St. Peter's Asylum discussion

Eilir's dorm. The first dorm on the first floor, complete with an entire wall taken up by a window, to let in as much possible light. The cream coloured walls are embossed with the golden words of some of Eilir's favourite poems and quotes. The small bed is covered in fuzzy blankets. A reading nook by the window is piled with pillows. And the temperature is always, always warm.

Eilir had been sitting in her little window nook for hours, staring out into the deadened grass area they called a park. She hadn't moved, hadn't eaten, hadn't slept. All she was thinking was how Wes was gonna be so disappointed, how she was insane, how Eilir Bernhardt didn't deserve to live. A glance at those hands, with the power of life and death, sent shivers down her spine and tears streaming down her cheeks.

And then there came a light knock at the door, and Wes's voice floating through the crack: "Eilir! It's me! They gave me the dorm number and I don't know if I have the right place; you in there?" He knocked again, then stood back with his hands in his pockets to wait, an expectant smile lighting his face. He couldn't wait to see his childhood friend again, for he'd been away for most of the summer only to return a few days ago.

She momentarily brightened, turning to face the door before uttering a joyful, "Wes!" before realizing that she had once again, almost murdered.

He tried the knob and found it locked. "Girl," Wes joked, grinning though she couldn't see him, "you better open this door or I'll bust it down. Old Elf back here wants to see you!" That sounded quite corny, even to him, but it was probably going to make Eilir laugh as things like that so often did. He liked listening to her laugh.

Lumbering toward the door, Eilir realized that she was probably a mess. Huge bags under her eyes, mussed hair, and a tortured expression added up to an Eilir who didn't look good enough for Wes. But, she thought selfishly, I need him. Turning the lock and opening the door a crack, she peered out with a mournful expression.

"Come on, then." Wes only smiled, gesturing for her to open the door further. "Let's see that face of yours. We have some catching up to do before I give you your present."

Reluctantly, Eilir followed his orders, light shedding on the Scandinavian in all her glory. "Wes....I did something...bad..." she managed to murmur before starting to cry again.

A frown of concern tugged at Wes's lips as he walked in the room, placing a gentle hand on his friend's shoulder. "What do you mean?" he asked, concerned by her appearance: whatever it had been it was stressing Eilir greatly, that much was obvious. It was hard to miss the tortured look in her eyes.

His gentle touch made her sob even harder. "I did it again, Wes! I almost killed this girl too, but I almost didn't stop. I almost killed her!" She lifted her hands to her face, crying in self loathing and pity, utterly ashamed of herself. "what's gonna happen when I don't stop, Wesley? Will I kill someone? Will I become insane, like they tell me I am?" it was true, Wes' little absences, and especially longer ones, made her distraught and agitated, but the other nurses were really what made her yearn for Wes.

Wes raised his eyebrows at the words but didn't respond otherwise, only squeezed her shoulder. "Of course not, Eilir," he said gently. "That will never happen. You'll be fine."

Hiccuping now, she buried her face in Wes' tee shirt and wrapped her arms around him. Breathing in his weird scent of pines and freshly cut grass calmed her a bit, and his just being there was a comfort as well. "Damnit, Miller, I really missed you." she muttered into his shirt.

"I missed you too," Wes said solemnly, wrapping his arms around her. "But I'm sticking around, Eilir. I'm only leaving for little vacations now, just to make sure Mom and Dad are all right." It was another hard thing about caring for his dear friend, trying to balance school and work and other patients and his own parents around, trying to give each field a good chunk of his time. But he was content to live with it if he could help Eilir. That was what mattered to him.

((Am I doing a good job or portraying Wes? He what you hoped he'd be?))

((Better.))

"How are they?" she partially lifted her face from his shirt to look up at him with cobalt blue eyes. "And did you see Mother or Father around?" she was always anxious for news of the normal, outside news when he got home, but news of her family was always the juiciest peics of information.

((Awww!))

Wes nodded. "My folks are fine, and yours are fine too. They asked me to tell you this: that they love you and want to see you, and if you think you want to see them too, that they can arrange a visit." He looked serious, stroking her face gently. "They really want to see how you're doing, Eilir," he said quietly. "They're so worried about you."

Eilir sighed. She did want to see her parents, she just still felt so guilty... And that's what she told Wes. His stroking of her face reminded her of her recent conversation with Drake,too. "And I have news for you. There's this new volunteer, and I hunk you should show him around sometime. Drake. He's sweet."

Wes grinned. "Okay," he said. "Anything to make you happy, Eilir. You know that."

"Oh, and he also thought we were an item. You wanna know what I said?" She teased, untangling herself and sitting on the bed. She looked expectantly at Wes, a wry expression on her pretty face.

