There Were Never More Deserving Sisters

Northwest Dallas

Primarily a stretch of industrial and commercial properties, Northwest Dallas is filled with a few smaller manufacturing businesses surrounded by commercial outlets. This area is not without it's own charm, however. The city's second largest airport can be found here, as well as Koreatown, and the stunningly beautiful Brook Hollow Country Club which is a clean, green forested area nestled near Bachman Lake.


Snowing in Dallas? You bet! What snow the city does see normally is nothing to be concerned about, and the same holds true for this lovely winter day. Faith the Wonder Twin is enjoying the soft flurries, going to the point of trying to catch a few snowflakes on her tongue. There are no gloves, hat or scarf on the mentally ill young woman. She did actually remember to wear a jacket so at least she's somewhat ahead of the game.
One of the caretakers at her new home was ever so nice to allow her to meet up with her sister outside of the Institution. This is mostly because this woman actually likes the twins and knows that if she pointed out to Hope what she did while she were visiting, Faith would be in trouble. If she pointed it out to her family, she would be in trouble. At least this way the twin has some sort of freedom.
So Rose, and her new tattoo, is waiting to meet up with her doppelganger. She of course has no idea what the big deal is, but isn't going to complain about the opportunity to be out and about.

Hope really isn't that far behind, running only a little late due to having to run to the university and check her grades before meeting up with her sister. A quick glance at her watch earns a quiet little curse, and she hurries along the sidewalk at a quickened pace.
Once Faith has been spotted, she turns to head behind a building so that she can come out in front of her sister, so as not to frighten her. With a small wave, she tucks her hair back behind her ears and smiles. "Sorry I'm late, I didn't mean to keep you waiting."

Frightening one so unstable honestly isn't a good idea, but she would at least put up a good front while she's in public. Only Hope knows just how fragile 'Rose' actually is. Such secrets should never, ever be repeated! Under penalty of a stare down and a good tickle. Yes.
Rose immediately lights up at the sight of her clone and nearly plows her over in attempt to give her a hug. Hopefully she's prepared! "MyClone!" All seems to be right as rain in the world, at least from what she's showing everyone else. The sudden movement, however, causes her to drop the day pass that she had in her hand. This fact goes unnoticed as speaking with her sister is far more important than getting back into the Institute.

A squeak is issued as she's suddenly glommed on by her twin. Hope laughs, returning the hug. When she extracts herself from it, it is merely to reach down and pick up the day pass. "Faith, sweetie, you need this to get home this afternoon." The day pass is wiggled in front of her twin, and she shakes her head. "So what did you want to do today?"

The day pass is taken in hand with embarrassment before Rose sighs heavily. "Well, Wit says that I shouldn't have to go back there." The way she says it, it almost as if she's talking about her own wit as opposed to an actual person. "When will I get to not go back?"
No matter how tempting it is to correct her dear, sweet sister and remind her that her name is 'Rose', Faith has already given up on that battle. But Hope is the only one who gets to call her that. Ever. Even with the serious question that was already posed, Rose looks about excitedly to see what she would indeed like to do. "Well, I want to go to the zoo, but that nazi lady say that zoos don't stay open in the winter."

"They generally don't," Hope explains patiently. "It's too cold for the animals." As she attempts to make sense of what her sister is saying, she grins. "We /could/ always go to the aquarium. They have a few exhibits that aren't fish, I think." She herself has never been there as of yet, and she's trying to be oh-so-accommodating to her sister.
"When your mind is all better, and you're ready to face the world again. I can talk to the doctors and see if we can get you more day passes, if you'd like."

Well, that's not exactly what she's wanting to hear. Oh, well. Rose kicks at the ground somewhat until the Aquarium is mentioned. "Fishies?" To that she grins and chuckles. "Wit says I should probably get to know this area better, since I'm living here and all. If we do go to there, I'm going to try and pay close attention to everything. The last thing I want to do is get lost."
Hope is very accommodating to her dear, deranged sister. That's something that Rose does actually notice. Their parents pay attention to her but they aren't really all that nice. That's why they're terrorists. "I don't know. I think I'm doing well enough. I mean, I'm better than half the people I talk to on a daily basis." Rose pauses as she considers that. "Do you think it is healthy to have someone not quite as bad off as the others around them? It isn't going to, you know, set me back or anything? Not that I need help, but since everyone says I do."

