cbtdbt (cbtdbt) wrote in shadows_rpg, @ 2018-07-06 21:17:00 |
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Entry tags: | #november 2017, lettie |
Who: Adam and Lettie
When: Wednesday, November 1
Where: Mercy Hospital
Status: Complete
The past week had been interminably strange, between the talk with Carson, the inexplicable, if benign, spectral sightings on Saturday, and then the latest of Halloween the night before. He recalled being at Dragonfly, talking to Nate, and then… something of a mental break that Adam was still trying to make sense of. Judging from what he could tell when he came back to his senses, he had made out fairly luckily. Part of him had been tempted to go into the hospital to help, but since his mental state had been in some way impaired, he hadn’t wanted to risk doing more harm than good without even realizing it, so he had headed home.
Wednesday morning dawned cold with the first falling of snow, which Adam took in with a soft groan. He had checked the weather forecast earlier in the week and it wasn’t like he hated winter, but this still felt too soon and he hadn’t slept great. The snow at least didn’t seem to be sticking too much. Going through his usual morning routine to get ready for work, he set out of his apartment, bundled up with scarf and coat, making a detour to Joyland to get coffee and a blueberry muffin. He had both in hand after he had parked in the hospital lot, when he saw another car pull in and, out of habitual curiosity, he glanced over and caught sight of what was becoming a familiar face. Pausing, he gave a slight wave when she had noticed him and waited for her to get out of the car before he said, “Hey, Lettie,” in greeting.
Lettie was prepared for the weather, she hadn't really expected it so soon but she was well armed with fuzzy pink mittens and a matching knit cap, all but disappearing into her large scarf. She waved at Adam as she parked the car, glad that it wasn't the kind of snow she had to worry about getting stuck in. At least not yet! If it kept up though... She didn't really want to think about it, it was kind of anxiety inducing.
"Hi Adam," she said warmly as she got out of the car. They'd asked her to come in because there were a lot of people in need of a little chat and currently Lettie was the closest thing they had to a grief counselor. "Crazy night, huh? Glad to see you safe." Safe didn't necessarily mean okay though and she watched him with some curiosity, trying to gauge his mood.
Adam gave Lettie a friendly smile in return, touched with some tiredness and a little more subdued than usual. Once she was nearer to him, he fell into step with her to head inside rather than linger in the snow. “Yeah, it was pretty bizarre, though I seem to have avoided some of the worst of it,” he said. Losing control of his actions still left him off-kilter and gave several reasons for concern, but he was trying to work through that. “I’m glad to see you safe, too. Did you get caught up in any of it?”
Lettie was more than happy to get inside even if she was pretty warm in her winter clothing. The snow creaked pleasantly under her boots and she was very happy she'd decided to go home early. "I went to Main Street for a bit and I was going to go to Dragonfly but then things go a little weird," she said. "So I spent Halloween at home with my kitty." Which was a little poetic she supposed, considering she'd dressed up as Josie from Josie and the Pussycats. "You look tired though, did you get caught up in it?" She gave him a concerned look, stopping inside the hospital entrance hall.
“That was probably a wise choice. Especially if you have a cat to hang out with,” Adam said, smiling. He rubbed the back of his neck; he should probably give a vague answer, but enough strange events had happened lately and Lettie hadn’t seemed particularly judgmental based on the, admittedly brief, conversations they had had previously. “Yeah, kind of. It was weird? I was at Dragonfly and talking to my buddy Nate, then suddenly I just… didn’t feel like myself anymore.” He paused as well near the entrance, tapping his boots against the floor mat so he didn’t track it further into the hospital. “But I feel back to normal now.”
"Oh no!" Lettie exclaimed, eyes going wide. "You were affected? Have you had a toxicology done?" She was all too aware that the worst patients were doctors and nurses who were always too reluctant to get the help they needed. She had yet to get more information about the situation but she was hoping to find some common ground between the people she would interview today, maybe spot a pattern. Like a psychological investigator, though she'd of course turn any vital information she dug up to the police
“I haven’t had one done yet,” Adam admitted. “I probably should, huh?” He was admittedly one of those people who could be hypocritical when it came to seeking help himself. “Though I don’t know what it would have been, unless it was something in the air again?” That one he had not been affected by himself, but he had heard and seen the aftermath. “I ate at home and only had one and a half drinks at the bar. Plus the onset and ending parts were both really abrupt. The middle part is just kind of hard to explain,” he said. At least, it was hard to explain without sounding kind of crazy.
"They're saying it was Phencyclidine," Lettie said but she looked a little skeptical about that. "That people were drugged but I don't know, I know so very little yet I can't really comment but that's why I'm here." To sort through the crazy and make sure the people involved were okay. Not all of them were okay from what she gathered on the news on the way over there, there had been deaths and that was bound to leave some trauma. "Did you watch your glass like a hawk?" She doubted it, men felt safe whereas women didn't so they took far more risks.
