Sleepless Arrival (Open)

[Mad Girl]

It was a seven hour flight, and tension was high for the staff. Despite the sweet disposition of their charge, everyone had been given a single important warning: no one was to sleep. As such, coffee was in abundance. Why, exactly, sleep was such a stern ‘no no’ was beyond many of them. Dr. Julie Breen from Windsor Asylum, however, was insistent. She was supervising the handoff of Nuri at Dr. Edwards’s request. He was not simply Nuri’s primary doctor, but her father, and a friend.

For Nuri, the trip to Gotham had been an exciting one. It was the first time Nuri had seen the world outside of Windsor Asylum for about twenty two years. Of course, she did not get to see much of it in a transport van. But the flight had been fascinating to her. She asked many questions from the staff who did their best to ignore her. It was, after all, a prisoner transport- not a holiday. For Nuri, however, it was all the same. She was not about to let the sour moods of her handlers ruin her enjoyment of this experience.

“Will you be staying in Gotham long?” she asked Dr. Breen casually as the van continued to make its journey.

“No. I need to get back as soon as possible. Your father was quite insistent of that.” Dr. Breen was familiar with Nuri, but that did not mean she understood her. If anything, she felt a loss for science in transferring this girl. But, ultimately she had to admit that she did not have the facilities to handle her. Not after what they had witnessed back in England.

“I’m sure you will be needed with all of the transitions.” Nuri observed. “Who will be taking father’s place?”

“I’m not sure that decision has been made yet.” Dr. Breen sighed and pushed her glasses up her nose. She was a slender woman in her mid forties with pale hair and tanned skin. The suit under her doctor’s coat was simple but flattering in shades of grey and rose.

Nuri continued to look out the window, eager to see more of this new place she was about to enter. Arkham was up ahead. “Do you think he is angry with me?” Her voice seemed small in that phrase, as though she were no more than the child she appeared as.

“I don’t know Nuri. I doubt he understands.” Dr Breen pulled out Nuri’s file as they came to a stop just outside the gate, flipping through it idly. “All this time with us and you never once made mention of your… abilities… It is a lot to process.”

Nuri sighed at the grey skies outside her window. She wanted to see the city. She had never seen one before. But now she was in her new home and it was unlikely they would ever let her leave willingly. She had overheard conversations from her father- about what a dismal place this was. It was for the criminally insane. How so was Nuri a criminal? For being different? Perhaps that was enough.

As Nuri was led to her cell she was silent and cooperative. W14A. That was her new home. She had been allowed to keep some clothes and two books, pending her good behavior. She had already read these books several times but she made no mention of it to the staff. They needn’t know how clever she was, not until it suited her. She could tell right away that this place was different. They were cold here- detached in a way that spoke of horrors underneath. She sat on her bed, a quiet little lamb, playing with the pocket watch pendant around her neck. Its still hands sat at 4 o’clock as impatiently waiting as Nuri for the time for its use again. Nuri’s normal green eye wandered the hallway for anyone nearby, searching for new faces to explore.

[Vektor]

It was early evening when Vektor awoke, he was lying in a pile of garbage from an overturned trash can. He raised himself up ever so slowly, he breathed in the stench of vomit and blood, he wasn't sure how much of it was his own but he didn't care much about it either. With a heavy sigh he told himself: ”I’ve earned some breakfast”, he waited a few seconds then added: “please”. After another short pause he started rummaging through the garbage, he quickly found a day-old Lasagna neatly packed in plastic, he looked hungrily at it, then shook his head disapprovingly and threw it aside. After a few more minutes of digging he managed to find rotten piece of bread, he weighed it in his hands trying to discern whether it was edible or not. He decided that the first was true and started gnawing it hungrily.

After about 10 minutes Vektors “breakfast” was disturbed by a Large armored van with the o-so-familiar Arkham Asylum logo bumbling through the street. Vektor was forced to jump back on the sidewalk, to avoid being run over. He heard the driver mumble something along the lines of: “F***ing junkies”. Vektor stumbled once more to his feet. He started looking around wearily, then he started on a hunch walking towards Arkham. When he had walked for a couple of minutes he told himself: “you know perhaps it is time I payed my old home a visit.”

an hour later he arrived at the gates of arkham, he started walking around the outer fence, trying to discern what the best course of action was to get in. It was at this point he realised the hard part wasn't to get in, but to get out again. He spent a few more minutes thinking about this unforeseen problem, then he stopped dead in his track so abruptly that it seemed like he had been hit with a baseball bat. He pushed his concerns aside by saying: “i'll burn that bridge when I get to it”, then started climbing the old metal fence. The fence was spiked and rusty but it hadn't been maintained for years, so even though it cut into his hand and left several small splinters he was easily able to climb over.

