Of course there was someone watching. There was always someone watching. Be it Nurse Jean, hunched over a monitor at the Central Nurse’s Station… or the tidy row of Sibling nurses standing along the far left wall of the Cafeteria… or perhaps the Administrator himself, before a wall of television screens somewhere in the dark recesses of his locked wing. Nothing went unseen. But nobody took any action. They could have thrown Dante to the ground for trying to cast an illusion on Sasha, but why do that when she simply burned his little card? Notes would be made, and additional measures taken if needed, of course… but for today, nothing would be done. In a place like Osmond’s, everything you say (or do, for that matter) can and will be used against you… eventually. [center]----- » Nurse Buck « The shoulder you cry on, The dose that you die on: I can be your painkiller.[/center] The scent of Lycan blood reached Buck’s delicate olfactories as he escorted Aniella towards her table. It made him glance sideways at the white-haired, red-eyed girl he’d assumed was a type of vampire. He was almost certain he’d seen that in her file… but if she was drinking [i]werewolf[/i] blood she was definitely [i]not[/i] a member of his own species. Of course, different dimensions had different types of vampires. Inwardly, Buck cursed not having the time to read his patient files thoroughly before breakfast. The ancient man was even angrier because he’d done it to himself by failing to wake up in a timely manner. He shrugged it off and returned his focus to Aniella. She followed him mutely, just as she’d done in the hallways during the trip to breakfast… though now that they were in a room full of other patients her slender body was rigid with fear. Of course there had been disgust in her eyes when he set the tray down in front of her, mixed with hunger and self-hatred for being the sort of beast who wanted to eat those things. He didn’t need to read her mind to know what was going on up there: she hated the monster she’d become. And how many hundreds of patients had the good doctor treated in his career at Osmond’s who felt exactly the same? [b]“Thank you very much for this selection, Nurse Buck, this is so much more than I need, you have been much too kind,”[/b] the girl murmured. At least this one spoke Italian, so the Roman was able to enjoy conversing in something close to his native tongue. He’d used flimsier excuses to give frank words to someone. Buck sat down at the table beside Aniella and fixed her with a look of both weariness and pity. [b]“I am not kind, Aniella. I am doing my job, which is to ensure that you are fed and clothed properly, and are oriented to your surroundings. This is also far less than what you should eat, and far more than what you will. You need three of these steaks and four cups of this blood, if not more. And tomorrow morning, you’ll be expected to see to your own breakfast.”[/b] He paused to press his lips into a thin line briefly, deciding how to continue in a way that would motivate her instead of being berating. If he’d seemed distant or rehearsed before, there was genuine gravity and spontaneity to his words now. [b]“If you believe that you do not deserve to eat, or to live,”[/b] Buck continued, [b]“you simply will not. This place will destroy you. We are [i]all[/i] monsters here, myself included, and you will not change what you are by refusing to eat the food your body now needs. You will only starve… and die.”[/b] As he said ‘and die’, the ancient man might have sounded like Aniella’s passing would make him sad. Or perhaps he would only be sad to lose such a valuable specimen. Letting his words of wisdom hang heavy in the air between them, Buck stood up again and took a step back from the table. [b]“Bon appétit, young lady,”[/b] the vampire said, French and Italian blending harmoniously on his lips. [b]“If you’ll excuse me, I have some other duties to attend while you eat.”[/b] With that, he turned to saunter towards the line of Sibling nurses. [center]----- I know what you want so desperately; You know I'll give you one for free. Forever you're coming back to me, Now I'm gonna give you what you need! -----[/center] What had happened in the cafeteria around him while Nurse Buck was speaking to Aniella had not gone unnoticed. He’d heard, and seen from the corners of his eyes. Dante had cursed in Italian, slammed his tray down on the table and stormed out. He’d also tossed some kind of card at Sasha, and she’d simply burned it. (It was magical fire, best as he could guess, since she was a witch and not a pyrokinetic.) The silver-haired wolfeater, Simone, had said something to Jax and Cadie before following Dante out. None of the Siblings had followed them… and that was a problem. Sara was already stepping in the Head Nurse’s direction to draw his attention to the matter but he stopped her course with a small hand gesture. Jean’s triplets were gathered around Darlene’s little desk in a corner near the door, backs to the patients, paying them no heed. The petite vampire stopped behind them soundlessly. [b]“Tony, Greg. Where are your patients?”