Nobody ever told her its the wrong way(psychiatric hospital)

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I looked at her half confused as she spoke, it seemed her vocabulary was rather limited. I nodded in response, when she asked if I was complicated, and shrugged when she asked if I was a Pawn. I thought of life as a massive game of chess, and all of us are just pieces, even the Kings are being played by a greater force, a deity, or something of the sort. If only I could say that aloud! If I was half as good a speaker as I was a thinker, I'd be in an institution of higher education, not one for the insane. Thinking on it, I remembered something. Wait... Ryan! He understands what I say! He could translate for me! What a marvelous idea! I looked around for a moment, and held my finger up, the gesture to wait. I ran back up to the desk and knocked. "Let me guess, Knight to D4?" she asked. I nodded and returned to my table. A few moments later, Ryan returned. "Oh, hey Bishop. I see you've made a new friend? Wait... you need a translator don't you?" he asked. I smiled at him, half embarrassed. He knew I felt he was the only one who could understand me and my thoughts. "Bishop to Pawn. Knight to D5. Knight takes Pawn." I said, motioning between the three of us. I being bishop, him being Knight, her, Pawn. "Umm... You are trying to talk to her, but you can't. So you want me to talk in your place, so you can communicate better." he figured. I nodded and said excitedly "Knight takes King!" meaning he won, he got it right. "Alright," he said, and turned to the girl. "This is Reginald Quincent Gallilei, but everyone calls him Bishop. He's here because, sadly, something went haywire in his brain and now he can only speak in chess terms. No one can explain why. So, I help him out. I had a patient a few years ago with a similar condition, except it was D&D terms instead of chess. If you two need anything from me, translator, or something, just have Bishop come get me. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a few things I need to attend to." he said, and waked away. I had since sat back down and moved my B1 Bishop to H7, taking one of her Pawns. If she was smart, She would move her H8 rook forward a space and take it, but she might not, being so new to the game.
 
Violet looked back down at the game as Bishop moved a piece. She took forever to collect her thoughts, but spoke. "Rook H8 to H9?" she said, moving her rook forwards a space. She didn't take the piece, but looked up to Bishop. She was excited, actually playing a board game without being scolded for doing something wrong. "Is that r-right?" She stuttered. Her mind had blanked a little in the pause, but she had a feeling that she'd made a good move.
 
I pet the cat before putting it down, earning a sharp look from the nurse. I watched as Bishop came back with another man. I nodded as he explained, casting a sympathetic look at Bishop. I smiled as she took in the load of new vocabulary. "I need to communicate better." I said apologetically. "Do....Do you have a new friend?" I asked, putting emphasis on "new" and motioning between the girl at the other side of the board and him. I winced. That didn't sound quite right. I was asking him if they knew each other before I got here, but it was too confusing. It was quite a predicament. Bishop, (as I preferred to call him,) could only speak in chess terms, and the other girl hadn't said much. I gestured towards the other girl. "Your name is?" I was quite happy with myself. I was beginning to sound a bit more normal.
 
(OOC: Sorry if I suddenly switch from first to third person. I do that a lot sometimes. Like in my last post.)
 
((OOC: No problem, I've done that before))

"Violet, Vi." Violet answered, looking up. "Call me Vi." She said again, realizing her first response sounded a little like she didn't know her own name. She had folded her hands neatly together again and was sitting up straight. She had pulled her jacket back up on her shoulders, but now she unzipped it, feeling it was no use using a jacket in the summer. Her white shirt was a contrast of her black jacket. She likes contrasts.
 
I laughed a little at her move. "Rook H8 to H7." I corrected, placing emphasis on the '7'. I wasn't trying to sound mean, but things like that fluster me. How can you go to H9 when there are only 8 spaces in any direction?! I calmed my self and nodded, looking back up at Catlyn. I pointed to the girl across from me. Then my brain registered the situation. Wait... She just took my Bishop. I began to laugh hysterically, stopping after about ten seconds. "Rook takes Bishop." I said, and applauded her.
 
