The Man Who Speaks With Snakes (Seiji)

[Andrew Wylen]

The hall seemed to be far too long, or at least, that’s how Andrew felt as he walked down it, book bag swinging solemnly from his back, one of the zippers partly open to display the wrinkled folds of papers and books sticking out from where he had hastily shoved them. still in a partial daze he gave a quick shake of the head to clear his mind, it had all happened just so fast, almost surreal in a way; one thing though was for certain, if he wasn’t already going crazy, than half his class mates would probably think he was.

The entire thing had started in lunch, well, to everyone else it had been lunch, to Andrew, having fallen asleep out of pure exhaustion he was caught in a terrifying nightmarish dream. He shut his eyes, vivid flashes of the memory coming before him.

It had been a chilly winter night, or at least that was Andrew's best guess at the time for the sky was blocked due to the desolate boughs hanging overhead, their branches swirling down into great knobby grey trees that plunged upwards from a frost hardened ground. Somewhere above him a crow gave a quick caw, then came the fluttering of wings as the black bird departed amid a growing quiet; silence returning only stronger in its absence. There was something here, something evil, something that wanted to kill him and eat his bones, Andrew couldn’t see it, couldn’t explain it, he just knew, this place was wrong. Out of the corner of his eye he thought he saw movement, though when he turned there was nothing there, just more trees that eventually disappeared into shadow of this unending forest. It was close; Andrew could feel it, but where? He peered around, again nothing. He backed up against one of the Elms, his breath coming in ragged gasps, the only noise was that of his own beating heart.

“It’s just me, it’s just me, it’s just me” Andrew whispered under his breath, how had he gotten here? He had been at lunch, there weren’t any forests like this at Bellefonte, besides it had been summer hadn’t it? This made no sense, it was just imaginary. He managed a smile, this was all just in his head, it couldn’t hurt him, he lifted up his hand to wipe away the cold sweat from his brow, but it wouldn’t move. The grin disappeared, Andrew looking down quickly at his hand to find branches curled around it, the wood like stone as he was unable to break it. He grimaced; heart beating rapidly once more as he tried to lift his other hand, then his feat, though both were already ensnared by the branches, constricting the limbs until he could hardly feel them anymore. A figure was approaching, Andrew couldn’t see who it was though still yelled out for help, flinging his entire weight against the snares, but they stayed taught; in fact unless he was very much mistaken it was almost as if the branches tightened, working faster as though spurred on by his resistance.

Andrew couldn’t move, though the figure continued to approach at a steady pace, it wasn’t a run, neither was it a walk, more of a drift, for it seemed to move with unnatural ease. It wasn’t until the stranger was three feet in front of him that Andrew recognized her. It was his sister, frowning as though inspecting a vaguely interesting science specimen.

“Oh Andrew” she chided “you always were the kind to get yourself into trouble.” He couldn’t reply, another limb crushing down on his chest and making it all he could do just to catch a breath. She rose an eyebrow continuing “what? You want me to help you? A mutant?” something happened, almost like she blurred for a moment, replaced by the boy Andrew had attacked when first coming into his power. “You are useless” he said, spittle flinging from his lips “you all think yourselves so high and mighty, you all think were the evil ones! That your just all innocent and helpless, as we come and murder you!” his face came inches from Andrew’s own, breath smelling somewhat like onions mixed with fish oil. “What about what all you mutants have done to us?! How many people have died because of mutants?! How many lives destroyed?!” the figure blurred again this time replaced with Guy, the trainer staring up at Andrew with a cold glare. “Can you not control yourself?! Are you really that weak?!” Andrew couldn’t shake his head, couldn’t even move half an inch. It blurred a final time, now it was Devyn looking at him, though instead of rage a smile danced across the girl’s lips, seeming to find a morbid humor in the situation. “You really are pathetic, no wonder your own sis hates you.” She bent whispering in his ear “what does it feel like? Being such a useless waste of space your own family turns against you? Does it hurt? Does it make your heart pound with rage?” all Andrew could do was stare as Devyn came back into his line of sight saying. “But no, not you, no you just cry about it, you just run and hide because you can’t do one thing about it.” the smile widened “to bad you can’t run now Andrew, this really has been fun, but don’t worry, I’m sure you will sleep well.” The scene went black as a final branch curled over his eyes finishing its cocoon, though he did decide on one thing, it took a very long time to suffocate…

Andrew had woken up gasping, practically every person in the cafeteria staring at him as the school nurse was at his side in an instant, another teacher he didn’t recognize backing away after having been trying to stop him thrashing about and hurting himself. He hadn’t thought he could be so red, though when the nurse had offered to lead him out on a wheel chair the color had went from sunrise to a straight crimson.

“e- er n-no” Andrew had stuttered, managing to get to his feet and pack his things away, then, after conversing with another teacher the nurse had sent him down here, to the “side effects specialist”, in fact the only small blessing that he could possibly find was that due to it being summer very few people were at lunch, though seeing as how gossip spread faster than a wildfire in Nevada, it was unlikely anyone in his grade would go without hearing this one by the end of the day.

