Day 48: Courtyard

[thatdamnedninja]

"I could tell you some stories," Yuffie suggested brightly, "of unquestionable legality." Illegality, that was. Petty little things like the law didn't usually mean very much to her, except for the times when she had to uphold it. Always fun for the breaking, though, the law, and messy for the clean-up. Just the way she liked it

Comments

[vsyourface]

Scott left breakfast in an infectiously good mood. He was so glad he'd been able to talk to Keman. Any conversation that eventually turned into fun times with fork fights was a good one in his book, no matter how awkwardly said conversation might have started out. Even the cold outside wasn't enough to bother him; it helped that compared to some of the North Ontarian winters he'd lived through, the temperature right now was downright balmy. His still-injured leg and healing arm were an annoyance, sure, but those things too would pass. He was sure that they wouldn't hamper him nearly as much during the coming night, and he was even more sure that in the nights following, he would be back to full-on Butt-Kicking Mode.

Scott took a full, cool breath of the crisp air, letting it permeate his lungs and make his body tingle pleasantly. He let it out in a big cloud of condensation as he leaned back onto one of the benches. "Heh. Kinda looks like a Pac-Man ghost," he said to himself as he watched his cloud of breath dissipate.

[Freeeeeee~

[madeinthehrl]

Soma's nurse had wrapped her in a slightly lumpy sweatshirt, coat, and boots, the look in her eyes brooking no further argument, and Soma had had to give in. It wasn't as if she could have fought back, not with the bandages currently swathing the better part of her chest and arms. She had asked to stay inside instead--she wasn't usually one for reading the bulletin board, but today was different--but the nurse had said something about the fresh air being good for her, so out she went

[vsyourface]

Scott almost didn't see the girl coming. Her light hair almost seemed to blend in with the light, monochrome sky overhead. When he did see her, though, he grinned and waved. "Hey! It's..." He was drawing a blank. He had wanted to say her name there, but unfortunately, it had completely slipped his mind since whenever he had seen it on the bulletin. Well that was awkward. "...yyyyou!" Lame save, but a save nonetheless.

He continued: "Er, anyway, yeah! I'm doing better than I was, anyway. This arm was pretty useless yesterday, but this healer, Raine, took care of it a little last night," he explained, showing the girl the limited range of motion he had gotten back with his right arm and hand. "The leg's still being a pain, but it wasn't hit as bad in the first place. I can deal.

"How 'bout you? You healing up okay?" Scott hadn't seen exactly to what extent the girl had gotten hurt, but he knew she hadn't escape that fight unscathed.

[madeinthehrl]

"Soma," she supplied. "Soma Peries." It was only natural that he didn't remember her name. Their first encounter hadn't exactly been the ideal time for formalities. "Scott Pilgrim, correct?"

She'd heard that there were healers here, and she'd seen Hinamori's failed attempt at it several nights ago. Still, the idea of having a healer nearby was difficult to adjust to. She supposed she didn't need to worry about it as long as it worked. It wasn't as if this place would be developing cellular regeneration anytime soon.

"I'm fine. The--patient only gave me a few scrapes and bruises. They're almost gone now." There was no need to mention the injuries she'd received since then.

[doneinthree]

Despite the insistence of his nurse, Kirk didn't bother to button up his coat before heading outside. The day was cold and damp, uncomfortably like that night Bill had wandered into the arms of that patchwork creature, but for a few seconds, Kirk didn't give a damn about any of it. He breathed the sharp air deep into his lungs, and turned his gaze upwards, blue eyes drinking in the square of grey outside the courtyard walls.

