Block #13 - Cell #6 Jericho's High Containment Cell.

[Cole]

"If you get in the way of the head officer to the point of his annoyance. He can deem you unfit to see him anymore. Due to this affect his other half has on you." He says in a voice that carried some sternness, while also caring for her. "You will be able to see him when he has been calmed down. In the time being you need to work on getting yourself calm." The man says as they eventually entered into the guard break room. Followed by him sitting her down on the couch.

[hairyfurnacedemon]

Rowan looked away, sniffling and wiping at her eyes. In a different type of protest, she set her lips in a determined pout and refused to respond to him. Even when he sat her down on a couch in the room, she remained silent, her gaze on her feet. Jericho's my best friend. I could help him if he just gave me the chance! .... He's my best friend... I'm his only friend... He means to much to me... He's hurting right now, and I'm one of the few things that can keep his other personality at bay... I need to go see him...

[Cole]

Tacticus looked at her and something was eating away at him. Nothing on the surface could be seen, but the sight of her looking so hurt. Was something he didn't like. Why does he not like it? Why does he go so far as to try and keep her calm?. Were all thoughts in his head. Though he was fully intent on not letting her leave the room until the head officer was finished. Something became more apparent in the light of the room. A web of incredibly thin metal wiring was in between her and the door. Only certain strands could even be seen with the lights of the shining down on them. Though he made sure they were his dull set instead of his sharp set.

[hairyfurnacedemon]

(What are they?)

[Cole]

((Wires that he uses to do combat or block movement, or even pick up objects.))

[hairyfurnacedemon]

Rowan sniffled softly, wiping at her eyes again as more tears threatened to spill from them. She looked up a bit to do so, but as she didn't want to see Tacitus, she focused her gaze over his shoulder. It was then that the light glimmered off of something in the air. The harder she looked, the quicker she realized that the light in the room was catching off of tons of Tacitus's metal strings. Her jaw dropped in shock, her eyes now wide as they focused on the man. "It...it wasn't enough to dr-drag me here...? T-Tacitus..." The hurt on her face was unmistakable.

[Cole]

"I do apologize, This is for your mental health, along with the prisoner's physical health. If he were to be brought back together with his other half. Who's to say that seeing you again wouldn't cause another separation. Not only putting you in danger again, but undoing the work of the head officer." He says as he did not want to look at her. To look into those eyes, knowing she out of all people might have a chance at stirring up his restrained emotions. "I am only doing my job. Before you say we are impeding yours. It seems his other half can now affect you by simply being in the room." He says as he put his hand to his chin, trying to think logically on the situation.

[hairyfurnacedemon]

Rowan stood, forcing him back at least a step. Despite this action, she was shaking and tears had once again entered her eyes. She was not a person who easily stood against another, nor did she enjoy any form of violence, but she needed to draw the line somewhere. "T-T-Tacitus... It's m-m-my job to take c-care of him... I-it's in the title... Caret-taker... I work as a s-sort of the-therapist for the pr-prisoners here, m-mainly in blocks t-ten and thirteen. It's my j-job to help him!"

[Cole]

Tacitus did move back a step, though as usual did not show any emotional steps back. He just looked down at her with his cyan cross shaped eyes. "And as a Warden's officer, it is my job to look after all the people in this prison. That includes you Miss Breen. Your safety is of my utmost priority." He says as he tried to reason with her with something that was true. With that odd feeling scratching away at his mind. What was it?.

[hairyfurnacedemon]

"Then stay there with me!" Rowan shouted, losing her grip on the tears in her eyes. "I...n-need to h-help him... You...you can stay there with me..." She was trying her hardest to make the man see it from her point of view, and her desperation was painfully obvious. "P-ple-ase..." Her voice broke on her tears, the strength that she had to shout at Tacitus quickly dwindling.

