Idle Hands [CLOSED]

Everything had a rhythm.  Unfortunately he tended to notice the pattern and beat that seemed interwoven into each moment of each day constantly, leaving it niggling in the back of his mind.  It left him agitated and unable to focus, the sounds of the ticking clock and the hum of the air conditioner nearly deafening.  Finally, with an irritated sigh, he’d gathered up a clipboard, pen, and paperwork and opted to head elsewhere, hoping that, perhaps, observing others would distract his overactive mind.

Cadeyrn grimaced with every footstep, the sound of the soles of his dress shoes slapping against tile horribly loud in the empty hallway.  He needed more mental stimulus to occupy his thoughts, more of a challenge to distract his mind, so he hoped that one of the patients was up and roaming about.  There was nothing more engaging than attempting to delve into the mind of a patient, especially when there was… Resistance.  

He gave a brief nod to the nurse on duty as he entered the area which the patients were housed, reaching out to trail his fingers over the cool wall.  Cadeyrn paused occasionally as he walked, peering curiously at charts and names, committing them to memory for when he first got to explore their psyche.  It had been rather dull as of late, really, so it was tantalizing to have new faces.  Cadeyrn couldn’t help the fact that he was eager to acquire a new patient, not when so many of them seemed to be incredibly intriguing.

“Blood makes the grass grow.” Cadeyrn mused with a soft, Irish lilt, lips curling a little in a smile as he looked down at his clipboard, tapping his bottom lip with his pen.

Cadeyrn paused mid-step, looking thoughtful, head canting to the side as he listened.  It was horribly quiet that evening, leaving him in no better a state to work than he had been when he had gone on his little walk.  However he thought he’d heard something, leaving him feeling excited and eager, drumming his pen against his clipboard rapidly and he slowly resumed his walk.  After all he supposed that a strange, tall figure looming at the end of a hallway might seem mildly alarming to his patients.  Then again the reaction would be… Intriguing.

I had been admitted here for little over a week now, and the days dragged on and on and on. I found little stimulation to keep me busy – however coming from a life on edge it was sadly predictable. Where I’m used to running, obsessively watching over my back, hiding out… relying on street skills to survive, and now surrounded with thick walls and constant, watchful eyes, I can’t help but feel almost ironically pampered.

It’s making me lethargic.

Stranger still, only one of the staff has even bothered to introduce themselves to me. Perhaps word got around that I wasn’t actually mentally unstable? That was the only excuse I could come up with, realizing that they probably had other, better things to do. Much more difficult patients to tend to. Was I really complaining? Who knew. Had I been crazy I’d be pissed that this institution was seriously lazy.

Or maybe I’m just that intimidating, nobody wants to come rumble with me. Heh.

Regardless the door to my unit was wide open, myself sprawled out lazily against the mattress within. My charts hanging on the door were probably peculiar. Little scrawled notes reading that I was ‘violent’ and ‘prone to anger outbursts’. Which I found funny, since I haven’t really snapped at anyone since my stay. That was just what the courts tattled on me for. I was being so well-behaved up in here, expecting to be released very soon. I wore the usual cotton pants and a tank top which I’ve become quite fond of instead of the long sleeved shirt, bare feet hanging off the edge of my mattress while dark eyes stared pointlessly at the ceiling.

God, I was bored. Only the sound of fancy footfalls echoing down the hallway were somewhat new to me.

He continued on his languid stroll, heaving a bored sigh as he glanced at all the closed doors with their neat little charts. However as he continued to walk he perked visibly upon noticing that one of the doors seemed to be open. An open door was, after all, practically and invitation so Cadeyrn couldn’t help but grin to himself, his pace increasing. His lips quirked when he peered inside the room, reaching out to gently rap on the the ajar door to announce his presence as he reached for the patient’s charts.

“Good evening. So sorry for the intrusion Mr...” he began, not actually sounding the least bit sorry as his eyes scanned the form. “...Niishimura”

There was quite the list of psychological laundry listed on the paperwork and the patient’s form made his grin widen a little. It was always fun to find someone that had some spark left in them still, some life amongst the drugged up dullards that wandered the halls at times. It wasn’t very interesting to poke at someone who was drugged insensate or broken beyond repair, so the new patients were all very exciting prospects to him.

Finally he looked up, hoping that his smile was more sunny than predatory. “My apologies, your file is rather intriguing. I’m Dr. Tighe, one of the Psychiatrists here.”

