semifreakingnormal | ( 019 ) Ω ( VOICE + SPAM )

[When the audio comes on, there's some wind, distant bird calls; it doesn't take a great detective to tell that he's in the CES.]

Peter's gone. His door's - normal again.

[He lapses into silence for a moment, then lets out a long breath.]

Does this always happen in groups?

[Infirmary Wardens Filter]

[Scott's not sure how to start, here. He's pretty sure he doesn't want to talk to anyone right now, but he owes Jack this, and he's not going to back away.]

I know inmates don't usually get keys, but after what happened last week, I think Jack needs one. I can tell you - as his warden - that the reasons he's here have nothing to do with what he can do as a doctor. He's a good one, and he's not gonna get anywhere without trust. I'm going to ask the Admiral for a key for him, but...I wanted to talk to you guys about it, first. To see if there are any problems I'm not seeing, I guess.

[Open spam in the CES]

[He's burning off energy with a lacrosse stick and a few balls and a make shift net. He scoops and throws, scoops and throws, and it's not helping, so he scoops faster, throws harder. When one of the balls tears through the goal and Scott is seeing in red, he twists his hands around the stick until he hears it creaking, and throws it at the ground.

There's nothing he can do. There's nothing he can do but keep going, and he's so--

Scott isn't good at talking things through. He's bad at finding the right words, using them right, and part of him just wants to take off running through the woods. He doesn't. He knows he can't run away from what he's feeling. Instead, he rakes his hands through his hair, down his face, clenches them into fists and yells up at the tree tops. It's not a howl, he doesn't make the trees around him shake, but there is an unearthly undertone to his voice, a growling baritone underneath it that stands as a reminder of what he is. When his voice fades, he picks up his stick and starts again.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[At first, off screen, Scott deflates. He's used to being told no by adults. He's used to going behind their backs. So at first, he just starts wondering how to ignore this, bypass it - but then he remembers that he's a warden, same as Bruce, and maybe he's a lot younger, but shouldn't his voice count the same?

He's not sure. Especially after failing to save Allison again. But he swallows, and tries.]

I don't....I don't agree. You're making it sound like, like it's us and them, and it's not like that. We're here for them. We're here to help, and when trust is earned--

[He trails off. He's bad at this. He has to find the right words.]

He more than earned it, while you were out. He was the only doctor here during most of that. He's the reason more people didn't deal with the death toll.

I'm going to ask for a key. We might as well leave it up to the Admiral.

I disagree. It very much is us and them. We have privileges and access they don't, we can do things they can't, and we can do the most important thing of all: we can leave as needed.

He's not a warden. He hasn't earned the right to be trusted, at will, with other people' lives.

Megamind didn't get his own key to engine room until he graduated-- and because of his connection to a demoted warden, he was still suspect despite his graduation and several people grouped together to attempt to block him from access, and then made sure other, more 'trustworthy' wardens were assigned to manage the engine room alongside him. David 8 did not receive his key until graduation -- and he worked in the infirmary without issue despite being a poisoner.

I would suggest you not tell these people that Jack is, essentially, an exception to their struggle and long term work, or that he is better than them and deserves special treatment simply because you feel he does. He doesn't.

You're a warden. You need to think of other inmates beyond your own. I don't believe Jack would hurt people in the infirmary. But that still doesn't mean he gets to circumvent the system to get something he hasn't earned. There's no reason he can't work with supervision like the rest, and earn his way there.

That's bull. People don't earn things the same way, they don't learn things the same way! I just said he more than earned it, while you were out, and Dillon and David couldn't get here - he was the one keeping people safe!

[He doesn't catch the edge in his voice until he's finished. Stiles was brought in bleeding, and Jack saved his life. Scott knows he has his inmate to thank for saving his best friend, and that's part of what makes him fight.]

He's not an exception, because anyone can prove themselves. Anyone can do the right thing, when it needs to be done.

Which is why all graduations are unique... but some rules are universal. He didn't graduate due to those acts? If not, than he hasn't earned it yet.

Now if you don't mind, I have patients in my infirmary that need assistance. I've given you what information you requested, and my input on the matter. I suggest, however, you attempt to divorce yourself from the personal stake and feelings you have on the matter.

[Scott tosses his head in that angry way that young people do, that way that says 'I know I'm not going to win this' as clearly as it says 'I know I'm right.' He exhales sharply, and his head shake is practically audible.]

Okay. Fine. But they're not just your patients. Please don't forget the inmate who used his own blood to keep some of them alive.

[He pauses for a second or two, then kills his feed. He's angry, and he can feel it like itchiness along his jaws, like elongated teeth pressing against his lips. He needs to control it, dial it back, and breathe.]

( 019 ) Ω ( VOICE + SPAM )

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