Of Few And The Many [invitation only]

[Augusta Davingoun]

"I can't imagine what it was like living here..."

Augusta looked over at her, she must have thought different. He smiled, " I think it's... amazing... Such a stunning work of architecture made by us, simple humans... we are always underestimated, like earlier today, always seen as weak... but to create such an amazing work , takes skill..." he said softly.

Augusta sat his bags on the end of one of the large tables, he pulled himself up onto of it and swung his feet as he examined his hand. He started unwrapping the bandages, he flinched every single time he pulled one wrap of bandages off. He finally got it all unwrapped and look at it, it was grotesque. The were slices all along his knuckles from the shards of mirror, and the skin was torn up on all of his knuckles, plus it was easy to see that all his fingers had been broken, but they had all been put back in place so they would heal correctly.

[Piper Wren]

"I think it's... amazing... Such a stunning work of architecture made by us, simple humans... we are always underestimated, like earlier today, always seen as weak... but to create such an amazing work , takes skill..."

True, Piper had learnt quickly that most Boogies saw Humans as weak and pathetic...despite having so much skill and inner strength behind all the issues and scars that so many of them carried with them. She placed her bag next to Augusta's and watched as he carefully removed the wrappings that covered his injured hand, it looked worse than Piper had expected it to be and was glad that she had thought ahead to pack a few medical supplies in her small bag.

"It seems every time I see you that you've got a new injury..."

She paused briefly and pulled herself onto the table beside Augusta, being noticably smaller than him so her feet didn't touch the floor. Piper was pretty sure she knew where Augusta had gained that new injury from, those cuts were deep and by the amount of them it looked like glass injuries.

"Do you mind if I check you over? Some of those look deep..."

For the moment she wasn't going too bring up where she thought it had come from...Piper was going to have to think about this and be tactful or she would risk greatly upsetting him and she really didn't want to do that. After seeing Kristopher in such a state...

[Augusta Davingoun]

"It seems every time I see you that you've got a new injury..."

Augy looked over at Piper, a frown lingered on his face. He sighed, " you'll get used to it..." he said and chuckled, " I have a tendency to... loose my temper..." there was a sad face after that. He couldn't stop thinking about when he punched that mirror. quit fucking looking at me!! rang in his head constantly. He let out a deep sigh before Piper continued talking.


"Do you mind if I check you over? Some of those look deep..."

Augy looked at her for a second and then turned his head away, " no... I'd prefer you not..." he said and pulled a small piece of mirror from his hand, the hospital children did a decent job, but Augy had been pulling out small slivers with his nails for hours. " It's a mark of my mistake and... I have to fix the mistake, so I should fix the mark... I'd like for it to stay that way..."

He knew were this conversation was going...

[Piper Wren]

"No... I'd prefer you not...It's a mark of my mistake and... I have to fix the mistake, so I should fix the mark... I'd like for it to stay that way..."

Piper sighed deeply, resting her hands in her lap and for a moment she hung her head so her curtain of black hair shielded her face while she tried to find the right words for this...she didn't want to hurt anyone, there had been enough harsh words said and enough damage done...seeing Kristopher right after it happened and what he had been considering doing to himself had been heartbreaking. There was a moment of silence before she spoke, not moving her head up for the moment so Augusta couldn't see her face.

"Listen...I know where that's from and I...I know what happened between you and Kristopher...he came to me right after and told me everything, I've been trying to see it from both of your viewpoints but no matter what I can't fix this. Hell...I can't fix my own problems, let alone anyone elses...sorry if I'm rambling but I just want to help."

Absently she rubbed her wrists where her white bandages peered out from the black fabric of her long sleeved jacket which she still wore to protect herself from the chill in this place...Piper felt the cold quite badly some winter months.

[Augusta Davingoun]

Augusta kept his gaze as far away from piper as possible as he held his hand, a softness to the way he was sitting, unlike his usually tense appearance. He tried to keep shoving those memories to the back of his head, he was good at that, forgetting things he didn't want to remember. He shoved them to the back of his head and covered them up. Part of his insanity came from doing that, the rest... only God knew were that came from... mostly his mothers side of the gene pool.

"Listen...I know where that's from and I...I know what happened between you and Kristopher...he came to me right after and told me everything, I've been trying to see it from both of your viewpoints but no matter what I can't fix this. Hell...I can't fix my own problems, let alone anyone else's...sorry if I'm rambling but I just want to help."

