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tookawrongturn)
Evangeline sat at her desk, reading the case file on patient 1563. It wasn't terribly thick; she'd only woken from the coma days ago and the preliminary report on the woman was spotty at best.
She claimed that her name was Adelle Wyndham, though no such name could be found on record in the state. It was clear that she was foreign, maybe British, but she had no passport or supporting identification when she turned up, taken to the mental health unit at the local hospital by the police officer that picked her up.
She was confused and rambling, almost hit by a car. She shied away from anyone who tried to take a statement, only repeating her name and that she didn't belong here. After a few days at the MHU she was transferred to Pleasantview Mental Health. Her condition did not improve; it only deteriorated until she was in a catatonic state and shortly after, a coma. She remained at Pleasantview in a private room, given the best care that the facility had to offer.
After a few days she awoke again. She was panicked and terrified when the nurses found her. A preliminary interview revealed that she had no memory of the earlier incident where she was found in the street, nor her time in the hospital and Pleasantview Mental Health before she slipped into the coma.
That was all that Angel had to go on, but so far Adelle Wyndham did not appear violent and the rest of the staff was wasn't in a position to take on a new patient. This one appeared to be a long term project.
Adelle didn't know exactly what to expect from her first session with Dr. Rothschild. She tried not to be too anxious about it, but this world had set her on edge. There were so many strange, new things to learn and she had only seen a tiny portion of this world locked behind the asylum walls. She approached the office with trepidation, escorted from her private room by one of the aides who left her once she was seated and waited outside the closed door.
"Good afternoon Adelle," Evangeline began easily. She thought she'd take this slow and easy, try and be friendly and gain the poor woman's trust. Clearly she'd been through a lot.
Adelle watched this woman carefully. She'd been careful not to blurt out her story again. She was slowly adjusting to the world turned upside down. These people weren't going to believe her. Well, maybe this one, but certainly not the others. And this one might take time. Adelle couldn't read minds, not by a long shot, but she could see the future and one of her visions clearly showed this woman helping her. "Good afternoon," she replied quietly, her accent still in place. That was one thing she couldn't hide or deny. She noticed it more now that she was talking to someone without an accent like her own.
"I'm Dr. Rothschild," Angel offered. "I'd just like to get to know a bit more about you today, if that's alright?"
Adelle nodded slowly, taking her time to think about this proposition. The doctor would be asking her all kinds of questions and how often would she be able to get around the real answers without sounding like a complete lunatic? She sighed. "That's fine," she offered in return.
"How about we start with your family? You can tell me what you remember about them, maybe a bit about your childhood."
The petite blonde woman paled a bit at that idea. "They're all dead," she said quietly. "My father passed on before…" she trailed away. Her one gratitude was that he'd died peacefully before the war could claim him. "He died before the rest," she added after a moment. "My sister was killed. My brother I'm certain has met some foul end of his own doing. I had no one else," she finished slowly, her voice dark. "Please, can we speak on something else?"
"Certainly," Angel said, listening carefully. She didn't jot down her notes until after her patients left, mostly to ensure that she was listening and in the moment. At this moment she was disturbed. Whether or not Adelle was mentally disturbed, Angel was trained enough to know when someone was lying or telling the truth. Regardless of anything else, Evangeline was certain that Adelle had lost her family and that it was still something far too painful to talk about. "What did you do for work?"
Adelle sighed, closed her eyes briefly. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you."
"Try me," Angel offered kindly with a little smile.
She debated a bit before she spoke. She wasn't comfortable with constantly lying, especially not to someone who might turn out to help her. Still, there was no way she'd believe the truth. "I was a priestess," she said finally. "The high priestess in fact."
It wasn't as hard to believe as Adelle thought, though Angel took it in a different direction. She could be some religious zealot, caught up in the fervor. She made note of it in her head as something to explore further if it dead-ended here. "A priestess," she echoed, lingering over the word. "Could you explain your duties?"
She couldn't see any reason why this doctor would care to know about something like that if she couldn't possibly believe it. "It was my duty to see ahead and advise those around me toward the best possible outcome."
"Sounds like a meteorologist," Angel joked lightly. She noted the blank look Adelle returned, as if she'd never heard the word before. "Can you see ahead?" she asked slowly, in a careful tone that indicated she was open to the idea.
"If I say yes will I be stuck here forever?" Adelle asked, a little frown riding her lips.
Angel offered her an easy smile. "Not necessarily," she replied. "Our resident psychic is out every few weeks, though she has a tendency to come back."
One eyebrow raised, Adelle wasn't sure she'd heard the doctor correctly. "Resident psychic?"
Angel offered Adelle another smile. "Creepy accuracy," she said. She thought a moment and perhaps Adelle really was some kind of high priestess, another psychic who used her abilities in a way which required a slightly open mind to understand. She'd work under the assumption that it was true, at least until Adelle proved her wrong.
"Do you believe me then?" the other women asked with uncertainty ringing in her tone.
Evangeline nodded. "It's not my job to disbelieve you," she said easily. "It's my job to help and trust you. If that's going to work I'm going to have to hop out on a limb and offer some trust."
Adelle offered Angel her first smile, a tiny thing really. She didn't want to mess up this opportunity. "Well I hope we can trust each other," she replied, a little doubt creeping into her voice though she did her best to hide it.
