Timeout is over

Rudy crossed his arms and stared at the door to the isolation room as it opened, revealing Professor Oakleigh's cheery face and broad figure.  He seemed to take up the whole doorway as he stepped in and beckoned for Rudy to exit.

"Thought I had to wait until after curfew," Rudy grumbled.  

"You calmed down faster than I thought you would," was the bearded man's response.  He chuckled and moved aside for the Tarandin to ease out into the hallway, giving the lad's shoulder a pat as he passed.  "And I wanted to have you talk with our new guy.  I'm trying to introduce him to people slowly so he gets used to the castle inhabitants.  I figure it's better to start with people he'll be seeing most often.  And since you'll be in the academy berserker class together..."

"Guinea pig.  Got it."  Rudy raked his hair back and winced when he remembered that one of his antlers had been prematurely shed in his fight with Kazuo that morning.  "Lead on, Big Guy."

Oakleigh's eyes crinkled at the corners and he gave Rudy's back a heavy pat as he led him down to the end of the hallway, to the big open room affectionately referred to by those who used it as the Nest.  This was where Oakleigh worked with the Dunehelden residents classified as Berserkers.  They were split by age group, with one class for Academy students and one class for University, but beyond that they were all mixed together for lessons.

Rudy stepped into the Nest and waited for Oakleigh to speak, eyeing the figure that occupied the huge room.

"Rudy Kim, I want you to meet Baram Morgan."  Oakleigh indicated the figure with a gentle sweep of his hand.  "Baram, this is Rudy.  He'll be one of your classmates.  He's new to Dunehelden as well-- just came into town a month or two ago, as a matter of fact."

Baram looked up from his seat, timidly through his bangs. He had been wringing his hands, trying not to focus on the bruises and cuts that were on them from a "minor set back" a few days ago. He wore his leather jacket as always and some loose fitting jeans. He stood as Professor Oakleigh walked into the room with a student around his height with one antler?

He quickly shoved his hands into his pockets and with a relaxed slouch, trying to not get nervous. "Hi," he simply stated in his deep yet warm voice, "It's nice to meet you."

He gave Oakleigh a nervous glance. This was one of the first times he had been alowed to see anyone aside from Professors or Asher. He wasn't sure if he could trust himself to not snap.

Rudy gave the young man a quick side-eye and shrugged one shoulder. "Those cuts aren't gonna heal right if you keep rubbing them." He shook his hands slightly, pointing out that he had noticed Baram's hands before he had put them in his pockets.

"I dunno what your triggers are, but pain is one of mine. When did you get in?"

Oakleigh crossed him arms over his chest and leaned against the doorframe, watching the exchange with a easy little smile.

He smiled nervously and took his hands out of his pockets. "Yeah, uh. I guess its a nervous habbit."

He held his hands by his sides, trying to not mess with them. "We are still working on my list of triggers, after everything. . .I was found and brought here five or six months ago? I've been needing some intensive looking after. So, what happened to one of your antlers?" He rolled his shoulders, trying to relax a bit.

Rudy's lips quirked to one side. He picked up one of the chairs against the wall and brought over to Baram before spinning it around so it was backwards and taking a seat. He folded his arms on the backrest and rested his chin atop them.

"So you've been here longer than me. You must be messed up bad." He arched one eyebrow, a tiny smirk showing more in his eyes than his lips. "Listen, you'll get sorted out. I wouldn't worry too much about it. There's a lot of us here that are pretty fucked in the head. It's a damn miracle no one's died yet."

He tipped his head. "Lost one of my antlers in a fight I got into this morning. May or may not have hit on someone who has a very protective sibling." He flicked his remaining antler and snickered. "Didn't hurt too much. I'm a reindeer, so I shed them anyway. One just dropped a month or two early is all."

He glanced over at Oakleigh, then looked up at Baram again. "Have they found anything that calms you down yet? Big Guy over there usually starts with scents. Found out one of mine was cedar. There's another guy, Jaebi, that calms right down if you give him catnip."

