This prison was... Unpleasant, if you asked them. Or at least, that was the diplomatic way for Makoto to say that they would rather not be here. Even beyond the fact that it's usually a given that a prison was going to be a dreary place to be, there was little doubt to how certain 'guests' of Rocket's were treated; seeing the occasional haunted face of some other person who had wronged the syndicate brought a shiver down Makoto's spine.

They weren't about to get on Rocket's bad side anytime soon. And, perhaps that was partly the point of them being assigned the task that brought them down here; carrying a tray with food and a glass of water atop it. They were relatively new, after all - and so they needed to know for sure what could happen, if they picked the wrong side.

But eventually, Makoto came to a stop at a particular door - their footsteps sure to be a soft and rhythmic layer over the other occasional sounds of the building. Were Elinor to look at Makoto, she likely wouldn't recognize them as anyone specific - another one of Kuro's illusions layered over them, to make them look like some random nobody grunt. There was a jingle as they grabbed the key to the cell door, the click of it turning in the lock...

... And as it creaked to open, there would seemingly be an opportunity. Because after all, Makoto didn't appear to be armed to the teeth, nor did they look like anyone particularly strong. There weren't any visible pokeballs either - and even if there was one or two in this grunt's pockets, their hands were occupied. Surely, it'd be easy to overpower them if Elinor so wished, right...?

And well... There was only one way to find out.

The blanket did not protect her from the sound of approaching footsteps from outside the cell. It came to a halt by her door. She heard the rustling of keys, curiosity made her crawl out and get up from the bed.

And when she saw the person standing there tray and glass in hand, no guards behind. Something clicked in her, an opportunity was seen. And the survivor in her grabbed it. She quickly charged at the poor unfortunate grunt, intent on getting out of her.

MISSION: POST POST DORMITUM
LOCATION: Rocket Prison - Sootopolis City.
TAG: Makoto Kurumi

Makoto's gaze flicked towards Elinor, as they saw her rise from her bed. They watched her closely as they moved to open the door and step in - ready to just set the tray down somewhere and step back out. But, things don't always go so easily, do they?

When the captive councilwoman charged. Makoto reacted with alarm - taking a half step backwards out of pure reflex. And yet, they didn't move out of the way - she'd likely have to push them over to get out...

... Except for the fact that Makoto wasn't alone. Seemingly out of nowhere, ghostly blue-black flames rose up around Makoto like a protective embrace - blocking Elinor's charge. If she did not back away from the Bitter Malice in time, she'd find that the attack was bone-chilling - to the point of even causing frostbite, if one were to let the flames linger for too long.

In Makoto's shadow - cast by a flickering light above - golden eyes gleamed, a low warning growl rising up from the shiny hisuian zorua that lurked there.

"..." Makoto, initially, was silent - seeming to still be slightly startled by this chain of events. But as they regained their composure, they'd glance down to Kuro, then back up at Elinor. "... He'll attack you directly, if you try that again." They spoke in warning; glancing down to the tray in their hands, they added "And I don't imagine they'd give you another tray, if you make a mess of this one."

Elinor Anderson

Elinor’s charge came to a grinding halt as fire sprang forth from somewhere she had not noticed. She reactively took a step back.

Fear entered her gaze, a reminder of the pain she’d been given so far. The idea of escaping was quickly pushed away.

Makoto offered words. And Elinor listened.

She took a deep breath, tried to regain control of her impulses as she said. “Yeah, you are right.” Hands slowly unknowingly moved to her arms to scratch at the fresh broken skin beneath her prison uniform.

She looked toward the plate to see what sort of gruel they had deigned to give her.


MISSION: POST POST DORMITUM
LOCATION: Rocket Prison - Sootopolis City.
TAG: Makoto Kurumi

As if satisfied with Elinor backing off, Kuro would watch her a few moments longer from where it stood in Makoto's shade... Before returning to the darkness, sinking back into their shadow and disappearing.

