damned_institute | Dayshift 46: Doctor's Office 1 (Dr. Yumeno) [second shift]

Entry tags:

anise,
daedalus

Dayshift 46: Doctor's Office 1 (Dr. Yumeno) [second shift]

Further changes were afoot in the Institute, as if the fact he’d spent most of his recent time away from his office--where these therapy sessions were expected to be conducted--instead of in it didn’t say enough. Woe to the patients, who had received even less attention than usual. Daedalus, though, was more interested in the schedule alterations, and the presence of more than one new colleague. That there were additions to the roster was not all that curious from a logical standpoint: when the medical providers were already well outnumbered by patients, replacements would be expected for those doctors whose employment had been terminated just as suddenly as so many patients‘ stays. But logic was not necessarily a defining quality of the hospital Daedalus remained tied to.

The cancelled day of therapy, on the other hand, was something else. Something he was perhaps a little sorry to have missed--for he would have come in, anyway, had he known a handful of the patients had regained some sense of their former selves. He only had the aftermath to concern himself with now; a blip was all it seemed to have been, a moment in time.

Like a switch flipping, Daedalus thought as he stepped into Office 1 and clicked the lights on. Yes, interesting.

He wasn’t pleased with a great many things, but he was set for another meeting with one of his more fruitful relations first thing. If he were striving for progress, he could do worse than that. The stack of nine files, he had brought with him, and he dropped them on his desk while he settled himself in for the day. Time to play his part again.

Seated, Daedalus pulled the files into his lap. ‘Haze, Dolores’ was the name on the first tab.

With an airy sigh, he stored the stack away in his desk drawer.

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Anise felt a lot better after eating a proper meal for the first time in days, even if the company made her food taste kind of bad. Sure, maybe she felt a little glad to see that Dist wasn't dead or anything, but he still made for a terrible conversation partner.

As she left the cafeteria, Anise made a stop at the bulletin board to see what was going on. Guy had left a note, which was good. Even though Guy had told her no harm done, he was still in terrible shape. It was a relief to know he was up and about. But besides that, there was one other note that caught her attention.

Luke. Anise felt her heart jump at the sight of the familiar handwriting. Luke was really back! Using what little time she had before therapy, Anise shared a quick exchange with the guy before her nurse had to practically drag her away from the Sun Room.

"You don't want to keep Dr. Yumeno waiting too long, do you?" the woman gently chided as she pouted and booed at her.

When they reached the door to the doctor's office, Anise suddenly remembered the bizarre announcements I.R.I.S. had made that one day. Was Daedalus a victim of Landel's as well? It was starting to look that way, though that still didn't make him trustworthy. In fact, knowing he could very well be brainwashed only gave Anise more reason to be wary.

But of course, she wasn't going to be obvious about that. Anise looked anything but wary as she bounded into the room, greeting the young doctor with a bright smile. The nurse who had ushered her in left quietly, leaving the two of them alone. Immediately, Anise went to the chair across from Daedalus and sat herself down.

"Morning!" she chirped. Normally, she might have shown a little hesitation, but today she was doing her best to look energetic. For one, she felt like she had to make up for that day she spent moping around. For another, she couldn't help but wonder if maybe, if she stayed on Daedalus' good side, she could get more free stuff out of him. It was worth a try!

_{[Sorry for the wait. ;_;]}

Daedalus was hardly enthusiastic about his required tasks, but one wouldn’t know it to look at him. A trait he and the girl had in common. When the knock came at the door, he looked up with a smile, brown eyes bright and unburdened by any of the less than altruistic goings on behind his expression. Watching the pigtailed figure skip inside, he flashed a broader smile at the nurse, a wordless gesture of thanks, before turning back to the guest of honor in the wake of the door closing.

“Good morning,” he returned, bringing his chair in so that he could rest his arms on the desktop and lessen the distance. “It’s been a few days, and I hear things have been rather out of sorts. How are you?”

It'd been more than a few days, if one were to count between sessions and not their time together during her field trip. And exactly what ‘things’ was another question--with her, or within the hospital? Well, that was for her to decide.

Out of sorts? Anise cocked her head a little at that comment. A lot of things had happened since their last meeting, so it was hard to guess at what he could mean by that. Did he mean the visit with Ion, the injuries she had a couple days ago, or maybe her depression over what happened with Guy? Or something other than those, even?

