St. Peter's Asylum discussion

Morgan shrugged. "It's not all bad. The nurses know, and so it's not like they hound me like they do the patients."

She took another bite out of the peach, and then, "What' your story?"

Julie hesitated. She hated this question, really she did. Henry came back to haunt her in her dreams and her memories, meaning that more often than not she was thinking of her deceased ex-lover. It didn't help when she was asked to talk about it, even though the doctors and nurses here said it would help. "I don't..." she managed, unsure of what to say, how to excuse herself. "I mean, I can't really..."

Morgan waved it off. "It's fine, you don't have to talk about it. Not many people do."

"Are you sure?" Julie asked, and looked back at the girl. Despite her personal discomfort, she didn't want to seem rude. She'd been raised better than that.

The blonde-haired beauty smiled. "Yeah, don't worry about it."

Julie couldn't help the wave of relief she felt. "Okay," she said. "Gracias."

Morgan smiled slightly.

"So, two weeks, then? Meet any of the scary people yet?"

Julie shook her head. "I don't think so." And I hope I never will. But curiosity got the better of her fear and she tilted her head. "But who do you mean? I might have met one of them and just not seen their bad side."

Morgan shrugged. "There's a few. Raven, both sets of twins..."

Nope, she hadn't met them. At least, she thought not. "Could you tell me about them?" Julie asked. "So I can keep out of their way in the future? If you could, that would be appreciated." Even if she didn't want to hear about the sorts of things they had done in order to earn a reputation as scary--in an asylum. To her, everyone here was to some degree worth fearing, so those Morgan spoke of must be complete monsters.

Morgan laughed a little. "Well, Raven's... Raven. You'll know him if you see him. Azalea and Alexander are knife crazy, and Petra and Matt are whip crazy."

"Okay..." Julie said slowly. "I understand about the twins, but what do you mean when you say I'll know Raven when I see him? And who names their child after a scavenging bird?"

"It's a nickname, I think. He's just... Scary."

"Have you met him?" Julie wondered if the poor child was speaking from experience. She could sympathize, definitely. Boys were normally scary.

Morgan shook her head. "No, luckily. I just know a lot of people who have."

"I see." This Raven was widely known as someone to fear, but people often associated themselves with him? How did that make sense? Julie shook her head a little in bewilderment. "So what else, Morgan?" she asked, looking back at the little girl. She laughed a little. "Do you have any more advice for the newcomer?"

Morgan giggled and shrugged. "Just to be careful and not let it get to you, I guess. I don't know much about this part; I'm not supposed to be here.

Julie nodded, it made sense to her. "Well, it was nice to meet you, Morgan. I have to go finish unpacking now," she said. It had been two weeks and she still hadn't mustered up the courage to call her room home, thus the full suitcase.

((Fade? Now I want Morgan to meet Raven! XD))

Lena dashed into the clearing that held the Peach Tree, face flushed a bright red, absolutely abnormal for someone as pale as her. She glanced about quickly and set to work scaling the careful tree, finally perching upon a branch rather high above the ground. "I don't want your damn medicine!" She called down to the nurses that had scrambled to the base of the tree and now peered up at Lena. "I won't die! Go away!" She said rather peevishly, glaring at them before settling against the thick trunk, though relaxation would not come to her in her jittery state.

"Lena! What the hell are you doing?!" The words were hissed, coming from up above her. Raven, as was to be expected, was up high in the tree, almost obscured by the leaves and branches. He was glaring down at the red-faced girl, looking very annoyed, almost angry. His voice was soft but had an edge to it, as if he would shout had no one else been around. "Why did you bring nurses over here? Can't you see I'm trying to get away from people?"

Lena swiveled her look to Raven, casting him a steely scowl. "How am I to know your every location every moment of the day Raven?" She inquired with a tone of a particularly vexed person. "I didn't bring them on purpose. They were chasing after me, if you must know."

"Why, who did you piss off this time?" Maybe it was unfair of him to assume, but these days Raven was particularly frustrated, angry at the world. Domonic had started it with his threats, and the fact that security was all but accusing him every time something came up was making it worse. He was only finding refuge in sleep and solitude, so when someone came interrupted--intentionally or not--he always was ready to snap.

"I didn't make anyone angry!" She replied, outraged. "Apparently I have contracted influenza and I am required to take medicine. Which is simply too disguisting and I won't take." Lena scowled. "And I am not sick, so I do not need the medicine." She added, though she was obviously sick, judging by her fever flushed face and jittery body."

"Bullshit. Just take the medicine, Lena. Then they'll leave you alone." Raven looked particularly annoyed that she couldn't figure the solution out for herself. Disgusting or not, it would make her better and that's all the nurses wanted. Didn't she want it too? Judging by her looks, being sick wasn't so fun.