The doctor rose from her seat and offered a hand to shake. "Me too," she replied and leaned on the edge of her desk. "Between you and me this place is pretty much insane. No pun intended. We need all the help we can get."
tookawrongturn)Evangeline sat at her desk, reading the case file on patient 1563. It wasn't terribly thick; she'd only woken from the coma days ago and the preliminary report on the woman was spotty at best.
She claimed that her name was Adelle Wyndham, though no such name could be found on record in the state. It was clear that she was foreign, maybe British, but she had no passport or supporting identification when she turned up, taken to the mental health unit at the local hospital by the police officer that picked her up.
She was confused and rambling, almost hit by a car. She shied away from anyone who tried to take a statement, only repeating her name and that she didn't belong here. After a few days at the MHU she was transferred to Pleasantview Mental Health. Her condition did not improve; it only deteriorated until she was in a catatonic state and shortly after, a coma. She remained at Pleasantview in a private room, given the best care that the facility had to offer.
After a few days she awoke again. She was panicked and terrified when the nurses found her. A preliminary interview revealed that she had no memory of the earlier incident where she was found in the street, nor her time in the hospital and Pleasantview Mental Health before she slipped into the coma.
That was all that Angel had to go on, but so far Adelle Wyndham did not appear violent and the rest of the staff was wasn't in a position to take on a new patient. This one appeared to be a long term project.
Adelle didn't know exactly what to expect from her first session with Dr. Rothschild. She tried not to be too anxious about it, but this world had set her on edge. There were so many strange, new things to learn and she had only seen a tiny portion of this world locked behind the asylum walls. She approached the office with trepidation, escorted from her private room by one of the aides who left her once she was seated and waited outside the closed door.
"Good afternoon Adelle," Evangeline began easily. She thought she'd take this slow and easy, try and be friendly and gain the poor woman's trust. Clearly she'd been through a lot.
Adelle watched this woman carefully. She'd been careful not to blurt out her story again. She was slowly adjusting to the world turned upside down. These people weren't going to believe her. Well, maybe this one, but certainly not the others. And this one might take time. Adelle couldn't read minds, not by a long shot, but she could see the future and one of her visions clearly showed this woman helping her. "Good afternoon," she replied quietly, her accent still in place. That was one thing she couldn't hide or deny. She noticed it more now that she was talking to someone without an accent like her own.
"I'm Dr. Rothschild," Angel offered. "I'd just like to get to know a bit more about you today, if that's alright?"
Adelle nodded slowly, taking her time to think about this proposition. The doctor would be asking her all kinds of questions and how often would she be able to get around the real answers without sounding like a complete lunatic? She sighed. "That's fine," she offered in return.
"How about we start with your family? You can tell me what you remember about them, maybe a bit about your childhood."
The petite blonde woman paled a bit at that idea. "They're all dead," she said quietly. "My father passed on before…" she trailed away. Her one gratitude was that he'd died peacefully before the war could claim him. "He died before the rest," she added after a moment. "My sister was killed. My brother I'm certain has met some foul end of his own doing. I had no one else," she finished slowly, her voice dark. "Please, can we speak on something else?"
"Certainly," Angel said, listening carefully. She didn't jot down her notes until after her patients left, mostly to ensure that she was listening and in the moment. At this moment she was disturbed. Whether or not Adelle was mentally disturbed, Angel was trained enough to know when someone was lying or telling the truth. Regardless of anything else, Evangeline was certain that Adelle had lost her family and that it was still something far too painful to talk about. "What did you do for work?"
Adelle sighed, closed her eyes briefly. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you."
"Try me," Angel offered kindly with a little smile.
She debated a bit before she spoke. She wasn't comfortable with constantly lying, especially not to someone who might turn out to help her. Still, there was no way she'd believe the truth. "I was a priestess," she said finally. "The high priestess in fact."
It wasn't as hard to believe as Adelle thought, though Angel took it in a different direction. She could be some religious zealot, caught up in the fervor. She made note of it in her head as something to explore further if it dead-ended here. "A priestess," she echoed, lingering over the word. "Could you explain your duties?"
She couldn't see any reason why this doctor would care to know about something like that if she couldn't possibly believe it. "It was my duty to see ahead and advise those around me toward the best possible outcome."
"Sounds like a meteorologist," Angel joked lightly. She noted the blank look Adelle returned, as if she'd never heard the word before. "Can you see ahead?" she asked slowly, in a careful tone that indicated she was open to the idea.
"If I say yes will I be stuck here forever?" Adelle asked, a little frown riding her lips.
Angel offered her an easy smile. "Not necessarily," she replied. "Our resident psychic is out every few weeks, though she has a tendency to come back."
One eyebrow raised, Adelle wasn't sure she'd heard the doctor correctly. "Resident psychic?"
Angel offered Adelle another smile. "Creepy accuracy," she said. She thought a moment and perhaps Adelle really was some kind of high priestess, another psychic who used her abilities in a way which required a slightly open mind to understand. She'd work under the assumption that it was true, at least until Adelle proved her wrong.
"Do you believe me then?" the other women asked with uncertainty ringing in her tone.
Evangeline nodded. "It's not my job to disbelieve you," she said easily. "It's my job to help and trust you. If that's going to work I'm going to have to hop out on a limb and offer some trust."
Adelle offered Angel her first smile, a tiny thing really. She didn't want to mess up this opportunity. "Well I hope we can trust each other," she replied, a little doubt creeping into her voice though she did her best to hide it.
The doctor rose from her seat and offered a hand to shake. "Me too," she replied and leaned on the edge of her desk. "Between you and me this place is pretty much insane. No pun intended. We need all the help we can get."
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