Log; Ongoing

[scruffy-fellow.livejournal.com]

When; January 21st (morning)
Rating; PG (possibly PG-13)
Characters; Meryl Stryfe (inyourbusiness) and Livio the Doublefang (scruffy_fellow)
Summary; Livio has recently returned to the City after a three-week-long absence, but he doesn't remember anything about his time there, including his relationship with Meryl, who then comes to find him since he has no idea where he is.
Log;

He couldn't stop pacing.

It was wrong, walking back and forth like this--or, perhaps more accurately, it wasn't helping anything. Livio frowned at his slip, remembering. After years of discipline and training, of being punished for something as harmless as fidgeting (operatives were supposed to be in control at all times), it was hard to break as completely as he might want from that kind of mindset. He thought he'd done a pretty good job so far, but there would probably always be some things that nettled him. His current edginess, however, had nothing to do with that.

It was perfectly natural to be nervous in an environment one did not recognize, but in Livio's case, that anxiety was compounded by the fact that he had been here before. He just couldn't remember, and comments like Crimsonnail's certainly hadn't helped. He stopped a moment, jaw tight. The bitch had probably lied to him--but how could he know for sure? There was no way in hell he was going to ask Elendira, but...

Shoving his hands in his pockets, Livio resumed pacing, deciding to ask Meryl when she got here. Vash had answered several of his questions already, but there was more he needed to know. Such as: what he had done the last time he was here, what he had known prior to leaving, and what exactly others knew about him.

It was the only way he'd be able to live here without memories of his own.

Comments

[inyourbusiness.livejournal.com]

She had been more upset than she ever would have liked to admit over his departure. Meryl Stryfe, a woman who swore herself away from such things even as Vash insisted that even it could happen to her, had been more devastated, even, than she would ever admit to even herself. So to have Livio back was a guilty relief. Just as she'd come to accept his departure as a blessing for him; just as she'd come to terms that he was at least away from it all in the City, he was back.

And clueless about everything. That was a blessing and equally devastating, and Meryl told herself it was ridiculous. It wasn't like they were married, for the love of God, so why was she so upset? Yes, Meryl, because demeaning the issue is the way to handle things.

Stuffing her hands in her jacket pockets, Meryl came to a stop just about ten feet away from him, and watched under lengthened bangs at him. She reminded herself she should probably cut her hair, but the moment she did, someone would say something, and Meryl would make an issue of it. She had too bad a temper about certain things, really.

"Hey," she greeted with a small smile and squint of her eyes. Casual, casual...

[scruffy-fellow.livejournal.com]

After several minutes of walking to and fro, Livio paused, listening for a moment. And then he noticed it. Tick, tock...tick, tock... How had he not noticed that before? It was obnoxious. Still, he had been distracted.

He rubbed his eyes and sighed, feeling strangely...decrepit. Not literally, of course, since he was fine physically. Mentally, though--that worried him. Not being able to remember things he had done was particularly disturbing to him simply because it was something he had experienced a number of times, all of which had ended up with something bad happening. It made him feel sick to his stomach just thinking about it...

Someone was coming.

He schooled his expression quickly and turned, his stomach loosening slightly as he caught sight of Meryl. Dammit, he was tense. Still, he managed a smile in response as she walked up to him.

"Hey," he echoed her greeting. "Thanks for coming." He hesitated, then, feeling decidedly...awkward with this situation, though he wasn't sure why. "So, um...where is this," he gesture vaguely, "exactly?"

[inyourbusiness.livejournal.com]

"The City," Meryl replied, after a swallow to keep herself calm. How badly that she kind of wanted to hug him now that she was looking at him, but she was chastising herself. She promised herself not to let on to whatever small things had happened; she wasn't going to make him feel obligated.

"The City, no other name. It seems kind of like a world between worlds." The short brunette rubbed at the back of her neck, before pushing at a couple of locks of hair. "There's no real way to leave."

Her dark eyes squinted as she studied him. He looked well, albeit confused. "Were you hurt when you got here?"

[scruffy-fellow.livejournal.com]

Well, that wasn't quite the answer he'd been, uh...looking for. Vash had already filled him in on stuff about the City. What he really wanted to know where they were in the City...but he supposed they'd get to that.

His smile grew a bit tighter near the end of her explanation. "No real way to leave," huh? Then how the hell did I leave and come back, dammit? he wondered, hiding his frustration as best he could. It wouldn't be fair to shove all his insecurities off on her.

Of course, he wasn't aware he'd already done that, not so long ago.

"No..." he said, his eyes softening a little at her question. "I landed a bit hard initially, but other than that, I'm fine, just..." he searched for an appropriate word, "disoriented..."

...and wondering why the hell I can't remember anything about being here before, he finished silently.

"So...where in the City is this?" he asked, somewhat hesitantly. This was so...awkward. Why was this so damned awkward? Sure, he and Meryl hadn't exactly been close buddies before all the fighting had started back home, but she was an acquaintance of Vash's. That made them friends by default--sort of. So why was this feel so odd?

[inyourbusiness.livejournal.com]

It was awkward. It was intensely awkward, but for Meryl, it was because she knew. And it was so ridiculous, she would insist it time and time again. A few dates and a little dancing hardly constituted this anxiety.

Grasping her hands behind her back, Meryl rocked on her feet a little. A small spike of residual pain from a month worth of injury in her knee. "This is the City square, it's... the almost-center of the City. The carousel is the actual center."

She paused to regard him a moment longer. Should she take him to Vash? It probably looked awkward for him, who didn't remember his time in the City, considering they were acquaintances at best back home. "You'll really get adjusted in time, Livio. Promise."

[scruffy-fellow.livejournal.com]

The almost-center of the City... he mused, his shoulders slightly hunched, hands in pockets. Yes...that seemed right. He should have known that was where he'd arrived. It just...made sense that he would end up here.

Strange...

After a moment of thoughtful silence, he answered. "Yeah...I think I will." A small smile touched his lips, this one more genuine than the last. "I've done it before, after all. I can do it again."