Cast (#wattys2016)

Chapter Five

It's a brand new day, and that means a brand new conversation with my favourite faceless friend.

"Advisor, you're back. Looking a little more smug than last time." She says as I enter the room.
"Not smug, I just have a plan." I tell her.
"Your not going to figure out my name."
"This isn't about you, this is about Clementine."
"Clementine? Another patient?"
"Uh huh, and we need a translator."
"Why don't you ask her sister?" I ignore how she went from seemingly not knowing who she is to even knowing she has a sister, it's exactly what I expected from my mysterious friend (one of my mysterious friends at least).
"Her sister speaks English... But doesn't understand it."
"I see. So you want me to talk to her, why? There are tons of people in this facility who speak Mesononian."
"Yeah but... She's a little...
"Crazy."
"Strange."
"Well, at least you've come to the right person to tame a beast."
"Ha, you're such a hypocrite. You think 'crazy' is an insult but call people a 'beast'."
"Just because you're a beast doesn't mean you're bad or crazy, ever seen Beauty and the Beast?"
"Ok, I'll give you that. Anyways, we've- somehow- managed to get Clementine to come here without half beating us to death and we want you to talk to her."
"All right, send her in." She says, almost sticking her arm out of the blankets but stopping herself just in time.

Clementine is lead into the room by 2 male nurses, and she looks exceedingly angry to be here. "Kaa, miable le panaba." The blanket girl says with overconfidence in her voice.
"Dassssssissssssaaaaaaa majuken." Clementine tries to escape her capture, but fails. Something about the way the enraged girl moves in the presence of my blanket friend is different from how she usually acts, more controlled, more timid.
"Mowen mi misa laga?"
"Tissssssobidoma lasssssaga, bioyowen raaassssaaamin." Uh oh, whatever question blanket girl had asked, Clementine didn't like it.
"Dagaloma kada mihuk."
"Yaaaaami judaaaaadu." This conversation is growing more and more cutthroat every second.
"Fiyo?"
"Fiiiiiyo rooooo ku." Then Clementine stormed out of the room with the nurses trailing her.
"We're friends now." Blanket girl says once she's gone. I laugh in spite of myself.
"Really, it honestly didn't sound like it."
"She's rough around the edges, but easy enough to work with."
"Whatever you say. So, what did she tell you?"
"Things."
"Wow, for a girl who loves riddles so much you sure seem to have some pretty vague answers to my questions."
"Wow, for an Advisor you sure seem to be pretty snarky and unhelpful."
"Fair played. Anyways, what did she tell you?" I repeat.
"She said that stupid Puppet Lord is belittling her way of life, calling her crazy. At first, she could take it. But now it's just ridiculous, constant tests and doctor visits when she doesn't even need help; she wants to go home but they won't let her, they won't even listen to her cries. So she acts out and looses control. She's not in this place because she's crazy, she's in this place and it's making her crazy."
"I can believe that, I really can. I've heard many similar stories like hers in this place. It's a mad house, and not because of the patients." Though I couldn't see the surprise on blanket girl's face, I knew it was there.
"No, no. That's just a bunch of baloney you're saying to make me like you, stop doing that!"  Here we go again, she had never accused me of talking overly sweet nonsense before, Stasia had done that, but somehow she still knew.
"Whatever you want to believe. Tell me, is it normal to act the way she does from where she's from?" I ask, changing the subject.
"Uh yeah, I can tell by the way she draws out her S's and vowels that she's from North Westin, I'm from South Westin so we talk in a more rapid tongue. But yeah, North Westin is like the New York of Westin; people there are rougher and ruder, not all the time, but in general. I definitely don't think she needs to be here though."
"It's seems like most of the patients don't." We stand- well, I stand and she lies- in silence for a moment before I say, "Well, I've got other patients to talk to but thanks for the help today."
"No problem." The room is no longer filled with an air of loathing from the blanket girl, but something new now, and I think we both feel the change.