It's been a while since Ivan Fontane has had a day to himself. Much too long, in fact. In an attempt to remedy the situation, he has popped by a neighborhood video rental store, dressed down and comfortable, and is perusing the aisles with a slow, casual smile on his face. Dressed this way, in his tee-shirt and jeans, he doesn't seem to have much in common with the man who is occasionally on the local news stations, speaking eloquently for the Mayor of the fine city. "So…horror movie flick or retarded comedy…decisions decisions."
This day brings a whole different set of goals and obstacles for someone else in the city. After roaming around for what seems to be forever, the frightening young woman finds herself walking into a video store. She's wearing white cotton pants and a white tank top, standard issue from Green Oaks. Atop that is a white doctor's coat that was used to cover her during the escape.
The gasps and strange looks from other patrons mean little to Faith as she walks through the aisles. It's almost as if she's not even really looking at any of the titles of the movies. Instead she's just looking for something that isn't what she has. The deep circles under her eyes and vacant expression may indicate a drug problem, and it isn't all that inaccurate. Stupid Green Oaks.
After a moment of hesitation, a Vince Vaugn movie is picked up then weighed. "Ahh…guess there's no point in a horror flick if there isn't a chick around." Once he has reasoned with himself, he proceeds to toss the rejected movie back on the shelves and back away, with the intention of ringing it out. And he would have, if it weren't for that pesky girl in her labcoat. The man accidentally backs into Rose, immediately jumping away once the damage has been done.
"Whoa there," he comments, holding his hands up in a gesture of 'surrender', smiling over in the strangers direction amiably. "Sorry about that. Guess I'm a bit empty…" Needless to say, her outfit makes her a very…interesting specimen to look at. "…Headed. Huh. You alright there?"
Clothes would be a good thing. Real clothes, that is. She knows that she wants clothes but the medication hasn't quite cleared her system yet. Faith is beginning to realize that she's in the wrong place, only beginning, when someone backs into her. She stumbles back into a shelf and basically just remains there, not having it in her to even quip back. "Oww."
Rose looks down at herself then, her mind continuing to clear. Eventually she looks up, her eyes square on Ivan. A brief moment of panic washes over her but still she remains. "Where am I?" Funny question for one who walked into the video store.
Well. At least now Ivan's aware of how not alright she is. His brows furrow down thoughtfully, and after pursing his lips he takes a tentative step forward, holding his hand out in a non-threatening way so as to grab hold of her arm and steady her. "Did you hit your head or something? You're serious? You not just shitting and playing some weirdo game, are you?" Beat. Once again, her garments are eyed, as if they might hold her secrets. "You're in Mike's Movieporium, in Downtown Dallas. What's your name? Are you new here or something?"
The clothes that she wears could be a good clue as to what's going on, indeed, plus there are the bite marks on her neck to consider. Eventually she begins to pull herself upright so as not to be depending so much on the shelf of movies. Still she looks at him as if he's the one who isn't making any sense.
"I don't think I hit my head." Rose beings feeling her head, looking for some sort of a bump. When she does so the medical bracelet from the institute is visible from underneath the jacket. "My name? Um, you can call me Rose." Yes, that's it. It's slowly coming back to her. The insanity, that is. "I think I think that I was looking for some clothes. Where are the clothes?"
It's the bite marks that alarm him the most, once they come up in Ivan's inspection. Once he fixes on the puncture marks his lips contort into a thin, dry line and he glances around, almost as though weighing his options. To walk away or not to walk away? It's a gamble - but eventually, with a sigh, the man proceeds to scratch at his head. "Where are the clothes? Ah, you've got the wrong store for that. Okay - listen, where's your home? D'you know? I'll help you get home, even pay for the taxi. Just tell me where you live, Rose. That's a pretty name." And with these kind, reassuring words Ivan steps towards her, holding his hands out in what presumably is a calming manner.
