Day 53: Intercom, Evening

[damned_intercom]

The commotion just after the intercom's jingle displayed the same kind of erratic energy that the Head Doctor had been exuding all day.

"Come on, get those papers out of the way - no, I don't...! Ah! Good evening, everyone, and I hope you all enjoyed the activities we had to

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[human_sponge]

"Pretty okay" was the most anyone could ask for in this place, and so Peter only nodded. His day had been eventful in its own way, but for once it hadn't left a huge impression on him. Maybe that meant that he was getting used to the routine here, although he honestly didn't know if that was good or bad. He was never going to like this place, but maybe being able to tolerate it would make it easier to focus on what had to be done.

He was a little surprised that Sam even remembered Claire's name, pausing in his bite of food to glance over at his roommate. Still, from what he could tell Sam was somewhat family-oriented, so maybe it made sense. Peter had had his share of family members come in and out of this place. At least his mother had been more or less spared, even if she was currently brainwashed.

... When had his life become this strange, again?

"I'm all right," he started. "Claire's managing as best as she can. She's... young. I worry about her, but she's tough." He knew the whole thing with Bella had taken a lot out of the girl, but hopefully she'd worked things out by now, or at least put it behind her. He considered telling Sam about her blood (he didn't think Sam would go blabbing to anyone, so it would probably be fine), but then the shadows were mentioned.

"We didn't," he replied with a shake of his head. "I heard about it earlier today, but I don't know the details. Something about seeing a reflection of yourself, right?" Having to talk to your own shadow shouldn't have been possible, but Landel's had a tendency to surpass all of his expectations. Peter sighed and went back to eating.

[allroadslead]

For a moment, Sam wondered if he'd passed Claire by at one point or another. He knew he'd never met her personally which didn't surprise him, but it did make him realize he hadn't checked in on too many other people, either. The...other Peter, for instance, or, well. Anyone. He didn't even know if the fact that he hadn't seen Lelouch in awhile meant that Lelouch was actually gone or if he just hadn't been paying enough attention. The former would be preferable.

He really needed to get away from everything Dean for awhile, but he knew that it wasn't an option when there were so many pressing matters about it. And he was aware that everyone else here was probably wrapped up in their own problems, too, so he wasn't alone in that, but he couldn't help feeling guilty about it regardless. He was supposed to care. He did care, he just. Sometimes it slipped. Which was no excuse, he knew.

Peter's question drew him back to the present. He nodded. "It was like it attached to your subconscious or something. Things you wouldn't actually ever say, you know?"

It did offer one possible explanation for why Peter, at least, had remained unaffected. If there was one thing he'd learned first from his roommate, it was that Peter had no trouble sharing most of what was on his mind. Maybe that applied to the others who hadn't had a talking shadow, either.

That did bring up the Trickster again, though. If Sam's shadow had dredged up the truth, then logically, what the Trickster's shadow had dredged up also had to be the truth. It was crazy to consider, except he couldn't deny its plausibility anymore. The pieces were all there and they slotted in place. He just didn't know if he wanted to buy the picture. The implications made his head hurt.

[human_sponge]

While Sam hadn't given the most detailed explanation, Peter was pretty sure he got the gist. It didn't sound like something he would want to experience, since he was sure he had thoughts that he would never want voiced out loud or shared with anyone. Everyone had irrational thoughts, things that flitted through their mind for a split second but that they didn't actually mean. That was just how the human brain worked, and there was nothing wrong with it. To have all of that exposed to other people just seemed unfair.

Then again, that was Landel's in a nutshell, wasn't it?

Peter was sure that Claire was just as relieved as he was that they hadn't been affected, though he wasn't sure why that was. It was hard to imagine that they'd gotten some sort of lucky break, since this place wasn't known for those. Still, maybe for now he could just tell himself to not look the gift horse in the mouth.

"I can see how that would be awkward," he admitted with a sigh. "So... did things get really bad, or were you able to work it out?" He wasn't meaning to dig for more information, but he just wanted to make sure that Sam was doing all right. He seemed well enough, but Peter also knew that it was tough to tell with his roommate.

[allroadslead]

Awkward was definitely one way to put it. Sam wasn't sure he could constitute their conversation earlier as working out, but he also couldn't say it'd gotten really bad, either. It'd been...okay. He'd sure as hell prepared for the complete worst, so at least it hadn't gotten to that point, right?

His instinct was still to brush off the concern, but he contemplated for a few seconds instead. "I don't know," he admitted. "We talked, I guess. I mean, we were kinda...raised different, you know? Dean especially. I sorta never absorbed it as well, so we're not always-" in agreement on the definition of monster "-eye to eye."

But then he'd been dragged back in and here he was, apparently deeper in it than even his brother. If he'd ever thought, four years ago, that this would be him now, he would've thought it ridiculous.

He poked at his food and took a bite. He didn't exactly make it a habit of talking about his family, but they'd already broached the topic once, kinda, which made it feel a bit less awkward than it might've been with anyone else.

As long as they didn't go too far into the details of target practice at nine years old and stuff, of course.

[human_sponge]

While Sam was still being a bit vague about things, it looked like he and Dean had talked as much as they could, and that things weren't a complete mess. That was just Peter's guess, though, and the answer his roommate had given had really just brought up more questions. He didn't know if he wanted to start hammering him with more of them, but Sam was also the one who'd opened up this topic of discussion.

Besides, he could always refuse to answer something or artfully dodge it if he wanted to. If there was one thing Peter knew Sam was good at, it was that. Well, that and hitting demons with cars, apparently.

"Raised differently?" he echoed with a tilt of his head, still trying to get his dinner down even if he was pretty distracted by now. It seemed odd that Sam would say that, and yet Peter sort of knew what he meant. Nathan had certainly been treated by their parents in a different way than he'd been. It was something that he'd remained bitter about for a long time, but he'd slowly been letting it go as best he could.

The last thing he wanted to do at this point was fight with his brother, though Nathan wasn't even around to fight with, so...

"What do you mean?" Not being eye to eye was just part of being a sibling, Peter was pretty sure (twins were a different story), but he was still curious to hear more, provided Sam was willing to share.