VIII-Nothing is Written [Open*]

[Marshall Quatrevaux]

*Open to Jung staff, Jung inpatients and outpatients, or Quatrevaux/Constant family. Or anyone who can give me a good reason for being on Jung's highly-secure grounds.

And my ears hear the call of my unborn sons
And I know their choices color all I've done
But I'll explain it all to the watchman's son,
I ain't ever lived a year better spent in love

___

It would be a mistake to say that things had been quiet. Work at Jung had been quiet, certainly. Their usual patients remained, plus their outpatients and a few new additions to their roster, and they all seemed to be getting better or at least stabilizing. A few had come and gone as well, the shorter-term patients that had grief or more temporary problems that had driven them into the depths of depression. As for their work beyond the Facility itself, it was going exceptionally well. Khalidah was leading the way in that, with Nireva, Irma, Crystalynn, and a number of others assisting, while he and Jessica managed the daily operations back home. It was a decent arrangement, as these things went.

His life at home could not have been better. He was engaged to the love of his life, and they were taking care of their adopted daughter, who seemed to be growing accustomed to her new surroundings well. He had recovered from his second car accident in as many years, and fortunately this car had not been totaled, though it had needed considerable repairs. His family back in New Orleans and elsewhere all seemed well also, although his brother Wesley still seemed to have a considerable hatred for their half-brother, Gabriel Constant. But the Quatrevauxes were fine, and ecstatic to know that Marshall was going to marry; and the Constants, though he heard from them less often, seemed to be making a good deal of progress. Their daughters were growing up, and Gabriel's part-acquisition of Ark Industries was probably a really good deal, aside from all the public hatred toward that particular corporation.

In short, Marshall could hardly have been happier. It was probably evident all over the Facility. While he had never really been a grouch, he was sure he was being friendlier overall, and more relaxed, more at peace with himself, and there was no shortage of people who could see that. At least they were mostly cognizant enough to keep their speculations to themselves or behind closed doors. He and Jessica would announce their engagement when they were ready to, and they would marry when they were ready to as well.

He was walking along one of the paths in the gardens. Those gardens happened to be colorful and well-maintained, and even on his lunch breaks or just before or after work, he would walk along and think, or sometimes converse briefly with any patients or coworkers that might be doing the same, or with Jessica if their schedules happened to coincide. Neha Kulkarni, one of the long-term patients, was sitting on one of the surprisingly comfortable benches, but she was reading and humming to herself, and so Marshall did not disturb her. Besides, his thoughts were beginning to wander to unexpected places.

He wondered about Sammie, first, and whether she missed her family. Which led to him thinking about her new family, himself and Jessica. And that led to imagining how she would get along with her new extended family, out in New Orleans and Hawaii. He knew his own family would be a little wary of Sammie at first, and Sammie as well, but for some reason he imagined she would get along with Alexandria very well.

And that led to thoughts about Alex and Gabe's daughters, Athena and Demeter; and how Sammie would react to having a brother or sister of her own…. in time. They had plenty of time, or so it seemed. Something - his ability, somehow - told him things would not be this quiet for long. There was a sense of entropy around him - there always was, as part of the natural inclinations of nature and the world - but this was different. Unnatural.

That thought had occurred to him before, and he preferred not to linger on it.

His hands tucked into his pockets, he turned to look behind him. That was a little symbolic, because now he was thinking about where the path had taken him. Not the path under his feet, but a less physical one. From joining the staff at Jung, to here, to so many things he hadn't expected.

With a smile to himself, he turned again and continued his stroll.

___

Words: 717.
Outfit: This.
Excerpt: Mumford & Sons, "Babel."
Comments: Marshall returns!

[Hatire Carrington]

Hatire was... annoyed, thoroughly so. Why had she even given him the suggestion in the first place? It was not as she actually care about his well being, she made it a point to point out how much he was just an annoyance that she tolerated. So what could have possibly have been going through her mind when she made that dastardly suggestion? Better yet, how could she think Hatire would take it as anything other than an insult considering how he had spent the first portion of his life in this new time.

Fallon... what was the woman trying to do by suggesting that he visit the Jung Facility? It should have been fairly obvious in the months that he had spent in her residence that he was anything but crazy. Logical, intelligent, and aloof were all more apt descriptions than crazy. So why would she even suggest that he visit the facility, did she think that there was more going on that he had let on? That would indicate though that she actually care about his well being.

