Day 57: Intercom, Evening

[damned_intercom]

Varying opinions aside about the new caretakers, the efficiency of the military was worthy of some admiration. The Great Escape ended with minutes to spare, and the staff wasted no time in dismantling the equipment in the Sun Room. Visitors were kindly informed that visiting hours were over while patients were ushered to their rooms

Comments

M57

[zack_fair]

Zack left the recreational field not quite knowing what to make of Damon. He'd been extremely laidback about things, and while that wasn't something Zack would ever judge someone for, it had almost been to an excessive point. Maybe he was just used to the bizarre things that they went through here. Zack couldn't say that any of this was new to him either, so he could be coming off the same way to other people.

The guy had tossed a ball around with him, so that was enough to put him on Zack's good side. Which, admittedly, wasn't that hard, but...

Now it was time for dinner. He had to wonder if Phoenix would even show up tonight, since his roommates very rarely stayed more than one night. Still, he wanted to hope that he would show his face, since he'd seemed like a good guy. Then again, so had most of his roommates. That hadn't seemed to make a difference.

Dinner was only a stepping stone to the main event, though. Tonight, he was doing something. He was just going to pick a direction and go and any monster that tried to get in

[in_your_defense]

When Phoenix was guided back to his room, he felt strangely buoyant - as much as there was uncertainty in his situation with Edgeworth, it was nice to have some semblance of stability between them after so many years. And as artificial as everything around them felt, having a hold on something real (even if it was just another person) made Phoenix feel more grounded and capable.

Stepping in, Phoenix shut the door behind himself before his attention fell on Zack's back. He was so focused on eating that Phoenix could practically feel the pinpointed energy wafting off of him - and from what it seemed, he was wolfing down his gruel with probably more passion than Phoenix himself could ever muster for the substance.

"Hey Zack," Phoenix said in greeting, a light smile appearing on his face as he began to walk towards his desk, about to place the small stack of sketches that he was holding down upon it as he spoke. "You look like you're ready to get going...special occasion?"

[zack_fair]

Well, look at that. Phoenix was still here. Zack paused in his eating, pulling back from the bowl and grabbing a napkin to rub at his mouth. He wasn't particularly embarrassed by his eating habits, since they served a purpose and he usually took care to be less messy when there were people watching. Besides, no one could argue against the importance of being well-fed here

[in_your_defense]

Phoenix sat down upon his chair sideways so he could face Zack, and he rested his left hand down on his stack of sketches as he looped his right arm over his chair casually. "As 'okay' as I can be for someone sane stuck in a mental institute," Phoenix said playfully, the humor in his blue eyes and his tone of voice hinting at his acceptance of the irony in Zack's words. "And as for 'still kicking'...you don't want to know about how bad I am at soccer."

A thought occurred to Phoenix then - Edgeworth had wanted to go find medical supplies, and from what it sounded like Zack seemed intent on making tracks while he had time. If they could work together, it would make more sense - after all, they were going to stay in the same room for however long that the both of them were stuck in the Institute, and it made exchanging items and information much easier - and as a result, he decided to offer. "...I was planning on getting some medical supplies tonight - did you want me to get you some while I was there?"

[zack_fair]

As it turned out, Phoenix responded to his joking with some of his own, which caused Zack to unwind some more. He was never a shy person, but there was always that uncertain period when first meeting someone. He was glad to see that his roommate was someone who could handle a bit of light teasing. While he was just as equipped to handle spoilsports, this certainly made his life easier. Dinner could be something to look forward to, provided that Phoenix actually stuck around"Believe me, it was worse when it wasn't the military in charge. Those nurses were pretty good at making you feel like a child." The soldiers didn't put on pretenses, at the least. Zack still didn't like their attitudes because he'd worked in a similar environment and had grown pretty sick of it, but he was trying to look on the bright side. Trying to

[in_your_defense]

Phoenix nodded slightly in acknowledgment, his expression warming at Zack's words before he decided to follow his example with whatever it was that they were supposed to be eating - and he picked up his bowl and spoon, beginning to scoop up some of the pink substance as he began to respond. "Only if you're able to - we're in this together, so don't worry about it too much."

Lifting his spoon, Phoenix swallowed down the substance without much thought as to what it tasted like - he knew that there wasn't much of a point in fighting it, and that he had to eat something. "Is there anything that you wanted me to look for supply-wise?" As Phoenix was relatively unsure of what he and Edgeworth would find, he wanted to make sure that he had some idea of what Zack would want him to pick up - and since he didn't exactly have too many places to store it on his person, he didn't want to accidentally choose something entirely useless to his roommate.

[zack_fair]

It looked like Phoenix was following his example and eating after all. Zack was glad to see that, because even if the stuff wasn't all that appetizing, it was still a way to keep their strength up. He got the feeling that a lot of people weren't eating as much as they should anymore, which -- as far as he could tell -- seemed to be against the military's best interests. Well, that was Aguilar's problem