p s y k e (psyked) wrote in valesco,
@ 2014-06-23 01:04:00

Entry tags:

:O!
Psyke, in all her frivolous antics and ways, truly hated seeing people in pain, especially those dearest to her. Her brother had been the most important man in her life for as long as she could remember, and while she had hated him for many of those years, they were long gone and buried away. So when he banged on her door at three in the morning completely out of his mind on some sort of panic attack combined with too many pills, well. She'd been in a right state for a few weeks. Psyke had watched her brother plummet into the depths his addiction could take him one too many times, and now she was taking it into her own hands. Alex didn't have anyone to take care of him this time, which Psyke had realized quickly had been the cause of his breakdown. Watching your ex-wife get married and be so very happy about it could do that to a person.

She could really kick Graciela. Not because---well! Psyke knew that it had been her brother who caused the end of the relationship, she did, but Alex was her brother and she didn't appreciate him having to look at his ex's happy journal entries or have the literal wedding invitation shoved into his face. Even Zacharias wasn't helping with all of his excitement about the wedding, and Psyke knew that the only way her brother could truly get over his disease was to completely isolate himself from the world.

So that brought her here, after weeks of not being able to see Alex, to their first visitation day. And...of course she'd gotten the time wrong, and was an hour early. Brilliant, perfect. Psyke was told that the 'serenity garden' was a nice way to take up time, but she found herself sitting on a bench and plucking the petals off a pink flower in hopes that someone would tell her to stop destroying the flora and let her see Alex earlier. With a great big sigh, Psyke looked up from her mutilated flower, only to have her jaw drop.

"What the bleeding hell are you doing here?" She gawked at Michal Conway Lynch, who was sitting on the bench directly across the path. Psyke didn't fix her slouched posture, but her legs uncrossed as her feet dropped to the ground.

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conways
2014-06-24 02:23 am UTC (link)

There had been time to sneak away from this situation, Michal realized entirely too late. Psyke hadn't even noticed him when she walked up, so he certainly could have taken the opportunity to casually stroll back inside with nothing more than a burnt face. Instead, however, it seemed his body had decided to freeze at the sight of a familiar face outside of his sister and his best friend, and his brain ran out of ideas as what to do next. What else could he do but sit there and pray to all the gods in all the worlds that Psyke would be her usual oblivious self and not notice her friend (debatable)/housemate (obligatory)/ex (debatable)/enemy (frequently) sitting directly in front of her a ways away? Michal sat perfectly still, only breaking his posture when Psyke addressed him.

"Uhhhhh," he let out dumbly, jaw hanging low as he let his words get away from him. What in the bleeding hell was he doing here? Well, technically, he was pretty sure his file said something about mild alcoholism and mental instability, but officially, as Seth had put it, he was here to 'get his brain back together to the Michal they all knew and loved.'

Whatever that meant.

Though, begrudgingly, Michal did have to admit he knew what Seth was talking about. And... he felt flashes of his old self beginning to resurface again. That was good, his Healer had said, it was good to acknowledge reality and himself. It was also important to not lie, to himself or others. Keeping this in mind, Michal kept his mouth open a little bit longer as he toyed with what to finally say to Psyke. His face felt hot as he pressed his palms into his thighs.

Merlin's saggy left ball did it really have to be Psyke of all people sitting across from him? Couldn't it be--- literally anyone else? Literally? His ears burnt.

He had to tell the truth, didn't he?

"Nervous breakdown," Michal began to mumble, just above an audible breath. "Tried to hit Seth with a firewhiskey bottle apparently." He paused, and out of the corner of his eye reaffirmed that she was, in fact, dressed in outside world apparel and not the robes provided by center. "Head's not right."

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psyked
2014-06-24 08:04 pm UTC (link)

"No shit," she said, stunned. Psyke blinked a few times, trying to make sure that she was actually looking at Michal. She made it a point not to spend enough time in his presence to actually have noticed a nervous breakdown, but it made her feel bad that he'd gotten to the point where this place was the best solution. Psyke knew how it felt to have no other options, and she pushed herself up from the bench and made the quick few steps to sit beside him.

She pressed a sympathetic smile at him before leaning back into the bench, crossing her legs.

"I had one of those once," Psyke said, lips twisting as she remembered those very foggy months after Harper's death. She'd done some terrible things that still caused her embarrassment and shame, and it wasn't until she'd been forced to look at herself from an outsider's point of view that she accepted the fact that she was not okay. That was how she'd ended up in this place, and to be honest, she would not be where she was now if she hadn't spent those few weeks regaining her own strength.