Vektor Landed heavily on his feet and started running towards the main building. This was the most risky part of getting in, the inmates weren't allowed to be out on the field near the drive way, especially not at this hour. He reached the front door of the asylum, and was confronted by a major hole in his plan. The hole had taken the form of a tall blast door, with security cameras at every angle, the wall was to large to climb, and unlike the outer fence, which was mostly there to show where the property ended, this one was well maintained and nigh on impossible to scale. He sat down In a bush about 20 meters from the gate, and started to plan his entrance.

After a good 15 minutes of pondering, he had a sudden revelation. He threw of his jacket, adjuste his knifes to make sure they where properly hidden, tried to comb his hair just a little bit with his fingers. Then walked up to the front door and knocked. He tried to look as insane yet harmless at the same time all the while putting great effort into holding the undersides of his bare arms away from the gate. A grumpy voice answered from within: “yes!”, with a (ridiculously) small and shy Vektor answered: “excuse me sir, but it seems that I’ve gotten lost, is it possible that you could help me back to my cell? Its 101 In block 8”. The guard gave him “the elevator look”, then deciding from his frail body, and the “fact” that he was dumb enough to ask to get back in, that he was harmless, and led Vektor in.

a few minutes later Vektor was showed into the main area of cellblock 8 the door shut behind him as he was told: “just find your own way back to your cell”. He was surprised that he for a moment actually was about to do just that, but he quickly picked himself up, and started asking about the new arrival, who (as he had guessed) anyways was the subject on everyone’s lips. He heard some rumors about the new guest having some sort supernatural gift, and that the board was still arguing what to do with her. However he knew better than to trust rumors, especially those from the criminally insane, he decided quite quickly that he would like to talk to her.

Vektor was in luck, they had placed “the new girl” in cell W14A, and if you knew just what pissoir In block 8 to rip out, and where willing to kick through a bit of rubble and leftover concrete then you could climb right in through a storm drain in the floor (unless you took a wrong turn in which case you'd end up down in killercrocs pit). Vektor wasted no time going to work on the Pissoir with a knife and a piece of broken floorboard, nobody took any notice of him, most people had either gone to sleep, where busy discussing the events of the day, or where going about their own shady business. 3 minutes later the Pissoir came off with a heavy “Thunk”, the edges became a bit chipped but otherwise it was intact, and Vektor descended into Arkham Asylums Complex sewer system.

It took him about half an hour to avoid “the crocpit” and find his way to W14A (he was sure that 6 months ago he could've done it in half that time, he was definitely getting sloppy). He arrived at W14A, just to find that the storm drain had apparently shrunk considerably in size since his last visit. He panicked for a second, then he realised that he wasn't the only one getting sloppy. Whoever had placed the new grate, had used cardboard thick concrete, and so vektor started kicking repeatedly at the grate and the surrounding area.

[Mad Girl]

Nuri’s cell was pitch black at this hour, not that it mattered to her. She adjusted her eye patch from left to right, exposing her dark eye. The eerie cat’s eye pupil adjusted easily to the darkness, shimmering every so slightly with a curious yellow-green colour despite the very little light that could reflect from it. She curled up on the bed with her largest book, thumbing through the pages leisurely. Her ‘dress’ was no more than a modified nightgown. It was white with long, sheer billowy sleeves that looked as though they had been taken from a different garment and stitched on with precise stitches in purple thread. In several places there were patches, some in the shape of hearts. The bottom of the dress was uneven, short to one side and long on the other with a distressed pink ruffle. Underneath it was easy to see two striped thigh high stockings, one in black and white, the other red and white. Her feet displayed what might have been bunny slippers if the bunnies had been attacked by a dog and zombie-stitched back together with red thread and mismatching button eyes. As Nuri adjusted her position she lamented the loss of her corsets- which had been taken due to the steel boning encased in the fabric. Nuri would never destroy items so precious, but Arkham was proving strict in the oddest sort of ways. It was, in fact, terribly dull for it.