Makoto, meanwhile, would let out a gentle exhale. They'd close the door behind them - just in case - before setting the tray down for Elinor. The food was about as cheap and visually unappealing as one might expect it to be - some sort of porridge, if they had to hazard a guess - but it'd nonetheless keep starvation at bay.

Glancing back to the councilwoman proper though, Makoto noted her hands - both the bandages, and the scratching motions made through the uniform. They aren't sure what exactly prompted this behavior, but from what they had heard from a bit of gossip, it'd begun after she had been taken out for some... Questioning.

Something between sympathy-empathy-anxiety twisted in Makoto's chest, as they couldn't help but wonder what had happened then. And then, they pushed those feelings down - allowing the illusory disguise they had keep their expression as neutral and dry as could be. They weren't here to sympathize - they were here to do their job.

But that didn't change the fact that delivering food wasn't all that they were here to do. "Are you hurt anywhere else?" They questioned - gesturing with their now-free hand towards Elinor's own hands. If any wounds she had got infected and she fell seriously ill, it would prove troublesome - so, Makoto had to make sure they were treated.

Elinor Anderson

Hunger led her to grab the food.

Some semblance of standards made her halt as she saw the food. A feeling of Revulsion emerged. As her fingers clenched on the bowl of porridge.

She grabbed the spoon, fingers shaking as she forced herself past decades of eating-habits to give herself the much needed sustenance.

Once the first spoonful of porridge was consumed the rest quickly followed, all while Makoto would ask her questions.

For a moment she considered what to say. Should she admit to the self-inflicted damages or not? She figured they probably knew about them already and so.

“I’ve got these…” She set down the plate of porridge and pulled up her sleeves to reveal the scratch wounds. Her arm pretty much looked like it had been mauled by a wild Perserker.


MISSION: POST POST DORMITUM
LOCATION: Rocket Prison - Sootopolis City.
TAG: Makoto Kurumi

Makoto watched as Elinor practically vacuumed up the porridge - even if it seemed as though she had to force herself to get the ball rolling in the first place. How regularly was Rocket feeding her, they wondered? Probably only just enough to keep her alive and lucid, if they had to hazard a guess.

Once she was done though, she'd pull up her sleeves to reveal a number of scratches on her arms. Makoto winced at this - it was clear she'd been scratching herself like crazy, for reasons that they wouldn't wholly know.

Letting out a gentle sigh though, they'd pull out what looked to be a simple first aid kit. "Hold still. I'm going to bandage them up." They spoke - already getting out some antibiotic ointment, to spread over the crisscrossing cuts that Elinor had inflicted upon herself. Their touch was likely surprisingly gentle and attentive - their gaze occasionally flicking to her face, to gauge how she was feeling.

Partway into their work though - as they begun wrapping up one of Elinor's arms - Makoto glanced once more to her. "... Why are you scratching yourself, like this?" They questioned. Though, perhaps the better question here was 'How do we stop you from hurting yourself?'

The Gentleness made her flinch. It hadn’t been something given to her while she was here. Yet, this person was amply providing it as they applied antibiotic ointment and bandages.

The gentleness made Elinor ease up a bit.

For a moment she forgot about the pain, the memories, all of it.

“Because it feels like something is writhing beneath my skin, tearing at my nerves at all times. It hurts, and scratching relieves it somewhat. At least the pain of that is better… if that makes sense.” How did you describe the permanent sensation of pain applied directly to the nerves through sheer Banette-magics.

Of course she knew it wasn’t doing it any longer. Yet, somehow she still felt it. In her arms, in her eye. She had only stopped herself from scratching out her own eye by tearing apart her arms.

MISSION: POST POST DORMITUM
LOCATION: Rocket Prison - Sootopolis City.
TAG: Makoto Kurumi

Makoto was initially quiet as they considered Elinor's words. To the average person, it wouldn't make sense - it wouldn't be a normal thing for anyone to experience. And certainly, Makoto hadn't experienced anything that felt like that to their knowledge. But given that this was Rocket that they were talking about, and it was no secret that she had recently been interrogated, well...