"Yeah, messed up bad is definitely one way of saying it. Being turned into a Fae gaurd dog wasn't exactly what I had in mind with my life." He chuckled softly, trying to be somewhat light hearted.

He leaned back in the chair and crossed his arms. "I can't say I blame the protective brother. I've been there before." He smirked slightly. "I can't say you're the type I'd like around my sister anyway."

He looked down at his hands for a moment and smiled softly. "Roses. The smell of roses help. My sister used to have a garden in the back yard.... Do you have any family, Rudy? Do they know you're here?"

Rudy chuckled and gave Baram a genuine smile. "Yeah, I imagine every brother wants their sister to find someone sweet and angelic. I am neither of those."

His expression softened when Baram talked about his sister's garden. "Just my mom. She's been flitting around town for the most part. She'll have a job lined up next semester as one of Headmistress Veronique's assistants. Substitute teaching, administration, that kinda stuff. Other than that... never really met the rest, if there are any."

He was quiet for a long moment, then sat up and crossed his arms lightly across his stomach. "We've got a rose garden here. Off by the western wing of the castle. Professor Hawk manages it."

He nodded softly. "I think Oakleigh brought it up before. I've just been too . . .nervous to go outside much. I don't really trust myself just yet. . .It's almost like I'm a different person than I was before." He looked at Rudy. "Well, I would never say that my sister ever liked the angelic types. Dad and I worked in a motor bike shop and she liked being out there with us too. So I'm pretty sure she wanted a little bit of a bad boy. Doesn't mean I can't still be protective."

He started to wring his hands again and then managed to stop himself, patting his palms on his thighs. "It must be nice to have your mom here with you though. Is she nice?"

Rudy chuckled and brushed his hair back. "You worked on motorcycles? That's pretty cool. Where are you from?"

"It's... frustrating, more than anything. She's full-blooded fae, and doesn't look much older than us because she ages slowly. She... likes to flirt." He grumbled, his lips quirking to one side again.

"She likes to flirt a lot. And I don't like it. She is very nice though. A little flighty when it comes to acting like a parent, but not a bad person. Most of the time I'm the one that plays adult."

"I'm from the UK. Dad and I actually had matching jackets made for the shop. I went missing before they were finished. I also liked exploring some of the older abandoned buildings. It was fun."

He quirked his lips to one side and chuckled. "I have to admit that I have never had that problem with my parents. I will promise that I will do everything in my power to not flirt with your mom." He playfully holds up his right hand as if to do a scouts honor type thing.

Rudy laughed out loud and clapped his hands once. "We're gonna get along, you and I. I'll make sure to point out my mom at some point, so you know what you're dealing with."

He rubbed his chin, still grinning. "Maybe we can find out what the jackets ended up looking like a recreate it. What kinda work did you do on bikes? Did you build, or just do repairs?"

"Dad would build and I would just help with repairs when I came home from school. I wanted to build with him though." He looked down at his hands and sighed. "I want to go back but I don't know what they think happened to me. I don't remember exactly what happened when I went missing. . . so I don't know if I have anyone to go back to. . . just the uncertainty is crippling."

He shook his head and tried to smile at the younger boy. "Sorry, it's just stuff. The whole mountain of stuff that I have to work through before I can even think about going anywhere. I'd like to meet your mom sometime maybe, if I can?" He looks up at Oakleigh for approval. "He thinks I'm getting better so I might be able to be in smaller normal-ish classes soon."

Rudo nodded. "I think she'd be okay with that. My mom's hard to hurt, so she's a safe person for the berserkers to be around. Can we arrange that?"

Oakleigh smiled and nodded when the boys turned to look at him. "How about this. If you do well with a trip into town to meet Rudy's mom and get lunch, we'll consider that proof you can handle being put into small classes. Taking it a step at a time, yeah?"

"Alriiight~." Rudy clapped and held up a hand to high-five Baram.