Augy kept his head turned away from her, " Who told you what I did?" he asked, he hadn't injured his hand 'till after Kristopher left, and Sarah was the only one except the kids at the Hospital who fixed up his hand, but he only said that 'he had punched a mirror' not when or why. Unless Kris found out from the Hospital and then told Piper. But his jaw was swelled up afterward too. Damn women... hated them since he could remember.

" But... I appreciate your kindness in helping Kristopher through this. " His voice hate a bite to it, he wasn't really over it, he didn't think he could ever be 'over it.' He sighed, " But I don't need pity or anything like some sort of therapy session... I'm very clear on what I did, I made a mistake and that's something I'll have to deal with. I lost my patience and composure and I let my temper get out of control, and unfortunately, it lead to what it did, and it was my fault.."

Ow, harsh. But Augusta was being oddly hard on himself. But that's what happens when your destined to be great, when your born your expected to be perfect, to be the best if the best. It would be a an understatement to say Augusta was a perfectionist.

[Piper Wren]

"Who told you what I did?"

After spending a few days with Kristopher and then noticing Augusta had a new injury on his hand...Piper had put two and two together on what must have happened, especially after coming across a lot of broken glass in the bathroom when she went to retrieve the shirt that Kristopher had left in there after he ran away from Augusta. Piper sighed and looked at Augusta even though he had averted his gaze from her.

"No one told me...I figured it out on my own, especially after seeing Kristopher's mental state and then the broken glass in the bathroom..."

Tentatively she rested a hand on his shoulder, it seemed her assumption had been right about what had happened. It was hard watching Kris and Augusta go through so much and neither had any idea of the extent of the other's pain. Piper just wanted to help but wasn't sure what else she could do...and finding Kristopher when he slit his own wrists had been horrifying, all that blood. Luckily he hadn't known the right way to do it so she had managed to clean him up and try not to yell at him.

" But... I appreciate your kindness in helping Kristopher through this. But I don't need pity or anything like some sort of therapy session... I'm very clear on what I did, I made a mistake and that's something I'll have to deal with. I lost my patience and composure and I let my temper get out of control, and unfortunately, it lead to what it did, and it was my fault.."


When Piper heard the bite in Augusta's voice she immediately withdrew her hand from his shoulder and moved slightly further away from him, she wrung her hands until she made red marks in the skin and kept her head down as she spoke, she couldn't bring herself to look him in the eye...

"Fine...I'll leave you to your thoughts. But you ought to know one thing, I was the one who had to find him when he tried to..."

Piper went quiet and pushed the images out of her head, watching someone go through that and knowing they could do it again at anytime hurt so much. She had hidden away anything she thought he could use in the future and it had made her reluctant to leave him alone incase he tried again.

[Augusta Davingoun]

"No one told me...I figured it out on my own, especially after seeing Kristopher's mental state and then the broken glass in the bathroom..."

Smart girl. She was as smart as she was pretty, and even though his heart belongs to Kristopher, and most likely will forever, he had to admit. Piper wasn't ugly, not even close.

"Fine...I'll leave you to your thoughts. But you ought to know one thing, I was the one who had to find him when he tried to..."

He suddenly regretted being so harsh. He saw her move away and not look at him and he put his hand down, only to flinch and lift it back up. He looked at his hand for a good minute or two before letting out a sigh.

" I just... I can't handle it... " he said, his voice full or obvious sorrow and regret. " I'm not... I... I've never been a caring person, I'm competitive and hard-headed and not really... capable of being with anyone...... god... I should really tell you everything then..." he cracked his neck lightly before pulling out some fresh bandages and re-wrapped his hand.

" When I was young my other was nowhere near a good role-model, she cheated on my father constantly, and my father never noticed, he just assumed that she loved him too much to do that... but apparently, love doesn't stay forever. " He let out a sigh again, " and when my mother started on her insanity-trip, I was never the same. And when I was brought here, my master raised me and cared for me and said he loved me. And then he... you know..." he looked away then, " and after that, I trusted nobody, I still don't. I'm always afraid that people will say they care then then leave me alone again. "

" I'm always scared people will hurt me, so I trust nobody but myself. Well, 'till I met Kristopher. Just bumping into him I knew, when he fixed my knee, his touch, it was unreal. I felt comfortable, like I could sit there with him and not worry about him hurting me like everyone else did. And from then on I relied on him, he saved my life at least twice, maybe more. I... I can't live without him, he is literally, my everything..." another sigh, " and then loosing him... when Honest stole his memories... I... I felt all alone again... I was hurt and bruised and that's when I crawled back into my little hole and started not trusting anyone. I tried so hard to help Kris, I did everything I could. But he never believed me, nothing... nothing ever changed!"