Violet nodded, taking note of the 7. "Seven." She repeated, trying to memorize it. "Okay." When he started laughing, she looked up at him, caught by surprise for a moment. When he said she took his Bishop, she glanced back down, then nodded. "Yeah." She picked up the small chess piece bishop that she had taken and rolled it around in her fingers for a moment before setting it down beside the board. I made a correct move.. She thought to herself, looking back up.
 
"Okay, Vi! Call me Cat." I said, and a smile wormed it's way on my face when I saw Bishop laugh. It must be nice to have a chess partner. I then pulled up a chair, watching the game with interest. I could hear the beat of the music on Vi's headphones, barely audible. I listened to the beat, then drummed out a little tune to go along with it. Nobody said anything about drumming. Vi's hand was bandaged. If I got the right vocabulary, I might be able to ask her about it. (OOC: By the way, if Vi is wearing headphones, doesn't that mean that she might be tempted to strangle herself with the cord?)
 
((They're not headphones, it's a wireless earpiece that plays music from the iPod in her pocket. They took her headphones away because she tried that, but yes, if she did, that would happen.))

"Hi Cat." Violet said, turning back to the girl and looking at her for a moment. She's pretty.. She thought. She was very kind if you got her to open up a little, but she was usually too blocked to get too.
 
A thought occurred to me. I do have a slightly more expanded vocabulary, but it's limited to things like 'next turn', or 'new game'. Simple things. I turn to Cat. "Next game, Pawn to D4, Pawn takes Bishop?" I asked. Hopefully she understood me enough to figure out I meant I wanted to play her next. If not, I'll have to call Ryan back over.
 
I tilted my head to the side, trying to process the words. By "next game" he probably meant after he finished his game with Violet. Pawn to D4...Perhaps I was Pawn, but D4....After the game I go to..D4. I take Bishop. Oh! I knew what he meant. I would take him on in a new game! "I will....next game." I said, smiling. But I had a feeling that I needed to sort something out. "I need a name...." I was saying that I needed a name that wasn't so general....I was trying to tell him that he could choose individual names for us. "Vi is Rook. Call me...." I left off, meaning that he could choose a piece to name me with. I pointed to all of the other people that he didn't know. "Pawns. " It made sense to me. He could call the people he wasn't friends with pawns, and the people he was another name. It would make it easier.
 
I looked around the busy room as panic danced uncontrollably through my brain and body. I didn't like the way a few of the people were watching me, it made me feel uneasy, like they were judging me. My hands began to nervously twine there way through my hair which was a little damp from my tears landing in it. I looked towards the ground unable to look around anymore, I felt tears began to form into my eyes again as I wondered how long I would be here. I listened quietly as the caretaker started to tell me about some of the different things you could do in the big room, but I didn't really care, its not like I was ever going to do these things. I didn't like his voice, it sounded too happy, like it was almost forced and strained into making everything sound cheerful. I wanted to tell him to not talk like that, but instead I found myself covering my ears as tears began to roll down my cheeks. The caretaker stopped and began to say something, at first he seemed worried and caring, but then I realized that it was just another one of his 'acts'. I wanted to run away, so I did. I turned around and began to run towards the door, but before I could get very far the caretaker grabbed me by the wrist hard, maybe a little bit too hard.
 
This time the shift was instantaneous. Some times it's not. Sometimes it takes days or even weeks for me to gain control of Cora. I don't like controlling Cora, not really, but sometimes she needs me. I am aware of Cora, even though she has no true knowledge of me. I'm ok with that. I am her courage, I am her strength, I'm the one who can handle it when a situation gets tense. When Cora's upset, or when someone hurts her, I'm the one who moves to the front to deal with it. I am Elliot, and Cora needs me.
Sometimes other people need me too.
Like today.

