St. Peter's Asylum discussion

That did it. With a roar, Silas sprang from his seat and tackled the smaller blonde, already swinging before they hit the ground. One fist connected with the back of her head, the other with the small of her back, and he automatically went to pin the older girl with both knees. "You," he hissed, "have made a grievous mistake."

Roxie certainly wouldn't say she enjoyed being attacked, although she was so used to being stabbed or punched that it took quite a lot to hurt the girl.

She was a little surprised, however, at the boy's outburst. Certainly not what she expected.

Silas wasn't surprised when she didn't fight back--he was used to it, even expected it now. So he jumped off of Roxie and kicked her over onto her back, delivering a few rough strikes to her ribs for good measure. He stared at her for a moment--there was absolute fury in his eyes--and then he raised one foot and slammed it with as much force as he could manage down on the blonde's windpipe.

She was biting her lip hard through the pain, eyes shut tightly. Despite her brave façade, Roxie felt every broken, or at least nearly broken, bone.

The last strike left her nearly gasping for breath.

Silas debated for a moment slamming her in the stomach this time, but decided against it and instead yanked Roxie up into a halfway-sitting position by the collar of her shirt and bringing his knee up hard and fast into her face. Then he dropped her and, without a word, left the blonde and the shocked occupants of the library with the door slamming behind him.

((Fade?))

((Yup.))

Ruby had been thinking a lot about what Timothy had told her. There were dangerous people here. People who were armed. People who hurt others simply because they wanted to, or because they held grudges, or because they were simply sick of mind.

Since these thoughts had begun to plauge her, it had suddenly become very hard to find the little girl.

She hid more often than not these days, wearing long dresses to hide her thinning ribs, going outside more often to hide her growing pallor, tucking herself into the tightest of spaces among the asylum in order to avoid the shadows that had started to take an interest in her rather than pass her by. Now she found herself in the back of the library, knees up under her chin and her hair hanging down in a limp tawny curtain that barely, just barely, covered the wary flicking her dark green eyes back and forth. The shadows were after her again. And this time, they weren't letting up.

Felix had slowly become quite good at helping Ruby through her rougher times, though for what reason one wouldn't know. Really, all he ever did was hold her and comfort her. And sometimes that was enough.

Felix could see that something was off the minute his pale gaze fell upon the girl, and his face grew sad, gentle.

He gently came up next to Ruby, careful not to startle her, and rested a hand on her shoulder. "Hey, Ruby."

His voice was quiet. The young killer certainly didn't like seeing Ruby like this; it almost pained him to see her so. And yet, he put a smile on his face as he said, "Look what I got you."

Blowing pale strands of hair out of his face, Felix pulled a box of chocolates; one scored through much sucking up to the nurses and playing a good boy. He remembered the girl's love for chocolate, and also how she asked for it.

And besides, chocolate was certainly a pick-me-up.

"Hi, Felix." Ruby's own voice was quiet, even hoarse. She couldn't even bring herself to look at the boy until she'd found his shadow, sitting on a table a ways behind them. Watching--but of course it was. They were always watching. Eventually, she forced herself to turn her head and look at her friend. Her gaze was dull with exhaustion and small traces of fear; it had been a little while since she'd last slept. She didn't want to sleep anymore. The night only brought shadows to her head. But she smiled, when she saw the chocolate--it was a small smile, a weak smile, but it was there. "You found some chocolate," she said. One pale hand reached out to take the box--quickly so as to hide the tremor in it--and she set it down beside her. "Thank you."

"You're welcome," came his habitual answer, though his voice was distracted. Felix reached a hand under her chin, gently examining the deprived girl.

"You look terrible," he said honestly, his lips pressing together in a firm line. "Have you slept at all?"

Felix was worried. Even at her worst, Ruby was never THIS bad. His blue gaze struggled to find hers and latch onto the fleeting green eyes.

