westerlywind (westerlywind) wrote in spindlesend, @ 2008-06-12 22:24:00 |
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Who: Verity West and Jason Tripitikas
What: Setting up her Office!
When: In the morning a day or two ago.
Where: Verity West's office
Status: Complete
Warm days were some of the best days of the year, Jason had decided that when he was six years old. He didn't mind the cold as much as some people, but if it was warm out, you could guarantee he'd be outside enjoying the weather, and it had been no different that morning when he'd heard the forecast from an orderly. He wasn't restricted from being outdoors, the outdoors actually brought the best out of him, so he'd gone out after grabbing a bite to sit in the grass, back pressed to the building as he watched everything going on around him. He was a watcher, very attentive to his surroundings and observant of the people in them. Hearing a car door slam, his head spun to look in the direction it had come from, spotting a woman grabbing onto a box which was obviously pretty awkward for her to carry, he wasn't sure because of the size or heaviness, but he didn't feel right letting her lug it by himself. Sliding a glance to the nearest orderly watching them all out there, he stood and walked over to where she was near the cars, gesturing to the box in question. "Would you like some help with that?"
It was a moment before the woman seemed to hear him. And when Verity did hear the boy, the look she snapped to him was as fierce, as cold, and (perhaps) even as terrifying as any a teenager ever got. He'd startled her, and even after all these years her startle response was....well. She quickly tempered the look in her eyes and forced a harried smoke, blowing a loose bit of hair from her face. "Oh! Ahh...if you could?" Wasn't sure who this helpful lad was. Didn't really care. The box was bally heavy.
Jason was taken aback by the look she gave him at first but when it faded a bit he nodded, reaching to grab the box. "Yeah it's no problem, not like I have nay place to be." He tried to keep the mood light despite being suddenly very wary of her, grabbing the handles under the flaps of the box to lift it. He was pretty strong, it wasn't too bad for him. "Ah, see? Piece of cake. Where're we going, then?"
"My office." The reply was a bit brusque but Verity gave a small smile to soften it, grabbing her satchel from the car and slinging it over a shoulder. "Come on, then." leading the way, the woman (thin but not tall, slight but hardly sprightly) walked with a casual sway through the sterile halls of the asylum until coming to a rather bare office. She pushed a bit of flyaway hair out of her face with an impatient puff of breath, before setting both her hands on the large desk. "Right! Set that anywhere. Room is rather dull, isn't it? Terrible." A soft Anglo lilt touched her voice, which was measured, controlled.
He nodded and set the box near her desk, his hands moving to his hips as he looked around, his head tilted as if undecided. "It is, but I wouldn't say terrible, really. I'm sure you'll spiff it right up." A friendly smile at her, he probably should have let her be, but, felt drawn to stay in case she needed help with something else. "So, you're new here? Well, I mean, that's a dumb question, but, welcome?" A soft chuckle and he rubbed the back of his neck. "Do you need help setting up, or whatever?"
"Need? No..." the word drawn out thoughtfully, and Verity studied the boy thoughtfully. Of course a better word would be 'sliced into ribbons with her eyes, put them onto slides to inspect under a microscope', but yes. She studied him. The look was brief but very intense, and then after a moment the woman looked around the room, her hands on her own slender hips. "Mm. I don't know that it would be apropos, exactly for me to go about recruiting a patient as my pack mule." and then she smiled, tipping her head. "But perhaps I should introduce myself first, hmm? Doctor West." she extended her hand, arm thin and pale as marble.
Jason wasn't sure whether to be scared out of his mind, or if he liked her. Maybe both. He reached and took her hand gently, shaking it, his own skin pretty pale but lightly splashed with color, his Greek blood. "Jason Tripitikas, pack mule for free if the doctor would care to put him to use." He'd been observed before, he figured even if she could fry him with her corneas, she could be worse. He didn't know her yet tho, it was true. "I think you're supposed to be one of my doctors actually, so, if you want to be safe, you could say it was therapeutic lifting. I wouldn't tattle on you."
"Indeed? Let's see, shall we?" a good shake, although there was a natural coolness in the woman's fingers they squeezed his in a friendly manner, before she turned away to inspect a shuffled-about pile of papers that lay on the desk. "Mm...yes. Here." One pale finger extended, running down the list until it found... "Yes! Tripitikas. You are, indeed, meant to be my patient. Well. Fortuitous indeed that we should meet, while I am actually in the way of desiring a pack mule." And then her slight arms crossed, a thoughtful look upon her face. "Not for free, though, I think. I should like to pay him in tea and biscuits. Is that satisfactory?"
