[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/t90Oxqx.png[/img][/center] [center][@Letter Bee][@Lewascan2][/center] [hr] The was a brief pause as Ken decided to start off his appointment by overtly threatening the doctor's life. The man then just chuckled. "Oh dear. Mind control? No, no, while I can only offer you my word that that isn't the case, well, that simply isn't the case," the man said. After all, how could one prove they didn't posses mind control powers aside from... not doing that. "So, you've made quite a statement, so let's start with that, shall we." The man leaned back, folding his hands on his lap. "You've already suffered a betrayal in the past, and so a healthy skepticism of those around you is warranted. That said, when skepticism grows into paranoia, we can no longer truly call it healthy. So, I'd like to ask you, does this threat on my life come from a place of suspecting I work for those who've harmed you in the past, or do you hypothesize I am potentially a new threat entirely? "It's an important distinction, you see. Are you simply wary that they will try again, or have you begun to see enemies hiding in every shadow? Neither are entirely unreasonable considering what you've experienced, but one is far more troubling than the other, so I can't help but wonder what it is you feel." [hr] [center][@Dezuel][/center] [hr] "Ah, of course." The doctor smiled. "I get a little too far ahead of myself, sometimes. My full name would be Dr. Simon Nightman. As for that chess set, well, a former patient of mine loved chess. A few patients since have enjoyed fidgeting with it, so I've kept it around is all. Never did find the time to learn it myself," he told the boy before continuing to listen to his... speech. The child wasn't shy, that was for sure. "Hmm, looking to the future. In some ways, that is a positive thing to do, so long as it isn't born of an aversion to ones past. The past, after all, is the foundation upon which the future is built. If we are not at peace with it, that foundation may crumble." He stood up, leaning against the cabinet, so as to be on similar footing to the boy, "So, do you mean to suggest you feel you are already at peace with your past? I must say, as much as I wish for that to be true, for your sake, I find myself skeptical. Very few could weather such a storm unscathed, and just as few could recover so quickly." He pauses a moment, "But, regardless, it's unpleasant isn't it? And we've only just begun speaking, so let's do as you say and look at the future. At this moment, do you have a picture of what the future is for you? Or, at least, what you wish it to be?" [hr] [center][color=magenta][img]https://i.imgur.com/PMI1m6n.png[/img][/color][/center] [center][@Scarifar][@Crowvette][@AtomicNut][/center] [hr] Ahh, good old [u]Midnight[/u]. A place to get a drink and watch idiots pound each others faces in, and all in a place far, far removed from anywhere her parents would ever approve of. She was running late for the night's festivities, but made it just in time to watch some moron wearing a literal bucket on his head get the shit smacked out of him by some guy in a pizza shirt. Fantastic. "Hey, bitch, where've you been?" A gregarious girl suddenly draped herself over Vera. [color=magenta]"Oh, you know where I've been. And if you don't, I'd rather keep it that way anyway."[/color] Vera didn't flinch at the invasion of her personal space. "Hmm, lemme guess, being the teacher's pet and making sure your homework is done first?" the girl mocked her. [color=magenta]"Pfft, of course. I'm aiming a little higher than just being a delivery service for your latest fix, dumbass. Change your tune and be nice and I might even scoop you out of the gutters some day."[/color] Vera smirked. "Ha, speaking of whi-" The girl began reaching for Vera's purse, but her hand was slapped away. [color=magenta]"Patience, dear. There are prying eyes everywhere."[/color] Vera slithered free of the girl's grasp and went over to lean against the bar where she'd have a decent view of the upcoming fights. [b]"Well, we're in the quarter-finals now, ladies, gents, and dredges! For the first match, the little devil herself, Andras!"[/b] The MC announced loudly over the speakers. [color=magenta]"The hell kind of name is Andras?"[/color] Vera quirked an eyebrow. "I dunno, she's just some weird girl who talks a big game. Real head in the clouds type, but she won her last fight in like five seconds, so I guess she's not all talk," her friend explained, still edging toward Vera anxiously. "So, uhh-" Whatever her friend said next was lost to the ether as Vera just sort've... [i]left[/i] mentally. The girl who went by Andras walked into view and for a second Vera thought nothing of her. In the next second, everything else just went away. Something was gnawing at her fiercely and would suffer no distraction. She never even heard the girl's opponent announced. "-to Vera! Hellooo?!" She was snapped half-way back to reality by her friend literally shouting into her ear. Vera just reached out, grabbing the girl by her face, and shoved her aside, not even sparing her a glance as she complained. "What the fuck?!" But Vera was already walking toward the arena and the soon to begin fight within. A few other people suffered her friend's fate as they were shoved out of her way and in the next moment... Vera was [i]in[/i] the arena. [b]"Uhhh, hold up folks..."[/b] The MC was as baffled as everyone else. Vera, meanwhile, was simply staring at "Andras", trembling and on the verge of hyperventilating. Words wouldn't come out. She tried. She tried again, but only a weak whimper could escape even when she finally bid her lips to part. Her legs, however, were still working, albeit barely. A halting step toward the girl, then another. Those in the audience, perplexed and annoyed as they were, seemed to have picked up on the state Vera was in and for a moment longer at least, most held their tongues hoping to sate their curiosity by letting things play out. [color=magenta]"A-Alex?"[/color] Vera finally managed to voice the name that had finally come to her. [color=magenta]"It's-"[/color] There was one, however, who turned out to be far less patient than anyone else. Andras's opponent. He stomped over, grabbing Vera's arm, but as if his hand was on fire Vera, violently jerked herself away, her steps towards Andras suddenly hastened. [color=magenta]"I-it is you, isn't it? Alex?"[/color] Vera's voice shook, sounding almost as if she was begging for herself to be right. Up close, she was more convinced than ever that she was right... but it had been so long. They had all grown. They were all different. For some reason she now had an eyepatch. [i]Why[/i] did she have an eyepatch!? [color=magenta]"I-it's me, Ve-"[/color] And her arm was grabbed [i]again.[/i] "Look, bitch, I don't care who [i]either[/i] of you are and you're in the way, so get the fuck-!" But he hadn't gotten the memo. Vera would suffer [i]no[/i] distraction. [i]BOOM![/i] Vera once more jerked her arm free, but this time her elbow rocketed back up into the guy's face. He took one wobbly step backwards -- and then teetered over and collapsed, out cold, all punctuated by a collective gasp from the crowd. Afterward, Vera simply stood there, breathing heavily, eyes wide with hostility, completely out of sorts, and a line of tears leaking form her eyes as if they'd finally been shaken free by the sudden burst of motion. [b]"Ho-lee shit...!"[/b] "Vera, what the fuck!"