Day 56: Twin Pines Restaurant (Early Afternoon)

[girlsandgadgets]

Having spent almost the entire morning in the cold, Edgar finally decided it was time to address his groaning middle. It was hard enough to focus as he thumbed through the coupon book without his stomach doing flips: he was shivering, but still felt tremendous heat radiating from within him. The attempt at a nap on a park bench hadn't helped his

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[razing_phoenix]

The pet shop, as random of a stop as it might have been, had certainly expanded Guy's understanding of this planet, even if it was only in regards to the animals here. It had been nice to clear that up, since he didn't want to leave this place thinking that it was overrun with nothing but rotting monsters that might have once been living creatures. Not that he'd assumed that. But it gave him a better picture of this strange planet, and that was what mattered.

But he'd gotten to a point where his hunger was becoming difficult to ignore, and so Guy had decided to go in search of the Twin Pines restaurant, knowing that it was on one of the side streets. He'd also come up with an idea for what to do with the rest of his money, which was getting some tough leather (maybe from the hardware store) so that he could make himself a sheath.

That relied on also getting his hands on a proper needle and thread -- and he'd need something strong -- but he was hoping he could find all of that at the institute in one way or another. He was a high

[dreadofthegrave]

Throughout the day, Battler was quickly learning to tell the difference between the patients and the residents of the town. Not because he'd seen anyone around-he hadn't been here quite long enough to really recognize anyone, especially because of those uniforms-but because of all the wary glances. It wasn't just him. The people weren't outright rude, but it was easy to see that they weren't quite welcome here. Was that because they were outsiders, or because of their supposed conditions? ... He really couldn't tell, but it was an unpleasant feeling either way. Not just the avoidance, but that no matter where he went it almost felt like he was being quietly evaluated for whatever he did or didn't do. It wasn't like he was going to do anything, was it....? He sighed quietly to himself, not really used to this sort of treatment. He guessed for now, he could only really stick to people who didn't seem to mind either way

[razing_phoenix]

A bowl of pasta sounded like it might hit the spot, though Guy could also never say no to fish. Fish wasn't particularly filling, though, and it would be a while until dinner. Hmm...

When he realized that someone was approaching, Guy had figured it would be the waiter bringing him his hot chocolate, but instead he was faced with a red-haired young man who was asking to join him. Guy didn't recognize him, but he couldn't imagine one of the townspeople would have made such a bold move. He was supposedly dangerous, after all. They all were.

"Ahh, of course not," he said with a smile as he gestured across the booth. "My name's Guy Cecil. It's nice to meet you." In truth, that remained to be seen, but it was rather rare for him to meet someone here who he actively disliked. Sync was an exception. And as for that Dahlia girl, at least it seemed like she'd disappeared.

And, even if he had had his reservations (which he didn't), manners were manners.

[dreadofthegrave]

.... Well, that had gone well enough. Unlike the previous day, where every conversation seemed to be taking strange twists, today seemed to be shaping up much better. He could almost pretend that things were normal, even though that was far from the case. It was hard to relax completely knowing that, but at least for now, he felt like he could let loose a little

[razing_phoenix]

It looked like someone friendly had come to join him, although Guy couldn't help but pause at the name. Battler? Was that meant to be taken literally? The man didn't look like a figther, and Guy could only think of it as some sort of God-General name. Ushiromiya the Battler. It put a smile on his face, even though he realized that it wasn't the sort of thing he should be joking about. The stranger wouldn't understand, so he kept the thought to himself

[dreadofthegrave]

Well, that was true enough. There hadn't been too many open seats during lunch the other day, had there? Most people were eating with someone, even despite the rows of patients being made to do jump-jacks off to the side. He'd been approached by a pretty weird guy himself, actually. The thought kind of made Battler want to make some kind of smartass comment, but since the person in question wasn't here, it wouldn't have too much effect. As it was, he could only shrug

[razing_phoenix]

Guy sipped on his hot chocolate as he watched Battler's reaction, feeling guilty that he had to be the bearer of bad news. Still, it was best that the new patients knew what they were getting into. When the man gave his condolences, Guy simply shook his head and set his mug down. "I won't lie. It can definitely get really hard to handle, this place." He was in a good enough spot right now, but he wasn't going to deny that he'd had some rough patches. "And I'm pretty sure you wouldn't find one person here who likes it, so you're not alone there," he added with a joking smile

[dreadofthegrave]

"So I've heard," Battler responded a little warily

[razing_phoenix]

It was good to see that for now, Battler was focusing on the bright side of things, remarking on the bonds that could be forged here rather than dwelling on all the bad parts of their unfortunate situation. Guy knew that maintaining that attitude was key to surviving in this place, so he only hoped that Battler could keep it up as his stay here grew longer

[dreadofthegrave]

Friends, huh...? Battler found himself smiling faintly at the advice. He couldn't say he really knew anyone here yet, but while his conversations thus far tended more towards the bizarre than anything, he did feel like he'd mostly been meeting decent people, off temperaments aside. It was the same thing where he'd come from, right? ... Certain bonds could mean the difference between hope and despair. It had been because of that that he understood what he was really fighting for. His had been a bit different-family instead of friends-but it was still something he could relate to. And it did raise a pretty good point: there was too much going on here to try going at alone, right? .... Well, even if the situation wasn't so screwed up, the thought of being stuck on his own was seriously depressing.

But it was kind of funny, if he thought about it. Even in the most horrible situations, you could never quite say there was nothing but bad. Sometimes it was because of unpleasant circumstances that you could find something to hold onto. Or

[razing_phoenix]

Battler seemed like the sort of person who could make friends easily, mainly because he had a kind demeanor and hadn't done anything off the bat to give a bad impression. Guy didn't have a hard time getting along with people himself, though, so it was hard to say how Battler might do with someone more volatile. Either way, he had faith that the man would be able to make some close friends here without too much trouble

[dreadofthegrave]

Battler had to wonder vaguely if he'd been handling this a bit insensitively; the way Guy was talking now seemed a bit like he had struck at something. .... It would be different for them, come to think of it. For a person like him, it was only thinking aloud and picking at what little information he had, but for someone who had been stuck there for a while, the implications of being used would take on a totally different meaning. ... Maybe he'd have to start paying a little more attention to what he was saying. That idea aside, recklessly asserting things about something you barely knew about or even an attempt to be encouraging could cause more damage than good

[razing_phoenix]

In the end, it did seem like they were on the same page here, in that giving up and doing nothing was never, ever an option. Guy nodded along with Battler's words, glad to come across someone who was so determined to keep up the good fight. Granted, he hadn't been here very long, which meant he had a lot of time to be worn down and discouraged, but Guy hoped that Battler kept that spark, that confidence

[dreadofthegrave]

"Time...." Battler murmured quietly. He... wasn't so sure how he felt about that, to be honest. It wasn't as though he didn't think he could make it through. Even if it took a thousand years, he'd just keep picking himself up over and over again until he finally made it. It was just like that before, wasn't it? But while that was perfectly fine with him, that wasn't necessarily the case for everyone else. What about the people count on him who weren't here? What happened to them during that time...? ... He guessed he was just going to have to believe that everything would work out somehow. There wasn't really a choice, when there was nothing he could do about it when he was still stuck here.

As for the rest, there were a few things he could have said in return, but before he could really entertain them, something in what he was saying distracted him enough to make him forget about the subject completely. "Um, sorry, but. Powers....?" Was he hearing that right...?

[razing_phoenix]

Oh man. Battler didn't know about powers yet