Nina Stenet
"Great acts are made up of small deeds." - Lao Tzu
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Player: Avalikia ~
Registered On: Nov 4, 2010 0:01:40 GMT -5 ~
Posts: 696
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Post by Nina Stenet on Apr 1, 2012 13:53:11 GMT -5
Nina doesn't respond or look back as she steps out of the room, not bothering to say goodbye. Even saying that much or glancing back would only add to the flood of negative emotions now filling her.
But she doesn't get any further than just outside the doorway before she has to stop, and leaning against the wall of the hallway for a moment, clutching her arms to herself and forcing herself to breathe slowly. She's not really even sure what she's feeling right this moment. Shock, probably. How did this even happen? She knows that getting caught was bound to upset Edward, but how did his feelings shift so much so suddenly?
"Breathe, Nina," she finds herself quietly telling herself, "The brain doesn't work without oxygen." Then again, perhaps it would help her if she wasn't thinking quite so much right now? Still, she gives herself a moment just to breathe and further contain her emotions. This is neither the time nor the place that she'd want to have an emotional breakdown. If she didn't already have superb control over them, that might actually be a concern. But she trained herself to manage her emotions on her own terms a long time ago.
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Jeremiah Arkham - Black Mask
"All my life... I have been dancing on the edge of madness."
Player: Jere ~
Registered On: Mar 26, 2012 22:05:58 GMT -5 ~
Posts: 314
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Post by Jeremiah Arkham - Black Mask on Apr 1, 2012 17:12:18 GMT -5
He kept an eye on his patients, his inmates, call them what you will. And Edward having a visitor was certainly an event that Jeremiah wanted to observe, not merely out of intrigue of who the visitor was—he couldn't lie and say that wasn't his main motivation—but also out safety and knowing Edward's psychological profile. He found himself quite relieved that he had taken the opportunity to break from his usual routine and step into the security room upon discovering that the Riddler was to perhaps get a visitor.
He'd sat back, a content spectator and merely watched. He did not jot down notes, he had a memory for a reason, did he not? Yet he saw when it went downhill, facial ticks, body language. He was versed in it and he had left the footage to continue its recording as he made his way down to the room.
He did not announce his presence at first as Nina lets the door close behind her. He gave her the time to pull herself together, it was valuable she have that, he knew. He would only do further damage if he didn't allow that. He kept his distance until, judging off expression and the angles of her body he surmised he could approach her.
“Dr. Stenet,” he greeted casually. He knew her name from registry and from the news and a cursory search he did when he found out the moniker of Edward's visitor.
His steps weren't quick, they were simple and measured unconsciously. He was not in the mood to push a person today. If she wished to leave and not speak to him she could. “I'm Jeremiah Arkham, I run the facility.” He glanced at the door she'd just left. “Are you alright?”
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Nina Stenet
"Great acts are made up of small deeds." - Lao Tzu
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Player: Avalikia ~
Registered On: Nov 4, 2010 0:01:40 GMT -5 ~
Posts: 696
~ Relationship Status: Single
~ Character Profile
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Post by Nina Stenet on Apr 1, 2012 17:44:49 GMT -5
It takes Nina a few moments to resettle herself, mostly by pointing out to herself that she doesn't want to be doing this right now and she will have all the time in the world to sort out her feelings when she gets home. Lots and lots of... time. Later. Not now.
Just as she's starting to feel herself calm down, at least as much as she can given what just happened, she hears an unfamiliar voice greeting her. She looks up at the man approaching her with a rather ambiguous expression - she neither consciously nor unconsciously knows how to feel right now, so her face is rather blank. She does know that she doesn't particularly want to talk to anyone right now, though not decisively enough to avoid the impending conversation.
And his question gets a slight frown, and there's a pause before she answers because it takes her a moment of thought to figure out the answer. "No," she says, quietly but honestly, "But I will be." And though her voice hints at mental and emotional exhaustion, it's confident enough. She'll be... fine. Later. Not now.
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Jeremiah Arkham - Black Mask
"All my life... I have been dancing on the edge of madness."
