Day 57: Cafeteria

[gald_digger]

Edgar's charming company had raised Anise's spirits enough that not even the Head Doctor's voice could bring them back down. Besides, she was feeling pretty sure that Landel wasn't actually around. To begin with, it wouldn't make sense, and secondly, his announcements sounded suspiciously like ones she'd already heard before. While Anise wasn't

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[bodhiandspirit]

Great. More slop.

Whatever satisfaction Rita received from having an actual intelligent conversation that morning vanished once the pink goop was dished onto her plate. She at least had a cup of milk to fill some portion of her stomach, but for the most part, it looked like Rita was going to be going hungry for another day. Perhaps she could sneak something from the pantry that night, if she had the chance.

The mage brought her journal with her, and after sitting down at an empty table, she set her food aside in favor of flipping through it and reviewing her research. She wasn't even going to bother trying to eat. As she perused her notes, she occasionally took a sip of her milk. The patients and staff around her soon became white noise and were forgotten as she became immersed in her reading.

[For Taura and Goku!]

[ninelivesonce]

Even when pink paste was all that the menu offered, Taura didn't turn down food. She jogged into the cafeteria, which made several of the soldiers glare or jump as she sped up, but as she was going exactly where they had told her to, they couldn't say anything.

This was fun. She raced up to the counter, acquired as much of the stuff as they would give her, all the while moving with the sinuous grace that evidenced her training to anyone who knew how to look for it.

Once Taura had her tray, she looked around the room, and spotted a familiar face. "Howdy. Mind if I join you?"

[bodhiandspirit]

Rita was too occupied with her reading to notice Taura's movements, and when the woman spoke to her, she took an extra few seconds to respond. After the pause, she glanced up, blinking as she realized that question had been meant for her

luv u Rita

[boketa]

"I don't want this, I want meat!" Goku shoved his tray back at his nurse when she offered him the usual pink slop

[ninelivesonce]

Taura tried not to believe in fate. Destinies were for giving hope to the hopeless. She reached out with both hands and took what she wanted from life. Ate it all and then cracked the bones and sucked out the marrow. But it hadn't always been like that, and whether it was luck or not that Admiral Naismith had been thrown down to her as a very unlikely treat, she wasn't sure.

She wouldn't have eaten him. Not like that, anyway, and she hadn't had a chance to try any of the other senses until later. (Not that much later, but the one was a direct consequence of the other

[bodhiandspirit]

As a reflex, Rita shot a cold glare in the direction of the interruption. She recognized his face immediately: it was that brat from the Sun Room. Apparently, he didn't need brainwashing in order to be a nuisance.

And of all the places to sit, this nuisance had to choose the spot closest to Rita! Still glaring, Rita jerked her own chair a bit to the side. Its legs squealed against the floor as she moved it an inch or so away from the kid. Personal space was a valuable thing - not that some illiterate monkey would understand that.

"It's not ki, it's magic," she promptly corrected, the irritation visible on her face. While that error alone wasn't normally enough to bother her, it was just the tip of the iceberg when it came to the irritating things this kid did or said. "And you know it's rude to interrupt people when they're talking, right?"

[boketa]

"Nah, I'm fine!" He shot Taura a nice, cheeky smile and slapped his hands on the table. Actually, he felt better than ever! Who knew he just needed a nice fight to pump himself back up! If only he could get his way with the food, then he'd be king of the world.

Once red-head began to talk, he turned and looked through her. He tried to focus, but there were so many words coming out of her mouth and, yeah, his eyes glazed rather quickly. "So is throwin' a fireball from the side lines. I know yer a girl and you guys fight crooked, but..." His train of thought left him when his nose needed a good scratching. Ah, yes, that was better!

"So whatcha talkin' 'bout?" The monkey boy brought the subject back up despite Rita's best attempts to civilize him.

[ninelivesonce]

While Rita and the boy were talking, Taura put away half of the gruel in her bowl, with alarming speed.

"Fighting, actually. After you were so kind as to let us past, we ran into a different kind of problem." She shrugged. "We were shorthanded."

It still looked like luck had fallen in her lap, even if Rita was scowling at the kid. He was tiny, and young, but he was eager. Taura believed in letting people choose for themselves. "You never answered my question on the board. What do you think about fighting next to me instead of against me? We could have some fun, yeah?"

Rita...was not going to like this. But leading required being bold and making tough decisions, right? Right. She let her grin spread, toothy and wide.