Jason fought off a smile, putting on a thoughtful expression as he tapped his finger to his chin. "Hmm, well, I guess tea and biscuits will suffice, yes. We can't all be generous, after all." His face broke into a soft smile briefly. For being scary, she was definitely okay. He liked not being treated like a little kid. "So, the pack mule is completely ready to do anything you need help with to earn his tea and biscuits, Doctor West."
"Brilliant." A cool smile, one of an approving tutor, perhaps, or chess teacher. "Then let us empty my car of things for the office, and then comes the task of setting the place to rights!" Her hand made a motion indicating the room, something of an assassin's grace in the way her wrist moved. "I don't think it will do as it is. *I* wouldn't want to spill out my heart in this place, would you?"
Jason gave the place one last glance before exiting at her gesture, nodding. "Well honestly, Doctor, I'm used to having to spill mine everywhere, but, I guess if I had a choice. . it's dreadful, I'd never talk to you in there." Shoving his hands into his pocket as he walked with her he offered a little smile. "You know, it's nice not to be babied, or treated like I'm crazier than I am for once." It was soft, but honest, he felt like he owed her that much. "Just uh, so you know."
For a moment there was no reply. Not, in fact, until they were back out in the brilliant sunshine. The pale doctor shaded her eyes, turning toward the boy. "Everyone, I think, has a time or two they might have been mad. It's all chance and accident that decides whether they do." A strange melancholia tinged those words,but her eyes were too shadowed to make out any sort of expression. The boy...he'd shown her something, and so her voice lost just a little of that crispness and became tinged with warmth around the edges. Just for a moment. She regarded him from beneath her hand. "It shall be my policy to treat you as you whatever you present to me. No more, no less."
Jason listened and nodded at that, glancing at her. "That's fair, and it's all I ask, really. I know I'm not normal, I just don't want to be treated like Charles Manson." Because really, he'd never wanted to kill anyone. . .but the Jade Warlord, and that was a different story. He walked over to the car with her, pausing to wait for further instructions.
"If you start assembling a harem, Mr. Tripitikas, I shall be both surprised and slightly concerned." Back to it's usual tone of crisp officiousness, Verity opened her boot with a slight sound of effort and hauled out another box. "Here we are! Ah, you take this one and the next, and....I'll take these two smaller...and then the telescope I think I can handle if you can get the base. Then we should be done. Plan?"
"Plan," He said with a smile, still amused at the comment about the harem. He took both boxes, stacked and grabbed the base of the telescope to stick under his arm, all ready to go back inside and get cracking inside of the office. "So, you like stargazing?" The telescope had him curious.
"Indeed." Gathering up what looked like some sort of navigating instrument, the slim woman hooked a bit of it over her arm and struggled until she had the other bag slung under her arm. Managing to shut the boot with a grunt, she stood. There was a...stiffness to certain movements, as if they were uncomfortable somehow, but she showed no other sign of pain, and she walked back to her office balancing all the things in her arms. "Got that from my older brother. He used to say that I looked at the earth while he looked at the stars." a sentimental smile, but it was a flash and nothing more. "I thought my patients might like it. I know it can be hard to sleep sometimes."
Jason listened with interest, smiling a little. "Yeah sometimes it can be hard. More when I used to be on drugs, prescribed drugs." He corrected that quickly. "But, Dr. Gainsborough doesn't believe in the use of drugs, I've slept okay, except for the first night." Just because he'd been away from home. Following her back inside and toward her office, he only minimally regretted making one trip with the stuff. "Your brother sounds cool tho, I don't have any siblings." Or a father, and his Mom had pretty much given up on him, but, he wasn't going to go into whining about his demolished family tree. Walking into the office he set the stuff down, moving out of her way to let her do the same with the things in her arms, glancing around. "So, where do we start?"
A soft sigh. For a moment the woman moved restlessly, hands on her back and with a soft roll to her hips. And then, apparently eased, she gave a small smile and started the pull open the long, thin box she'd carried in. "Well. The things in those boxes can go..oh, wherever. Books on the shelves, of course. And the posters up on the walls. I'd like it to be....stimulating."
