Welcome to Gaia! ::

Photinus came upon the door of what could only be the cafeteria. Tiny, ever-present glowing insects broke off from their swarm above his head and preceded him as he peered inside. It's gloomy in there. Passing through the portal, a quick survey brought the young man closer to dismay. Lightning bugs illuminated what needed to be seen but that his glowing hands did not provide. The latter were dull, as if the depressing atmosphere had affected his phosphorescence. It looked as if some of the benches had been used recently, but as to whether any portion of the room had been cleaned in the past decade was certainly in question.

His hands' dull glow pulsed slowly as he raised one to the back of his head and ran his fingers through his short-cropped hair. He pulled his hand away hesitantly: For that matter, when was the last time my hands felt clean?

He sighed and continued his approach of the back of the large hall. There, it was rumored, would be a buffet full of food that had been provided for patient use. He could confirm from here what appeared to be a long, low construction with scuffed and scratched spill shields that included the expected counters, a mismatched assortment of trays and utensils, and inset containers filled with unrecognizable substances. Even after he had come to a stop, his lip curled as he realized that there would be no recognizing that slop. Most of it was congealed where it shouldn't have been, the rims were crusty where originally soft, and he could smell nothing that resembled food. Garbage, perhaps, but not food.

"This must be the wrong place," he muttered to himself. "They must have closed this place down and moved the cafeteria elsewhere." None of his previous institutions, government-run and half-forgotten, had been this bad. At least there the dishes and utensils had been clean, even if the food had seemed unfit for livestock let alone humans. He pivoted on a heel to leave when he heard something behind him. He was quick to hide behind the bulky buffet and peeked out slowly. He was starting to get better at hiding his hands and their constant glow, but lightning bugs still fluttered over the buffet. Perhaps they would be misconstrued as something attracted to the disgusting mess overhead. Was it in the hallway? Did someone follow me?

The insects were not the only ones attracted to the newcomer. From the moment Photinus saw Malachi step through the door he was completely baffled. The way the murky light refracted from his feathered wings reminded him of metallic shards fluttering in an unseen breeze, if that analogy was remotely accurate, for it seemed to gather around him like the fireflies themselves.

Photinus watched the winged young man, whom was probably about his age, speak to a firefly that had landed on his finger. If the vision of a full moon lit field with hundreds of fireflies could come to mind in a place like this, now would be the time. Before Photinus realized it, he stood up with bright, wide eyes. His hands were glowing with more intensity than before. "And what do you suggest we eat instead?"

Ughgud. Photinus suddenly felt that he had made a grievous error. This was not the type of person one can make judgments upon based on how they interact with animals. Not that the boy had done that, he was too distracted for that, but not so much that he would be heedless of whatever danger he seemed to be in. The fact that the winged one had been incensed for being interrupted suggested that he had a temper that Photinus had no desire to cross. Less desirable would be finding out what lay behind the smile that had spread across his face just a a moment later. Photinus took an involuntary step backward. There were certain expressions he would trade for one of absolute hate or rage, and this and similar ones were among them.

Briefly he thought it was too bad that there was nowhere else to eat, if that was what this one was saying.

He glanced above them, at the tiny greenish lights darting around overhead. "Ah, yes, of course... I have attempted to let them go. But once they start following me they don't seem to want to," he ventured. Maybe they can't... And it's selfish I know, but they're my only friends. I'd miss them if they did go.