Angry Red Mark (PG?)

Mary was sitting in the Common Room in the women’s pavilion with some crayons and a coloring book. She was doing her very best to stay in the lines when she started singing to herself. “Mary, Mary, quite contrary, how does your garden grow? With silver bells and cockle shells, and pretty maids all in a row.” Just as she finished her rhyme, her hand slipped and made an angry red mark across the page. Mary didn’t want to make a fuss about it but she had been doing so well and had wanted it to be perfect, and before too long she started crying.

Aurora, bored out of her mind, decided to take a stroll toward the Common Room. She'd yet to meet many of the other patients besides Callie, but she couldn't really say she exactly wanted to. She liked keeping to herself, and besides, many of them were in here for problems that she didn't want to associate herself with. She had to be wary, she had to watch her back, she had to watch out for anyone possibly out to hurt her. How could she be expected to trust anyone in this stupid hospital they'd thrown her in? She'd found her way out of two, she'd find her way out of this one. It was just a matter of figuring out how.

After pretending to listen to what her nurse was saying by merely continuously nodding her head, she was finally granted the permission to go wandering by herself, within reason. Because she was new, she'd been followed around practically everywhere, even into the bathroom at some points. She'd cursed them so many times, said so many angry things, that they'd even gone as far as to stick needle after needle in her to calm her down. It always worked, of course, but as soon as she came to again and realized what they'd done, she'd only grow angry and lash out some more. The cycle was endless, and so to finally be granted with some time away from their probing eyes, she'd scampered off almost immediately.

She poked her head in, glancing around, but didn't see very many people. In fact, she only noticed a single woman, minding her own business. It was enough to turn Rory away altogether, but with a shrug she wandered in. Was that a bloody coloring book? And crayons? She knew she was staring, but she couldn't help it. The woman was grown, and that was what she spent her time doing? Each to their own, she supposed, but it was still quite the odd sight. Especially when the woman started singing a nursery rhyme. This was unbelievable! Doing her best not to look irritated, she exhaled heavily, collapsing on a couch somewhat near her. If she was smart, she would have distanced herself, but she didn't feel like walking anymore. Just as she was tuning the woman out, all of a sudden, she heard sobbing. Instantly, her dark eyes shot in the direction of the woman, and sure enough, she was crying. What the hell?

Aurora eyed her for quite a while, exasperated with the situation. Finally, she sat up a little straighter. "Why, exactly, are you crying?" So maybe she shouldn't have sounded so rude, but she couldn't help it! Was there really a need? Probably.. but she didn't really think to consider what could possibly be wrong with the woman. She could have been playing with fire, and she would have never even knew it.

Mary heard a woman’s voice ask what was wrong. She looked up and started to calm down. “I… colored… outside… the…. lines.” She said sniffling after every word. “Now my… picture… is all… messed up.” She picked up the coloring book and showed the lady. “I wanted…. it to be… perfect so I…. could give…. it to D.. d… dr…. Meyers.” She explained, calming down a little bit more with every sentence. She grabbed a few tissues to dry her tears and blow her nose. “I’m Mary,” She said offering her hand.

It seemed as if Aurora's voice was enough to start calming the woman down, and she could feel herself staring. She couldn't help it, the sight of a grown woman crying over something as juvenile as a coloring was absolutely absurd! But then, she realized, that maybe that was why the woman was here in the first place. Because she had the mentality of a small child? But then that wouldn't explain what she had done wrong, criminally. The gears in her brain continued to turn but she exhaled slowly, trying to keep calm and not grow annoyed with the situation. It was especially hard to listen to the dilemma with sniffling after every damned word! As soon as she heard the reason for the crying was because she'd colored outside of the lines, her lips parted slightly, shock evident in her eyes. Shedding tears over something such as coloring outside of lines? Well, she had asked, after all.