The entire argument had made Hatire storm out of the place and just start walking with no real purpose to his course. Wherever his feet lead him, it was just a distance he needed to put between himself and Fallon. At some point he would have to return to the residence and face whatever sort of consequences storming off caused. Right now though, the feel of the California sun and afternoon sea breeze off the coast was more comforting as he dealt with his thoughts.

Perhaps he should have been paying more attention to where he was walking instead of thinking like he had. Part of his subconscious must have agreed with Fallon as Hatire had found himself standing outside of the facility. Well... what the hell was he supposed to do now? Walk the distance back home? What was he going to say though when Fallon sooner or later asked him where he was. It was not like he could lie about it, she had a way of knowing when he was lying. Hatire cringed at the thought of what her response might be if he revealed he had been all the way over by the Jung Facility and not even gone in to get an information pamphlet or something.

Muttering under his breath, he pulled a pudding pack from his pocket, ripped off the top and began to slurp it down. This insatiable hunger that plagued him since coming to the new time was rather bothersome. Luckily pudding now came in cups and these packs that could be slurped or sucked on. A handy snack to quiet down the cravings whenever they crept up. Hatire still did not know exactly what that was all about, even if he did have a time traveling ability, that should not have affected his appetite. Right?

With his nerves and hunger temporarily calmed, Hatire walked in and casually looked the place over. Wearing a baby blue shirt, with the top button of the three left unbuttoned, blue jeans, and a pair of beige loafers, he looked okay enough he supposed. It was not something he would have gone to a formal event or date on that was sure, but it suited scoping out the place to at least placate his host. Walking up to the receptionist, he tried to look as calm as possible.

"Excuse me, would it be too much trouble to get some brochures or information pamphlets?

[Marshall Quatrevaux]

You got yours and I got mine
She got his and she got shine
Under moon and overseas
She got those and we got these

___

The young woman who was tending the reception desk was, in fact, no receptionist, but Crystalynn Fosterman, assistant lead physician at the Jung Facility. The way Jung worked, they had few patients on the premises that were physically ill or hurt; she was part of a program more like the Red Cross or, as a better descriptor, Doctors Without Borders. But when there was not a medical crisis somewhere in the world that required her services, she hung out at Jung, helping wherever she could. Whether that meant sorting files for Dr. Conelly or handling paperwork for Dr. Quatrevaux, or manning the reception desk while the receptionist grabbed a bite to eat, she was glad to help out with it.

She looked up, and a handsome young man dressed quite casually in blue was asking about pamphlets. There were pamphlets, or course. She wondered whether he was asking on behalf or for a friend or family member. They got both, but the other more than the one.

"Sure thing! Here, give me a moment." Unaccustomed as she was to the receptionist's desk, it took her a bit of time to search the top of the desk and dig through the drawers and duck under the table before she realized the pamphlets were on the desk, to her far right. "Oh! Hey, okay. Here they are." She took one out and handed it to the young man proudly. "There. I can tell you a little about the place too, if you want." She went on without waiting to see whether the man did want to hear about it. "We're the number-one most effective psych hospital in the States. We have been since the place opened up a few years back. That's awesome right?" She grinned.

"We do inpatient and outpatient. You know, like, you can live here or you can just drop by for weekly appointments. Our doctors are the best. Doctor Conelly and Doctor Quatrevaux both landed on the Best Doctors list for the second year in a row. The others have been on the list too, that or the local list, if not the nationwide one." She gestured at the door beside her, that led into the Facility. "We've also got a team that does medical research and in-the-field medical work. Kinda like DWB." She did not stop to explain what "DWB" stood for. "That branch was designed by, and is run by, Khalidah Rahal. You've heard of Khalidah Rahal, right? I bet you have. She's pretty big stuff in our field, since she also founded and runs IntelliTouch. So yeah, we're kind of a big deal." She grinned brightly, bobbing up and down in the office chair. She liked office chairs.