[Cole]

"It has already been proven that the presence of a guard will only bring brief safety. The only reason you were able to escape the grasp of the prisoner. Was because he pushed the one wanting to do you harm away. Who is to say he won't just take control next time and not give you a chance to run. I will not budge on the matter miss Breen. For you are emotionally distraught and could be reprimanded for acting on your emotional attachment to the prisoner." He says as he held his arms at his side.

[hairyfurnacedemon]

Rowan flinched, her eyes widening, when Tacitus refused her again. The tears fell faster in an instant, and she went back to ignoring the man, simply crying to herself. There was no way she could flee, both because of the metal strings all over the room and due to the fact that she was physically weak and probably wouldn't make it out of the room much less to Jericho's cell. She ended up sitting back down on the couch, pulling her legs up to hold them against her chest and slipping her flats off simultaneously.

[Cole]

((Damn, I'm writing his history into a character template. I could write a novel about his past XD))

[Cole]

Tacitus shook his head and looked to her before getting another flash of something in his mind. The black hair... the violet eyes... the smile... He put his hand to his face with a grunt and held it there. Losing concentration for a moment as his wires all seemed to get some slack on them. "Emotion is the enemy, emotion is the enemy, emotion is the-." He continued to mutter to himself as he tried to shake the feelings off.

[hairyfurnacedemon]

Rowan felt a pang and looked up just in time to see Tacitus's wires slack. She thought of trying to get out, but the large man's words distracted her. Standing up, she pressed to worried hands to his chest, as she couldn't reach his face to make him look at her. "T-Tacitus? Are you a-alright?"

[Cole]

"Emotion is the enemy- Emotion is the enemy." He continued to mutter to himself as he was trying so very hard not to look at her. As if looking at her would cause his concentration to falter even further. Never had he done this infront of others before. Why was it happening now?.

[hairyfurnacedemon]

Somehow, reaching up on the very tip of her toes, stretching her body past how far it could stretch, Rowan managed to press her hands to his cheeks. "T-T-Tacitus!" she squeaked. "S-stop it! L-l-look at me!" Her voice was strained because of how hard she was trying to make him look at her.

[Cole]

He looked down to her and finally let her see his face. There was tears in his eyes. Then his cross shaped pupil shook away and was left with his pure cyan eyes. "You remind me of her... You remind me of the one person who could ever make me feel... Anything." He says as he was actually frowning as the tears rolled down his cheeks.
(insert heart breaking gif here.)

[hairyfurnacedemon]

Rowan's eyes widened and she lowered herself onto her feet, her hands slipping away from his cheeks. "T-Tacitus..," she whispered. His sudden rush of emotions made her flinch and her eyes well up with tears, but she smiled. She wrapped her little arms around the huge man's waist, nuzzling her face against him. "There, there, Tacitus. Would...would you like to sit down with me?" She looked up at him, her eyes sparkling with hope.

[hairyfurnacedemon]

.

[Cole]

Tacticus shook his head and closed his eyes for a moment. "I am going against my training. If my sister saw me do that she'd probably have choice words for you. Not that it was really your fault." He says with a nod before looking around at the wires. Then back down to her. His eyes returning to normal in short order as he smiled for just a few moments before returning back to his neutral look. "Well, as soon as First officer Tyrian is finished. I will be in the room with you when talking to... him..." He adds.

[hairyfurnacedemon]

Rowan tilted her head confusedly, frowning a bit. She pulled away from the man, looking hurt, when the man's expression returned to normal. "Him...? He has a name, Tacitus. His name is Jericho," she muttered, sighing softly. She sat back down where she had before, pulling her legs up onto the cushion and hugging them to her chest, resting her head on her knees. One hand slid between her thigh and her bust, placing itself over her heart and gripping at her sweater. "You're emotions... You can't fool me that easily, Tacitus... I can feel how...torn up you are... It hurts. Why won't you talk to me...? I am a therapist, professionally... I may be able to help." She looked back up at the tall man, her eyes less hopeful and more desperate now.