"....Oh." It was all she managed to say. Really, what else was she expected to do? Eyes glancing down toward the coloring as it was shown to her, sure enough, she noticed the angry red streak that disturbed the otherwise neatness of the picture. "...I see." She said again, the beginning of each of her sentences tentative. Because she honestly wasn't sure how to handle the situation, and that wasn't alright by any means. She shifted her position on the couch, crossing her arms over her chest, trying to remain calm. Because once her paranoia made it's appearance, it wouldn't go away. "I'm sure... she'll... appreciate it anyhow?" This was the most awkward conversation she'd ever had! She was still so confused. "Or you could... always... color another?"

She licked her slightly chapped lips as the woman dried away her tears and blew her nose before promptly offering out her hand in an introduction. Mary. Like the name in the rhyme. She was tempted to ignore the gesture altogether, being much too formal for her taste, but she didn't want the water works to start again. Swiftly, she extended her hand, her skin barely brushing against the other woman's, the hand-shake was so quick. "I'm Aurora."

“Aurora?” she said, “Like the northern lights? A very pretty name for a very pretty lady.” She stated, calmed down, “And smart too, there are so many in here that I can color instead. Thank you.” Mary was more than happy to sit down at the table again and find a new picture to color. “Dr. Meyers says that there are bad people in here, are you a bad person?” Mary asked, not knowing it was rude question. “She also says there’s a bad person inside me, but something in my brain doesn’t allow me to talk to him, so I don’t really think he’s there.” Mary said thinking nothing of it, as she colored her new picture.

When her name was repeated, she only nodded quietly, before deciding against being completely mute. "I guess like that, yeah." She said with a small shrug, crossing her arms over her chest. She'd never been quite asked something like that before, and therefore she'd made for an awkward answer, but that was besides the point. A single brow arched when she was complimented, and she stared at the woman opposite her for a long while before a faint smirk etched onto her lips. "Why thank you." There wasn't any reason she had to be rude; the comment was obviously a genuine one, although it was also a bit confusing to receive all at the same time. At least she wasn't crying anymore, because Aurora didn't do well with stuff like that. Her smirk only grew when her intelligence was also complimented. Things she already knew, but there was no need to be harsh. Just humble. "You're welcome." She couldn't remember the last time she'd been quite so civil, but it was actually sort of... nice.

At least the mini-crisis seemed to have been averted. Until the next question that popped up. It was said in such an absentminded and innocent manner though, that Aurora really couldn't have been offended or taken aback even if she'd tried. It was so straight forward and so blunt, that it took her slightly off guard. "Er, what?" She managed, just for time to compose herself. From a crying woman, to complimenting, to getting straight to the point. This patient sure was an interesting one. She was saved even more time to reply as the woman spoke again, explaining that she had bad people inside of her. That's what the Doctors say to all of us here, doesn't mean it's true. She thought wryly, but she didn't say a word out loud. Not yet, anyhow. "Oh? Why are you in here, if you don't mind me asking?" So she was being equally nosy, but in a more subdue way.

After another pause, she decided to speak up again. "Hey, Mary?" She questioned, waiting until she had the woman's attention. She didn't want to be the cause of another messed up picture. "How old are you, anyways?" The question might have seemed completely out of context; but it wasn't. There was an answer to the strange and juvenile way Mary was acting, and Aurora wanted to get to the bottom of it. She hated being confused.

Mary just continued coloring as Aurora was taken aback by her questions, not knowing there was a problem with them. When she was asked why she was there she answered without looking up, “Daddy’s in an acoma and they said the bad man in me did it, so to keep everyone safe I have to be in here.” Mary grabbed another crayon carefully avoiding the red.
Mary looked up when her name was called. “Yes?” When she was asked how old she was the thought for a moment and counted on her fingers, “This many I think,” holding up 6 fingers. “How old are you?” she asked going back to her picture.

It was quickly apparent that whatever information she may have wanted to gain from the woman, all she really had to do was ask. Mary wasn't closed off and aggressive like some of the other patients she'd met so far, almost too willing to offer the information she was being asked of. Not that Aurora really minded, it gave her what she wanted to know, but it also made her feel slightly guilty. Was she taking advantage of the situation in any sort of way? Probably. Wait, why in the hell did she even feel guilty in the first place? She had no reason to. She was simply just having a conversation with someone who was willing to participate perhaps a bit more than a normal person might. There was nothing wrong with that, she decided.