As such that brought him back to the present, walking down the hall to the “side effects specialist’s” office, in the distance sounds of people running, talking and snarling echoed through the hallways in a unending chorus that only a school for mutants could provide. Finally turning a corner, Andrew followed a second hallway until he stopped in front a simple wooden door, the words “side effect specialist” printed to one side. Gulping he pushed it open saying.

“E- Excuse me? I – was e- er sent down b- by the nurse?”

[Seiji Lockard]

Seiji was in his office, a place that he did not really spend that much time in over the summer, but since the students had to stay on campus he was asked to spend some more time in his office in case he was needed. It was still weird getting used to his office, since he was still only a college kid. Sure he was twenty-four but he was still young and his mind still did wonder sometimes how he had been so lucky to land the job. He figured the school wanted someone they could trust, someone who had been going to the school since they were little, and was also a mutant. Someone who could relate to all of them, and that was what Seiji was. A fellow mutant, a kid who gone here when he came into his powers young, and even now he was a college student. Helping his fellow mutants by studying their powers and finding out the effects on their bodies as well as other.

Not only did he find and figure out why effects happened, he also worked on ways to lessen them by prescribing medication or getting to the heart of the problem. It was a tough job, one that did take his time when he had to do research, but he still enjoyed it and felt like he was helping out a lot. It was his lunch break and while he would have gone to the cafeteria or back to his dorm room, he spent it here since he technically was in his 'office hours' even now. So he had packed a lunch and was eating said lunch at his desk. Feet propped up on the desk, leaned back a little in his chair, and enjoying one of the four sandwiches he packed. Yes four sandwiches seemed like a lot, but he could eat, especially when his mind was hard at work, it just made him really hungry. Ghost was in his office with him, the albino boa had his head peeking out the one window Seiji had in his office. The end of his body; the tail, was wagging. Ghost was such a dog, but just seemed to be trapped in a snake’s body.

"If you fall out the window I'm not bringing you back in here." Seiji warned as he finished half of his sandwich and put his feet down. Ghost had already eaten a large rat so had a small bulge in his body but never seemed to slow down after eating. I wonder what my added office is going to have in it. Seiji thought to himself as he looked to the door that would lead to the expansion of his work space. Even since Elsa Bellefonte had asked him to do some more research, she had given him more money and now was working on building his office space. It already being more like a councilors room with a ton of books and small lab stuff here and there. The expanded space would allow him to move all his lab stuff in one room which would just cut down on any possible contaminations or outside variables.

His office phone rung and he answered it. "Seiji Lockard here." He said simple after making sure his mouth was free of food. He was being given information on a kid by the name of Andrew Wylen. The boy was being sent to his office after something happening in the cafeteria. "Alright, I'll be ready for him. Thank you." Seiji said with a smile as he pulled up the boys file on the computer, hanging up the phone and shoving the last bit of his first sandwich in his mouth. "We haf a guest. Be goo." Seiji tried to say to his snake, but figured he should have said it mentally since his mouth was full. He cleared the chair on the other side of his desk and at least moved his lunch to be sort of out of the way. He was just guzzling down some water when he heard the voice matched with his door opening. "Hello there. Andrew, right?" Seiji asked as he wiped at his mouth, feeling slightly embarrassed that he was just stuffing his face a moment ago. Ghost meanwhile even father out the window at this point but the majority of his body was still in the room.

"Please have a seat." Seiji said as he gestured to the empty chair as he moved back over to his desk, sitting down and clicking through a few things to pull up a place where he could write a report that would be on Andrew's file. "Can you please tell me what you recall happening in the cafeteria to you?" Seiji asked, wanting to hear it from the student and not just a nurse over the phone.

[Andrew Wylen]

Andrew slid the door open, taken aback by what he saw inside. The room itself was rather normal as rooms go, just the average office of average size with an average window, pointing out over the grounds… that’s where the similarities ended. Unlike any other teacher’s office he had been in, this place was anything but clean; piles of books rose like miniature towers amid stacks of files, papers and other odd equipment, some of which seemed to belong in a laboratory, though all of it was spread about in a manner that reminded him far more of his own room then that of any doctor. Speaking of which, Andrew’s gaze switched back to the relatively young man sitting behind the desk that dominated most of the space. He seemed in his mid-twenties or so, unruly black hair and a complexion that made Andrew guess he was probably of Korean or otherwise eastern descent, dark eyes and a light goatee finished the picture of quizzical college student quite well. None the less he had hardly paused to question this, when he noticed a long fat piece of piping hanging oddly out of the window. That’s strange, the boy thought, squinting until he realized that what he had mistaken for a coil of white pipes was in fact a rather large albino boa constrictor hanging lazily into open air as its tail twitched in an almost canine fashion.

Andrew jumped when the man spoke, stuttering out a quick apology and turning back to the doctor who didn’t seem to find anything remotely out of the ordinary with the man sized snake not two feet away. Fidgeting and sitting down on the indicated chair he gulped, somehow managing to draw his eyes away before setting his things down on the floor besides him. Andrew wasn’t sure what to expect, sure he had known this was coming, it had really only been a matter of time until he fell asleep somewhere public and made a fool of himself, though despite having known this, he couldn’t help his whole body from shaking nervously in the chair, a visible tremor running down his hands so that he had to fold them in his lap. The man’s eyes flicked from the boy to his monitor screen, fingers flicking across its keyboard in a frenzied dance. Pause, the clicking stopped and his eyes shifted back to Andrew, asking him what he remembered from the lunch period.

