[reverse darkest timeline AU: cellthread #2]

[stilljustandrew]

[Previously: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5]

What's worried Baby the most, over the past few days --

Well. What's upset her the most is Andrew's consistent refusal to speak to her mind-to-mind, or out loud beyond the few necessary words she might exchange with any other inmate, such as requests for food, fresh clothes, an extra blanket.

But what's worried her is that he hasn't asked for anything to pass the time. No tablet with games or videos on it, no pencil and paper, no baseball to bounce off the opposite wall.

No books.



In the cell, Andrew finishes his breakfast (cornflakes, with sliced banana), sets aside the bowl, and settles down leaning against the wall.

Comments

[gothamsheiress]

"I need to think," Brix sighs. She rubs a hand across her forehead. "I believe he has bad dreams, no matter the cause. And I made the offer to bring him some tisanes to help him sleep. I'll need to go home, or speak with the Bar."

[hadyougoing]

Ava nods.

"Okay."



And when she finally manages to add--

"If you decide you don't want to do this again--it's okay. I understand."

--it comes out sounding so, so much weaker than she intends it to.

[gothamsheiress]

"I wouldn't sleep well myself if I gave up that quickly." She waves the idea away. "Thank you, though."

[hadyougoing]

Ava huffs a soft laugh, glancing down at her mug and her hands.

[gothamsheiress]

". . . Ava--"

Brix leans forward and lays a hand over Ava's briefly.

"You're worried for him, and for me, and that does you credit. I truly thank you for that."

[hadyougoing]

Ava doesn't pull her hand away, but she does lean back slightly, mouth still twisted into a small smile.

"Oh, I'm not that great. I'd hit him in the face if I could get away with it."

And if Epimetheus hadn't gotten there first.

[gothamsheiress]

"Well," Brix says, drawing back again, "that doesn't preclude caring."

Exhibit A: James Delacroix. Observed exhibits B and C: Eliot Spencier and Alec nó Eglantine.

[stilljustandrew]

"My observations indicate that the two frequently occur simultaneously," says Baby, again with the glowing patch on the wall. "I have never experienced the combination, but I was not designed to experience the urge to violence, and am not aware of having developed such an ability."

A beat.

"I am, however, increasingly worried for Andrew Wells. His output has been erratic and unreliable on multiple counts since his return."

[hadyougoing]

Ava tenses a bit in surprise, then frowns.

"Output, Baby?"

[stilljustandrew]

"He has made untrue statements."

A beat.

"I am unable to determine whether or not he is aware that he has done so."

[gothamsheiress]

Brix frowns.

"How do you know they're untrue?"

[stilljustandrew]

"Twice now he has referred to the first direct meeting between himself and Lucifer, and stated that --"

Andrew's own voice comes from the wall abruptly, from an earlier recording. "I tried to Summon Him. -- Of course I couldn't do that really, I'm not strong enough to do anything like that --"

Baby's own voice resumes. "I have firsthand data of the incident, and this account is false. Andrew Wells successfully Summoned Lucifer. I am unable to determine whether he is misremembering or deliberately falsifying data, nor speculate on why he would do either."

[hadyougoing]

Ava sighs.

"I don't know exactly why, but I think it's stories--something about remembering it that way makes everything else easier."

[gothamsheiress]

"He's very insistent about his insignificance," Brix murmurs, nodding. "Especially compared to Lucifer. To believe that he never stood a chance of defying him might be more comforting than facing the idea that he had power himself, once."

[hadyougoing]

Her brow furrows.

"Maybe. Yeah."

[gothamsheiress]

"Has he made other untrue statements, Baby?"

[stilljustandrew]

"Leaving aside such data points as are subject to personal judgment," Baby says, "the only verifiably false statements he has made are in regard to his inability to sleep in his cell. I cannot speak to the accuracy of anything he has said regarding Lucifer's treatment of him, or his own feelings on the subject."

A pause.

"And as you have pointed out, Ava Wilson, his output has been highly irregular even when it contains no verifiable falsehood."

[hadyougoing]

Ava sips her tea.

"Where does that leave us, though? At this point, I'm not feeling a whole lot like letting him sleep somewhere else."

[gothamsheiress]

"No," Brix says, momentarily grumpy again. "I can understand why not. Yet there must be something we can give him. Isn't there anything to be done to make that cell feel less like a cell? Any personal belongings of his?"

[stilljustandrew]

"He has a room upstairs," Baby offers. "Many of his personal belongings may still be there."

[hadyougoing]

"Does he have a security blanket?"

[stilljustandrew]

A brief, perplexed pause.

"Define, please?"

[hadyougoing]

"Oh, uh--"

Fine, if we're being earnest about it.

"Something that used to make him feel happy? Or safe."

[stilljustandrew]

"There are his books," Baby says, a little doubtfully. "And videos. And his journal. But he has not requested any of them."

[gothamsheiress]

"He might think he wouldn't be given them, if he did. Or he might think he doesn't deserve them. I've seen patrons who stopped eating, in their melancholy, because nothing sounded pleasing -- but they still needed food."

Brix shakes her head.

"Andrew may be eating, but he's not feeding his heart, or his mind. If books have nourished him before, I can see little harm in bringing him a few whether he requests them or not."