I was aware of Cora today, a bit more then usual. Possibly because I had been in control yesterday. I bore the bandaged hand to prove it. One moment Cora was watching cartoons with Simon and then she had looked over towards the door where a new girl and a caretaker were standing. The new girl turned to run, the caretaker grabbed her wrist, and I was suddenly in control. Perhaps it was the sight of the tears rolling down the girl's cheeks that did it, but I was not going to let the situation continue.

"HEY!" I barked rising to my feet letting the stuffed bear Cora seemed so fond of fall to the ground. "HEY!" I shouted again, taking a step forward, my voice seeming to echo around the walls of the room. "Let. Her. Go!"
 
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I looked up gratefully when I heard the clear and controlled voice of a girl a little younger then me yelling at the caretaker. The girl had gotten the caretakers attention long enough for me to slip my arm away, I took a few steps more closer to the girl and turned around to notice the caretaker just standing there staring at me with an awful look on his face. "Thank you..." I said shyly to the girl as I turned away from the caretaker. I looked down at my wrist to notice a dark red color had crawling into the tanned skin where the man had grabbed me, I shouldn't care, I had done a lot worse to myself, but it made me even more scared about being here.
 
"Anytime." I answered as the new girl acknowledged that I had done something to help. That didn't happen much, me getting thanked. usually I got in trouble. It was obvious the Caretaker was not happy at the moment if the glare he was shooting both of us was any indication.

"Now, Cora . . ." He started and I took another step forward and glared back.

"Hmm, now let's think hard about that name. Who am I?"
 
I watched quietly as the two glared at each other. I found it strange when the girl asked him who she was, as if he had gotten her name wrong or something. I took a step back as the younger girl, I think her name was Cora but maybe not, took a step forward. "You can leave now...I think I know where everything is." I said harshly to the caretaker and watched his face change to anger and I was almost embarrassed by the way my words had sounded, I hadn't meant for them to sound that mean.
 
I knew that face, oh how I knew they face. Somebody was about to get into serious trouble, and it was probably going to be me.
A thousand possibilities flashed through my mind, each one a potential way to end the situation. Maybe if I could get us both out of this I could go back to watching cartoons. Unfortunatly none of my ideas were very good.

Taking a deep breath i took a step in front of the new girl and prepared to stare the caretaker down.
Maybe he'd decide the situation wasn't worth all the trouble and paperwork he'd end up with if it came to a fight, or even a simple shouting match.
 
I watched and waited, my heart beginning to race. The girl took a step in front of me and I knew whatever was going to happen wasn't going to be good. The caretaker shook his head and took out a cell phone,

"Now Cora, I'm going to have to call your doctor if you keep this behavior up..." He said calmly but almost threateningly.
 
I nodded in response to the girl, noting she left a verbal blank as to what to call her. I point to myself and proclaim "White Bishop." next, to Vi, and took note of the name given to her by Cat. "White Rook." I then pointed to the direction Ryan had left in. "White Knight." I looked Cat up and down, sizing her, trying to think of what I could call her by. I would try to call her by her name, and if not, I supposed Queen would work. "C-...C-ca... C-..." I grunted in frustration at my brains inability to say her name. I sigh in defeat and point to her. "White Queen." I couldn't very well say black queen, that was the head nurse, and black king was the owner of the place. "White," I began explaining, moving my arm in a circle motion to us three and the surrounding patients, "v.s. Black." I ended, pointing to the nurse's station. Hopefully she would catch on.

I liked to use the colors to signify the battle between good and evil, the good people being white and the people working for the hospital being evil. Except Ryan. He was more grey, but grey wasn't in my active vocabulary. There was no grey in chess. I nodded in agreement that everyone else would be Pawns. Simple. I'd just have to not meet many new people.
 
Vi's music stopped. She began fiddling with her hands under the chess table. She listened to them, realizing she was now being called White Rook. That's an interesting name.. She thought to herself. She understood most of what Bishop was saying, but offered no response. Instead, she tapped the screen on the music player in her pocket, the sounds continuing in her ears, calming her mind. Her hands went still again.
 
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