Day 50: Music Room (4th Shift)

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Tifa stopped in the middle of the temporarily lit Sun Room as patients were being shuffled out and others in for some repeat performance, though she wasn't exactly sure what it was. But it was irrelevant since her sights were set on another room she and the nurse just passed. "Hey..." Her nurse had continued forward without her and it took a soft

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Although Claude could have continued sitting out in the courtyard all day, the truth was that it was a little chilly, and his injuries made it hard to fully enjoy the fresh air for long. When the nurse suggested he go back inside, it didn't sound so bad. Consequently, he let her lead him back inside after he'd said good-bye to Anise. Even though he'd initially wanted to be left alone, he was glad the young girl had approached him. He'd had a nice time walking around with her, and he went inside feeling in a little lighter spirits than before

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Tifa hadn't looked up from the piano until a white presence came up beside her and didn't budge further. Her fingers slipped off the plastic keys once her head turned up to the nurse, too rusty to play without looking at the placement of her hands.

"Oh..." Her brown eyes slid to this Mr. Appleby and smiled for a moment before she realized his eyes were covered.

Poor guy...She had a busted nose and two black eyes, but it paled in comparison to blindness. That shit was obnoxious, having been on the receiving end of quite a few spells of darkness herself, but this didn't seem like a normal case of darkness. His eyes could have been physically damaged. "Yeah, I'd be happy to..." Tifa's harmless smile followed the nurse out the door before she finally spoke to Claude quietly. "If it makes you feel any better, Claude, I look worse than you.... It's Tifa, by the way," The brunette was glad Claude couldn't see the flushing shame on her bruised face when she almost forgot to identify herself

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The female voice sounded vaguely familiar, but not enough for him to pair a name or a face with it. That was probably better than assuming he was talking to someone he wasn't, though. Thankfully, she identified herself, and Claude remembered their meeting in the courtyard a few days ago. That realization made him perk up a little bit. Tifa seemed like a nice woman the last time they'd met, though he regretted that he had to be in such lousy shape now that they've run into each other again. Would she think he was incompetent in battle or something

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"..... Not... exactly a monster..." Though with those mutton chops, Tifa wouldn't be surprised if Logan got mistaken for one in a dark alley. "I..." Hmm, how to explain this without it sounding completely pathetic? "... hit my head on my friend's back when he came to a stop. Broke my nose, got two black eyes, and a swollen lip... Makes me look pretty tough, though..." She chuckled softly to put Claude at ease. It really didn't ache that badly anymore.

The brunette was curious to learn how exactly Claude had become blind during the night, whether from a run in with the seedy creatures crawling around the institute or if he stumbled into a hostile environment back home. She didn't want to pry, however. It could still be a tender subject, especially if Claude was new to the whole getting roughed up thing, so she went for a more pedestrian question instead. "Is Guy a friend from, well, before all of this...?"

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Claude couldn't help but cringe at the description of Tifa's injuries. Just how fast were they going for her to wind up looking like she'd gotten punched in the face? Then again, when he took all that portal stuff from last night into consideration, it was possible that something really crazy must have happened to Tifa and her friend.

"Yikes, sorry to hear that!" Claude could have asked for more information on how the accident had happened, but he didn't want to risk accidentally embarrassing Tifa somehow. "I hope you get better soon," he added instead, and he meant it.

As for Guy, that was fairly easy to explain. "No, he's from another planet called Auldrant," Claude answered. "We met...gosh, it must have been my first day here, come to think of it." That seemed like ages ago now. So much had happened during the last several weeks. Too much, really, but at least he'd been able to make great friends like Guy as a result.

"By the way," he said, unable to hide the curiosity in his tone, "were you playing the piano just now?"