When her question was answered, a light frown appeared on her lips, but not because of what she was hearing. So this woman, too, had tried to kill someone and it had left said person in a coma. So what was exactly wrong with the woman? She wasn't sure, but she wasn't certain of how to ask. "Oh, I see." Was the only explanation she offered in response. In order to make herself feel at least a little better for asking such personal questions, she offered up an answer - finally - to what Mary had asked before. "I don't happen to think I'm a bad person." And she really didn't. She saw absolutely nothing wrong with what she'd done, in fact, she was proud of it. And had she not felt like she was talking to a very young child, she would have shamelessly described her acts of violence, in detail.

She could only raise a single eyebrow when she was answered with finger-holding how old Mary was. Six? She blinked a couple of times, slowly processing the information and what it might have meant. She had the mentality of a six year old? She certainly looked much older than that. Around her own age, actually. "I'm twenty two." She replied cooly, gaze still resting on the woman as she tried to make sense of everything. Did the woman struggle with her identity? So much to the point where she thought she was still a child? "How's the picture coming along?"

Mary smiled when Aurora said she wasn’t a bad person, “Maybe we can be friends,” she stated. She continued coloring when she got a sudden flash in her mind of hands covered in blood followed by more images that did not seem to fit into her life and before she had a chance to be scared she was gone.

Kaylyn woke and saw crayons in her hand and a coloring book before her and knew what had happened. “Damn,” she muttered not yet seeing there was someone else in the room. She began gathering the crayons and closed the coloring book. As she stood to exit she saw a woman sitting not 5 feet from her. “Oh, my, I’m sorry. Did she bother you?” she asked, referring to Mary. It wasn’t necessarily a new thing for her to have to explain her disease, but it wasn’t something she ever looked forward to.

Aurora felt a brief smirk twisting onto her lips when the suggestion of them being friends was made. "Mm, maybe." She replied back, her attention drifting from the grown-woman with the mentality of a young girl. It wasn't the weirdest situation she'd been put in, not by a long-shot, but it was still odd to deal with. She'd run into all sorts of situations after being at the hospital for a couple of weeks. At least it kept things interesting, which helped keep her mind off of her own problems. Not for long, but at least for a small degree of time. That was all she could have really asked for. Sensing something was off though, she glanced back toward Mary. She was coloring quietly, minding her own business, and then suddenly the actions just stopped. She frowned, but was unable to look away.

She blinked once as she heard the utterance of a word from what was previously Mary, but she said nothing. A single eye-brow arched as the supplies were collected, almost as if she wasn't there. Like the conversation they'd just had never happened at all. Aurora hadn't really planned on saying anything, to be perfectly honest. She wasn't even all that bothered by the fact that she'd been forgotten in literally a blink of an eye. Even though she knew she wasn't the type of person who could easily be disregarded, but that was besides the point. If the whimpering woman wanted to leave, so be it, she'd let her. Whatever. Lazily she turned her attention away as the woman stood, but was a bit surprised when she was suddenly addressed once more. An apology, and then some more words.

She glanced back toward the standing woman, regarding her with a closed off expression. Did she bother you? Her mind was trying to work through what was happening, but for some reason, she wasn't grasping it just yet. "Who?" She asked a bit dumbly. Maybe she should have known. The root of the problem was staring her right in the face, but for some reason she was unable to figure it out. Maybe because she'd never dealt with such a disease before. "Only person I was talking to was...." She trailed off, eyes looking up into the woman's questioningly. Waiting for an explanation.

Kaylyn understood the woman’s confusion but had to use all of her self control not to laugh as she tried to figure out what had just happened. “You were just talking with Mary, right?” she asked, hoping the woman would at least try and understand what just happened and not just get upset like some people tend to do. She took a seat on the table and set her alt’s things down next to her so she could hold a conversation with the woman without feeling like she was standing over her.

