:.: Abigail's Nine :.: {Accepting/Open}

[Lucky_Tiger]

The tiger that shouldn't be....is....

Mark's blank eyes were scaring her but she had to do something before he hurt himself even worse. Miranda moved closer until she could grab the boy's wrists, trying to move his hands away. "Shh. Shh. Everything will be okay. Just relax. Shh. Shh." She wasn't even sure what she was saying anymore, just murmuring in a soft and reassuring voice. But she had to stop Mark from hurting himself like this.

((Sounds like a good idea.))

The tiger that should be....isn't....

 

[SilentShadowDreamer]

Mark instinctively began to struggle away from Miranda's grip on his wrists. "No! You don't under-- you don't see! It's filthy, don't you see it?" His emaciated frame held a surprising amount of strength for someone who looked half-dead, and he was using it all to try and wrest his hands free.

Into this scene walked Cybil, still carrying the bag. She appraised it at a glance - she'd had her share of experiences with Mark-gone-mad. "Ah. Like this again," she muttered, setting it down. "Miranda, did you get the pills into him?"

Crossing to the two of them, she sat on the bed beside Mark, taking in the welling scratches with a little moue of concern. Instead of taking his hands, though, Cybil went directly to the source of the problem. She took his head in both her hands and turned it towards her, pressing his face gently against her shoulder. "There now, baby," she murmured softly. "You can't see it now. Close your eyes. I'll get you clean, okay?"

There was a noise, perhaps of agreement, maybe just further psychosis, from Mark. Cybil nodded to Miranda. "Keep holding his wrists," she said quietly. "It'll make it easier."  

[Lucky_Tiger]

The tiger that shouldn't be....is....

Miranda tightened her grip on his wrists, trying to keep Mark still. She was private amazed at how strong he was, considering he didn't look like he could fight his way out of a wet paper bag. She glanced up at Cybil entered the room, breathing a sigh of relief at the sight of the other girl.

She was about to pull away since it looked like Cybil had it under control, then she heard the girl's words. "Alright." She murmured, resettling her grip. "I didn't manage to get the pills into him though. I've got them in my hand, but I was trying to get him to stay still long enough to take them when you came in." She explained, keeping her voice low. She didn't want to risk making Mark worse by raising her voice.

The tiger that should be....isn't....

 

[SilentShadowDreamer]

Cybil stroked Mark's sweat-dampened hair gently with the hand that held the back of his head. "Shh," she murmured to him before turning her eyes back to Miranda. "That's okay. He gets sort of hard to handle when he's like this. It gets easier with practice." She continued smoothing down his hair as she spoke. "The pills don't really help, but..."

She reached into a pocket and brought out a small bottle of what looked like hand sanitizer. "Hold still, Mark. You know the cleansing hurts," she told him. Then she began to spritz it onto his arms. There was a lack of the distinctive scent of cleanser, though, and Cybil gave Miranda a sly grin as she soothed Mark into a quieter frame of mind.

"Take these, babe," she told the boy once his mutterings against her shoulder had quieted. "You'll feel better."

Mark took them from her hand hesitantly, then his head lifted and he said, "I smell strawberries."

Cybil laughed. "That's so you," she murmured. "Yeah, I brought you back a treat. You can have it after you take your pills."

Mark obediently took them, and Cybil walked him to the kitchen for water. She gave Miranda a quick glance and mouthed, Explain in a sec.  

[Lucky_Tiger]

Miranda looked confused as Cybil sprayed the boy's arms. She could swear that wasn't any clear she knew.....She shrugged it off, letting the blonde do what she had to. Once Cybil had it under control, she slowly let go of Mark's wrists, easing off of him. Seeing Cybil's glance, she nodded. She would wait. Dealing with Mark came first. She sat on the edge, close enough in case she was needed again.  

[SilentShadowDreamer]

Once Mark was sitting on the bed, quiet now although still a little shaky and wide-eyed, Cybil patted his shoulder and passed him his strawberry tart. "You eat that and just relax, okay?"

When the boy nodded, Cybil let the boy lean back against the wall and sat down beside Miranda. "It's just salt water," she murmured to the other girl. "It stings, so he feels purified, but it won't infect any cuts he gives himself." She shrugged. "Part of it is tricking him into feeling like he's fixed the problem."

Mark nibbled contentedly on his strawberry tart, not paying attention to either of them. His crazy phase seemed to be quieting down now that he had sedatives and sugar.

Cybil smiled a little and offered Miranda the bag. "Here. You deserve your treat, too. Sorry about that. I wouldn't have abandoned you with him if I'd realized he'd wake up like that. It can be pretty bad."  

[Lucky_Tiger]

The tiger that shouldn't be....is....

"Ah. Okay, that makes sense." Miranda murmured in return. She took the bag with a grateful smile, pulling out her danish. "Thanks. Mostly he caught me off guard. I wasn't expecting him to wake so fast or so......crazy." It was the best word she could find for it. The girl nibbled on her treat. "Is it always like that?" She asked in an undertone.