If he wern't so naive, he'd have laughed at the word, but there was no dirty meaning to it in his mind. He opened the first box and started placing books on the shelves carefully, setting posters aside to work with next. The box emptied he moved to place the books on the shelves and with all of them out of the way he picked up the posters and looked over at her with a smile. "Should I use tape? Or staples? How do you prefer this be done?"
With a smile, the Doctor produced a small package of sticky-tak and tossed it to the boy, before her hands lovingly took a brass instrument that shone dully from another box and placed it on a bookshelf. "So, Mister Tripitikas. Would you mind telling me a little about yourself? I would so like to get out of the chore of reading your file. How tiresome." It was so dry, it may have been serious but for the tiny quirk of her pale-plum lips.
Jason took the package and set to putting the posters up as he gave a little shrug of his shoulders. "Course not. I'm from South Boston, only child of a single mother, made a B average in school until we moved away and I had to start at a new school. I like football and to practice martial arts. I don't. .well I never did have many friends, but I kept the ones that I did have close." Particularly the ones he so adamantly believed were real. "I'm here because I have trouble adjusting without acting weird and people think I made up a story about visiting China." The Ancient part he was sure she knew from his file, plus all the supernatural bits. "Really isn't a whole lot to me, Doctor."
"You're right. Utterly dull. Next patient!" Holding a sextant in her hand, she approached the boy. "Most people are fine, you know, if one just leaves them alone. Poke and prod, and they react. And we find it strange!" a soft smile. "I will have to ask you a pile of questions in our appointments, but you provide a good summation of yourself. I like that."
Jason couldn't stop a grin at her, laughing softly before looking at the poster he was working on. "You can ask away when you need, I really don't have a problem answering. I'm not the type to stare blankly at you." A little wink at that, he finished hanging the poster and stepped back to make sure it was straight. "You know, the walls in my room used to be littered with posters, and clippings. All martial arts stuff." It felt nice to see it somewhere too, even if the topic was entirely different. Felt a little more like home. "It's so. .plain around here."
"They don't allow you to put anything up in your room?" a moment of thought. No, of course they wouldn't. She seemed to consider, calculate. "You know, there will be room between the posters. Room enough for any news articles and such you feel like printing out. Isn't the National Judo Championship next week?"
Jason looked at her with surprise, nodding a little. "I. .yeah it is, how did you?" He laughed a little at himself, nodding. "That's. .really nice of you I don't. . I'll maybe bring something when we have appointments so I don't just clobber the walls with articles." Between being granted permission to practice his Kung Fu in the courtyard and this, his week was made, despite the obvious disappointment at being there.
"Oh, come now. Do I really look too old to have any 'cool' interests?" hands on hips, the woman gave her best mock-stern look. Of course it wasn't really stern - that would have had a rather...more extreme effect than the one she wanted. "I see how it is. 'My doctor's old, she's like, fifty-something, she couldn't possibly know about martial-arts'." A toss of the head for good effect sent her burnt-smoke hair about her shoulders in a soft cloud.
Jason shook his head, chuckling a little at the notion. "No, no, I don't think you're old," He honestly didn't. "No, I just, not a lot of people. .seem to like it as much as me." A shrug of his shoulders. "I didn't mean to insult you, I'm sorry. That is really cool, as is stargazing." A little smile as he smoothed his hands over another poster he'd finished hanging.
"Now....if you're into Ancient Wisdom...." she walked over to the poster he was hanging, covered with symbols. "Here's some I discovered when I was a little younger than you are now. Have you ever heard of the Art of War?"
Jason nodded, looking at the poster. "Oh, yeah! I hadn't even. . ancient military tactics, and strategies by Sun Tzu!" His hand touched the poster like it might shatter. "I never got to read, I mean, never had the chance to look up a translation, my Chinese isn't very good. But Lu Yan used to tell me about it." The first mention of his imaginary mentor, even if in his mind he wasn't imaginary at all. "They use the techniques in modern business. It's fascinating."
And now Verity's smile was different. Still affectionate, perhaps that touch of pride. But calculating. Her fingers touched the boy's arm lightly before moving to the paragraphs at the bottom of the power. "That they do. And it is. It still rings true, so much of it. " She took in the mention of someone that likely didn't exist, and this - this could be a key. "I remember reading it, that first time. It was my favourite, when I was your age....you know... I don't think your education would really be complete, without it." Her chin rested on a loosely curled fist now, and there was a certain conspiracy in her eyes, inviting him in.