... They couldn't help but wonder what it was, that had happened to her. Did they even want to know? It was hard to say for sure if all of these scratches were wholly hers, after all.

But nonetheless, once the ointment was applied, Makoto would carefully wrap up Elinor's arms. "This isn't exactly a sanitized place... You run the risk of these scratches getting infected," They spoke gently, almost knowingly. Infected scrapes were unpleasant - and the sickness that came with it probably outweighed the temporary relief Elinor might think she's getting from this. "Do you know if there's anything that might help with the urge? Distract you from the pain?"

They were doing this to break an otherwise troublesome habit, they'd tell themself. Not out of concern for her. Or at least, that's what they'd tell other Rockets.

Elinor felt some measure of relief as the ointment was applied and her arms were carefully wrapped. But her attention soon turned to the conversation the pair was having.

Elinor knew the risks of wounds carried in an unsanitary place like this. But not acting on the itching sensation was like a dehydrated person in the desert finally finding water. They’d drink it no matter how dangerous it might look.

“Anything that might help me?” Elinor repeated.

“I doubt they would allow you to give me any of the things I can think of.” Elinor stated coldly.

MISSION: POST POST DORMITUM
LOCATION: Rocket Prison - Sootopolis City.
TAG: Makoto Kurumi

Makoto considered Elinor's words for a few moments - unable to help a sigh as they knew she was right, ultimately. "It's worth a try," They still found themself responding, shrugging. Perhaps they'd be able to convince someone up the ladder that getting her something like a paperback or playing cards to occupy her mind would save a lot of fuss in the long run.

Though, the ideal was probably that she gets out of here somehow - a thought that they couldn't deny, even if they didn't want to humor it long.

Carefully, Makoto tied off the bandages on Elinor's arms - briefly checking to make sure that they weren't too tight. Once satisfied, they'd begin putting the first aid kit away - with the initial intentions to take the now-empty tray and leave. But, seeing something else that they were keeping in the bag, they'd pause - considering - until...

... "... Do you think something sweet would help?" Makoto suddenly asked, glancing over to Elinor.

“Something sweet?” She returned the question.

The more she thought about it, the more appealing it became until at last she spoke.

“I don’t know if it would help. But it is worth a try.” A simple statement, but perhaps telling enough. Elinor was softening up to Makoto, whether Elinor noticed it or not.

MISSION: POST POST DORMITUM
LOCATION: Rocket Prison - Sootopolis City.
TAG: Makoto Kurumi

Even if this doesn't work, at least it'd - perhaps - be a change of pace from the monotony of the porridge that they'd been feeding her, Makoto figured. Thus, they'd pull out a ziploc bag - one filled with what looked to be individually wrapped soft caramels. Sweets from a local candystore in Sootopolis - ones that they usually kept as a treat for Kuro, given his love for them.

Opening the ziploc, they'd pull out a handful of the caramels - offering them to Elinor. "Some might be a bit mushed, but they're still good." Makoto spoke, as they handed over the candies.

However, someone else seemed eager to have in on the exchange of sweets. A soft and pleading whine could be heard as Kuro came out from Makoto's shadow - the shiny zorua that had intimidated Elinor not long ago now giving his trainer the epitome of puppy eyes. One could even swear that it was using its illusions to emphasize the gaze that Kuro casted, up to its trainer.

Which, when Makoto met Kuro's gaze, they couldn't help but relent with a soft sigh - even if they didn't sound all that bothered. "Alright, Zorua. You've been good." They spoke - avoiding using Kuro's name around Elinor, given that she was League. Crouching down, they'd unwrap a caramel - offering it to the ghostly fox.

Kuro wasted no time in gobbling it up - his tail swishing side-to-side all the while.

As Kuro chewed on his treat though, Makoto would glance to Elinor - looking to see what she thought of them.