"Uh-uh." Ruby shook her head. "I can't sleep. I just can't. If I do, the shadows'll get me. Or the killers will." Her eyes flicked around the library once more, nervously, before returning for a brief moment to Felix. It was true, what she'd told him--she couldn't sleep. If it wasn't the shadows that came to her dreams, it was murderers. She'd been having nightmares for weeks now, ones bad enough to wake her screaming each night. It was safer, she thought, if she stayed awake. To watch herself and keep an eye on everyone else.

Felix paused a little, his blue eyes narrowing just slightly. Killers. He was a killer.

Instead of pointing this out, Felix gently placed a hand on her back and rubbed.

"Who told you about the killers?"

"A boy in a little room with a lot of drawers in it. His name was Timothy." As he rubbed her back, Ruby's tense muscles began to relax. She turned her head to look at him, biting her lip with slight worry. "He said there were bad patients with weapons here that hurt people," she said quietly. "But he said they wouldn't hurt me. I don't believe him."

Felix sighed a little, though he kept his circular rubbing motion constant. He pressed his lips together, and frowned a little.

"Well, I don't know about him, but what if I were to tell you that I wouldn't let the killers hurt you?"

Felix's heart pounded in his chest; he would be devastated if his Ruby found out about his murders. She would be shattered. He had done such a good job of hiding it thus far, though the young killer was secretly worried of it coming out.

((I can just imagine him being like "And if they do I'll kick their sorry asses." XD))

"But Felix..." Ruby's protest trailed off as the faint sounds of footsteps reached her ears and made her cast another worried look around the library. The shadows were coming closer. She shrank back further into the corner , away from his hands and theirs alike, her hair again falling into her face. She made no move to brush it away. "But Felix," she whispered, "you can't be with me all the time. What if they hurt me when you're not here?"

Gently, the young boy placed a hand under her chin, tilting her face up to his. He reached his other hand up and brushed her hair back, tucking it behind her ear.

He gave her a sad smile. "Can you trust me, Ruby? Can you trust that I'll keep you safe?"

Ruby fidgeted in place, her hands twisting nervously with the hem of her gown. White today, to help repel the shadows. She wouldn't meet her friend's eyes. "I want to. I really really want to. But I don't know, Felix." She sighed. Then she did look at him--and in her eyes there was a tired weariness that didn't belong to a child but to someone much older. "I just don't know anymore."

Felix met her gaze for a moment, and then dropped his hands with a little sigh. He rested one hand atop her knee, gently reminding her that he was real, he was human, he could be trusted.

He didn't tell her she had to trust him. He didn't tell her she should, or needed to, or anything. He didn't tell her to do a single thing. He simply sat next to the girl, comforting her best he could.

"I promise I won't let them hurt you," he said simply, "Whether you believe me or not."

((Now I kinda want Raven and Felix to meet. Fade?))

((;____; Okay haha.))

Felix sat inside the library, practically being swallowed whole by one of the plush chairs. He held a book in his hands, though it was obvious his mind was elsewhere.

Felix didn't come out of the scuffle unscathed. Nasty bruises coated his legs, and scratches ran down his shoulders and arms. He wore a short sleeved shirt, and so the battle scars were obvious.

It was just as obvious that Felix, too, had been crying. Certainly not as much, and definitely not in the public, but Felix would be a liar if he said that there hadn't been a few tears shed.

But Felix was trying very hard not to think about it. He tried to focus on the book in front of him, though it wasn't working very well.

The rough scratching of a pencil on paper hailed Cat, who sat with a sketchbook perched upon crossed legs in one of the comfortable chairs opposite Felix. Another line was added to a weasel who was menacing a hare near the bottom of the page--the smug devil who called herself Roxie would be very well-represented by a weasel, she thought--but soon enough, the girl found her neck getting sore and lifted her head up to rest it. Her dark blue gaze immediately caught on Felix, who looked as she did on a particularly bad day--detached and injured, with red-rimmed eyes to suggest that he had been crying. The sketchbook was set aside, and Cat sent a quiet call his way: "Felix? What's wrong?"

