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[url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AAsjUmsLGLA]Noah[/url] hadn’t gotten as much information as he had liked, but it was a start. The boy sat up from the hospital bed and looked down at his watch, it still was only 1:13 AM. No one would be up for hours, which meant new information would be scarce. Noah took a quick look at the handbook he had studied dutifully and switched to the map section. It hadn’t been very different from his own previous game, but he still wanted to find any dissimilarity that he could. After scrolling through the different floor plans, he decided to go have a look himself. The small Biologist stepped out of the bed, slipped on his clothes, and quietly let himself out of his room on the second floor. 

It wasn’t too hard to move quietly as Noah already normally stepped as light as a feather. The more vibration on the ground, the more chance a beaker would fall and break, so Noah had tried to change his step accordingly. Of course, these countermeasures didn’t do much good when it came to his spatial awareness. He still seemed to run into tables and knock over piles of  books in the Study, or run into one of the chairs in the waiting room of the first floor hospital wing. He had dismissed the vault and ‘Alice Parker’ for the moment, wanting to look into it with a fresh pair of eyes in the morning. As he wrote down notes in the notebook he found in the Store, he thought back to last night’s events.

After the words from Daimyon, the Biologist knew he wasn’t the only one who thought Juliette looked petrified. He had given the two new Infinites his introduction and then stirred the Horologist towards the break room with the Infinite Caretaker and Politician. There they had enjoyed a nice cup of tea and had gotten a quick summary of the killing game’s events from Cyrus. Noah went over the rules with Juliette, trying to read between the lines, but alas, he would have to hear everyone’s accounts before he could really understand what happened.

The Patient’s Quarter’s in both games were pretty much the same, but the ‘attractions’ were a bit different. The cave-like like structure called “Aladdin’s Palace” the most curious of them all. Noah took a quick scan of the normal amenity rooms and quickly finished up, noting that the kitchen was closed off during nighttime. The boy went back to his room and slipped inside, dropping off his coat and other apparel before hopping into bed. The room was dark, but not completely blackened. It was filled with experimental equipment and powders, almost identical to the room he had lived in in his last killing game. But nothing was rearranged, which meant any experiment he had been working on would have to be started anew.

When he woke up a few hours later to the morning announcement. He set an alarm on his watch and got up before heading into the shower. He would need something to wake him up and Noah knew the coffee would probably be awful compared to his own dabblings. After a quick shower, the boy did the bare minimum to dry off his hair and got changed before heading out for Juliette’s room. After using the Handbook to find her room number- or should it be letter? He arrived and gave the door a polite knock.

Noah was still worried about her. She hadn’t been injured, but her psychological state had been shot, turning phantom symptoms into reality. With the sleeping drug came fatigue, a slight inflammation in the throat, dizziness, and a bad headache. It was a wonder that the girl had been able to stay up as long as she had with those symptoms and almost having a panic attack. The Biologist was used to some of the symptoms and had come up with coping mechanisms, but a normal girl? That was just a horrendous combination. The boy would have liked to give a follow up to his examination but after last night... he might be pushing it.

The Horologist herself found herself having been awake for hours before the morning announcement, sitting at the small desk in her assigned quarters (thankfully the layout of Axis Mundi was much better understood after a debriefing the evening prior over tea) with an assortment of watchmaker tools and trinkets spread out before her. She had managed to get her wristwatch to work again (it required a little winding and a replacement battery, all of which was suspiciously provided in her chambers) and was in the midst of fixing her pocket-watch. As she did, she too reflected on the events of the evening prior.

The most memorable Infinite was Noah, for he was not only a new arrival, but someone who assisted her in understanding her surroundings. She had quickly scanned over the E-handbook and been dismissive of it, putting it away the first chance she got. She only pulled it up again when locations and rules were being mulled over and discussed. It wasn’t difficult to understand, but Juliette would do well to commit the rules and the locations to memory as soon as possible.

As for the most memorable event? It was when the Infinite Biologist had attempted a check-up.

