Day 55: Cafeteria

[bodhiandspirit]

Though five days without bathing was hardly unusual for Rita, she was actually looking forward to showering today. To her, the last shift had been somewhat enjoyable, if only because it allowed her an opportunity to be alone with her thoughts for a bit. Of course, she couldn't be completely alone in the communal showers, but no one was rude enough

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[gald_digger]

Despite her frequent trips to the bulletin board, it turned out that Anise was one of the first to reach the cafeteria. This was a good thing in that she wouldn't have to wait too long in line, but something was a little off. The room didn't smell as good as it usually did, and when she got a look at what was being served at the counter, Anise could see why

[razing_phoenix]

Despite the cold, Guy's second shift had turned out to be much more enjoyable than his first. Part of that was because the person he'd spoken to had been much more well-mannered and willing to listen, and he got a certain amount of satisfaction from being able to help others. He knew his warnings and explanations probably only went so far, but he considered himself decent at that sort of thing

[melodists]

Orders to report to the cafeteria struck Tear as unorthodox for a task as mundane as lunch, even for the military. They could have gotten away with simply announcing the start of the meal. Instead, they had to actually give an order. She had to wonder if there were additional factors involved (aside from those who had participated in the riot yesterday) but ultimately decided that was not the case. Maybe they just wanted to establish an order unseen during Landel's charge. Who knew

[gald_digger]

So far, Anise hadn't had much luck spotting her friends today. Maybe the new uniforms really were to blame. Luckily, however, it wasn't long before Guy managed to find her. When she heard his voice, she looked up from her tray with a smile; one more sincere than usual

[scarletspeedstr]

Lunch time, finally!

To say Wally was a little hungry was the understatement of the century, or at least, that's what it felt like to him anyway. It'd been a while since he'd gone without breakfast at all, especially after using his speed the night before. But at least now there was the chance to do something about the horrible, empty pit in his stomach that had been steadily eating at him all morning

[sanguinario]

For all of his sufficiently long life, Edward had, like a reasonable person, recognized the perks of being a vampire. Strength, speed... he could argue the telepathy, but that was more natural for him, if he was one to believe Carlisle's theory. There were two aspects that he had never acknowledged as positives, one being the logical loss of his soul and the second being existing strictly on a blood-only diet.

How times have changed.

Even if he wasn't focusing on a particular thought, the general atmosphere of the cafeteria was I hate my life and I hate this place and this food sucks. So it was basically high school. But even this... pink gruel was not as appetizing as Forks High's cafeteria food had been, which was saying a lot considering how little all food appealed to him. At the very least, Edward appreciated that it didn't have a smell to accompany the sight of it. It quite looked like how that thing he had eaten earlier had tasted

[scarletspeedstr]

"Huh?"

Wally glanced up sharply at the comment, a flush of embarrassment spreading across his face when he realised he hadn't even noticed the guy sitting opposite him. Yeah, that made him look like a real jerk, and right when the guy was offering him free food too.

"Thanks, but--" he began, about to automatically turn down the offer because that bowl just looked nasty, but... He had this plate, the promise of one other if the soldiers hadn't just been messing with him, and that was it until dinner. Assuming that the dinners hadn't changed (not that he thought that was likely now), then that was still only one other plate of food.

So, with how much food he normally had to eat to break even with his speed, three plates in a day would, on a scale of one to ten, put him at really screwedSo maybe he should be swallowing his automatic reaction and taking what he could get. It wasn't like he hadn't had to deal with worse in the past

[sanguinario]

Like he had told Bella, Edward wasn't exactly knowledgeable about human meal routines. After all of his years of not eating, he had long stopped caring. He knew the basics, of course - digestion, energy production, calories, so on and so forth - but it was surprising that three meals was not enough food, especially for a relatively lean male. Very spoiled would have been his conclusion if not for the excuse. Hyperactive metabolism? he thought with a sense of dry amusement.

His experiences could be slightly skewed, though. The only human whose diet he paid attention to was Bella's, and she didn't eat very much at a time.

"Edward Cullen," he responded automatically, regretting giving his full name instantly. If he had to ride another trip through Twilight on the back of someone's thoughts, his mood was definitely not going to be improving. It still boggled his mind that Bella had taken it so... so easily. He couldn't tell if her nonchalant act was just that: an act

[dreadofthegrave]

If Battler had to describe the day so far in a word, that word would definitely be long. He honestly hadn't minded missing breakfast all though much, left strangely drained after the previous night, but his stomach was starting to pay for it, and after two meetings that were anything pleasant, the idea of a meal didn't sound bad at all. He wasn't sure what he was expecting when he got there, exactly, maybe something like a school lunch, but whatever he was looking at? That certainly wasn't it

[rocksthecourt]

Despite how horrible the last few days and, let's face it, today in particular had been, Klavier's mood had been steadily improving as the day went on. Speaking with Nigredo and Claire had proven to be both productive and strangely pleasant. So by the time lunch came around, he felt like maybe it wasn't the end of the universe as he knew it or anything. Things might turn out okay after all. That is... he thought that until this very moment.