The tiger that should be....isn't....

 

[SilentShadowDreamer]

Cybil gave the slightest of shrugs. "It's okay. Sometimes he wakes up like that," she replied. Her voice was still very quiet and gentle, and she remained relaxed on the bed. "Don't worry. It doesn't happen all the time. Not even often."

She looked back at Mark, who seemed quiet and relaxed now - the sedatives had taken effect. Since he was now calmed down for at least a little while, Cybil settled in with her own treat.

"Find anything while I was away?" she asked. "I mean, I know you were trying to settle him down, but for the rest of the time?"  

[Lucky_Tiger]

The tiger that shouldn't be....is....

Miranda shrugged, pointing to the abandoned picture on the desk. "I was working on that. Just sorta drawing. I do it occasionally, just draw and let my mind wander. I end up with some of the oddest pictures sometimes." She said with a shrug. "It's usually something I've scried at some point or another, whether I remember it or not." The current picture was a boy at the counter of what looked like a bakery. Though still rather indistinct, the boy looked vaguely like the one Cybil had just been talking to, though Miranda didn't know that.

The tiger that should be....isn't....

 

[SilentShadowDreamer]

Cybil got up with a sort of lazy grace and made her way over to the picture, picking it up. It looked nice, she thought. Miranda had some talent, rather like Mark did.

Then her gaze sharpened on the picture itself. It was too damn close. She had just seen this picture, less than a moment or two ago.

But in real life.

"Damn it," she breathed. "Damn it, I knew there was something about that guy." She held the paper, gazing down on it steadily. "This is the bakery I was just in. That's the kid that gave me my goddamn change. I know that guy."

She looked up at Miranda. "How likely is it that he's going to matter to us at some point in the future?"  

[Lucky_Tiger]

The tiger that shouldn't be....is....

Miranda jumped when Cybil started cursing. "What? You're sure?" She asked, moving closer to look at the picture again. She sighed. "Chances are pretty good actually. He's fairly clear, which isn't normal for someone I don't know. But every time I see him, he gets clearer and clearer. Much the same as you and Mark did. Now I could see you two with perfect clarity before I found you. If you two are used as judges I'd say......" She trailed off, thinking. "He becomes important, crossing our paths majorly, any time now. Within the next month? I don't know. It's hard to tell really. It's just a guess."

The tiger that should be....isn't....

 

[SilentShadowDreamer]

Cybil gave Miranda a narrow stare. "Would I say it if I wasn't sure?" she asked. Then she sighed and rubbed her forehead. "Sorry. Don't mind me. It's the stress, I guess." She set the picture down - she couldn't remember when she had picked it up.

After listening to Miranda's guesses, she nodded. "Okay," she said at last. "Within a month. Well, we know where to find him if we need him, so it's not like it's a huge deal, Miranda. We don't have to worry about it yet, not yet."

Not yet. Not yet.

But soon. She knew that, could practically hear it.

Mark looked up from his nibbling. He was still a little glassy-eyed and twitchy, but much better, Cybil was relieved to note. "What are we talking about? Who?"  

[Lucky_Tiger]

The tiger that shouldn't be....is....

Miranda sighed, looking down. "No. I suppose you wouldn't." She said in a low voice. "It was just surprising, that's all." She glanced at Mark as he spoke up. Well, he was looking better if not entirely perfect. "Coincidence. Or not." She told him with a shrug.

Explaining further, she continued. "Someone I'd been drawing looked a lot like the guy Cybil was just dealing with down at the bakery. There's a pretty good chance we're gonna have to deal with him in one way or another."

The tiger that should be....isn't....

 

[SilentShadowDreamer]

Cybil glared at her, then took a deep breath and looked away. "For sweet baby Jesus's sake, will you stop looking so much like a kicked puppy?" she asked in an undertone of her own. "I already feel like enough of a b***h for being pissed and scared and taking it out on you. Christ."

Turning to Mark, she waited for Miranda to finish her explanation.

The boy nodded sagely when she finished. "So you think he's like us," he summed up, taking it a step further than Cybil had wanted to. "And that we need him."

"I didn't see him in our future," said Cybil immediately, frowning.

Mark shrugged. "You said it changes."

That was the problem with telling people stuff, Cybil thought resignedly. They went out and used it against you.

"Yeah. Yeah, I did."  

[Lucky_Tiger]

The tiger that shouldn't be....is....

Miranda flushed slightly at Cybil's words but made no comment. She kept her attention on Mark. She shrugged lightly. "I don't know if he'll help or hinder us or what's going on." She said, unsure of herself. "I just know he's important somehow. Maybe he's like us or maybe he just has some key piece of information. I can't tell that."

She sighed and continued. "He's important, that's all. So maybe Cybil can't see him in the future because he's not really part of our future. If he's just important information then he'll come and go so fast that he wouldn't really show up." She looked thoughtful, trying to work the pieces together.

The tiger that should be....isn't....