Night 51: M41-50 Hallway
He hadn't expected to see a note to him from anyone other than his commanding officers. He'd caught the bulletin (from Dean, wasn't it?) addressed to him before the dinner shift. McCoy remembered him well enough. Rough looking kid, thought he could practice some medicine with nothing but a belt and dirty jacket, but generally had his heart in the
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"Guy!" he said brightly. He thought about getting up to open the door for him, but by the time he'd be able to find his way over there and fumble with the knob, Guy probably would have had enough time to step inside the room five times over. That was why he stayed in place for the time being.
"Come on in!" he said instead. Even though his current situation was a little depressing, he had enough hope to sound at least somewhat genuinely cheerful. In the back of his mind, part of Claude couldn't help but wonder if something else would go wrong tonight, but he had to push that sort of thinking aside for now.
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It was understandable that Claude was in a decent mood, though. Even if the healing hadn't been attempted yet, there was a chance that tonight would be the last night that he had to deal with a lack of sight. Keeping positive was always the right idea in cases like this, and Guy was sure that Claude had considered that there was a chance it wouldn't work, as well. But given the choice, why not hope for the best?
He had to fumble his items around in his arms a bit, but he got the door open and then stepped inside, taking in his friend's form on the bed with a smile. "I didn't hear from Luke, so I decided to drop by. And if you can believe it, Tear is actually here too! She might be meeting up with us later." If Guy had analyzed her words on the board properly, what she wanted to do first was test her own artes. That was a very Tear-like thing to do, and he only hoped that she didn't tire herself out too much that she couldn't find her way here.
"And I have some other good news," he said as he moved for the opposite bed to set down his things. "Okita finally got me that sword!" He had barely been able to believe it, but the day had come. It showed that patience really was a virtue. "I didn't bring it with me since I knew I wasn't coming very far, but it's stored in my room, safe and sound." And he was going to make sure to take good care of it. Not that Guy was ever the sort to abuse his weapons, but he was going to be extra careful this time around.
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"Oh, wow, her too?" he said, curious as to why she'd show up only a few days after Natalia. Was that a coincidence, or had Landel worked it out that way? Come to think of it, between Luke, Anise, Natalia and Tear, Guy had quite a few friends trapped in this place with him. He wondered if it was only a matter of time before people like Jade or Peony showed up again, but knew better than to ask.
"I'm looking forward to meeting her," Claude added, and he meant it. Getting a chance to meet some of Guy's friends wasn't something he took for granted, plus he felt like it helped him understand a little more about his friend's background, even if it raised some questions as well. Regardless, Claude couldn't help but wonder if he'd be able to see her face by the time they met, or if he'd be left to wonder what she looked like. It had been weird enough having to imagine Natalia's face based solely off of her voice...
When he heard Guy move over and begin setting down his things, he quickly became distracted by what he was saying. A sword? A real sword? So Okita had finally come through after all! Not that Claude had been blaming him for how slow it had taken to get Guy equipped, but he'd been wondering what the state of alchemy was in Landel's now that so few seemed to still be around. Either way, it sounded like Okita had somehow managed to get one for Guy, for which Claude was extremely grateful. If anyone deserved a proper weapon, it was him.
"That's great!" he said with a grin. "I'll bet you'll put it to really good use, too." Claude wanted to say he'd been impressed with those artes he'd seen in the basement, but the sheer fact it had been in the basement gave him pause, and he shoved that thought aside for the time being. Instead, Claude moved to the side a little and patted the space beside him, silently inviting his friend to come take a seat. "How is Okita, anyway?"
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"Yeah, I just saw her at lunch today," he explained, turning around to lean against the side of the bed and watch Claude. "She woke up this morning, but she's already run into Luke, so I imagine she's figured out the basics between the two of us." Tear was lucky in that respect; she had a lot of friends here who could easily catch her up.
"She pretty much completes the set," he continued with a small laugh. It was odd that both he and Claude had been around for long enough for that to happen, but his friend had even met Peony, along with a few of the God-Generals. Maybe not Dist, but... that was probably for the best, honestly. The man made amazing machines, but his personality left something to be desired.
As for the sword, he wasn't sure if "good use" was really the best way to describe it, but he certainly wasn't going to let Okita's favor go to waste. "I'm kind of excited to take it out for a test ride, I have to admit," he said, smirking to himself. He wasn't going to go searching for a fight, obviously, but it usually didn't take too long for something to decide that he was tasty, especially in the less-frequented areas.