"Would you like a tour? We can look around a bit and I can show you the gardens. The gardens are exquisite. Like, seriously. We might even run into one of the doctors or Khalidah there. They'd be able to talk to you about stuff too." She hopped out of the chair, and it became apparent that she was barely taller standing than she had been sitting in the office chair. She tilted her head toward the door. "Everyone here is great. You should have a look. I'm Crys, by the way. I'm one of the doctors. Like, primary care physician, not psychologist. See, here comes back the receptionist. Hey, Sally! Did you bring pudding for me?" she asked as a young blonde entered the lobby and took a seat at the reception desk. The blonde, unfortunately, answered in the negative. "Aw, well. I'll have to get some myself later. Unless you want some pudding?" she asked, looking up at the blue-shirted guy mischievously.

___

Words: Meh.
Outfit: This (Crys).
Excerpt: Red Hot Chili Peppers, "Dance, Dance, Dance."
Comments: Sorry so short!

[Hatire Carrington]

The woman behind the reception desk was... odd to say the very least and seemed out of place as she searched for a bit to find the pamphlets Hatire had requested. Then she asked a question but gave him no time to answer before carrying on as if he had given her an answer in the affirmative. It seemed very odd and rude behavior considering the place that they were in and especially with how uncomfortable people would be coming here. There was stigma against those with mental problems, much less for a Special who had powers to cause great harm if they so desired. Perhaps the woman was new...

"That's nice I suppose." He said as she asked him something, though she spoke far too fast for him to be quite sure what it was. Trying to be an the bright side would maybe make this whole thing just go a bit more smoothly. However as she continued to go on and on and in such a quick manner, Hatire was beginning to feel more than a little overwhelmed. She reminded him of what a hamster would be like if it ever got a hold of a large dose of caffeine and was let loose. She was going on a whole other level that those around her obviously were going to have trouble keeping up with.

Hatire did pick up on the name of Khalidah Rahal, it was a name he was somewhat familar with. He had seen it in the news several times as late, for one thing or another, with her company doing this that and the other. However he had been unaware of her connection to the Jung Facility and that definitely piqued his interest. If someone like her was part of the facility, then perhaps there was more to the place than he originally thought. It would not be the first time he had misconceptions about a person or place.

The prospect of a tour was intimidating, as this Crys was still moving on such an accelerated level that Hatire knew he would be unable to adequately keep up with. Yet returning back to Fallon just now still was a sour note, he was still hurt that she had even insinuated that he needed help. As far as he was concerned, considering the events that had happened to him, he was fairly well adjusted and Jung was not something that he required. Life's irony that he had arrived at the facility did not escape him, as it was the facility now that was providing the means to let him avoid further confrontation.

"Some pudding would be welcomed and maybe some juice or water to, if we're going to go on a tour of the Facility." Hopefully that decision did not come back to bite him in the ass, but he was not confident it would not. Such had been his luck as late, plus Crys grin was just a bit unnerving. It was probably nothing and just some residual stress from the argument."Perhaps you could also tell me more about the outpatient services? The more information I have to pass along to my friend the better."

[Marshall Quatrevaux]

The guest was interested in pudding, so Crystalynn led him to the cafeteria, where there was still a fair amount of food available. There were juice boxes and pudding cups, in addition to actual meals. Unlike what might have been expected, Jung’s food smelled home-cooked, and it was, and it was excellent. Crystalyyn picked up a buttery roll and mused to herself as she munched on it. “By the way, I’m Crystalynn. Most people just call me Crys.” She had said that already, but she didn’t notice it. “Did I catch your name? I like your shirt.”

Shortly, she gathered up her own pudding and spoon and headed out of the cafeteria. “Oh, okay, outpatient. Those don’t stay in the dorms, but here are the dorms anyway.” They were mostly quiet, aside from soft sobbing here and a bit of scratching at the walls there. “They have bathrooms that they share with the room next to them, or in some cases, their own bathroom. Those are for the ones that… well, let’s make a turn here.” They went down another long hallway of dorms and arrived at a familiar intersection, with the reception desk not far away and the gardens to the right. “We can check out the gardens on our way back if you like. But let’s look at the offices first.”

She pointed to her right and left as necessary. “Doctor Conelly’s office. Doctor Q’s office. It took us three name plates to get one that spelled his name right,” she added with a laugh. “The therapists’ and residents’ offices. Then farther down you’ll find Miss Rahal’s office and the volunteer rooms. Jung does a lot of great stuff for the community,” she explained proudly.