"Oh, no I'd agree. I love to read old texts from all over, I took a college level lit course my Sophomore year, and I couldn't . .stop reading. And when I heard about this I lookd for it for a while but our library sucked, I would have had to go to D.C. and it was impossible with the way my Mom's hours were." He stared with awe, smiling over at her, pointing out a few characters he knew, explaining the stories in them to her, the stories it couldn't be clear where he'd gotten. "It's so different to see the translation," He said softly, gazing at the English paragraphs, sucking them in, memorizing what he could. "This is. . incredible, Doctor West."
Astonishing. This child, this boy who'd played the warrior already, who seemed to see himself as a rent-free Galahad, and held so much wonder and awe, trusted so easily.....astonishing. Brilliant. Verity could feel something warming in her, excitement that pushed away the coldness and the paralysing boredom she'd felt ever since being pulled from the field. He had such wonder and curiosity, and...nothing had gotten to him yet. Nothing and no-one. Oh perhaps a few dreams and whispers and puppets of delirium. But he was a tabula rasa, an almost purely uncorrupted mind. She listened to him tell her the stories from her poster, listened to his awe and cleverness reveal themselves. Listened to him put the pieces together with so little to work with, and the hunger, the hunger for more. It affected her so deeply, her mind raced so fast that it wasn't until she heard her name that her eyes snapped to his.
She couldn't help it. Her gaze was impossibly intense, all that thought and mental spinning for a moment...all on him,. "I think..." she said slowly, as if returning from a dream. "I think I'm going to lend you my copy."
Staring at her, his smile vanished so his mouth could gape in astonishment he blinked, glancing at the poster once more before looking at her, clearing his throat. "I'm sorry," He laughed softly, nervously. "I thought. .you just. . really?" The corner of his mouth tugged upwards and he couldn't stop a more excited chuckle. "I. .that'd be so. .awesome, wow, I can't even. .thank you." He made no move to touch her, simply out of fear of disrespecting her personal space, but he wanted to swarm her with a giant hug of the squeezing variety. "I promise I won't. .I mean it'll be in good hands and I'll have it back to you really soon, it won't take me very long to read at all I. . are you sure? Just like that? Should I write something on it after I'm done, or something?"
It took a moment to take in all of this...gushing. Verity was...well to say not in the habit of being gushed over would have been an understatement. She was awkward, terribly awkward for a moment, and then pushed her hair back from her face with controlled movements, cool and calm again. "Mm. Of course I'm sure. Of I could purchase you your own copy, if you'd be more comfortable with that. But..." she smile. "My copy from University has some rather nice annotations, and that edition is a bit hard to find." Her hand rested on his shoulder, light, unassuming. "I'd like to hear your thoughts. Perhaps you could keep a special journal of your own annotations, hmm?"
A soft laugh and he nodded. "I'd. .very much like to borrow yours, I can keep my notes in my journal." He laughed at himself. "I'm sorry I. .I've never had a doctor that. .would do that." He wasn't sure about Aerith yet, but this was something. "Ok, then, so long as you're sure, and you are. Wow." He might want to keep this bit from his mother if he ever saw or spoke to her. She wouldn't understand how much the Chinese everything made adjusting easier. "Um, right, so, posters." Immediately he set to finishing hanging her posters, wanting to finish the job he had promised her before he ended up fainting with excitement.
It was simple enough to finish setting up decorative things - and then the electric kettle, boxes of tea, mugs, and a package of biscuits. By the time he had the posters all up she had two mugs of steaming, fragrant darjeeling and a plate of biscuits with little raspberry centres, and was lounging in her big leather chair. "Right. Take a break now, my dutiful pack mule."
He smiled and nodded, sitting on a plainer chair, taking his tea to sip before taking a biscuit, taking a bite. "These are really good," A little grin, he chewed and swallowed before commenting. "Much better than the oats I usually get for busting my ass."
A tiny smirk. "I can't bear American food. I'm learning. I'm <i>trying</i>. But I do treat myself to expensive indulgences from the import shop more often than I should." It didn't bear mentioning that her career of the last decade or so had made this rather easy to excuse. "I don't think I could give up proper teatime. It wouldn't be right." Leaning back, the Doctor put her feet up gracefully on the leather stool that matched her chair. "It is nice having company, I must say."
Jason nodded with understanding. "That must really suck, I grew up on American food, living in Boston. Hot dogs and pretzels at Fenway Park," He paused, laughing. "Although, those are actually both German foods, considered American classics, or whatever. Greek food too, Mom used to make. And Gramma." He stretched a little. "I've never had a biscuit before if it didn't come out of a tin can at the grocery store. The tea is really good, different from what I've had. I'll have to join you for tea time more often."