The sound of a fist knocking against the wood pulled me out of my mediocre thoughts, dark eyes lazily tearing away from the white stucco above as my head lolled to one side to meet the figure now looming in my doorway. And looming he was. He was quite literally a whole foot taller than me. Even more, I think, from the looks of it.

Fuck my goddamn lack of height, seriously.

But wait, what was this? A member of staff was actually coming to see me? I perked up suddenly, wondering if he’d apparently missed the memo for everyone on staff to avoid me or some shit. A small smirk tugged at one corner of my own pierced lips, rather enthralled by the sound of the man’s accent reaching my ears. Well looky here. An Irish man, I think. Or Scottish, I can’t really tell the difference myself. Unimportant.

Pushing myself up rightfully I shifted to a seated position, looking the man over. Intriguing? I quirked a slow brow. “I guess you must have missed that I don’t actually belong here.” I’m sure a lot of patients say that, unaware of actually having mental problems. Oh well. I shrugged pointlessly. “What’s intriguing about it?”

Really I think I was more impressed that I finally saw another member of staff. Doctor Haru’s been my only higher up form of contact.

Blue eyes scanned the much shorter man as he shifted, analyzing his body language, watching for wariness or skittishness. His smile widened a little when he noticed nothing of the sort. In fact Kyo Niishimura seemed to be completely un-intimidated by him, something that was incredibly refreshing. Cadeyrn let out a soft, contemplative hum at the man’s comment, tapping his bottom lip with his pen.

“Well, according to this you do.” he responded, feigning confusion and concern. “Do you require a psychiatric re-evaluation?”

Mentally he was hoping desperately that Kyo would say yes. This man didn’t fear him, didn’t seem the least bit impressed by him, and generally seemed to be a fresh slate when it came to psychological trauma. Such a wonderfully blank canvas was impossible to ignore especially after months without any form of challenge. To say he was chomping at the bit was an understatement.

“Oh, I can’t really point to one little things that makes it interesting.” He mused, shrugging his shoulders. “I tend to look at the picture as a whole. The mind is a very intricate thing, after all. Pointing out one part of it that is the most intriguing is like analyzing brushstrokes in painting. Let’s just find that I find you quite interesting, especially when compared to my other patients.”

Wariness and skittishness were definitely traits I was lacking in. In fact, I seemed to be going through my entire stay at this hospital as someone who’s rather… intimidating myself? I mean, every time I’ve had to interact with another patient I’m almost always throwing up a tough exterior, as if I’m trying to make myself seem rougher to make up for my terrible lack of physical intimidation. So yeah, I carried myself rather cocky and surefooted. Can one really blame me?

One of my eyes squinted as the man pointed out what was on my paperwork. I guess Mori hadn’t marked off on it… or whatever it was he planned on doing. Truthfully I’m pretty confused over the entre ordeal myself. Just along for whatever shitty ride I was stuck on. However, his inquiry perked my attention some. Heyyy, that sounded official! I bet the courts would need me one of those ‘psychiatric e-evaluations’ to prove that I was sane so I could get out of here faster. Sharp brows arched. “Yeah.”

I had no idea what that meant, but I figured it involved a bunch of questions and then that was that. As he continued on over why I seemed so interesting I pursed bejeweled lips together flatly, swinging my feet over the edge of my mattress. “Okay.” Doctor words. Most went right over my short little head.

Cadeyrn’s brows lifted at the affirmative, a smile tugging at the corner of his lips. He replaced the paperwork back from where he had retrieved it and switched to his own clipboard, flipping a few pages to come to where his tentative schedule was located. Such formalities were unnecessary really, he would remember this patient’s appointment without fail, but he went through the motions none-the-less.

“Well we certainly want to make sure there were no mistakes.” he mused, keeping his eyes on his clipboard. “A re-evaluation is a process, one that will take several sessions, but I can certainly arrange it for you. How does… Tomorrow at one sound for your first session?”

He looked up then, doing his best to appear charming and helpful. Everything began with trust after all, so he would bide his time and lay the foundation for it. Cadeyrn simply hoped that he wasn’t overestimating this particular patient and that he wouldn’t be disappointed with his results.

“I’m more than happy to make time in my schedule for a mind as fascinating as yours.”

Dark eyes watched pointlessly as the therapist began sifting through pages attached to his clipboard, nodding stupidly as he explained. “Yeah, whenever.” I gestured around the ever eventful emptiness of my room. “It’s not like there’s much else to do.”