[hider=Let's get physical~]
As the two older infinites left the Break Room, Noah took another glance around the area. He had already paced around the room while talking to the others, but now he was observing the area with a goal in mind. [color=mediumpurple]“This room doesn’t exactly seem fitting for my purposes, nor have I yet seen an adequate hospital room. The map says there’s a Locker Room next door, shall we go?”[/color] He got up from his chair and opened the inside connecting room, inside there was a bench that would do perfectly. [color=mediumpurple]“As I said before, I want to examine you to check your health levels, is that okay?”[/color] He took a seat on the bench and patted the spot beside him.

[color=b06500]“It depends on what the examination entails,”[/color] Juliette replied cautiously, peeking into the locker room and only stepping in when Noah did. She remained on-alert still, mulling over the thought that this person had been in a killing game like this before, and that he knew more about how to escape than she did. He could very easily murder her here in the locker room, this person that she had only just met…
...and yet, she nodded curtly and sat herself down a fair distance away from the Biologist on the bench. Her bright eyes scanned the room for anything that looked like a weapon, but when none was found, she turned back to the man with her.
[color=b06500]“What will you do?”[/color]

He took a second to run through the different steps in his head, [color=mediumpurple]“I’ll need to check on how your lungs are operating- Oh and if you could tell me any history of disease in the family while I’m examining you, that would be spectacular- I’ll need to check for internal bleeding and bruising which includes a pat down. We need to check if your joints aren’t damaged. A reflex test and signs of head trauma. I’m worried you might have been mistreated when they brought you here and if you have any kind of infection. I can’t do much with my instruments right now, but I can at least do an adequate baseline.” [/color]

He grabbed out a few things from his coat’s large pockets: A bottle of salt and a lightweight microscope. [color=mediumpurple]“I am not a licensed doctor, but I will do what I can.”[/color] It was only after grabbing everything that he looked up at her with focused eyes, [color=mediumpurple]“Shall we proceed?” [/color]

An uncomfortable silence lingered between the two as the young woman carefully wrapped her arms around herself. If Noah noticed, he would see her shudder. Her reply was short, and characteristically to the point. [color=b06500]“Joints, yes. Reflexes, yes. Head, yes. The rest, I exercise my right to refuse.”[/color] Her eyes found the Biologist’s, and almost pleaded with him to comply. Her knuckles paled as she hugged herself a little tighter and shuffled an inch or two away from him. When she realised she was being suspiciously unapproachable, she corrected herself, replacing herself to her previous spot and even moving the same amount of inches closer to him on the bench. Her body was a small frame, smaller still with the way she was huddled up now, and it looked as if she would collapse if manhandled even slightly.

The Biologist stared at her for a second while he tried to decipher what she was so worried about. At work, he usually conversed with other men and women of biology that weren’t the least bit shy... But that was the problem, wasn’t it? Rearranging his face into an embarrassed blush, he quickly apologized, [color=mediumpurple]“Oh-! Um yes... I’m sorry to act so insensitive... Let’s try this instead. For your limbs, I’ll ask you to run a hand down each with light pressure and you can tell me if anything hurts. That will do finely, however, I really do wish to check if your lungs are okay. All I plan to do is press my stethoscope against your back while I ask you to take deep breaths, hopefully that isn’t too invasive?”[/color] He gave her a look of apology, mixed in with some puppy dog eyes. He needed to know if anything from the drug had triggered inflammation or clogging which could be very bad indeed.

