The Disability Chat

T.Mor:

I just now noticed the words on the screen...And was really shocked to be able to read them. Holy Internet. "Uhm..." My own nonword floated across the screen. That...That was freaky. "How...How are things going to...uhm...happen from here on out?" I asked...curious about the schedule. I did not want to be...late all the time because I was just sitting around waiting for an announcement over the loudspeaker.

Dr Doe
"Emotional therapy every morning, and physical therapy for anybody who needs it in the afternoon. Specifics will be in the book under your beds. Those books will be your guide, it has a map, specific schedules, information about your treatment and medication, contact information about the doctors, ect ect. Those with sight disabilities were given braille editions"

Peter

"Um...I can't read braille," I said quietly. At least, I couldn't read it yet. I fully intended to learn, of course, but for the time being...reading anything was out.

T.Mor:

"Oh...Ok..."

"You forgot to address foodenings." Someone stated all buisness like, from the door. "Hello. I am Dr. Mencha, co-head of the department of psychiatry. I apologise for my tardiness...I had a lot of invoices to deal with. And a deranged man with a lawn mower, but that's irrelevant." She was really tall, with glasses and short hair.

"I suppouse that since I have brought the subject up, I really should go on and explain." She smiled, walking up to share the podium with Dr.Doe. "In a few minutes you will be dismissed to dinner. Those of you with medications that need to be taken with food, will have them issued there. The TV in the room is set to local news unless you can all agree on a channel to change it to. And, please. Speak to people outside of your usual groupings at mealtimes. Tomorrow you will all have breakfast prior to the morning therapy block, and Lunch afterward. Etc, etc." She explained mealtimes, completely chill. I kind of worried that they wouldn't have anything tinned...but...I'd cross that bridge when I rolled into it.

"And, Mr.Arkan...Don't worry. I'm sure you have some roommates that will keep you on schedule for a while." She allowed her face to curl into a bit of a smile at that.

Cricket

I tried to study the new doctor and . . . er . . . read at the same time, which I discovered didn't work. Therapy. So much therapy. I wasn't used to schedules, I was used to routine, and even then I fought to mix things up as much as I could. This was going to be a long . . . Oi my my. I didn't know how long I would be here.

Wolf
I listen from the hall, sounds easily heard. So busy. A distraction, to keep our minds away from our problems. All a distraction. Not a cure. Maybe I could distract myself enough not to feel so severely this way, but I will always feel this no matter what.

Name: Nathan Gregory
Previous chats?: Hell...That's it. Lol
Age: Looks 15
Appearance: Brown hair, brown eyes (nearly black), about 5 foot 10.
Disability: None.
Brief summary of aquisition of disability: None.
Misc. other: Nathan is Marley's boyfriend. He's gunna visit her.

Nathan walked through the doors of the hospital, his hands in his pockets. His heart skipped a few beats at the thought of finally seeing Marley, despite how different he had been told she was. Walking up to the front desk, he cleared his thoat. "I'm, uh, here to see Marley Thomas."

The secretary looked up at Nate, studying him for a moment before nodding and standing up
"Right this way, Sir, I'll show you to her room"

Nathan nodded his thanks and began to follow the secretary, running his fingers through his hair. "How has she been doing?" he asked her, eyeing the hospital hallways.

The secretary wasn't quite sure how to answer that question. She paused at Marley's door, opening it slightly for him
"See for yourself. If there's any trouble, just get one of the nurses to help you out, alright?"

Nate studied her for a moment, his eyebrows pulling together. Trouble? This was Marley, what kind of-- Right. This was Marley. He gave a small smile. "Thank you," he murmured before pushing the door open the rest of the way and walking in. His eyes immediately locked on Marley, the differences in her too hard to miss. He didn't care though. There she was, the love of his life, and that's all that mattered to him at the moment. "Hey, Marls," he murmured, walking up to her, restraining the impulse to wrap his arms around her

XD

Marley
I was sitting on the edge of my bed, staring out the medium-sized window. Don't know how long I'd been doing that. Maybe a couple of minutes. Or hours. I looked over at Nate when he entered, but there was no indication that I had seen him other than an attempt to mouth his name.

The lack of emotion in her eyes was the first thing Nate noticed... There was nothing there. Nothing to identify her as Marley. He sat next to her on the bed, unable to help himself anymore. He wrapped his arms around her, his eyes shut as he breathed her in. "I've missed you," he whispered.

Marley
I didn't know how to respond to that. I looked over at his closed eyes, indifferent to his touch. Even if I wanted to say anything to him, I couldn't, anyway.

When she didn't so much as move, Nate pulled back, his eyes on hers. He rested his elbows on his knees quietly, wondering how this was going to go. He couldn't help it when his heart twinged slightly. "The kids are doing good," he murmured softly. "It's kind of weird having werewolf pups in the house, but they're not too much trouble."