“I- I-“ Andrew stopped, wondering for a second if it would be worthwhile to lie, just say it was a nightmare, besides he would be telling the truth… kind of. But no, he doubted that would work, even if he could lie convincingly, normal nightmares didn’t cause people to convulse on the cafeteria floor unable to wake up. Besides, a small part of him wanted to say the truth anyway, just so that he could maybe learn why these things kept happening, or at very least, so that he wasn’t the only one who knew. Andrew wrestled back and forth until finally one side won out, thinking to himself, well I guess the worst that can happen is he thinks I’m going crazy… after that… well guess I’ll just play it by ear…

And so hesitantly Andrew stammered out what had happened; falling asleep, the forest, the trees, suffocating. The only thing he didn't mention was the figure and what it had said, he knew he should be telling the man everything, though he just couldn’t bring himself to do so; instead he simply skipped that piece in the story and hoped the hole wouldn’t be too obvious.

“t- then I woke u- up” Andrew finished, looking down at his hands, the cover page of The Hobbit waving at him from the lip of his book bag as it swayed in the light breeze wafting through the window.

[Seiji Lockard]

His office probably did look rather messy and even he did have to have his snakes help to find certain things from time to time. Once he would get that expansion to his office then he could work on cleaning up. Actually put books away on the bookshelf, file some papers away, and probably give the place a good dusting in a few areas. It was just difficult when you had to balance a job that could call you in at odd hours, and dealing with classes with projects since you were no longer a freshmen or sophomore. Still, he really did enjoy it all and would not outright complain about anything that he had to do. He was just honest and would let people know that he was busy or if they asked for something specific then they were just going to have to wait. He was not a full on nurse or doctor so even some of the test that he would do could only be done halfway by him and then the rest would be handed off to a nurse, or vice versa for the nurses.

Clearly if they sent then young boy to him then the nurses figured that it had to be something deeper than just lack of sleep bothering the boy. Either way, Andrew was in his office now and it was Seiji's job to figure out what was wrong and what he could do to help Andrew get through or at least manage whatever it was he was dealing with. Ghost now spelling that there was another person in the room wanted to go over and say high but found himself sort of stuck. Not really stuck, but more so wondering if he should just fully go out the window and work his way in or if he should just be super flexible and turn around. The later was his most likely choice but he had that bulge of a rat inside him that he had to not just try squeezing all over the place. Seiji did not react to Andrew jumping, figuring that seeing a snake and well probably what he was dealing with in the cafeteria had caused the boy to be jumpy. Or Andrew could just be a jumpy person, which Seiji had to deal with a lot so was not bothered by it as all.

He asked his question and by Andrew's stutter tone Seiji was able to figure out a lot more about the kind of kid Andrew was. His dark eyes looking over the boy and entering in a few things into the computer. Andrew seeming busy with his thoughts on Seiji's question which just allowed Seiji time to grab and start to enjoy his second sandwich, still managing to type with ease when Andrew did start to speak up. Telling o his very vivid nightmare and what how it happened when he basically passed out in the cafeteria. Seiji writing almost every detail down as he finished off half of his second sandwich and washed it down with some more water. He was still hungry after all and while he felt a little rude for eating in front of the boy, if he was hungry he would not have been of that much use. Since a hungry stomach would mean his thoughts would be on food and less about what was going on now. "I see." Seiji said after wiping at his mouth and then going to type in a few more things. Pulling up another file on what Andrew's power was and reviewing it to see if that would help him even more.

Ghost made his way full back into the room and slithered over to Andrew, the tip of his tail still managing to wag as he slithered over and halfway up the chair Andrew was sitting it. "Oh, that is Ghost and he says hello. He work hurt you in anyway, but if you are uncomfortable with him being there let me know and I'll get him to leave you alone." Seiji informed Andrew as Ghost was using his head to sort of nuzzle Andrew's leg, wanting to be petted, and again acting pretty much like a dog with no legs, fur, and pretty much the other characteristics associated with a dog. Ah, a shifter. Mainly canines. Seiji thought to himself as he finished reading over what was written up about Andrew's power and a little on how his training was going. "How often have you been having these kinds of nightmares? Did you even have nightmares like these before you came into your mutation, and would you like one of my sandwiches?" Seiji asked a few questions and even pushed his third sandwich towards Andrew.

Simply not eating enough could be a cause of not sleeping well and since Andrew had been at the cafeteria, he might have been hungry and not eaten. As for the other two questions, well they were for helping him narrowing things down more.

[Andrew Wylen]

While Andrew spoke, the man retrieved a sandwich from his desk, chewing it thoughtfully though not seeming at all troubled by the boy’s recollection; a fact which he hoped to mean he possibly wasn’t going cracked in the head after all. It wasn’t exactly the most relaxing thought, but he clung to it with a thin string of hope, finally finishing his story and allowing the room to slide back into its previous silence, well, save one thing. The snake had slid off its perch, returning to the office floor where it slithered its way across the cluttered surface, causing papers to crinkle underneath its long body. Andrew had never thought he could see a snake look happy, though somehow this one did, in fact for whatever reason its tail continued to wag all the way up to Andrew’s leg where it placed its head delicately inches from his knee, a motion the student recognized all too well.