Well, whichever it was, Anise wasn't about to volunteer any details. Instead, she figured the best thing to do would be to brush it off and act like whatever happened was no big deal.

The slightly puzzled look vanished, replaced with another cheerful grin. "I'm good! Actually, I'm in a really good mood today." Though she still had a lot weighing on her mind, this much was somewhat true. Knowing that Guy was alive and Luke was around gave her spirits a big boost. "What about you?"

How much truth was in that response? Not near enough. Her words, though, could be easily accepted, and he exuded a faint air of relief. “Good,” Daedalus parroted gladly. “To be honest, I was a little worried, having these therapy days delayed. The nurses say you’ve been acting under the weather, what with visitation,” and claims of all sorts of things, from the walking dead, to figurative deaths, and the sudden, exponential progress made by some of the patients, “and everything.”

‘Good’ was not likely the word of the day, or any day, but Daedalus held to it.

His answer to her question was merely his mollification given words: “I’m happy to be into work. It must be luck that I got to see you so soon.” Daedalus had the best of intentions when it came to his patients; that was his role as the interested doctor, and that was what he put forth. In Romdo, brokering more friendly, relaxed relationships was unnecessary when that role was acknowledged and accepted without question. Here, he had to play his cards.

Visitation. So he heard about what happened with Ion. Anise shifted a little in her seat. "Yeah, I guess that was pretty bad," she admitted, glancing away for a moment. There wasn't any use in trying to hide it. Sync had attacked Ion in broad daylight, with the nurses watching. There was no way Daedalus didn't know about the incident, and it wasn't too hard to guess at how she felt about it.

"But I'm feeling a lot better now," she added quickly. "And luck, hmm? Does that mean I'm your favorite patient after all?" Immediately, she had covered up her discomfort with a playful front.

“If you are, then I’m glad. But if you want to unburden yourself, that’s what I’m here for. I can understand not feeling comfortable talking with the other day staff.”

Once the suggestion was posed, he left it open-ended, but didn’t linger on it further. Was he a priest taking confessions? Certainly not, nor was he curious about the personal aspects she held her tongue on to spare herself his scrutiny. But he was a doctor, and attempting to bridge the distance was a part of that practice. In that regard, it was to his disadvantage that he was positioned as he was.

If he were really determined, Daedalus could change that…

With moderation in mind, at least in that moment, he wasn’t about to apply too much pressure on the fact the girl was all too prone to swapping subjects at her whim. He knew, though. The tilt of his head told her he suspected she was doing so yet again. But playing favorites? That was the second time she’d implied as much, and it was the second time Daedalus was clearly evading getting caught by the playful jab. “It’d be unfair if I thought like that,” he said with a laugh in his voice. “I hope you haven’t been telling people that--I’ll get in trouble.” Only a tease of his own, of course.

For some people were probably already thinking he did so, when it wasn’t usual to be buying baubles for patients as he already had. He’d set that in motion by his own hand.

"Don't worry, I'll keep your secret!" Anise assured him teasingly, acting as though his evasion had instead been an admission.

"But I really don't feel burdened, or anything," she said, pulling Tokunaga off of her back and into her lap, allowing her to lean back comfortably in her chair. She'd certainly felt burdened yesterday, but Claude and Guy had helped a lot with that. Now that her stress was back to a manageable level, she just wanted to put all the bad stuff behind her and forget about it.

Not like that was even possible, really, but she was still going to try.

Oh, good.

He tried not to smile, but not hard enough that a trace of one didn’t tug at his lips. But by the time they returned to the original direction of conversation, he had sobered it somewhat. “That’s better than not,” Daedalus replied with a nod. The fact that the reticence was more likely due to a desire not to speak on such matters over a truly untroubled state still stood. It wasn’t his style to blatantly pry open the gates, however.

“Are you enjoying the other doll? I see this one’s with you a lot of the time.”

When the doctor asked about the doll, Anise gave an eager, grateful nod. "Yep! Thanks to that, my room finally looks more like a girl's room." That was also thanks to the flowers Ion had brought her. Although, she guessed they weren't going to last much longer. Anise had noticed some of the petals starting to curl over and dry out.