"But I am not sick!" Lena protested. She didn't feel really that sick, just a little out of sorts and that was something she could deal with. "I will not take anything I do not need." She crossed her arms. She was rather irritated, for she didn't feel she required the medicine and she could deal with something as small as the flu.

"Fine. But when you start whining to me about how miserable you feel, expect me to laugh and throw a peach at your head." Raven rolled his eyes; anyone with a brain could tell that the writer was sick. She could deny it all she wanted, but the proof was there.

"Throw a peach at my head and I will push you out of this tree." Lena threatened, folding her arms. "And I shall watch, repressing laughter as you tumble to the ground in a not so stealthy way." She frowned. Her comebacks were atrotious today. Perhaps she was a little under the weather. Just a bit warm and uncomfortable. Ok, more like overly hot and extremely out of sorts.

"Not possible," Raven countered, not calm but better than he was. He paid the threat no mind--Lena wasn't nearly strong enough and probably not brave enough to do it. "You're shaking too much. Way up here, the little branches would snap in your hands."

"I am not shaking." But Lena was, she could tell. She attempted to control it, folding her arms tighter. "Lena Paters, come down and allow us to take you to the doctor. You are far too sick to stay up there." A nurse protested, watching her with a - she couldn't tell if it was false or not- concerned look. "No. I am perfectly alright. Go entertain yourself somewhere else. Like falling off a cliff into a pit of lava." Lena replied stoutly, paying no mind to their comments. The nurse merely grumbled.

Raven didn't try to block the snickers that escaped him. "Just go, girlie. They'll leave you alone and then you can come back."

"Snicker all you want Raven." She growled. "Don't call me girlie." She slipped off her branch and met the nurse at the foot of the branch, accepting the spoonful of nasty, putrid pink medicine they offered her. They left with a satisfied grin. Lena climbed back up the tree and sat under Raven as she had before. "That stuff is horrible." Her color and jitters hadn't improved and she looked terribly weary now.

"It is, yes. But you'll thank them later. Being sick just isn't a good thing."

"I won't die from being sick. It is just terribly inconvenient." Lena replied. "And I shall never thank the creatures." She absolutely detested the whole lot of nurses and asylum facilty and would never dream of expression gratitude for them. "They said the medicine would begin working almost instantly." Lena muttered absently, her gaze far away.

"Then you should stop shaking soon, yes?" Raven spared her trembling frame an almost scornful glance. "I hope so, because it seems to frustrate you."

"It does." She scowled, not having expected him to have heard her, because she hadn't really been talking to anyone in particular. "It vexes me so. I can't concentrate." She frowned again, leaning against the tree trunk for what seemed like support.

"Try counting in your head," the murderer suggested, and his words seemed genuine. "That helps me when I'm losing my focus."

Lena attempted such and shook her head, closing her eyes. "It doesn't work. And I am ever so weary. But this is a terrible place for a nap for someone will eventually discover me and I will probably fall out of this tree."

((Hullo?))

((Damn it, Goodreads, NOTIFY ME!))

Raven gave a dry chuckle. "Probably," he agreed. A look of thought crossed his face for a moment. "If you're so tired, just go to your room and lock the door. If they find you, tend to whatever they want you to tend to and then go find a hiding place where you know they won't find you."

((Haha.))

"I am too tired to get down from this tree." She mumbled, clutching the thick bark. Her stomach rolled, her head pounded and frankly, the medicine was definitely not working.

"I can help you get down," Raven offered. And, because she wasn't looking at him, the sick girl probably missed the sly look and smirk that briefly flashed across his face. "Help", in this case, meant "push".

Her eyes immedietely opened and she twirled her glance to him. "No." She said quite sternly. "I will not accept help from you. You would probably push me off or something." She struggled to remain focused.

"Lena!" Raven pretended to look shocked and hurt, one hand over his heart. "Why would I do such a thing?"

"Because you're Raven." Lena responded, she closed her eyes again.

The Indian let out a quiet laugh. "Good enough."

((Quit laugh? So he quit laughing? Or he was giving up?))

"Good." She hadn't stopped shaking and felt absolutely terrible. "Damn nurses. They said I would be fine if I took my medicine. They are a bunch of liars." She mumbled.

((Sorry, I meant "quiet".))

"It normally takes a while to kick in," Raven murmured. His own eyes closed and he had stopped looking at her. "But thus says a man who took poppy seeds like pills to treat pain and drank lavender tea to bring down a fever."

((I was just playing with you, I don't mind.))

"Do you have any poppy pills and lavender tea?" Lena asked, joking. "It has been a while Raven. They said almost at once. If not, then it should have taken affect at least 10 minutes ago. Which it has not."

"No. And don't be so literal," the Indian chided. "You should have been able to infer what they meant."

"I am not being literal. They said, and I quote 'It should take affect within the next few minutes.' So how is that literal?" Oh right, because she trusted their word.