When he saw Claude motion for him to sit down, he pushed off of the bed and moved over, carefully perching next to his friend while giving him a proper amount of space. It felt odd to be in here for the second night in a row, but getting Claude healed and watching over Natalia were both important. "Okita?" he parroted. "I'm not sure if things are going too well for him, to be honest, but... he's not the sort of person who likes to talk about how he's feeling. I just try to be there for him as much as I can, but that's not all that much." Which wasn't necessarily his fault, and yet he did worry about it sometimes.
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When Guy referred to Tear as the last part of a set, though, Claude faintly tilted his head, looking curious despite the fact his eyes were covered. "What do you mean?" he asked. "Like your really close circle of friends or something?" He knew Guy had done a fair amount of traveling before arriving here. Maybe Tear and the others had accompanied him back then.
It sounded like his friend was eager to give his weapon a whirl sometime. Claude couldn't help but smile a little at that. Still, he knew him well enough to figure he wouldn't go purposely getting into a fight for something like that. He'd always struck Claude as the cautious, ever-vigilant sort. But it was definitely nice to know that he'd have a good weapon to defend himself with when things came to that. Of course, Claude realized that meant he'd probably have to find somewhere for Ashton's old sword to go, but these days it was looking like he wouldn't get to return it to its original owner...
As Guy sat down next to him, Claude scooted over a little bit more to give him some room. As silly as it may have sounded, having the extra weight on the bed was something of a comfort, especially since he couldn't see him for himself. Still, he wasn't happy to hear that Okita wasn't doing so well, though with all the things that could go wrong in this place, Claude knew it was hard to expect anything different. He remembered how Okita had reached out to him the day after Guy's death, even though the loss had hit him hard as well. It was difficult not to respect something like that, though at the same time Claude knew that kind of attitude could really wear down on a person.
"I hope things get a little better for him," Claude quietly remarked. "Even if you guys might not hang out much outside of dinner, though, I'm sure he really appreciates having you around."
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It really was a shame that all six of them (or seven, if Ion was counted) had never been in this place at the same time, but it was still a possibility. Now they really only needed one or two more people, but Guy still had a working theory that Landel wouldn't allow them to all be there at once. It was like a revolving door or something, as terrible as that sounded.
It was probably true that Okita liked to have him there night in and night out at dinner, and Guy felt the same way. "Yeah, it's nice to have that as a constant rather than cycling through roommates every few days." Guy sent Claude a sympathetic expression even though it wouldn't be seen, since he knew that was what his friend had had to deal with for pretty much his entire stay here. Apparently the newest one had been around for a couple days now, but that still didn't count for much; not when Okita had been here for as long as Guy had. That seemed to be pretty rare, which made him all the more grateful for it.
"But yeah, I hope things improve for him too. Part of me wishes that he'd just talk to me about it, but I don't want to push him." As someone who didn't like it when people pried into things too much, he could see where Okita was coming from and he respected his feelings on the matter. Nonetheless, it was still a little frustrating. There was no telling if he could even help with whatever was going on, but it was worth a try.
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As for that stuff with Okita, Claude thought it was sort of funny to hear Guy say he wished he could get his roommate to open up when Guy himself could be just as closed in many respects. Maybe that was why Guy tried not to be too pushy about it, since it was easy for him to place himself in Okita's shoes.
"Yeah, that's always a tough spot to be in," Claude slowly said after a moment. It was a position he could relate to. "You want to help someone get through a tough time, but ultimately how close they'll let you get is their call..."
Part of him did sort of envy the two of them for having a stable roommate situation. It must have been nice to have that constant waiting for you at the end of the day. They'd probably get along with each other even if they had to use their quarters like a real room instead of just as a place to eat dinner and store their things. Claude thought on what it would be like to have to room with Guy for a dorm-like situation. They'd probably never get much sleep because they'd stay up all night talking, he realized with a tiny smile.
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It would have been easy to just focus on talking more about Okita and avoid the whole Van question entirely, but that would be pretty obvious, not to mention unfair to Claude. It had been Guy's decision to mention it in the first place, so now he had to take responsibility for it.
