Untitled

[maddeninghatter]

Who: Xerxes Break and Gilbert Nightray. And, dear lord, Dr. Franken Stein
When: Tuesday, July 24
Where: Siren's Port
Summary: An introduction to modern life, complete with grievances.
Warnings: Minor surgery and traffic. Also, Dr. Stein himself constitutes a warning...

[ There is, to Xerxes Break's way of thinking, but one downside to keeping his outpatient appointment: that scary lady doctor! He'd been shocked, and then amused by the staples (modern medicine, indeed!); but they'd started to pull and itch in this warm weather, the more he moved about. And though he doesn't know the city, that is just one more reason to go out and explore.

Besides, he is slowly going mad, despite his seemingly ideal circumstances. Here, in this vast estate, with Alice, Oz, and Gilbert, he is safe for the moment. The gardens are fragrant; and the selection of sweets is as abundant as it is outstanding. The other occupants of the household - Ciel Phantomhive, his aunt, and their shadowy servants - are intriguing in their own right, and also because of their associations.

And then there's his NV, with which he's had hours of amusement, variously chatting with strangers or eavesdropping on their conversations.

But without any sort of occupation, without a reason for being here, Break feels useless. Guilt and despair - the old weaknesses of his youth - are creeping up on him again, as his mind constantly cycles between the "should haves" and "what ifs."

Thus he is silently slipping out a side entrance, without a word to anyone. His purpose is less to explore than it is to escape. ]

Comments

[retraced]

[For once, Gilbert has one-upped his boss.

He knows that Break has to go in for a follow up appointment. He'd been there to sign the papers to discharge him in the first place. But more important than that - Break isn't aware that he's aware of it. If Gilbert Nightray were capable of maniacal laughter, he'd insert it here and now as he watches Break attempt an escape on his own.

But he doesn't laugh. Actually, he swears shortly under his breath as he notices the man out his window and runs down the stairs and across the lawn to catch up with him. He would have been paying closer attention, but he's having a bad hair day, you see, and was too distracted pulling at the stupid curly strands to pay closer attention.

Well, so much for being cool about this.]

Hey, slow down! [The breathless voice demands at it arrives at his side.]

[maddeninghatter]

[





... No! ]

Mister Gilbert.

[ How could he possibly... He should have left for the bakery, hours ago! Break forces a smile. ]

Come to join me on my morning constitutional? I appreciate the sentiment, but oughtn't you be looking after your young master?

[retraced]

Tch...

[Crappy entrance aside, the very fact that Break is, once again, hiding things from him only serves to make him angrier. Even after all this time he still doesn't trust him.]

You should have come to me in the first place if you were going out. This city is huge! You'll just get lost if you go exploring on your own!

[Omitting that hospital part for now.]

[maddeninghatter]

Come to you?

[ Break's knuckles whiten as he clutches his walking stick, which he is swinging with a sort of vicious enthusiasm. ]

If I'd wanted a guide, Mister Gilbert, I would have asked for one. But I quite prefer to find my own way. There's nothing at all amiss with my sense of direction.

[ Greeting Gritting his teeth. His false smile has faded. He had intended to keep his tone light; but this conversation is getting away from him. ]

I'm... I'm sure there's somewhere else you'd rather be, so - good morning!

[retraced]

You...

[The easy thing would be to just admit what he knows, admit his concerns, admit that he knows where Break is going and that he wants to help him get there and back.

But the easy thing is also the sappy thing to do, so forget that.]

--You should be grateful that I'm willing to take the time to show you around! It doesn't matter how good your direction is, if you don't know where you're going then you'll get lost!

[maddeninghatter]

[ Break's pace is sufficiently brisk that they have made it to the front gate. The touch of the tip of his stick against it alerts him to the fact that it's there; he pushes it open smoothly, without breaking his stride. And then there's that... sound.

He'd been able to hear it from the gardens. He was sure he'd heard it in the hospital, too, and on the way back to the Phantomhive estate. But that particular memory is muddled. The nurses had given him a dose of those lovely pills just before they'd left, and then everything had gone a bit fuzzy.