Finally, Hope clues in and asks, "Who's Wit?" One mention means Faith is talking about herself again, two generally denotes that it's another person which means she's got to be more watchful. "Yes, the last thing you want is to get lost. I would be horribly upset if you did!"
The question causes a bit of consideration. Hope taps a finger against her cheek. "I think that you probably serve as a good example to the others, that if they stay the course, they'll be just as healthy, just as quickly as you've gotten." A smile. She's trying, but she doesn't have the authority to pull her sister out of there at all. "I think if anything, you're getting stronger because of it. You already know you don't want to be like them, right?"

"I don't know. Some guy that gave me a stick of gum." Or two. And a whole bunch of ideas. The fact that Faith is talking so much to random strangers is a bad sign, but at least she's showing that she's not afraid. Besides, what is there not to trust about a man named Wit? "I think he's some relative of Cher or something." Not even a full second passes before she's on to the next thing, an idea suddenly coming to her. "I know! What if I get a tracking device implanted somewhere? Then I'd never actually be lost, right?"
In all honesty, Faith would love to have the power to check herself out of the Institute. She -is- an adult after all, and those other people scare her sometimes. Then again, she's never seen herself during a mental breakdown. "But I'm not like them. I mean, I'm normal for the most part. I remember most of my life, how to function and I only get confused some of the time. It's just that one thing I can't remember. I try, I do, but I just can't." The negative seems to wash away just as suddenly as it came, though. "But that's okay. It must not be important. It is kind of nice being the cool kid in school, so to speak."

"Where did you meet him?" Hope pauses, trying not to mother her sister to death. It's on the tip of her tongue to point out that she shouldn't be taking candy from strangers, but if her sister is ever going to get better she'll need to have a bit of independence and a chance to make mistakes. "We can talk to the doctor's about it. Maybe a leg band, and you can stay with me for a while to see if you like it…" Ever accommodating. Sigh.

These are typical questions, she realizes. Hope seems to go easier on her than everyone else. "At the bus stop. He helped me up when I accidentally tripped." See, she pre-screens her random targets to chatter at. Somewhat. "He had tattoos all over the place and a Brittish accent. Probably won't see him ever again but he was nice. Cute, too. You'd like him." He's not really Hope's type, really, but he seemed nice enough.
Rose doesn't even take a moment to consider this. "No way." She waves her hands in the air to accent her point. "I mean, living with my own mirror image would be kind of cool, but not if she's going to be responsible for me until I get my memory all back. You're the only person who doesn't treat me like I'm a child." All that much, really. "Besides, roommates interfere with cute boy time. You need to find a cute boy."

Hope rolls her eyes. "Faith, sweetie, when He decrees that it's time I find a cute boy, I will." Beyond which, she refuses to date anyone that has a 'thing' for vampires, which means that her pickings are pretty slim. "I wouldn't mind the company, and it would give you a safe place to go that's not Green Oaks."

Now, Faith remembers her time at church growing up, but she also knows that most of her actions were not guided by His direction. So despite knowing how religious her sister is, she can't help but ask. "He who? Wit? I don't think that he should be making that decision for you." At least she's grinning after saying this so maybe, just maybe, she isn't completely out of it.
Doubtful though.
"You're what? Nineteen? You don't need to be babysitting me." Someday she'll realize just how much of her memory is missing. "But I'd love to keep you company. Would our brother be visiting? I think he's afraid of Green Oaks." As he should be. Crazy people live there.

"Not Wit," Hope says, trying to humor her sister just a little more. "Our Lord," she says with a smile. "I doubt that this strange man you ran into is Him."
Suddenly, every fiber of her being freezes. Hope just stares blankly for a few silent moments before giving her head a small, sad shake. "N-no. Tripp won't be visiting. He's…" Beat. "… gone."

This causes Faith to laugh loudly. "Oh, I hope not. I really don't want to think of Him looking like Wit. Besides, I think Wit was hung over, or something. That doesn't sound like something He would do." Although, now that she thinks of it, what would He look like? Maybe she should try to find Him someday.
That is a funny response. "Don't look so serious, Hope. You're scaring me." Well, she's not really scared, but Rose knows when something's wrong. "That's his name? Tripp? Your parents wouldn't even say that much." The mentally ill twin shrugs her shoulders almost as if nothing happened. "Well, when he gets back I'll see if I can pay him a visit. I'm sure that I could do that."

"No it does not," Hope agrees. "I do not think that He would ever be seen in such a way."
It is hard for Hope not to look serious, as the conversation has taken a rather serious turn. "His name was Tripp, yes. But where he is gone, he will not be returning from."

There is more humor to be had but it falls to the wayside once Hope says what she does. This is somewhere that Faith has been before. It's like when she was a child and her parents were explaining what happened to her hamster. "This conversation sounds familiar," she comments with a slight grin, doing her best to not let on that she is fully aware of what her sister is saying. The name, the situation, it all pulls at her mind. There's something for her to remember here. Something about this Tripp fellow, her brother? Did she know this already? "That's why your parents won't talk about it, isn't it?" Wow, this conversation got serious. There has got to be something she can do to make the serious go away.

