"Good afternoon, Mister Auditore. How are you feeling?" The therapist spoke in a clipped, almost bored tone. He lazily tapped his pen on his clipboard, one leg crossed over the other as he stared down at his newest patient. Federico Auditore had worked with two therapists before himself – one of which that had fallen deathly ill, the other quitting his job after two sessions with the man before him. Dr. Marco, if he remembered correctly. All the man could seem to do was babble incoherently about the future, about how 'something' was coming. Scoffing slightly, Vieri De'Pazzi shook his head, glancing once more over Federico's previous session notes. One of his previous therapists had labeled him as a possible schizophrenic. No matter how many sessions or therapists he went through, Federico would always return to their office, arriving with a smile and asking if he could be helped. The only question Vieri had in mind at the moment was: help with what?
Vieri cleared his throat, watching his patient jump slightly, brown eyes focusing on him. Federico seemed hesitant to answer at first, leaning slightly back into the couch that he sat on, fiddling with the fabric of his jeans. He tilted his head to the side before taking a deep breath, seeming to finally muster the will to reply. "Good…I think."
Ah , progress. At least he was talking now. "That's good. Now, I want you to tell me: why are you here?"
This question took a little longer for Federico to answer. He ran his fingers through his hair, smiled faintly, surveying the items sitting on Vieri's shelf. He silently admired a dull jade knife encased and framed on the wall, focusing his attention there when he finally spoke. "Sometimes…I see things. Things that might be real. Things…that could have happened, or that might happen. But sometimes they don't."
Dark brows pinched together at that answer, Vieri's lips pressing into a line at its vagueness. It was nearly identical to the one that Federico had given his two colleagues. Making a quick note of it on his clipboard, he shifted, glancing up at his patient and holding back the urge to sigh. "I'm not sure if I understand…can you start from the beginning?"
The younger man grinned slightly, letting out a low chuckle before folding his hands behind his head, eyes slipping shut. A deep breath was needed before he opened his mouth, his tone amused. "Well…" He began, eyes flicking open, gazed focused on the ceiling, as though he were painting a picture on its surface. "I've been having these dreams."
The forest is dark, the trees just barely making whispers of noise, as though speaking to someone, or something. Pale grey eyes glow from within the relative safety of the nearby brush, the feline's black coat unseen as the Lynx steps out of its hiding place, ears laid back warily as it strides forwards, feigning confidence.
"This way."
The Lynx's head snaps to the side, body going stiff and tense. At the edge of the trees, where the Light began, stood a Fox, its fur a deep brownish red, its brown eyes shining gold in the pale light coming from the Edge.
"Come."
Unable to resist the silent command, the Lynx slowly stalks forwards, tail tucked down, eyes scanning the area before settling back on the Fox. The Fox is gone now, across the Edge, a smooth dirt pathway that cut through the middle of their forest. Forever cautious, the Lynx steps out onto the path, looking down it with mild curiosity.
The pale glow was brighter here, almost blinding now. Transfixed, the Lynx is unable to do anything but watch as the light comes closer, slowly increasing in speed. The light seems to split into two beams now, their intensity forcing the Lynx to close its eyes and look away, still standing frozen in the path of the unknown threat. As they reach the Lynx, the Lights collide with a sickening wet noise - leaving nothing but darkness within the forest once more.
Vieri paused, his pen still hovering above the pad of paper. His knuckles had gone white from tension, the story chilling him more than he'd realized. Forcing himself to relax, he shook out his hand, releasing his death grip on the pen and setting it aside before finally looking up at Federico. The younger male had shifted, his elbows resting against his knees, chin resting in his cupped palms, watching Vieri silently.
Stealing a quick glance at the clock, Vieri's eyes widened just slightly at realizing how long Federico had been talking. They were well over the hour mark, their session long since ended. How long ago had Federico stopped talking? How long had Vieri sat unable to speak? A low sigh escaped him, and he shifted to lean forwards slightly, placing a hand over his eyes before pinching the bridge of his nose. "Mister Auditore…" he began, clearing his throat when he realized how weak his voice sounded. Frowning, he tried again, pleased to find he sounded stronger this time. "How often do you have these kinds of dreams?" Despite trying to act professional, Vieri was a bit disgusted by it; it wasn't often that a patient so vividly described the butchering of an animal, though it wasn't the worst thing he'd heard.
"Almost every night." Federico murmured with a slow shrug of his shoulders, his expression serious now. "I don't know what the dreams mean, but I have many of them." The brunette sighed, rubbing his throat as though in discomfort. "I was hoping you could help me figure out the reason."
Vieri's sigh was more of a huff now, the sound more tired than before. Jerking his head in a quick nod, he reached into his pocket, handing Federico a card. "You can reach me at this number. My email is there as well." He murmured, shaking his head. "I'll need more information to work with before I can help you." The Pazzi son explained, choosing to ignore the too-happy look on Federico's face. "See the receptionist out front, and contact me when you know you can see me again."
