Awaken

[Christina Ann Robins]

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"If you can wake up in a different time, and a different place, could you wake up as a different person?"

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It was quite comfortable here, in the blackness, at first. There was no one around, and it was soft and warm. How a blackness could be soft, Robin didn't know-- it just was. It was a bit lonely, at first, but gradually, the colors came back. Pretty yellows of laughing friends, soft blues of calm-- and their deeper counterpart of sadness. Red, crimson, green, purple-- and the nonchalant white. Then the voices and echos of memories, faint pulsing of emotion; it was surprisingly bearable. They formed walls, shapes, people; each imprint of a living being carrying their own unique and predictable pattern.

She could even see herself, in a weird way. A small blue figure, simply lying on top of a faintly outline black bed. Peaceful, predictable, asleep. Robin was content with just watching herself, only half aware, until another figure caught her eye. It was a dark red shape. Not the bright and vibrant waves of anger, but the dark red of mis-intentions. It neared her sleeping self, pausing softly by the and Robin felt a coldness sweep up her arm.

Arm?

Dark red moved in closer, too close, holding something.

No! Dream Robin heard someone scream, deep inside of herself.

Herself-- no-- fear-- cold-- REACT.

Quite suddenly, Robin was looking up through her own eyes. Yes, yes. She could see-- that was good. Now what was she looking at? Oh, a redhead nurse with wide shocked eyes. Why was she shocked? And fearful? Robin looked around in bewilderment for several seconds before realizing that one of her arms was holding a viselike grip on the nurse's wrist.

Robin almost released the arm, an apology bubbling up already in the back of her throat, when she uncomfortably noticed how close the nurse's hand had been to her bare forearm. And that it was holding a syringe. Robin's lips formed in a silent scream. Where was she, and why was this person about to inject her with god knows what? With a jerk, Robin thrust the hand away and shrunk backwards into the sheets, ready to flee. She needn't have worried, as the nurse fled the room instantly afterwords.

Robin shivered, and groaned as the memories flooded back in haywire. What did unconscious have to do with short-term memory loss? The pills, oh no, the pills. She remembered the pills then-- Kin! Robin's head whipped around and frantically allowed her to search the room. There! Was he alright? Did he take the pills too? Did he--

"Kin!" She whispered, why was she whispering? "Kin, oh god, are you awake? Are you okay?" The girl prepared to leap to her new friends side, off the bed, washed over her from the point of ankle. Suddenly furious, Robin squeezed the bedspread so hard her knuckles rivaled their white. What was the point of knocking them out if they didn't even address if anything was broken or not? Shaking her head, Robin swung her legs off the side of the mattress while gritting her teeth. No matter. She could get up if she needed to. "Kin, wake up!"

[Kinkade Cymir Malixi]

KINKADE
_{personal pronouns
are the death of me
see, i just said me.
you're an endless
sea of vanities.}

Getting inside Kins' head while he's asleep is dangerous business. Really. Like right now, for example. Right now he's having a very, very vivid dream that looks and is generally played out like one might imagine when reading 'The Most Dangerous Game'. He was the hunter.It was to be expected; he was boss, and this was his dream. Not a nightmare, a dream. Or, well, maybe a nightmare... Despite all his cunning, the plot was coming toward it's close and that meant that he- boss as he was- was going to be trumped by the prey. He tried everything! Bigger guns, better hiding places, more men, more vehicles.

It was all for nothing because, as he seemed to be close to waking up, his dream began to wind down. Things that worked for him last time began to fail in the dream, and eventually he was running like mad back for his house. Retreat, retreat, quickly! There, in that house, he would die. He knew it. Running back was foolish, but it was set in stone. In that grand room he would meet his demise. He would be pushed out of the window, into a pit of dogs, to be specific.

... Okay, he'd watched the movie. Don't tell his English teacher- he'd got a high mark on the analysis.

