Night 58: Chapel
[from here]The room he walked into was larger than he'd expected, but it wasn't hard to guess its purpose, not with the very deliberate arrangement of long red pews. A chapel. Stefan's grip on his knife still didn't relax as he wandered further inside. He'd been in a few churches in his time - what faith in God he'd possessed as a child had
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He had just entered the Chapel when two things came to his attention. The first, and hardest to ignore, was the smell of the place. An overpowering scent of blood flew into his nostrils and caused the ninja to snort with disgust. As much as he was used to the smell as a warrior, it was not one he enjoyed in such strong doses.
Dealing with the cause had to wait, however, when the second issue had his fishing out the Radio from his cloak. He listened to the panting, then to the angered tone of Marc as he claimed that the man Kurogane was searching for was, of all things, sleeping. The ninja ground the backs of his teeth as he focused on the furthered words. He caught the indication that Marc was in town, but found nothing more to be of use other than Marc's continued resolve. If he was trying to seek out patients himself, then the chances of Kurogane or one of the others reaching Landel were better. Slightly ( ... )
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Should've known, he thought as he reached the fountain and peered over at the red liquid. A fountain of blood, pooling around a stone carved demon. That was something he could have expected in this place. Landel may not have been there anymore, but his tastes unfortunately still lingered ( ... )
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He hadn't expected much of the place. It was only one place that Landel had appeared, and that had been before Kurogane had arrived. Still, he had wanted to get something from his trip other than wanting a monster to come at him so he could wipe the floor with it. He didn't need to take out his frustrations, he just wanted to make some progress for a change.
The Chapel door was given about the same treatment as the front row pew as Kurogane kicked it away to head back into the hallway.
[returning here]
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As he entered a second time, Kurogane's caution by stealth had been thrown to the wind. He stormed in and made sure to slam the door tight behind him as he demanded far more forcefully, "Get your ass out here before I tear this whole damn place to pieces!"
He may not have had anything that Aguilar had requested in terms of information, but he had more than a few choice words for whomever this "Major Harrington" of the announcement was supposed to be. Even threatening an underling would have been more than he had managed in night's past and, if he was lucky, or else intensely persuasive, he could get some information out of the person.
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A figure stood from a pew at the corner of the chapel, attire as black as the shadows surrounding them. Surprisingly, Claude was not in uniform; given the circumstances, he had been excused from protocol. As long as duty held, he was allowed most everything and anything. As long as he obtained a name, he could protect himself from the worst of patients.
How ironic given the truth of things.
"Ya sure talk a lot fer a fella itchin' fer a fight," he called out, not at all bothering to stifle the accent. The man stretched, weaving gloved hands against the back of his head. A grin appeared, unearthly and almost inhuman, the ends going from ear to ear. "I suggest ya calm down, son."
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"Why the hell should I?" he demanded, voice still strong and firm, yet no longer at the level of a shout. He was far from calming down, but with the person in view, there was no reason to waste his energy with either shouting or moving to attack.
He'd been in the same room as the Head Doctor on more than one occasion, and each time there had been some kind of barrier blocking the man from harm. While he didn't know the methods of this new leader, he had no intention of making a fool of himself by hitting yet another of the invisible blockades. Until he knew more, or had an answer from Harrington, he would be keeping his position by the doors.
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A hand detached long enough for a dismissive wave while he stopped grinning long enough to drop the informality for a bit. "Why don't we introduce ourselves, hm?" He lazily saluted with one free hand. "Major Claude Harrington, at your service."
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"My 'game' is ta sit here an' take down reports," he replied after a moment, informality creeping in once more. "Boring if ya ask me, but the Eagle's orders are law." Here, the man paused as if hit by a sudden realization. "Goddamn, son, did ya not hear the announcement?"
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With the man continuing to act as though Kurogane was an idiot, the ninja didn't know how much he would be able to restrain himself before making good on his violent threats. He'd never done well with people like this.
"I meant this whole damn military! Your boss - 'Eagle' or whatever - what's he trying to do here?"
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"Ya know," Claude started, "if ya actually think about it, General Aguilar pretty much spelled it out in his last few talking-to's." The man sniffed, utterly amused. "Yer all experiments, goin' through a rat's maze, blah, blah, blah-- I mean, I could just repeat them word-fer-word if ya'd like." Granted, Kurogane likely wanted specifics, the motives behind motives, but how was a lowly major supposed to know about that in detail?
To share with a buzzard with a fuse of a tissue, of all people.
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