AN: Would love some feedback on this. I like it but that doesn't mean other people do. A Day in the Life IV The best part of being a reptile is you can go further on less energy than a mammal. I eat twice a day, once for breakfast and once for dinner yet I still have a lunch break. For a reptile it is redundant, so I put the time to better use. "Marnie I know you're in there." I knocked on the door again. "It's Janelle, open up." I could hear a heavy iron lock slide out and the door cracked open. A black eye darted from just beyond the edge of the door. "It is you Janie." She let out a sigh of relief. "I thought it was someone else." The black eye belonged to the cone shaped face of Marnie, a pangolin and a friend. "Come in come in." "Thank you Marnie." If you're curious to why I was here, let me explain. A long time ago I Tapped the mind of Charles Matthias (and I don't believe he noticed) mostly out of curiosity. At the time his mind had been occupied with visiting a group of rats that lived out of sight of the rest of the Keep. They were isolated and he was giving them contact with the outside world. When I did this my impression of most other Keepers was that they were ignorant, self absorbed and needed the Watch to hold them together. This was a selfless act, done by someone unconnected to the Watch. It impressed me and I chose to act on those feelings. I was a Warden then and one whose patrols gave me an odd opportunity. It's not just rats who are ashamed, there are other cursed people, some as animals but some who lose their age or gender and never want to leave. They would lock themselves up inside their homes, safe from the world. Every time I see my son I understand that mindset. I also know how futile it is, you aren't safe but in a prison. The longer I went on patrol the more I learned how many people are imprisoned. So I make it a point that during my lunch hour I go to visit these people. One per day, on a rotating schedule. It's not a perfect solution but it's my way of changing something, bringing the outside world to the homebound. "I was wondering when you'd be back by here." Marnie shut the door and set the lock. "You'll have to excuse me, the place is a mess." "It's fine Marnie." Marnie was the only pangolin I knew, a rather odd species. Her face was a light tan cone shape with a slightly red tinge and a snout nose. Starting from between her eyes (forming a V) and running down her body were a series of deep brown plates. These plates resembled oversized scales and felt like soft fingernails but they coated Marnie's body except for her face and hands. Her whip like tail she always kept coiled against her body as if trying to hide the appendage. "No one came with you right?" Her eyes fixed themselves on my feet. "No one saw you?" Marnie dressed as she always did, in a square cut fine dress (this one blue with fringes of gold across the chest and bands on the wrist), a black girdle and metal rings on her soft pink fingers. At first this seemed normal until you took a good look at it. Then you noticed the square cut neckline was frayed and coming apart. First you see the dark spots along the hem of the dress. Then you notice rings were not gold or silver, but metals meant to create the illusion. Then you see Marnie's plated body had cuts and bruises and that her left eye was slightly swollen and probably had been far worse a few days ago. As she swept across the floor her dress swished up so I could see a bad scabbed wound on her lower right leg. "Please take a seat," Marnie said, gesturing to her pristine kitchen table in front of the fireplace. "I know you don't eat and I finished my lunch but I have water if you're thirsty and I want to be a good host because Roddy says I'm not a good host and how are you?" She sniffled; I could see the rawness around her nose and eyes. She had been crying, quite a bit by my guess. "I'm fine Marnie." I smiled. "I just wanted to see how you're doing." She nodded and took a seat herself, careful not to so much as wrinkle her dress. "I'm sorry for the mess I've been busy all day and I haven't had the time to clear." There wasn't a spot of dust in this room or a single item out of place. The fireplace was ash free and the small iron she had sitting on it shone. "Roddy says I've been letting this place fall apart and I still need to fix it all up." "There's nothing wrong." I said. "Marnie, how is your brother these days?" She swallowed. I took this opportunity to lightly Tap her mind and loud scream and slap knocked me back. "Roddy is is is..." She swallowed again. "Fine. He's been working hard, he works on the docks you know and he's still not happy he has to live with his sister and he started saying he's going to leave Metamor again and I-I really can't have that." I reached for her hand but she pulled away. "I'm glad Roddy doesn't know you're here." "As am I." Roddy had been Marnie's sister once a while ago. The curse gender swapped her into a tall and strong male with a temper. I had met Roddy twice in my life, both encounters that I regretted. He was a big blond moron with a short temper and big fists that he liked to use. "Marnie I can see your brother