[color=b06500]“I-I'm fine, I promise.”[/color] Juliette replied, only wilting more at his gentle coaxing. It wasn't that she didn't want him to check her lungs, like he kept saying, it was just that she...couldn't. [color=b06500]“Please believe me. You do not need to do that.”[/color]
She pushed a tuft of her coppery hair behind an ear and flashed a shaky smile at her companion. She even went as far as to place her hand gently on top of one of his, but only held it there for a few seconds before withdrawing it into herself again. [color=b06500]“Um, do I do it like this…?”[/color]
Quick to change the subject, she ran each opposite hand down each arm, and though she was stiff, nothing felt especially sore. Then came her legs, and here she was more precise. Her hands slid up the velveteen stockings, and stopped only on a bruise on her right thigh. She seemed cross, pressing her fingers into it analytically and wincing when it hurt. Of course she could also still see the bruise blossoming under the relatively dark fabric of the stockings, so it was not a cause for concern. [color=b06500]“There is a bruise. But everything else is fine, Noah.”[/color]

There was no way Noah could keep pressing her like this without being on closer terms with her, so he dropped the lungs part. He couldn’t help noticing how she was using several disarming techniques to shut him up either. Noah’s eyebrows creased for a second before he moved on to observe her. He nodded to her question and let her continue, [color=mediumpurple]“So nothing on the arms, got it.”[/color] As she went along her legs, he noticed the wince. More than how painful it was, he wanted to try and figure out how she got it there. He have to remember it and go over what could have happened later. [color=mediumpurple]“If it bothers you in the future I’d ice it. Luckily it’s in a simple spot that won’t cause much of a fuss. You don’t seem to be in pain when moving around your joints, but I would recommend doing some light exercises in the morning to help get the stiffness out of them.”[/color] He grabbed at the stethoscope around his neck, [color=mediumpurple]“Can I check your pulse?”[/color]

[color=b06500]“Exercises,”[/color] here she cringed. Somehow, that was never her cup of tea, [color=b06500]“I'll definitely need to. This stiffness is...bothersome.”[/color] When he asked for her pulse, she held out her hand and pulled back her labcoat. It was the hand free of the wristwatch, for convenience’s sake. She carefully studied the Biologist, and in her mind toyed with his potential motives. Why would he help her in this place? And with medical training, or a semblance of it, was he also working with the people at Axis Mundi secretly?
It was at that moment she flushed a little and realised that she forgot something crucial: She hadn't yet even spoken a word of thanks to this man, who was concerned about her health and determined to patch her up.
[color=b06500]“Um…”[/color] she began, her voice soft and delicate, reminiscent not of the prior and familiar conciseness but instead of soft petals, [color=b06500]“...thank you for taking care of me, Noah. I am sorry to make you worry and burden you like this. It means very much...that you take time out to do this, for someone like me.”[/color]

He set the end of the stethoscope onto her wrist and used his watch to count the beats. Her heartbeat was elevated, but matched well with the other Infinities he had checked while in his previous game. Trust was even worse there then it appeared to be here, so Noah believed it accurate enough to use the same data. If only he had been able to grab his notebook in his old room, then he’d actually have some feeling like comfort in a place like this.

Oh, her heart rate suddenly boosted up. Noah noticed her flushed face as he brought his eyes up to check on her. A simple gesture of thanks would have sufficed, but wasn’t necessary, for her to go out of her way... Now it was his turn to blush. [color=mediumpurple]“'Someone like you'? Miss Juliette, as someone also in the research field, you cannot berate yourself this way, it would be a shame. While it may sound demented, the people who have kidnapped us for this ‘game’ have done so because they believe we are special. So please don’t think ‘someone like me,’ but rather just 'thank you.'”[/color]

But that didn’t exactly come out the way the Biologist would have liked, [color=mediumpurple]“What I meant to say was, oh, well, you’re welcome.”[/color] He let her wrist go as he set his stuff down. [color=mediumpurple]“Now, if we could check your senses,”[/color] the boy picked up the bottle of salt, [color=mediumpurple]“I just want to check your sense of taste. Usually when one is under the weather, they can’t taste very well. We can try this again in the morning with normal food since I don’t have a smelling salt and that deals a lot with taste, but if you could taste this and tell me if you notice anything out of the ordinary.”[/color]

Seeing the boy fumble after what was definitely a moving declaration, an unfamiliar sound filled the small locker room. It was the sound of the Infinite Horologist’s laughter: soft and melodic, and tinkling like a dozen little bells. [color=b06500]“...you are charming and strange, indeed.”[/color] Her body evidently relaxed more, even though he had just asked her to ingest something that could have been poison. She looked him right in the eye, gritted her teeth and asked the boy to pour some in her hand, which she smelled first to confirm the contents, then tasted. [color=b06500]“It is salt,”[/color] her response was flat and matter-of-fact, and she looked to contemplate the taste of salt for the first time in her life, it would seem. [color=b06500]“It really is salt. It tastes...like salt.”[/color]
Brilliant deduction skills aside, of course.