Player: Jere ~
Registered On: Mar 26, 2012 22:05:58 GMT -5 ~
Posts: 314
~ Relationship Status: The More the Merrier
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Post by Jeremiah Arkham - Black Mask on Apr 1, 2012 18:35:38 GMT -5
Jeremiah again let his eyes move from the woman to the door. He gave a quiet nod and stepped closer to her. “It was a redundant question, but no worries, I'll not force you to my analysis. You're not a patient.” He gestured ahead of them. “Usually guards would have been called to escort you out. It's a safety rule, but I think I'll stand in if you don't mind.”
He kept his expression gentle. “I'm certain you wish to leave this place as quickly as possible, and I'll not keep you any longer. You have no need to speak to me at all. I just wanted to be sure you were alright considering.” He joined his hands behind his back and met her eyes.
“Mr. Nigma can be most unpleasant.” He said in apology. He would not fray at the fact, that she'd been looked over. It seemed that for the moment, Edward wanted nothing to do with her. He'd seen a break-up scene before, and there was no denying that that was exactly what had happened.
She didn't need him prying into her life. He would respect that for now.
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Nina Stenet
"Great acts are made up of small deeds." - Lao Tzu
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Player: Avalikia ~
Registered On: Nov 4, 2010 0:01:40 GMT -5 ~
Posts: 696
~ Relationship Status: Single
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Post by Nina Stenet on Apr 1, 2012 19:10:55 GMT -5
There's a pause, but Nina finally nods and forces herself to move away from the wall and walk. She's not particularly concerned about about the safety issue - her gift provides her with a great deal of protection in the possible but unlikely event that something will happen between her and the exit, and the type of danger is not especially likely to be one that her gift would give her trouble with in this particular location. Shawty hadn't even put up much of a fight being left to wait in the car - though her assistant's opinion of Edward probably had something to do with that.
Her lips purse a little while he says that she doesn't need to talk. "It's okay, it's just..." she starts, trailing off without completing the statement since she figures that he'll know what she means. He's simply caught her at a really, really bad time. And she doesn't particularly want to talk about what just happened.
And she frowns a little when he talks about Edward being unpleasant. That's true, but he can also be extremely pleasant when he wishes to be... She finds he emotions suddenly threatening to take over again. "Can we please talk about something else?" she asks, her voice growing quiet again. Actually, it probably really would help to talk about something else - get something on her mind besides replaying Edward's words over and over again.
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Jeremiah Arkham - Black Mask
"All my life... I have been dancing on the edge of madness."
Player: Jere ~
Registered On: Mar 26, 2012 22:05:58 GMT -5 ~
Posts: 314
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Post by Jeremiah Arkham - Black Mask on Apr 1, 2012 20:59:18 GMT -5
Jeremiah's head snapped to her, his face contorting at the soft tone of her voice, but he was quick realize why. He nodded. “Of course, anything you wish. I have, however, done a cursory search of you and I must say, very impressive, Dr. Stenet.” And his expression certainly backed up the words, his eyes were bright in his smile.
“My specialty may not be your science, but it's always interesting to read about and your lab have gained quite the popularity if I'm not mistaken.”
He was happy to steer her mind elsewhere, in fact, he'd not meant to keep it focused on the matter. He supposed it was because despite his forty years, he'd not settled down and dealing with romance is not his particular forte. “I'd love to hear more from the woman herself, if you'd entertain me as we're leaving, that is.”
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Nina Stenet
"Great acts are made up of small deeds." - Lao Tzu
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Player: Avalikia ~
Registered On: Nov 4, 2010 0:01:40 GMT -5 ~
Posts: 696
~ Relationship Status: Single
~ Character Profile
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Post by Nina Stenet on Apr 1, 2012 21:32:11 GMT -5
"Thank you," Nina replies without much enthusiasm, her eyes clearly favoring the path ahead of her over looking at the man she's talking to. Still, not a bad change of topic - enthusiasm is just hard for her to come by at the moment. She can say a lot on the subject of her recent doings, even without bringing up Edward.
"And I suppose you might say that, or at least it was beginning to be before the FBI came in," she replies, but then frowns a little as she explains, "But, I was one of the people falsely accused by the FBI. And someone burned my lab to the ground after they seized it. So between the legal trouble and trying to get a new lab, I'm neck deep in paperwork and haven't actually done my job in a long time." And though she's getting really close to fixing that problem, the more she thinks about how much work she has left to do, the more exhausting it all seems.