It looked like Daedalus was trying to move the conversation back to the topic of Anise, but she didn't mind talking about Tokunaga, so it was probably fine. "Yeah... Tokunaga's special. I don't go anywhere without it."

Well, except for her first week at Landel's, when she had been stuck without it. In a way, she was almost grateful for special counseling. It had given her a nasty scare, and she was still pissed about failing to meet Ion that night, but in the end, half the idiots she attacked had it coming, and nobody got seriously hurt anyway. And then she got Tokunaga back! As she hugged the doll in her lap, Anise couldn't quite remember how she managed to get by without it.

Decorations were a normal, even expected, interest of youth, weren’t they? Even one of adults. Didn’t Daedalus himself keep personal items nearby? But he did question how much the girl actually cared about knick knacks and gendered things when during the day she seemed to spend most of her time out of her room, anyway… and out of her room at night, too, or so the story went.

It was difficult to rectify the image of a girl who liked toys with a girl who, instead of sleeping, combated life-threatening foes.

“Is that so? Glad I could help. Some of these rooms do seem like they could use some livening up,” was all he said, folding his hands back towards him and putting more of his weight on his elbows. And then there was the toy in her arms. “Tokunaga, huh?” he repeated aloud, taking care to pronounce the name correctly. “Was it a gift? It’s not pink, though,” he joked, bringing to mind what she had said in the toy store.

"Yeah," Anise confirmed with a small nod. "Mama gave it to me." That seemed like such a long time ago, now. Back before she even met Ion... It was only a few years ago, but Anise's life had changed so much since then that it felt much longer.

When she first received it, it had been something of a security blanket to her, but after Dist modified it, it became a weapon, shield, and a mode of transportation. Tokunaga was an irreplaceable part of Anise's life. At Landel's, however, it was only able to fulfill its original purpose.

With a little pout, Anise added, "And Tokunaga's plenty cute without being pink, boooo."

Ah, a mother’s gift…

Such things were deserving of a certain amount of respect, and Daedalus didn’t treat it with anything less. He’d never needed to feel what others felt to recognize the emotion, know what it was, where it could lead, though by no means were Romdo’s citizens subject to the same highs and lows as these people were. It just meant… he had to test to himself.

“I see,” said the young doctor. “Then it must be quite precious.” It lacked the feminine charm of most generic girl toys, and yet it had value for her. A great deal of value. He smiled to show he had no criticism for the doll in her arms.

The pout faded, and Anise's gaze rested on the large stitches that lined Tokunaga's head. "...Yeah."

Anise had to wonder if that smile was genuine or not, considering Daedalus' position as a sort-of enemy, and the fact that most boys she knew didn't really understand Tokunaga's appeal, and often acted like her adoration for the doll was weird. It wasn't, of course. Anyone who couldn't understand Tokunaga's cuteness was just too stupid to get it.

"It's also the only thing I have from home here, so it's extra special that way, too," she added as an afterthought, affectionately squeezing the doll's large ears.

She wouldn't say it, of course, but that also meant it was the one object she had that proved she really was who she thought she was, and her memories of Auldrant were real, no matter what anyone else claimed.

“It helps to have mementos like that. For your comfort. And memories.”

Daedalus did not go into depth on what he meant by the last part. On the surface, the Tokunaga doll, like his photos of Re-l, were reminders of one’s home. One’s place of belonging. They were representations of happy memories, or merely the affection one had for a special person, as in the girl’s case. But being listed as a patient of an institution such as Landel’s changed things, did it not?

Undoubtedly, that doll stood as a part of Anise’s life. When she didn’t believe she was anyone but Anise, there was little chance she’d look on the thing like she did if she didn’t have genuine emotion attached to it. And it was likely the doll was a part of Dolores’s story, as well. But where had it originated from first?

He watched her pet the toy. “Well, what’s the first thing you think of when you think of Tokunaga?”

That was an easy question. And Anise didn't even need to change it to make it therapy-safe, either. "Mama and Papa," she answered simply.

It was why she was given Tokunaga in the first place, after all: so she could think of it as her Mama and Papa while she was away from home, and she wouldn't be lonely, no matter where she was. Even as she got used to working for the Order and didn't get homesick as easily anymore, Tokunaga was still a source of strength for her.