That's when the ebony-haired boys eyes began to fill with tears, " I tried so hard... and It felt like the harder I tried, that farther he slipped from my finger-tips... and then... in the bathroom... I was rejected again, like he ever cared. And as far as he knows, he didn't. All he remembers is one of our past fights, and once when I slept with him, THAT'S IT!!" he almost yelled it as the tears started falling like a monsoon. " and when he did that I felt like I didn't have the energy to try any more, and I don't, I feel like everything I did, was wasted, everything I loved and cared for, was stolen from me! I... and now I really have lost him!" he curled his body down, like he was going to hide like a turtle or something. " If Sarah wasn't there, then I wouldn't be here! She had to tackle me to the floor to keep me away from the scissors Kris left... and then Sarah hit me! I told her I'd rather die then be without him!" he sobbed and tried to breath between for a good minute before saying through sniffling

" and I wasn't exaggerating..." he said softly.

[Piper Wren]

" I just... I can't handle it...I'm not... I... I've never been a caring person, I'm competitive and hard-headed and not really... capable of being with anyone...... god... I should really tell you everything then..."

Piper stayed quiet and with her head down while Augusta began to speak, she could tell this was hard for him but she was only trying to help...wait, tell her what? Augusta had been pretty secretive about his history before but then again Piper wasn't a particularly open person about her own past either. She kept her gaze on the pale skin of her hands and the bandages that peeked out from her long sleeves while she listened quietly to Augusta's story.

" When I was young my other was nowhere near a good role-model, she cheated on my father constantly, and my father never noticed, he just assumed that she loved him too much to do that... but apparently, love doesn't stay forever and when my mother started on her insanity-trip, I was never the same. And when I was brought here, my master raised me and cared for me and said he loved me. And then he... you know... and after that, I trusted nobody, I still don't. I'm always afraid that people will say they care then then leave me alone again. "


She felt quite ill at the description of Augusta's childhood...her early days had been filled with laughter and parents who loved her...and eachother. Like Augusta things went wrong for Piper, him coming here and being raised by someone who was meant to love him until they abused him in the cruelest way...it struck a chord with Piper on a very personal level. When someone who is meant to take care of you smashes your ability to love and trust others, reversing the damage takes so much time and courage. Piper finally brought herself to look fully at Augusta while he spoke.

"I'm always scared people will hurt me, so I trust nobody but myself. Well, 'till I met Kristopher. Just bumping into him I knew, when he fixed my knee, his touch, it was unreal. I felt comfortable, like I could sit there with him and not worry about him hurting me like everyone else did. And from then on I relied on him, he saved my life at least twice, maybe more. I... I can't live without him, he is literally, my everything... and then loosing him... when Honest stole his memories... I... I felt all alone again... I was hurt and bruised and that's when I crawled back into my little hole and started not trusting anyone. I tried so hard to help Kris, I did everything I could. But he never believed me, nothing... nothing ever changed!"

She could understand why that would hurt, losing someone you care for so much that even seeing him once Honest had stolen his memories away must have been agony...although she hadn't really had the chance to love someone in that way...the thought of it now still scared her. Piper sighed and moved back to her original position next to Augusta, still keeping quiet until he had let everything out.

" I tried so hard... and It felt like the harder I tried, that farther he slipped from my finger-tips... and then... in the bathroom... I was rejected again, like he ever cared. And as far as he knows, he didn't. All he remembers is one of our past fights, and once when I slept with him, THAT'S IT!! And when he did that I felt like I didn't have the energy to try any more, and I don't, I feel like everything I did, was wasted, everything I loved and cared for, was stolen from me! I... and now I really have lost him! If Sarah wasn't there, then I wouldn't be here! She had to tackle me to the floor to keep me away from the scissors Kris left... and then Sarah hit me! I told her I'd rather die then be without him!

and I wasn't exaggerating..."