And now Edward's decided to add to all the stress she's already dealing with by telling her... She stops that thought with a grimace, promising herself that she'll deal with it later. Instead she forces herself to stick to the topic at hand. "But that should be solved soon - I only just got back into Gotham and it's been going smoothly enough," she adds, still without enthusiasm.
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Jeremiah Arkham - Black Mask
"All my life... I have been dancing on the edge of madness."
Player: Jere ~
Registered On: Mar 26, 2012 22:05:58 GMT -5 ~
Posts: 314
~ Relationship Status: The More the Merrier
~ Character Profile
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Post by Jeremiah Arkham - Black Mask on Apr 4, 2012 0:47:58 GMT -5
Jeremiah's eyes never left her as she spoke, despite the fact she was staring ahead. It was basic tactics of avoidance and it said all that needed to where her mind still was and that was as it should be. A woman usually doesn't act so upset unless the attachment to the other individual was a deep one. Their words had been simple enough, but body language and now her emotional reaction, it said it all. He wished to comfort her, but did not think reminding her that she wasn't the only woman that had been known to fall for Edward's charm only to be crushed was a good idea right now.
Instead he merely listened to her, able to understand what she said even as he thought other things. “The FBI ruined a lot of things, my Asylum is still under reconstruction from stuff that happened during that time. But I am sorry to hear about your lab, I do recall something about that, but Ms. Stenet,” he declined his head to her, “I mean, Dr. Stenet.”
He tasted the words on his tongue before he spoke them, wanting to keep them as unloaded as possible. “Don't over tax yourself, I can tell you are quite stressed right now and as much as it is worth you have my sympathies, but in my professional and friendly opinion, if you need, a break from the intensive and most likely exhaustive work that goes into rebuilding and re-establishing the funding for your labs is suggested.”
He didn't dare say more, remind her of her humanity, tell that he was concerned. To tell her that her mental health was important would make her think that he thought her weak, no better than Edward, and truth be told, he did not. She was handling it quite well.
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Nina Stenet
"Great acts are made up of small deeds." - Lao Tzu
~
Player: Avalikia ~
Registered On: Nov 4, 2010 0:01:40 GMT -5 ~
Posts: 696
~ Relationship Status: Single
~ Character Profile
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Post by Nina Stenet on Apr 4, 2012 1:58:46 GMT -5
Nina is actually quite aware that many women have fallen for Edward. How could anyone not? Well, she can answer that one easily enough too, but she wasn't one of those. A better question is, exactly how many of those women did he love back? And for so long? She really did expect better - she felt that she found a different place in his heart than anyone else has ever been in.
But those are the thoughts that she's avoiding at the moment as she forces herself to keep walking and pay attention to Dr. Arkham's words. "I'm just glad they're gone," she comments about the FBI, a little bit of bitterness touching her tone even though her thoughts aren't on what she's saying so much. Her anger about what happened is very much reduced, but it still runs very deep. It's conceivable that the one incident has clouded her opinion of the government for the rest of her life. But perhaps rightly so.
The rest of what he says causes her to open her mouth to protest before he's half started, but she shuts it again. It's a well-intentioned enough thing to say, after all. "But when I don't work, more people die. And I haven't been able to work for awhile..." she says quietly, half to herself. It sounds like a feeble enough protest, but it too comes from so deep inside of her that the thought is practically a reflex to the idea of resting. She knows the value of resting, yes but... she also knows the cost of it.
Then again, the cost of not resting is that rest then becomes forced upon you by your own biology - it's one of the rules of being alive. And being perhaps even more aware of this than most, her voice is a bit more convincing when she adds, "I'll be fine." This isn't her first emotional crisis, after all, and she's always managed to find her way through them. Granted, what she's holding back now is rather substantial and will be extremely difficult to handle when she does...
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Jeremiah Arkham - Black Mask
"All my life... I have been dancing on the edge of madness."