That wasn't something she normally told people about, though. It wasn't exactly a secret... but it was a little embarrassing, and it'd feel weird to talk about it. Anise much preferred talking about Tokunaga's other qualities, like its cuteness.

Daedalus straightened so that he could lean back in his chair. Tilting his head, his expression was emphatic and soft.

“I know you must miss them terribly. We’ll get you out of here soon enough.” He pointed at the doll. “Until then, you’ve got your friend Tokunaga to hold onto, right?” he said with a half-smile. “And your other friends. I’d think an extroverted girl like you would make a lot of them easily.”

People were a sight more interesting than dolls. And they had quite the effect on one another; Daedalus did not need to be told of this. In his patients, though, he was observing the phenomenon with quite a different eye than he did those whom he watched more than acted upon. Patients were interacting with other patients, as well as people from ‘home’, whichever that was, wasn’t that so?

The doctor's assurance was kind of reassuring, though a part of Anise wondered if maybe it was also a sort of threat, in a way. She could fool the nurses and maybe the doctors too, but Landel probably knew full well that she didn't believe she was Dolores. Tricking the staff into releasing her might really be impossible. So if she did get out, it would probably be when they decided to brainwash her.

It was kind of a disturbing thought.

That discomfort didn't show on Anise's face, however. She just smiled back when Daedalus mentioned Tokunaga and her friends. "Yeah, you're right about that. I've got so many friends, I can't even keep track of them! Hehe." Though she laughed it off like a cute little joke, there was a bitter truth to it: she had lost a lot of friends at Landel's. If this therapy session had taken place yesterday, before Guy and Luke came back, she certainly wouldn't have been able to smile and giggle about it.

That was… certainly one way of putting it, he supposed. And far too blasé for what he anticipated these friendships involved. Then there were the other relationships she made little mention of--voluntarily.

Daedalus wandered, but was never lost; he always had a point in mind. Nevertheless, he never came across as though he were actually prying. It seemed almost natural for him to say, “How about those you know from home?”

"Them? Um..." Anise paused a moment to think. She wasn't sure how much she could say about them without slipping and giving away the fact that she not only wasn't Dolores, but she didn't know anything about that fake life she was playing along with.

But thinking for too long would make it seem like she was making things up, so she quickly answered with whatever came to mind. "Well, I'm really glad they're here. Just today, I ran into someone I didn't get to see for a long time!" Even though it was just on the bulletin board. But Luke promised to keep an eye out for her, so they'd definitely be meeting again soon!

"But at the same time, it kind of sucks that we're all stuck here," she added, leaning back in her chair. "And it's pretty weird, isn't it? How all of us ended up in a nuthouse together..." Though she said it like she was wowed by the coincidence, really, Anise was mostly wondering if Daedalus would pick up on how suspicious that made the institute look. It wasn't exactly normal for a bunch of people in one place to all end up crazy, right? Especially when they were all different ages, and from different backgrounds. If the doctor really had been brainwashed, it was possible he wasn't capable of considering the hospital's practices odd or suspicious, but maybe he had enough of his senses left to be able to question the weird stuff that went on.

Maybe there was even a way to break through to the real Daedalus...

“Oh, really?” The question was sincere coming from Daedalus. Was it someone who had a place in both of the girl’s worlds, or only one? It would be easy enough to update the information he had concerning current patients, new and old. She obviously wasn’t talking about that boy, Stephen Lansky as Daedalus knew him, since her reaction was too genuine to be in response to him.

After all, there was no such thing as the perfect actress. They were still human, and couldn’t escape human responses.

Of course, her next comment was on a subject that never quite excused itself from his sight. He wasn’t surprised to find she was bringing attention to the fact. “I wouldn’t disagree,” was what he said, though he didn’t specify to what. Being assigned to the same ‘nuthouse’ was one thing to consider, but he knew what she was touching on. But Daedalus thought that no matter what the outcome, it made humans look the most suspicious of all. And he knew, without shame, that it was his own lack of color that made him think that way. “At this point, I don’t have an answer as to why that is.”

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Dayshift 46: Doctor's Office 1 (Dr. Yumeno) [second shift]

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