middaeg | [closed] I have heard the mermaids singing, each to each

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[closed] I have heard the mermaids singing, each to each

Who: L Lawliet (Linden Tailor) and Alex Benedetto
When: Evening of 3/30
Where: Out and about, ending up at Alex's place
What: L's living situation is transient at the moment. Mello's crush catches him dozing in public and wants to feed him a hot meal.
Warnings: None planned! Will update if needed.

[Lately, L's routine has settled into something a little more stable and content. He spends time with his one healthy Bonded, but not too much time; in L's experience, the more people get to know him, the more they dislike him. He wants to keep Myr in his life, and so his current approach is careful, steady, back off before you become an intolerable presence to the person who still somehow cares about you.

Mello, rather, is a Bond he deserves... but that's a volatile and complicated situation at the best of times. Better to stay away entirely, for now, and the result is that while L's work and studies are flourishing, finding a reliable place to rest his head is once again difficult. He tends to go until he can't, and then pay for an inn or drop in on Myr, if enough time has passed that it feels like an acceptable imposition, but occasionally, even just taking a moment to take a load off can become a dangerous slip-up.

His form is recognizable even from a distance, slumped slightly on a park bench, perhaps appearing deep in thought at first glance. Closer scrutiny reveals that he is nearly chin-to-chest, dozing.]

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[ Umbrella tucked under her arm, just in case, for rain and defensive purposes, Alex makes her way home from a long shift at the tavern. Things had slowly started to go back to normal--if she knew what that was. But close enough. The paranoia was still there whenever she'd walk home at night, thus the umbrella, so when she sees the hunched figure she raises her makeshift weapon instinctively. Except it doesn't move. Actually, it almost looks like he was..nodding off? Was this person alright?

Alex approaches, umbrella still raised, unit she gets close enough to recognize the man. ]

Linden?

[ The umbrella goes down, and she reaches out, pausing for a moment, before carefully nudging him. ]

Linden? Are you okay?

[One second, L was awake, if exhausted. The next, he was just resting his heavy eyes... and then his head is jerking up, and he's recoiling away from the person who disturbed him before even registering who they are.

Through the disorientation, he makes out that it's Alex, doubtless leaving work. Is Mello still there? Was this his night off? He has goosebumps along his arms, either from the slight nip in the night air or a general feeling of unwellness that has been embedded in his very bones since his early teens, at least.]

Fine...

[His answer is wary and guarded, stiff shoulders raised almost to his ears.]

It's late to be out, isn't it...?

[Pot, meet kettle, and it's not the strongest approach considering the inherent hypocrisy.]

I just finished my shift....Why are you out here and not back home?

[ It may not be winter but it was still chilly, and there was the risk of rain as well. ]

If you need some help, should I call M..?

[L's exhausted brain is still half-asleep. He scrambles just to catch up, never mind remaining about eight steps ahead in this conversation as he'd prefer.]

No.

[His response is quick. Probably too quick, to the point of sounding abrupt. Mello's the last person whose help he needs at the moment, he thinks. With things as messy as they are between them, now... ]

Thank you for your concern. I'll go inside soon.

[But not home, not when there hasn't been a home for a little while now..]

[ It certainly was quick. She's not sure where the hunch is coming from, but she can't help but ask. ]

Inside..where?

[He doesn't have an answer locked and loaded. He probably should have been prepared for moments like this, considering he doesn't exist in a vacuum and the people who care about him have a way of popping out of the woodwork in the moments his control of a situation has left him.]

...an inn, most likely. Home is too far to go, tonight.

[Way too far.]

[ Too far, or not far enough? She looks away a moment, not sure if he'd even say yes. She's probably overstepping again, but she also couldn't just..leave him alone. ]

You..can stay at my place if you'd like. I've got extra rooms.

[He blinks, staring, because... for someone who scarcely knows him, it's a bold offer. It's not so much overstepping as it is reckless, even if the Merrow doesn't find this wan, shabby Witch particularly intimidating.]

Is... that something you'd offer anyone?

[Just so he knows, just so he can judge the risks and potential benefits.]

That's--No, I wouldn't!

[ Even she isn't that careless! Though she can't help but feel embarrassed at him pointing it out . ]

But I know you--

[ Not that well. ]

And you're important to M.

[ So it's just for M? ]

....I..I can't just leave you out here on your own...

[He regards her with some skepticism, because... even for people unaccustomed to forming deep bonds or meaningful connections, they really don't know each other. Not well, not personally, beyond what Mello might have told her.]

If it would ease your conscience to take in a stray... I suppose. But you can't let this get back to him.

