Day 51: Men's Showers [Second Shift]

[perfectrecord]

Bah. So much for yet another suggestion of von Karma's. Such priorities this Institute had. They would implement a foolish suggestion to introduce origami lessons and to offer sewing supplies to select patients, yet refused to allow them to cleanse themselves more often than twice a week -- and, of course, without any additional privacy? How

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[zack_fair]

So there was either the third floor or the basement to consider. Zack figured that the basement was more reasonable at this point, since he actually knew how to get there and he knew someone who had experience going down there, but the third floor also sounded promising. It was just a matter of figuring out how to get up there. There had to be some way; he refused to believe that there wasn't

[longlivetehking]

[Mind a disgruntled lion? :D]

Even after the several weeks he had already spend here, Scar didn't yet understand the human concept of personal hygiene. How could standing under a spray of water and rubbing some sort of goo all over yourself get yourself clean? Unfortunately for the lion who just so happened to dislike getting wet, he once again failed in coming up with an excuse that would help him avoid the silly activity. So after receiving the warning from his nurse to be careful with the wound on his head (he wouldn't have known what to do without that reminder), he was pushed into the damp area and had little choice but to begin with this ridiculous human cleaning ritual.

Oh, goody. He grumbled to himself as he dragged himself to the nearest shower-head, only to send his best glare towards it after he had arrived.

He supposed he should get this over with...

[zack_fair]

[Of course not!]

Zack had just stepped under the spray of his own shower and let out a relieved sound -- man, that felt good! -- when he sensed someone taking the spot next to his. While he was happy to just mind his own business, he was at least curious to see who it was, and so he stole a glance at the other patient under his mess of hair, which was now hanging in front of his eyes after being flattened by the weight of the water

[longlivetehking]

Naturally, the first thing Scar needed when he was trying to get himself do this ridiculous human cleaning ritual was someone who decided to make jokes about his dislike for it. Though the former lion did possess a sense of humor, this sense of humor was suddenly nonexistent when said humor was at his own expense.

So if this plucked monkey had expected a happy response, his brain must have already seeped from the ears and gone through the floor to wherever the water went.

"Perhaps," he said stiffly, resigning to his fate and fumbling with the silly contraption to make it 'rain water' (because that was practically what this 'shower' was; indoor rain). "Do you have one against minding your own business, by any chance?"

Unfortunately, Scar did not yet fully understand how this contraption worked even despite his long stay. So when he turned the knob, he could not suppress the inevitable yelp that escaped his throat when icy cold water suddenly rained down on his skin. He jumped away from the water, miraculously not slipping on the

[zack_fair]

Well then. Okay, maybe he should have expected a bad attitude when the guy had been so disgruntled from the start, but the stranger was the one who'd decided to come stand next to him. He should have expected him to strike up a conversation in that case. Or maybe Zack was just too friendly and talkative for his own good.

It was possible the older man was just awkward about the whole showering thing. Zack didn't really know why, but some people could just never really get over their shyness, and he wasn't about to make the man feel uncomfortable if he was already that annoyed

[longlivetehking]

He was definitely not going to tell what had happened. If anything, it was a small blessing the human hadn't seen his utter failure in handling this silly contraption. Perhaps, for the former lion, being swallowed and eaten by the shower drain was a more merciful fate.

"Oh, I can assure you it actually works quite well," A soaked and shivering Scar grumbled, attempting to regain some composure after the rather undignified display he had unwillingly provided. So he had happened to take a spot that was next to an ignorant fool. Lovely... He was no expert, but did the infuriating contraption look like it didn't work?! The only problem was that the water was cold and cold water didn't prove to be all that pleasant on human skin.

He supposed he should try to make it warmer then. He began fumbling with the knobs some more, but in favor of not having any more surprises raining down on him, he began to do so slowly. At least, this foresight would save him from getting burned next...

[zack_fair]

So the guy was getting smart with him for no real reason. Zack couldn't say that this was the first time that this had happened to him, though. Some people just lived with sticks shoved up their rear end, either because they thought they were better than everyone else or because they were just like that by nature. Zack didn't really know what caused it, but it wasn't a trait he was that fond of. Nonetheless, he was more tolerant than most

[longlivetehking]

Oh, it was so fortunate this man turned out to be quite the chatterbox.

"Well, I'm so sorry for not being an expert at these ridiculous contraptions," Scar grumbled in response, though at least he finally managed to find a decent water temperature that wasn't going to either burn or freeze him. Next there was the...smelly goo.

There was no real reason to answer the question that followed, truly. But the former lion couldn't quite stop himself from doing it, likely for pride- and ego-related reasons. "Perhaps I simply dislike water. Unfortunately, your random species happens to use it for personal hygiene and all that. I'm sure you are now capable of somewhat understanding my 'vendetta'?"