The smaller boy beamed, [color=mediumpurple]“Marvelous!”[/color] Even if he couldn’t check her lungs, her taste test was a great redeemer on whether she was sick or not. Noah went on to check her reflexes with a standard knee test. Nothing seemed to be out of the ordinary, and he was just finishing with an eye test by making her follow his pen with her eyes. [color=mediumpurple]“Alrighty, last but not least I’d like to check for head trauma.”[/color] He slipped his instruments in his pockets and stood up, moving to stand in front of her, [color=mediumpurple]“This um, well. I’ll need to check your head for any bumps, may I?”[/color]

[color=b06500]“You may.”[/color] 
Juliette glanced up at the boy, taller where he stood before her now, and offered him as reassuring a smile as she could manage, to convince him that she truly was alright. In fact, she took one of his hands into both of hers and placed it square in the centre of her head, atop her hair that had once been luscious and bouncy but was now limp, yet soft. While his hand was in hers, she committed to memory the hardness of them. They were like hers, dainty and well-accustomed to delicate work, but also well-worn, indicating the boy's time spent using them. Fascinating, especially with a face that looked like it could be at least ten years her junior. [color=b06500]“How old are you?”[/color] the question tumbled out, blatantly disregarding social cues and being driven by sheer curiosity. Her eyes met the boy's again, curious and with a familiar scientist's inquisitiveness in them.

Slightly surprised by her forwardness, he felt the soft hair on the top of her head. It wasn’t very well maintained at the moment, but that could be said about all the Infinites inside. The soap at Axis Mundi hadn’t been the best and Noah assumed that the game used the same kind. He started to feel around her head with one of his hands, knowing that not every head is going to be perfectly round. Her hair felt as though it hadn’t been washed that day, but that was only apparent because of the thinness of her hair. There didn’t seem to be any unordinary bumps, but he wanted to make sure, his hand moving in a light circular movement.

The woman, complying and quite enjoying the careful attention, sat still with her eyes never quite leaving his. She would never, however, admit to enjoying it. That would be almost...suicidal!

There it was, the question he was never sure how to answer right. Sometimes Noah would answer truthfully and people would be appalled, other times he was lie and get found out. In order to establish more control in his previous game, he had been truthful and Noah felt he’d need to be truthful to get on Juliette’s good side. [color=mediumpurple]“26.”[/color] He let his hand drop away as he said so, looking into her curious eyes. He had noticed her contacts earlier and he took this moment to also see if they changed her eye color at all.

But what did she see? If you looked close enough, anyone could tell that his right eye color was brighter than his left. It followed his left perfectly fine, but had a sort of dead look to it that you wouldn’t expect to normally find. Why did it look so foreign in the Biologist’s head?

Juliette's response to his curt admission was, again, far from socially acceptable, and much closer to socially awkward. She couldn't help it, though...it just tumbled out, again! [color=b06500]“Are you sure?”[/color] Quickly correcting herself, she too fumbled, attempting a quick recovery, [color=b06500]“I mean. You look much younger. I could not have guessed you were older than me, but you are. Forgive me. Of course you're...sure.”[/color]
She avoided his gaze with another embarrassed flush, but her eyes met his again when he spoke. She did catch onto his two-toned eyes, and trying to wrack her brain for an answer to what it could be that caused it, she absently reached a hand out and brushed her fingertips against his right cheek, under the almost alien iris.