But her ears perked at the sound of scraping beneath the floor near the far corner of her cell. She slinked down to the floor, crawling near the sound on hands and knees, her ginger hair falling over her face and dragging on the floor. She was grateful now for the shorter pieces in the front, though they were already to her chin after only two days since their trimming. Her eyes fell to the drain and the person struggling behind it.

“Are you quite alright?” Her voice rings out calm and sweet sounding with its accent local to England. Though where exactly was anyone’s guess. It lacked the distinctions of a local area’s dialect, but it was there all the same.

From within the cell she would be hard to see, even with eyes adjusted to the darkness. The slight shimmer of her eye would show the location of her face, the rest of her a small, slim silhouette in a cage. She smiles, though it goes unseen. “For a moment I thought perhaps the rats here were much larger than those from home. It was a thought most pleasing. Would you care to come in? You seem nearly through, wait just a moment and I shall help you.” She tilts her head a bit and gets to her feet, stepping back. Nuri goes over to her book, flipping through towards the middle where a few pages are glued together just enough to hold a spoon in a carefully carved nook. She grabs it and returns shortly, sticking the curved end into the bottom corner of the grate and popping it open by pressing the handle down. She does the same to the adjacent top corner so that it can be swung out.

Nuri holds out her hand to the stranger, it is pale, small, and soft to the touch should he take it.

[Vektor]

Vektors dirty and scared hand hovered for a second, before he lightly grabbed “the new girl's” silky hand. He pulled himself up deliberately not putting any weight into the girl's hand, in fact it seemed like he was taking great pains to avoid touching her more than absolutely necessary, as if he was afraid she would break with the slightest touch.

Vektor raised himself to his full height. He was indeed an odd sight, he was tall and broad, had he been at a proper weight he would probably look more like a battering ram than a man. However he was far from normal weight, there was barely any flesh on his body and his bones where showing in several places. The fact that he wasn't wearing anything from the waist and up just added to his macabre look, as a lot of his bruises and scars where showing, 2 of his ribs where bending outwards more than what seemed natural, and somebody had carved the name ANNA in his back. His lower body was covered by a pair of pants at least 5 sizes to large, in a tartan pattern, with 3 times a many zip-locks as could possibly be practical, the whole thing was being held up by a heavy chain he used as a belt. His feet where protected by heavy “steeltoes”, with attached nail and leather patches. His green and black ruffled hair, mostly covered his empty brown eyes. His smile seemed more than a little forced, and his jaw bore the significant markings of having been broken more than once.

He looked straight at “the new girl('s)” (chin), and trying his best (and failing utterly) to sound positive with his rough downtown Gotham accent: ”yes i'm fine and thanks for asking”. Suddenly an old “friend”, in the form of a bitter and nagging female voice, awoke in the back of his mind and told him: ”no you're not, you're a F***ed up disgusting punk kid, with no sense of reality, and the intellect of a cockroach. Vektor Flinched slightly, but tried not to be to affected by the bitter comments of his eldest friend. He took a deep breath then continued: ”by the way I’m Vektor, a former inmate up in Block 8” ”who couldn't figure out how to go about his own life, so he ran back to the nightmare of his life”. “Anna” once more interrupted his train of thought, as he involuntarily took a step backwards, as a tear formed in the corner of his eye. He took a deep breath, pulling himself together as he wiped his eye, trying to brush it of as if nothing happened. He tried to sound casual as he asked her: ”so anyways, who are you? and what did you do to get thrown at the wolves? he added the last line whilst staring fascinated at her and her seemingly expensive, only then realizing that he hadn't let go of her hand yet.

[Mad Girl]

"How very nice to meet you Vektor." Nuri smiles just a bit more, taking in the appearance of this newcomer. She holds herself very still, though without unnatural stiffness. She does not pull her hand away, but lets him keep it for now as she is not in immediate need of it.

"I am Nuri." Her voice continues, with an almost sing~ song quality. "And I have seen no wolves to be thrown to. What is one asylum compared to another? True this place is stark compared to my last home, but ultimately it will be the same. I am here because they have nowhere else to keep me. I am different. If I were only mad perhaps they would find someplace else for me. But here I am. And so are you. Though how strange to see one breaking in instead of out. Have you lost your way?"

