep himself from looking confused, but that didn't mean he was going to ask anymore questions that proved just how ignorant to some things he was.

"Guess not." He shifted, adopting a more casual seated position as he attempted in vain to shove all thoughts of hunger aside. "You need something?"

[nakedinmoney]

She took back every assumption she'd made -- this was definitely Hell. Whether it was her inherent judgment of him based on body language and appearance or her annoyance at the curt response, she was sure this was hedging on the most painful conversation of her life. Outwardly, though, she did a good job of remaining at ease and casual.

If she noticed his confusion in regards to her passing commentary on King Kong, she didn't choose to further clarify.

"Well, I was hoping for a casual conversation, but if that's too much to ask, maybe I was barking up the wrong tree." Something told her that if she spent much more time here, she'd probably become as much of a hermit as possible, too. "Good behavior's encouraged, yeah?" She was trying to subtly indicate that she was putting on a good show for the nurses without directly stating it, but Bela had a horrible feeling that any subtlety would go amiss on this stranger.

[idontregret]

Oh, he got it. Mostly. She didn't look like she packed much of a punch, but you couldn't always judge a book by its cover here. He doubted she was about to go off and do anything that would get her sedated, though. Her question got her a somewhat toothy smirk, and he began pushing himself to his feet with a grunt. "Unless you wanna end up with a needle stuck in you."

Heat could chat, if he cared to chat with you. This woman was giving him an attitude, which made her irritating and admirable at the same time. Red eyes sized her up without any regard for personal comfort. "If you want answers, you won't find much. You look new."

There were answers to get, certainly, but not the important ones. "No one knows how we got there, and no one knows how to get out." Everything else had varying amounts of relevance but didn't do them a whole lot of good in the long run. "So ask what you want." He just couldn't promise very good answers, and surely nothing she wanted to hear.