[/b] The two men turned to look over Buck’s head at the surrounding area. Greg, the bearded one, even started to speak. [b]“Dante? He’s right…”[/b] But the table where Greg was looking now contained only Sasha. Dante and Simone were nowhere to be seen. The bearded man laughed. [b]“I’ll be damned. Oh well, we’ll go hunting for them in a minute,”[/b] he said, turning back towards Darlene. Buck’s jaw tightened. [b]“You’ll go now.”[/b] [b]“Relax, bloodsucker. Where the fuck are they gonna go, huh?”[/b] Unless they were looking at Buck and Greg when it happened, the patients and the other nurses wouldn’t have seen the swift backhanded strike Buck delivered to the curve of Greg’s bearded jaw. They might have heard the meaty [i]thwack[/i] that the blow made, and they certainly would have heard the clatter as Greg staggered backwards into a trash bin, knocking it over. Tony took his cue and hauled ass out of the Caf, not saying goodbye to Darlene or even looking at Buck. Greg, on the other hand, put a hand over his injured jaw and glared at the smallish vampire. [b]“What the fuck did you do that for?!”[/b] he protested angrily. [b]“Insubordination,”[/b] said vampire replied in a tone laced with nonchalant menace. [b]“If you speak to me again in such a manner, you will pay for it with your tongue and be thereafter mute. So it will [i]not[/i] happen a third time. Now get up off your lazy ass and go finish your patient’s orientation.”[/b] It was clear from Greg’s face that he had something he very much would have liked to say to Buck, but he wisely refrained and did as the Head Nurse demanded. From over his left shoulder, Buck heard a voice… one little more than a whisper, one that only he could hear over such a distance as the one between them. [b]“What just happened? I’m so confused.”[/b] [center]----- » Cadence « I'm well aware I'm a danger to myself, Are you aware I'm a danger to others? There's a crack in my soul You thought was a smile.[/center] [b]“The bloody muffin is right in front of you,”[/b] said a voice from over her right shoulder. It sounded female, and cruel. It was also totally unexpected, and Cadie jumped. She couldn’t see what was going on around her anymore, thanks to Blondie, so hadn’t realized someone was approaching their table. [b]“You should help your friend more… if she is your friend,”[/b] that unfamiliar voice continued. Cadence couldn’t help the words that rolled off her tongue, she could only be thankful that they were whispered so softly that the speaker didn’t hear her. [b]“And you should mind your own goddamn business,”[/b] she said, licking her lips several times. Being blind, she couldn’t see if she’d offended the speaker, but she didn’t hear the voice again and assumed whoever it was had gone. Jax had been handing Cadie the muffin when they’d been interrupted, so she took a huge bite and chewed it slowly, savoring. She loved the rich, chocolately baked goods nearly as much as life itself. Again, she was interrupted, and huffed a sigh of frustration. It was a strange series of crashing sounds, punctuated by angry words between what sounded like Buck and one of the Terrible Trio. Dante? Was that Blondie’s name? [b]“What just happened? I’m so confused.”[/b] Cadie said aloud, turning her face in the direction of the commotion. [b]“Don’t worry, Cadie,”[/b] came Buck’s voice, and it seemed he moved closer as he spoke. [b]“We had an issue, but it’s all sorted now. You can go back to your breakfast.”[/b] [b] “No,”[/b] the telekinetic said, shaking her head. [b] “I mean, literally, what just happened? Did something fall over? What was the Triplet yelling at you about?”[/b] She licked her lips twice, and then nibbled the bottom one a little. [b]“I knocked Greg into a trash can. Cadie, are you blind today?”[/b] Mutely, she nodded, and winced a little. She knew that Buck knew what that meant. [b]“Let me guess; the new blonde.”[/b] She could hear the amusement in the Head Nurse’s voice. Cadie wished she could melt into the floor, slide away from the vampire’s scrutiny. She forced herself be thankful that she was blind and did not have to see what sort of judgment or mirth was on his lean, angular face. Once more, her voice had vanished. She only licked her lips, and nodded. [b]“I’ll do my best to keep him away from you, then,”[/b] the nurse said a little more gently. She nodded again, and this time managed a very quiet ‘thank you’, followed by several lickings of her lips. There was nothing more from the vampire, and Cadie assumed he’d gone back to whatever else he’d been doing. [b]“Gone.”[/b] Jax croaked, and Cadie nodded. She’d figured that part out, but her vision stayed dark. Sometimes it took a while to come back. She took another big bite of her muffin. Today was a two muffin day, she'd ask Jax to fetch her another one and some more milk in just a moment… and maybe in a little while, she’d ask for more pain medicine so she could take a long, drug-induced nap.