Nuri tilts her head a bit. It would not be so obvious if she were not so still otherwise. She was intrigued by Vektor and took no efforts to conceal it.

[Vektor]

Vektor quickly jerks back his hand, and places it behind his back. Looking at her with an embarrassed smile a Nagging voice in the back of his head told him: ”smooth now there's no way she going to think of you as a basket case”.

He slowly told her, a small hint of fear In his voice: ”well I guess you could say i've lost my way. But it's more like I never new it in the first place, and just as I was about to find It, it was pulled away from me”. in the meantime another voice was yelling at him from within: ”oh good not again. Don't bother the poor girl with your sappy crap. It's not like she'd want to listen anyways. Look kid you've had a good life, compared to the rest of the world it's been a dance on the roses for you, and you know it!”
he tried to look unflinching and was largely successful. He continued by telling her with a more decisive voice: ”about the wolves it would seem that you've gotten lucky or that you're simply valuable” wow , good job making her feel good about herself” ”I don't know where you came from, but Arkham is probably the worst hellhole on this side of the globe. or maybe thats just Gotham In general, I can't tell anymore”. ”Yes do by all means continue to frighten the girl about her new home. ”Neither do I have the slightest clue what you can do that makes you so special, but I hope it can keep 3 horny brutes twice your size of your back!” ”gee why don't you just tell her, that she might as well take her own life, jut like you should have done a long time ago.”

He took a deep breath trying to calm him self down, and hoping that Anna would do the same. He then said in a soothing voice: ”but don't listen to me, im just a sad boy who gets a little to pessimistic. If you're fine with your life as it is right now, I have no right to take away your hapiness

[Mad Girl]

Nuri laughed. It was a mirthful giggle, honest and clear that cut through the darkness. She made her way to the bed and sat on it, sitting indian style, then patted the spot next to her.

"I'd offer you tea but they took my thermos." It was an odd course of words, but given that she was English perhaps it would appear her way of offering hospitality or comfort. "Arkam is just a place. There are worse things." Nuri lived in nightmares so often that her concept of reality was very different. Of course, she is also new in town and has no concept of Gotham just yet. As she sits in the dark she takes in Vektor's face, learning its lines and dimentions.

"I appreciate your concerns, in fact I am quite sure they are every bit warrented. My father did not send me here lightly. Perhaps the dreams of my fellow inmates are darker yet than those of the fragile, broken girls in Windsor Asylum. But at heart, the mad are the same in their pains. It is rather their secrets that interest me. And as this is my first time on this side of the globe, as you put it, everything is a secret to me." She leaned back a bit so that her back was against the cool, stone wall. "So no, the inmates do not frighten me. The doctors will be my first test, I'm quite certain of that. They always are. To them I am ultimately a lab rat and puzzle they will wish to disect and piece back together. My father may have requested things of Dr. Arkham, and I do not know what or how it will be received. I was told this place was different in that it was made for people like me. But I doubt such a thing exists as quite like me. Should that be the case though I would be most merrily surprised."

Nuri spoke with a strange and lucid madness. She seemed harmless enough, but she had been sent here for a reason. How Vektor processed her now was of little consequence to Nuri. She spoke because he was listening. In the darkness her left eye shimmered ever so slightly with its ghostly green light. "This place of waking has proved most dull at present... With the exception of you of course." It was a compliment, honest and true. "Tell me Vektor, do you dream of this place when you are sleeping?"

The question was strange maybe, but given her earlier recount of his breaking IN rather than out would colour this statement with a different hue.

[Vektor]

Vektor followed Nuris hand with his eyes, then catching the hint he slowly sat down beside her, on the edge of the bed as far away from her as possible. He listened closely taking in every word. When Nuri ended her stream of words, Vektor simply sat there for a minute or so, wondering what would be the best answer. He finally came to a conclusion, and with a grim voice he answered: ” well I don't know about all that philosophical BS you jut spat out.” an angry voice roared through his head: ”BECAUSE IF THAT UNDEREDUCATED,BLOATED AND ROTTEN HUMP OF MEAT YOU CALL A BRAIN CAN'T UNDERSTAND IT, ITS CLEARLY B*LLSHITE. YOU'RE A HORRBLE, AND ITIFULL LITTLE BOY, TAKING OUT HIS ANGER FROM THE LIFE WHICH HE HIMSELF RUINED ON A POOR INNOCENT GIRL. NOW GO APPOLOGISE BEFORE YOU HURT HER EVEN MORE!”.