It's a rumbling, growling sort of sound. It's unnatural, metallic. He is sure he's never heard anything like it. If he were on his own, he would pause and listen, attempting to sort out and distinguish the individual sounds. He would be analyzing how they seem to rise in pitch as they get louder; and then fall in pitch as they fade away.

But Gilbert is getting agitated, meaning he has regained the upper hand, so he focusses on that. ]

My, my~! Trying to impress me with your knowledge of the city, where you've lived for two years? I'm sure that's--

BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP!

[ Break has just stepped off the curb, in front of a bus! ]

[retraced]

[Boss, you're lucky that your useless subordinate has such good reflexes and you're so skinny and light. As soon as the bus honks, Gil steps forward, wraps both arms around Break's shoulders and pulls him back onto the curb. The bus flies past in a flurry of honks and loud engine noises.

As soon as they're far enough back, Gil lets go and moves his hands to rest on the sides of Break's arms to hold him up, but at least takes a step away from him to keep some distance between the two of them.]

Break! Are you all right?

[maddeninghatter]

[ Break was, for an instant, struck frozen by the horn blast. And then it - whatever that enormous, fast-moving thing was - swept past, blowing Break's hair from his face, leaving behind the acrid smell of something burning.

One thing, however, is clear. Gilbert knows. Moreover, Gilbert must have peeked at his hospital paperwork. He knew where Break was headed; yes, of course, he must have been planning this! ]

Haha~!

[ A deft little movement - and Gilbert's hands, formerly upon Break's arms, are holding up air. Break is now standing just behind him. ]

Good! Job! Gilbert!

[ He punctuates each word with the knob of his walking stick, rapping Gilbert's head! The gesture is without malice, but is perhaps with a bit too much force. ]

Well! I suppose I could do with a guide, might save time in the end, come on~!

[ In spite of himself, Break is actually relieved, knowing Gilbert knows. ]

1/2

[retraced]

[He blinks at the sight of his suddenly empty hands.]

Huh--

2/2

[retraced]

[--And then immediately grabs hold of his aching head as each blow lands. So much for gratitude! A short 'Ow! Ah! Ow!' accompanies each hit, followed by an annoyed groan and a few incoherent but angry sounding words under his breath. He doesn't repeat them loud enough for Break to hear, though. Mostly because he knows that he probably deserved it.]

...Ugh.

[No choice but to follow dutifully, then.]

[maddeninghatter]

[ Break draws his fingers through his mussed fringe, fixing it to hide his missing eye. Whether it's the adrenaline rush of his near-death experience or his sense of relief or perhaps simply the salutary effects of whacking Gilbert in the head -- Break is in much better spirits right now! ]

So, Mister Tour Guide, tell me. What are those - those things that keep whizzing by?

[ He waves vaguely in the direction of the street. ]

[retraced]

[It's not an admission of not being able to see it, and really, Gil isn't aware just yet that Break has caught onto the fact that he knows. After all, he's been hit with that stick for less in the past.

He takes a moment to turn and glance down the street to make sure another loud bus isn't coming before speaking. He's only explaining this once.]

They're called cars. Or...ah, automobiles? They're carriages with wheels that move on their own, they don't need anything to pull them.

[And then, a little bitterer:]

And they move five times faster and more dangerously. You have to be careful when you're crossing the street here.

[maddeninghatter]

[ Dryly ]

I gathered that.

[ He walks along beside Gilbert, his walking stick clicking on the pavement. He seems a little amazed at what he's been told, and is musing to himself about it. ]

My, my - fast-moving horseless carriages! Quite a lot of them about, hmm? Can't be too difficult to operate, if that's the case....

[ Abruptly, he turns to Gilbert, tapping him on the shoulder. ]

I saaaaay - do you you have one?

[maddeninghatter]

[ Break sits on the exam table, paper crinkling beneath him. The smell reminds him of the hospital: alcohol and iodine, and some other unidentifiable artificially "clean" odor, designed to mask all others. Fluorescent lights buzz overhead, though he doesn't know what they are.

He's uncomfortable. He prefers very much the arrangement he's used to: where doctors come to you, in your own home. But this is a mad place, full of mad people, where doctors do mad things - like use metal staples to seal up a wound!

