[From here, waiting for his bff. ♥]

The walk with the nurse provided little more information; the woman still refused to go into detail on his particular diagnosis. She did reveal, however, that Near's name in this place was Nathan Ritter. Again he noticed the closeness to his real name, but given the woman's insistence on referring to him as either "Nathan" or "Mr. Ritter," Near decided it was safe for the present.

She'd revealed that he would be given a choice to where he would stay for that period of time. Despite her encouragement to choose the outdoor Courtyard, Near instead opted to remain inside. The large window overhead no doubt gave the Sun Room its name, and from the position in the sky, Near would wager that it was mid-morning and approaching noon. The room itself was lobby-like in appearance. Several doors lined the walls, which were painted a mild green--unsurprising, given the calming nature of the color. Accompanying pictures also seemed place to induce a sense of relaxation, completed by the inviting furniture. The only thing that seemed to contrast with the atmosphere, in fact, was the balcony above, on what was presumably the second floor. So the patients were to relax here, and at the same time, perhaps be watched by the keepers?

Interesting.

But clearly what held the most promise for Near was the large board hanging on the far wall. His nurse left his side after he came to the room, and Near approached what was clearly a place for communication and messages. The number of notices signified that it was well used, and the information within was fascinating. Near ignored the patients filing in around him for the moment, instead focusing on reading the various notices as quickly as he could. The information was quite extreme--different worlds, non-humans being forced into human bodies, the dead being brought to life here. Certainly things that one might expect to see in an asylum.

And yet all of it was made much more believable by one note in particular, written in hands Near was intimately familiar with.

A sense of urgency crept into Near's thoughts then. He didn't show it outwardly, save for twirling his hair tighter, tugging at it before freeing his finger. If he was here, and they were here, then who else had arrived? Already Near longed for his toys, or a fingerpuppet kit to make them, the task ideal for filtering through the information. As it stood, the thin paper of his notebook would be a lacking substitute, but the only option at the time.

First, however, Near began to write on several of the notices. There was obviously much more to this hospital than its surface showed, and the push to solve the puzzle was quickly born in his mind.