And there he was again with insisting that my mind was ‘fascinating’. I guess. I mean I guess if he’s used to dealing with psychotic patients of all sorts then someone not so crazy like myself must be a refreshing breath of fresh air? Hn. Sharp brows arched half-hazardly as I studied the red-headed male, silently thanking the gods that the two people that were working with me clearly seemed to know their shit.

“Perfect.” Cadeyrn responded, jotting down his patient’s name into his schedule.

That done he capped and deposited his pen in his breast pocket, lowering his clipboard to his side and smiling warmly. Sometimes it was difficult to go through the ‘normal’ motions he was expected to when he was so eager but he supposed the wait would simply make their sessions that much more enjoyable. He let out a soft contemplative hum, looking the other man over again.

“So why do you think you don’t you belong here?” he questioned, looking intrigued. “After all, you haven’t been here very long.”

I moved positions enough to cross arms over my chest in silent debate, just studying the other in return as much as he was probably studying me. However, for very different reasons. He came from a technical, medical background and had that kind of a professional curiosity about him - me, I just wanted to peg what he was up to.

When that question came, about why I figured I didn’t belong here in Acropolis I murred softly, offering up a shrug of a single shoulder. May as well tell him the truth, right? It wasn’t like I was ashamed for my actions. “Got busted after stealing…” For the umpteenth time… but I left that detail out. “They think there’s something mentally wrong with me so they shipped me off here instead of jail.” Stupid, right? I’m broke, that’s why I fucking steal. Never mind the fact that the court didn’t like my little anger outburst I showed after they deemed my fate.

Hey, I only kicked a few officer in the head…

Cadeyrn let out a soft contemplative hum at the response. “I see.”

Kyo didn’t seem to have any hesitation or restraint when it came to divulging information about himself, which was good.  Many that he tried to treat tended to squirrel away their secrets and shameful pasts and it took a great deal of… Persuasion to get them to come clean.  It was good that this patient seemed far less stubborn than others he had dealt with.  Whether that would prove to be more engaging or not was left to be seen.

“I do suppose a re-evaluation is in order than.” he mused before offering another warm smile. “Is there any information I can provide you before our next session or questions I can answer?  After all I don’t want to take up too much of your time with idle chatter.” There was a touch of dry, sardonic humor in his words.

Eh. It wasn’t like I had any dark, shady secrets that I would be ashamed of telling anyone. Rather, I’m a very blunt and upfront person… which I guess might be a good trait to have. At least with me you know I’ll never bullshit you.

Leaning back against my mattress I extended short legs out in front of me, resting the balls of my heels against the ground as I continued to watch the other male, head tipped to one side in faint curiosity. “Um…” So professional, I really had no idea what I wanted to know. The sooner he could help me get out of here the better, so I wasn’t really going to be picky. “Nope.”

Cadeyrn’s lips quirked and he let out a soft, melodramatic sigh. “You make my job so simple.”

He hated to leave after encountering an intriguing patient but, technically, he was only out to get some fresh air before returning to paperwork. However certain things were still required of the medical professionals, despite all of their quirks. Business men and politicians certainly did love their paper trails, no matter how false.

“Well then I’ll let you be.” he mused, turning on his heel to depart only to pause and glance back at Kyo, his eyes going heavy lidded. “I’ll see you tomorrow at one.”

Cadeyrn cast a nonchalant wave back over his shoulder as he departed, his tongue darting out to wet his lips as he made his way back to his office. His mind was dancing from one plan of action of to the next, wondering just what limits he could push his new patient’s mind to in the coming weeks. As he entered his office a slow smirk curved his lips and he let out a low chuckle, tossing his clipboard on his desk and making his way to one of the cabinets nestled against the back wall; he had various preparations to make for the next day.

I smirked sarcastically when the therapist mentioned that I made his job easy. Good, in return I want it to be easy to get out of here too. See? I won’t be a hassle, and I’ll get out of your hair, and let everyone go back to tending to the people that seriously needed it.

I watched his retreating back as the man turned to leave, nodding thoughtlessly when he told me a time. Sure, whatever you need sir. To the wave he offered I too flicked a lazy hand in his direction, bidding him adieu. “Mhm.”

Once he had left I dropped back onto my mattress with a tiny bounce, back to counting the stucco on the ceiling. Maybe I should go find a fucking activity group or something to pass the time with.