[log] So, do you feel satisfied? [closed]

[fiftheclipse]

Characters: Junpei, Steph, and Squalo. ... Not at the same time.
Location: Zone Three
Date: Days 349 and 350
Summary: Potential for both the best day Junpei's had here, and the worst.
Warnings: Day 350 will get nasty. Torture, death, etc.

Comments

[spoileralert]

"Yeah, sure!" It's a perfect opening. And then if her pants are a little dryer she can even put them on. That would really be ideal. Her legs are pretty cold, but would they be colder if her pants were just slightly wet?

[fiftheclipse]

Alright. Good. Then they can both manage to avoid this awkwardness they've started out with. Probably. When he heads into the bedroom, he'll take a little more time than he needs to, just in case. Because why just dump everything on the bed, anyway? Those blood stains on the mattress are pretty awful-- it's absolutely worth it to sort through their small collection of blankets for something thin enough to cover up the sight without sacrificing too much warmth.

But then it's back out to the main room for Junpei as he checks through his bags once more. May as well get started on gathering spare clothes.

[spoileralert]

Steph does end up putting on the slightly damp pants, leaving her shirt draped over the coffee table to dry some more. She keeps the towel around her, though, to hopefully speed up the drying process as well as keep her just a little warmer.

"It's all ready for you," she tells him as they pass. She's picked up her pillows and blankets and is taking them into the bedroom to build a proper nest.

[fiftheclipse]

It's not as though wet clothes are anything unusual with all the snow outside, so he won't judge Steph's choice to wear them now as long as they're dry or removed by the time they go to sleep. Which is sort of a ways off.

Giving a nod and a quick "thanks", he's soon heading into the now free bathroom, their trade of locations complete.

Once again Junpei's taking a while to return, but can he really be blamed? When this hot water's actually real and not a rumor? When it's the first warm place he's found in a regular building since arriving here? This shower's easily going to become one of his favourite things.

It's clear when he comes back out that not too much of that time was spent on clothing, the only items he's laying out to dry being a shirt, socks, underwear, and.. something that seems like a pile of bandages? A few are bloody despite the effort to wash them. ... All that isn't to say he's back in to what he started with. Lacking a towel of his own, he's left wearing a cultist robe until he's dried off. It's enough to keep himself fully covered, but...

"Y-you really notice how cold the air is after that, huh?"

... There's no question at all that it's not enough to stay warm.

[spoileralert]

With no time limit on the hot water Steph couldn't blame him if he stayed in the shower all day. It gives her plenty of time to try to forcibly towel dry her clothes. She's contemplating cutting her hair when he returns, but ultimately decides that she'll prefer it long once it finishes drying.

"Yeah, no kidding. I'd say we should turn the bathroom into a steam room, but I'm pretty sure that'll only keep us wet longer." She picks up her own discarded towel and decides it's dry enough at least to speed up the process. She offers it to him.

"Here. It's a little damp, but it's clean."

[fiftheclipse]

... Then if the towel's clean, shouldn't he try to keep it that way? He'll accept it, for sure, but all he'll bother with is drying his hair.

"If you don't want it as wet, there's always the power plant. Too bad dragging a mattress over there's out of the question..."

[spoileralert]

His loss. Slightly dryer hair is a worthy cause too. She raises an eyebrow at his suggestion.

"You know if we leave this place damp it will probably literally kill us, right? Hypothermia's a bitch, with or without frostbite."

[fiftheclipse]

That's definitely true, but,

"We couldn't make it by lockdown anyway. I'm good with what we've got here, for tonight. Besides, as long as we stay in this area, aren't we closer to all the action? I wanna get in on that new place, too."

[spoileralert]

As long as he's not planning any deadly escapades. One can never be too careful in this place. People get some of the dumbest ideas in their heads. She shrugs.

"It depends, really. This is probably where important stuff will go down, but it's 50-50 that the things we need to figure it out are somewhere else. Like the program I needed to enroll in class at the high school."

[fiftheclipse]

Junpei's already died at the power plant once, thanks. And it hurt. There's nothing to worry about now.

"You're young enough for high school?" He's not trying to insult her looks-- he's genuinely curious. And maybe.. kind of.. questioning himself for being so interested earlier...

"No, wait. You can enroll in stuff even though there's no other people here? Just interact with the building itself, or something?"

[spoileralert]

She raises an eyebrow at him.

"Yeah, man, I'm 18." How old did he think she was? She never thought she looked particularly older than she is.

"It was real weird. There was definitely a class... but I think it might have been a ghost? I dunno."

[fiftheclipse]

It's not that she looks old, but the way she's always appeared so helpful, so on top of things, there for everyone... Isn't that a little much for someone that young to handle?

"I- I guess I just thought you were closer to my age." Does that answer work? Because he doesn't have a better one.

"Someone from before the town was wiped out? It sounds creepy, but I bet it was kinda exciting, too. You think it'll be more of that kind of thing when we get there?"