Kinkade's eyes closed tighter, combating the dream in a simple way. Then, whispering. A soft sound. The prey? His mind rushed to make the man's lips utter his name, just in time for the n. Okay, slight glitch...? Then, more talking. The pey couldn't figure it out, what was being said so it couldn't mimic it. It was just standing there, blankly while an all-knowing voice interrupted, right in the middle of everything, making the whole world turn blurry. Kinkade just listened. Awake? Now his dream was feeling like a dream. How odd was this... Wait, he wasn't dreaming anymore. He opened his eyes, ever so slightly, letting a bit of light in. Awake, check. He still felt hazy, but even if he was asleep, he was prepared to play along. Why was she still insisting he wake up? Oh. Right. Hadn't moved. Kinkade groaned from the bed, not ready to wake up. Not at all.

"Yes...?

[/color]"Kinkade managed to roll over so he could watch her, a smile at his lips. What was she doing? "Let me help you. What are you doing? Need something? Water? I'll get it- or, whatever you need.[/color]" Very carefully and very slowly, he sat up on the bed, his feet off the side, waiting to see what his companion required. He didn't want her getting up, not with the way her expression revealed her pain- or was that frustration? And she woke him up for something, so it'd just as soon be to get her something.[/center][/blockquote][/blockquote]

[Christina Ann Robins]

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"If you can wake up in a different time, and a different place, could you wake up as a different person?"

:::::::::::::::::

Robin exhaled slowly, letting her eyes close and head bow slightly. Relief, aa terrible, terrible, relief-- he was okay. The girl lifted her head, and slightly shook it in assent to his question. “What? Water-- no, no, I don't need anything. I just woke up, saw you, and... You looked..."

Dead. Yes, that was it. Kin had looked so still, so quietly pale. Worse over, the nurse with the syringe had chilled her to the bone. In 8th grade, she had read a class book about concentration camps in the Second World War. They had infirmaries there too, as crazy as that sounded. People were falling ill left and right because of the insane living conditions. Well, people would go to the hospital-- fall asleep, and never check out. The 'nurses' and 'doctors' would inject the patients with something as they slept. That's all it took. One dose, a horrible spazzing jerk, and then black.

"...are you alright?"

[Kinkade Cymir Malixi]

KINKADE
_{personal pronouns
are the death of me
see, i just said me.
you're an endless
sea of vanities.}

Kinkade watched her curiously, his head tilted to the side. But his expression was calm. So very calm. He looked? Normally, he would have asked what. What did he look like? Or, if he didn't ask, he probably would have figured it out himself, drew his own conclusions, but he couldn't seem to keep his mind on the idea. So, he kept watching her, waiting. Just... waiting. For what? He didn't know. He knew he was waiting, though.

"I'm.... I'm...

[/color]"This was not a hard question, was it? He was alright, wasn't he? No. This felt wrong. Fundamentally, completely wrong. "I'm sleepy. It feels like I'm dreaming. An uncomfortable dream. Are you okay?[/color]" Hopefully she wasn't in this uncomfortable dream with him. Well, she obviously was, but hopefully she didn't feel like it. Stupid pills. Kinkade was not impressed.[/center][/blockquote][/blockquote]

[Christina Ann Robins]

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“Every extension of knowledge arises from making the conscious the unconscious.”

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Robin's eyes were wide with shock. "Kin..." She couldn't think of anything else to say, the words lost on her tongue. Something was wrong. Very, very, wrong. The way his eyes were glaze, the soft edge to his voice, the missing spark from his gaze-- what if they had injected him with morphine or something? With a more slow acting one? No, no-- they couldn't. They wouldn't dare! This was a school for god's sake. Horrible, horrible thoughts-- most likely exaggerations, but possible thoughts none-the-less. Robin cut her thinking off there.

She was getting out of here. Robin didn't care if her own father showed up and ordered her to sit still-- she was leaving, and taking Kin with her. If she had to drag him, fine. If she had to teach herself how to fly to get out of here, fine. Robin was done. Terrified and done.

Terrified, done, and leaving. But first... "Kin," the blond said slowly, "can you stand up? Or are you too tired?"

[Kinkade Cymir Malixi]

KINKADE
_{personal pronouns
are the death of me
see, i just said me.
you're an endless
sea of vanities.}

Tired. That word didn't fit him. He wasn't tired, he was just sleepy. But that thought was striking. Why was he compelled to sleep? There. A moment of clarity. A moment to see beyond the haze, prompted by the sudden surge of fear that overwhelmed the medication's dulling effect.