Before Nuri had time to respond, he threw himself to the floor and down on his knees yelling and crying: ”I’m sorry, I didn't mean it, I’ve got no right to insult your thinkings, please, i'm sorry, it's my fault entirely, I’m a horrible horrible person”. He spent several minutes lying on the floor in fetal position sobbing and apologizing loudly.

He finally managed to pull himself of the floor, and wiped his eye on the scar filled underside of his arm. He slowly said, still sobbing lightly: ”you're right Arkham propably isn't that bad *sob* I’m just a pessimist, with nothing better to do than make you fear you'r new home”.. Anna wasted no time adding: ”thank you, for once you're not lying to the world”.. Vektor took another deep breath, gathered his courage then said: ”but to return to the question at hand, yes I once in a while dream about this place, however it's never been pleasant. I've got little to no fond memories of this place, but that’s never stopped my mind from remembering this. However it's okay, honestly I deserve it.”. ”you're starting again” Anna told him in a sing-song voice parodying Nuri's melodic voice.

[Mad Girl]

Nuri watches Vektor’s emotional display with an odd sort of detachment. She blinks at him, but makes no other moves as she takes in this new information. For that is exactly what it was for her- a chance to observe his mental state in a raw display of emotion. It was useful information. She knew at once that the boy was probably harmless, but that he was also quite broken. Well, it was good not to be the only lunatic in the room at least.

Nuri lets him finish before getting to her feet. She stands there for what feels like a long moment, silent. Her hands reach out and she takes his wrists, if he’ll allow it, for a silent inspection. One might wonder what she could see in the dark, but Nuri’s dark eye permitted her clarity in the darkness. She would trace her fingers over a scar with her small, nimble fingers. “I have never seen chronic pessimism hurt anyone.” Her voice comes gently, in an unmistakable tone of kindness.

She then smiles. “I am not offended Vektor. If I were I would say so, you see.” She kisses the tip of her finger and presses it to Vektor’s nose with a small ‘meep’ing sound. “So do not apologize to me muffin.” Wait what? She giggles a little, joyous in her curiosity of what his reaction will be. “Arkham may well be everything you say. I have yet to find out is all. But I will. In fact, I could see it exactly as you do if you cared to show me. Either way though I am not afraid, of that I promise you most sincerely. There are worse things than the cages of waking men.” She did not elaborate on that point. She was not underestimating what Vektor said, not by a long shot. But she had been in the nightmares of the insane and abused. Categories which she now neatly tucked Vektor into. At least something here was familiar to her.

[Vektor]

”oh look, now you've made the poor innocent girl worry about you. Like she didn't have enough on her mind already”. Annas word cut Vektor worse than any knife. Vektor was horrified that Nuri had started to care about such a miserable and evil creature as himself. It brought a tear to his eye, and he had to sink several times to avoid bursting into tears again. All the while having to listen to Annas Taunting voice: ”stop it, you selfish bastard! Have you no shame! She already cares about your sorry arse! But nooo. You just have to make her life more miserable. You just have to keep sucking on her unearned compassion. You sicken me, boy!.

Vektor took a long moment rocking back and forth, unbeknownst to her, Nuris compliment was much worse than any insult she could throw at him. He took another deep breath, and raised himself of the floor. With a stern voice he said: “If you really want to see my waking nightmare, then I shall obey. Just give me a moment to gather myself” ”oh come on you just admitted that you're going to make her miserable. How can you live with yourself?”, Annas voice rang hollow and he began to force her into the back of his mind. He took a moment to enjoy the peace, he knew it was only a matter of time, before she got out of the cage he had build for her.

He continued to “clear his mind”, he did this by going into a corner of the cell, and pull out a rusty butterfly knife which he started to run along his left arm. He breathed in the pain, savoring every sting of pain, from the sharp, irregular piece of metal. He stared intensely at the grizzly wounds the knife left on his arm, once in a while letting out a sigh of relief. It was good to know that he got his deserved punishment, even if he had to enact it himself.

[Mad Girl]

Nuri was amused by Vektor in the same way one might look at a small monster in a bell jar. No matter how strange or terrible it might appear, she wanted to observe him. He was, for her, new.and shiney. The Arkham staff had taken her toys, true enough, but Vektor had appeared and taken their place.