"The tea is different...and by different I think what you mean is <i>better</i>..." and here her look was stern and cool, a little of that impossible-to-please matron coming through "..because I prepare it properly. There *is* a proper way, and most people just don't bother. But it's worth it, I like to think." A pause and then, thoughtfully.. "I think...many things will give you startling results if you just go about things the proper way."
"I did mean better, actually." He listened to her as he took another sip, nodding, looking into his cup thoughtfully. "I guess that's true about everything then, most people do a half-ass job just to get things done. No one, well, few people put much thought into anything they do, or say."
A thoughtful look. For a moment Verity studied her patient with that same penetrating gaze that had made him squirm earlier. She nodded slightly, and agreed. "My life has seemed to corroborate that observation. I think it it very astute of you, actually." A blink, before she leaned back and seemed to release him from whatever sort of petri dish he'd been in, in that moment. "Tell me some other examples you can think of."
He glanced up at her, wincing a little at the look before sighing, shrugging as he looked down at the tea. "My father," He began, to him, it was answer enough. He wasn't sure how much she knew about that situation though, so he continued. "He took off when I was a few months old, Mom 'expected too much from him', to actually act like a fu-reaking father and not some. .loser." A shrug. "He stole her car and credit cards, ended up in jail for it, and he deserves it."
"Mmhmmm...." A little off the subject, but of course he was young. Couldn't expect the boy to talk about galaxies and gamma rays when things like absentee 'parents' were right before his eyes. She took a drink of her tea, holding the cup delicately with both hands, and then leaned back again. "And that is a good example. Astonishing that people insist on being surprised, when natural consequences follow them, isn't it?"
He shrugged with a sigh. "It's not. .perfect, but, I mean if he hadn't done a half-ass job in the first place, I wouldn't exist, there wouldn't have been any problems." He sighed softly. "Yeah it is pretty astonishing how. .stupid people can be. I might be out of my mind, but at least I'm not just plain stupid. That's what I hate so much about being called crazy, most people say it like it's a bad thing."
The woman leaned forward, something in her manner just a little too..focused, too intense to be completely casual. “It seems to me that that might be something you realise, that most people don't." She pointed out. "You may have a mind that misfires, but for all that, it works. I should think you quite right in insisting on proper regard for your intelligence, whatever your stability of sanity might be."
He looked at her, and studied her expression before nodding. "I don't see why people can't understand that." A sigh, and a shrug. "But worrying about that isn't going to get me out of here, now is it?" He wasn't in any rush but, no kid wanted to spend their senior year of high school locked up, let alone their 17th birthday.
A pause. And then Verity was standing, restless, her back to him. "I shouldn't have gotten so serious. That sort of thing is better saved for when we start having proper sessions. But finish up, and then we can visit for a little while, if you like, before I go." The room looked much better. And the boy had..potential to be interesting. She was thoughtful, looking around the transformed room. "You did a good job, Mister Tripitikas."
Jason couldn't help a smile and glanced around, taking another sip of the tea to leave one more before he was done. "Thanks, I don't think it looks half bad myself, much better than when you arrived." He finished the tea and set the cup aside, cracking his knuckles. Deep down he was a teen above anything else.
"And I'm sure I will find more to spiff it up a bit." she added. "Plants, perhaps, or some chinese lanterns to hang from the ceiling, a tapestry or two. We'll see." Sitting on her desk, she seemed almost dwarfed by the massive piece of furniture. "Would you really like to come and have teatime here? Outside of formal sessions, I mean?"
Jason smiled a little, nodding. "Those'll all be nice touches. And of course, I never say anything I don't mean, lesson the first about Jason." He knew better, after losing Sparrow. "I can dig this, this is. .better than how I usually spend my time, and you never know when you'll need your pack mule, so, you'd have a daily shot at getting things done that you didn't feel like doing."
His words touched something. It...would be nice. So many days there was the ache of boredom and restlessness setting in, and having this lad around was like having an empty house to run wild in! She could talk, plumb the depths of his mind and plant whatever seeds she liked there. Nurture them, grow a forest of wild tangling thoughts in him and see what happened. She was thoughtful, almost a little sad. Finally, her eyes met his. "I....you know, I think I'd really like that. I really would." Almost shy, the new doctor extended her hand.