Day 60: Cafeteria

[gald_digger]

Anise had been lying snug in bed, only vaguely aware that she was awake, when her rest was disturbed by the one sound in the world she'd never wanted to hear again.

"Good morning, everyone!"

The girl's eyes shot open and she immediately sat up straight. There was no doubt about it. That was the Head Doctor, that bastard, and he was back! Now that

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[yin_yang_fox]

Morning came with the severity of a near miss, a heart breaking. Without minding anything else, Renamon stretched and shifted her hand, bones sliding under flesh and she knew, as much as she did before dark gave way to light, that what had been hers, parcel and part, had vanished without a trace. There, still, she could feel the remnants of her sidestepping, as it had been for weeks before. But now

[cigarettes_plz]

Morning hit him like a sack of bricks. Badou was dimly aware of a familiar voice coming across the intercom, but the words all seemed blurred together, unimportant white noise. There were bandages covering fresh wounds where his eyepatch used to be, up both of his forearms and across his left palm. He pressed his fingers against them lightly.

If it wasn't for that, it would be like nothing had changed at all. They hadn't gotten far enough. All of that for fucking nothing. He would be furious if he thought it was any more than an utter waste of fucking energy. Not only had they not managed to get out - the military was gone. Last night had been a chance and they weren't ready for it. But really, what else did he expect?

The nurse came to lead him out, and Badou followed her without comment. He didn't even care. He didn't want to hear it. This shit. Seriously, this shitBut despite his resolution to be a sullen asshole all morning, the smell of fresh waffles seemed to claw its way right down into the pit of his stomach and awaken

[yin_yang_fox]

The movement near to her came belated--she glanced up quickly, off balance at being came up upon. There was a disturbance within her and it needed to be adjusted. And very soon. For the one near to her, she was only gracious, giving a nod in greeting before she even registered his words. Looking forward to his company. Because-- She blinked rapidly for a moment, then lowered her head slightly. In all the time she had been here, she hadn't yet forgot a meeting. And here she was, surprised by one she had only made yesterday.

Yes. She was losing her equilibrium, in bits and pieces.

"Forgive me," she murmured quietly. "I seemed to have forgotten we were meeting." Nothing of the man's weight on her--it was not that Badou lacked importance but that Renamon was faltering, failing. And she needed to refind her feet. The Digimon swallowed, and inhaled deeply. A visible effort to pull herself together was made, and when she looked up at him, she seemed more herself. But for a blankness in her eyes. "Though I do have good news for you."

[cigarettes_plz]

That she glanced up at all was slightly reassuring, but only very slightly. Renamon was normally so composed and quietly alert, seeing her startled and so off balance was - well, he had never really thought of it as a possibility. Surprising her that one time when he'd come back from the supposed dead was all he would have ever expected

[yin_yang_fox]

She would care for him a little bit more, for the simple fact that he allowed her her distraction. Did not speak or ask on the matter, but looked half as well as she felt, and that in itself gave understanding. She looked at him briefly, an extended beat longer than necessary, and then nodded her head. "I found what you wanted." And that alone allowed her to give the smallest of smiles to the man, pleased. "I have a handgun and an extra clip for you that I procured last night."

Last night being a give and a take, both blatant, and now, almost unwanted. Like being blind and deaf after having perfect senses. Her gaze skittered to the side, but she continued. "It's possible that we'd be able to retrieve more. I have a ring that goes straight to the back room at the sheriff's station currently."

[cigarettes_plz]

He could tell from that small nod that they understood each other, and that wasn't something that happened to him very often. He had never been much good at all the emotional stuff; it was clumsy and strange, and frankly he kinda sucked at it.

He perked up visibly when she spoke, his back a little straighter, his eye a little wider. The first thing he thought of wasn't a handgun, but if there was anything he wanted more than a cigarette right now... that was it. He only wished his reaction was a little more low-key, because having his fork fall out of his hand less than a second after she spoke wasn't a exactly glowing endorsement of his ability to handle a gun.

She had a gun and a clip and the ability to get more ammo whenever it was needed. Badou wasn't sure he'd just heard all of that right.

"Renamon I..." His fingers twitched visibly, once, before his hands closed against the table top. "You make it sound like a gift."

