Snippet #2646095

This was already turning out to be quite the interesting gathering.

Within a span of a few moments, one of the patients had jabbed his elbow into the gut of the other, only to get off without a warning. Of course, the fascination of the twins towards the event did not show; instead, both recoiled as if they had been the ones struck, slinking into the cushioning of the sofa and huddling close.

It was easy to tell that there was at least some measure of camaraderie between the gathered patients, if not an alliance of some sort. It only made sense, really; after all, they had been there for who-knew-how-long. It was a necessity to have a truce between killer and killer.

Unfortunately, Olive thought, it would mean that their tricks would be more easily picked up on, if they weren’t careful. Especially if the the orderlies were less lenient when it came to punishment; although it would allow for some freedom, it would undoubtedly cause trouble from the other patients if they were not careful.

Ironically enough, Gale’s mindset had gone a more opportunistic route than his sister’s. Depending on how large the group was, it would definitely be a challenge if they decided to gang up on them, or prefered to stay together in favor of wandering off. If they needed to make someone vanish, then there was a larger risk of getting caught…

Still, though, it was a challenge. A puzzle with vague rules that needed to be defined, and soon. It was with the uncanny ability twins seemed to be gifted with that their minds reached the same conclusion, and that they continued to people-watch.

Their newfound hobby was cut short, however, by the patchworked boy calling out to Gale. As if on cue, the blond immediately started, meeting Yuuji’s eyes with his own. As the other attempted to gesture him over, he put on a nervous look, glancing up at a nearby orderly- as if for permission- before lowering his head, peering at Yuuji through his lashes.

He was focusing on him, and him alone, by the looks of it.

Interesting.

The possibilities as to what the boy could want were endless, really. Everyone had reasons for being in a asylum, and he was no different. The boy could have thought Gale to be the weaker of the two, choosing him as a target.

Perhaps Olive had been picked, instead. After all, there appeared to be a group, and if she was being excluded, it could mean that he had been selected to join. If that was the case, it was difficult to tell what he had in store for the younger of the twins.

There was always the chance he was hoping to separate them, however. Divide and conquer was a fairly common strategy.

Whatever the case was, the best thing they could do was go along with it. Continue acting the part as the nervous children.

Wait until they had a proper grasp on who the stitched boy was, what he wanted.

As Yuuji skipped up to them, words hanging off his tongue, both watched with no small amount of curiosity. At his comment, and subsequent question, Gale once again dipped his head shyly. Olive only blinked up at the man first, before giving a slight smile towards her brother and nudging him to speak. Encouraging him to be social, just like any good sister would for her timid sibling.

“Um, well,” Gale began, seemingly distracted by a particularly interesting piece of lint on his pants. “th...thank you, sir. We’re twins, yes, sir.”

Patting her brother’s arm for the “effort”, Olive nodded slightly, content to let the answer serve as her own for the moment. At the sudden mention of “tests”, and the question of the extent of their bond, both prepared to answer, although they didn’t get a chance to speak before Yuuji had reached out and pinched Gale’s forearm.

Gale gave a wince at the action, attempting to pull away, although it did not seem to give much of an effect on Olive physically. Instead, the girl’s eyes darkened for a moment before switching to a look of concern as she looked over the patch of skin. She seemed to be satisfied by her examination, however, and the pair once again turned their attention to the puppet-like boy.

“Asides from what you did now, sir?” A note of dry amusement had slipped into his tone, momentarily disturbing the innocence Gale had been portraying.

It was at this time that Olive decided to chime into the conversation. “We’ve tried, sir,” she began, “but we can’t.”

At the mention of “looking glorious” with “solemn black thread”, the pair exchanged a brief look, eyes flicking back to Yuujji with an obvious quizzicalness.

“...Thread?”

“Pardon us, sir, but do you mean like yours?” Olive gave a quick sweep towards the bright red stitching on the other’s arm; a stark contrast against pale skin. If that was the case, then that gave an even stronger pointer to self-mutilation. Considering how obvious they were, as well, it didn’t take much to wonder why they hadn’t been removed. And if they had, that meant he had somehow managed to sew them back in again…

Before they could pry further, Gale had been jerked to his feet, Yuuji attempting to drag him off to meet a “dear companion”. An almost feline coyness suddenly flashed in the boy’s eyes at the fact that he was continuing to disregard his sister, and, making an effort to look alarmed, jerked back and wrapped his fingers around Olive’s wrist- effectively taking her along for the ride.

If he was actively trying to split them somehow, his reaction should give some sort of indicator.

As they stopped before yet another older man, the twins took a moment to look over their new company before releasing their grip on each other.

“This is my dear brother, Gale.”

“This is my dear sister, Olivia.”

Both then extended a hand for a shake, although, as expected, Gale was more hesitant about it; shifting from one foot to the next, while Olive held no such shakiness.