[Cole]

Tacitus looked to her with his blank gaze before pulling out a cellphone and syncing it up to a tv. As what looked to be old footage of a black haired girl skating on an ice rink. Trying to copy a professional skater that she had saw on tv. She wasn't that good, but she kept trying throughout the video. Until someone skated up to her and took her hands. A white haired woman with a pair of icy blue eyes. She started to lead the girl around the rink, teaching her how to skate.

[hairyfurnacedemon]

(I'm sorry, but there isn't really an explanation as to why he put this on the tv, so I'm very confused... So is Rowan???)

[Cole]

((It was going to be explained in his followup post. It is a video of the woman that he said Rowan reminded him of. Try to give posts with tacitus a chance. He takes a bit to explain things when in his normal state. XD))

[hairyfurnacedemon]

Rowan watched the TV patiently, giving Tacitus an occasional glance. She eventually just fixed her gaze on the man, on how he watched the video he displayed. There was obviously something that he wanted to tell her, so she remained silent. Due to her occupation, she had grown to read the atmosphere, to determine whether or not she should speak. This time she knew quite well that it would be better for her to remain quiet, if she wanted to hear Tacitus's explanation.

[Cole]

It took a few more moments of silence before the camera showed the girl smiling towards it. Before the woman also got an almost wicked smile on her face. As they both rushed towards the camera and as they appeared to struggle with the person holding it. Eventually the camera was pointed at a boy. The boy who had been holding the camera. The boy had white hair, was dressed in a tuxedo esque set of clothes. Blue eyes and a neutral expression on his face. As the girl grabbed him by the arm he lit up a bit. Then smiled as she tried to get him to skate with her. "This is a video of Me, my mother, and my future wife's visit to a skating rink in france." He says with a sigh, "She was always happy, never thinking of anything negative. She was the only person to have ever brought out my smile at a young age." He says while looking at the screen with another blank stare.

[hairyfurnacedemon]

Rowan turned back toward the TV, watching Tacitus analytically out of the corner of her eye. When he finally began speaking, she returned her full attention to the man. She could guess something happened to his wife, enough so that it put him in so much pain to think of her. Instead, she tuned herself into the feelings Tacitus got when looking at the woman he said was his mother. There must be some reason why he had a hard time smiling as a child. Did this woman have something to do with it? By the eerie smile in the video, Rowan could guess as much, but she wasn't able to piece it together with so little information. "Please go on, Tacitus," she told him softly, gently urging him on.

[Cole]

"I can tell you are wondering why I was not smiling alot. I can assure you, my mother and father... or atleast my mother was incredibly invested in trying to get me to be social and happy like the other children. I was born with an illness called "Alexithymia" I would assume you know of it?. It is what kept me from smiling like a normal child. I didn't understand the emotions of myself, or those around me. I started off how I am now, Except for the years she was in my life. I was happy, she helped me understand what it meant to be happy." He explained in his monotone voice, showing little emotion at all.

[hairyfurnacedemon]

Rowan nodded in understanding, signing softly. She did know of this mental illness. It made what little she knew of Tacitus's history not as dark or sad as she had assumed it would be. "Are you not happy now, Tacitus? Would you mind telling me? And why you are, or why you aren't?" she asked him softly, keeping her tone cautious but kind at the same time so she didn't anger or irritate him.

[Cole]

"Because the only one that could make me happy was her. Call me childish or even selfish, but she was the one who brought light into my life. Then when that light was extinguished unceremoniously by one of the people in this very prison." He says making a vague gesture pointing around him. "One of the people you very closely attend to." He says as his eyes seemed to pierce through the wall down towards Jericho's cell.