The diminutive woman stopped and spun around to grin at the guest. “Okay. Any questions so far? Or, I mean, any questions your friend might have?”

___

Words: meh.
Outfit: Crys.
Excerpt: None.
Comments: Bleh.

[Hatire Carrington]

Hatire let the woman lead him around the facility, towards where some good smells were coming. It surprised him that the cafeteria actually smelled of foods that one would want to eat instead of the normal blehness that hospital food seemed to be. As if to exemplify this, his guide decided to take what looked to be a freshly made roll and munch slightly on it, before introducing herself, again. She had a very unusual name, which he guessed went with her rather unusual personality.

"Thank you, and no you didn't." Hatire had purposely left out his name, he didn't want this all coming back to him. It was never meant to be a intentional trip to Jung anyhow and they sure as heck did not need his name as someone interested in them. Even though the person of who he was had been declared dead nearly two hundred fifty years ago, he still did not like giving out his name. So it had come to be that he had come up with merely having himself called by another name, a stage name that he had. Yet even that name he felt reluctant to speak of to anyone in authority.

"My name is Ha-ir." He said while nibbling on a vanilla pudding cup that he had picked up. If she was able to make out the alias, then good for her, but he was not about to give her a second chance. Perhaps it was being overly cautious or even paranoid, but the time locked up in psych ward had made him quite wary of medical professionals. Whatever good came from them, there was also that dark corner of themselves, of their work that wasn't spoken of. They played God with their decisions, they made decisions that cost lives or saved them and sometimes used very morally gray methods.

And that was confirmed as Crys continued the tour of the facility, as the whimpering from some of the dorms confirmed. Hatire did not miss Crys also moving quickly from an end of a thought and hasten her movements as well. Perhaps not all within Jung was as bright and great as Crys was trying to portray to Hatire, which would not surprise him in the least. All the same, Crys did seem bubbly, someone with that temperament couldn't be all bad.

"What if they were not sure they were a "Special" as it were. Would there be anything that the facility could do in making that identification and if so, what there powers actually were?"

[Samantha Kroner]

Follow the white rabbit down the rabbit hole!

Bouncy bouncy, she was a bouncy little bunny today! Dressed in a white summer dress and a pair of bunny ears left over from Halloween, Samantha Kroner was a familiar sight here at the Jung Facility. The adopted daughter of the two lead Doctors had its perks after all, having been responsible for the death of a nurse there didn’t. Not that the brunette realized this fact of course. It had been years since that incident and while time had not made Sammie any less unpredictable or unstable, she seemed to respond better to people at least. That was a step in the right direction surely.

Samantha’s presence within the facility meant that one or both of her caretakers were in the facility as well; in this case Jessica had just arrived as she had some things to take care of in her office. The staff were aware at this point how to handle being around Samantha and Jessica trusted the child-like innocent to locate her squishy knight with ease as she had a penchant for knowing where he was. She had a real bond with Marshall that Jessica was glad for because it allowed Samantha a real chance at a semi-normal life. It would never be normal for her as she was far too damaged and powerful to ever lead what one would consider a normal life.

It didn’t seem to bother Samantha though. She was a sweet girl, trapped in the mind-set of a child complete with a short attention span and fascination in everything she found. Her brothers were still often on her mind, especially her twin but she had less incentive to seek them out as she had settled into the small family with Jessica and Marshall.

As for their up-coming nuptials… Well needless to say Samantha was over the moon about it. She didn’t quite understand what all took place but she loved the dresses and the flowers! Sammie was also in love with Jessica’s ring, to the point that she had ‘borrowed’ it more than once and Jess would find it under the girl’s pillow or in her sock drawer.

As per usual, Sammie wore nothing on her feet as she hopped around Jung, earning giggles from passing nurses that saw her. They kept their distance of course, letting her get on with things while at the same time keeping an eye out in case a patient should run into her and possibly cause a meltdown that could very easily turn fatal. Samantha’s power was still as lethal as ever and she still had no control over it. It served as her protector when she was met with a situation she couldn’t handle.

She would pass by Hatire as he spoke to the receptionist though she wouldn’t give him much notice as she was far too focused on her delusions of being a ballerina bunny, beautiful, graceful, and oh so fluffy!