"Yeah, he was our enemy who we basically had to stop from destroying Auldrant," he explained with a frown. "But it isn't that simple. Van had a connection to most of us. He's Tear's older brother, for one thing, and Luke had him as a sword master for most of his life, so there were a lot of attachments that had to be ignored for the good of the world."
In the end, explaining his own relationship with Van would just bring up too many other unpleasant subjects. Whenever he explained to Claude just what his background was, from the death of his parents and his sister to his plot for revenge, then he would get into it. But for now, it was just too much to get into when they had other things to worry about.
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At last. The fonmachine's light, the flashlight, settled on M44 for a beat. Snapping into darkness, she replaced the device and allowed her eyes to adjust once more. If Jill truly was at that man's mercy, then there wasn't a moment to lose. Yet, Natalia found half a minute passing as she swept a few fingers over her hair (if only she could have a headband), and wrinkled her nose at her drab attire as it cleared with her vision. It seemed a shame that his sight would be restored, and met with awful clothes and an awful room decor.
Perhaps, her priorities were slightly out of order. Perhaps, she ought to have given more credence to the possibility that it might not work; yet, Natalia could not allow something as negative as sheer practicality to threaten her. Starting out with the wrong attitude could be fatal.
Squaring her shoulders, shifting her hold on the radio (her fingers slid over its cool surface and she remembered, again, that last gasp), Natalia raised her hand and rapped her knuckles below the number.
"Hello!" she told the door, "it's Natalia. I hope I ha--" well, waiting for the door to open made as much sense as anything.
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He was also curious about Guy's own relationship to Van, or if they'd mostly been acquainted with each other through Luke. Of course, he had a feeling that even if he asked, his friend wouldn't go into details right now. Guy was awfully closed about a lot of things, and it was possible giving the full story would dredge up a lot of memories he wasn't ready to talk about yet.
Just as he was about to open his mouth to say something, though, there was a knock at the door. Claude whipped his head over toward the source of the sound and heard a woman's voice who promptly identified herself as Natalia. He was relieved to hear that she'd safely made it to his room, especially on a night when some of the patients had apparently been taken for more "sleep studies".
While Claude's first instinct was to get up and open the door, he rubbed the back of his neck and quickly said to Guy, "It'd...probably be faster if you answered it." Finding his way between the bed and desk was one thing, but having to slowly make his way over to the door and fumble with the knob with more than one person around was a little embarrassing to think about.
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Nodding to Claude, Guy practically jumped off of the bed and crossed the room to open the door, sending the princess a smile when he took in her features in the near darkness. "Glad you were able to find it okay," he said, quickly moving back and to the side so that she didn't barrel into him.
"And I wanted to thank you for being willing to do this," he added with a genuinely grateful nod of his head. "Claude's a good friend." That was probably obvious by now, and Guy doubted that their closeness would have changed Natalia's mind about what she was going to do, but Guy still felt that it was necessary to thank her. Her healing abilities were more important here than they had ever been on Auldrant, except perhaps for during their final confrontation with Van.
But Guy was going to put that man from his mind now.
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"But, really," she laughed, in response to his gratitude, "you too? It isn't necessary, of course I would. I must do what I can, and this-" she loathed to admit it, "-this may be all I can do. Anyway, we must hurry! It sounded as if that woman, Jill?, might be in danger."
Never mind that she very possibly would be completely unable to do anything after this. Natalia strode into the room, apparently having little qualm with entering a man's room. It may have helped that it looked so identical to hers; nothing distinguished the one from the other, nothing but the man sitting on his bed. She crossed the room to Claude, apparently drawing the line at taking the same seat, and after a half-beat of consideration, pulled his desk chair over, closer to the bed.
"Hello Claude," she greeted, if a little redundantly, then frowned at the plate left on the desk. Even if he did regain appetite with sight, it would be cold! She couldn't quite keep from sounding a little cross. "Let's begin."
Sitting primly in the chair, her ankles crossed and she leaned forward, reached toward his face, then paused and sat back, thinking better of it. Or spending time with Guy had finally taught her something. "If you would remove the bandaging? It might help to see if it's working. If... the first spell doesn't work."
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She was quick to brush off his thanks, attributing her generosity to a sense of duty, but that didn't make her willingness to lend a hand any less deserving of thanks. She was right about one thing, though -- they probably didn't need to spend the night dilly-dallying when there were other things to do, although he was worried she would push herself too hard once she'd finished casting her healing spells. Whether they would work or not remained to be seen, but he knew he had to keep a positive attitude about this.