[color=mediumpurple]“May I ask, What injury did you incur to get sent to Axis Mundi?”[/color]

[color=b06500]“My health is not the best, but I had very bad migraines.”[/color] She bit her lip a little, [color=b06500]“I don't know what caused them, so I came to Axis Mundi to find out. What about you?”[/color]

He wasn’t used to that response. Usually he would get it when he had been in college, but then again, he had gone to college a little earlier than most. He gave a small laugh, [color=mediumpurple]“I’m sure.”[/color] He wasn’t too much taller than her when she was sitting down, but he had bent over a little during his examination. She didn’t have any trouble bringing her hand up. His eyes moved in between the two of hers, trying to guess what she was thinking. Noah usually forgot about his eye all the time after all, so it escaped him. 

His face cheek was warm underneath her hand, which soon became obvious because he was blushing like mad. [color=mediumpurple]“It was kind of stupid actually, not the wound itself, but the way I handled it.”[/color] He brought his left arm up between them and there was a line of scab wounds coloring the surface, [color=mediumpurple]“I burned myself with some chemicals and then didn’t get it treated until a few hours later. I bit dangerous on my part, but I got the results I needed.”[/color] He reached out to touch the hand against his cheek, but he again didn’t want to spook her.

[color=b06500]“It looks rather painful,”[/color] the Horologist’s eyes grew sad. She did not like seeing anyone in pain, but was at least glad that the scabs were forming. That would indicate that it had been some time since he had been to the hospital. She only wished that there was some way to know for sure how long she had been out for. The texture of her hair was hardly any indication...but that was not important at the moment.

She felt warmth both under and on top of her hand, and felt prompted to begin her next question, [color=b06500]“Your eye…?”[/color]
She did not recoil this time when he placed his hand on hers. Instead, she accepted it, with a tenderness in her voice and a mixture of concern and a persistent curiosity still. Her question was open-ended, though, as she could not formulate any further. She only hoped he understood her implication.

With her acceptance, he placed his hand fully on top of hers, [color=mediumpurple]“...It’s made of glass, I can’t actually see anything on this side.”[/color] He thought about taking it out to show her, but was worried she’d freak out. [color=mediumpurple]“Strangely enough, it doesn’t look to me like I can only see half of what you can, but more like I have an eye in the middle of my head-”[/color] It was probably too much information for her, so he decided to stop, [color=mediumpurple]“I lost my eye a few years ago during an experiment, it’s nothing I’m too sensitive about.”[/color]

Blinking twice in succession, Juliette didn't miss a beat. She actually moved her fingers up to test her companion's words, daring to rub them over the surface. And he was correct, as she was met with cool glass that made her cheeks blanche. It was so...strange, not feeling the familiar moist, spongy texture that eyes were made of. [color=b06500]“It really is glass. It's beautiful.”[/color]
She didn't quite care if he found her compliment strange, but withdrew her fingers. Instead, with his hand cupped over hers, she stroked his cheek with them. Was this...sympathy? [color=b06500]“I would not have guessed. You still work meticulously and precisely, even with it missing. I both admire and envy your ability. You are quite amazing, Noah.”[/color]

Another genuine smile, before the Horologist stood up from where she sat and straightened her labcoat. How much time had passed…? Quite much!
[color=b06500]“Um…” [/color]she began, taking out her E-handbook and showing it to Noah, [color=b06500]“Our rooms are…?”[/color] They both showed up together, of course they would be situated close to each other if that was how it worked. [color=b06500]I think...sleep will do us well.”[/color]

Noah didn’t quite expect to get the complement. Perhaps it was because she was a scientist like him that she found his eye so fascinating. While he was used to getting this close to people out of necessity, this felt a bit more intimate and left him a little embarrassed. [color=mediumpurple]“Flattery will get you everywhere, Miss Juliette...”[/color] 

After she stood up, Noah took a moment to brush off his coat and check to see if he had left anything. [color=mediumpurple]“Most of the drug will flush out of our symptoms by the morning so sleep will definitely do our bodies some good. Seems that the newer Infinites are to sleep on floor two. Shall we?”[/color] He opened the door and motioned her through.
[/hider]

[color=b06500]“Good morning…”[/color] Juliette yawned, opening the door to face her companion from the evening prior. The tone of her voice turned the statement into a question, and though she looked better than the last time the two had spoken, it was now that the fatigue hit her like a truck and caused all her limbs to ache dully. Or perhaps the adrenaline had finally worn off.