"Do they still serve those hard-as-rocks pumpkin pasties?" she asked, surprisingly not feeling embarrassed about admitting she'd spent some time here. The actions that had led her here, yes, but getting help? No, no one should be ashamed of that. Psyke rapped her fingers on his knee, something she did for Alex when he was feeling uneasy. Just a little touch could help.

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conways
2014-06-28 02:18 am UTC (link)

"No shit," Michal echoed, his brows popping up in surprise. They helped temper his burnt ears, and he felt engaged enough to look up from his intense gaze at his lap. Psyke Smith, here? What could she have possibly---

Michal cut his own thought short, unceremoniously realizing what could have possibly led to Psyke ending up in a place like this. He then felt guilty because he should have known better; he had attended Harper's funeral after all, and had lived with him for seven years. Feeling the sting of neglect and poor friendship yet again, Michal recoiled within his own embarrassment. His thoughts and attention wandered, only eventually snapping back to reality when he felt a gentle brush on the knee.

Startled, he cocked his head and jumped slightly in his own skin. Had Psyke just...? Was she...? His eyes stayed wide, and Michal suddenly felt like the daftest and looniest person in the Wizarding World. He wasn't really sitting beside Psyke Smith in a rehabilitation clinic acknowledging about their separate but similar mental breakdowns? This was not how they had acted with each other in the past.

A small voice in the back of his head told Michal that perhaps that was a good thing, and because of it, he attempted to respond to her. "What? Yeah," he stumbled, his brow still high in surprise. "I mean--- yeah. I've only tried one..." he trailed off, finding it difficult to focus.

"Why are you..." Michal began, thinking that he had yet to see a patient that came back and was allowed to wear normal clothes. "Are you.... what are you... why are you here?"

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psyked
2014-06-29 02:14 pm UTC (link)

Psyke tilted her head back and forth, trying to get the images of Harper out of her head and remembering that her life was good right now. Lavender was a lovely little girl (five! She was five) and her daddy would be so proud of her. Harper would've been really proud of all of Psyke's stores, excited to bounce around the world with her, it---it would have been a good life. But it was taken away from them, and Psyke had managed to pull herself up from the rubble and find her footing again. Tristan had helped her through it, Alex had, Lavender had, her friends too.

She squinted her eyes at the sun, wondering if she was allowed to talk about Alex's stay. Her brother was in a fragile state, but she truly didn't think Michal, who was currently in a state himself, would go around spreading rumors that could get back to Alex.

"My brother's got a problem he's working on," she decided to say, nodding. "I waited far too long to get him real help, so---hopefully he'll be okay."

Her parents had royally screwed up their children, but Psyke was determined not to repeat the same mistakes. Lavender and Jason might not end up as brilliant scholars (or maybe they would, Tristan was a decent student), but they were going to be happy as hell and not feel the need to turn to drugs and alcohol to make it through the day.

"I'm a judgement free zone when it comes to losing your mind," she said, tilting her head. Psyke's nose scrunched, "If you want to talk about---it or anything, I'll be here with my lips sealed shut."

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conways
2014-06-30 12:40 am UTC (link)

He felt wary. Michal didn't understand how... he and Psyke, for many years, had had a very straightforward relationship; that of dislike and snark. So for them to be talking so openly now, for her to offer such a simple olive branch of support made him question... it made him question a lot of things. It made him want to rethink what things meant, what his relationships were with people in the outside world, made him think that perhaps he really had no idea about anything, even more-so with this glaringly obvious necessary stint of his. Was it possible that they had wasted so many years simply not stopping for a second to actually listen to each other?

Perturbed by this realization, Michal fidgeted in his seat. He suddenly did not want to be sitting here any longer, talking to Psyke any longer for her words made him feel like he couldn't trust any of his instincts, even the ones long before this break of his. It made him feel uncomfortable, and like he was on the cusp of unraveling.

"I, um---" Michal fumbled, his brow furrowing as he tried to think. "Thanks," he managed, and eventually exhaled a great sigh. Wishing he had something to cover his eyes with (or his face), Michal docked his head down and rubbed his face with his hands. He felt it heat up again, and Psyke's polite silence made him feel even more uncomfortable.

"Sorry. Guess I'm just not--" he began, but quickly cut himself off. Letting out an annoyed huff, he dropped his hands. He didn't know what to say to her. Michal wasn't sure if he would ever be ready to confide in Psyke for anything, but thought the gesture, it was... it was nice of her.

"This is weird," he decided, pulling his lips back and nodding along slightly.

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