As soon as he heard her pull a chair closer to him, Claude instantly straightened up in his seat. "Hi, Natalia," he said, returning her greeting. Claude realized there was something in her tone that was difficult to identify, though it gave him the impression that he ought to do as she told him.
That was why he didn't protest when she instructed him to remove his bandages. "R-right..." After bringing his hand to his face, he gently peeled away the tape holding the pad in place over his right eye and brought it to his lap. The other bandage soon followed, and Claude felt the cool air against his eye lids. It might have been refreshing if it weren't for the ever-present scratchy sensation behind them, but he would just have to bear it for a little longer. Still, he decided to keep them closed until he absolutely needed to open them.
"Thanks again...for offering to give this a try," Claude told her, partly to make things feel less awkward for him, but also to let her know that he was still grateful even if this didn't work out.
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Natalia had grown, hadn't she? Not as much as Luke, maybe, but Guy could still see it clear as day. It made him wonder if he'd gone through a few drastic changes of his own, beyond putting his past behind him even more than he had at the start of their long journey.
Claude seemed a bit overwhelmed, but Guy knew that Natalia would take good care of him. In the end, Guy ended up moving over to stand near Claude's desk, a safe distance away from the pair. Still, the room was small enough that if something went wrong, he'd be able to deal with it, and he made sure to stay focused on both of them.
As for the comment about Jill, he had to agree that it sounded bad for her. Guy wasn't sure how much they could do, though, since chances were that she could already be in Landel's clutches. For the moment, he wanted to take things one at a time. "Just relax," he told Claude as he observed. Natalia would be gentle, and it wasn't as if healing ever hurt. On the other hand, who really knew in this place? It hadn't hurt when Kratos had healed him, but...
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When Claude removed the bandages, Natalia was -- not quite disappointed, but left braced for little reason. She had prepared herself for a more distressing sight, for scars that would indubitably stir her fury with Landel. The lack of physical marring would also make it difficult to gauge success by spell. Recovering from her surprise at how clear his skin was, Natalia began to focus.
It should not have taken much concentration to gather fonons and combine them with verse. Had she not cast them hundreds of times in battle, distracted only when struck by spell or blade? Yet, concentration it took. Her brow creased as she meditated on her fon slots, reaching for seventh fonons in the atmosphere--and were they there, or weren't they? Supposedly not on Earth, but she could feel the power gathering, if slowly, if weakly.
She spoke the verse, targeting his eyes, "O soothing light, Heal!" and smiled, relieved, as fonons glowed around him, highlighting his hair with pale white-green.
Curiously aware of a heaviness in her mind and moisture in her palms, Natalia shook herself as if to dismiss them both, and watched Claude for his reaction.
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He gave a small nod when Natalia reminded him to hold off in showing his gratitude until they got some results. He could see how she wouldn't want to be told thank you before having done anything, even if the fact she had come here at all meant a lot to him. But for now it sounded like it was best to keep that to himself, and so he patiently waited for Natalia to cast her healing spell.
As soon as she said the incantation, he was stunned to sense some light through his eyelids. Soothing warmth bathed his body. The feeling reminded him a lot of all the times Rena had healed him. Part of him ached when he thought back on those times...
But there wasn't any time for him to get lost in his own thoughts. Soon, the light seemed to fade, taking the warmth along with it. Claude took in a small breath when he realized that the pain in his eyes had ebbed a little, even if it wasn't gone. After a brief moment, he slowly cracked them open. The first thing he saw was a patch of light, presumably from a flashlight. But as soon as he opened them wider, Claude realized that the light was all he could identify -- the rest was a hazy darkness that he knew couldn't be attributed to the poor lighting. There was no Natalia in sight, and no Guy for that matter.
His heart felt as though it'd sunk to the pit of his stomach, but the only outward sign he gave was the way his hand balled into a fist at his side. Offering a smile, he turned his face toward where Natalia was sitting across from him, but he knew he couldn't hide the unfocused way he was looking at her, or the abnormal shape his pupils probably had -- much less the moisture collecting at the corners of his eyes because of how sensitive they were.
"I-it doesn't hurt as much now," he told her, trying his best to sound positive.
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