When Augusta started to cry Piper immediately stood up and wiped the tears away from his face, gently with her sleeve...hesitating for a moment due to her own issues if touch still being there, she took a breath and pulled Augusta into a warm hug, speaking quietly as she did so, doing her best to calm her friend.

"Not everyone is going to hurt you...but learning to trust again is so hard, I know...believe me, I'm going through the same thing. When you've been used, learning to give yourself over to another person is terrifying. Being rejected once you've experienced that hurts all the more but please...don't give up on everything."

[Augusta Davingoun]

Augusta couldn't stop the tears from coming, he knew this was going to happen, he didn't want to release all that sadness in front of Piper, but she was the one who pushed. He felt her wipe the tears off his face and he looked at her from behind his glasses. He pulled them off his face with his uninjured hand and looked at the blurry colors. When she pulled him into a hug he sat there, he didn't return the hug, but he didn't pull away. He rested his head on her shoulder, and tried to maintain what little composure he had left.

"Not everyone is going to hurt you...but learning to trust again is so hard, I know...believe me, I'm going through the same thing. When you've been used, learning to give yourself over to another person is terrifying. Being rejected once you've experienced that hurts all the more but please...don't give up on everything."

Augy heard her words, but for awhile he didn't respond. He sat there in her arms for awhile, for a time he felt like he was in the arms of a mother, one who actually loved him. He closed his eyes and his breathing went back to normal. " Your really much better off then me Piper..." he said softly, " Look at you, smart, pretty, and your starting to touch people and look at them... it's a great improvement... I'm really happy for you..."

He pulled away from her hug softly, not in a jerking sort of way as he smiled softly at her, like he had pushed his pain away, forgetting about it. Which was normal for him. " I'm just not like that... I don't think I'll ever be able to change... it's like they say..." he put his glasses back on and chuckled. " When your treated like a dumb animal for so long, you soon become one..." he said and finished wrapping his bandages.

He hopped off the table, a made a swift move around Piper, to his bag and pulled out some candles and such. " Now, I got some food, mostly bread and cheese, but I did get some fruit... would you like some?" he asked in a cheery voice.

[Piper Wren]

Piper was glad Augusta didn't jump a mile and pull straight away from her...it was almost like comforting a child even though there was three years difference in age between herself and Augusta. Even though both of them still had their issues with physical touch and some of it would probably never heal, sometimes even if you were afraid of it...you craved it none the less just as a comfort. When she felt Augusta's breathing slowly return to a more steady pattern, Piper realised he was gradually calming down.

" Your really much better off then me Piper... Look at you, smart, pretty, and your starting to touch people and look at them... it's a great improvement... I'm really happy for you..."


The dark haired girl sighed deeply, she didn't really believe much of the above...being able to make ordinary physical contact without running for the hills and eye contact while she spoke, it still took so much effort. She didn't feel like it was a huge improvement but still...one step at a time.

"I'm not any of the above..."

Piper said quietly before Augusta pulled away and promptly changed the subject...she truly believed that even though both of them had suffered so much hurt they might be able to start healing on the inside, even though they would never be the same people they had been before everything that had happened...getting better was not an impossible goal. Piper fiddled with her locket, thinking about what Augusta had just said.

I'm just not like that... I don't think I'll ever be able to change... it's like they say...When your treated like a dumb animal for so long, you soon become one..."

To her...Augusta was nowhere near a dumb animal, he was a good guy and highly intelligent, she could just tell via how he acted and spoke. It made her sad that he thought of himself that way...although she wasn't truly one to talk, she still had it drummed into her head that she was a worthless whore although she wasn't as vocal about it as Augusta was.

"You're not a dumb animal, end of discussion...and I'm not hungry."

[Augusta Davingoun]

"I'm not any of the above... You're not a dumb animal, end of discussion...and I'm not hungry."

Augusta stopped his cheery act and went back to frowning. " But you are..." he said, looking at her as a smile crossed his face, " you are smart, and pretty... I mean, I'm not one to talk about romance or anything like that right now... but I have my glasses on, and right now, your pretty..." he said he walked over to her and wiped a bit of dirt off her cheek with his thumb. He pulled away though, remembering she didn't like physical contact and he went back to looking through his bag. " Your a great person, and give it some time, and I bet you'll be an even better person..." he said and smiled.