As if it would be that easily. He's threatening to take her home, and that's where she was just taken away from. "No!" It isn't as if she's a child throwing a temper tantrum. That is honest to goodness fear within Rose. "I don't, um" Rose attempts to take a step back, forgetting that she's actually against one of the shelves. "I don't exactly have a home." Hopefully it doesn't look that obvious!
She looks around in her state of panic and almost begins to cry. "Wrong store," she echoes. "I don't have money for the store." Frustrating! "Maybe my sister has" Hope will have clothes that fit, but Hope ordered all those evil things to be done to her. That's what the nurse said, anyway.
From afar, Hiro is gonna crash, babe.
Long distance to Hiro: Rose is napping as it is. "Sleep well, sweet."
From afar, Hiro smooches, hopes he doesn't get snowed under down here!
"I - what?" This isn't a situation that Ivan is familiar with. This isn't something that happens every day in his life, and so the eloquent, suave man is at a loss to how to deal with it. Jaws clenching, he squints thoughtfully at her. "You're a runaway. Where did you run away from?" However, as he looks at the express horror in her expression, he finds himself softening. Slowly, deliberately. Cue another one of those massive sighs.
"Alright. Just…forget about that, then. Whoa, whoa, you're okay! You're okay now, no need to cry! Here," Placing a hand on her shoulder, he casts a paranoid glance around the room. "Who's your sister? How do we get into contact with her? Do you have a number, I can call her if you want."
No one is ever going to believe her. She might as well have just stayed in while her savior sleeps. "I didn't run anywhere," Rose points out. She's getting frustrated at this point. The massive amount of medication pumped into her the night before is causing all sorts of unpleasant things in her mind. "I was freed. I think." That's what she remembers, at the very least.
When Ivan touches her, she very nearly hauls off and punches him. It's so close but she eventually restrains herself. "She made this happen to me!" Oh, dear. Now Rose is screaming. The woman slinks down to the ground and pulls her knees to her chest. "You're going to make me go back and they're going to hurt me! Hope told them to! They said!"
And now she's making a scene. It's almost comedic, the look of panic that crosses Ivan's face when she starts spazzing and flailing and freaking out, and so, the poor witch does the first thing he can think of - he reaches forward, crouches down, and clamps his hand over her flapping mouth. "Shh! Shhh! Jesus, relax! You're making a scene!" With the forced quiet, he furrows his brows in a thoughtful manner. This isn't good - he needs to get out of the public. Now.
"If I let you go, will you be a good girl and listen?" Treating her like a child seemed like the most reasonable thing to do, considering her behavior. "I'm not going to make you go back anywhere…Rose, right? I'm not going to force you into doing anything you don't want. I'm just trying to help you - just want to be a good guy, that's all." Pause. "Now…if you don't mind walking a bit, I can lend you some money for some clothing. Cheap clothing. Or we could duck back to my apartment, and I can find something for you there."
Oh, he so did not do that. Rose glares up at him, holding back the temptation to bite him. He's touching her. The insanity is so clear in her expression, even when she's quiet. The only real time that she can really look in one direction for long is when under intense feeling. Anger, depression, fear it's all there. Still, she remains quiet as a mouse, especially since his hand is on her mouth. Jerk.
Rose does move, though, enough to let her hands rifle through some of the pockets. There's nothing really there to identify anything about her so she finally shows her medical bracelet to him. It lists her name as Faith Tyler, patient number six zero four seven one one five seven zero of Green Oaks Psychiatric Hospital. Her sister has been searching high and low for her, and her family has taken it to the media, but this is all recent. Many people likely don't know.
She's obeying…reluctantly, but she is, and so Ivan can no longer justify gagging her. Slowly, he retracts his hand, taking special care to wipe it off on his jeans in order to avoid Crazy Cooties. Pensive, the man licks his lips, only to be distracted by the intensity of her gaze. After balking, a mild scowl appears. "Yeah okay, chill the fuck out. I'm trying to /help/ you here. If you don't want it, all you have to do is say so, and I'm gone. /Believe/ me when I say I don't have to put up with this bull." With this warning given, he calms himself enough to slow down.