Aurora breathed in deeply, trying to remain calm. If there was one thing she despised, it was being confused, and she knew the emotion was clearly evident on her features. That was not okay. Glancing away from her company for a mere moment, she pretended as if she was a bit bored with the situation, doing her best to pull herself together. When she felt as if the look had been banned from her features entirely, did she allow herself to look back. She wasn't trying to be rude, no. She was really trying to figure out what was happening, but it just wasn't working. And she refused to ask for help. She'd never ask for anything to be explained to her, she was too proud for that.

After she was spoken to, she paused before nodding. "Yes. I was." Another moment of silence before she decided to speak up again. "...You aren't Mary anymore." It wasn't a question, it was a statement. Way to point out the obvious! She was making herself look like an idiot. Wrinkling her nose in distaste, she licked her lips. She watched warily as the woman sat down, apparently intent on staying a while once more. Paranoia struck her suddenly. What if this was all a joke being played on her? What if this was just for laughs? What if...

She tried once more to take deep breaths, knowing getting herself worked up over something so small was pointless. So she just watched the woman without a word, wondering if she'd provide the explanation she so evidently needed to have this all make sense to her.

Kaylyn watched as the woman calmed herself and prepared to explain what had happened. “I’m Kaylyn. Mary is my alt, I have dissociative identity disorder. There is no way I can convince you this wasn’t a trick I can only hope that you take me at my word.” She hated explaining her disease so she gave the simplest explanation she could and prepared for any questions the woman in front of her may have. Kaylyn crossed her legs and leaned back supporting herself on her hands lazily as she waited for the woman’s reaction.

Aurora's eyebrows again knitted toward one another as the woman re-introduced herself this time as Kaylyn. One minute Mary, another minute Kaylyn. Strange. And it continued to be that way, even as she explained who Mary was and why she was suddenly switching identities. As the disorder name reached her ears, slightly more understanding was evident in her dark eyes. "Oh.... I see." Was all she said for the time being, still processing the bit of information she'd just learned. What if this was another 'alt,' as she was calling it? How did she know who this 'Kaylyn' truly was? Although she was acting much more her age now than she had been five seconds prior. This was all so confusing but at least it was giving her something to think about.

After a moment she was shrugging, glancing around the room. She wasn't uncomfortable, she just still wasn't completely sold. What was she going to do though? "So.. Kaylyn.. is yourself?" She didn't mean to sound dumb, but she was still wary. "Do you have other... alts, as you call them?" Maybe even dumber, but she didn't care. All she wanted to do was understand this insanity that was being fed to her.

Dissociative Identity Disorder. She couldn't imagine acting like a grown woman one second and then all at once reverting to a young child. Shaking her head slightly she bit her lip, attention drifting back to her company as she waited for her to speak.

Kaylyn wasn’t that surprised by the woman’s reaction, it wasn’t uncommon for people to be hesitant when she tells them about her disease. “Yes Kaylyn is my given name,” it was kind of a new question, since she was usually able to meet people as herself before as one of her alts, but not wholly unexpected.”Yes there is one other his name is Samuel. He’s older and a bit protective.” Kaylyn answered the woman’s questions without realizing she didn’t know who she was talking to and after a moment, “I’m sorry, I don’t believe I got your name.” She was sure that the woman had introduced herself to Mary but she was blissfully unaware of her alts’ actions and conversations.

The girl apparently now named Kaylyn hardly seemed surprised by her own curiosity to the situation. She imagined that the woman was quite used to the stares and questions she received upon recovering from one of her spells of switching to a different alt. Aurora could hardly imagine what it must have been like, to be apart of yourself one moment, and then be someone else entirely the next, and not even be aware of it. She nodded once to show she was following the words she was being told, but that still didn't make her any less questionable. This was all new to her, a new concept she was trying to get used to. Who could blame her for being as wary and cautious as she was?

Hearing that Kaylyn also had an alt that was a man, she chuckled. Both genders, imagine that. "Oh, I see." She mused, reaching up to play with her hair as she thought. It was pretty interesting, she would admit that much, but not out loud. When her name was questioned, she was just about to remind her that she'd already introduced herself when she stopped. Maybe she didn't remember because technically, she'd been talking to Mary.