She was not new to bloodletting. In fact, she had been known to partake in such a practice herself from time to time. It was, as they say, all the rage at the asylum. But Nuri practiced it with all the sterile precision of a surgon. She tsked at Vektor, realizing the game he was before perhaps he understood such a thing existed.

"You should use a better blade." She instructed in an oddly matter of fact way, though her voice still had its drifting quality. "A dull blade needs many passes, tears in place of cuts. I would show you the difference but my scars are too slight for your eyes in such light." She puts a hand on his shoulder. If Vektor had any doubts of how clearly she can see in the darkness they would now be dismissed. Nuri takes no steps to hide this ability. Her eyes (or eye in her case) have not simply adjusted, she can see perfectly. "Besides, with all that rust it could most easily turn septic and the doctors would be most displeased." Nuri spoke of doctors in a very they verses us manner. Even in her scolding they were on the same side.

She smiled in the darkness, just behind Vektor with her still, ivory hand unmoving from his shoulder. Her voice came again, almost a whisper this time that licked to his ear like the breath of ghosts. "Your nightmare, be it waking or when you lie sleeping can both be our playground. I believe both will hold horrors most esquisite with flavours of kin but still separate. I am most pleased you will share them."

Though perhaps more than a touch creepy, her manner was strange with an intoxicating sort of madness. She wanted to see the horrors of this place as readily as a normal girl may wish to go to the zoo. It excited her in a way that only the mad could ever know.

[Vektor]

Vektor stopped his cutting, and wiped his arm on his pants, relishing the pain that came from the open wounds grinding against ziplocks. He looked directly at her, taking in her delicate features. this was the first time he had really looked at her, and suddenly she reminded him of someone, for just a moment her features were sharp and her hair was short trimmed and black. That was all it took for Anna to regain her foothold in his mind. With a bitter voice she told ”oh no you don't remember what happened to the last girl who tried to help you? Face it kid i'm your only real friend” Vektor was dumbstruck, halfway falling over. He was losing control of his life, once when he had managed to suppress he could keep her there for days, it had taken her less than 10 minutes to break free. He was gathering focusing, thinking back to his time in Arkham, back when Linda had still been alive, he took a deep breath and cried out for all the world to hear: ”you are not my friend!”

he fell straight down, landing flat on his *ss. It had taken a huge effort of will to directly cry out against Anna. He was siting on the floor gasping for air, smile forming across his face. He still had the power to face her, but for how long he needed help, and perhaps this odd girl, he had randomly stumbled upon, could help him fight her. Suddenly he panicked, Nuri surely thought his outcry was meant for her. He sprang to his feet, halfway yelling: ”I’m sorry, it wasn't meant for you”. He stopped himself, before he could begin a new train-wreck of apologies. She'd have gotten the message already. He stood there, staring blankly into the air, as he tried to formulate the sentence that would seem the least insane. He finally went with: ”as you've probably realized by now, i'm not the most mentally stable person around here, but let me just assure you that my outcry wasn't meant for your ears. Furthermore I know that a rusty knife is both more painful and more dangerous, but for the sake of my sanity I would appreciate if we could save the topic of my choice of tools for a later occasion, just know that my reasoning Is good” in the most mechanical and stable voice he could manage. He had begun to feel uncomfortable in the cell, the guards might have heard his outcry, and in that case they would be coming to check soon. He started to walk quickly towards the grate which he had come in through (better not to worry her more than need be), he slipped into the grate and on the way down asked her, with his usual streetwise voice: ”so, did you want that tour or not girl?”. He was standing upright in the hole with his hand stretched out towards her.

[Mad Girl]

Vektor's outcry caused Nuri to take a single step back. At first she thought she had frightened him, but seeing his smiling tears told her otherwise. She let him elaborate without interruption. It explained more to her than it might to another. Nuri, in all her oddity, was intimately familiar with insanity. Not simply her own, but that of others. She danced in their dreams as though nightmares were summer rain. It was what made her feel alive.

