vivarium | CALHOUN HOUR

It has been two and a half days since the end of the virus takeover. The power, lights, and heating has been turned back on. All the newer areas have been sealed, BP is once again required in certain rooms, and it appears that everything is returning back to normal.

Asides from Calhoun.

Whether characters have chosen to give pieces of Calhoun to Zero, to hold onto them, or to destroy them, it does not matter. There has been no indications as to when he would ever be back, so there has been a robotic mouse void within the warehouse. Zero has refused to leave any information as to the status of rebuilding Calhoun, but they have left this one message for everyone shortly after the power restoration:

"While you may be left alone to your devices, do not trick yourselves into thinking that there is a way out of here, or that you can do as you please. I will always be watching."

It has been two days since Zero has left these parting words before entirely disappearing. When attempting to call for them, everyone will only be responded with silence. It's clear that they're still watching over the facility though, as any kind of rule breaking or suspicious activities would automatically be rewarded with an injection of Soporil β. True to their word, Zero is somehow monitoring the behaviors without saying a single word.

It is not until the morning of Day 72 does everyone hear again from them again, through the speakers throughout the warehouse.

"Good morning, Subjects. Today, you will be partaking in another experiment of mine. It has come to my knowledge that my assistant has been throwing these so-called "Calhoun Hours" every three days to keep everyone stimulated between his rooms. Don't assume that I will do anything similar of the sort. This activity has far more care and thought put into it than this camping nonsense, so let us begin."

"The rules are simple: every test subject will be paired up and placed against each other. The collective will then have to vote for one of the pair. The one with the fewest amount of votes will be subjective to a punishment of my choice. The one with the most amount of votes will continue their dull experimental lives until the next set of events."

"Any petty attempts of rebellion will be met with serious repercussions, so I would suggest that you rethink any sort of plans."

"Now, best of luck, Subjects. We will talk again soon."

BASIC INFO ✖ MINGLE ✖ VOTES ✖ RESULTS

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Heiji touched his fingers to Snake's throat, paused there for a moment. Then he pressed his forehead to Snake's shoulder, so that Snake could feel the movement of his head as he shook it.

Hopefully Snake would get the idea, but it wasn't really important right now. What was important was that Snake was in distress. Heiji placed his hand at Snake's elbow and wrist, supporting it as he brought Snake's arm in close to his side. As long as he was careful, this was one of the least painful methods of relocating someone's shoulder...

Edited 2015-02-22 07:34 (UTC)

Something's wrong with your throat? *Whatever it was, it had rendered Heiji unable to speak. However, despite that, Heiji manipulated his body into a position that felt like Heiji was up to the task of popping his arm back into its socket.*

All right. Just go ahead and do it so I don't tense up.

That was all the encouragement he needed. Heiji carefully manipulated Snake's arm, lifting his forearm at a specific angle and turning it back into position so that his shoulder would automatically pop back into place.

Not as dramatic as in the movies, but probably much less distressing.

*It wasn't as painful as he'd been expecting but Snake started to waver on his feet. He fought against the impulse to fall because that would hurt like nothing else for his arm. After a full minute, he straightened up and felt sweat from the effort down his spine.*

Thank you, Heiji. *Snake wiggled the fingers of his right hand.* Everything seems to be functioning normally but somehow I think it would be very unwise to assume it's not injured in some way. I might want to try to make a sling out of my jacket for a few days to help everything heal.

Heiji lifted a hand to wipe some of the sweat from Snake's face, then leaned in to kiss his forehead. He was grateful that Snake was being sensible about this (instead of maybe trying to hide his injuries). And of course the injury wasn't as bad as it could have been. But he'd give quite a bit to never see that look on Snake's face again.

He wanted to say something to explain himself, or maybe reassure Snake a little... only he was pretty sure that he'd only be able to get part of it out before he was shocked. And Snake wouldn't be able to see him get shocked, only hear the sudden cessation of his speech, which might only end up making him upset.

So instead, he took Snake's prosthetic hand and tugged gently at it, in the direction of the garden. He wanted to get a compress on Snake's shoulder, relocated or no.

I'm not certain where you want to go but lead. *It only took a few moments for Snake to realize they were heading toward the garden. The sound of his footsteps muffled by grass and dirt confirmed it once they'd arrived.*

*Snake assumed Heiji was taking him to sit on a park bench so he could work on that sling. Being seated would probably help.*

Heiji did take Snake to a park bench, but that wasn't exactly why he was doing what he was doing. Once Snake was seated, he'd make a quick trip to the river, dipping some of the leftover cloth from the costume Hershel had given him in the cold water, and return.

When he was back, he touched the cloth to the tip of Snake's fingers and lightly tapped Snake's right collarbone, just above his injured shoulder.

You want to...put the cloth on my shoulder? *Oh, maybe as a sort of icepack? Not with actual ice but the thought was there. Cold might help the swelling, but he was going to have to take his shirt and jacket off.*

That makes sense. *Snake could manipulate the fingers of his left hand enough to remove his tie but not to unbutton his shirt. He snorted and did it carefully with his right hand.*

There. Now, since you're so good at removing my clothes, do you mind?

Heiji did so carefully, sliding both jacket and shirt off and folding them neatly onto the park bench. The jacket he left on top, in case Snake wanted to fashion it into a sling. Then he applied the compress to Snake's shoulder. His fingers lingered on the top of the compress for just a second or two longer than necessary.

He'd brought something else back, too -- a big swatch of bright red cloth that he tore into a long, wide strip. He touched it to Snake's hand and paused; if Snake wanted to use it for a sling, it might work better than the jacket. He wasn't sure how Snake would fashion one for himself, but Heiji wanted to give him the opportunity if he though he could manage it.

Hmmm. Maybe I should make a sling using both. *If they were in a puzzle room, Snake could use his jacket for something and still have the arm in a sling. That could work.*

First I think I'll just sit here for a moment. Then I'll put my shirt on and attempt some dexterity with both hands.

What about you? Does your throat hurt at all?

Heiji paused. What was that they did in Hollywood movies? One tap for yes, two for no? He tapped twice on the wood of the park bench and sat down beside Snake, leaning lightly on his uninjured shoulder. It was nice to feel Snake's skin against his.

Then a thought occurred to him. Snake had been electrocuted by the bracelet before, right? Maybe he'd understand...

He reached over to tap gently on the face of the bracelet.

The bracelet? *Why would the bracelet make it hard to talk? Unless it did something when he tried?*

When you try to talk, something happens with the bracelet to make you stop. Probably something painful no doubt. So being the intelligent individual you are, you're avoiding that. I don't blame you. *Snake put his left arm around Heiji's waist. At least his brace didn't seem too uncomfortable for Heiji to lean into.*

Heiji nodded against Snake's shoulder. The arm around his waist surprised him a little, but not in a bad way. It felt... nice. Heiji liked how it encircled him and drew him in a little closer. And clearly Snake was comfortable touching him with it.

He traced the shape of a heart over the left side of Snake's chest. The message was hopefully quite clear, but even if it wasn't, the kiss he gave Snake certainly would be.

I love you.

*Oh, that was very nice. Snake's impulse was to reach up with his right hand and mess with Heiji's hair, but he forced his arm to stay where it was. He rested his forehead against Heiji's.* We'll get through this.

That was true. At least Snake was mostly all right. And his shoulder would heal now that it was back in place. Heiji's face was warm as he leaned lightly into the gesture, sliding his arms around Snake's shoulders.

When he finally was able to talk again, he'd be sure to tell Snake about all the things he couldn't now.

CALHOUN HOUR - CHOICE

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