[ Would it bother him if Mello knew that he needed help at all? She doesn't ask. Mostly because...Mello would probably want the same thing if it were him. ]

I won't tell him.

[ She holds her hand out, in case he needed it with how groggy he looked. Or maybe that was his constant state of being. ]

[L forgoes taking her hand, but not without a slight, exhausted stumble. He's a lot like Mello, in many ways, and his pride is perhaps the foremost vice they share.]

Thank you.

[If this becomes a debt, it'll doubtless make itself clear in time. He adjusts the bag he carries with him, containing a light traveler's worldly possessions. Some money, a change of clothes, a toothbrush but not a comb. The state of his hair always suggests that he's lacking one in his life.]

If you'd prefer to collect rent [or hush-money], I can pay.

[ Her hand falls back to her side, not pushing it. ]

It's okay, I don't want your money. Let's just get you inside, okay?

[ When he seems steady enough, she'll start to walk. Her pace is slow enough, she hopes.

Should she even ask what he was doing out here? Were things really so bad between him and M that he felt the need to stay out in the cold instead? ]

There are some clothes that should fit you. Though it might be a little loose.

[ A lanky guy like L would be swimming in Worrick's clothes. ]

[He pauses, weighing his choices and the implications of where he's heading both physically and philosophically, before inclining his head in a nod of measured consent. It's difficult to accept help, difficult to say "no" to his own pride when it isn't a paid arrangement acknowledging his own lacking life skills and neuroses.

As he walks alongside her, careful not to fall too far behind, he raises his brows beneath his dark bangs. He's made an inference based on what she's said, and he's concerned it might represent a complication.]

Do you live with someone?

[If there's a chance they might object to her bringing a strange man home, he'd rather know now.]

No, it's just me right now.

[ Her first roommates didn't last very long and...her head lowers a bit at remembering them. ]

You can use either one of the other rooms.

[ After a few minutes of walking, they start to come upon the meager cottage, and Alex only finds something else that seemed safe to talk about now. ]

Have..you eaten?

[That rather raises the stakes. She could be lying, of course... but L doubts it, by her tone and posture. Either Alex sees him as very unthreatening, enough to risk bringing him somewhere she lives by herself because she could fend him off if need be, or she trusts him to the point where she doesn't believe self-defense will be necessary. Perhaps a combination of the two?

He nods his shaggy head briskly, acquiescing to the offer of a room. It's all only temporary, after all. He can suffer just about anything as long as it's temporary, even if it's kind.]

It's been a bit, since.

[More than that, doubtless. He's all angles and bone. A glance or a touch reveals as much very easily.]

[ She can fix him something when they get there, which doesn't take too long. It's nothing extravagant, certainly not as nice as M's home. ]

Do you want to take a bath? I can lend you some clothes that were left here. They..might fit.

[ L would be swimming in them, but at least they're clean? ]

I'll make you some dinner too.

[For someone who was accustomed to the finest luxuries and extravagances back home, it never quite rubbed off on L the way it did on Mello. There's an inherent shabbiness to the man that clings to him persistently, and no amount of opulence can scrub and primp it to the level of one who feels entitled to inhabiting it.

He nods jerkily, slipping out of his boots. His thin feet are sans stockings, chafed and blistered in the places they've knocked about in his stiff leather footwear.]

I'd like that, thanks.

[On all counts. She's being really generous, and though it's certainly his preference, he's not in any place to refuse. He sheds his coat, dropping it atop his boots; it's sloppiness, but contained, at the very least.]

If you think that Mello will stop by, for any reason... you'll let me know?

[Presumably, so he can vanish.]

[ Just how bad was it, she wondered. But she didn't ask out right, not yet. She nods instead, agreeing to his request as shse picks up his coat from the ground.

Alex hangs it from a hook on the wall, then heads into one of the rooms to get some clothes that she thinks might fit him. They wouldn't, but they were better than nothing. ]

If you need anything, just call out, okay?

[ Until then, she'll be working on preparing something quick and simple. As think as he was, Alex figured he must be picky. Heavy meals might not be up his alley. ]

[He doesn't seem to notice her picking up his coat; he's already turned away, eyes scanning over his surroundings to grow as visually familiar with the space as he can. Spaces, boundaries, doors, windows, any room that could conceal an enemy. As she passes him and slips into one such room, he remains in place until she returns with an outfit that will certainly suffice in lieu of the less-than-fresh clothes on his back. He appreciates it, though it's difficult to tell at first with him, until one has grown to know him well enough to decipher his very subtle range of expression.]

I understand...

