Day 47: Greenhouse [4th Shift]

[mitase]

Entering the greenhouse was almost like coming home, and Hanatarou had been looking forward to this shift for that reason. Everywhere else in the building was strange and confusing (and often dangerous) but in here was the familiar scent of soil and sun-warmed plants with the musty sort of enclosed-space smell overlaying it. His expression turned

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[razing_phoenix]

Surprisingly enough, his whole day was turning out to be completely mellow. Kratos just wasn't the sort of person who pushed too hard in conversations, so Guy hadn't had to own up to much during their talk together. It did mean that a certain amount of distance would probably remain between them, but that wasn't necessarily a bad thing. Guy knew that the man was a trustworthy, capable guy who also happened to share his fighting style, and that was good enough for him

[girlsandgadgets]

It had been far too long since Edgar had found himself in a greenhouse- desert climates weren't choice places for them, and even when he did travel to other regions, he never found the time to visit them. He enjoyed having potted plants around the castle, though they often didn't survive the warm, dry air of the desert. His pride was wounded with each withering bud- he believed it was that part of him that wanted anything under his care, be it an entire population or a single plant, to thrive that took the brunt of it

[razing_phoenix]

With the way the greenhouse was set up into somewhat narrow aisles, it wasn't too surprising that some minor collisions would happen. Guy hadn't been paying enough attention, and he took a step or two back when he bumped shoulders with another man.

The stranger got out an apology before Guy could, but he made sure to quickly shake his head. "No, nothing like that," he said quickly. "Really, I should have just been paying better attention." He had no problem admitting it. Usually there wasn't quite as much to look at, so it seemed like he'd just gotten carried away.

The other patient was striking, both due to his long hair and something about his bearing. Guy couldn't put his finger on it, but it reminded him of something...

"Do you like looking at them too?" he asked conversationally as he motioned to the planter of flowers that they were closest to.

[girlsandgadgets]

"I do," Edgar replied with a small grin, eyeing the indicated flowers. The vibrant color of the blossoms stood out against the glass behind them, giving the young king another reason to smile. "My home isn't the best environment for flowers, so they're a rare beauty for me." Before the end of the world, he occasionally had flowers imported to the castle from Kohlingen- now that the land was destroyed, it seemed many once-flourishing fields were completely barren.

"Forgive my manners," he said, returning his attention to the other man. "I'm Edgar."

[timeleaper]

It had been a pleasant albeit quiet lunch and Ronixis was quite fine with that. it had given him a little time to think. It wasn't that he was regretting the path that he'd chosen. No, not at all. He would never have been able to live with himself if he had just left Roak to its fate. What would have happened to Milly and Ratix for one thing? The two of them the sole survivors of their entire species, that was a burden that he wouldn't wish on anyone at all. And the people of Roak didn't deserve their fate, being dragged into a war that had nothing to do with them, because they were a useful natural resource, never mind that they were sentient beings. The thought made him feel slightly sick. He couldn't understand how someone could even think about wiping out an entire species like that. It was just abhorrent

[bprd_fishman]

The last time Abe had been around a lush green environment like this one it had been a forest god's corpse. The nice, artificial way the plants were lined up was simultaneously comforting and disturbing as a result, and Abe felt another twinge of guilt at the death of the majestic creature

[rischiarare]

"Greenhouse" hadn't meant much to Roxas; all the mention of the word had done was made him wonder why a house that was green was so important (and, further still, why it was on the grounds of a place like this). When his nurse silently led him to the structure, he thought he could see where the name came from. While the building itself was made of tall and wide planes of clear, transparent glass, the sheer amount of foliage and leaves made the outside almost appear green itself. Stepping through the doors into the hot, humid air, he felt rather strange. He was half in his element - beams of sunlight were shining vigorously through the glass, lighting the plants and all their parts and warming his skin directly - and half surrounded by what Marluxia had... not loved, but enjoyed. Maybe if XI wasn't dead, he would have been able to show more appreciation than XIII was currently expressing

[scintillatingly]

Just seeing Kairi and Riku again had been wonderful, but Sora found himself actually complaining to his nurse when she separated them for the next shift. There was still so much to talk about! Some of it was upsetting, but Sora had wanted to get past that so that they could just joke around and chat like they'd done before all of this. It wasn't always that easy, but soon Riku would be used to the routine here, and then maybe it could feel closer to normal again

[rischiarare]

Roxas was particularly unused to people going out of their way to talk to him (he could possibly understand if the ones doing it were Organization members, but those meetings would involve a lot less talking and a lot more trying to eradicate him), but people who sounded happy to see him didn't even exist. And why should they? It's not like the Nobody had friends. Even Axel hadn't been particularly thrilled to see him; if anything, he looked like Roxas should have been dead... and should have been a lot more informed. The last point was particularly infuriating because that's exactly what Roxas wanted to be.

When he heard that chipper greeting and saw the familiar face, Roxas jumped back almost as quickly as a startled bird. "X-Xion?" he sputtered first (where did that name come from? Is it her?), followed by, "You're not her." No, if it had been his... his friend, he would have known. She had had a familiar warmth, one that reminded him of sunlight. This boy was different, but felt like her all the same - and it wasn't because he

[scintillatingly]

Whoops, looked like he'd startled his Other. Sora had hardly meant to, but since their connection wasn't nearly as strong in this place, he probably should have considered that as a possibility. Well, it was too late now... He'd just have to keep it in mind for the future.

Sora had been preparing to apologize for that little mishap, but that's when Roxas blurted out a name he'd never heard before. A girl's name, even. Sora's eyes widened and he leaned back slightly. How could Roxas confuse him for some random girl, anyway? He should have been the easiest person to recognize! And he was hardly girly, even if Kairi had wanted him to play the part of the princess a couple of times as kids so that she could be the hero. Man, that had been embarrassing...