Marley
I pulled my knees up to my chest in sort of a sitting up fetal position, then rested my head sideways on my knees, my eyes still trained on him. Hair fell in my face, partly obscuring my view. Just kept watching, though, the empty feeling growing. Like there should be something there, I just can't comprehend what it was.

((Dearest Regret,

We are pulling this thing from it's death bed, and you are not here...
So...If you come on and see it, simply ask for an update, and we'll get you back on board somehow....
Erm...
Eloquent letter closing goes here.))

T.Mor:

I had to get the nice man to roll me down to dinner...It was becoming more frustrating than living on my mattress at home. Ok...maybe not that bad...But...yeah.

I wondered what we would even be eating for dinner...and if they had something stronger than coffee to kill the ache in my back. I didn't want to have to deal with wierd non-canned foods...They made me kind of...not feel good. At least I'd have Peter and Cricket...And maybe Marley if she stopped being all...wierd...

I didn't even pay attention to how we'd gotten to the food place.

Cricket

I read the words up on the screen one last time . . . dinner. Dinner? I didn't have any money on me, and wasn't in the mood to steal. Perhaps it was one of those sit-down places where the idiots give you food before you pay, so you could just leave before they come for the check. If not . . . well, I'd lasted longer without eating.

I stuck close to T.Mor all the way to . . . where we were going, and started counting floor tiles rather than worrying about things.

Peter

So we were having dinner now, apparently. I hoped that they were just going to give it to us, because I didn't have any money or anything. And...I hoped that someone was going to help me figure out where the food was to begin with...

Oh boy...

I headed down with them, listening for their footsteps.

T.Mor:

The cafeteria was...kind of blue..and there was a like...row of counters with some lady who had a spoon, and a whole row of...trays full of foods...It seemed like a lot.

"erm...uhm...I dunno...what I...can eat..." I muttered as the nice guy rolled me toward the food line.

"Well, Let's see." He took a look at the yellow plastic bracelet on my wrist. He said a few things to the lady with the spoon, and she made me a plate of...all kinds of things. I'd never seen most of them before I don't think...some kind of like...green...erm...pile...of..green things...something I recognised as toast...some other wierd stuff...and a little cup with little white circular things in it.

"Was...erm...any of this ever canned?" I asked the spoon lady nervously.

"I don't think so..." She smiled.

Great...ok...uhm..new foods...

The nice man rolled me over to a table, pulling a chair out of my way.

Cricket
That. Was a lot. Of food. From the looks of it . . . free food. Everyone was just walking up and grabbing it. No money. No blackmail. No bribes. How they could store that much free food in one place and remain sane, I'd never know. Back at home, people were casual about 'borrowing' money-costing meals. But once it was labelled free, people went mad.

I glanced back at T.Mor and Peter once before turning swiftly on my heel, sauntering to the colorful counters of steaming food. Corn, potatoes, sandwiches, little globs of . . . mush, more mush, cartons of juice, and tiny cups of mush galore. Plates. So . . . I just, took a plate, and magically, as I moved along, some lady slopped little piles and bundles of food onto it.

That . . . that was interesting. Warily I glanced around, watching for people that might have been giving me funny looks, feeling as if I were somehow cheating the system. It shouldn't be this easy. Where was the prank? Soon some white-skinned Nuovan would jump out of the shadows and take my plate. I just knew it.

I skuttered and then slid across the shiny floor before that could happen, somehow managing to set my plate on the table and sit in one swift motion. Where was that pleasant skidding sound? But . . . ah. Food. Food was still enjoyable. Food smelled good. Food tasted good. Mm. Food.

I stared down at my plate a moment before glancing up, realising that T.Mor was already at the table. I smiled sheepishly in greeting.

T.Mor:

Cricket smiled as he sat down. Maybe he knew what some of this stuff was. Particularly the wierd green pile. It was...confusing....

"Cricket...what is--"

I cut myself off. Talking...well, that would be kind of hard for him to get what I was saying...wouldn't it?

I pointed at my plate full of...erm...things...and made one of those "I am Audian and what is this." arm movements. I even went ahead and said "er... what is this?" even though I knew he couldn't really...you know...hear it...uhm.

Cricket

Ah. Expressions, I could read a bit better than lips, although T.Mor's expressions were a bit harder to distinguish. He always had this wide-eyed, deer-caught-in-the-headlights look. Well, whatever deer-caught-in-the-headlights meant. Come to think of it, I'd never seen a deer or had much experience with headlights. Headlights went on a car, aye? . . . Aye.

I looked at the blog of dark green, stringy mush on his plate, cocking my head. My fingers feathered over my throat as I spoke, "Ah . . . spinach?" I think that's what it was. I had some on my plate, too.