Grinning, Federico stood before moving to grasp Vieri's hand, giving it a squeeze. He was surprisingly warm in comparison to the shorter male. "I'll see you soon…" he paused, glancing down briefly at the card he'd been given before glancing up again. "Vieri."
The naked intimacy of being called by his first name combined with the warmth of Federico's skin made goose bumps rise on his arm. Shrugging off Federico's hand, he cleared his throat, tucking a stray hair behind his ear. "I - …I'll see you soon, Mister Auditore." He murmured, barely resisting the urge to tell Federico off for the use of his name. Sighing weakly, he watched Federico move to the doorway and out, turning his gaze away when the younger man winked at him.
"I need a fucking cigarette…" Vieri muttered to himself, standing and grabbing his briefcase and heading for the door.
It was surprisingly easy to be invisible to the world around him – a fact Vieri pondered over often enough. He would walk down a crowded street in plain clothes on sleepless nights like this, he found his apartment too stifling, and so yet again, he was out. Even if he had deemed it necessary to walk about in a crowd, he seemed to blend without meaning to, his head bowed, a cigarette in one hand, coffee in the other. But with his inability to sleep, he had been forced to go out at odd hours, disconnecting him from what few friends he had. Walking around at ungodly hours wasn't something he liked doing of course; but there wasn't much to do back in his apartment, and he had no desire to spend yet another night watching the same late-night TV, knowing sleep was unlikely to come to him.
The dark circles under his eyes gave him a haunted look, grey eyes half-lidded and focused on the sidewalk before him. He placed a cigarette loosely between his lips, flicking his lighter twice before it caught fire and he lit it, taking a deep inhale. Blowing smoke out the side of his mouth, his eyes settled on a familiar sign. Pursing his lips, Vieri moved into the bar, glancing around before sitting down, taking another drag from his cigarette.
"Can't sleep again?" A voice chuckled from somewhere beside him, and he glanced to the side, catching the gaze of one of his 'friends'. Having met him late at night, on a night much like this one, they had gotten to talking, exchanged phone numbers. He shook his head slightly
"Insomnia doesn't just go away, Cesare." Vieri muttered darkly, tapping some of the ashes off of his cigarette into a nearby ashtray.
The Spaniard chuckled in response, brushing a stray hair behind his ear and setting a drink in front of Vieri. "I suppose it doesn't. Have one on the house tonight. You look like you need it." He murmured, flashing him a smile that was a little too friendly. Vieri had gotten used to the lustful looks, the confident attitude that was attractive, though unwanted. He had no interest in a relationship at the moment.
Vieri felt fingers brush the side of his hand, and his lips pursed around his cigarette as he took a deep inhale, fingers curling into a fist. Cesare had leaned over the bar, rough fingertips resting against the back of his hand, a 'friendly' smile on his face. Forcing a smile as he looked at the bartender, he pulled his hand back, shaking his head. "Not tonight…I'm not in the mood." He muttered, blowing smoke in his direction to encourage him to step back, the taller male waving a hand in front of his face, shaking his head.
Vieri barely noticed the pursing of Cesare's lips as he tipped back the drink in one swallow, the alcohol burning his throat and leaving a warm feeling in his gut. Murmuring in thanks, the therapist waved his hand lazily in the bartender's direction as he headed back out of the bar, glancing at his watch. He'd spent only a half hour there, unable to force himself into stillness for much longer than that. With a sigh, he waited to cross the street, pressing the button and waiting for it to signal for him to cross.
Without meaning to, his thoughts drifted back to Federico. He'd been so odd. And he acted like he knew him. He had come to talk about these morbid dreams he had, and yet the entire time they'd spoken, he knew Federico had been watching him. His 'patient' was drinking up his reactions, and Vieri grit his teeth around the butt of his cigarette, toying with the possibility that Federico was just screwing with him as he stepped off the curb.
Muttering under his breath, Vieri paused for briefly as strangely canine shadow passed under him, making him stumble and glance back behind him, perplexed. A flash of red crossed his vision before he heard a low, blaring horn, his head jerking to the side as two blinding beams of light caught him in their path, his jaw slackening for a moment, catching sight of the silhouette of the frantic driver.
Cursing loudly, Vieri quickly jumped to the side, a gust of air ruffling his clothes as the length of the city bus passed by him, no more than a foot from his person. His heart hammered in his chest as he stumbled back to the sidewalk, clutching his shirt, face pale from shock, breath coming in shallow gasps. He sat, stunned for a few moments before shakily rising to his feet, pulling a cigarette from his pocket and bringing it to his lips, his fingers shaking. His whole body shook as he lit it, taking a deep drag.
"F-Fucking buses…"