The medical assistant had given him a gown, but he hasn't bothered to get changed, save for removing his jacket and flowered top hat and placing them on the table next to him. He'll just draw up his shirt, have the staples removed, and be on his way. ]

[circumsutus]

[Stein has claimed a rolling chair. He clatters down the hallway of the clinic, forcing people out of the way, and rushes through the slightly open door of the exam room. There's nothing on the floor for the wheels to catch on, so he doesn't fall over sideways.

He does slam straight into the side of the cabinet, coming to a dramatic, noisy stop.]

Hello~

[He flips through the folder, checking name and reason for being here.]

Ready to get your staples out?

[maddeninghatter]

[ A walk through the city, with its blaring bus horns and car alarms has somewhat habituated Break to loud, unexpected noises, so he doesn't startle quite as much as he would have, otherwise. Even so-- ]

Ah!

Er...

[ He plucks at his shirttails, undoing the bottom buttons. ]

Haha~!

I was hoping for more, actually. There's nothing quite like the feel of cold steel biting into one's skin!

[circumsutus]

I'm going to assume sarcasm rather than masochism.

[But you never know.

Stein pulls out disinfectant, tweezers, and wirecutters, and snaps on a pair of sterile gloves.]

Shirt off.

[But first, Stein's going to look at Break's soul. Break is probably going to feel Stein's soul perception focus on both Break and the Mad Hatter, prying and creepy and invasive.]

[maddeninghatter]

[ Ignoring Stein's command, Break simply pulls the bottom of his shirt up and lies back on the table. He knows, intellectually, that the mark on his chest probably has no meaning in this world; but it's something he continues to hide, through force of habit - and relentless shame. ]

Oho, sadism actually. These things are completely fantastic for scaring ladies and small chil--

[ Break had been poked and prodded and scanned and examined extensively when he was in the hospital. But this is unlike anything else. He can feel the Mad Hatter beginning to stir within him, its enormous red eye fluttering awake. It will come out, in a minute, if this doesn't-- ]

Stop that, whatever you're doing.

[ In the blink of an eye, Break has rolled off the table, seized his walking stick, and now has it pointed at Stein's head. ]

[circumsutus]

[Stein brings a hand up to move the cane away, completely unruffled.]

Do you normally show your stomach to ladies and small children?

[But he does turn his soul perception off, and the oppressive stare fades.]

[maddeninghatter]

[ Yeeeeeeah, Break's having second thoughts about the whole staples thing. He'd had the idea of getting them out by himself, with pliers, and this looks to have been the right instinct. Break twirls his stick between his fingers and sets it down on the floor with a satisfying thunk. He considers actually attacking this time, but - it's gone. It has faded away, that penetrating something, that seemed to pierce Break to the core, layer by deliberately-constructed layer.

Mad Hatter is still active, awakened by this prodding. It wants out. Break is tired; the walk to the clinic winded him. Still, with effort, he can just keep his chain in... ]

Do you normally--COUGH!

[ Crap, not again! ]

[circumsutus]

[Oh, that doesn't sound good at all. Stein grabs a handful of paper towels, offering them to his patient.]

Sit.

What else did you do to yourself?

1/2

[maddeninghatter]

Every time...

[ He hadn't even used his chain, and yet - he can feel the familiar, coppery tang on his tongue. He takes the towels, wiping off his hands and his chin.

He sits as commanded; he doesn't have a choice about it, anyway. He feels ready to collapse. ]

What did I... do to myself?

2/2

[maddeninghatter]

Ha! Ahaha! Hah! Hah! Hah!

[ The unintended irony of Stein's question is so great, so mind-bogglingly enormous, that Break erupts into a paroxysm of mad laughter! ]

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAA!

[circumsutus]

[Stein's no psychiatrist, but Break's reaction has obvious roots. He's coughing up blood, and the damage is (on at some level), not his fault.

The laugh is also a possible concern, but from what Stein saw in his patient's soul, it's not a surprise. So he waits, lets Break calm himself down.]

[maddeninghatter]

Ha... ha...

[ Another pass at his mouth with the paper towel. It has taken a few minutes, but Break has finally regained some semblance of control. ]

A few youthful indiscretions, that's all.

[ One hundred sixteen, to be exact. One hundred seventeen, if you include little Miss Emily Sinclair, and he always does. ]