Nightshift 46: M11-M20 Hallway

[notthistrain]

Once again the doors had opened. Cloud believed most of what Yuffie had told him, but it was still unreal the way this place operated. They were clearly being tested, mocked, or both with the nightly routine, yet they didn't have many other options but to take the chances they were given

Comments

[M12]

[oftemptation]

Endrance had begged off the afternoon shift, claiming he wasn't feeling well. That much was true, in a way: the greasy pizza stuff they'd been serving at lunch had gotten to his stomach. More than that, though, he had begun to realize he was feeling a little overwhelmed. He'd managed so far without letting his reclusive tendencies get to him, but he had a limit, and he realized that he had passed it.

He'd slept straight through dinner, and that, to him, was a bit of a blessing. He hadn't really wanted to talk with Klavier after the night before - brainwashing or not, he wasn't good with handling awkward situations, and that definitely counted as an awkward situation.

Now, he was getting into his PC's outfit, picking up the sword he still had, and...oddly enough, waiting. He wasn't sure for what, but waiting.

Re: [M12]

[rocksthecourt]

Dinner had been a disturbingly quiet affair. His roommate had been evidently exhausted and spent the entire time asleep. There was no particular physical damage worth noting, but he recalled Endrance lying down in bed upon entering several times before. The behavior was nothing to be concerned about in that case. But with Klavier avoiding the food and left with no one and nothing to distract him, the time had seemed to stretch indefinitely. The resounding silence was painful, so much so that he was an anxious ball of nerves by the time the doors had unlocked. Why, oh, why could he not be allowed to bring a CD player into the room

[awkwardly right outside M12]

[feartehreaper]

[ From here. ]

Considering Endrance usually seemed to arrive at M4 before Haseo was even ready to go, the Rogue was a bit surprised he managed to make it most of the way without running into the other guy somewhere in-between. A little concerned, actually... for one, he couldn't think of any reason that would have caused Endrance to lose interest in making it there so quickly. Haseo didn't think himself that bad of a kisser.

Which is probably what his Issue of the Night really came down to, of course. During the day, while they were all watched so carefully and conversations tended to be short and tense, it hadn't been difficult at all to casually agree to meeting like they did every night. Except now, it was little harder to dismiss the... sudden onset of closeness and everything it probably meant.

Haseo slowed once he neared the door, anxious despite himself. He was pretty sure M12 was the correct room number, even though it had been several days since he'd last heard it. He turned his short-sword over in hand and paused by the

[and also outside M12.]

[oftemptation]

It was just at that moment that Endrance realized what it was that he was waiting for. But...it wasn't going to happen easily, if at all. He was the one that usually went out and found Haseo, after all, and the other way around? That wouldn't happen, would it? No. Not with Haseo's pride, and...

He shook his head, trying to clear those unsure thoughts. It didn't really help; instead he found himself thinking about what happened the night before. Was that...no. It wasn't a dream, he knew that much. It wasn't a dream, and he found himself touching his lips lightly, trying to remember how that felt. The fact remained, though, that he needed to stop daydreaming and head over to Haseo's room. The Blade Brandier shook his head once more, this time successfully clearing it.

Just then, he heard a noise outside, and he decided that it was his cue to hurry on over, not just head over. When he opened the door and saw the source of that noise, though, Endrance flushed, almost dropping his own sword in surprise. "Haseo..."

So that means...what

M19

[replicatedorder]

After Cloud made it clear that he was leaving for now, Luke left his bed to return to his desk with his journal and the maps in hand. He retrieved his flashlight and checked around the room until he located his pipe in the closet. Maybe he would use it tonight, maybe not, but he still liked having the comfort of it sitting there. He returned to his desk, setting up the flashlight in such a way that it would shine light overhead and illuminate his portion of the room. It wasn't a great strategy, but it would work for now

Outside M19

[razing_phoenix]

[From here.]Fully aware of how ridiculous he must have looked with a meat cleaver in one hand, a short sword in the other, and a flashlight crammed under his arm, Guy just hoped that Luke would focus more on the fact that he was doing him a favor rather than his appearance. Seeing how neither of his hands were free, he had to resort to banging his foot against the door as a substitute for knocking. Definitely not as polite as he would have liked, but he got the feeling Luke would forgive him that

[replicatedorder]

One of the bad things about working like this was that he was forced to strain his eyes the entire time. It wasn't like he hadn't had to do it other times. Making notes in a journal while moving through various parts of Auldrant hadn't always afforded Luke with the best positions; sometimes he was forced to squint and look closely by a firelight. Other times, he had the fortune of stopping at an inn, which was well-lit most of the time. Then again, writing journal entries just meant he had to remember things. This required precision, and, of course, this place didn't exactly make that easy. Still, he did what he could, and just hoped that it would be legible when he handed it over to Cloud.

