[h3][center][color=00a99d]Subject #642 - Cassidy O'Rian[/color]
Location - Common Room
Interactions/Mentions - Alice ([@Ever])
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Cassidy rubbed the back of their neck. Their body ached all over. Their morning had been spent locked away in one of the laboratories with a scientist they did not recognise. After so many years, Cassidy had thought they ought to know all their tormentors by sight if not by name by now, but somehow some had still managed to escape their notice. Truly, this place was riddled with more men and women in white coats than any of the subjects would have known what to do with; some days it felt like they were a cancer, spreading in to every aspect of the subject’s lives.

Cassidy did not have a harmonious relationship with the authority to say the least. Cassidy was not designed for large scale attacks, otherwise they would certainly have tried by now to take the facility out. Some of the other subjects [i]had[/i] tried. None of them had ever got very far.

More than anything, Cassidy wanted to go outside right now, to feel the warmth of the sun and the breeze through their hair. This facility offered no kind of life to its subjects and so the only place that Cassidy ever truly felt alive was out in within the limited nature they had access to. Sometimes, if they closed their eyes, sat in the low branches of a tree, Cassidy could even pretend they were free.

Unfortunately, the morning tests had not gone so well. They had not been a [i]complete[/i] failure, but nor had they gathered the results the white coats had wanted. As such, Cassidy had been denied privileges to go outside. They called it ‘an incentive’ to do better in the further testing that Cassidy would be subject to this afternoon. For now, Cassidy had been granted some amount idle time, which amounted to little more than an extended break.

At least the scientist had been decent enough to brew a peppermint tea for Cassidy before they left the lab; a sort of ‘mini reward’ for the tests having at least been going in the right direction. Cassidy would have preferred the chance to try a coffee that the researchers were always drinking; it always smelt so damned good. But, as with every element of a subject’s life in this place, even food and drink were restricted. The scientists could not run the risk of the caffeine in the coffee skewing their results or, worse, making the subjects more volatile and less malleable.

So peppermint it was. Cassidy had no real love for the drink, but it was [i]something[/i] and anything that offered a new or unusual sensation was always welcome. Cassidy’s grip on the mug tightened as they spotted a particular soul entering at the other end of the corridor. [i]Dr. Arceneaux[/i]. If Cassidy still had the ability to speak, they would have spat venom in the doctor’s direction; not that they needed too. The sneer on their face said everything as they walked past.

Cassidy felt particular disdain for the Frenchman. The two had rarely worked together and, from what the other subjects said, Dr. Arceneaux was one of the better researchers to have around. Still. Arceneaux worked with cybernetics. Cassidy’s free hand subconsciously shot to the metal plates at their throat.

[color=00a99d][i]The bastard that stole my voice.[/i][/color]

Cassidy shook their head; there was no point in fixating over the man, at least not now, not when they were not forced to interact or be in the same room. Cassidy stopped outside of the door to the common room, taking a moment to peer in. It was one of the busier rooms, with both subjects and scientists alike going about their daily business, whatever that entailed. Cassidy lent against the door jamb, sipping at their tea. Cassidy loved to stand back and observe; having been rendered mute had only given Cassidy more reason to do so. Sometimes Cassidy felt like they were invisible (even though they were not); if you stood silently enough for long enough, people forgot that you were there.

Cassidy’s dark eyes roamed the room and eventually stopped on a blonde, curled on the other side of the room; Alice. Cassidy frowned; they did not exactly pity the woman, but she, too, was not allowed to talk. It was a strange kinship they shared.

[color=00a99d][i]Hey.[/i][/color] Cassidy projected their words across the room, directly in to Alice’s mind. From this distance, Cassidy would have had to shout, had they had the ability, to be heard, so at least there were some advantages to telepathy. Cassidy could speak to someone and no one else would be any the wiser; after all, how could two mutes communicate across such a distance? If anyone were to look over they would have seen Cassidy stood, drinking their tea, eyes wandering; very much the image of nonchalance. [color=00a99d][i]You looked pissed off. What’s got your goat this time?[/i][/color]