"Okay…Wait. The Psychiatric Hospital? Are you…" Don't say it, don't say it, "Crazy or something?" Beat. "Ah, whatever. What do you want to do? Maybe we'll get somewhere if we know that."
Ironically, the way he's talking to her is actually not making things worse. So many people coddle her as soon as they figure out that something is wrong, or even suspect it. He's pretty much reacting how she figures most people will anyway. "Sorry," Rose says, turning her head to look away from him. She may be off her rocker but there are times when she does know that she's being irrational.
"I'm not crazy." The words are strong but not angry. All the same she can't look at him. "They did this to me. If I go back they're going to lock me up again." If it weren't for the jacket he'd even be able to see the marks on her arms from where she's been injected so frequently as of late. The tears begin to form again but at least she's not out of control. "I want to see my sister," she finally says. "But they said she wanted me hurt." Sadly, no. Ivan's not going to get much more from Rose at any one point and time.
"You want to see your sister…alright. I can try to make that happen, then. We'll go see your sister." Ivan reassures, firm and somber in voice, only to frown as she amends her statement. "Yeah…I've a sister too, you know? An older twin. She wants me hurt too - but only in a friendly kind of way. I don't think sisters can /ever/ want anyone to really hurt you. It's like…against the job description. Hey - we'll find her. I can go with you for a bit, make sure you get there all fine and dandy. And if she wants you hurt, I'll take you away again, alright? Don't - oh geez, don't cry." Needless to say, the sight of a woman crying makes Ivan quite uncomfortable.
Tears aren't exactly something that Rose deals well with, either, but she's been through quite a bit lately. It doesn't help that some of the others in the store are starting to whisper now. "Isn't that the girl from the news?" They aren't trying to be too quiet about it and it's only making Rose want to disappear more.
She does blink the tears away to look back at Ivan. "You have a clone, too? Well, not a clone, I guess." There's a hint about who to look for in terms of her sister. "They said she wanted me tied up and given liquid death, just because of what happened." While the fear is there she's at least being calm in all of this. "She's at a big place full of people. SMU?" She's remembering something! Blink. "Why does she want to hurt you?"
Ivan glances around as the whispers appear, and after swearing under his breath, his determination is set. His eyes close - and after a moment of brief concentration and a murmuring or two, something happens. Rose wont see it but everyone else will - the crying girl will have stopped sobbing, to them, and adopted a cheery visage. "C'mon," Ivan grunts under his breath, and he reaches over with the hopes of gathering her to him. If allowed, he's prepared to pick her off of the floor and into his arms. "Keep it quiet, okay? Stay calm. We're going to go to my place - we're going to get you out of those clothes, and we're going to get you to your sister. Wait, what happened?" And then, belatedly, he recalls her question and chooses to speak, if only to lighten the mood. "Oh, heh. Because she's jealous people like me better than her. She's always been jealous of me."
It's not something that Faith even notices, really. All she can realize is that she's not got the overwhelming urge to punch some of these people in the face anymore. That's a good thing. At this point she doesn't have nearly the amount of fight in her that she's like, and much like the night prior has no real way of fighting against being picked up. The poor dear might as well just get used to it at this point.
"Please don't take me back there," she almost whispers. "I think they're trying to kill me." Rose sighs roughly at all of this but what exactly is she going to do about all of this? If the police find her they'll just take her back again. "Jealous? Family shouldn't be like that. They should be close."
She should just kick back and relax. It's not everyone who gets the privilege of being carted around everywhere like that. And though Ivan isn't a particularly muscular man, he seems solid and strong enough to support her slight form. "We'll see," he murmurs to her, glancing around the store as he moves to leave it with the woman in his arms instead of a rented video. "We'll see what'll happen. You'll be okay, though. I promise you, you'll be alright." And with this assurance given, he's off, crossing the street and walking the block until they finally reach the door to his apartment building. Once inside, in the elevator, he takes the opportunity to peer at her solemnly…only to let out a bark of laughter. "Yeah…this is /not/ how I planned to spend my day off."