The conversation sounds familiar because it is one that has been had many times - with the psychologist, with their parents, with anyone who tries to discuss that day with Faith. Hope exhales a small sigh, nodding. "That's why. It hurts them too much to discuss it."

"It just doesn't make sense. I mean, fine, whatever. I'm crazy and don't remember. That I can kind of get past." No, she can't, but it is an explanation that makes sense. "I just don't see why they just tell me I don't have a brother instead of telling me the truth. Terrorists, I tell you. The lot of them."
Or it could be that they're actually telling her the truth but to Faith that isn't even an option. No. "I don't know, though. It doesn't feel like he's gone. I guess maybe because I was so heavily medicated for so long." Rose shakes her head, though. Enough of this! The world is the crazy and she's the sane, that's all there is to it. "Either way, we're in Dallas now, right? Time to, what did he say um reinvent ourselves. Right?"

Hope sighs heavily, hands lifting to rub at her temples a little. "Tripp is dead," she says quietly, wincing a little as she does. Uncertain if it will set her sister off. She doesn't go into explaining that Tripp is not their brother just yet, but she'll tell as much truth as she dares without being within the institutions walls.
"Yes, that is why we are here. To give ourselves a new life…"

Right now she's making the biggest sour face she possibly can. There are a hundred more questions coming to mind. She wants evidence, details, everything that she possibly can get. But a tiny, nagging voice in the back of her head is telling her that now is not the time to seek these answers. If she's forgetting it, it's probably better to just let it go. At least until Tripp shows up and proves the world wrong. "I'll name my hamster after him, then."
Dead or alive, it is reinventing time! "So what do you really want to do, then? I mean, with your life? If we're reinventing ourselves, we might as well do something wild and crazy, right?" Rose pauses as she looks about, trying to think of something fun. "We should go out sometime. You know, on the town. Dress up all super flashy and flirt with cute guys." Tripp who?

"Faith…" Hope shakes her head. "Provided that it is before nightfall, fine." She glances to her watch checking how many hours until sunset it is. "We can skip the aquarium and go to the pet store to get you a hamster if you'd like."

Rose tilts her head again, obviously confused. "What's wrong with a night on the town? You don't see many people getting glamoured up for a lunch. Silly." Maybe Rose should be the one in charge of Hope! That would be a fun time. Any thought of further convincing her sister to break her sunset curfew are long gone once she mentions a pet store. Rose gets all starry eyed as she stares at her twin, obviously quite hopeful. "You mean it? I can get one?"

"I think…" Hope nods. She'll discuss it with the nurse afterward. Better to ask forgiveness than permission. "Yes, let's head in that direction. I think that having something to care for will help you, and get you out of that place faster… just like you want, right?" Forcing a smile, she tilts her head in the direction of the store. "We've got a bit of a walk, but we can get you the whole set up. Cage, bedding, food, habitrail…"

Fine then, fine then. No going out on the town. Someone else will take her at some point, she knows. She doesn't really know anyone yet but there is still plenty of time. Besides! There will be a lovely little hammy ham in her future and that is the most important thing ever. "If you think it'll get me out of there sooner, that would be the best. If I'm there too long, I might just go crazy." Pah dum, tish. Rose turns to look in the direction of the pet store, or where she thinks it may be, and literally starts to bounce. "I bet I could carry all of it, even when I'm not on the bus. And I could bring Tripp to visit you. That would be nice, right?"

Hope's lip wobbles a little, but she manages to keep it together enough to nod. "S-sure. That would be very nice," she says, again forcing the smile. "We can get you a carrying case for the hamster so you can bring him with you when you visit." As she walks along, she thinks aloud, "Though I think today we will take a taxi back to Green Oaks, just to make sure we don't drop something, alright?"

If she's having a hard time with it already, things certainly are not going to get any easier for Hope. At least she has the fortune of her sister -not- actually remembering anything. That might be too much for her to handle. After all, she's a college student, not a mother or caretaker. These things should not be her responsibility.
"They make those? That's neat!" Rose is walking away, her mind off in the land of adorable little rodents. Of course, the crazies will want to take it away from her but there's no way that's going to happen! "It's a good thing that I brought some money with me. This sounds like a good deal of unplanned expenses. But it will be fun! Thank you, doppelganger." Wait, what? Faith dropping something? That -never- happens. "Well, if you think it is for the best"

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