Day 20: Breakfast

[right_handed]

Scar felt as if he'd passed out as soon as he'd gotten to his bed due to the admittedly strong fatigue and pain that having a badly injured arm tended to cause a person to feel, even one as conditioned and battle-worn as the stern-faced Ishbalan. He woke up feeling rested but regretful, and his fear that he'd wasted a Nightshift ripe with the

Comments

[tempusfragments]

...What? had been Kiden's morning thought. Last night was still vivid in her memory, and while she had barely registered what exactly had happened, the morning only brought more bad news. She was still in the grays, and she was still here, wherever and whatever that meant. She found that this morning was nothing last night, as a nurse was present and gave her one of those smiles. The kind the guidance counselor used to give her, really. Misbehavior was always an option, it said, but there was always ways to deal with that as well. Ways which she probably wouldn't enjoy.

Even with the constant needling of being called Miss Johnson, and occasionally the too informal Sarah, Kiden followed instructions. She was tempted, sorely, to just walk away from it all. Or try to, but there was a confidence the nurse had which was authoritative. Kiden hated authority already, but starting a fight with someone who seriously outweighed her in a foreign place seemed a bit stupid

[rage8]

Saïx had endured the chipper, overly polite chatter of the nurses and orderlies that appeared in his room when dawn seemed to have robbed him of his little reunion with Sora. Despite the fact that she seemed to insist upon calling him 'Mr. O'Brien', the Nobody had been able to flatly ignore all the questions and comments they threw in his direction without feeling a single urge to rip any of these strange people's heads off.

Well, to be more accurate, he hadn't given in to such latent urges, but Saïx was, if anything, a patient being. His facade was a careful one that he'd upheld for ages for the sake of the Superior's agenda, and he would not be one to release his inner potential now at a time when it would serve him no purpose

[tempusfragments]

The food sat well enough. Kiden looked down at her empty plate with a bit of a disappointed look. She was still hungry, but unwilling to see if there was more food to be scrounged up. Besides, running on a full stomach was a painful experience she had vowed never to repeat. The cafeteria was filling, and she dragged her vision up to take a look at everyone

[rage8]

When the girl actually spoke to him, Saïx tilted his head to the side, arching a single eyebrow at her as his yellow eyes stared down at her. There was nothing menacing about the stare nor even curious, really. He was just looking at her, gaze emotionless as ever.

The Nobody intended to ignore her timid greeting but was feeling somewhat appeased on this morning. Besides, there was a decent chance she might be useful in the information department.

"Do you know why we're here?" Saïx replied, direct and to the point as he blatantly ignored the small 'hello' he'd just received.

[offduty]

It wasn’t a hangover, but it was pretty damned close. This, in combination with his need to stay below the radar to snag information, kept Reno relatively agreeable as some nurse (who popped into his room out of nowhere and scared the shit out of him) herded him down to the cafeteria. He kept his protests down to glaring, while filing away the strange name she insisted on calling him.

He didn't even have a last name, dammit.

Things were creepier now, actually. The fake happy façade made his skin crawl. That, and he felt like throttling the voice over the intercom.

And there was that little detail that he once again had no idea how he’d made it to his room. The room. Whatever

[still_free]

Entering the cafeteria was pretty overwhelming for Mal. Living on a ship was fantastic, but it did have certain disadvantages. For example, it was a lucky day when he actually got to eat real food. It was always tasteless space food or something equally unappetizing.

Therefore, stepping into a cafeteria full of the smell of fluffy pancakes and syrup and -

But he couldn't eat. If this was an Alliance facility (and that was still a possibility), then he certainly didn't trust whatever food was being put out. As good as it smelled

[offduty]

Reno saw the man approaching him, but didn’t glance up until he was actually spoken to.

Gos se?

Not really the most important item to address right now, though.

“No and yes.” Reno absently stuck the end of his fork into his mouth, nibbling on the end for a second before removing it and setting it down with a clatter. He needed a cigarette. “From the most I’ve heard, we’re ‘patients’-” He stopped just short of making actual quotation marks in the air with his fingers- “or something, and this place looks like a fucking looney house. I’m pretty sure I haven’t gone crazy yet, though, so as to how I got here, I’ve got no clue. I have, however, scratched off kidnapping and anything that makes any sort of damned sense.” Especially after last night.

Besides, no matter how he worked it, there was no way to get someone out of an airborne helicopter without shooting them down, and there was no way to shoot someone down without getting said someone injured. Which left him with nothing. No explanation whatsoever, except for the one offered by

[heavens_too_far]

Well, that had been a pleasant night. The only possible positive aspects of it were that he hadn't been stabbed again, and that he woke up with a new shirt on.

Dias barely even acknowledged the nurse who escorted him to the cafeteria, instead limping (his side seemed even more stiff than it had been the day before) directly to the food and loading his tray with as much food as the staff would allow him to take. From there...he surveyed his seating options.

Scar. He'd been somewhat concerned about not seeing the man the night before, but he didn't seem too badly the worse for wear. Dias made a beeline for his friend(he was slowly becoming more accustomed to using that word), sitting down across from him with a slight nod of acknowledgement.

Verbal greetings were for other people.

[lustful_thing]

The previous night had left Lust feeling disoriented and a bit perturbed. She had been so close to her revenge, and it had been snatched away from her. Delayed, if she trusted Ling, but taken away all the same. She didn't believe the woman could truly offer Dante protection, but it still aggravated her.