Felix blinked a few times, turning his attention to the girl. "Hmm?"

He shook his head to clear it, and then tried to put a smile on. "No, no, I'm fine."

Well that was a lie and they both knew it, but Felix didn't elaborate.

"Bullshit." The curse was casually tossed out--the dark-haired girl was having another good day, and in his state she didn't think the boy would mind. Cat stood from her chair and made her way over to his, leaving the sketchbook open on the couch. She knelt down to get more to the boy's eye level, and tapped his arm to get him to look at her. "Now, you tell me what happened. You might think you're an emotionless robot, but we can both tell that you're not. Did something happen with Ruby?" The words were spoken gently, but Cat didn't try to alleviate the bluntness of the question; she had heard about how much the two children cared for each other. This kind of change in the small killer could only have been brought on by something involving his love.

With a little sigh, Felix turned his baby blue gaze to Cat. "Kind of," he muttered. "I don't really know--"

Felix sighed again, a heavier one this time. "I told her about what I've done."

"Oh." A sympathetic nod was given. "Did she take it badly?"

This is where the confusion returned. "Kind of?"

Felix chuckled a little, and set his book down. "She, ah, got really mad and, uh, attacked me?" He laughed again, the same nervous, uncertain laugh as before.

For a moment, Cat's own expression was claimed by confusion. She blinked, slightly dumbstruck. "Ruby attacked you? Are we talking about the same girl?" Ruby, sweet, placid Ruby, had attacked someone? And Felix, no less--one of her friends. The girl's brows furrowed. "That's awful," she said finally, remembering to be polite. "I'm sorry."

Felix laughed again. "No, it's fine. It confused me just as much."

He shrugged a little, and rubbed his arm with his hand that wasn't cut. "I mean, I guess it's better than her being terrified, right?"

"Well..." All Cat could manage was a slight shrug. "I guess. But can you say 'unexpected'? Out of character moments must really be serious business." She gently traced one of the scratches that abounded on Felix's arm, frowning over it with concern. For such a small child, it seemed that Ruby sure could pack a punch. "She must have really gone off the handle. You sure you're okay?"

He laughed a little. "Oh, those are nothing. They look a lot worse than they are."

Felix shrugged. "I don't know, it was just really shocking. She didn't even care; she just kept calling me a liar."

His stomach dropped, and Felix looked up at Cat from underneath his lashes, a sad expression in place. "Do you think she hates me?"

"Ruby? Nah." Cat scoffed and shook her head, sending her black hair flying about her face. "Felix, that girl isn't capable of hate. I've seen the way she brightens up when you walk in the room. She loves you too much to hate you, even if you did go about revealing your past to her in a particularly...mean way." The last words were said with pointed distaste--it was clear that the girl didn't approve of the way Felix had reacted in the cafeteria to Ruby's displeasure. News traveled fast in the asylum--especially bad news. "I wouldn't worry about it," she went on, "but you know you're going to have to make up for it and explain why you did what you did and tell her that you're sorry. Probably dozens of times." She shrugged. "Believe me, that's how kids your age are. Once they think they know something--true or not--they don't forget it in a hurry."

Felix held his hands up in surrender. "Hey, I don't need the third degree from you too."

He laughed a little, though he still seemed more than a little crestfallen. In all reality, he wasn't that hurt, or that sad. He was worried, as it seemed to always be with Ruby. Worried she might hate him, worried she'd never forgive him, worried that he'd torn her from him for good.

Felix put his smirk back on, however, and chuckled. "I know, I know. I'm already working on my apology speech."

"Hey, I'm just tryin' to be helpful here." Cat, too, held up her hands and offered a smirk. "If you'd like, I can go back to my drawing and leave you to wade through what is clearly the unconquerable cesspool of your shame." She shrugged then, and laughed--energy led to some strange analogies from the younger Frost.

Felix shook his head. "No, don't. It's nice to have someone to talk to."

He paused a little. "I haven't really talked to anyone about it yet."

