By the time lunch ended, the gloomy weather had become a raging storm. Soushi held his coat tightly as they were separated once again, and followed his guide to the outdoor greenhouse. Luckily, the temperature changed and balanced out nicely once they were inside and he shook himself free of the coat.

The greenery was a welcome change, but it was hard to appreciate it when every passing moment only filled him with more worry. While he had obtained a great deal more information today than in his first day in the institution, he was still no closer to finding Ririchiyo or a means of escape. There was a dull ache in his chest that had nothing to do with any physical ailment and everything to do with her absence.

An audible sigh escaped his lips as he picked up a small trowel and gloves and took to the nearby plants, attempting to distract himself and failing miserably.

[Kurogane]

Under any other circumstances, Klavier would have berated himself on wasting so much time and getting so little accomplished over the course of an entire day. But when he found himself waking with a fever and a pounding headache, it suddenly seemed like a much better idea to slow down and tend to his health. ...That and he was terrified he had managed to fall victim to the current epidemic, and he wasn't quite sure what would be the best course of action. Exposing himself to the populace didn't seem like the best option, in any case.

He'd spent his morning trying to force himself to remain calm, sifting through his notes, and dealing with the constant harassment of his nurse... who simply couldn't fathom why he refused to take whatever pills she was trying to shove down his gullet.

Maybe it was because he'd refused the pills or maybe it was because he had successfully kept himself from getting too agitated, but he had slowly recovered over the course of the day. Enough that he felt up to venturing out for what little remained of the day. He was plagued with little more than a headache at the moment, so there was little point in allowing himself to remain completely useless. Did his fading symptoms mean he didn't have what others were getting? Or did everyone go through ups and downs? Nigredo had seemed alright the day before, so perhaps...

In any event, perhaps he should take this as a sign that he couldn't afford to delay his progress any further. A wake up call... or a warning, perhaps, from the powers that be. At the very least, he needed to obtain some of these flowers that supposedly cured what was spreading. Assuming they were still available to be found, that is.

...Funny, isn't it? How much time had they all wasted trying to figure out this illness instead of looking for ways out of this mess? Heh. Bravo, Herr Doktor.

Well. Nothing could be done one way or the other until nightfall. For now, he abandoned his continuously annoying nurse to venture into the Sun Room and examine the bulletin board. He'd missed out on an entire day's worth of "gossip", after all. He almost dreaded what might be waiting for him there.

[Flora!]