And as much as some part of him knew that it was meant that way - that just didn't happen. Everything had a

[yin_yang_fox]

The brief reaction made her pleased that she tried for it. And the verbal response caused a shift to take place. A gift, was it? She didn't view it as that at all. But it was also true, in a way. Because wasn't that what humans did. With ones declared as friends

[cigarettes_plz]

She was laughing at him. Maybe only a little, but it was enough that he noticed. He opened his mouth for a moment, silently offended, and then all at once he closed it again, his shoulders sagging like they'd been relieved of weight. That was utter bullshit. Grade-A organic-grass-only purebred bulls they might be, but it was still complete, utter crap

[yin_yang_fox]

A hand slid to her mouth in apparent thought, hiding the edge of the amused smile that rested there. There was a lightness here that might not have existed before. She wasn't quite certain. Between the days and weeks between had they shifted to something like friends? She was not one to place a label and pull it tight--the two worked well enough together, and she would be happy with that. She had cheered him a bit, at least.

Though for his offer....

The Digimon tilted her head in consideration, then spoke truthfully. "Actually, I've been meaning to go back down to the basement soon. Would you like to come along?"

[cigarettes_plz]

To anyone else, Badou would have refused outright. He didn't know enough about the basement and there was a good chance they would run into more trouble than the trip was worth.

Still, he trusted Renamon's instincts to a healthy degree, so if she thought it was worth going down there he was at least willing to give it a shot. And aside from that, she was providing him with a gun and ample ammo.

Badou nodded just a fraction. "Yeah. Yeah, alright. Gotta admit, I've been kinda curious. Is it just you goin'?"

[yin_yang_fox]

Something inside of her loosened. A part of her obviously trusted the man enough to watch her back, if nothing else. She nodded in response, a bit of gratitude in her expression. "You and I, now. Though I'm planning to invite another at the least." Tear was resourceful, and would be useful as a medic in case anything happened. The Digimon planned to seek the other out today, and as for a fourth.... She would see how things went.

"I've been down a few times, once not willingly, and I've heard some curious things since then from an associate." She watched the man closely. "I'd like to see where the center door, and the new one, both lead. The latter can't be opened unless you've traveled through the former, so that is what I intend to do."

There wasn't much weight behind that as way of a legit reasoning, but Renamon had now been in this place for a month, with little to no changes. This was a path she had not yet taken, and so it was that it was now the one chosen.

[cigarettes_plz]

"I know a couple of people who might be willing to come. I can ask later, if you're lookin' for more." He couldn't imagine that it was easy to convince anyone with a lick of sense to go down to the basement when so few even wanted to talk about it. Peter had been totally traumatized after his trip, and that was the least of his concerns about it.

But his thoughts on the matter weren't so different from the Renamon's. At this point, they didn't have a lot of places to go, and even down as a direction. It was more than he had. He couldn't tell himself forever that he'd wait and listen and find some smart way out of this when every time they made a little progress they ran up against another dead end.

He retrieved his fork and went back to digging into his waffle, listening to Renamon while he ate. His interest was obvious, his brow knitting briefly at the words not willingly, but he let her finish first

[yin_yang_fox]

"I'll keep that in mind," she said honestly. She would prefer to work with those somewhat known, and in all honesty, she'd prefer Sasuke on the task, as the ninja knew the basement well and she trusted him to react properly. Tear she had only just met, but the girl showed promise and smarts. And lined up correctly with the Digimon. She would work with what was offered. Renamon hadn't seen the Konoha ninja for a few days now

[cigarettes_plz]

Badou nodded. He understood, really. He trusted Heine and Alle with his life, but anyone else's... that was another matter entirely, assuming they'd even want to try this in the first place. It was mostly a numbers thing. Better four of them on a mission like this than just two, right

[yin_yang_fox]

He admitted the contradiction, but with a look Renamon knew well. Instantly, she wished to take back her teasing, if only because she understand the conflict. He continued, and she dropped her eyes respectfully, silently taking in the half-confession. She was someone that he knew. Someone that was competent that could assist him. And in a place that most knew almost none, Renamon was a friendly existence. She understood. Because he existed as the same. "I know," she said quietly. "I feel the same way." She raised her eyes and nodded. "I don't want to lose anyone else either

[cigarettes_plz]

It was strange. Losing one person back home had nearly killed him, but losing so many here... it was different. Not better or easier, but different. It wasn't like he'd managed not to get attached - hell, he was starting to see that was the only way to keep going in this messed up little madhouse - he just... got attached in a different way. He knew from the start any day one of them could be here and gone. So he didn't depend. You just had to do what you could