"We are in an asylum, muffin. The last thing I expect to find within these walls is sanity." She smiles sweetly, brushing a long strand of ginger hair behind her ear. "It is for the best really. Awareness is the enemy of sanity for once you hear the screaming it shall never stop. And each cry serves a purpose, be it to console or give warning. Let them have their sanity. We will not need it tonight." Nuri's melodic words almost caressed the concept of madness. She spoke of it as though it were her oldest friend and dearest lover. And that was simply because it was.

She takes Vektor's hand, her own petite and gentle. "I have never been on a tour before." She said it nearly glowing. It made the faintest of green light appear in the floating blackness of her eye for a fleeting, fragile moment. "Lead the way, Vektor, I trust you to show me things most wondrous". Nuri clearly will follow wherever she is lead, and offer assistance in navigating the shadows if nedded.

[Vektor]

Vektor gently took took Nuris hand, afraid that his new friend would break if he was to violent with her. With a shy grin he said: ”you'r wish is my command”, Nuri probably didn't realize just how true that was. He slightly tugged her arm, before he descended into Arkhams sewers, with a barked: ”follow me”.

He lead Nuri through Arkhams intricate network of tunnels, some made employees some made by patients. They climbed through heavy iron gates, and piles of human excrement’s and garbage. Vektor felt utterly at home, here among the filth of humanity, and it showed. However he was very sorry, that he was forced to drag Nuri through it, and he kept on apologizing no matter how much (or how little) she tried to stop him.

Once in a while he would lead her out of a hole in the wall or a grate in the bathroom. They would walk around for a bit, while most of Arkham was sleeping. With a grim stern and whispering voice he would tell her about the people residing here, once in a while he would wander of into memories and tell her stories of his time in Arkham, but Anna always managed to stop him before ”he could bore and sadden her, with the stories of his miserable yet well deserved life”.. At one point they accidentally woke up Poison Ivy and had to retreat before she tore down her entire block looking for her. At that point Vektor decided it was best to end the tour.

A few minutes later Vektor jumped out of a panel in the roof landing in the common area of block 8. they walked slowly to cell 101. Vektor opened the door with a grin: ”they never bothered to lock the door, It's not like I would've been a danger to anyone if I got out”. The room smelled of blood and decay, the cells only piece of furniture was a bended hole in the wall which made it out for a toilet, and what looked like a wooden board wrapped in cloth that made it out for a bed. On the floor lay a crumbled and dirty picture, of a woman in an Arkham uniform with short black hair and a round face grinning wide to the onlooker, as well as a burned note with the name Anna written onto it. Vektor whispered happily: ”aaah home sweet home” as he sat down on the “bed”

[Mad Girl]

Nuri follows with eager steps. The span and wonder of Arkham have her entranced. Though she may occasionally wrinkle her button nose at the smell of the sewers, she otherwise has no complaint~ voiced or otherwise. She takes it all in, every twist and turn, hoping to be able to trace their path at later times. Her dark eye lets her take in details that anyone else would rather be without. Each gritty detail thrills her.

She shows most interested in Vektor's tails. She asks questions of the inmates he makes mention of, and her eye seeks the sleeping with a dogged hunger. She is careful not to interrupt, but does not hesitate to ask for addition details. In fact, she asks many questions. Maybe too many. Her curiosity is exposed readily, and it is her mouth that wakes the strangs plant like lady who they run from. When they find safety she giggles breathlessly, commenting "Such marvelous sport! I like this game most verily". It has all the innocence of a child playing tag.

As they reach Vektor's cell she sits on the floor across from him, her knees up and her slender arms wrapped around them. Her slippers and mismatched striped stockings are a bit worse for wear now, but somehow this suits her. She pays it no mind. "I quite like your Arkham, Vektor. I am so very glad you found me as you had. Windor Asylum had no tunnels as here and they are most exciting in their application. So many cooridores! And so many inmates!" She smiles wide, bursting with glee. "My hours will be most amusing now that I see how very big this place can be." Speaking of hours, it was in fact getting later with every moment. But despite the time Nuri is wide awake. Perhaps it could be blamed on all the excitement. Or perhaps not.

She moves then, rather suddenly, kneeling instead of being seated and takes Vektor's hands in hers. "Will you show me more another day? Promise me yes? I like this touring with all the joys in me!" A sane person would have been afraid, or at least bothered by the conditions of having such a place as their new home. Nuri clearly liked it here, for one strange reason or another. How strange a girl who speaks with such sweetness but who skips through this darkness glowing with joy. To each their own?