They're coming to take me away, ha-ha...

[Bjorn]

Cradling the figure in his hands, Bjorn examines it minutely, lost for words.  It's...  Looking up, he smiles, gently and sincerely, at the little girl.  "Thank you very much," he says gravely.  "It's wonderful.

Glancing briefly down at the treasure he holds in his hands, he continues, "In case you didn't hear, my name is Bjorn.  Pleased to meet you."

(Edit: stupid hidden closing tags.)

[Brian]

Megan glances upwards, and says in a quiet voice, "I get the idea that while she's close, she's not right on the mark...."  The munchkin smiles, and raises a finger to her lips before scuttling back to her pile of broken glass.  More loudly she says, "It's a pity she can't craft anything more intricate than balls or toy horses.  She could have real potential, if she could make useful things."

[Bjorn]

"Art is useful," Bjorn says firmly, but without further elaboration.  "And I've met people who've made it their life's work to produce anything even coming close to this piece.

Interesting as the relevance of art in modern life is... "So.  They have us.  And now...?"

[Brian]

"Depends," Megan says with a shrug.  "On what you do, really.  They'll just let you live here forever if you're like her."  She nods at the little girl, who is making a small wooden horse out of glass -- it seems to waver, almost like it's melting, but there's no glow, and no heat distortion.  It just ... melts in her hands and assumes a new shape.  "If you've got some useful ability, like Jonas...."  She turns to look at a man sitting at one of the nearby tables, smiling at a flower.

"He's a healer.  I don't know what they do to him, but they want to learn how to reproduce that ability.  To understand how it works.  And ... some of the things they do here would break certain rules regarding, oh, you know, human rights, if it were known, abilities aside."  She grimaces.  "What do you do, Bjorn?"

[Bjorn]

"I don't know."  Bjorn frowns at his hands, as he works a pressure point in his right palm (good for preventing colds, now a nervous habit).  "I was there when they captured a pyrokinetic.  Some of the fire hit me, but I didn't get burnt.  But... I don't know if that was me."

[Brian]

"Ashnod?  If it wasn't you, what was it?" she asks, frowning.  "You've got some defense, though it's softening."  After a pause, she adds, "Not that I was peeking into your mind, or anything, it's just that I noticed you've got some kind of barrier..." she raises a hand and taps the side of her head, "up here."


[Edit: Because closing your quotation marks is fun!]

[Bjorn]

"You're a telepath?" Bjorn asks, quite curious.

"And someone -- I don't know who -- gave me a... gift.  I had it on me that day, and it was... acting up?  Yeah, that's probably the way to put it.  If it wasn't Ashnod, which I gather was the case, I thought that that was what saved me.  And I'm guessing they've already taken that away."

[Brian]

"Well, then we'll see what comes of it," she says doubtfully.  "Yeah, I am, somewhat.  I've met a few others, but it seems to be just a little different for everyone."  She scoots back on her bridge, and draws her knees up to her chest.  "Even when I was a little girl, I believed in magic.  I don't know if it's some scientific thing, or if it really is magic ... and I gather the people who work here don't know, either.  But we both know that it does work.

"And now for the kicker -- I also see things."  She smiles dryly, lookin up from the river and at you.  "I can see ... that there's something about you that's different.  I mean, everyone's different, but there's something there I can't ... quite ... understand."

She shakes her head.  "We knew Ashnod was back," she says, changing the subject abruptly.  "But he's not let out here with us.  Did he ... did he look alright?" she asks worriedly, shooting a glance at the little girl.

[Bjorn]

"Well, I don't exactly know his baseline condition," Bjorn says drily, "but no, I don't think he was alright."  Not much worse for being hit by my car, at least.

[Brian]

Megan flinches.  "Oh," she says quietly.  Shaking her head, she opens her mouth to say something else, but closes it when the door opposide the cafeteria sign bursts open, a doctor attended by two S.W.A.T. armored guards striding towards you purposefully.

"Damn," she says under her breath.  "Looks like my time's up for today.  See you tomorrow, huh?"

You also hear, though her lips don't move: be ... careful ...

[Bjorn]

"I will."  Let that stand for both.

[Brian]

She nods, and rises to her feet, shooting a last glance at the little girl before marching towards the guards.  She meets them a short distance away.  The doctor has his face uncovered, unlike the guards.  He actually seems genial enough, all things considered.  Average height, black hair, the beginings of a five-c'clock shadow.

He consults a clipboard and offers a comment -- you can't quite make it out over the sound of the running water by your feet.  He's got a relaxed stance and a jovial demeanor, but Megan doesn't seem amused in the slightest.  The doctor's attempts at friendliness are short-lived, and he falls silent, gesturing her to follow.  Both guards have their facemasks up, and have sidearms on hip-holsters, and a baton, though neither is holding a weapon at the moment.

After consulting with his clipboard for a minute or two, the doctor glances at you thoughtfully, but quickly turns his attention back to Megan when she says something that makes him grimace distastefully.  She merely eyes him back coolly, and he gestures her forward.  One of the guards takes her elbow, and she's escorted through the double doors.

Only a few of the other residents even looked up for the display.  Behind you, the little glass-crafter is staring thoughtfully at a tiny glass rocking horse, though it seems crude compared to the figurine you're still holding.

[Bjorn]

Shifting slightly to sit on the bridge, just as Megan did, Bjorn studies the other inmates (or guinea pigs... probably a bit of both.  Goddamnit, why did I....) as carefully as he can, cupping the figurine loosely in one hand to hide it from view.

And he thinks, and he plans, but neither is very easy.

[Brian]

Nearest to you is Jonas, according to Megan.  The healer.  He's somewhat stocky, looks Asian, and appears completely absorbed in staring at the flower on his table with a vacant expression and a grin.  Past him, you see two men and a woman communicating with handsigns.  They're standing closest to the archway capped with flowers.

To your right, opposite the river from the glass-crafter, you see a mucle-bound, pale man talking with a man who looks to be in his fifties, at least.  The brute's got probably shoulder-length hair tied back with what looks like a torn-off scrap of his sleeve.  The older man is nodding at what the brute is saying, without saying anything in reply, though their words are muffled by the trickling water.

In fact, sitting on the bridge, you almost don't hear a chime from the speaker inset beneath the walkway, above the cafeteria door.  A few residents look up at the sound, and meander towards the door, but more ignore it, continuing going about their business.

Now that you've got a better vantage, and time to study, you see quite a few of the other people have 'toys' here.  There's a middle-aged woman tinkering with an obviously broken radio, and a girl playing with a pair of dolls.  Behind them, you can see another man trying to juggle beanbags.  He's not very good, but the ones he misses don't fall to the ground....

[Bjorn]

Bjorn watches the glassworker for a while, at the same time straining his ears to try and catch the conversation between the two men.