"Of course I can,

[/color]"Kinkade affirmed, his tone almost teasing, almost playful. Ha. He was Kinkade- he could do anything. Rather suddenly, it occurred to him that Robin was scared. Why hadn't he noticed this before? "What's wrong? It's okay; hey, I'm fine. Really.[/color]" Why he assumed her terror must be for him, surprisingly, was actually something to be assured by. To prove that he could get up, he did stand up. It left him a little sore from laying there so long, and acutely aware of an ache in his chest, but beyond that, he was happy to be on his feet.[/center][/blockquote][/blockquote]

[Christina Ann Robins]

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"I can see the future! What? You want to know your fate? Well, you die-- of course."

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"Then, good," Robin sighed, her suspicions crumbling. There was the Kinkade she had met, what felt like so long ago, in the grand-ballroom. "'Cause I have a feeling that we've overstayed our visit. I'm leaving, if I can help it-- and hopefully you don't want to stay here any longer either."

Robin slowly pushed herself off the bed, all weight on her right foot. Everything felt wrong about this picture, about this 'infirmary', if it even was that? Were they even in the school? Of course they were, she could feel the students pressing in around her. The colorful map drew up in her head, a 3D picture that was always updated unlike Trent's GPS, and showed that they were right next to the school office. Side a nurse or two; Robin and Kin were the only two presences anywhere near the school entrance. The doctors shouldn't be a problem, unless they were gifted with super-strength.

And as for Kin's question? She never answered any questions about herself straight. "Nothing's wrong; I'm was just worried that those drugs actually took away your sense of humor for a few seconds."

[Kinkade Cymir Malixi]

KINKADE
_{personal pronouns
are the death of me
see, i just said me.
you're an endless
sea of vanities.}

Leaving? Why? Again, she was so worried, while he could see nothing worth being upset about. But Kin didn't mind. This time, he wasn't going to do anything to change her mind.

"No, we can leave. I bet the rest of the school's just dying to see me. It feels like it's been ages since I last saw them.

[/color]"Kinkade grinned. Since he last saw Lily and River, since he last felt like he was a part of the school. And Shi! There was a part of him that wanted to see Shi, and a part of him that dreaded it.

"Don't be. No pills are going to change me.[/color]"Kinkade assured. But that was a lie. He was fighting that dull, sleepy feeling. Fighting for his emotions, fighting the haziness at the corner of his mind. She wanted to leave. He? He would be happier just sleeping, sinking back into a safe dream.[/center][/blockquote][/blockquote]

[Christina Ann Robins]

:::::::::::::::::

"Nothing is worse than watching a friend, sister, brother, in pain."

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"I'm sure they are," Robin agreed good-naturedly-- a smile playing on her lips. "I'm sure they were all just dying to see you." Robin took one cautious step forward, putting most of her weight on her broken ankle. Surprisingly, Robin smiled. Sure, there was pain-- but it was a bearable pain. A pain she could live with. One step. Then another. Okay, okay-- this was okay.

Suddenly, the back of her neck prickled. Robin swiveled around, turning to look at Kin-- her epmathic skills slowly warming up. She gave him an up and down look-- assessing. "You have to fight the drugs," The girl said quietly, voice urgent. "I don't know what they gave you, gave us, but it certainly isn't to help you. They didn't even fix your ribs, unless they had a magical healer in their staff," She added, noticing the lack of bandages that should've been around his rib-cage.

[Kinkade Cymir Malixi]

KINKADE
_{personal pronouns
are the death of me
see, i just said me.
you're an endless
sea of vanities.}

"Definitely.

[/color]"Kinkade agreed, but his tone was distracted. His attention was on her and her movement and her expression. Much to his surprise, she smiled. It was reassuring. The fact that she could pick up on his internal struggle, though, made him scowl. Not because he was just mad, just that... well, empaths were troublesome, weren't they? When she mentioned that they hadn't helped him, he looked down at his chest, his hands going to press against his shirt. Yeah- nothing. How odd.