Wh-What... What was...? Klavier didn't move. He simply stared down in uncontainable horror at the tray in his hands. Or specifically, the slop that had been placed onto it. And no, that wasn't figurative. It literally was slop. It was revolting! It was unidentifiable! It was... it was bright pink!! What food was even this color?! Was this even fit for human consumption?! Isn't this what they feed pigs on farms?! No, not even a pig would eat this!!

"Keep it moving, Gilmour," his escort said, already looking a little exasperated.

"... 'Keep it moving?!' You've got to be kidding me. You don't

[dreadofthegrave]

".... 'Takeover'?" Battler repeated. For some reason, it was the first thing that caught his attention, although he quickly shrugged it off. If he were to take what Albedo had been saying at face value, then the idea of a takeover did explain the note Franziska left him, about everyone now being on equal footing. ... It must have been that. A shift in power meant a change of the layout of the board. ... The thought left him frowning. For some reason, even though it wasn't all that different, thinking about this place on those kinds of terms felt a bit bizarre. Like he was consciously acknowledging this place was cut off from reality

[rocksthecourt]

The immediate reaction only gained a slightly raised eyebrow on Klavier's end. Yes, that's right. "Takeover." What, was Herr Redd going to be picky with wording now? What did he want to call this? Because it certainly wasn't a merger. But he decided it wasn't really worth the comment.

To be honest, the idea of stale bread didn't sound like anything he'd want to eat either, but at least it would be something that somewhat resembled food rather than... this. Ignoring the way it looked, was something he couldn't exactly identify something he wanted to put in his body? What if they put something in this? You wouldn't even be able to tell since you couldn't say what belonged here and what didn't. Maybe they just took the regular menu items and put them into a blender. Not the most appetizing thought to consider. This wasn't exactly aided by Herr Red's vivid little comment. Or the fact that, looking down at it, he was absolutely correct.

"Well there was an image I wanted..." he muttered out loud. Not that Klavier was planning to get this

[vsyourface]

Scott was really, really looking forward to that shower next shift

[vsyourface]

"Nughh. Won't let us," Scott answered, his breathing still a bit laboured, but improving somewhat the longer he leaned. "And I bet they wouldn't've let you share anyway. Don't sweat it, seriously." I'm doing enough of that for the both of us.

After a few more moments of recovery, Scott looked back up. He noticed two things right away. The first was another glare from that soldier, daring him to keep doing anything other than stand straight up. Scrunching his eyes shut for a second in frustration, Scott took his hands off the table and corrected his posture - barely. Second, he had noticed the pin on Peter's hat, the one that matched his own exactly. Great. Just the reminder he needed...

"So," he started, clearing his somewhat hoarse throat. "I punched a couch at my roommate last night. And I nearly stabbed him and two other guys."

There was a pause, almost the exact length of one blank panel on a printed comic strip.

"...SC is kinda BS."

[savagesolitude]

Shortly after departing from Klavier's company, one of the soldiers had returned to toss her a new beret and demand the wet one from her pocket. Claire glared, but obeyed, gritting her teeth as she slipped it on and was met with a stern warning about following dress code

[anemptydecapo]

As intriguing as the discussion with the detective had been, it was not going to last forever. The assassin's march back inside was occasionally punctuated by scalding looks from the solider leading the way and perhaps also a bit of scolding (some harsh words for having placed his coat in the snow the entire shift) but Venom's attention had been more on the feeling of the cold melting off his skin to listen. He kept himself quiet through the halls, each remark sent his way simply rolling off his shoulders with practiced indifference.

The cafeteria appeared to have resumed its previous functions once he arrived, though there was still an obvious change. The scent of the usual meals aside, piled on most all the trays held by the patient body was... some sort of pink mass. He rose an eyebrow under his hair, especially when a surly soldier pushed a similar tray of 'food' in his hands and ordered him to sit.

...What was this thing he was looking at? Far more curious than upset, the Guild Head examined the strange pile closely as he

[savagesolitude]

Claire was almost looking forward to a meal left in silence. Such a thing hadn't happened to her since she'd arrived here. It was almost unnerving now, to go from near solitude to being surrounded by people day in and day out. Complete strangers, at that.

Scratch that, it was unnerving. Claire hunched over her meal, taking a wary survey of the room and its occupants with each spoonful. There were good people here. She knew that. But it was risky to think that every single one of them was good. Damon had proved that much. On the island, she had known where she stood with everyone.

Or so she had thought. Unbidden, the image of the departing submarine came to mind. Jin in her hut, scrambling for a story that she would buy. Like he was afraid of her. Kate begging her to join them on the boat, after they had already run away without her. Would that be Bella next? Muraki?

The tray before her turned blurry. Claire bit her lip and clenched her eyes shut. Just goes to show you. Just goes to show...There was a sudden clatter and an

[anemptydecapo]

Impressive as the woman's startled jolt was, truthfully, Venom hadn't noticed it. He'd already taken to sweeping the mess back onto the tray (he'd already known he wasn't going to stomach anything even before entering the cafeteria. The change in menu was entirely coincidental), attention fully on the way the gruel stuck stubbornly onto the paper napkins