Player: Jere ~
Registered On: Mar 26, 2012 22:05:58 GMT -5 ~
Posts: 314
~ Relationship Status: The More the Merrier
~ Character Profile
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Post by Jeremiah Arkham - Black Mask on Apr 5, 2012 0:29:02 GMT -5
“Of course you'll be fine,” Jeremiah chuckled lightly, “but despite the importance of your work, and I have no doubts that yes, if you are not there than people will suffer, but people will suffer if you are not well. I don't claim to know how hurt you are, only that you are, and that I hope you will be well before you return to work or it'll be not only hard on you, but those who count on you as well.”
He paused in his steps a moment. He honestly wished she was not hurt. Edward was a charmer and could talk an angel into sin if he had to. He didn't blame the woman before for falling into his hands, thought no less of her, only that he knew she thought she had something special and had she or not, the evidence pointed otherwise. Edward had women and then discarded them so easily after he became bored. He was not known for commitment. Riddles and puzzles were his only constant mistresses.
He began to move again. “I would not worry if you must take a little longer, nor did I mean to stay on this subject. I just wish you well, Dr. Stenet. When you are feeling more yourself if you need any assistance at reestablishing your labs, I would be happy to offer any cooperation I can along with that of my institution.” He nodded, now again at her side. “Have you transportation from here?”
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Nina Stenet
"Great acts are made up of small deeds." - Lao Tzu
~
Player: Avalikia ~
Registered On: Nov 4, 2010 0:01:40 GMT -5 ~
Posts: 696
~ Relationship Status: Single
~ Character Profile
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Post by Nina Stenet on Apr 5, 2012 2:19:01 GMT -5
Nina's lips purse at what he says now, and in her present mood his laugh is grating. "You're telling nothing I don't already know, and I don't want your sympathy," she replies bluntly. He's right - he really doesn't know how hurt she is. Here he is, a man she's only just met, trying to offer her advice about this most personal of situations. She wouldn't like it at the best of times, even if she'd smile and shrug it off gracefully, but right now especially she just doesn't want to hear it.
And the rest of what he says doesn't fare much better. "And thank you for your offer. I'll keep it in mind," she adds, the politeness coming out of habit more than anything, but the dull tone suggesting that she's more likely to forget about it later. But to the last question she simply nods and says, "My assistant is waiting for me."
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Jeremiah Arkham - Black Mask
"All my life... I have been dancing on the edge of madness."
Player: Jere ~
Registered On: Mar 26, 2012 22:05:58 GMT -5 ~
Posts: 314
~ Relationship Status: The More the Merrier
~ Character Profile
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Post by Jeremiah Arkham - Black Mask on Apr 5, 2012 21:48:18 GMT -5
Jeremiah once again stopped and listened to Nina. It seemed he had struck a nerve. He understood her connotations; the subtext behind her every word, every tone in her speech. He, however, never offered her anything but a friendly smile. He pointed ahead of them. “I think you'll be fine from here. I'll leave you to yourself then. Have a safe trip.” He tipped his head and turned on his feet.
“Oh and, Dr. Stenet,” he inclined his head towards her, his voice never wavering from a genial tome, “forgive me for being a human being.” He walked away.
As if he'd meant disrespect. You'd think he'd called her infantile by her reaction. Well pardon him for seeing someone in distress and reaching out. Women. No wonder Edward bored of them so quickly. Their distress was exhausting and they bit when you offered any an ounce of sympathy. Had he belittled her? No. He'd seen the typical reaction of a woman having been dumped and knowing that other stressors had occurred in her life had offered words. Mere words. He'd been kind.
He rolled his eyes. Women.
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Nina Stenet
"Great acts are made up of small deeds." - Lao Tzu
~
Player: Avalikia ~
Registered On: Nov 4, 2010 0:01:40 GMT -5 ~
Posts: 696
~ Relationship Status: Single
~ Character Profile
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Post by Nina Stenet on Apr 6, 2012 0:21:23 GMT -5
Nina glances at Dr. Arkham but doesn't protest when he excuses himself. Even if she didn't have so much else on her mind she wouldn't feel unsafe walking the whole way on her own, and if the man is incapable of talking to her without upsetting her further then it's probably best for him to leave her be.
Though what he adds after that causes her to pause and say, "Dum inter homines sumus, colamus humanitatem." And if he doesn't speak Latin and cares to know what it means, he can look that up. And if he thinks that he was, then he's wrong. And having said that, she continues on her way.
(OOC: While we are among humans, let us be humane.)
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