[hairyfurnacedemon]

Rowan's eyes widened in horror, her emotions, as always, clearly displayed on her face. "Oh my goodness... J-Jericho...? No... Oh my goodness," she muttered, stumbling over her words due to her shock. Her precious companion, a man who had almost come to mean more to her than anyone else in her life, killed the wife of her dear friend? She knew that Jericho had done many terrible things in his life, but would he kill an innocent woman...? With a hard flinch, she realized that yes. Of course he would. His alternate personality didn't need any specific reason to kill. That man was willing to kill her, was even eager to do so. What would stop him from killing some woman he didn't know? Absolutely nothing. "Oh my goodness," she whispered again, frozen in dread, terror, and a foreign anger that she assumed could be from Tacitus.

[Cole]

"Though the blame is not all on Jericho, he had a direct influence on her death. He was influenced by another prisoner in here, one that is in extreme containment." He explained looking to the video of him and his wife skating as children. "The day I lost her was when the prisoner recapture headquarters was suicide bombed. The bomber was the very same extreme containment prisoner I was talking about." He says as he sat down in a chair across from her. Looking to her instead of the TV, giving her his blank stare. "He got Jericho to help him by saying that he had you in as a hostage." He says as he had a very serious glint in his eye.

[hairyfurnacedemon]

Rowan's eyes widened even more so due to the new information, looking up at Tacitus and allowing him to view her intense shock. During that event, she was trying to speak to a rather intriguing, confusing prisoner in the thirteenth block. They had barely gotten her out of the cell when the bomb went off. She had been ushered to a safer area, as she was an easy target for the prisoners. Not only was she weak and easy to manipulate, but she had a valued ability and was good leverage. Unfortunately, as Tacitus informed her, she was also a way to control the infamous Jericho.

Rowan was frozen under Tacitus's serious stare, her heart both racing and all too still in her chest. She couldn't speak, wracked with terror and guilt. It was painfully obvious that she was fearful of what Tacitus would do, but the tears that pricked her wide eyes were from her intense remorse. She was directly the cause for Tacitus's wife's murder. If she had been with Jericho at the time, if he didn't care for her as he did, if she wasn't even a factor in the prison at all, then Tactius's beloved would still be alive. It was her fault and there was no way around that. And now Tacitus was sitting directly across from her, his large body and his invisible strings keeping her from the exit, cornering her. She was too shaken to focus, to try and read Tacitus's emotions. Her flight instinct was screaming at her, but there was no where to run. She didn't even know if the man would get violent with her. Hence why she remained frozen, staring up at Tacitus in terror.

[Cole]

"If I am honest, On the day of the attack, had I not been tending to my dying wife. I would have personally shredded Jericho, no matter the sentence he previously had. I would have executed him for his crimes right there in the burning building." He says as he clenched a fist in the chair before his eyes softened slightly. "But then I would be no different to him or the bomber. The bomber was the one who implicated your life to him. I am not angry at you, I am not even entirely angry at Jericho." He says looking to his wires around the room before shaking his head. As the wires around the room retreated back into his gloves. "The man responsible is the bomber." He says as he took a deep breath in, then out.

[hairyfurnacedemon]

Rowan watched Tacitus carefully as he spoke, remaining tense even once he had finished speaking. Her fear still shone brightly in her eyes, but she slowly made her way onto her feet and then over to stand in front of the man. The woman's small body trembled violently, but there was a determined set to her lips when she wrapped her arms around Tacitus's neck. "I'm s-so sorry, Tacitus," she whispered, clamping her eyes shut. She held onto him tightly, the emotions he was unintentionally feeding into her only making her more determined to comfort the man. "I'm so sorry." One hand pressed to the back of the man's head, threaded in his hair. There were two different ways one could interpret that hand in his hair—either as a lover or as a child. With her small frame, she could easily be mistaken for a child, especially when standing beside Tacitus, who was a mountain of a man. But there was a sort of tenderness that brought her touch to the fine line between romantic and platonic. It was strange to say the least. All Rowan hoped was that her hug comforted Tacitus in whatever way he needed.