It felt weird to be naked and it made Anthony squirm, trying to forget the one memory he wish he could. Once lowered into the delightfully warm and refreshing bath, however, he relaxed and laid back, enjoying the feeling of clean water surrounding him. He smiled and watched as Gavin knelt, filling a cup full of water and gently pouring it through his matted and filthy hair. Soon the clear water was brown and filled with dirt. He screwed his nose up and wished he could get out. "Gross..." he commented, amazed at how dirty his hair and body had actually been.

Gavin nodded, wrinkling his nose a little and replacing some of the water with clean. "It is, yes." He agreed easily. "But this won't be happening to you anymore. You'll be clean from now on, every day." When the water was clearer, Gavin plugged the tub again and opened one of the bottles, pouring a clear liquid in. "This'll clean you without hurting any cuts or scratches you might have." Standing a little, Gavin sat on the side of the bath tub and stirred the water a little, then opened the shampoo bottle. "If you need a bit of help with your hair, I can take care of it. I know how weak your arms must be from being strapped down so long." It probably hurt to move them much while they got used to freedom again.

Anthony nodded, moving his arms did hurt and he still felt very weak. All the warm water around him made him even more lethargic, and soon he had closed his eyes and almost fallen asleep. He never really dreamt of anything, or anything that he could remember. Every now and then a faint recollection will fly through, but he never remembered it when he woke up.

But this time, as he relaxed and fell into a half-awake slumber, the water around his stained red and became blood, boiling hot and covering him, trying to drown him. He started violently, flailing about until the redness of the water disappeared and he looked up at Gavin's concerned face.

Gavin was able to untangle the mess of hair as it was cleaned, rinsed, and conditioned while Anthony closed his eyes. He probably didn’t realize he was rocking a little back and forth in a state of half-sleep, but it kept Gavin relatively calm. At least Anthony could deal with it, more than he could say about other mental patients that were far more violent or volatile. Leaving Anthony for a moment, Gavin gathered everything up to set aside, until the startling, immediate splashes caught his attention and had him grabbing Anthony’s wrists and shouting his name.

Gavin had no idea what he saw, but it had to be quite frightening. “Anthony, are you okay?” He asked easily. Using one hand, he pulled the plug to let the water out and stood him up, gathering a nearby towel to wrap around the young man.

He reached up, hugging the man's neck tightly, but enough to choke him. He knew that he was crying, but he couldn't remember why. It was as if his flash of psychosis was reminding him of a time long ago, something that had happened but he had forgotten. He blinked hard, shaking from cold and fright. "Don't ever leave me," he spoke to Gavin, his voice low and almost a whisper. "Never ever leave me."

Gavin was slightly surprised, from the quick yelp that escaped when Anthony hugged him. "I won't." He said, and put his arms around Anthony to lift him up, out of the bath tub and onto the soft rug on the tile floor. "I won't leave you for any longer than evening. I'll be here soon after you wake and I won't leave until you're asleep at night. Does that sound good?" He disentangled himself from Anthony and pulled a smaller towel from the wall, rubbing his hair relatively dry. "I'll make sure no one comes in without me, and anything you eat will be safe. And nothing will come to harm you."

Maybe it was a long shot. He'd have to run most of these thoughts past Yei, to make sure it was possible. But his knowledge of taking care of someone, especially one not in their right mind, had to be an extra assistance to his position now. He moved, motioning for Anthony to follow as he left the bathroom and went to the closet---a small one---and pulled some clothes out. They were pale in color, but not white. Beige, a simple shirt and cotton pants, and soft-soled waterproof shoes that let one walk about in damp grass.

Anthony followed the man back into the carpeted, warm room. He liked this room more than the other, as it smelt nice and even felt better in here. He wandered over to the window as Gavin dug through the closet, looking out the window again at the gardens outside. He was excited to leave the room and feel the grass again, to be under the sun once more. It had been a long time since he had been outside. He grinned and went back to Gavin, letting the man clothe him without any fuss.

"I want to go outside sometime," he said, walking back over to the window. Just beyond the small courtyard and garden area, Anthony could see a little farmyard, with a few pigs and chickens and an old cow. He shook with anticipation.

Gavin smiled a bit when Anthony was clothed again. He looked so much more comfortable, clean and free to wander as he liked. And the room was easy on the eyes without direct sunlight, something that he was glad to see. White, while plain, showed dirt, blood, any unclean fluid or dirt or dust. Going around, he cleaned all the bottles up, placing them back in the locker and pulling out a brush. "I think that's for another day." He said regretfully, approaching Anthony from the side so he could see Gavin. "It's already a stretch to have you be so free already. I don't think those overseeing your progress would want you to be overwhelmed in any way. Especially after so long trapped." He drew the brush through Anthony's hair, untangling the knots gently. It was pretty long after so many years of neglect.

Anthony frowned, gulping down sadness before it showed. "Oh. Okay then," he replied in a dejected manner, his shoulders drooping as well as his head. He felt Gavin running a brush through his extensively long hair and grinned. At least his hair wouldn't be all tangled and matted any more. "Will you cut it?" he asked Gavin. He never enjoyed his long hair and wished for it to be a bit shorter so it didn't pull when he slept on it.