Samantha found her way to the gardens and as it was, that was exactly where Marshall was, taking a nice stroll. He looked quite peaceful, his back to the bunny girl. She stood there for a moment, unfocused green eyes watching him carefully before she suddenly launched herself towards him at top speed. She wanted a cuddle!

“Marshmallow!” She squealed before her little body collided with his whether he was ready for it or not. “I missed you! Did you miss me? Didn’t see me. Ha! I’m a bunny! Got these ears, not theirs but mine! Fluffy Sammie bunny!”

[Marshall Quatrevaux]

Earthquakes
shake the dust behind you
This world at times will blind you
Still I know I’ll see you there

___

It did not take any kind of doctor to see that this man was hiding something. As it happened, Crystalynn was a doctor. She figured she would let him play his game, however, and only smiled as he supplied his name, which was disturbed by the pudding. “Nice to meet you, Ha-ir,” she quipped with a grin, still as cheerful as ever. The cafeteria workers gave the man odd looks, but Crystalynn only led him out of the room and onto the rest of the tour.

This was a mental health facility. What did Ha-ir expect from it? She saw him glancing around at the sounds; of course there were people crying. It wasn’t like they were being experimented on behind those doors. They were suffering from grief, or anxiety, or depression, and the idea that anything else might be the case actually took Crys’ cheerfulness down a notch. Nevertheless, she led the tour around to the offices and back, and asked the guest whether he had further questions.

Fortunately, the guest’s question was an easy one. “Sure, we have ways of telling who’s got an ability,” Crys said brightly. “That’s the easy part. From there, we can place what kind of ability it is, and we can do a bit of testing to see what its exact nature is. Not the sort of testing where we stick you with needles or strap you to beds,” she added, her tone stern for the first time since Hatire had met her. That look as they had passed the inpatients had made her quite sore.

They were heading into the gardens now. “The gardens were actually designed by Miss Rahal, based on a famous garden in… what, British Columbia? I don’t recall.” She paused for a moment, shrugged, and then moved on. “Anyway, they’re beautiful. There are flowers for every part of the year. Places to sit, too. We could sit and finish this pudding-“

She stopped as one of her favorite patients… hopped past. She had gotten ahold of some rabbit ears and transformed herself into a bunny, it seemed. There was a figure up ahead; Crys recognized it as Dr. Q, and, apparently, so did Sammie, as the young woman paused for a moment. “Uh-oh,” Crys said to Hatire. “I think she’s gonna-“

And sure enough, the young woman sprinted toward Marshall, who picked up on the movement just in time to turn sideways and catch Sammie. He lifted her into the air, then hugged her tight. “You’re the best bunny I’ve ever seen,” he told her with a wide smile. “Of course I missed you, Sammie-bunny.”

“Yup. Hey, we should go meet Dr. Q,” Crys said, grabbing Hatire’s hand and giving him absolutely no choice in the matter. Marshall set Sammie down and kissed her forehead. Crystalynn, of course, was familiar, and no threat; the stranger, however, might have been malevolent, and two of Marshall’s instincts kicked in. The first was to protect Sammie. The second derived from the first, but was also automatic by this point. He could feel the stranger’s energies on the air, separate from Sammie’s and Crys’, and determine their nature.

The stranger had some degree of control over energy, he noted, but mostly directed within himself. What else? The energy fed into the stranger’s body, allowing him a greater metabolic rate for… hmm. He switched from the stranger to Crystalynn and back. There were some similarities there. Since Marshall knew what Crystalynn’s abilities were, and that she needed energy to keep it working, he could take a guess at what the stranger could do. It was not an inherently offensive ability, so he let it pass.

“Hey, Doctor Q,” Crys was saying. “And hey, Sammie! You’re an awesome bunny!” Crys gestured toward Hatire. “I’ve brought a friend with me. We were just checking out the Facility.”

She left it to Marshall to ask the stranger’s name. Marshall did not disappoint.

“Pleased to meet you,” Marshall said, extending his hand toward Hatire. “I’m Marshall. And you are…?”

___

Words: 690.
Outfit: In upper posts.
Excerpt: Cage the Elephant, “Come A Little Closer”
Comments: Bedtime.