[zack_fair]

So that explained it.

This guy was probably like ZEX, in that he just wasn't originally human. That definitely made sense, seeing how he was acting like a shower head was a foreign object. (Showers didn't count as ridiculous contraptions, the last time he'd checked.) But if he was from a species that washed itself in a different way (or didn't wash at all, gross), then no wonder he was making such a stink now.

At least it wasn't a literal stink. In this case, Zack had to be grateful that the nurses forced the patients to take showers. If not, there could have been a few out there who reeked, and no one needed that.

"Sorry," he said, lifting up his hands in surrender or something like it. "I didn't know you weren't originally human." It wasn't like he could tell just by looking, so why did the guy have to be such a sourpuss about it? "What are you supposed to be?" he asked as he dunked his hair under the water to rinse the shampoo out.

[longlivetehking]

Washed in a different way, thank you very much. Thankfully Zack had never voiced that thought, or it would've given birth to a whole different discussion.

At the very least, admitting he wasn't originally human had earned him an apology (for what it was worth). And a rather predictable question regarding his original species. Luckily Scar had never seen a reason to hide that specific piece of information. Compared to being human, it wasn't anything to be embarrassed about.

"Are you familiar with lions, by any chance?" he responded in a decidedly less cynical way. This chatterbox wouldn't be the first one to be unfamiliar with his original species, after all.

[zack_fair]

Zack was just about done with his rinsing process (it took a while when his hair was this long, all right?) when he heard the foreign word. There clearly wasn't an equivalent in his language, since he just heard something completely new to him.

Lion. It didn't ring a bell, and he jerked his head out from under the shower's spray as he shrugged his shoulders. "Nope, I can't say that I am!" There weren't all that many sentient species on Gaia other than humans and the Cosmo Canyon dwellers, but Zack was only vaguely aware of them anyway. He'd heard rumors and talk, but hadn't seen them with his own eyes.

"So, what are lions like?" he asked. The VUX had been interesting to learn about, so Zack imagined it would be the same in this case. It was a shame that he was just about done with his shower.

[longlivetehking]

So he did not know. He supposed he was now obligated to tell this human of his species. Well, why not?

"A lion is a feline species, which I suppose would be defined as an animal, which is considered different by you humans I've noticed here," Scar responded. Many of them seemed to think they - and other animals - were not even sentient. Truly, where had they concluded such things? They were utterly ridiculous themselves.

"Where I am from, we are at the top of the food chain," he continued. Though he had to wonder, would he ever find a way back to his original form?

[zack_fair]

It looked like he had actually been on the right track when he'd started thinking about the Cosmo Canyon dwellers. Zack had only heard descriptions, but he knew that they were somewhere between a canine and a feline, with red coats and sharp claws and teeth. Despite their fearsome appearances, though, they were long-lived and intelligent creatures who held some of the most important secrets about the planet.

That being said, Zack still wasn't sure what to make of this guy. He didn't have the attitude of someone who was wise and at peace with the earth, for one thing.

"Actually, there is something like that on my world. Animals that walk on four legs, but are sentient... maybe even smarter than humans," he remarked as he reached forward to turn off his shower. He was pretty much done, which meant it was about time for him to head back and change. But then he realized something...

"Hey, we haven't even introduced ourselves! I'm Zack," he said with a small nod of his head, knowing better than to try a handshake in this situation.

[longlivetehking]

"I see," Scar responded, at least less condescending than how he had started the rather random conversation out with. "Well, I suppose the species are different in every world. There are no humans where I am from, for instance."

While the other man appeared to be finished with his shower, Scar was still struggling with his. He had no idea which type of goo went on your skin and which type of goo went on your mane. This experience was not only utterly ridiculous, but also unnecessarily complicated. Leave it to these plucked monkeys to come up with such silly things.

Ah, yes. It would seem they had indeed skipped the introductions. The former lion wasn't going to lose any sleep over such a thing, but he supposed it wouldn't hurt to return the favor.

"Scar."

[zack_fair]

It was pretty weird for Zack to imagine a world without humans. Even ZEX had known a good deal about them, and he was some sort of weird alien thing. In fact, he'd seemed overly familiar with humans, come to think of it, but this guy must have had quite the shock to his system when he'd woken up here. He couldn't imagine how weird it had to be to learn how to walk on two legs after walking on four for your whole life, much less being shoved into a body you didn't even recognize.

No wonder the guy was so moody. See, there was always a reason. "This has to be pretty bizarre, then," he commented as he reached for a towel and started to dry off. He had probably already overstayed his welcome, and while he did want to maybe discuss this further, it looked like it would have to wait for another time.

The guy had a very straightforward name, which made Zack wonder if it was just an alias. Then again, he'd known someone named Genesis, so