"Well, I'm still here." Cat gave the smallest of smiles and shrugged again. "It's nice having someone who wants to listen to me for once. My brother's good company, but he doesn't talk much." A pause as she realized that she was getting off topic, and then, "Sorry, I know this isn't about me."

Again, he shook his head. "It's fine, go on. It serves as a lovely distraction."

Felix leaned back in his chair, a little kids comfortable and relaxed. Talking about what had happened lifted a weight off of his chest, and he even smiled a little.

"Well, if you want to talk about me, we might as well start simple: have you met my brother? Real tall, long red hair, blue eyes? Talks all formally and stuff, never smiles?" Cat grinned a little at her own description of Silas. All those things were true, after all--she just thought it was amusing to rattle off traits in such a way.

Felix shrugged. "I think I've seen him around a few times, but I've never really talked with him."

He laughed a little at the description of Silas' personality. "Why? What'd he do?"

Cat shrugged. "Nothing, really. He's mostly here for my benefit. He's just not an emotional person, I guess." She neglected to mention, of course, that the true reason why was because he was a diagnosed sociopath--she figured it wouldn't kill to leave that part out for a little while.

Felix nodded slowly, a little smirk in place. "Well, that's certainly nice of him then. And you've been here, what, a few weeks now? "

"Yeah." Cat nodded, grinning a little at Felix's small smirk. "I'd kind of go nuts without him--you know, more nuts than I already am." She chuckled at the thought; no one in the asylum besides maybe the little blind girl was there because they weren't at least a little crazy--and she'd heard that the child was mysteriously beginning to develop her own problems.

Felix laughed as well. Echoing her thoughts, he said, "Well, who in this place isn't?"

Felix chuckled a little, rubbing his eyes and seeming to be in rightly better spirits.

"Well, you look better." Cat smiled and got to her feet, winking at the small boy. "So you go find Ruby now and make things all right, okay? I gotta finish my drawing before I lose my inspiration." She turned and walked back to her own chair, replacing her sketchbook on her knees and lowering her eyes to it once more.

((Fade?))

((fade.))

Tonight was the night--or so he had heard. Jason was sitting in the back of the room at one of the table, nearly buzzing with anticipation, his eyes alight with excitement. No more acting. No more lies. No more guilt or disgust at what he had to do. Now, there was only eagerness. It was about time, he thought, that Roxie get what was coming for her. He'd invited her to the library several hours before, and said that there was something he wanted to talk about privately. These days, she would believe him. The blonde sadist could now completely and honestly say that he had Roxie wrapped around his finger. There could be no more denying that.

The blonde strode into the library, green gaze landing upon Jason with a small smile being offered. She came up beside the boy, easily linking an arm with his and smiling widely. "Hey, you."

Roxie was very relaxed, and easy around Jason. She wouldn't say she had fallen head over heels for the boy, but she certainly had considered the options. She did, however, respect that Cleo was in the picture. The two had, in her eyes, become very close, flirtatious friends.

"Hi, Roxie." The wide smile was returned, and Jason ran his finger across her hand. There wasn't even revulsion at the move, not anymore--he'd gotten quite used to doing things like that. He'd taught himself to push the anger to the back of his mind so that no traces of it appeared on his face or were apparent in his touches. "I wanna talk to you about something."

"Shoot."

Roxie still smiled, and she pulled Jason down onto the couch beside her. She kicked her legs on the table across from the plush couch and ran a hand through her blonde locks. "I'm all ears," she said, grin still in place.

"Okay, so ya know how we've been trying to have some time to ourselves for a while but we can't find any decent place?" Jason nodded around them pointedly. Guards were glaring suspiciously by the doors and patients watched them curiously; not even the librarian could keep herself from staring a little. He went on (his question was clearly rhetorical), "Well, I think I might've found us a place where we could go." He turned to look back at the girl and lowered his voice. "But you can't tell anyone about it, because most of the patients don't even know its there and the staff don't want their precious little secret discovered. Can I trust you on that?"