Day 55: Courtyard [2nd Shift]

[sheepwood]

After what seemed like an eternity of being amused, irritable, bored, in pain, in excruciating pain, and any combination of those, Guybrush was met by the same soldier who had led him to the cafeteria. He wasn't offered a trip to the Sun Room to check the bulletin board, but didn't push for it anyway. That would have been more walking, and moving

Comments

[thatdemonbitch]

So much for staying out of trouble. Of course, when the angel decided to get involved and start chatting her up like he knew anything about anything, it was bound to come down to blow eventually, but hindsight told her she should have watched her mouth. And her hands. And, well, her temper in general. She hadn't needed to confirm anything that dick was saying because her actions made it clear enough that he was right.

But, that didn't mean Sam or Dean needed to hear anything about it. And as the soldiers ushered them less gingerly than the nurses ever had into the courtyard, she was determined to insure that they never did. Or at least that they got it in their heads that she was the trustworthy one and the supposed angel was off his fucking gourd. This whole thing was a complication she didn't need. If Ruby had it her way, they'd just call an embargo on this stupid war until they got Sam to get the hell out of there, but she had a feeling the self-righteous didn't make those kind of concessions

[theroadsofar]

Jesus Christ it was cold out. Almost balls-freezing cold

[thatdemonbitch]

The look on Ruby's face when Dean first approached acting as amiable as could be expected out of a hunter talking to a near-stranger could only be described as confused. And a little affronted, honestly, though the recognition he was looking for was definitely there as though somehow it explained her uncertain appraisal of his approach. Conceptually, knowing he was from a earlier time period and wouldn't jump at the chance to impale her was one thing. In practice? It was down right unsettling.

But she caught herself quick enough and the look shifted into one of understanding, like she was putting things together and realizing who he was. As if that recognition hadn't been there. She was gonna have to get better at tempering those sentiments and not getting herself caught out.

"Of course he did," she tried not to say it in too much of a way that indicated the level of familiarity she really had with Sam, but with a tone that undeniably indicated an amusement level that went along with comfortable friendship. "He's just

[theroadsofar]

Okay, "Sam fingered you" were three words Dean didn't ever need to hear.

...Even if he got what Ruby was saying.

At least Ruby seemed up to speed, even if it was really friggen weird to be introducing himself to her all over again. Now he was getting a feeling of what it was like when he'd run into Yuffie. He nodded as she checked his name, reaching out to take her hand in his and shaking it. Chick had a pretty good handshake, which he figured wasn't too surprising: hunters weren't the type of folks to give limp ones. Although getting called "you boys" made him raise an eyebrow in return, ‘cause last he checked, he wasn’t part of some dude harem here. Or whatever you called the guy version of a harem. It was one of those things he somehow hadn’t thought about much

[tasteoftruth]

Badd mentally marked the way to the courtyard this time, to make sure he didn't get turned around again in the darkness. It was a dead end anyway, without ropes or something to stand on, but it was good to know the lay of the land. He should probably sketch up a map of the place at some point.

At least they had jackets this time. Badd was fairly certain that pleading his age and infirmity really wouldn't fly with these guys as well as it had yesterday. Especially when he obviously wasn't the worst-off guy in the courtyard, that blonde guy with the bandages looked like he'd been worked over with a few steel pipes, not to mention the matter of his missing hand. Badd hoped he was one of the rabblerousers from yesterday. If the man was a victim of his own idiocy then he didn't have to feel sorry for the mangled lunkhead.

Badd turned his face to the wall, taking a moment away from paranoia to gaze up at the ivy and the free sky above it. It'd work out. And if it didn't then he'd die and that was sort of all right too.

[Byrne, darling,

[corvus_veritas]

[Here baby, bringing you your favorite dish of trauma~.]

Cleaning, limping around, being treated like cattle and starving to death. What a wonderful day this was turning out to be, yes indeed. At least his escort finally allowed him to visit the bulletin board, if only under the threat of 'make it quick or else'. And so Byrne made his note quick and allowed himself to be led to the next shift without any protest. Hopefully Rei would see that

[tasteoftruth]

Badd ignored the gasp, the prisoners seemed to get upset over the stupidest things. But when his name was called out in a teasingly familiar voice Badd's head automatically flicked to the side...and his jaw dropped in horror. If he'd had his lollipop it would have tumbled dramatically from his lips to the grass below his feet

[corvus_veritas]

Byrne remained in his place, continuing to gape like an idiot at the sight of his friend. A part of him tried to deny that Badd was standing right there in front of him, tried to convince him that it was just coincidence and he was starting to lose it. But the man recognized Byrne and reacted accordingly, despite the fact that the way he reacted...didn't feel like Badd

[scalyfishman]

It had probably been a good thing that Depth Charge's injuries had been considered bad enough for him to sit out the cleaning session, because if thsoe soldiers had tried to get him scrubbing on his knees like a recruit they'd have ended up with a face full of crutch and attitude. Was that woman serious? Was this Aguilar guy serious? It might have been easy enough for them to overthrow Landel, but if they thought that somehow meant they'd earned any sort of respect from him they had another thing coming.

That didn't stop them from trying, of course. His soldier escort even stopped to help him into his new coat, a leather number with his false name on the collar, after watching the Maximal attempt to wrestle it over his bandages whilst still keeping his balance for ten solid kliks. All without losing his temper. Well, if that wasn't the nicest thing

[unmocked_lawr]

The walk to the Courtyard was a bizarre one; Javert's escort spent the better part of it trying to engage him in conversation, but in a manner that suggested he was thought of as a comrade in arms rather than a patient who needed to be coaxed out of his shell. It was deeply confusing.

He was glad of the interruption when he was handed his coat and they stepped out into a surprisingly cold late morning. The soldier jerked his head at a distant figure. "Hey, Hunt. Keep an eye on Price for me? Looks like he's in bad shape. I don't want him falling over and hurting himself more or something."

Price--that was a familiar name. Ah, yes, Depth Charge, looking considerably the worse for wear. It had been a while since they'd last spoken; he supposed he might as well comply. Javert caught up with him quickly, falling into step beside the injured robot.

"What happened to you?" His tone of voice was dry as usual, but there was a barely detectable undercurrent of concern.

[scalyfishman]

Movement was painfully slow, even for a human. Each time Depth Charge tried to take a step he had to step his crutches forward, then pull himself through with a swing that chafed under his arms. It was times like these he found himself getting nostalgic for a rocket booster. Even a steam engine was faster than this

[unmocked_lawr]

"A cat," Javert said with some disbelief--he was, he supposed, getting better at filtering the information out of Depth Charge's peculiar mode of speech--before he remembered just how large the cats here could be.

But at least it appeared the staff were still in the business of fixing their toy soldiers after they'd been played with. The corner of his mouth quirked upward in a half-smile. "Not quite. He wants you to mind your hobbling technique. I don't think Aguilar could afford the hospital bill if you were to injure yourself further. Spare him the ignominy of an empty wallet."

[razing_phoenix]

Guy was more than happy to move onto the next shift after how his morning had gone. It would have been one thing for that man to have behaved that way if Guy was the one who'd approached him, but that hadn't even been the case. He supposed he could be thankful that his kind was rather rare among the patients (should they still be referred to as patients now?), but it was still enough to qualify as annoying -- which took a lot, for him

[hersalvation]

Lion also couldn't have been happier to move on to other things; the past shift truly did feel like it lasted an eternity, if only because she was so focused on wanting it to end already. And Peter's company... well, it hadn't been bad, but the poor kid had seemed so miserable that it felt wrong to have called it good. He was clearly unhappy, but then, so was Lion, considering the situation she suddenly and mysteriously landed in. If there were supposed to be any good impressions about this building so far (doubtful of it, though), Lion certainly found none of them.

From what Peter had told her, it sounded like it might have been the start of a long, grueling process, being stuck here. Lion was already wondering how long this was going to last.

And then, if she were going to be pulled away from the cafeteria and to elsewhere, unlike before there was no way she was going to protest as long as she didn't have to do any more work. After being given a jacket (unsurprising; she noticed while walking through the big, windowed room earlier

[razing_phoenix]

Suddenly being approached by someone was no surprise in this place, though as Guy turned to face the person who had spoken up, he was faced with a troubling realization. Much like Okita, he really couldn't stay at first glance if the person speaking to him was male or female. If he hadn't had a phobia he wouldn't have minded either way, but in his case it was important to know. Only if the stranger got close enough for it to matter, but he still didn't like the uncertainty

[hersalvation]

Oh, good. It wouldn't have been troublesome if this person did want some time to themselves, but he seemed to be in fairly good spirits by the tone of his response. ...Considering, anyway. Lion wouldn't have been able to blame him if he was feeling less than great, as she wasn't either, but not everyone was so open about it. Nonetheless, she presented to him with a small, amiable smile and joined him under the trees.

"Not too much, I admit," Lion replied, crossing her arms behind her next to another close by tree. "I suppose I figured two was better company than one, especially with such temperatures." With that, she nearly had to suppress a shudder; it wasn't so bad when she first walked out here, but now the cold was starting to catch up to her. "...Speaking of, it's a little unusual that it's snowing this time of the year, isn't it? It makes me wonder where this area is. Would you happen to know, by any chance?"

[unheroed]

Other than the cleaning, that shift had been rather useful. Harvey had learned a bit more about the "Ringmaster," they had talked over how they were going to proceed with the basement from here, and they had even taken note of their abandoned member as he'd entered the room. It would be severe to say that Harvey was hopeful, but things were going a lot smoother than they had been for a while now -- probably since back when he'd been working with Jason -- and so he could appreciate that, at the least

[iwhipthefool]

So this was how things were going to be run from now on? Franziska did appreciate that it was a woman giving orders while the men were on attention, but she didn't appreciate that she had to listen to them. Worse yet, she apparently wasn't a high enough rank to earn special treatment. Never once in her life had she cleaned a floor or done any sort of manual labor. As a von Karma, there had always been someone to do that for her. And as a von Karma, the simple thought of doing it was beneath her.

Thus, when the woman announced that the degrading activity was over, Franziska snatched her jacket from the guard and stormed outside ready to escape the stupidity of the morning's activities. Unfortunately, she was hit with a blast of cold air and an instantaneous regret for not having chosen a smarter place to go. It had been chilly the other day, but this was wholly unexpected. It was snowing of all things. At least she was used to harsh winters thanks to her years in Germany, but apparently not everyone was

[unheroed]

Honestly, he didn't see why people would want to talk in this sort of weather except for one reason: distracting yourself from the cold. Harvey figured it was the best option he had at the moment, and so he wasn't necessarily bothered by the fact that the self-proclaimed prodigy had come to join him. It had been some time since the two of them had talked, though Franziska seemed as unshaken as always.

For some reason, he got the feeling that solid front she had wasn't completely genuine, especially since the first thing she did was try to point out his weaknesses. He realized that was probably her attorney instinct kicking in. It was always about breaking things down in the courtroom, whether it was people or arguments

[iwhipthefool]

Gotham. Franziska filed that detail away under the rest of the information she had about Harvey Dent. She had never heard of that city, but it could easily be on the east coast. Most of Franziska's work took her abroad or to Los Angeles only. As she listened, she closed up her jacket and folded her arms over her chest, looking out over the slowly whitening landscape. "Germany is just as cold