Night 59: M-A Block Hallway

[stray_shinigami]

Renji walked with purpose down the hall, though he wasn't in enough of a hurry to flashstep yet. He had to have somewhere he wanted to go first. Of course the idea that sprang instantly to mind was easily summed up as an equation: INSTITUTE + HIHIOU ZABIMARU = BOOM = :-DHowever, that would need to wait until, for example, there weren't people he

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[kings_thief]

[From here.]

Keeping his flashlight low, Locke rushed into the next hall, looking around for his friend. When he finally saw the other man, his face lit up as he came up to him. Although he wasn't obvious about it, Locke made a quick visual check to make sure Tolten looked all right. He wasn't sure what he was checking for, but he knew something had happened and it might not be as good as it seemed.

"Glad to see you braved the halls. Dunno about you, but something definitely happened just now, felt it before the alarm went off. I don't suppose anything changed with you, did it?"

He had a feeling this...whatever it was hadn't just effected him.

[age_of_kings]

Tolten broke into a relieved smile when Locke appeared out of the darkness, looking whole and sounding well. Whatever was going on, the residential halls were normal as they ever were in this place. He had almost thought 'safe', but that really wasn't the word for it.

"I know what you mean," he admitted, nodding. "It's hard to put my finger on, but...the air seems charged. There's energy, power. It's building or something." He ran a hand through his hair and his smile widened. "And look at that! Nothing ominous or threatening! It is gone!"

Even through dinner he'd had to suffer the hallucinations. But true to what he'd been told, they were gone. And that wasn't the only reason he was grinning.

"I have a map and directions to the kitchen where I think they keep the blades," he went on, reaching into the pocket of his uniform jacket. "Lady Rose - a woman I know - informed me of the upstairs kitchen, and warned me the downstairs has no knives. I asked on the public notice and someone was kind enough to give explicit

[kings_thief]

"Glad to hear it! One of us being drugged is bad enough, don't need both." He winked, mostly joking. The fact he hadn't eaten all day was a little concerning if only because he didn't want to slow Tolten down. But with his magic back he was feeling stronger, so he hoped that would counter-act it.

Tolten's excitement was contagious and Locke found himself grinning right along with his friend. "Excellent! We'll go there and nothing'll stop us this time." Maybe it was the extra power, but Locke was definitely feeling energized an confident now.

"Guess it's a good thing we didn't actually get to the kitchen, there wouldn't have been anything to find." He still felt bad for that whole thing, but he wasn't about to let that show or let it dampen the fact they had a much better chance at success this time.

[age_of_kings]

"Life is an unexpected adventure, as a friend of mine back home is prone to say," Tolten replied, dismissing last night's failed attempt with a wave of his hand. It was hardly Locke's fault, and at least neither one of them had had to experience it alone.

"And it looks as though this will be a shorter route anyway," he went on, directing his flashlight at the directions he held. "We simply exit this hallway and make a right, and the stairs should be directly in front of us." And then it seemed a very easy thing to cross the halls and reach the kitchen.

"Well then, let's head off...."

The young king frowned suddenly, his words tapering off as his eyes narrowed. He had sworn he'd heard something down the hall. Something like...nails on tile. Scrabbling. Or perhaps claws. Tolten swallowed hard and threw a glance over his shoulder, where he thought it was coming from. Best to get moving. "And let's be extremely cautious. Do you...hear that?"

At least the sound encouraged Tolten to get moving.

[ to here]