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

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[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?"

[razing_phoenix]

The other patient had a point; huddling together in the cold was a good way to not get frostbite if you were out in low temperatures for a long time. For that reason, Guy was glad that they weren't going to be outside for that long. If they'd had to resort to getting that close to each other, his confusion over the stranger's gender could have become problematic. And he was far too polite to outright ask about such a thing, which would have meant finding out the hard way

[hersalvation]

A different season? Lion's expression became skeptical at the way those words had been phrased, as if she should have expected something should be off with the seasons and dates between here and wherever "home" had meant for each person.

"It isn't October?" she asked, sounding uncertain. "Last I was aware, it had only been the fourth... I figure a day or two could have passed, but I can't imagine I've been out of it so long that winter has already come." Which couldn't have been the case, if "different season where you're from" was any hint; the weather would have had to been especially odd that day for it to ever snow anytime in October. "Do you mind explaining a bit more? I'm afraid I don't understand what you mean."

[razing_phoenix]

Maybe if he was from Earth he would have been of more help, but Guy didn't even know what October meant. The way the other patient was talking, it seemed like it was a name of a month, but Guy didn't have any idea of what season or weather it fit in with. It obviously wasn't winter, though, which was why the newcomer was confused

[hersalvation]

The skeptical expression she donned didn't last for too long as he spoke; his explanation was rather strange and out there, but Lion grew more thoughtful on it rather than dismissing the idea. Time wasn't only 'different' here for her, but it was for everyone? From the past, from the future... And from the sound of it, between what she had been hearing from both Peter and this person, nobody had come from wherever here happened to be

I'm am so, so sorry for the delay! I never got the notif. :C

[razing_phoenix]

Rather than getting laughed at or mocked (which wasn't so common here, but after his conversation with that older man this morning, Guy was a bit sensitive), it looked like he was actually being taken seriously. The fact that this place was no longer being touted as a mental institution probably helped. Most new patients had to take their own time figuring out whether everyone else was crazy or not, but right now that wasn't as much of an issue

it's okay i'm even later /)A(\

[hersalvation]

Different worlds, was it? It was another concept Lion had been somewhat familiarized with, although the term she had heard been used in these situations were 'Fragments'. Nonetheless, the meaning was all the same; 'different worlds' was likely more commonly used anyway, at least among those who weren't the kind of magical or divine being Lion had come to learn about.

Lion paused to roll around the name 'Auldrant' in her mind, but in the end it was, of course, completely unfamiliar. As expected, she should have figured, because it was told to her in a manner that he predicted she would know about it. Not to mention he spoke of Earth as if it were something unusual to him. ...Ah, this really was strange. Just how different can 'different Fragments' be?

All she followed up with was a nod. "I see. I think I understand. ...It's almost remarkable sounding, although the purpose this has been used for..." She trailed off, momentarily glancing off somewhere else into the courtyard. "Well, is anything but."

let's get this back on track. (gym)

[razing_phoenix]

Pulling his jacket tighter around him, Guy did his best not to focus on the cold. It was something he'd endured a number of times in the past, so he wasn't going to let it get to him. Baticul and Hod had both had very mild climates, but he'd gotten accustomed to more extreme temperatures during his travels. He would be fine.

"You more or less summed it up there," he told the new patient with a wry smile. "I'm really curious to learn more about Earth, but I just wish it wasn't under these circumstances. At the same, I may have never learned that other worlds existed if I hadn't been brought here." That didn't mean that he had to feel grateful, but it was a sort of Catch-22 that he tried his best not to think about most of the time.

"Still, I hope that you find something worthwhile in this place." Guy certainly had despite all odds, so all he could do was wish the same on others. "But did you have any other questions? I've been here for a while, so..." He had to admit he was a good resource, both due to his knowledge and his

awyisss (rock)

[hersalvation]

...No, it wasn't "as if"-- this man clearly didn't have a clue about the world they were in. It was almost puzzling, because when Lion imagined different worlds being an actuality she had only thought of them as different variations of the one they currently lived in. So, it went even further than that, so much that this much of fiction could be reality?

Well, he probably thought much of the same, and unsurprisingly so he admitted he hadn't known about the existence of different Fragments; it wasn't too long ago that Lion didn't either. But to wind up someplace thoroughly different from your own... So far, nothing had been jarring barring the situation going down in the place they were at, but it must have been quite the opposite for him.

"I'll be frank, the morning had left a lot to be desired," Lion said, a hint of flatness in her voice. Peter was a nice boy, but he was about the only thing that made being in the cafeteria back there worthwhile at all. And even so, she was still feeling a little bitter about it. It was something

[razing_phoenix]

Seeing how this patient had started off their time here (it was remarkable that he still couldn't pin down a gender, but he was just going to try his hardest to not think about it either way), it was no surprise that they were less than impressed with what Landel's had to offer. Sadly, that wasn't bound to change. The night was worse than the day in most ways, especially for anyone who wasn't used to fighting. Granted, waking up somewhere and being forced to clean a whole cafeteria when you had no idea of what was going on was hardly the best start, but

[hersalvation]

As he mentioned it, the gaining of information suddenly seemed obvious; no doubt about it, Lion was already finding out some new things, and it made her wonder just how much more she'd learn. Back home, Lion studied hard because she had to, and not necessarily out of a thirst for knowledge, but here she was suddenly finding herself wanting to know more about the vast array of things that could be discovered from the people alone. Perhaps because, even though the place itself was already making its downfalls obvious (and there were more she had only heard about), the people here at least were already bringing something mysterious and new to the table; different realities was something that, to the average person, was either a ridiculous concept or one that was beyond actuality. How often did someone get to say they could meet someone who wasn't even familiar with Earth

[razing_phoenix]

Lion Ushiromiya. It didn't mean a thing to him. Most of the names here were foreign, so he hadn't really known what to expect. Still, some names would have made the gender obvious; in this case, Guy had no clue. He knew he'd be better off if he stopped dwelling on it, and it wasn't as if the confusion had ruined the conversation by any means, but he still wanted to knowThere were ways to find out, such as keeping an eye on which showers were used or what room block was returned to, but the last thing Guy wanted was to be labeled as creepy. And he wasn't! He had a very good reason for needing to know, after all