Inmate #4

Entry tags:

{libby widmore}

Inmate #4

Who: Libby and Mozenrath.
What: The first of what is sure to be many warden/inmate meetings, if Libby has her way...
Where: The infirmary.
When: Sometime during the first three hours after Libby told Mozenrath to come see her.

Libby had intended originally wanted Mozenrath to tell her about himself before reading his file, to get his views on his past before she could see them objectively...but of course, she'd ended up reading it anyway. There wasn't much for her to do from her bed in the infirmary but convalesce, and there was a whole file of information on her new charge sitting on the bedside stand. Tempting her.

She'd been unable to resist that temptation.

She had restored the file to its proper place after the third or fourth read-through, at least. Then she sat back, leaning against her pillows, and waited patiently for her new inmate to arrive.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

It was nearly three hours, to the minute, before Mozenrath took a break from his duties in the pub to come and visit her. They'd spoken really only once or twice before in the past, and she'd been fairly easy to annoy. That was all he could remember. The only reason he did not blatantly disobey her was because she wasn't Montgomery Scott.

Really, he was fortunate in that regard. He'd heard his new Inmate had disappeared.

His discomfort with the general atmosphere of the Infirmary shows the minute he came through the door. He looked like an unarmed man trapped in enemy territory.

Edited 2010-07-02 02:39 (UTC)

Coming last-minute was something she'd expected, and she would have actually been surprised if he'd shown up much earlier.

Libby gave Mozenrath a smile and a wave upon seeing him walk in. "Hi, Mozenrath. I'm sorry we couldn't meet somewhere you're more comfortable, but my options are severely limited right now." She indicated the chair beside her bed with a wave of her hand. "Please, have a seat."

He sat, oddly fastidious in his own movements. Xerxes floated out from behind him and pushed his head under his Master's hand. He stroked the animal absently. "This could have been done over the network." Of course he was going to continue to argue. "But let's get this over with."

"Network conversations can't replace face-to-face interactions," she said brightly, and placed her hands in her lap.

"So. Tell me about yourself! Whatever you want to tell me, in your own words. I've read your file, but I want to hear what you think is most important directly from you."

Mozenrath eyed her skeptically. "I just spent four days as a cat, and you seriously expect me to give you a straight answer to that?"

The smirk she gave him was one of someone who's been there before. "I understand--I just spent four days as a dog. You won't be graded on your response. Answer as best you can, but don't feel as though you need to be objective; I have your file for that."

Edited 2010-07-02 03:07 (UTC)

Completely missed the point, but he'd move on. "I don't exactly initiate conversations like this or approach people with intimate details about myself. You know my name, you know where I come from -- introductions at this point -- when we've both been here so long -- is somewhat useless. So where would you like for me to begin?"

Libby shook her head; he didn't seem to understand. "I'm asking for you to begin with what you think is most important about yourself. That's based on your opinion, not mine."

"My magical ability," he said flippantly, sitting back in the chair. "Not that it really amounts to much here."

That...just made her sad. He didn't say anything about his inner self--his personality, convictions, nothing of the kind. He'd talked about an ability he barely even had while aboard. He was right: it didn't amount to much there, so why was he still defining himself with something so small?

All she did was nod. If that was his honest opinion, it was all she'd been asking for. "Yes, I've read about that in your file. About how hard you worked at it." She found necromancy distasteful, but that didn't negate his talent. She had to strike a balance that would allow her to acknowledge his abilities without letting him think she was agreeing with his perceived superiority.

"How many wardens have you had so far?"

He lifted his chin ever so slightly, in what could be read as a proud response to her observation. People didn't make a point to try to understand that about him -- some acknowledged that he worked hard. Even Paddy after a time. But that didn't stop his Wardens from keeping him as limited as possible -- leave alone how vulnerable this made him to the rest of the Inmate population at large, and to the dangers of the ports.

This was why the plan with Akio had to work.

"You would be my fourth."

"What a coincidence...you're my fourth inmate." She smiled at him, making mental notes about what they were discussing.

"Who were they? If I remember correctly, you were with Scotty once. I don't know the others."

There was a brief irritated tic to his eyebrow when she mentioned Scotty. "The first was the vampire Eric Northman. The third was Roxy Harvey."

"I see. And did any of the three put you on a balanced, healthy diet and exercise program?"

Libby felt that in order to work with someone extensively--to get messy with their thoughts, their emotions--their body had to be in a good, healthy condition first, to avoid undue stress. It was one of those rules she held as a therapist that she kept conveniently separate from her personal life.

"Your file doesn't tell you that?" There was more than just a little annoyance in his response. What he hated most about this place was that even when he did what he was told, he tended to be treated as though he did not -- a trend started by Scotty, and as good as Roxy had been he'd never gotten over it.

"I like to hear your opinion on things, not just the answers. The file doesn't give me that."

"My opinion is that I'd like for people to stop commenting on my weight. I eat regularly -- enough that if I stopped I'd suffer too much to keep it up. And that should be obvious."

"It's not a question of weight right now. It's a question of whether or not you're eating a wide variety of foods and getting all the nutrients you need. Vitamins, minerals, things like that."

And exercise was always good in moderation, she'd found. It released endorphins and cleared the mind.

He glowered at her. She said that as if they were allowed to pick from a wide assortment on the menu. "I'm eating what everyone else is eating."

Libby bit her lower lip. "That's not exactly what I mean. Say dinner comes with a meat, a grain, and a vegetable. Do you eat a bit of each or just pick what you like best and throw the rest away?"

"I eat what's given to me unless there's something wrong with it," he said tersely.

Libby nodded. "Don't be offended. I just want to make sure you're healthy before we start anything. I don't want you getting sick from stress--I've seen it happen."

"I consider myself quite healthy." He folded his arms. "And keep Montgomery Scott away from me, and you shouldn't have any trouble with that."

"If he starts hassling you, just let me know," she said seriously. "I don't take that kind of thing lightly."

"Good." A glance. "What else do you want?"

"How much progress have your past wardens made with you?"

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Inmate #4

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject