Day 54: Lunch

[full_score]

All things considered, last shift had been pretty low key. After this morning's disaster, though, that was perfectly fine by Claude. Some fresh air and a chance to make sure Guy and Okita were all right weren't things to take for granted. It was also good to have a fairly normal, conversation with Guy that didn't slip off into awkward territory

Comments

[zack_fair]

It had been hard to know just how much time he'd spent in that padded room, seeing how he'd been both sedated and dealing with the after-effects of tear gas. All Zack had thought when the door had opened and an orderly had told him that he was free to join the rest of the patients again was, well, that wasn't so badA few hours just didn't match up to four years, after all

[ninelivesonce]

Taura walked in to lunch with her stomach churning both with hunger and that inimitable mix of exhilaration and nausea produced by an upcoming combat drop.  Not that she had anything major planned, but she would, and soon.  She'd made promises, and she'd damn well keep them.  She glanced around the room, looking for someone to sit with.  Leela, maybe, or -- oh!  There was a familiar face

[zack_fair]

Someone had come to sit with him. Zack realized it just by the feel of the table moving, but he found it hard to force himself to look up. Just getting the food from his hand into his mouth was already proving difficult. Still, the voice broke through his haze then, and he knew that he knew it. He couldn't go ignoring someone he'd met just because of some drugs, and so he slowly lifted his head.

Oh, right, he knew her. She'd stood out because she was so tall. They'd spoken in the library. About Cissnei. Yes, that was it

[ninelivesonce]

Zack's reflexes weren't quite tracking on all levels, but his answers matched the questions Taura had asked, which was good enough. She hadn't been able to be everywhere at once this morning, after all.

So she just nodded, while launching into her own fries. Most of her breakfast had ended up as abandoned artillery; though her current plate could count as matériel just as well, given that without fuel, she'd be an easy target.

"Mm-hmm?" she said, around a mouthful of potato. Gulp. "This Eagle didn't turn up in person, did he?" That made two enemies without the nerve to show their faces, even behind shields. Taura wasn't impressed.

[bitpartgod]

By lunchtime, Kibitoshin was feeling slightly better. Slightly. He'd stopped sniffing, which was probably a good thing considering people would be eating near him now, but a quick stop in the bathroom on the way to the cafeteria still showed those horrible red rims around his eyes, like he'd spent all morning crying. And that certainly wasn't the strong, brave look he needed to aim for, was it? He wanted to look like a hero, not someone who dived for tissues every time something bad happened! But fixing that little problem wasn't exactly something he could manage during the day when there were so many nurses around, so he'd had to resign himself to looking silly until night fell. Then again, wouldn't it be too dark to tell how his eyes looked at night

[scarefaux]

[Hope this is okay! He could use a pal.]Much to the Scarecrow's surprise, the cafeteria looked as though everything that had happened that morning simply hadn't happened at all. Even with the tables clean and the dark-clad officials all back in their places, the former strawman was still feeling the effects of the morning's events. He'd barely gotten the map back from Mele before the doors shut and he became aware that something was very, very wrong. And then the smoke poured into the room from every direction, filling the air and suffocating everyone inside

[bitpartgod]

[eee ♥ the scarecrow is always okay!]

In the situation, Kibitoshin couldn't have been gladder to see anyone.

"Scarecrow!" Immediately, his face lit up. "I'm so glad to see you!" Sechs and Haseo would have been cross with him for being so indecisive, Franziska would have shouted at him for blocking the aisle and Goku-- well, Goku barely recognised him. Even if the Scarecrow hadn't been as nice as he was, he'd still have been the best possible person to run into.

He glanced back around the room, giving a little laugh. "Actually, yes. I wasn't sure where to sit." It sounded kind of silly out loud, like he'd walked aorund and somehow managed to miss every single chair in the room. Quickly, he added, "I mean, there aren't many people who don't have someone with them already."

And there were even fewer now. The cafeteria had filled up around him while he dithered and now he wasn't even sure that there was anyone left to sit with. He could've sat in a three, of course, but what if he'd been interrupting a conversation

[scarefaux]

The Scarecrow nodded with a knowing smile and took one of the two seats, a little relieved that he wasn't the only clumsy one at the Institute. Of course, his came from his unfamiliarity with being human

[poorexample]

The previous shift had been surprisingly calming. Other than having to act as if Michael was a name that belonged to him and not someone far worse (it was painful to admit that about his brother, but it was still the truth), he'd spent his time on the recreational field wandering around the perimeter. While Castiel hadn't been able to forget the night that that spirit had haunted himself and Gabriel, the idea of getting out of the building by scaling the wall still had merit

[predictator]

Woe unto all, the esteemed Dr. Landel was disappointed.

Of more immediate importance was the fact that Izaya was not particularly keen on going back into the cafeteria after this morning's disaster. The havoc the gas had wreaked had all but subsided, and only a faint stinging in his eyes and an occasional sniffle and cough remained by the time the intercom clicked on to announce lunch and scold the patient populace (again) for being naughty. But even if the effects had cleared, it had still happened.

If someone started another riot with their lunch, he was going to skip enjoying the show and just get out of there. He'd decided that before setting foot in the cafeteria.