The man looked up from his computer, seeming to just now take notice of the rather large boa constrictor nuzzling his guest. Andrew listened as he spoke, not at all sure whether he should yelp or laugh as the boa nudged his leg innocently and gave what he could only assume was a smile.
After several seconds he finally managed to say “e- er- i- its fine,” Letting one hand gently pet the snakes head, as the other remained curled in his lap as meanwhile the man continued, eyes scanning something on his computer screen while he spoke.

Andrew thought back, trying to remember, his mind amply supplying the image of a lake of blood, struggling, his lungs filling the thick warm liquid- no, no, no he closed his eyes, breath coming in a quick gasp. After a moment or two he regained control of himself, shaking his head again and turning back to the man his mind scrambling to formulate an answer.

“I- I think it was the night after I- I-t- transformed. F- For the f- first time that is.” Andrew could remember the agent who had collected him trying to keep the boy under control, he could remember the hesitant look the man had given him as he once more resumed driving and he could remember the stars bright overhead in a breathtaking display that the boy hardly noticed as his life had changed forever.

“a-at least I can’t remember- e- ever having a n- nightmare before- t- that” Andrew paused, quickly adding “I- I- mean, I had- n- nightmares- b- but n- not like t- this, t- they w- weren’t so-“ he cast about for a word though couldn’t find one, eventually settling for “r- real.” Andrew took a shaky breath speaking again “a- after t- that, i- its b- been e- every n- night, o- or so.”

As for the final question he simply shook his head, feeling a bit nauseated by the whole ordeal and not at all hungry.

[Seiji Lockard]

Seiji was no stranger to hearing bad dreams or pretty much was not unnerved by such topics since it was not abnormal. A ton of people would come in wondering if their mutation was causing some sort of nightmare side effect and in most cases it was a combination of both something that the mutating had been scared from and their mutation was just amplifying it. As he listened to Andrew's nightmare and looked over the young boys power, that was what he was thinking was the issue. Something bad happened when the kid came into his power or perhaps before and he still had yet to get over that trauma. Being a shifter he would have to deal with a higher level of hormones and his mind and battling one another as he was growing up and also having to deal with that other side to him. That was Seiji's hypothesis thus far, but he had to get his questions answered and perhaps run a test himself to see if he was on the right track.

Plus only a spider or talk about pee/dealing with it would be enough to make Seiji stop eating when he was hungry. Even being embarrassed or blushing would more than likely just make him eat more or faster if there was food in front of them. Ghost could not actually smile, or really give any facial expression but her tried. Opening his mouth a little bit to show that he was trying to give a friendly face, but with those tiny sharp teeth, it probably didn't look all that cute and or friendly. "Let me know if you change your mind and if he bothers to much just tell him to get down and he will." Seiji let Andrew know as he smiled a little to see Andrew pet Ghost and seem to be sort of okay with it all. Ghost being very pleased and nuzzling into the pet as he started to work his way into Andrew's lap, trying to get all of his body onto the boy like he was a lap dog. A very heavy and long lap dog.

Seiji watched closely as he saw Andrew go into something like a panic attack, ready to move into action to help the boy out of it, but Andrew seemed to calm himself down. Clearly something the young boy was used to doing, which Seiji also noted down on his computer. Seiji gave a small nod, typing things down as Andrew let him know that he only started to have these dreams after he transformed. Seiji's hypothesis seeming to be even more spot on. Seiji did look to Andrew for a moment as the boy said that it was pretty much every night since then, which had to be wearing down on the boy. Seiji finished up his sandwich and seeing as Andrew didn't jump on his offer he slid his sandwich back over towards himself and wiped his mouth. Taking a long drink of water he then opened one of her draws and then started to pull a few papers out.

"I'm going to need a blood and hair sample from you as well if you can recall the events of you coming into your powers that would be of great help. I can only imagine that it was not all the wonderful of a coming into your mutation story so if you do not wish to share that is alright, but it would help me figure all of this out sooner." Seiji pointed out and was not lying. The more he knew about Andrew coming into his power the better he would be able to pinpoint if what he was thinking was spot on. Then if he knew that then he would be able to give Andrew the right medication and sign him up for some therapy talks. The hair and blood samples were for test as well as making a medication tailored to Andrew and his mutation since normal medication didn't always help fix the problem.

Say a TK always got headaches and tried normal headache pills they might work for a little bit or not at all, and that was another part of Seiji's job. Making things tailored to help mutants deal with their sides effects. It also required the help of the Doctor Campbell and a few of the nurses since they had a bit more experience then him with making medications when he was more so used to making antidotes.