[color=mediumpurple]“Good morning, Miss Juliette. How are you feeling? Hungry?”[/color] He took a short glance at the bedroom behind her, though the room wasn’t very illuminated. Mostly different clock components and the like. He gave the taller girl a smile, [color=mediumpurple]“I can smell the bacon from here if you’d like to join me for some breakfast.”[/color]

[color=b06500]“...!”[/color] Immediately, formerly dull icy eyes lit up from behind black rimmed spectacles that she found in her room that were the perfect lenses. [color=b06500]“Yes!”[/color] she interjected before catching both herself and her protesting stomach. [color=b06500]“Please. Yes. Food…”[/color]
Again, her gut growled in firm agreement. If Noah would have noticed, she was dressed haphazardly, as if having woken suddenly and gotten to work right away and mindlessly. Still, it did not seem to bother her, even though her labcoat was inside out and a few buttons remained unbuttoned on the top of her blouse and just about revealed the lavender and lacy border of her b-
[color=b06500]“...I would like that, yes. Thank you…"[/color]

It took a few moments of Noah’s head processing her attire to realize she might be embarrassed later by how she looked, [color=mediumpurple]“Miss- um, you might want to fix your clothes. First impressions are rather important and we’ll be meeting quite a few of our new colleagues so...”[/color] He coughed, [color=mediumpurple]“I’ll be out here.”[/color] He closed the door on her and stood in the hall. No one was really milling about, but he could hear sounds coming from the distant resort on their floor. Noah looked down at his own clothes and although they were rumpled, he hadn’t gotten into his chemicals so the coat still looked pristine and white.

[color=b06500]“Mn…?”[/color] the Horologist was initially confused, but a look in the mirror provided enough of a jolt to wake her up, coupled with washing her face over again to try and cool the manic blush on her cheeks, because did she really just-
[color=b06500]“Um. Thank you.”[/color] she reappeared out the door, looking more put together than before. She still wore the spectacles but was more presentable, for sure. [color=b06500]“...let us go.”[/color] And that would be that, and she would pretend the former incident had never happened.

[color=mediumpurple]“Let’s~! I’m starving,”[/color] While his earlier attitude was a bit more analytical, now that everyone was awake, breakfast time would be perfect for getting to know everyone’s personalities. The Biologist started for the Diner along with Juliette and as they arrived they watched two Infinites leave. Trying to identify them by just their backs, Noah gave a quick glance at his Handbook, [color=mediumpurple]“I wonder where those two are off to...”[/color] He murmured, then grabbed for the Diner door.

When Noah opened it, a wave of delicious food brushed up his nose and even his own stomach growled. He could hear movement further in through the kitchen, but didn’t see too many of the infinites in the seating room itself. That’s when they heard the unforeseen announcement.

[color=b06500]“They must be over there.”[/color] Juliette voiced her thoughts, almost as if having read Noah's as well. Of course, she was referencing the study for this so-called coalition meeting. But it was a curious decision to make between food and socialising. Since both were equally important, she offered up a suggestion, [color=b06500]“Should we take our plates over to the study? Are we allowed to? It isn't far, I think.”[/color]

His stomach growled again, signalling support to her argument, [color=mediumpurple]“I suppose it won’t matter much, it’s not like the others probably have a say anyway. I’ll probably just make a breakfast sandwich out of what’s available and get going. Let’s hurry though! I want to hear what they have to say!”[/color] With that he hurried ahead of Juliette and into the kitchen.