has hit you again." I said. "I can have him arrested for assault if you're willing to admit what he has done." This was the fifth or sixth time I had attempted to get Marnie to testify that her brother was hitting her. I knew her response in advance, "Janelle nothing is wrong and Roddy is my only family." Marnie said. "He wouldn't hurt me because he loves me, I trust him." I Tapped her mind again. This time I saw Roddy, his narrow face and platinum colored hair. His eyes were a paler blue then mine, his lips ruby red and contorted into a snarl. "This is my fucking dinner? I'm out working on the docks and this is the best you can making you fucking loon?" "It's all I had." Marnie whimpered. She squealed when a plate crashed beside her head. "I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!" "Why won't you just get out and go to the damn market!?" He flung a bowl, this one knocked Marnie to the ground. "It's your fucking fault I'm stuck here. Your fucking fault!" I let go of Marnie's mind when I saw him prepare to kick her. "I'm glad Roddy is here though." She said. "I can't go outside and I can't be alone. Even if he's a bit brusque with me at least I'm not alone. Roddy is a good person." ' Roddy is a bastard.' "You deserve more than this Marnie." She looked away from me. "You can leave this room. Do you really believe people will think you're a freak? You're speaking too the only sailfin lizard in the Keep." "I can't go back out there." Marnie pulled on the skirt of her dress. "I can't because if I do I'll get hurt and I'll die or maybe I'll turn into a feral animal and no. No no no no no no it's much better for me in here, I am safe in here." "You aren't living in here!" I froze. "I mean...I am sorry, I lost my temper. Please forgive me." A Warden must have control of their emotions at all time. "I can't go out." Marnie swallowed. "I've been here since I first grew a tail and I can't leave. I just can't Janie, I'm a monster and I belong in here away from everyone else." "Your brother really is poisoning your mind if he's feeding you a line of crap like that." I said. "You're kind and unbelievably forgiving. Marnie people aren't ashamed of being cursed anymore, they're proud to be part animal. I'm not saying you should but you shouldn't feel ashamed of who you are, you're a wonderful pangolin." "Please don't say that." Marnie whispered. "Don't call me that. I don't-I don't want to be an animal, I want to be human." "There's no way for me to change that." I said. "They might figure out how to make you human again one day but not now. You can rot away in this room or you can go outside and live your life." She looked up at me. "What do you want?" I rubbed her hand. "I want you happy. I want you to live your life." Marnie smiled and shook her head. "I am happy here." Why even bother warden? You can't change shit. I sighed. "You don't have to believe me but I'm happier in here. I don't like being an animal Janie. You don't understand; you were happy when you changed." "I was indifferent when I changed." I said. "Life moves on whether I'm human or not so I moved with it. I adjusted and you can if you're willing." "There's nothing to adjust to." Marnie sighed. "I'm cursed. I can't be uncursed, I'm always going to be a monster." "You're going to be unhappy then." I said. "And I am sorry Marnie. I truly am. I want to help you but I don't know how." The most frustrating part of being a Warden is this moment. You know an injustice is happening and you know someone is in pain but you can do nothing for them. They have to be willing to help you. If they aren't then you have to pick up and move on to someone else. "No one needs to help me." Marnie said. "I'm happy here, can't you believe that?" I didn't need to Tap her mind to know this was a lie. I let her have it, though, she can delude herself. "Can I at least give you some advice?" I asked. "For dealing with Roddy. And don't tell me there is nothing to deal with, I see your bruises and I know he's been hitting you. Just because I can't arrest him doesn't mean I don't know." Marnie kept smiling but didn't say anything. "Stand up for yourself Marnie. Show him you can get loud or mad too, that it's not just him who is suffering here. You're in pain, show him your pain. And don't let him lay a hand on you." "That's really great Janie." Marnie said, her expression serene. "I'm okay though, Roddy won't really hurt me." I sighed. "Yeah I'm sure." "Janie..." Her tone dipped for a second. "Lately Roddy has been threatening to leave because he's still human and it's my fault we're trapped here." Bastard. "I won't...I won't be alone will I? I can't I can't be alone." "If he runs off I will be happy beyond words." I said. "But no you won't be alone, I'll make a point to visit you. Maybe you could even get out of this room at long last." She gave me a queer smile. "I'm so glad you came by today Janelle." Marnie said. "I-I would like to see you again soon. If you can?" "Yeah I'll be around. See you later." I left Marnie alone in her kitchen to stew over what I told her. Nothing for me to do now but get back to work.
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