Adam quirked an eyebrow. He had a hard time believing that that many people would have all been drugged at once, but it … sort of might explain the detached from reality feeling. Maybe? Recreational drugs had never been his thing and he only half-remembered what sort of hallucinogenic effects it could have on people off the top of his head. “Not too closely,” he said, since it wasn’t the sort of thing he thought about for himself. “But I was at the bar most of the time or had it in hand, so I didn’t not have it nearby. It was also kind of weird to come out of it really abruptly, as did other people around me, a little after midnight.” Even if there were typical times, drugs usually wore off of people with some variation rather than quite so all at once. He shook his head. “That kind of makes it sound like it was some kind of spell or something.”
"Huh," Lettie said empathetically. A spell hadn't occurred to her but then she didn't really know if people could do spells like that, the kind that drove a whole flock of people crazy. "Well that's a theory," she said, not dismissing it or admitting it either way. "So everyone around you came out of it at the same time?" She'd have to keep that in mind to ask her patients later because Adam was right, drugs didn't work like a one size fit all experience.
“I don’t know if it was really a spell. Or if people can do those,” Adam said. “It was just like I turned back into a pumpkin at midnight, wherein a pumpkin represents the everyday version of myself that doesn’t think I need to get back to a legion and tried to fight a car that seemed like a monster at the time.” Man, he was tired. That was probably more of rambling overshare, but. Well. Lettie would probably hear more throughout the day. He gave her a somewhat sheepish smile. “I can’t be completely sure, but it seemed like everyone else did, yeah. I didn’t know what else to do, so I went home.”
"Yeah I think I prefer the pumpkin," Lettie said with furrowed brows, pressing her lips together worriedly. "I'm glad you weren't hurt, Adam. What did you think you were?" She'd heard about roleplayers going crazy and trying to fight a train as if it was a dragon but she wasn't so sure that wasn't an urban myth. She believed Adam however and why not start the day with a little insight from someone she knew already.
“Thanks; I’m glad I made it out in one piece, but I… thought I was a Roman centurion,” Adam said. “Which was my Halloween costume, so I guess if I was going on some kind of hallucinogenic trip, might as well be that?” He wasn’t really sure if that was how all that work; he tended to avoid substances that would make him lose too much control of his mental faculties, since that opened him up to different issues. “Though it was weird, since at the time, I felt like I knew what to do combat-wise? Aside from the fact I was wielding a plastic sword. And it might have just been overconfidence.”
"Oh that was you!" Lettie said. "I saw you from behind, I would have said hi if I'd realized. It was a cool costume." From behind at least. She was sure he'd made a very cute Roman centurion - before he believed he really was one at least. "And yes, confidence is great as long as there's not too much of it. Everything is good in moderation, even the good things. Did you kill the car?" She smiled with just a touch of amusement. Quite often it was better to laugh at things and she thought it was alright, considering he hadn't hurt himself.
Adam laughed at Lettie’s question, a combination of amusement and some diffusion of his nerves. He was glad she didn’t seem ready to either lock him up for being mental or insist that it must be a case of mass drugging with no other explanation. “It was a hard fought battle, but the car lived to see another day. It was kind of a last minute costume choice that I picked up at Spooktacular the other day, but it was working out pretty well until whatever happened happened.” He smiled. “Though I guess this is a good introduction for you to some of the difficult to explain weirdness that happens here.”
"Yeah from what I gather it's not that unusual," Lettie replied. She should probably worry about whose car it was and if they had insurance but there were far too many other things on her mind to fret about. "I wonder if there's been another case of pollution," she said, doing little air-quotes with her fingers. She didn't believe that had been what happened it was, like this case of Halloween shenanigans, too strange.
The car had been fine, Adam was pretty sure, but he had been too immediately confused in the aftermath at the time to think to make note of the car’s details to follow up. Maybe if he heard something. He smiled a little. “Pollution feels as likely as effective mass drugging at this point,” he said. Which was: not really at all. He always had trouble sounding sincere when he didn’t truly believe something, so he didn’t bother to try in light of Lettie’s own apparent skepticism. “Events that defy normal logic seem to be more common here, so I generally try to keep an open mind.”
"Oh me too," Lettie replied. "But not too open." She wrinkled her nose as she grinned. "You don't want things falling out." She came to a stop again, gesturing down to where he small office was located. "I apparently have a lot of appointments today so I should go get ready, when is your break?"
“That’s a good point. There’s enough in there that has trouble staying put as it is,” Adam agreed, grinning back at her. He stopped as well when she did, absently taking a sip of the now lukewarm coffee he had mostly forgotten about, since he had gotten caught up in talking. “Yeah, I imagine you’re in for a busy day. My break should be around one? I’ll check in and see how you’re doing, but will easily take the hint if you’re swamped.”
"Sounds good," Lettie said and leaned in to give him a one-armed little hug. "Have a good day, Adam, I'll see you soon. Let me know if you feel any... weird after effects from last night, alright?" There was a touch of concern in her voice even if Adam seemed just fine. It wasn't unusual to have flashbacks after taking drugs and whatever this had been - drugs or something supernatural - she wasn't going to dismiss that risk.
“Will do,” Adam said, returning the hug, careful to not drop or spill anything accidentally. He smiled brightly at Lettie as he took a step back. Her concern was a little unexpected, but definitely appreciated. Hopefully there wouldn’t be anything else weird that came for him, personally, but he would try to make note of it to tell her later. “I hope your day isn’t too crazy. Talk to you later!” Turning on his heel, he headed off down the hallway to get ready for the rest of his day.