Night 54: Main Hallway, 1-West

[sanguinario]

[From here.]

The big connecting corridor. He may be in a rush, but this hallway deserved extra caution. What would he do if he tried to get to Stefan and ended up mauled on the way there? The first night when he'd smelled blood here, it was still a bit... haunting. It meant there was a chance of something lurking, dragon or not

Comments

[forgot_it_all]

[from here]

He was one of the first to arrive in this hall it seemed - the advantage of being small and extremely close by. His flashlight was weakening, but it was enough to see where he was going, meaning he was able to see the only other person here. A tall man wearing non-Institute clothing was standing some distance away and he didn't have a flashlight on him. For a split second, Ritsuka worried that this guy could be one of the brainwashed people, but that fear was eliminated when the boy realized he was only waiting for someone.

Moving over to the wall next to the stairwell entrance, Ritsuka set his backpack down by his feet and pointed his flashlight at the ground. He didn't want to keep it on in case it drained the batteries, but turning it off also seemed like a bad idea. His tail flicked behind him and his cat ears flattened against his head as he waited, uneasy to be so out in the open with so few people around.

[purpletaint]

[from here]Albedo moved into the main hall, shotgun angled down at the floor with the unlit flashlight. Torch. Whatever it was being called. He moved along the walls, looking for a swath of dark hair, though in these shadows... He approached someone who seemed correct, and clicked the flashlight on to check--still against the double barrels, pointing down. For that, the person wasn't blinded, only cast in shadows. And it was indeed the other. And by himself, so far. Albedo was glad

[forgot_it_all]

While he was waiting, Ritsuka thought he'd seen Sora going by. In the weak light, it was difficult to tell, but he was pretty certain that spiky hair couldn't belong to anyone else. He would have said hi to him, but he seemed to be in a hurry, so Ritsuka kept to himself and decided he might say hello the next day

[purpletaint]

In ways, Albedo was more innocent than most. He was losing that, it was crumbling to pieces bit by bit, but by nature, Albedo existed honestly. He had nearly beat someone to death because that had put his twin at risk. He was legitimately confused and hurt when he had been rejected for the act. It didn't make any sense. He had responded correctly in that situation, and had been treated poorly for it, in a way he couldn't understand. And so, when Ritsuka stared, Albedo remembered. No, it wasn't that he had forgot. It was only today that Ritsuka made his beliefs clear, that he couldn't condone the use of violence. But the concept was so exquisitely foreign to Albedo that it wasn't something he could actively think of

[forgot_it_all]

Albedo seemed to have noticed Ritsuka's discomfort with the weapon because he was doing his best to hide it now. Ritsuka still didn't like that Albedo was carrying it at all, but then he and the other boy had discussed this earlier and had agreed to disagree. Albedo had his own ideas about violence and, while Ritsuka could never agree with them, that was Albedo's prerogative. He had the right to think and feel and act as he thought was necessary, especially here where it was so dangerous. Even if Ritsuka didn't like it and didn't want Albedo to ever be forced into using that weapon around him, he could understand Albedo's desire to have it

[purpletaint]

In actuality, Albedo had no such desire for a weapon as such. His existence was a weapon, made more by the fact of U-DO. What need did he have for a weapon, even now? If he could not protect himself by way of his own body, he had become something he no longer was. Something he was not willing to be. The fact of the shotgun--and the contemplation of the sword, as well--had been because of a very simple fact. He had promised to protect Ritsuka. And Albedo had already been shown how faulty that wish was in this place. To protect others, you needed weapons, and if he had been alone, the shotgun would have remained forgotten in his closet

[human_sponge]

[From here.]

The moment that Peter approached the stairs, he noticed two younger patients standing close-by and was about to dismiss them until a certain movement from their direction caught his eye. One of the boys was reaching for the other's head -- no, a shift of his flashlight made it clear that there was something on his head

[forgot_it_all]

Thankfully, Albedo didn't seem to want to ask any further about Ritsuka's ears or the biology behind them. He was rarely in the mood to tell people about it, but he was especially skittish about telling kids his own age. It just seemed like such a taboo topic and since Ritsuka wasn't comfortable with it anyway, it made the whole thing that much harder

[purpletaint]

Albedo wouldn't have thought to ask. Being genetically engineered gave rise to other improbabilities; being aware of different methods of existence and planes of space and time made the differences intriguing but without utter hold. It was only 'new', and something to experience, and for that, it was something he took joy in

[human_sponge]

So, from the sounds of it, Ritsuka had decided to invite someone else along. While Peter would have preferred to have been told ahead of time, he could adapt easily enough -- and so none of his uncertainty showed on his face. Even though he didn't really know what to make of a young boy with white hair who was carting a shotgun around, he didn't really have a choice here