The rest of the night had been uneventful. She'd never found Ginji, after all, or any of her other allies. But with breakfast, Lust rectified that. Ginji was nowhere to be seen, but Scar and Dias had already found one another. Lust got her tray and joined them, limping over and settling in next to the Ishbalan.

After last night and having her past laid raw before her, she wanted the man's presence.

[theycutitout]

River looked similarly traumatized as she dragged herself into the cafeteria, eyes wild as they darted from person to person. There were no surprises today, no surprises on Christmas morning. She'd already known they would be here, and they needed time with... needed time with other people.

Besides, Scar, Dias, and Lust were looking quiet, not questioning what she didn't have the strength to explain.

Words sung softly like a haunting lullaby, muted but resounding in her brain from the night before. River winced and sat down next to her surrogate big brother, silent and looking as though she fit with the quiet group very well at the moment.

[reversebemylot]

One moment Simon had been in the hallway, his flashlight off and tight in his hands, tentatively making his way in the dark. The next, blinding white, morning. It lacked sense, the transition, and it might have been a dream had he not woken up in the same room. A nurse had arrived and called him Jon Williams. That made even less sense, and rung less and less of the Alliance by the minute. They had to be playing with him. But why the games?

Simon knew better than to make a fuss. It would be better if they didn't know he was Simon Tam, in fact, given his status as a criminal. If this was an Alliance game, then they knew, but if not? All the better to keep that quiet and work his way out. He followed the nurse mildly, quietly, examining the white hallways, the white rooms as he walked. The inspection kept him same, kept his mind from pouring over its single focus that would drive him into a wall of guilt and mania: RiverAt breakfast, she left him. Simon knew he would need to eat, whatever might be in the food, if only to know. There

[not_a_savior]

Nowe was starting to get annoyed by the constant interruptions in the conversations he tried to hold with people in this place. It seemed like minutes ago he'd been lying on the floor in his room, listening anxiously for the sounds of that monstrous cat while trying to make sure Fayt was okay. But now he was awake, mysteriously back in his bed and with Fayt completely missing from his room. Damn

[ontheabyss]

What the hell had just happened

[scintillatingly]

That hadn't been fair.

Sora, for once, felt completely unrested when morning came. It had been a sudden shift from being out on the soccer field with Rubedo and Saïx to his room - with the bright light of dawn and the blaring of the intercom.

He hadn't gotten an answer. Saïx had mentioned Kairi, had hinted that she was in danger - and he hadn't gotten any more details than that before night was over

[not_a_savior]

Nowe stared as a woman sat down right in front of him. He listened with a blank expression as she loaded all the questions onto him and blinked his bright blue eyes slowly, trying to figure out what he'd done to make this woman so... short with him

[the_clown_king]

Morning.

Tamaki found himself laying in bed and staring at the ceiling when the nurse came to get him. He felt... numb inside. It was a strange feeling, one he hadn't experienced since he was much younger. He had failed. He had failed and there was nothing he could do to change it. He'd frozen when that monster came. Azel-kun and Ed had both protected him, leapt in front of him and shielded him. And what had he done? Practically fainted.

He dragged his feet on the way to the cafeteria, ignoring the chattering of the nurse. There was none of his liveliness in him this morning, he was subdued and deflated. He was a fake and a phony. How he was going to help Haruhi when he was such a miserable coward?

There was only one solution. He would have to stop being a miserable coward. He would learn how to fight, how to be strong, how to be the knight he saw himself as in his mind.

Lackluster and depressed, Tamaki silently got his breakfast and sank down into an empty seat, wondering where Haruhi was.

[brilliant_azel]

Azel woke, feeling bleary and tired; he hated these transitions from night to morning, it always ended up making the first few hours that he was awake feel very surreal.

He entered the cafeteria, finding that there was already a low hum of chatter and quite a few people already present. He didn't see Darman, but he did spot a familiar blond head. A relief touched him -- the last thing he remembered was that he'd been running away. He was glad to see his friend was safe, after all.

The swordsman was not happy to see the look on Tamaki's face, but he wasn't totally surprised, either. After all, it had been a horrible experience for everyone involved. He wondered briefly how the others had fared.

He had to put on a cheerful facade for his friend, to help boost his morale. Even if he ever felt like crying or screaming or lashing out, he couldn't. He had to be strong.

Coming up behind Tamaki, Azel flung his arms around his friend's shoulders and hugged him warmly. "I'm glad to see you're okay, Tamaki."

[the_clown_king]

Azel's sudden appearance and hug startled Tamaki some. He turned and sank into the other boy, wrapping his arms around him and struggling to keep ahold of himself. It was difficult. So many emotions were welling up in him...

He was worried he was going to cry.

But there was no time for that. Not now and not here. Maybe later, when he was alone. It wouldn't do at all to break down crying like a little kid here in the cafeteria. Instead, Tamaki swallowed back a sob and mumbled into Azel's shoulder.

"Azel-kun... I need a favor."

[brilliant_azel]

"Tamaki... what is it?" Azel's expression turned concerned and he gradually sank down into a seat at the other's side, holding him for as long as necessary, and perhaps a bit beyond that. He was taking comfort from the contact as much as he was offering it.

"Are you all right? You're not hurt are you?" He asked, rubbing slow circles over his friend's back, hoping to soothe him some. "I'm sorry if I surprised you... I didn't mean to alarm you. On second thought, sneaking up on someone in this place isn't the best idea... I apologize..."

"What is it that you need?" There wasn't much that Tamaki could ask of him that he wouldn't provide. He'd nearly literally do anything for the blond boy. Once Azel's devotion was given, it was given for good.