xp_logs | Hank and Cecilia

Tuesday, shortly after this log, Hank and Cecilia sit down in the medlab to give her an explanation for an unrepentant murderer living in the basement.

The trip to medlab, and through it, was quick, with Hank cheerfully pointing out the major items of interest in the lab in one whirlwind pass before coming upon the little lounge for the medstaff that's tucked in the back. He perches (literally) on the arm of a beat-up couch installed therein, waving Cecilia to sit with an amiable gesture of a massive hand. "Have a seat, Ms. Reyes. I believe you expressed a desire to have some concerns addressed with due exposition."

To her credit, Cecilia had managed not to look too much like a kid being lead through a candy store, but she was clearly quite happy with what she was being shown, filing mental notes at a mile a minute. She was in her element, and it showed, in the way that she was being lead around by a big blue fuzzy guy no longer seemed to be worth any modicum of concern. Following Hank into the lounge, she nods, smiling briefly as she dutifully moves to claim herself a free seat. "Thank you.. and yes, I did. Miss Blaire.. neglected to mention that while the mansion's security has been beefed up after a few attacks, that.. well." She coughs, looking vaguely sheepish. "You heard what Clarice and I were discussing. Alison left that out."

Resting his elbows on his perched legs, and steepling his fingers, Hank nods and views the young lady over the tops of his glasses thoughtfully. "While my hearing is certainly a fair bit more acute than the norm, and I certainly could tell there was arguing well before arriving on the scene, so to speak... and while I certainly caught the gist of the topic being discussed, I did not have the opportunity to ascertain your own apparent qualms about the topic in a specific enough fashion to adequately deliver the explanation you seem to be seeking. I'll need some further enlightenment regarding what you wish to have explained in particular before having a go at it. If nothing else, than because the story in full is prohibitively long and full of detail, and there's quite a bit of it I should daresay I'm not at liberty to discuss anyway."

Cecilia nods slowly, pursing her lips in thought as she considers how best to put it. It's one thing to talk to a teenage girl - but it's another thing entirely to talk to one of your peers. "I am.. concerned," she begins slowly, glancing briefly to the door before she continues. "A few students have told me that there's.. someone here, who has.." Oh, hell. There isn't really a decent way to say it, is there? "A killer," she says finally, rubbing at her forehead. "It was not exactly something I was expecting to hear."

A slow nod, and an understanding grin. "Ah. Yes, I would imagine that would be disconcerting to discover at best. But you'll rapidly find that, due to the unusual circumstances of the school's political and social involvements, as well as the innate qualities of the particular population we deal with, that there's much you wouldn't expect meandering about the hallways. However, it would seem you're cutting a rug around the real question you want an answer to. Since you haven't yet actually asked one so much as explained your own behaviour. If you'd care for a suggestion, simply say what's really on your mind, because most people find a verbal waltz a tiring thing to maintain. And I get the impression that you're more inclined to simply walk a straight line to a point."

"I just don't want to upset the man with the keys to the medlab door," Cecilia replies dryly, with a helpless shrug. "And it isn't a topic I have experience covering." But, if that's how he wants it.. that's how he'll get it. Considering this for a moment, she eventually nods once, dropping her hand back into her lap. "Why is an - I'm lead to believe, correct me if I'm wrong, please - unrepentant murderer living in the school's basement?"

Hank chuckles at the initial response, nodding. "Point." Then the rest is delivered, and he strokes his chin in one hand thoughtfully. "Well. I suppose 'unrepetant' would prove an adequate descriptor. Since there is rarely opportunity to express repetance when one has spent all one's time in the basement unwilling to move much." He fixes Cecilia with a rather serious, intense sort of Look. "And you did not hear that particular detail. But, to better allay your concerns, thee are two reasons she is here, rather than locked up somewhere maximum security style. First, we would prefer to keep her here, where she nominally wishes to be, rather than some place she would resent and be angry about being, and more than willing to forcibly remove herself from said locale. It's entirely safer for all involved for her to be here. Second, I heard your mention of law, but I hadn't placed quite the context. However, I'd remind you in this case that even the law makes provisions by which those that commit such crimes while in need of psychiatric help are not punished for said acts, but, at least in theory, put into a place such can be rectified. And speaking as on of the head healthcare providers around here... I don't believe that anywhere else would be more conducive to such rectification, and my collegues would agree with me, I believe."

Her eyebrows arch at the intense Look, but more because of the face giving it than anything else - this was going to take a hell of a lot of getting used to. Mentally shaking herself so she could give Hank's words the attention they deserve - which she apparently feels are worth her complete, undivided attention - she purses her lips in thought as he draws to a close. She's silent for a long moment, rolling the explanation around in her head, before very slowly, she nods her head, straightening up in her seat. "Okay."

With a bright smile, and a nod, Hank acknowledges her acceptance. "Capital. Now.. was there anything else on your hot list since arriving, or are we prepared to sally forth into the more mundane, interesting things to be done in settling you in?"

"I'd prefer the mundane, but only if there isn't anything else along similar lines that I should find out from someone who isn't a student," Cecilia replies thoughtfully, prying her attention away from the smile. Or, well, the fangs involved in said smile, to be more precise.

After some consideration, a response to this is offered. "Strange things happen. It's a side effect of having so many of us in one spot, and so many of us learning to harness varied and sundry abilities." Then, a wry grin. "However, I assure you that the laws of physics and nature apply. It's simply the applications of them that we sometimes have called into question. It's really rather fascinating. And I should think you would do well to take student accounts of events with a grain of salt. There is a tendency to be excitable, and a wish to present a knowledgable front that is typical of a youthful perspective. It's important to realize, when stories are passed, that many of the accounts being relayed are based on or posessed of only a partial understanding of the pertinent facts, as it is rarely approriate or necessary for the student body to have full disclosure of what transpires. And cases are often overstated in the retelling. In any case... I'd suggest you make yourself rather comfortable, as even the standard 'need to know', as it applies to what you should be forewarned of coming into all of this, is rather a lengthy discussion." He leans back, a long arm reaching for one of likely a few mini-fridges, and returns with a pair of garishly colored cans, waggling one at the young lady while he regards her over the rim of his glasses again. "Caffiene?"