"And what did you say?" Wes raised his eyebrows, genuinely curious. "What did you tell the nice young man, Eilir?"

"Uh-uh, Elfy." she held out a hand for her present, rosebud lips twisting into a smile.

"Bribes!" Wes exclaimed, feigning shock. He recoiled, one hand over his heart. "Eilir, I thought you better than that!" His own lips parted in a little 'o' of disbelief, but then he grinned. "Say please first."

"Wes-ley!" she whined. "Puh-leaze?!?" she reached over to him, trying to find where he'd hidden whatever he'd gotten her.

"No whining!" The boy scolded, shaking a finger at her. The other hand snaked behind his back, and came around with a small photo album in its grasp. Wes flipped it open, revealing one summer drawing of his, in full color, with an almost exactly replica of the nature scene underneath it, only as an actual, honest-to-God-photograph. The little book was full of those things, his summer drawing scenes redone to scale, and underneath each a photo replicated the scene in real life. He thought Eilir might like it, for help during her breakdowns.

She started to protest, but then saw the present itself. "Holy...ohmygod, how did you do this?!?" she squealed, jumping up to push him to the bed and steal the album from him. She then sat on his stomach, flipping through each page with wonder. " I love it!"

Wes laughed, his face glowing with happiness. "I'm so glad," he said. "It's for your unstable moments. Look at them and think of summer, and feel better."

She giggled, then laughed at both his expression and his childish delight in making her happy. "Do you wanna know what I said to Drake, then?"

Wes's eyes sparkled and his lips parted in an expectant grin. "Do I ever!"

"I said that we were not an item and that that thought was rather strange. And I proceeded to describe all your faults, particularly your ears, Elf, to him, And so I think he knows more about you then anyone would wish to know." She continued to giggle, stopping only to stick her tongue out at Wes. "I almost decided to humiliate you and tell him he was right, though."

Wes gave a dramatic groan and fell back, covering his ears with his hands. "Not my ears!" he moaned. "How dare you, Eilir, you traitor!"

She laughed. "Don't worry, I think they're your best feature." Eilir rolled off of him, setting her present down on a nightstand. "And they most definitely define you." she teased.

"I'm never looking in a mirror again. Thanks a lot, Eilir."

"You'd probably break it anyway." she laughed. "Stop frowning, Elf. It really doesn't make you look attractive."

"When have I ever cared about looking attractive?" Wes sat up and raised his eyebrows at her. "I'm not going to start worrying about it now because my childhood friend decides that she can't handle a little dirt from time to time." He chuckled teasingly, moving to poke her. "Grown a little squeamish since I last saw you, Eilir?"

"Nuh-uh! I tried to rent a horror movie from the library, but they wouldn't let me." Eilir pouted, leaning back on the bed so as to evade Wes' poke. "Nananana! You didn't catch me!"

"Can't I?" Wes grinned, rising to his feet and springing onto the bed to throw his arms around the girl and pull her to him in his best hostage hold. "Watch me."

"Ahhh!" she shrieked, pounding on his chest. "Let go of me, you elf!!!"

"Elves don't listen to the silly mortals," Wes murmured in her ear, grinning slyly. "You have to promise us a favor before we do anything for you."

"As long as you don't tell me I'm a changeling." she agreed. "What can I do for you, Mr. Elf?"

Amara wrote: ""As long as you don't tell me I'm a changeling." she agreed. "aquatic can I do for you, Mr. Elf?""

Wes gently combed her hair behind her ears, still grinning. "Try for a kiss, my fair lady," he said, doing his best seductive voice. "Try for a kiss."

"What's that supposed to be? Your sexy voice, Wes?" She giggled, leaning forward so that her rosy lips were mere inches away from Wes'. So perhaps she was teasing, but that was expected from a girl like Eilir. At least she wasn't being snarky.

Wes chuckled. "I'm nothing on that Raven kid, am I?" he said with a little grin. Then he leaned forward, closing the gap between their lips and pressing briefly in a gentle kiss before leaning back. "Bet he could convince you to kiss him using just his voice," he teased.

"Who, little old me?" Eilir acted surprised, "I think that would be Rosemarie you're talking about, Wesley."

"I hear he's quite the charmer," Wes disagreed with another quiet laugh. "He'd play one of those charming, seemingly-innocent, amazing serial killer dudes you see on soap operas, I think."

"What? Are you getting jealous?" She teased again, jabbing a finger onto his chest. "Now get off of me, I'm suffocating!"

"No, I'm making statements." Wes grinned and snapped at her finger before removing his arm from around her middle. "Wesley Miller doesn't get jealous, Eilir. Not of insane little boys in a mental hospital."

"Uh-huh. Suuuure." Eilir giggled, sitting up on the bed and stretching.