He wasn't claustrophobic - he wasn't phobic of anything, despite his efforts that one year to pretend he was, just so he could attend those counselling sessions Bones had for his aviophobia. The Starfleet psychiatrists had quickly found Kirk out and ejected him on the grounds of being more of a distraction than effective moral support. Or maybe it was because of that formal complaint Bones had filed. Whatever. If it wasn't a phobia, then it was something else which propelled him constantly and compulsively off solid ground, towards the wide open sky

[slipperymagic]

"I suppose it is an adventure of some sort," the man who had come to stand next to Kirk said. His pitiful level of enthusiasm betrayed that fact that he most definitely did not enjoy the prospect of any sort of adventure. It was certainly nothing that made him want to vaguely quote old programmes

[doneinthree]

Kirk's gaze dropped from the sky at last to look at the man who'd spoken to him. He looked considerably less... unique than Beelzemon, although his brown hair was longer than was the style the last time Kirk had been on Earth. Of course, Earth conventions meant very little in this place. Hell, he was beginning to doubt that this universe even bore much resemblance to the one he'd left behind.

"Yeah, when Starfleet told me I'd get the chance to explore new worlds, this wasn't exactly what I had in mind," Kirk answered wryly. There was something a little off about the man's appearance, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it. He seemed human, just...

Well, never mind. He'd met his fair share of humans and non-humans in his life, and knew well enough that they all fell within a wide spectrum of personalities. Kirk slid his hands into his coat pockets, his ease a perfect contrast to the man's displeasure. "But I guess I can't discount an adventure as an adventure just because I'm not winning." The corner of his lip quirked. "Yet,

[slipperymagic]

Howl folded his arms in one smooth, expressive motion. He couldn't entirely resist giving the man a skeptical look when he began to launch into his science-fiction inspired commentary, but Howl had kept one eye on the bulletin board. He knew that variety of origins that people laid claim to. Funny, really, that he found fantasy to be a more acceptable reality than zipping through outer space to new planets and what have you. Both were equally ridiculous

[bitpartgod]

Alright! This was so great! Not only had he found a fellow healer, they'd actually found a way to really make a difference to the people here at night! If there was one thing that had been weighing heavily on Kibitoshin's mind (other than the monsters and keeping track of all the new people he'd met and Trunk's worrying silence), it was the thought that he hadn't been doing enough to help the rest of the patients. After all, he was the guardian of the universe! The guardian! It was his duty to protect as many people as possible! With any luck, though, this was going to be his chance to make amends. If he couldn't stop the Institute from existing, fixing people up when it hurt them with Hanatarou wasn't too bad an alternative

[tiny_chef]

Remy didn't have a map, but rats were pretty good at finding their way around, and it frustrated him that moving around the Institute at night was unsafe enough that he couldn't explore in any kind of effective way. He wouldn't have much trouble remembering where things were and how to get to them, if only he could reach them in the first place

[bitpartgod]

Come to think of it... he hadn't really been on the bench for a whole lot of the time Franziska had been here, had he? He'd spent most of his time on the floor or suspended between the wall behind them and the back of the bench in a kind of half-fall. Not his finest hour, Kibitoshin had to admit with a wince, but at least that meant that actually sitting here was probably okay.

In fact, it barely took a minute before he was joined by someone else. Peering over the swathe of sweater and coat around his chin he found himself look at another man, maybe a little younger than him but with dark hair and eyes that seemed oddly alert to him. Or was it just the light? Either way, he didn't have time to wonder before his mouth ran away with him.

"Ah- hello!" The greeting sounded harmless enough at first and he smiled straight back at the newcomer, but already Kibitoshin's mind had caught up with him and rolled straight into top gear. Had he been too enthusiastic just then, or too quick to jump in? It was true he'd spoken first, but he didn't

[tiny_chef]

Admitting that he hadn't yet lived through all of an autumn or any of a winter probably wouldn't do much for Remy's cover. Dad had told him once that it would be so cold in the winter that he wouldn't want to move, that food might be hard to find, and that he'd probably die if he didn't stick with the colony.

Out in the courtyard, he could almost believe it. But at least they fed him in this shoebox. The fact that they needed to hire a real chef, a chef who knew what he or she was doing with chervil, was beside the point.

Remy's greeting to his new companion seemed to have made the guy a little nervous. If even the humans thought it was cold, though, it would be all right to admit it, as long as he didn't admit that it was the coldest day he'd ever experienced and that he'd be perfectly happy to go burrow in his bed. Standing next to a hot stove for a few hours sounded even better.

