"So what's next? Rather, who?" Nic asked his new boss, referring to his offered duty of slightly assisting with verbal therapy.
"Let's see here... Oh, it seems Fio needs some company... Don't worry about what she is, she's rather broken... The poor dear just sits on her bed all day crying to herself every now and then, completely unlike her unscarred counterparts..." Dr. Sorensen said sadly.
"What is she? Moreover how'd she get to that far gone of a point?" Nic asked in a concerned tone.
"Fio's a Mini-Top, but even though they tend to be abusive, they are fiercely protective of their tamer... She's lost several to various causes, mainly lack of common sense, and as an indirect result her lack of patience to deal with it, leading most Tamers she's had to go off and do something deathly stupid..." Dr. Sorensen explained.
"Ouch... How many blockheads before she wound up here did she have to go through?" Nic said in an tone of annoyance for them.
"23 until she was eventually found by an Officer Jenny in an alley behind a bar, She had actually started a huge rage-driven bar brawl the night prior to her discovery and almost murdered several of those involved... One man won't be able to properly tame anymore, let alone reproduce... I don't think I can say anymore... Oh we're here, word of warning though, don't for any reason insult her past tamers, it will cause her to stop at nothing to rip you in half, so just keep her some company as she needs special attention... Oh, if she asks for a taming go ahead, it makes her feel better somewhat than normal... Here take this, too." Dr. Sorensen said, reaching into his coat's pocket pulling out a bottle of vintage Jack Daniels.
"It calms her nerves and makes her just a tad talkative, so I'll go ahead to some other parts of the facility for daily check-ups and I'll be back within the hour... Until then..." Dr. Sorensen said, opening the door to Fio's quarters, closing it behind Nic and locking it. As Nic looked around, he saw her seeming to either not notice him or not care that he was there, staring down at her mattress she was on with her knees pulled up to her face, a look of total despair upon her face. She mainly looked tired, as though sleep had not come easy for multiple weeks, and there were heavy bags under her eyes, as well as some obvious weight loss, save for her derrière which stuck out like a sore thumb. She was dressed in the usual plain white clothing the patients wore in these types of places, but it was stained from previous alcohol consumption and spillage. He approached her softly, yet she still didn't acknowledge him, that is until he sat down next to her, which even then only caused her eyes to slowly slide over to look at him then down at the bottle of golden amber liquid. He slowly handed it to her, taking the cap off for her, guessing she may be too weak to even manage that on her own. After staring at it a few seconds, she reached out and took it gently, taking a whiff of the contents and taking a timid sip which then devolved into guzzling the entire bottle and after looking at the empty container after milking it dry, threw it against the wall where it didn't even chip due to the lack of power required to do so. It just kind of clinked to the floor noisily. After a few moments of silence, she spoke in a barely audible manner.
"I'm bad luck you know... Everyone I like dies... That's how it goes, life fucks you over like a Harlem dime whore, and there isn't anything you can do about it... Ever." She said in a hoarse whisper, her vocal chords obviously damaged.
"At least you're still here... You could be nothin' but a memory..." Nic said quietly.
"I am a memory in this place... People come here to be forgotten like a bad dream, and the sad fact is, nothing's done about it... I don't even think Dr. Marx is here for us..." She said with a completely defeatist tone.
"Dr... Marx? Dr. Sorensen's the only doctor here..?" Nic asked, unfamiliar with the name.
""He came in with a carrot cigar, and... Made me smile... First time in years... I was weak, and he took advantage of it... I'm not supposed to be happy, that's the way life works, it's supposed to be miserable... At least mine anyway..." She said, suddenly getting a slight whap upside the head which she looked completely shocked about.
"Quit with the defeatist attitude, it's not good for you... Besides, the guys you lost probably cared about you, you think they'd want to see you in a place like this? That's being kinda selfish don't you think? I'm sure underneath the way you may or may not have initially treated them, you honestly cared, otherwise you wouldn't have cared about losing them and you wouldn't be here... But you did care, and because of that they''re wherever they're at now watching you with complete shock at what's happened to you... They'd want you to take care of yourself, no matter what." Nic said, laying it down for her as best he could. She just stared at him for a second before saying anything. Suddenly tears welled up in her eyes as she began bawling openly, literally crying on Nic's shoulder.
"I just miss them... I couldn't even save them from themselves, some companion I am!" She wailed.
"Saving someone from themselves is something most Celestials have problems with, it's just too difficult to do alone... Help goes along more quickly and effectively when numbers are involved, preferably above one." He said, patting her on the back as she began to finally calm down.
"Feel a little better, now?" Nic asked her as she pulled her face out of his clavicle, sniffing back some nose leakage as she nodded in response. Suddenly Nic saw a another change in her demeanor, one he recognized from the look in her eyes. She again leaned on his shoulder, nuzzling it in a friendly manner, wrapping her arms around him. She looked at him with pleading eyes, indicating a much-needed service. As Nic sighed, he just nodded in response to her desires causing her to near-completely relax for the first time in weeks.
...
Later that night during after hours and after letting Nic back out, Todd finally got a good look at the security devices Nic had set up, mainly because Nic had actually pointed them out as they were rather well-hidden. All of a sudden though, Todd got the feeling he was being followed which wasn't surprising to him given there was a resident there predating the conversion of Bramble View from an old bomb shelter into it's present glory. He had Nicknamed her 'Sheila,' who was the resident Succubus. Suddenly Todd heard Nic's voice over the two way radio on his belt loop,
"Hey, uh... Boss man? You got somethin' tailin' ya... Can't really make it out..." Came his voice as Todd Replied into the device,
"Yes, that would be Sheila, this building's original owner before I decided to build here... She's the resident spook as it were, she's prone to pulling pranks by the way so watch it when you go to sit down, she'll pull the chair on you in a heartbeat." Todd said with a grin.
"Yeh, I coulda used that info 2 minutes ago, damn near broke mah assbone!" Nic said in an aggravated tone. Todd just chuckled and continued down the hallway, making sure everyone was down for the night.