Izaya took a large helping of the 'fish and chips'. The food looked boring, bland, and generic, but he was hungry after barely eating at breakfast in favor of watching the unfolding disaster. Keeping a wary eye out for Shizuo, he headed towards a seat... only to spot one familiar face he wasn't avoiding: the man he'd met his first night there

[poorexample]

Right as Castiel was determining whether or not he should sample a bite of the fish, a voice sounded from the other side of the table. He glanced up, taking note of the young man who he'd run into during his first night in this place. They had both spent that time confused, searching for an exit and even finding one; the broken lock, the diseased dog, and then the sudden loss of language

[predictator]

Castiel recognized him, and Izaya couldn't quite decide if that was good or bad. On the one hand, it saved the trouble of reintroductions, but on the other, it meant he definitely remembered him from the night they'd met. Izaya didn't think he'd said or done anything that might have made him stand out, but he hadn't yet had the faintest idea of the situation he'd found himself in. Had he known then, he might have acted differently.

But that night was already passed, so it was far too late to change anything about it. Castiel was still in one piece, and that was an encouraging sign: maybe he could be of use.

Izaya took a moment to pick up his utensils from his tray after he'd settled. "I'm afraid not," he answered with a shake of his head. "I've actually stayed in most nights."

That he'd remained in his room at night several times was an unfortunate fact, though in truth he hadn't exactly meant to stay in. He chose not to voice that part, however; Castiel was free to draw his own conclusions

[human_sponge]

That talk with Claire had turned out to be extremely tiring -- and more than that, he didn't know if he'd really gotten through to her, so it had likely been unproductive on top of it all. Still, there wasn't much Peter could do about it now, since the best thing for Claire at the moment would probably be if she had some time to reflect on it on her own. Then again, with how social people tended to be here, that wasn't necessarily likely. Even if his niece decided to sit alone, there was a good chance she'd be approached

[future_games]

Despite his silent staring contest with one of the nurses in the balcony of the sun room, the burning in Isaac's eyes had finally subsided by lunch. He wasn't feeling up to the shift change, though. It was just another step towards night, and he knew he'd have to leave his room again eventually.

He floated aimlessly through the lunch line without putting up a fight and was fully intend on sitting somewhere in the corner until a smiling nurse intervened.

"How about you sit with Mr.Campbell today?"

The whole concept of having a name but being called by something completely different was still working its way into Isaac's mind. He wasn't sure who 'Mr.Campbell' actually was, or if he'd spoken to him previously, but the nurse gestured and Isaac was met immediately with the familiar face of Peter Petrelli

[human_sponge]

Well, that was unexpected

[future_games]

"I've been around," Isaac mumbled, spearing a fry onto his fork. "I just haven't had much to say."

Isaac's near-silence was part of his way of coping. Somehow, it just helped to fade into the background and go as unnoticed as possible. He had never adapted easily to change, and finding himself forced here was too much change. Between the nagging memories of his life before Landel's and the constant feeling of uneasiness he got each time he walked down the facility's corridors, it was clear that the painter wasn't settling in as well as a healthier person might.

He hadn't spoken to many people, but he found that he didn't feel so discontent with Peter. The bitter feelings were still there, but he found that he really trusted Peter more than he trusted anyone else in this place. Admitting it just wasn't an option.

He frowned, chewing thoughtfully for a moment. "I was thinking it couldn't get much worse," he replied. "I would still be thinking that if this morning hadn't have happened."

[unheroed]

Harvey knew that he needed to start worrying when he came away from a conversation with a guy who thought he was a pirate and had a hook for a hand and didn't feel totally weirded out. He'd become desensitized to just about everything that this place had to offer, at least during the day. Tear gas had been something new, but that was something that could have happened at Gotham, if he was going to be honest with himself. He could see the headline now: "Patient Riot Breaks Out at Arkham, Tear Gas Used to Suppress the IncidentThe soldiers had made them go through that stupid roll call and they were still watching them like hawks, but other than that, things had gone back to normal. Well, except for the Head Doctor, who sounded pretty dismal. Usually the man was manic, swinging back and forth between overly happy during the day and just downright insane at night, so to hear him sounding more depressive was strange

[sasuke_of_sound]

[[IS THIS OKAY ;^;]]A shift spent pacing circles around the Recreation Field, forcing his mind through chronological memories with Gaara, had done plenty to help the sedative wear off. Still, the fuzzy barrier separating the darkness from the audible world left Sasuke depending more heavily on his nurse than he had been since the first days of his blindness, a situation that would have been a pain even if the staff hadn't been thoroughly knocked out of their usual good cheer this morning

[unheroed]

For a short moment, Harvey had allowed himself to entertain the thought that he might actually be able to spend a meal shift on his own. Maybe all the other patients were too busy checking on each other after this morning to want to sit with a random guy who had bandages covering half his face

[sasuke_of_sound]

Sasuke was almost beginning to think that whoever else at the table was going to remain silent for the rest of the meal, and the ridiculous fumble it took to locate his fork made him grateful for it. For all that he was aware that too much time had passed between his last successful venture and any variety of information -- Aidou's words, terse and pointed, clear in his mind -- he had been less than ideally guarded with Gaara already. He was less than confident in the impression he could make on a stranger.

... especially when it was so painfully obvious that he was still throwing off the effects of the sedative. Sasuke gripped his fork and inclined his head slightly, the better to focus hearing on the person's voice.

Not familiar to him.

"Not without a fight," he said, and immediately regretted it -- the immaturity of defending the shame of defeat by civilian military. Even without chakra or sight, it galled more than a bit. "... were you unharmed?"