Gavin tilted his head, and nodded. He kept his hair relatively long, somewhat short, enough to at least tie back at the base of his neck. "Sure, I can cut it. It's pretty long anyway." It'd be much more comfortable, perhaps, if it were shorter. Returning to the locker, he took out a set of small scissors. While he wasn't necessarily a hairstylist, Gavin was sure he could do a relative job of cutting it back a little. He gathered up a handful and sliced haphazardly, setting the largest bit aside and evening it out with small cuts. "I have a feeling it'll feel a lot better, too." Anthony added, making sure he didn't leave it in a ridiculous or uneven or outright terrible shape, and did a swift cleanup---using a small vacuum to suck up the smallest shards of hair---which could dig into the feet without warning and lodge there if they weren't removed---and threw away the rest of it.

Anthony sat relatively still when Gavin cut his hair, even though something about the scissors was making him very nervous. He flinched when he came close with them, only to relax when he remembered that Gavin could be trusted and that the man wouldn't hurt him.

When the haircut was done, he ran his fingers through his hair, trying out the length. It was still quite long, but it was short enough not to be a problem. "Thank you," he said with a smile, standing back up and going over to the small mirror hanging up on the wall near his closet. He froze in place, staring back at his reflection.

The small, skinny, pale man stared at him, the shadows around his sunken eyes making his face look almost skeletal. A glimmer of light shone in the dark pits, revealing deep brown eyes. His hair was cleaner now, and just above shoulder-length. The darkness from the filth gone now, he could see the ash-grey colour of his hair. It scared him to look at his reflection, so he turned away, rocking slightly on his feet.

Gavin put everything back up when the area was clean, and made sure to rinse the small hairs from the scissors before putting them back in the locker. Watching Anthony study himself in the mirror was nice at first, until he turned away in what seemed to be fear or sadness. Gavin stepped to his side and put an arm around his shoulder. “You’ll be back to normal soon, Anthony.” Gavin said. “With a little sun, and some freedom and real food, you’ll be just fine again.”

He paused. Anthony was so gaunt, pale, thin. He did have a mousy appearance, too. “I think talking to some people with me might help you too. Get you back around others... Maybe it’ll help your hallucinations.” Medication wasn’t always the best solution. Gavin would try to keep him off too many pills as long as he could.

Anthony sighed sadly, hugging Gavin back. He wasn't sure if he wanted to talk to others. Gavin was the only nice person he knew, and he was terrified of what the others would be capable of. He stared down at the muddy floor, the nice white and light coloured shoes and pants already filthy. He tried not to say anything, knowing now that this was him just seeing things, but the itch of dirt annoyed him. "So dirty...." he muttered, bending over to rub the mud off.

Gavin pulled Anthony back up. "You're not dirty, I promise. But I'll clean up the floor if you want." He pulled Anthony away from the mirror, situating him on his bed that was now a normal bed, rather than a cold and uncomfortable hospital bed. checking his watch, he noted it was noon just as a knock at the door sounded, and he hurried to open it. A woman in white, like what Gavin wore, only a bit stained with different tones of old food that never really bleached out all the way. She presented a tray with a plate, small bowl, and two cartons---one of white milk and one of apple juice. He accepted it with a quick "Thank you," and nudged the door closed, setting the tray on the table across the room. "Anthony, time for lunch if you're hungry."

While most places had the usual 'terrible hospital food', this one was a few steps up. Everything was real and not necessarily boxed, from the small mound of mashed potatoes beside the strips of medium-grade steak and bright green beans to the non-canned pears in the bowl. If Anthony had eaten badly throughout his time here Gavin was sure it'd change.

Anthony lay on the bed when he was placed there, staring up at the ceiling until the knocking caught his attention. Hungry...? At the word, he realised his stomach felt empty and that he hadn't eaten for quite some time. Moving over to where Gavin had set the meal, he stared hard at the food presented. This surely wasn't for him. He had been used to eating nothing but a flavourless mash for years. "Where's my food?" he asked, tilting his head.

Gavin turned around from his searching through the closet for the vacuum. "That is yours, Anthony!" He noted. "The ones that 'took care' of you through the years got away with a free meal when they were to bring it up to you and the others in their care, and gave you canned meats and vitamin supplements instead. This was what you were always supposed to be getting." He involuntarily curled his nose at the thought of what Anthony and the rest had been eating for so long. Disgusting, yes, but now it had changed. It would be a nice cleansing process for the young man's mentality, and certainly his physical well-being.

He would be taking his lunch break in half an hour. Patients were often fed half an hour before the orderlies, doctors, and nurses were able to take their breaks to save conflict between job and break.

Anthony stared at the food on the table, unsure where to start. A lot of the food looked too hard for him to eat and so he started with the mashed potatoes, struggling briefly with the spoon to feed himself. He took a mouthful and made a small humming noise at the taste. So creamy and peppery... He grinned as he finished and moved onto the bright green beans. These he really didn't like, so left them as he moved onto the steak. Stopping, as he realised he wouldn't be able to eat it with a spoon, he glanced over at Gavin.

"Can you... Help me?" he asked, finding it strange to be begging for help. All he needed was help cutting the steak into pieces he could eat. The blunt, plastic knife provided was hard to use. He picked up the carton of juice and stared at it, wondering what on Earth it was.