Pausing, she exhaled before speaking again. "I'm Aurora." She replied, but she didn't offer out her hand. Mary had been the one to do such, and that was the only reason she'd obliged. Shifting in the seat she was in, she realized that their conversation was slowly beginning to dwindle down. "How long have you been here for?" A potentially rude question, but she was never concerned with manners.

“A beautiful name,” Kaylyn mused to herself out loud when Aurora introduced herself. Kae was a bit hesitant to answer Aurora’s question, it wasn’t that it was exactly private but it wasn’t something she was exactly advertising either, but there was no harm in answering the question so she did, “I’ve been here since it opened in ’09. What about you?” She asked the question back, if Aurora didn’t want to answer it was her own business but she had asked in the first place so it was only fair. Kae silently studied the woman before her as she waited for an answer. Nothing can compare to the beauty of the northern lights except perhaps a woman named after them, she thought unable to stop herself from smirking, hoping that Aurora wouldn’t think anything of it since she didn’t know how the thoughts would be received.

A brief smirk flickered across Aurora's lips as she received a compliment similar to the one 'Mary' had given her. "Thanks," She mused, almost indifferent. It wasn't that she didn't take compliments well, for she was used to gathering a lot of them. It was just the point that she didn't really know what to say in response most times, and so she took the words in stride and quickly moved on to the next topic. She noticed the girl's hesitancy to her question, to the point where she almost offered that it didn't need to be answered if she didn't want it to be. But Kaylyn was soon supplying her with an answer, one she could only nod to. "Ah." So she was a Schilling veteran. Interesting.. "I've only been here a couple of months." She supplied after a moment, realizing she'd been asked as well. She wasn't ashamed.

Lounging lightly where she was situated, she let herself admire the pretty woman before her. She hadn't exactly been keen on checking her out beforehand, not when she'd been acting like she had the mentality of a young child, but now that she was acting like a young woman she felt it was acceptable. She had attractive features, though Aurora wouldn't announce those particular thoughts out-loud just yet. She wasn't sure how they would be taken, but she was always one to speak her mind at one point or another.

Licking her lips after a moment, she glanced around the other-wise empty room and exhaled. "So.." She began, unsure of where to go with their suddenly dead conversation. Whoops?

Kaylyn simply smiled when Aurora thanked her for the compliment. She nodded when her question was answered, there were new people coming in all the time, so it was not surprise she hadn’t been here long. “Yeah?” she asked before she had noticed that their conversation had lost its momentum. “Oh,” she exclaimed when it finally came to her, “Have you been enjoying the weather?” she asked when she was unable to come up with anything else. It was a lame attempt at small talk but it was better than any silence that would have taken place otherwise.

Awkward situations grated on Aurora's nerves, and now was no different. She shifted upon her seat, distress evident on her features for a mere moment before she roped it back in. She refused to broadcast her emotions for the stranger to see, that just wasn't her style. She stared at Kaylyn in confusion for a moment when she didn't seem to comprehend what she'd been poking at, until it seemed to click. She only nodded, chewing on the inside of her cheek vaguely. Was this when she got up and left? If there was nothing else to talk about, then her time here was no longer needed.

Exhaling at the question, she half-heartedly glanced toward the nearby window, catching sight of the sun high in the rather cloudless sky. "For the most part." She offered, aware of just how painful the conversation was becoming. She switched from biting her cheek to biting her lip.

"How about you?" This was horrible. Just terrible. Reaching up, she dragged her fingers through her hair. Maybe one of them should just put them both out of their misery and just leave. Or maybe she could think of something else to talk about...

Kaylyn noticed Aurora’s momentary discomfort but decided it was best not to say anything, since she was so quick to hide it. “It’s been well enough,” she commented, “could use a good thunderstorm though.” She could feel the tension in the room get worse as the seconds of silence ticked by. “So.. what brought you to Shilling?” she asked, it was better then small talk, but none of her business all the same. She would answer the question if asked, despite that it meant talking about her ‘disease,’ but they’d done plenty of that already.