After a minute or two he glanced at one of the large doors. He chuckled, " I wonder if it's still there..." he said, mostly to himself. He took another lit candle with him, but he looked back at Piper to see if she wanted to follow.

[Piper Wren]

" But you are...you are smart, and pretty... I mean, I'm not one to talk about romance or anything like that right now... but I have my glasses on, and right now, your pretty...Your a great person, and give it some time, and I bet you'll be an even better person..."

Piper jumped slightly in surprise, Augusta wasn't one for much physical contact either so it took her by surprise that he had suddenly reached out to touch her...she wasn't quite sure what to think about Augy's statement about her, it was a nice thing to say, people who had said that before, like Robbie and Iugo had always made it sound like a bad thing because of the consequences...but Augusta wasn't like that, he was still so in love with Kristopher and that made her feel safe.

" I wonder if it's still there..."

She noticed Augusta looking at the large doors and wandered behind him in the small circle of light that the candle he held provided.

"What?"

Piper wasn't sure what 'It' was meant to be but it seemed she was going to find out, either way she didn't feel like being left alone in this place...something about it made her very nervous and the thought of being here on her own sent a chill through her. Following the dark haired frenchman seemed like a far better idea than sitting in the semi dark and cold.

[Augusta Davingoun]

Augusta didn't respond to Piper's question, she'd see it soon enough. He walked towards one of the large sets of double-doors and pulled them open with his uninjured hand. The door errupted in dust, sending a thick cloud around the two. A series of coughing came from Augusta as he waved his uninjured hand around to clear it up.

When Augusta went in the room, it was pitch black, but light soon found it's way when Augusta lit the two torches on either side of the door. As the room quickly filled with light, two things could be seen, a large four-poster bed, a couch and coffee table, and a piano. It was odd because all the things in this sealed room, seemed to be in great condition, not rotting and falling apart. But there was a covering of dust on the table and piano.

A smile crossed Augy's face at the sight of the piano still lying there after such a long time. " It is here..." he said happily and almost bounded over to the instrument. He dusted it off, and then dusted off the bench and sat. Quickly he lifted up the key-cover and ran his left hand up and down a scale with a grace you wouldn't think Augy would have. The way he played, made him look like he was part of the piano himself. He flexed his right hand, but didn't flinch, sure it hurt like hell, but he was tolerant of pain....

He had to be to be covered in as many scars as he was...

[Piper Wren]

When Augusta opened the door and a cloud of dust engulfed him and Piper, there was a moment of loud coughing from the pair as the dust irritated the backs of their throats and got into their lungs. It quickly cleared but Piper couldn't see anything in the pitch black room, despite this she cautiously followed Augusta inside...and as he lit the torches on the walls and the light filled the room, it was then Piper saw it, ignoring the other objects in the room.

The Piano.

Piper hadn't expected a piano of all things to be somewhere like this! The dark haired young woman watch Augusta lift the key cover and play with a such a delicate grace and precision, not a note was out of place. Piper leaned on the side of the piano and closed her eyes she always did when listening to music, it always made her forget her surroundings and just float in it for a moment. She let out a contented sigh before speaking to Augusta.

"I didn't know you played so beautifully..."

Her best memories were steeped in music...well...all but one. She hummed to the melody that Augusta was currently playing, content to listen to him.

[Augusta Davingoun]

"I didn't know you played so beautifully..."

Augusta smiled, he was only using his left hand, but he couldn't play what he wanted to with only his left. Unfortunately, piano was a two-handed job. The man flexed his broken hand a bit before lacing it onto the keys like his left. " Then you must not know me well enough..." he said with a cheery grin. " The piano is my only line to sanity..."

He closed his eyes and started on a new song, actually it was one of his favorites. Rachmaninoff's Prelude, he really enjoyed playing Chopin more, but he had already perfected his favorite Chopin songs. And he really needed to expand his horizons.

He kept his eyes closed the entire time, his hands almost gliding across the keys. by the way he played, he looked like he belonged behind the keys of a piano, like he painting with music. He could have been back in the real world, playing for stadiums of people, in a big orchestra. Hell, he could have been making watches in a specialty store. But instead he was here, were his talents were only used to make himself happy. He was by far, a piano prodigy. But there was no one who really, generally felt the music around here... except for the girl in front of him, but he didn't know that.