Twisted Asylum

Snakelike Saccharine

The Scarabia ward is a lot more lively than the last one I visited. I've noticed it tends to be, although the energy everyone gives off isn't always happy. But that's to be expected.

As I enter the common room, Elijah taking his place by a wall nearby me, I look for my patients. There are a few woven tapestries lining the walls that catch my eye, and underneath one of them sits the pair.

Kalim's face brightens as he sees me approach his table. Jamil is sitting next to him, his expression neutral.

"Good morning Yuu! How are you doing?" Kalim says warmly as I sit across from him, his knee bouncing lightly.

"I'm doing good, thankyou for asking. How are you two?" I smile at the pair. I fail to notice Kalim's cheeks flush slightly as I pull out my notepad.

Jamil nods politely. "We've been as good as we can be in this place." His words are calm, but not relaxed.

Kalim nods, chuckling softly. "Oh, by the way! I have something to tell you!"

"Hm?" I look back up at him, gesturing for him to continue. Jamil seems... Tense, about what's about to be said, shooting Kalim an disapproving look which goes unnoticed by him.

"Well... About the courtyard incident, Bea told me to tell you, that he's super sorry for how he acted." His expression softens slightly as he talks.

I don't know how to respond, my expression tightens in slight unease at the mention of him.

Jamil seems to notice my unease, his hand extending to give mine a comforting pat, before quickly withdrawing. "Believe me, I was just as confused when he came up to us. But he seemed sincere."

"Hm. Well, I suppose that's fine. Thankyou for telling me." I tap my pen against my notepad absentmindedly, my mind elsewhere.

I mean, as happy as I am that he didn't come to me to apologise due to not wanting to see him, I was a bit confused.

"Ahem... Well, we better get on with the session." I say with a small smile.

The rest of the session is a bit of a hassle to get through, as Kalim kept getting side tracked, going on small rambles about whatever caught his mind. Jamil seems to get mildly irritated during these rants, his fingers twitching by his sides as he looks off to the side.

Hm...

"Alright, I have one more question for you two before I go off to the next group." I murmur as I pack up my stuff. Good lord, my request for digital files couldn't go through fast enough.

Jamil hums curiously. "Oh? You're sure you have enough time? We'd hate for you to be late to your next appointment."

Kalim nods, a small pout on his face. "Mhm. As much as I'd love to keep talking with you, I wouldn't want to... Uh, what's the word- keep you behind schedule?"

I wave them off gently. "No, it's okay, I have time. Now, there have been reports of missing medical equipment. Have you two seen anything relating to that? Like, medical scissors, or a stray scalpel?"

Jamil places a hand on his chin, as if skimming through his memories. Kalim simply shakes his head. "Last time I saw medical equipment was in the medical ward."

I raise an eyebrow at his words. "You've been in the medical ward?" That information wasn't on his file. There was no record of him going into surgery or anything like that.

His eyes widen slightly, as he quickly backtracks. "Oh, yeah, have I never told you? I broke my hand around when I first got here, had to get it fixed."

"Does it not say that on your file for him?" Jamil asks calmly, tilting his head.

"No actually, it doesn't." I say with a sigh. Jeez, I knew Crowley wasn't that proactive, but he should at least provide me with medical history in my files...

My alarm blares from my pocket, before I swiftly shut it off.

Kalim pouts. "That's all? I feel like that went so quick!"

"Don't hassle them." Jamil murmurs.

"Eh, sorry..." Kalim says sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck.

I sigh softly, standing up. I shoot the pair a polite smile. "See you guys tomorrow, okay?"

Jamil returns my smile, albeit softer, and Kalim's hand brushes my own as I walk past him.

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As the pair watch Yuu walk out of sight with another doctor clad in black, Jamil groans in exasperation. "You just had to bring up Bea, didn't you?"

Kalim, snapping out of his blushy trance watching the doctor go, looks at Jamil with a slight frown. "Why should I not have? I wanted to put them at ease."

"Ugh..." You're so goddam naive, Jamil wanted to say, they're going to be suspicious. But he didn't. He couldn't say that now.

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As I leave the Scarabia wing, I can't help but think about what Kalim mentioned about Bea... And the fact I hadn't seen said patient since the incident in the courtyard.

"Uh, excuse me?" I flag down a guard, the older woman tilting her head.

"Need something, doctor?" She said softly, sipping a drink from a to-go cup.

"I had a question about one of the patients in this wing? His name is Bea?"

The woman's eyes widen. "Oh, him? He went missing a few weeks ago, we're pretty sure he managed to escape, but there's been no sight of him for ages."

My eyes widen. If he wasn't in the asylum, then how did Kalim...

I sigh softly. "Ah... Thanks anyway." I smile at the guard, she returns it as we both walk our seperate ways.

How strange...

Eli's brow furrows behind me, his fingers tapping rhythmically against his notebook.