Baram gave a very timid high-five and smiled. "Okay. W-would Asher be able to go with me? I wouldn't be alone, right?" His eyes seemed to almost plead with Oakleigh to ensure that he wouldn't be alone. "As durable as I'm sure that your mother is. . .I've injured more people than I would care to think about and I don't want to add a loved one of someone I've met to the list."

He looked at Rudy. "So what exactly makes you a beserker? Does pain just make you lash out or is it . . .more?"

Oakleigh chuckled.  "Asher would be with you, yes.  And Rudy, I imagine."

Rudy nodded.  "Hey, we can try for tomorrow.  The weather's supposed to be nice."

He tipped his head as he thought.  "I... am just sort of naturally violent.  I've always had temper and behavior problems.  Tried to strangle one of my classmates in the fourth grade.  And when I hit puberty, I started getting especially bad once fall started rolling around."  He smirked a little.  "That's the Tarandin mating season back in Arcadia.  I guess that kind of seasonal aggression is genetic.  I can't help it."

Baram's breath caught for a moment and he quickly had to mask it and try to breathe normally. As earlly as tomorrow? He tried to smile and nodded. "Yeah, hormonal rage can be hard to deal with, I imagine. I'm sorry, I'm a bit new to a lot of this Arcadia. . . Fae stuff. What exactly is a Tarandin?"

Rudy nodded and shrugged. "I don't mind it, it's the people I try to gore with my antlers that seem offended by it." He smirked.

"You'll get the hang of things, don't worry none. A Tarandin is a kind of Fae related to reindeer. Like caribou and the like. They're huge, and really hard to kill, and some of the older ones can see in the UV spectrum. I've never met a full-blooded one aside from my mom, but she's a runt. Never grew much taller than five feet. But she makes up for it by sharpening her antlers every time they grow in. She's able to get absolutely vicious if she needs to, I mean, I remember her throwing a fully grown werewolf that tried to attack me as a kid."

He stared and blinked a bit. "I can see what you mean by her being durable." He sighed. "I don't understand why the Fae would want to take some of us weakling humans when there are so many different kinds of them that are so much stronger. . ." He shook his head trying not to go deeper into the negative thought. "Sorry, it's not like you would know."

Rudy stood up and reached out to lightly pat his shoulder.

"It's alright. I don't think even the Fae understand themselves. To some of 'em, other living things are toys. To others, they're something to be treasured. Even more are indifferent. I have no idea how other Fae think. Hell, half the time I don't know how my own brain works."

He chuckled softly and smiled, looking up at the other boy. "I can definately relate to that. I don't understand why some of the things trigger me like they do but..." He shrugged. "The human mind is an odd place. So, are you taking normal classes already or are you still . . .locked away?"

Rudy shrugged. "I'm in smaller classes. Hardest time of the day is taking meals in the cafeteria, especially at lunch when it's busiest. At least for breakfast and dinner everyone isn't crowding in all at once."

He glanced over at Oakleigh again. "I've learned to tell when my temper's at it's worst, so I can usually make my way to one of the isolation rooms before bad things happen. Usually."

"I haven't been allowed in the cafeteria yet. . .I don't know if I want to go to be honest with you. When I snap I just. . .go blank and then I come back and... everything is broken."

He realized that he had begun wringing his hands again, but decided not to stop himself this time, what was the point. He smiled half heartedly at the younger boy. "I hope you never have to see that, or try to stop me. Our triggers mixed together would be very bad."

He carefully stood up with a sigh. "So I'm going to meet your mom sometime tomorrow in the town, yes?" He looked at Rudy and Oakleigh for confirmation.

Oakleigh gave a gentle bow of his head. "If you think you can handle it, I can let you give it a shot. You'll have Asher and Rudy with you, but I can come along as well if you feel like you need me."

Rudy looked from the professor to his new classmate and grinned.

Baram chuckled. "Asher and Rudy should be plenty. Asher has been the one keeping my ass in check for the past several months so I'm sure one more day won't be different."

He nodded to Rudy. "Thank you for your kindness."