[Andrew Wylen]

Andrew nodded as the man mentioned the boa, “ghost”, now working her way up into his lap though didn’t stop petting it, after all, the boy could kind of relate. Seeming content with his response, the doctor returned to his key board, jotting down a few things before bolting down the rest of the lunch and retrieving a few papers from a drawer, finally winding his way back towards him. The man spoke seriously, but held an understanding edge, to which Andrew had no reply. He knew sooner was better, feeling as though he was going to crack any moment if he had one more of those nightmares, then again, he had felt that way for a couple months so it wasn’t anything new, besides even if he didn’t tell him no doubt there were all kinds of reports about this that the man could read from anyway so it made no difference other than that one way he’d be free of the visions for at least one less night, a prospect which was more than worth it. If there even is a cure, he pushed the thought away just as it formed in his mind, despite this though, the fear had already taken root and as was the nature of fears, spread, its thorny branches tangling and twisting his thoughts until, doing his best to ignore the growing terror, he took a shaky breath and began.

“I- I g- guess i- it started in chemistry class-” The story all kind of spilled out of him from there, the boys, the room, waking up and being lead to the principal’s office, even about Mr. Drace’s rather “interesting” entrance, when the boy had first learned about what he was. Andrew didn’t mull on any section to long, saving the unnecessary details that were still vivid in his mind; like blood pooling in the tiled rivets, his world falling apart into a thousand shattered fragments, the dullness, the hopefulness, the fear, he kept those, he also kept the moment he had woken up from his first nightmare, a moment he could still recall as the moon lit country flashed past outside the window, mountains rising in the distance like teeth of a great creature ready to swallow him whole.

[Seiji Lockard]

Ghost made himself nice and comfortable on Andrew's lap, thankful the boy was not putting up a fuss. He was probably pretty heavy and knew he could only stay on the boys legs so long before his weight would likely cause the legs to fall asleep. For now however he nuzzled into the boy and made himself at home on the kid. Planning on probably moving later to drape his whole body around Andrew. Maybe give him a small hug. No. Seiji sent the command to Ghost right away as soon as he heard the snakes thoughts going towards the whole giving Andrew a hug. Seiji knew Ghost didn't mean any harm and he just wanted to show people love, but he was a snake and the whole hugging with him would result in injury. That was how he killed his food after all, so he needed to keep the whole 'hugging' not involved with people he wanted to show love towards. So instead he flicked his lounge at Andrew's arm, trying to basically be like he was licking the boy.

Seiji paid close attention and typed up almost everything that Andrew was saying onto the computer. Only stopping to write a few things on the documents he pulled out. Alright, everything was adding up then. Yes, he was sure that he was on the right track and there would be a way to at least stop the nightmares a little bit. At the moment he did have medication that was tailored to shifters with a similar issue, but this one would end up being a temporary for Andrew while Seiji would have to work on the one just for Andrew. Even if mutates sometimes did end up with similar abilities they all had different DNA, only identical twins having the same. Ok, so he for sure needs to be put on medication and concealing would do him some good. Seiji thought to himself as he wrote things down. Ghost offering himself up to be one of those theory dogs, and Seiji reminding the snake that he was not actually a councilor by degree or anything.

"Alright, i have everything I need verbal wise. Thank you for opening up and telling me this Andrew, I can imagine it was not fully easy to do." Seiji said in a honest and friendly tone as he gave the boy a smile, saving his work on the computer and getting up to go over to the cabinet to pull out Andrew paper folder to put the documents in. then moving over to his special locked cabinet to find the medication he was looking for. "From what I can tell your nightmares are as bad as they are because of some mutant related trauma, it is also a common issue with shifters to tend to have pretty bad dreams since their 'human' self tends to be at war of sorts with their 'animal' self." Seiji said as he tried to phrase it in a simple manner so that Andrew could understand what he was getting at. His dark eyes squinted over the veracious medication, finding the one that he needed and moving to get out at least a temporary one week worth of medication for Andrew to take.

"I'm planning on making a medication to help you with your sleeping and the nightmares. I'm also putting you down for some need of counseling, if you don't mind. I know many kids don't like it, but it can be really helpful when given a shot. We have some really good medical staff here." Seiji pointed out with a smile as he zipped the little bag closed after getting out the right measurement out, but went back to his desk to right down a few things. "Any questions? Not that I'm done with you yet, but so far?" Seiji asked, and no he was not done with Andrew yet, he still needed samples and probably to ask a few more questions.

[Andrew Wylen]

The man’s hands flew across the keyboard, adding the “click clack” of rapid typing to the void of silence left as Andrew finished his story, staring down at where ghost still lay curled about his legs like an overzealous puppy looking for another rub. He obliged, snake seeming to relax gratefully, but then again, he couldn’t really tell what the creature was thinking, for all he knew it could just be contemplating how his hand might taste and after that thought the boy was far more careful were he lay his palms.

The man gave an acknowledging smile his tone friendly and calm as he began speaking, Andrew giving a short nod in return. Without pausing his words, he retreated to a small cabinet, hunching over to pull something out and returned to his desk with a pill bottle in hand, zip lock bag in the other. Andrew glanced at the small orange plastic container uncertainly, his unvoiced question answered with the man’s next sentence.

