<strong>Amanda Kyleson, at her apartment</strong><br/><br/>Mandy stared at the little elephant for a bit, who was trying to tell her something but wasn't quite strong enough yet.  Sometimes it took a little time, but that was alright, she tried her best to be patient.  As she dressed, she lifted the little plush doll up and slipped him into her purse.<br/><br/>She listened to the offer of a new room with a smile, but her thoughts were soon shifted.<em>Her friend Frank had just appeared, the six foot tall bunny rabbit who always seemed just a little too nervous.  Thankfully he never had to walk in through doors, because his little paws weren't capable of working the knobs.  "You're not going to go, are you, Mandy?" he asked with a voice of warning trepidation.</em><br/><br/>"Sure," she replied, her own voice full of smiles and joy.  "Isn't it great that they want to see me again?  They miss me there."<br/><br/><em>"I don't know, Mandy," Frank said, glancing nervously around the room.  With such big eyes on either side of his head, and huge ears that heard everything, Frank never had to worry about people sneaking up on him.  Most people couldn't even see him, but he was always so nervous.  "They held you in the asylum for so long.  What if they try to capture you again?  Besides, what about the Masquerade?"</em><br/><br/>"I'm sane now, remember?" she replied, moving to the mirror to make sure her hair was carefully brushed.  "Daddy had them sign the papers and everything, and besides, my new best friend will help me if anything goes wrong."  She knew Frank only wanted to watch out for her and help keep her safe.  She appreciated his help, even if he did worry too much.<br/><br/><em>"He's not really your best friend, Mandy," Frank said in reply.  "He just thinks he is because he's drunk your blood.  If you ever stop feeding him-"</em><br/><br/>Her irritated reply cut him off.  "He was a mean person before.  Now he's nice.  My blood helped him to be that."  Her voice was raised a little higher than it had to be, but she didn't care.  The walls of her apartment were pretty thick, and if Frank didn't want his big ears to hurt from her shouting, he shouldn't say such mean things.  "You should go away now," she said as she moved for the phone.  "Patrick should be my friend.  Don't I deserve friends?"<br/><br/><em>"I'm sorry, Mandy," Frank replied gently as he faded away once more.</em><br/><br/>It only took a few seconds for her temper to calm down, and she felt bad for being mean to him, but she still felt a little hurt by his words.  It occurred to her a little too late that Frank used to be her best friend, and maybe he was a little hurt by her using the term for someone else.  It was probably best if Frank stayed away for a little while.<br/><br/>She picked up the cell phone from the charger, dialing the number easily enough and bringing the receiver to her ear.  It went to voicemail, but that didn't surprise her.  "Hey, this is Mandy.  I've been sleeping during the day now, so I'll need a room that doesn't have any windows or isn't connected to any so that the sunlight doesn't wake me up.  Lots of stuffed animals will be good as well; they keep me company while I sleep.  Beyond that...I don't know.  Thank you, though."  She slipped the phone back into her purse, taking another peek at the elephant as she went out.  It was time to find out what this SLCIC meeting was all about.