Day 51: Lunch

[sanguinario]

Edward was glad to wake up to a period of respite. While he had been conscious during breakfast, he'd requested to remain in his room for extra "sleep", which had consisted waiting until the room was vacated to ingest the vial of Venom's blood. The vampire had lost his chance last night, but that might have been for the better; this way he wasn't

Comments

[zack_fair]

So Zack hadn't picked the best shower buddy. Then again, he wasn't the one who had decided to stand by the scarred guy, so it wasn't really his fault to start with. It was hard for him to understand how some people could go through their lives being annoyed by everything. Talk about ulcer-inducing! Sure, he'd been through some pretty terrible things, and he could have spent his life (or... second life, whatever this was) being bitter and angry, but where would that get him

[blood_and_pocky]

It spoke of how absolutely degrading the place was, but in truth, Aidou had had more important things on his mind than the fact that he had to be undressed around a bunch of other naked males. Normally such a humiliation would’ve been at the top of the list. Aidou just couldn’t stretch his patience to include it on top of everything else he was juggling--it wasn’t like he could stick his nose up at cleanliness

[zack_fair]

Aidou didn't keep him waiting for too long, and Zack glanced up with a smile as the teenager took a seat and started in on a conversation without a moment's hesitation. That was for the best, probably. While Zack was pretty fond of shooting the breeze and talking about this or that, he was just as used to giving a status report or getting briefed. Both felt comfortable to him, though Aidou was clearly more interested in the latter.

"So do you," he returned as he took a large bite of his hot dog and chewed it thoroughly. He didn't need to inhale his food and end up with a stomach ache, especially seeing how they gave them a decent amount of time to eat.

The question was kind of tough to answer, though, and Zack leaned back in his seat, his body language slightly defeated as he wiped some excess moisture off of his ear. "Yes and no," was his response. "I was searching for a friend, and while we did about as much as we could, we didn't find anything." He doubted it would concern Aidou that much, but he had asked

[blood_and_pocky]

His ego appreciated the compliment he turned Zack’s words into--a vampire could hardly look unwell, given their unnaturally handsome features, something Landel wouldn’t be able to take away--even though the man undoubtedly meant Aidou was merely in one piece

[zack_fair]

Zack continued to eat his food as he waited for Aidou's response, wanting to make sure that he got the meal down before he was too distracted by planning. He wasn't the sort who tended to forget to eat, but he doubted that sneaking out food for later would be looked upon very well by the nurses. Granted, he always had all the time in the world to eat come dinner, seeing how he was perpetually roommate-less.

The only reaction Aidou had about Aerith was a small nod, but maybe that was for the best. Words tended to be insincere in situations like this. Aidou hadn't known Aerith, but if he had, he would have realized how upsetting her disappearance was. There was no reason to start eulogizing her, though. Yuffie had explained where the vanished patients went -- while it wasn't pleasant, she wasn't dead either

[blood_and_pocky]

He ignored the tray his nurse set down by his elbow--and her as well, because he knew what she was thinking, every time he sat down with ‘friends’ lately--and continued only once she had gone again. That he was the one being apologized too was sadly ironic, and the vampire was quick to shake the topic off in favor of Zack’s question

[zack_fair]

Even when a nurse made an attempt to get the teen to eat, Aidou just acted as if the food wasn't there. Zack, meanwhile, had been working on his meal at a steady pace, but now he couldn't help worrying. He wouldn't say that Aidou was frail by any means, but he wasn't as well-built and sturdy as he could have been, especially in a place like this. He could have said something, but Zack knew better. Aidou had been here for a while, and he clearly had managed just fine so far, food or not. Maybe he binged at dinner or something. Everyone was different

[blood_and_pocky]

Crossing his arms on top of the table, the vampire cast a brief look around the cafeteria; the constant problem that was groupwork only drew more attention to the rowdy and ever-growing crowd of prisoners around him. And to the fact that Aidou honestly didn’t have replacements, or even reliable first choices. He’d have to speak to that red-eyed female again and experiment with the option of asking her to join forces

[zack_fair]

Those were a lot of requirements, but Zack figured that Aidou had a reason to be careful. If he had really been here for so long, then chances were that he had tried this quite a few times and had come up with little in return. Sure, they had one of those artifacts, but it apparently didn't mean much without its twin. At the same time, that was a straight-forward goal, something that seemed attainable. He was glad that the teen wasn't willing to give up

[blood_and_pocky]

Wait, a human reading his mind and beating him to the punch? That was very close to a first (excluding the freak shows from before, who had now vanished, thankfully).