[Once he's got an idea of where to find the shower, he's off to make use of it, taking more time than is perhaps necessary... but there's a fair amount of grime and ache to wash off. By the time he emerges, in clothes that hang on his lanky frame, he's towel-drying his shaggy hair, barefoot, almost childlike. Contributing to the impression is doubtless his seeming instinctive sense that there's food nearby, that someone has prepared with him in mind specifically.]

[ It's not much that she manages to prepare on such short notice, just some soup and bread. She'll make something more substantial tomorrow.

There was no expectation of the clothes fitting him, but it was still quite a sight. Like a child wearing adults' clothes. ]

At least I didn't have to check on you.

[ A light joke, but she realizes that maybe it wasn't such a good idea to bring up a memory tied to M right now.

Alex pulls back the chair for L, the food already laid out for him on the table. ]

I hope tomato soup is okay with you?

[He doesn't seem to quite know how to react to what she's said; it's obvious enough what it's referencing, of course, but she's correct to identify it as an uncomfortable topic at the very best. He defaults to just nodding stiffly, brushing past her to take a seat at the table. His posture is curled and tucked and appears about as childlike as the way he wears the oversized clothing.

Tomato soup isn't his favorite. It's too close to a vegetable, too savory, too strange given his limited and saccharine sweet palate. But he's starving, and it's not as though tomatoes are without sugar, and dipping the bread makes it better.

Besides, the body has a way of taking over and demanding action when one is this hungry. L's table manners are not the most refined, and as he eats the bread and soup with his hands, it looks like he might be in danger of biting off his fingertips at times.]

[ Alex pulls another chair for herself, sitting quietly with a glass of water as she watches him eat. ]

There's some more if you'd like...

[ When was the last time he ate? ]

[It's... maybe been just a little while. He's the sort who forgets, if there's enough going on, or if something else is gnawing holes in his stomach to the point of distraction.

With his mouth so full, it's a moment before he can answer. He uses the back of his bony hand to wipe some soup away from his lips.]

I don't want to take your dinner.

[But, if she's offering... he looks like he could.]

[ Alex let's out a soft chuckle as she stands to grab the pot. ]

I already ate, don't worry about it.

[ Scooping a ladle full, she pours more of these out onto his bowl. ]

I know we don't know each other all that well, but you don't need to worry about anything. I really just want to do this.

[ But maybe he wouldn't believe her anyway. ]

If you actually want to, as a host, I suppose it would be rude of me to question that or decline.

[A nice little justification for why accepting hospitality is still OK. He'll be continuing to rationalize it in small ways throughout the visit, to the point where Alex might begin to feel mild exasperation at all of it. Like Mello, L has his damages that manifest in small ways nearly constantly, but... also like Mello, he's not without some redeeming and even endearing qualities.

He slurps slightly at his soup when he drinks it, eating a little more carefully and slowly now that the initial desperation of hunger has been eased a bit.]

I've been wondering something. How similar is this world to the one you came from?

[A comfort, maybe, that Mello hasn't even told L that much about her past.]

[ His response gets a good natured scoff and a small smile from Alex as she pours some more soup onto his bowl. She always wondered what went on in M's mind, and she was starting to think the same about Linden.

She's returning the small pot back to the stove when he asks his question. It wasn't one she hasn't been asked before, and certainly one she has inquired about herself with others. ]

They're quite different, I'd say. It's more modern, and way less conservative. Doesn't look anywhere as nice or as safe as here either. If there was anything similar...

[ Her thoughts drift towards the infected that lived outside the city. ]

The way the monsters and the people living outside the walls are treated-- that, but have them blocked within the city instead. It's not like the best lot were living in there to begin with, but...there's a certain group of people that gets treated the worst. And for something they can't really help.

[ She returns to her seat, hands circling around her cup once again. ]

What..was it like for you in your world?

[In some ways, what goes on in the two men's minds are exactly the same; in other ways they are perfect opposites, and not complementary ones. In fact, it seems to tax L rather than revitalize him or give him purpose in his life.]

So segregation exists in your world, too. What do the people who get treated the worst have in common, that they can't help?

[He murmurs it, taking longer breaks between bites because he's no longer so ravenously famished.

As with all questions about himself and his life, he answers carefully.]

There aren't any nonhuman monsters where Mello and I are from. The technology is more modern, though... not so much as what some have reported using in their pre-mirror lives. Magic exists in stories, but... only clever illusions, in reality. There are countries, with... governments, and law enforcement, and criminals, and they're always at war with one another.

[L didn't actually answer the question, about what life was like for him, specifically. Maybe by design.]

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[closed] I have heard the mermaids singing, each to each

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