Counseling? Like a psychiatrist? Andrew gulped, still not commenting though his hands might have accidently clenched for a moment since he could feel ghost go rigid beneath his fingers. “S- Sorry” he muttered quietly and resuming his previous pat, though a noticeable tremble ran down his arms. It wasn’t so much the psychiatrist part that worried him, nor was it the medication, in fact Andrew wasn’t really sure why he was suddenly anxious and terrified, it was more just a feeling, like when he was in dog form and he chased after his own tail out of instinct… alright, bad comparison, yet still, he just couldn’t shake the fear. The man closed the bag with a feint snap, outside the window could be heard the noises that came with the summer season at Bellefonte; birds twittering, distant voices chattering and in the background he could hear the sounds of cheers and miniature explosions coming from the arena.

Once more, he shook his head, no, though then, suddenly wanting to know for sure, he asked “er- a- actually s- sir, h- have y- you ever n- not, y- you know- uhm- b- been able to f- find a c- cure?” it was probably pathetic of Andrew to ask though he needed to be sure, one way or another, even if the answer was yes- well, then he would cross that bridge when he came to it.

[Seiji Lockard]

Ghost was indeed content with the petting, pleased that Andrew was petting him and letting him be in his lap in the first place. A few others by now would have been likely to tell the snake to get down or just not touch him at all. Sure he did sometimes wonder what it would be like to eat a human since he had never done it before, but when he thought of humans he thought of his master and then could not really bring himself to eat them. If he was told by his master to he would, and her certainly would be fine with hurting them if they hurt his master or him. The medication was used for another shifter that shifted into canines as well, but it was still temporary. It would be like taking the generic headache medication instead of something specifically for you kind of headaches. That was why Seiji would need to get samples from Andrew so he could make the medication. He just didn’t want to leave the young boy with nothing while he worked on creating it.

Ghost did move a little when he felt the clinching into his skin, but he was not upset about it. Plus there were words that he was pretty sure were an apology so he easily forgive the young human male. Simply just moving a little on his lap and again nuzzling into Andrew for some more petting that he loved. Seiji completed getting out the small amount of temporary medication and writing up the instructions on it. Andrew simply had to take one pill every other night before bed for the week with water and at least having eaten something. Something could even be small so long as there was something other than water in Andrew's stomach when he took the medication. There were only five pills in the bag and Seiji figured that all he needed was a week in order to get everything made. He had the help of his fellow medical staff and experience in making medication, just again with more so vaccines.

It be easier for him to make it into shot form, but he didn't think Andrew was a fan of shot so was planning more on liquid gel pills. He stuck the instruction and the medication inside a bag and turned to hand it over to Andrew as the question was asked. Ah, a question on his record for success and failure. Seiji could understand wanting to ask such a question. "Well I have been never able to find a full on cure of anything as of now. I only have ways of dampening things, since mutations are all complex and even making this temporary fixes takes some time. By temporary I mean that the pills would work for a while but then say after a year or maybe less they won't work for you and you will need to be made new ones. Alternatively they could work for you forever, but not get rid of all of your nightmares, but I can assure you that it would be enough that you would not be having nightmares every night and most certainly they will not be as vivid with the ones you do have." Seiji explained, feeling like he talked a lot but with science and medications you sometimes did end up talking a lot.

"That’s the plan anyways for the pills I will be making just for you. With these ones I'm not fully sure of the result it could have on you, not that they would be bad. Just you could either end up with your nightmares less vivid or having fewer of them since this is not specifically made for you medication, but made for your overall general mutation." Seiji said and figured that was enough on that but was ready for any questions as he moved over towards where he had his supplies for getting a blood and hair sample from Andrew. The blood was mainly what he was going to use, the hair was just another way to look at Andrew's DNA.

[Andrew Wylen]

The doctor didn’t seem overly surprised by Andrew’s question, if anything the boy got an odd feeling that he had been in fact expecting it, or else that he was not a stranger to being inquired of such things by his patients. The man paused, but only for a second, then continued his work while he spoke, placing the bag on the desk before him and turned once more to mass of containers, renewing his search. So the pills were not a cure, not really, and in all truth, deep down Andrew hadn’t expected them to be anyway; none the less, with the words being spoken he could feel his hopes dashed slightly, as if a streak of black paint was swiped across that single beam of light, making it fractured and hollow.

Even so they might help right? The thought was anxious, desperate to find the good in the situation, but right then seemed to do nothing other than make him feel as though he was falling even deeper into an un-scalable hole.

There’s something about the human mind, it stores up everything, good, bad and then when we are at our lowest point we look up and it’s all crashing down on us. That’s how Andrew felt, not only was the universe apposed with just letting him get beat up in a normal school, devoid of friends, it had to take everything he knew and turn it all on its head, it had to give him a power which would be laughable even in modest regards then, no, because that wasn’t even enough, it made him watch every single bloody night as his deepest nightmares turned into reality, as his family died over and over again in his mind, Devyn reminding him what an idiot he was, knives, blades, a thousand methods of excruciating pain, not all of them physical as his dreams just kept on creating it. well he gave up, he was done, like the needle that broke the camel’s back he honestly could not care less, thinking to himself, universe, you win, happy? I don’t care, I can’t care, but the thing was, he did care, he cared more than anyone could possibly know. Andrew knew how to take a beating, to just wait, hoping the bully would go away and they usually did, but now when the tormentor wasn’t just a human being, bent on making his life a living hell, when it was the entire world he couldn’t stop himself, he had waited, and waited and waited, yet this never relented, not one single time and so he found himself looking up, to see his entire world falling apart by the seams; words from his last call with his sister cutting through his heart faster than any dagger might: his mutation, his affliction, his “problem”. How had things gotten like this, that his own sister, the one who had wrestled away her boyfriend from pounding Andrew into a pulp, the one who had stayed up till two in the morning to help him finish his science project, the one who had advised him and loved him his entire life, how had it come to the point that she was scared to even see him? the boy could feel a tear well up in his right eye that he quickly pushed back, though then a sob escaped and he stood up, forgetting completely about ghost the boa before moving quickly to the door going to pull it open, not even sure what he was doing or where he would go, the only thing he could think was, not here.