The good thing, at least, was that he was mostly done. The roof needed a couple more markings, but he could finish that in the morning. This was especially good with the banging on the door-though Luke wasn't an expert about knocking of all things, that didn't sound like a hand-coming just as he pushed aside his journal with a heaved sigh

[razing_phoenix]

Just hearing that voice put Guy at ease. He'd known through all of his worrying that it had been more or less unfounded, and yet he hadn't been able to help himself. He imagined that was a side effect of watching over someone for so many years. That protective instinct didn't go away so easily.

He didn't hesitate to hand over the flashlight when Luke moved to take it from him, since that was definitely the most precarious thing that he'd been holding. On the other hand, the meat cleaver was what he was really here to deliver, and so he flipped the blade around to extend it handle-first to his friend. "As promised," he said with a smile. "I know it's not much, but it'll work for now."

It wasn't like Luke would be able to perform most of his Artes here, anyway. Without being able to do a lot of fancy swordplay, all that was really necessary was the means to take out a monster, and the cleaver would work well enough for that in most cases. Unless they ran into something really nasty, anyway

M16

[girlsandgadgets]

Well, it looked like that was all the conversation Edgar would be getting out of Luxord this evening. The man was still a mystery, his true motivations still hidden, but those puzzles would have to be solved another day. For now, he'd leave the man to his own devices. He had some supplies to gather. He took the flashbulb from his drawer, readying himself.

"Take care of yourself this night," he said as he opened the door, heading into the hallway.

[girlsandgadgets]

[To here.]

Re: M16

[clockmongler]

"You as well." It was a polite goodbye, if not a vaguely disinterested one. As fascinating as his roommate was, how could he even pretend to be so caring when night was afoot once more? Yes, it was entertaining to walk that fine line the memories of others had left and pierce together those broken chains, but compared to the greater mystery of this asylum...

Well, it was comparing chuck steak to filet mignon, wasn't it? No matter how well prepared, one would just always taste better than the other.

Cautious, but opened-minded to his surroundings, X once again exited his cell.

[Being a cheater and hopping over here]

M11

[winged_moon]

After ignoring the intercom the entire day, the latest announcements barely even made Yue stir; it was all more of the same, more pompous false cheer in a voice he hated more fiercely than he might have thought possible. It was only the actual onset of night that pushed him from his long nap, and what happened at that time. The Institute had, for whatever reason, allowed the return of his wings once more at night, and whether he willed it or not, as the lights went out and the doors unlocked, he lifted slightly from the bed as the glow sprang to life at his back and coalesced into a pair of massive, white-feathered wings

Re: M11

[guardiancomplex]

Touya was on his feet and out the door before the lock finished clicking open. It wasn't that he was angry, or even in a rush--he just had to see them. Sakura was safe in her room (hopefully he had guilt-tripped her enough so that she would actually stay in her room instead of wandering around), and he would bet money that Yue hadn't seen the board this afternoon. After all, he hadn't seen Yuki or Yue around that day after they met in the Sun Room. No doubt the both of them had retreated to their room.

Before he realized what he was doing, Touya was knocking on their door. "It's me," he called.

Re: M11

[winged_moon]

Minutes were hard to keep track of here, especially in the dark, but it couldn't have been long before the knock sounded on the door. Even though Yue had told himself he was waiting for Touya to arrive, he still felt peculiarly guilty for having done so. Instead of standing and answering his door, though, he turned the guilt in on himself, adding it to the weight of the rest, and pulled his wings closer as though that would hide him.

He needed to talk to Touya. He knew that all too well; after he'd failed in his duty the night before, it was even more important that he fulfill it now. But still, again, he didn't want to. It was just so difficult to work up the energy to do anything, even to lift his head and speak. Instead he just rested his forehead against his knees, wings curved about himself to hide him in a wall of white feathers.

Re: M11

[guardiancomplex]

Touya paused, not hearing anything in the room. Not even a sound telling him to come in. Maybe under normal circumstances, Touya would have waited, knocked again, perhaps retrace his steps. Tonight, though, he opened the door himself and walked in.

Yuki and Yue weren't all that difficult to miss. The way he'd closed himself off was reminiscent of when Yuki changed the first time he'd met Yue, but there was obviously a lack of glowing light or any sign that Yue was transforming (which Touya figured Yue couldn't do here). Which meant he was hiding.

He moved over to the ball of wings and stood there. "I let myself in."

M20

[spandexorgtfo]

Kratos as usual barely paid attention to the intercom announcement--there were no strange voices pouring from it, after all--and instead used the crackle of the sound system as his signal to head on out.

It was becoming his new routine now to go through the process of snapping all of his armor into place rather than simply leave with his flashlight and go over to M35, but Kratos preferred it; this was what he was meant to do here. He picked up his flashlight and sword, nodded curtly to his roommate, and then disappeared into the hallways outside.

Re: M20

[spandexorgtfo]

[to here]