Aidou had been sitting silently, giving a nod in junction in with Zack’s final verdict, and centering his tray in front of him while he waited for an opening. Only apparently he didn’t need one, because Zack was thinking almost the exact same thing he was. A little creepy. Maybe the man was more similar in mentality than Aidou had thought.

Looking up with a curious blink, the noble hesitated for a beat before replying, “No. And I didn’t get a chance to ask him.” Though it was the truth, and he probably would have told the truth, the surprise had made him more honest than he usually was. Or at least could remember, since being here. Realizing how stupid that was, Aidou gave himself a mental shake. “I take it you didn’t?” he asked more slowly, fixing his gaze on Zack.

[zack_fair]

So it was no on Aidou and maybe on Sasuke. That didn't give them the best odds, but it was better than nothing. When Zack had the question turned back on him, he sighed and shrugged. "Sort of. The person from my group who got it is someone I might be able to borrow it from. I can't make any promises, though." That was something he would also need to ask about when he checked to see if Cloud could come along. His Gaian friends were pretty good about checking the board, so it probably wouldn't be hard to iron that all out before night came. They still had one shift left.

"But if not, then I guess we'll just have to do it the old-fashioned way," he said with a smirk as he leaned back in his seat and crossed his arms over his chest. He didn't think there was anything wrong with that, and he imagined that Aidou would be used to it by now. A ring would be nice, but it could also be dangerous to use. It would help, sure, but it would be better if they didn't rely on it.

[blood_and_pocky]

Those damn rings. His earlier annoyance suddenly rushed back now that they had essentially confirmed they were both out of the loop when they came to owning one. It was infuriating, and Landel had to know it. He was sowing dissension with his little toys, putting prisoners ahead of others with no discernible criteria for who would benefit and who wouldn’t, short of that one had to have been in a group.

And that was before even knowing what the things all did.

Brow furrowed, Aidou propped an elbow up, pressing his palm to his temple as a cushion. "I prefer tradition in this case," came his chagrined response. Rare items of value--and rare items with catches--just created more complexity in an already unbearable situation. Unlike the zombie virus thing, or the portals, or the language barrier, they didn’t merely disappear come morning. "I’d rather travel my own distances, even if there’s a high chance of screw-ups. At least the risks are calculated. Besides, trusting something he gave you is the lowest

[zack_fair]

Aidou brought up a few good points. When you were working off of your own merit, at least you knew what was in store. Throwing in another variable like a strange ring that could teleport you around (with the use of your own blood, for that matter) seemed like it would just be asking for trouble. He wouldn't have been against trying it if they'd had one, but it seemed like getting their hands on one was more effort than it was worth at this point

[blood_and_pocky]

Short of taking a ring from someone else (which wasn’t completely out of the question, to be honest), the only people Aidou had marked down either way were a few recognizable people from the board, and now Zack. Soon Sasuke, if he got in contact with him before tomorrow. The only thing left to do was find out who had one where he could

[zack_fair]

Both of the questions that Aidou asked had complicated answers, and Zack made sure to finish his bite of food before he answered. However, before he was even done with that, the conversation was interrupted by a guy who had decided to throw all caution to the wind by standing up on a table and letting out a rallying cry

[blood_and_pocky]

Did he? The question Zack asked had a more obscure answer. Aidou absently ate his mauled food and refused to glance in the stranger’s direction.

Gaia.

Upon hearing that name, he lifted his eyes then let his lids lower partway again. Landel had mentioned that name before, hadn’t he. It certainly suggested he knew of it, as much as he knew about anyone else’s home. Gaia. Not a place that existed for Aidou, but here the concept had weight and matter.

"It’s not uncommon for acquaintances to claim they’re from different time periods," was what he said. Or at least felt that they were. Usually, the discrepancies occurred when people arrived from a place, not travelled to them, however. "About the thing you fought, though… was it something you’d expect to find there, or in the Institute? And the companions who were with you, they’re both from your home