Still, there were way more important things at hand, and that had to do with the fact that Roxas was clearly upset about something. Sora just wished he knew what it was. There came that name again, and then his Other even went so far as to ask who he was. As if he didn't know

[doneinthree]

The nurse led him back the same way they'd gone after breakfast, and for an instant Kirk dreaded a second round with his therapist. As much as he missed good female company (he'd noticed early on a striking gender disparity in the patient body), he wasn't that desperate. Besides, the annoyingly persistent Jim Kirk charm worked a lot better when he gave it a day for him to settle into her thoughts.

Even when the nurse assured him that the current shift was reserved for the greenhouse, Kirk's shoulders didn't relax until they stepped outside. This being a section of the Institute he hadn't visited before, he noted the layout of the walled yard - the vines growing on the brick, the white shed in the back - but most of him was focused on simply being outside. Fresh air and open sky, ending too soon as the nurse waved him into the confined greenhouse

[hes_deadjim]

[Jim ♥]

McCoy wasn't exactly glad to part ways with his roommate when the intercom went off and lunch rolled about. Hayes wasn't bad, as company went. He could do worse, in fact, he had before. Plenty of times.

It just helped when the doctor didn't manage to put his own foot in his own mouth at the same time. Even now, he couldn't help but still feel a twinge of embarrassment.

Maybe I am a little relieved, he silently admitted. It was going to be doubly awkward since he was temporarily living in the same room with the man. He still had dinner shift to go through, after all. There was a lot he didn't know about Hayes' reality back home. He'd say the chances were pretty good that he'd suffer a repeat of before. Maybe he could just bury himself in writing up his logs: he did have to write down one for ZEX, then wrack his brain some more to come up with any possible explanation to what was going on. At the very least, his Spock would find the records fascinating at least. Then there he needed to prepare for tonight, except he wasn't

[doneinthree]

Kirk broke into a grin at that distinctive voice, and maybe also at the image of his older self with the same aversion to broccoli as he'd had at five years old. "Don't worry. I haven't been in the botanical science labs since they banned me last year."

He let go of the sprig to turn to his friend, all wry amusement as he took in the scene of mostly grown men in happy face shirts being forced to play with trowels. Bones looked well enough, at least, not that the previous night had left them much opportunity to get into trouble.

"Anyway, you were the one getting on my case about gaining weight," Kirk pointed out, "so why not leave the salad for Vulcans?"

[hes_deadjim]

There wasn't any stopping that surprised look on his face. "What in hell did you get banned for?" McCoy blurted out.

Jim didn't exactly always do things by the book, but he'd never heard of his captain being banned from anything in the academy. Then again, he might not have even told him if he had. Now a good portion of him curious as to what had happened and how. He'd always found botanists a quiet bunch. Shut them off in a lab full of plants, a greenhouse and some equipment and they were happy as clams. So how did one even get banned from a botanical science lab in the first place

[human_sponge]

While his lunch conversation with Sam and Peter Two (it probably wasn't good for him to be referring to the kid that way in his head, but it was simpler) had done a spectacular job of taking Peter's mind off of his worries, that could only last for so long

[timeseal]

Talking with Suzaku was like talking to a brick wall, or more like banging your head against it, which was probably why Rolo went straight back to his room for rest during lunch and returned with a headache and unanswered questions. What... what was he going to do about this? For once, he was at a loss to plan anything, and it was frustrating. He always had a plan.

It was this place, he decided, which was why he was less than enthusiastic when his nurse talked in a far too cheery tone about how spending time in the Greenhouse was going to make him "feel" better. Rolo had some choice words to say about that, but he was far too tired to cause any trouble and merely allowed himself to be jerked along for the time being.

The only good thing about this was that they were separated by gender, which meant that... Lelouch should be here, right? And she wouldn't be, which meant that Rolo had a chance to talk to his brother. He had a chance, something that he was going to seize when

[human_sponge]

Just hearing that name that wasn't his caused Peter to tense in anger. The last time he'd seen Nathan, he'd been calling him that, and he didn't enjoy having it sprung on him again when he wasn't expecting it. Not that the nurses didn't always call him that, but he'd glared at them enough that they stuck with Mr. Campbell more. Which wasn't much better, but still.

Peter turned to see who it was he was being asked to spend time with. While he didn't mind talking to the kid, it did bother him that the nurses were so insistent on forcing interaction like this. People would approach others if they felt like it, after all.

He eyed the teen for a moment and then heard him say something, except it was so quiet that he couldn't make out what the words actually were. Peter turned his head to the side and took a half step closer to the young man. "What'd you say?"

The teenager he'd met last shift had been amiable enough, but that might not be the case here. Still, it was better he talk to the kid than stand around and brood all shift.

[timeseal]

Having some inquire on his private thoughts was enough to make Rolo stiffen, and he normally would have refused to answer. The key word was "normally", and this situation was anything but normal for Rolo. He was preoccupied, looking wistfully at the door, and then to the walls, and elsewhere, to find someone who wasn't there.

Why... why wasn't Lelouch here?

Because he's with Nunnally. Rolo didn't want to believe it, so he didn't and he impatiently brushed those thoughts aside. There were still people coming in. Rolo himself had arrived late to an area on occasion. There was still time. He kept telling himself that, but the moments dragged on and on, he could feel his heart sinking lower and lower.

"My brother isn't here," Rolo said, as if he was answering "Ethan". In truth, it was coincidental as Rolo hung his head and looked down at the ground.