[bodhiandspirit]

"Crooked!?" Rita echoed, her voice shrill with exasperation. "There's nothing crooked about the way I fight! And you attacked us, so you don't have a right to complain!" Anyone who attacked Rita ought to thank her if she let them live to see the next day. And here she was nice enough to hold off on her more lethal spells... well, she wouldn't make that mistake again!

She returned to her quiet glowering as Taura went on to answer the kid's question, but as the woman spoke, alarm bells began to go off in Rita's head. She could see where this was going.

No. Just no.

"Hold on a minute!" the mage loudly interjected. "You aren't seriously thinking of taking this twerp with us, are you!?" While Taura had previously shown herself to have some common sense, Rita had to wonder if she'd lost it. Not only did the kid attack them before, but he was clearly an idiot, and most of all, he was annoying. No way was Rita going to agree to this.

tweet, twerp, whatever

[boketa]

"I'm not complain'. I'm jes sayin' it's more fun when girls fight fairly. Just because yer weak doesn't mean ya can't try!" Yeah, that was good advice! He assumed she would shut up from then on since he had made such a foolproof argument, but it was not to be.

As soon as he opened his mouth to respond, red-head started up again. "A twerp? I'm a boy! Yer the one that looks the most like a bird!" Soooo ignoring her once more, Goku looked back to Taura with unbridled joy.

"Yeah, I'll do it! S'long as I get ta hit somethin'! I don't get ta fight a lot anymore, and the nurses cheat!"

[ninelivesonce]

"He can fight, can't he?"  He wasn't the disturbing kind of eager to fight -- there was an innocence to him that reminded her of another pint-sized soldier she could name, though the resemblance ended there.

"'Sides," she added in a low rumble, "I think he owes us.  Help us out, and we're all square with that attack.  Deal?"

She turned her best The Sergeant Disapproves face on the boy, and spoke louder.  "Not everyone wants to fight.  We had somewhere to go last night, and it didn't involve you.  Fighting isn't just about strength, you know."

She wasn't sure he did -- but he could ask, and Rita would get it

[bodhiandspirit]

"Since when does fairness matter when you're fighting for your life!? - Ugh, I can't believe I keep ending up surrounded by these battle maniac types..." A sharp pain in Rita's head prevented her from continuing to argue with the kid, even after he called her weak, which was beyond insulting. The stupidity was actually beginning to hurt.

Rubbing her temples, Rita watched with a glare that seemed to be permanently affixed to her face as Taura tried to justify the addition to their team.

"... Fine," she conceded after a long pause. "But I'm not going to be responsible for damage control if he turns out to be way more trouble than he's worth." If they just needed a third person, it probably didn't matter whether it was a competent person or an insufferable brat... unfortunately. She was going to have to prepare for more headaches.

The good news, however, was that as soon as night came, there wasn't going to be any staff preventing Rita from giving the kid a smack to the head when he needed it. Which apparently was going to be 'always

LOL Rita

[boketa]

"Because!" Goku urged, but he was unable to explain it any better than that. It wasn't a fun fight if there was cheating involved. If your opponent couldn't stand on his own two feet like a proper man then they clearly shouldn't be fighting at all. What was the point of saving your life if it erased your pride in the process? See, this was the problem with women. They just didn't get it!

But it a moot point now that the taller girl, Taura, moved into their fight and ended it with her own opinion. The monkey boy was happy to move on since Birdy would never understand. "That's fine!" Truly, the kid knew nothing about duty or debt, but if they were willing to let him fight, Goku would agree to anything! "Just tell what ta fight an' I will. Simple as that!"

[ninelivesonce]

"It doesn't. But it can be an good way to get people to their places on time." She grinned, as Son Goku's enthusiasm concentrated itself. Rita didn't have to like it, but she'd like it when that firepower -- and lack of restraint -- was all on their side.

"I'll meet you two at the doors of the Sun Room tonight." She scraped the last of the food out of her bowl, and ate it. "Try not to annoy Rita too much. If you do, I'll hold you in place while she does a little target practice."

They wouldn't hurt him, but he could use a little discipline. And she didn't think he was stupid. Just...stir-crazy. Like all of them were.

[bodhiandspirit]

Rita's look of hatred turned to one of exasperation as she forced herself to tolerate the new addition to their team as much as she could. At least Taura was offering some support in that area