[Seiji Lockard]

Seiji explained everything as best as he could and in the simplest way he thought possible for Andrew to understand. He understood how sometimes he could speak too much and use words in a way that did not make sense. Or the fact that he would talk really fast and his words would sometimes run together if he was not careful. Thankfully he was pretty calm and thinking at his best after having two and a half sandwiches already. He was debating if he should eat what was left or not, feeling like that would make him fat in a way. Not literally fat, but just like by the image of him having just scarfed down how many sandwiches he just did already. Now he was thirsty and was taking a drink of some water as he let everything settle in with Andrew.

Waiting for any possible questions as he laid out what he needed to get blood and a hair sample from Andrew. Once he was done with all that he would let Andrew be on his way unless the younger boy wanted to hand out for a little bit. Seiji was fine either way since he really was on his lunch break and still would not mind doing some work while on his break. "So I'm going to need you to sign this document giving me the okay to..." Seiji started to say but his voice dropped off as Andrew suddenly got up and went to leave. Ghost falling to the floor with a thud and then letting out a hiss, angry that he basically felt like he was pushed after having been nice. "Easy Ghost." Seiji ordered his snakes that moved over to him and curled up around his master’s legs. Seiji honestly didn't know what to do with the whole Andrew running off.

"Do I...what do I..." Seiji asked himself out loud to help him think on it a little better but by now Andrew was already out the door with Seiji standing there deeply confused. He could not make the boy stay but he could not fully help him if he didn't stay. Seiji carefully stepped over Ghost and moved to peek out his door. "I'm sorry if I upset you! Umm...come by another time when you are better..." Seiji yelled out after Andrew but he was not going to chase the boy down. Seiji was not the type to do such a thing; he let people have their space if they just ran off. Maybe it had been the needles or talk of the pills. He really didn't know.

[Andrew Wylen]

Andrew didn’t even hear the man; he was out the door, running down the hall, then another hall, not even stopping to realize he had left his back pack and possessions in the room, just trying to get away.

At some point he must have burst through a door because the next thing he knew he was outside, jogging across the grass until finally, panting with exhaustion, tears staining his cheeks he collapsed beside a tree, the stitch in his side not hurting nearly enough for him to pay it much mind. Andrew fell into a huddled mess, wondering if perhaps this was a panic attack though unable to stop the salty droplets from dripping down his face until they fell like rippling globes of pure glass to the ground; smashing into a thousand twinkling pieces. He cried because there was nothing else he could do, sleep was the most common escape that humans partook in, though the sanctuary of dreams had been stripped from the boy so his body sought a second means, despair. He sobbed, head in his arms, beneath an oddly bent tree, not recognizing it, yet still able to smell the small patch of flowers that grew not far away, poking from the grass with a determination that rivaled even the mightiest of kings. A cold wind brushed through Andrew’s hair before with a final choking gasp he managed to look up, wiping his face with one hand and stand up, leaning against the tree just as Devyn had several weeks ago.

The words continued to string through his mind: affliction, mutation, “problem”, he had spent hours upon hours trying to make sense of those names; was that all they were? Was SPECTER right after all? Were mutants just a blight upon humanity? A purely random deterioration to be dealt with and exterminated? That’s what some people seemed to think, though as Andrew sank back to his knees, staring across the lawn partially blocked by foliage, he wasn’t at all sure what to believe; the boy who had once looked dumbfounded at his blood stained hands and to the agonized cries of his old tormentor, he now peered equally as speechless across the short cropped grass, noise of voices drifting through the light breeze.

“W- Why did you do it?” Andrew stared at his sister still slightly shocked as she dabbed at her black eye with makeup. She didn’t respond at first, music still blaring downstairs, though it was lacking the sound of ruckus and loud voices, signaling that all of her friends had indeed gone home.

“He was a jerk” Emelia finally said, accidently smearing the colors and having to start again with a few choice curses.

“T- Though w- why? H- He was like… twice your size?” Andrew gestured with his hands not sure how else to put it besides asking if she was insane, a query that probably wouldn’t have gone over very well.

“Most guys don’t hit girls” Emelia replied in a flat tone, continuing to apply the coloring casually.

“b- but-“

“look Andrew” she cut him off sharply, and surprising the boy with the suddenness of the comment “I don’t want to talk about it alright?” without waiting for his answer, she stormed out of her room and was halfway down the stairs before Andrew caught up with her.

