so go ahead and lie to yourself

"Yes, Romania…" She nodded, closing the book once more. "I fly… Ah… Today?" She was trying to get across that she only flew into Scotland earlier that morning. Thankfully, there wasn’t much jet lag, so the girl still felt like she was awake.

"Did you--learn English in school?" It seemed, now, as though she understood more than she had initially. Perhaps she'd been nervous, or was better at understanding it than she was at speaking.

The girl nearly started laughing when he mentioned that maybe she was from Serbia or Hungary. “Română.” The short girl said, clutching her sketchbook close to her chest. An idea suddenly struck her and she opened up her sketchbook and drew the outline of Europe, making a small outline for Romania off on the right side of the drawing, pointing to it. “Română,” she repeated, happy to finally have found someone who was kind.

"Oh!" Aidan blushed. "Romania, I understand." She was a good artist, but he didn't need the picture to understand her statement. "Did you--come from there? To Scotland?" It seemed strange that she'd been sent to an English-speaking asylum instead of a Romanian one.

wild-card-harleywilde

"I’ve got a better one." She paused and then looked over at Aidan. “You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose.”

Aidan was a little more hesitant, unsure if there was some sort of mocking in her choice, but only answered, "Th-that one's too easy. "Oh, The Places You'll Go." Theodor Geisel."

#harleywilde

wild-card-harleywilde

"Very good." She nodded twice at him and then lay back against the cold, tile floor. “I have seen the dark universe yawning, where the black planets roll without aim; where they roll in their horror unheeded, without knowledge or luster or name.”

He identified it again, "Th-that's f-from one of his poems. "Nemesis"." Aidan bit his lip, unsure why she'd chosen to lie on the floor, but settling crosslegged against the opposite wall. He hesitantly continued the poem. "I had drifted o'er seas without ending, under sinister grey-clouded skies, that the many-forked lightning is rending, that resound with hysterical cries."

#harleywilde

wild-card-harleywilde

"And until that last millennium, as after it, the sea will thunder and toss throughout the dismal night." Harley nodded once, seated cross legged in the hallway.

Aidan heard the familiar words and turned, surprised to see Harley but still stammering out a response. "L-Lovecraft? Th-the N-Night Ocean?"

#harleywilde

What? ”Nu vorbesc englezeşte…" Sorin answered in her native tongue, curious as to why this boy was even bothering with the trouble of having a conversation with her.

#sorinvasilescu #//sorry for the delay Tea~

He blinked--he was pretty sure she'd said that she didn't speak English, although the language threw him for a loop. "Hungarian?" he asked, tilting his head to the side. "Or--Serbian?" It was eastern European, but beyond that he was grasping for straws. He wasn't sure why he was asking--maybe because if he knew, he could find someone to translate for her. She wouldn't do well here, if she didn't know what was going on.

Offering him a sheepish smile and a nod, the girl decided that she’d act as if she didn’t understand his question. Instead, she’d pretend she thought that was asking her a simple yes or no question.

Aidan bit his lip, worried that a girl who was unaware of the words of others would be an easy target. He switched tactics, "Hables espanol? Nihongo ohanashimasu ka?" He started with the two languages he was actually competent in.

Just great. The redhead bit her lower lip, looking to him with confusion. “I… My… English…” The less she spoke the more words people would think she didn’t know.

"Oh--what do you s-speak? I kn-know--or w-well, I'm c-conversational in a f-few languages," he stammered.

If I just pretend to not speak English nobody will bother me.

#sorinvasilescu #//hello Tea my dear~

He brushes against her as he walks by. "O-oh, s-sorry, I d-didn't s-see you..."

infinityandmadness

" Mmmhm." Osric narrowed his eyes a bit on the other. Taking in the look they had given him just then. With a smile he shrugs " The blackout, of course. That had to be stressful, with all that went on during it. "

"Oh, r-right," he shrugged. "Th-that." At least group therapy seemed to have come to a halt in the wake of it, which he considered to be a plus. Dr. Edwards had promised that Lacey would leave him alone from then on, but he wasn't sure that was a promise that could be kept.

Hmmm.

"I’d believe it. "

"H-have you b-been her f-for a while, or are you new?"

"I'm Aidan, b-by the way."

#liaross

infinityandmadness

Listening his head a bit and then dropping it slowly as he nods ” Okay. Good. Well, now you have her name. ” He laughs a bit. As the other went on he nodded ” She’s probably already planning on seeing you. Being a therapist and all. With what’s happened recently, she’ll have to check on some people.” He shrugs.

Aidan nodded, which seemed like the best response. "Y-yeah. I g-guess I will." He was unsure how Angelia 'planning on seeing him' coincided with Osric's earlier assertion that they wouldn't meet until he was ready. He was also beginning to think that Osric was more inclined to say something because it suited him at the moment than because it was true, but he'd have to withhold judgment on that. "W-with what's h-happened?" he asked, confused.

#osricelian

lia-ross

Hmmm.

"This is shit."

"I d-don't th-think anyone who was g-good enough at c-cooking to work anywhere else would ch-choose to w-work here--or at least, I wouldn't."

#liaross

hunter--beckett

Hunter knew that there were staff members who were wary of patients past Level A, but he wasn’t one of them. As dangerous as they could have been, Hunter knew that he was fully able to handle anything thrown his way. He had come to Knollwood Institute prepared for anything that anyone would do. Plus…sizing Aidan up…Hunter was sure he had nothing to be concerned about in terms of the patient. So he started to walk, gesturing with his head towards the staircase just before holding the door to it open. “I’m Hunter by the way.”

Aidan was a little startled when the guard introduced himself, but it was nice. Kind of like he was being treated as a person instead of something dangerous, or as a broken object. "I'm Aidan," he answered, and then added in a sudden flash of courage, "Y-you're n-new here, aren't you?"

#hunterbeckett

infinityandmadness

Watching the other for a moment, then looking away ” Alright.” He smiled, because he already knew that about the other. Puffing up his cheeks a little when they had asked who Angelia was. Osric then let out a small laugh ” She’s the blond therapist. I’m sure you must of seen her, at least. ” He looked at the other, confusion on his face ” If not, you should. She’s wonderful. Though, you will decide that for yourself, when ever the meeting should happen, yes?”

"Oh--y-yeah, I've s-seen her. We j-just haven't, I m-mean, I d-didn't know her name or anything." He stammered out the first part of the sentence before rushing through the second. Osric's words gave him that sense that by not knowing Angelia, he'd somehow done something wrong, and he felt irrationally ashamed of it. "Y-yeah, I--I'm sure I'll meet her soon."

#osricelian

T-turns out hypothermia is boring...

valabernathy

Still… doesn’t sound too bad.