"Yeah. So, how long have you been here? Do they make us go outside a lot, even when it's cold?"

[numberii]

[Open]

There was nothing quite like a night of target shooting to make Xigbar feel a lot better. He'd found someone who was decent with a bow, and while he was rather like a slightly less prissy Luxord, at least he seemed to be able to keep a sense of humor about things. Maybe he'd even be able to hook the guy into going exploring with him- two sharp-shooters were always better than one.

However, that good feeling died as soon as he stepped out into the courtyard. It wasn't the weather- he'd experienced worse extremes than that- but rather the fact that there was a certain someone, with long silver hair and lurid eyes, who was also out there. Seemed like vacation was over. He could prolong it, though, s'long as he stayed out of sight. Which was what he did- very obviously stay out of the guy's sight, by hiding behind the trees wherever he could.

[timedork]

"Ah, fresh air," the Doctor remarked to his nurse when she led him outside, outfitted in outdoor shoes and coat. It wasn't his coat, but it was warm and somewhat comfortable, so he supposed it was alright.

He was about to make another remark on the weather-it was a rather dreary day, wasn't it?-but he found that the nurse had already vanished, leaving him alone. He shrugged and started to walk further into the courtyard.

It was then he recognized a nearby face: Yuffie, the motion-sick giver of table-top speeches, was taking a jog. It wasn't long before he broke into a jog himself, coming up alongside her.

"Good morning!" he greeted her cheerily.

[thatdamnedninja]

Somebody was jogging up to meet her. Yuffie didn't alter her pace any; just kept on going. If somebody wanted to join her, then they'd better be able to keep up with her. It wasn't like she was going anywhere fast, and this jog was like a Malboro's (assuming they had legs under all that… slime) in comparison to her flat-out sprinting speed. She checked her peripheral vision, blinking when she recognized the guy-had to have been a guy, she'd thought just before; the footfalls were too heavy to be a chick's-as the one who'd talked to her… a while ago. Motion sickness and buses and Doyleton shrubberies, right?

She offered a grin, breaking off her song. It took her a second, and a verbal fumble, to switch languages back again. "Hey there," she greeted. "Didn't think anybody was gonna join me. Too 'early', not enough coffee, blah blah blah."

Of course, Yuffie'd have been more than happy to go it alone. Had been prepared to. Enjoyed it, really, when there wasn't anything keeping her tied. But, well, as long as he didn't expect her to slow

[timedork]

The Doctor grinned at Yuffie. "I love a good run. Or-- a jog, as the case may be. In either case, it's good to stretch my legs, and it's good exercise!" It was funny, actually: presumably the shifts outdoors were meant for exercise, but he only ever saw small numbers of patients doing anything other than talking. Maybe it was because they got their exercise at night.

"Yes, John Smith; that's me," he confirmed after a slight pause. "And you're Yuffie. What were you singing earlier?" He'd caught snips of words and it had a familiar sort of sound to it, but it didn't seem to fit together in any way that made sense to him. It was intriguing, to say the least.

[thatdamnedninja]

"I'd run, like, really run, but the walls are a bit in the way, don'tcha think? Well. For now." She grinned in return. It'd be a different story, when night had fallen. Without the nurses around, clearing the wall wouldn't even take a minute. Or two. … Minute and a half, then! Yeah. Maybe. She'd be up and over, and that'd be that, until morning rolled in to rain on her parade.

At the oddly placed pause, Yuffie shot John a curious look. It was tempting to dig, even if it was nothing, but then he was asking a question. She let it slide. "Song for the road," she said, followed by a couple more words in Wutain; the song's name. "Pathway After the Rain," she added. "That's the basic translation. Old favorite of mine from back home." There was a strange mix of fondness of exasperation that leaked, just a little, into that final word. Not nostalgia, but-no. It just was. As much as Wutai drove her batty, as much as her old man and his plethora of stuffy old traditions and archaic excuses made her want to facepalm her eyes out of the back of