“C- Come on Emelia, w- why? I- I mean y- you’re lucky y- you just got a black eye- i- if all those other people hadn’t stepped in you proba-“

Emelia stopped, glaring up at him, a thick rage burning in her eyes, but he could also see a droplet trickling down one cheek and causing the diligently placed coloring to run. “in case you didn’t notice Andrew, he was ready to kill you, so forgive me for saving your ungrateful hide, I figured it might be a little difficult to explain to mom and dad as to how you happened to end up getting your ribs crushed by my boyfriend, when no one was supposed to be here in the first place!” she turned away, taking in a deep breath then with half a step further down the stairs, she added. “besides, your my little brother, even if that does mean that sometimes you’re the most annoying idiot I’ve ever seen.” Andrew could say nothing as she continued down to the first floor, turned into the kitchen and started to wash her hands before making dinner.

He wasn’t sure why the memory came to him, even so, now, sitting there the boy thought to himself; your my older sister, even if that does mean that sometimes you’re the most annoying idiot I’ve ever seen. Sighing, though not feeling as though he was going to burst into tears again, Andrew stood up, making his way slowly back to the building; he was going to go back to the man’s office, explain, at least for the most part, get his things and do whatever was left to be rid of these nightmares, but first and for most, he was going to give Ghost a much needed apology.

[Seiji Lockard]

Seiji honestly didn't know what just happened or why Andrew had freaked out and just up and left on him like that. He tried to sort of stop the boy with words but Andrew seemed to not hear him. Then soon the much younger boy was gone out a sight, leaving Seiji standing there a moment scratching as his neck in confusion. "That certainly is one for the books." Seiji said to Ghost who was having a small little fit about the whole being dropped thing. He did have a rat in his stomach after all and just in general it didn't feel good to suddenly end up hitting the ground after having been so comfy on someone’s lap. "Hey, it's okay. I'm sure he did not do it on purpose." Seiji said as he went back into his office and closed the door behind him. Moving over to give Ghost a pet. The snake nuzzling its master before moving to go under his desk where he could curl up and brood a little about what just happened.

So sensitive. Seiji thought to himself with a small smile, but it didn't last long. Seiji could not really help Andrew without having a sample from the boy to work with so the meeting ended up being a waste of time. All he accomplished apparently was scaring the boy off and who knows where. Seiji just moved then to enter an update into his computer and made himself comfortable again. Grabbing the last of his sandwich and going back to his lunch since there was nothing he could do. He felt bad but at the same time there was nothing he could do since his help was not something that was mandatory for students to receive. He still left everything out that he needed, in case Andrew did show up. Having already put the boys stuff on a self and made a mental note to go drop it off with one of the dorm staff later if Andrew did not end up returning later for it.

[Andrew Wylen]

Had so many people not been outside, enjoying the weather or otherwise taking advantage of the campus grounds, Andrew felt he would have scarcely been able to make it down the first hallway. As was, he was none the less gawked at with open curiosity, even concern and he could hardly blame these unspoken inquires after catching a glance at his reflection in a passing window. Good god I look horrible… Andrew thought, suddenly wishing he had brought a hoodie, even a comb; something that considering his hair was always messy to some degree, made a statement in and of itself. The boy’s eyes were so red he looked like a vampire, pale cheeks reinforcing that theory, though not for long as a group of girls passed by and caused them to turn a rosy blush. Shaking his head, Andrew turned back to the pane, running a hand through his hair until it looked; well, not decent, but perhaps just enough that it didn’t appear to be a bad wolverine impression. That all in order, he continued walking, for a second musing over the idea of transforming, just running the rest of the way in canine form, though it took less than a second before the stray thought was thrown aside. Even if he could, or wanted to, endure the grueling pain the process brought, he wasn’t entirely sure if he could control himself well enough in that form to make it back to the room, besides, there was the whole problem with clothes. No, all in all, just a bad idea, so pacing along, he tried to remember where the office had been, taking a left, then another left, before rounding up another very long hallway that he thought looked familiar. After a few minutes Andrew stood once again, just outside the office door, hand hesitant to open it, not at all sure what to expect inside, detention? Shouting? Yelling? Uncomfortable questions? A snake that wanted to tear his left foot off?

Gulping he reached forwards, his hand brushed the handle’s cold metal and sent a chill through him that made the boy want to pull the palm back like a wounded animal. Even so, he gripped the knob and turned it, stepping inside, blush returning with renewed force, his other arm suddenly feeling incredibly awkward hanging at his side, in fact, everything seemed incredibly awkward, he wasn’t sure how to appear, despairing maybe? Nonchalant? Embarrassed? Andrew gave into the last one, besides it was how he was feeling, at least he hoped that was how he looked, instead of the uncertain terror that was building up inside his gut. The young shifter’s voice didn’t seem to work, he opened his mouth and closed it several times before finally managing a meek sentence

“I- I- I uhm- s- sorry” Andrew glanced between the man and ghost, trying to give his week apology to both of them, then stared back at the floor, unable to hold the man’s gaze and not entirely sure as to why he was apologizing to a snake. It just felt… right?