anxiousgrace | First Reality

[A soft sob... Coming from behind the clinic in town. There, a young, dark haired woman is curled in a ball, releasing more pent-up emotion than she has in quite a while. She's freaking out, and no surprise, all things considered. After all, she just woke up in a strange place, in clothing she's never seen, with wings.

It doesn't help that to her, this is just a sign that her schizophrenia is getting worse. It also doesn't help that the dress is vaguely reminiscent of the clothes patients wear at mental hospitals; she half believes she's in one.

Even though it's spring, it's a little nippy, and she's shivering in her thin cotton dress. She hasn't noticed the journal sitting by her feet, but she has at least stopped crying, though her breathing is still rapid.]

I don't know if I want this to be real or not...

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

From:

herd_effect

[Okay, she's awfully unsteady-looking, it's broad daylight, she hasn't said anything particularly creepy yet...he can probably assume she isn't about to attack him. He goes to her side, taking her arm to help lead her into the clinic.]

Welcome to Luceti, Miss. Not the best weather to show up in, but you're better off than I was--I came here when there was still snow on the ground. That was pretty awful.

From:

anxiousgrace

Luceti? What's... [Her legs still weak, Cayla proceeded to slip on a rock. Smooth.]

Ow... I guess I really am outside, then...

From:

herd_effect

[Willock manages to keep her on her feet, then lets go of her arm and winds his arm around her shoulders instead. There. Got to be able to catch her if she falls.]

Luceti is a town run by the Malnosso organization, which kidnaps people here for study. [He offers a small smile.] You're not hallucinating, trust me.

From:

anxiousgrace

[Cayla is not normally clingy, but allows herself to put some weight on her benefactor.]

I'm not so sure... [beat] Who are you anyway?

From:

herd_effect

Doctor Everett Willock. [He gestures to the building as they come up to the door.] I work at the clinic here.

What's your name?

From:

anxiousgrace

I'm Cayla. Cayla Reed. I guess I was a librarian... [Her voice has an odd accent, round, loose vowels and sharper consonants.]

What kind of doctor are you? [She's hoping psychiatrist.]

From:

herd_effect

Nice to meet you, Ms. Reed.

[It's too soon for him to start trying to place that accent--for all he knows, she's probably from another world. He'll have to break the shock of people here being from different worlds to her later.]

General practitioner. I do a little bit of everything.

From:

anxiousgrace

A general practitioner, hmm? [Her accent shouldn't be hard, it's Canadian. With a touch of Japanese for flavor. Her legs feel stronger, so she takes her weight of of him. She doesn't lift her arm, though.]

Tell me... Do you have any experience in psychiatric work?

From:

herd_effect

[Still, the way Luceti renders speech can be odd. He's encountered a few people before that sounded British to him, only to find out that they were from very different planets.]

Unfortunately, no. [Psychiatry in his time is limited to the likes of talk therapy and ECT, so it's really not something he ever had the occasion to pursue. Or the desire, really. Making other people discuss their psychological issues with him would be a little hypocritical on his part.] But if you think this place is a product of your mind, you're mistaken. Everything here is real.

[He points to her wings as they pass through the door.] Even those.

From:

anxiousgrace

[If he can see them too, then Willock is either a product of her imagination as well, and that seems unlikely, or... the alternative is unthinkable.]

How can this be real? This kind of thing can't happen.... It shouldn't be possible.

From:

herd_effect

The Malnosso have extremely advanced technology. [And here comes the difficult part.] Far ahead of both of our times, I'm sure.

[Yep, woman, you're not in 2012 anymore. Sorry.]

From:

anxiousgrace

Both? What time... I'm... what? [Schizophrenia or not, this was NOT in her head. She was not that crazy.]

From:

herd_effect

[He smiles apologetically, guiding her over to a seat in the lobby. She really should hear this sitting down.]

What year is it for you back home?

From:

anxiousgrace

[She sits down in an uncomfortable faux-leather lobby seat, grateful for the chair even though her legs are working fine now, because her mind isn't.]

It's... 2012 back home. The spring. I was just walking to the library...

From:

herd_effect

Well, you're in good company. There's quite a few people from around that year. The Malnosso must be fond of it.

From:

anxiousgrace

... That's weird. [Why would inter-dimensional kidnappers prefer a certain time? It could have something to do with the technolo-- STOPPING NOW THAT PATH LEADS TO SCHIZOPHRENIC CONFUSION. She knows her condition well enough to know better than to overthink things in times of stress.]

From:

herd_effect

It is. I'm not sure why they have a preference. Most of their methods aren't well-understood.

Is there anything I can get you? A drink or a snack, maybe?

From:

anxiousgrace

A drink sounds good. Anything without caffeine is fine. [Normally, she likes the buzz, but it's not a good idea when she's this stressed.]

From:

herd_effect

[He nods and smiles.] Okay. I'll be right back.

[After a minute or two, he returns with a glass of water, as well as a blanket. The heat isn't on in here, after all, and some of the chill from outside is seeping in.]

Do you have your journal, or did you leave it outside?

From:

anxiousgrace

[She takes the blanket and water gratefully, wrapping the former around herself and setting the latter on a side table.] Thank you.

A journal? Do you mean this? [She lifts her journal, her name clearly visible on the front cover.] It was there when I came to.

From:

herd_effect

Yes. This is a very useful device--it's like a cross between a radiotelephone, a television camera and a facsimile machine. You can send vocal, video or written messages to anyone in the village with it. [He flips it open to the guide.] And there's this, which explains a great deal about the village and the Malnosso. It's quite helpful.

From:

anxiousgrace

Like a what? [Wow. She has no idea. She thinks she's seen some of those things in museums, though...] It sounds a little like skype to me...

From:

herd_effect

[Right, that metaphor is sixty years out of date for her.] Never mind. You'll see.

What's a skype?

From:

anxiousgrace

[So many words, so little communication.]

Skype is a service that allows you to communicate with people all over the world through videos, speech, or written messages. It's a pretty new thing, and not everyone uses it.