"Okay, okay. Let's go.[/color]"Kinkade agreed with a nod. He still wasn't worried, but Robin made sense to him. He glanced to the doorway, silently wondering if they would be stopped if they just walked out. He couldn't see why they would. This school still felt safe; Shi was here, and he'd been here since his childhood.[/center][/blockquote][/blockquote]

[Christina Ann Robins]

Robin nodded and took one step forward. She reeaaaaaly did not want to be caught, and sent back here with a punishment of pills. Not again-- never again. So, Robin did the most logical thing to herself at the moment.

The blond reached into her side pocket and retrieved a bundle of bandages that she often used to wrap her fingers in preparation for climbing, or more commonly-- writing. She unraveled a length of the rope, maybe about her arm's length, and snapped it off from the rest of the bundle. Pocketing the rest of the bandages, Robin took the one length and wrapped it around her eyes. There. Black. Now she could see where she was going. Which made no sense to anyone who did not know the girl.

Double knotting it under her curly braid, Robin slid forward awkwardly, trying to keep as little pressure on her ankle as possible. Now, there were two nurses and a murse (a dude nurse) in the next room over. The red-head that the girl had scared off earlier was pacing in the front office with another suspicious looking character who she could not identify. Several time, Robin felt her mental self looking back over her shoulder at Kin. His life-force was dim. Not 'oh-god-he's-dying' dim, but a soft, quiet, out-of-it dim. Several time, Robin almost brought it upon herself to turn around and turn him in to a nurse or doctor to check him out.

[Kinkade Cymir Malixi]

KINKADE
_{personal pronouns
are the death of me
see, i just said me.
you're an endless
sea of vanities.}

Quiet. There was nothing for him to say, and there was nothing she was saying, so Kinkade let the quiet stay. Normally it'd bother him. It'd eat away at him, drive him insane. But now it was what the sleepiness wanted. Quiet for sleep, quiet for power. The haze was creeping back in. Slowly, slowly. When Robin effectively blindfolded herself, Kin just watched, not seeming to find this alarming in the least. And, then, there it was. No acute pain, just hazy dullness. It wasn't so bad, really. Most would be relieved to have Kin shut up as he was now, passively following Robin's lead without any interjection.

"Do you need me to show you the way?

[/color]"Kin suddenly prompted, looking up at her. It may have been a little late, but hey, she was blindfolded. His tone was not so much vacant as just passive. No real distinct emotion, just, there. In fact, he didn't even correct himself to let her know that he meant tell- since she couldn't see with her own eyes- her the way out.[/center][/blockquote][/blockquote]

[Christina Ann Robins]

:::::::::::::::::

"Nothing is worse than a friend in pain."

:::::::::::::::::

Okay, she could deal with Kin's dimming aura in her head, but hearing his voice-- so quiet, so nonchalantly uninvolved in the world around him-- made her stop dead, cringing. Slowly, Robin turned around fully, all of her body. Her arms reached up and steadily lowered the bandages from her eyes, and let them rest around her neck. For a moment, the girl just stood there, arms hanging limply down by her side.

Then, finally, "I'm taking you to see River."

(Meh, short)

[Kinkade Cymir Malixi]

KINKADE
_{personal pronouns
are the death of me
see, i just said me.
you're an endless
sea of vanities.}

River? Why River? Kinkade had nothing against her- in fact he liked River. But the way she said it, he knew there was something important about it, at least to her. He still couldn't work out why she was so worked up, or why the bandage was still on her. He still didn't care enough to ask questions. Instead, he sort of smiled and nodded in agreement.

"Okay. I like River.

[/color]"Kin affirmed. It seemed like a good statement in his head. Out loud, not as much. The real pressing issue here was why she looked so sad. There was something he should be doing. Something to help her. Something... Reassuring. But he couldn't seem to think of anything. Ah well. Onto the next problem. So many problems! It was a wonder anyone could bear it. Fortunately for him- at least as far as he was concerned- he was handling it all rather nicely. In stride, and with a cool head. That had to be it.[/center][/blockquote][/blockquote]