MercuryxReese [[Livvia//Kage]]

[Kage]

Rated: PG-13 (just in case)
No promises. If it gets too
bad we'll be sure
to move it to pms
=3

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If there were three things that the girl was sure about, it were these:
Thunderstorms, thunder, lightning, heavy winds, hail, and ominous clouds were only one of her fears; she would probably die without her electric and acoustic guitars not by her side, or in a place she knew they were safe; and that she was a Narcoleptic, yet nocturnal, human being. Oh, and she was afraid of the dark because her eyes played tricks and made her see things-- like that time when she looked into her closet from lying in her bed and could have sworn she'd seen a man standing there when it was really only her jacket-- but that's besides the point and that would make four things that she was positive about when clearly only three were needed.
Anyways.

Not the best mixture of emotions and personality, right?
Well her boss certainly didn't think so. You see, the girl worked at a small cafe in the middle of town that happened to get a lot of visitors in and out of the shop, mainly during the day and night shifts. The girl had the late morning shift starting at 10a.m. and ended at 5:30p.m. She didn't complain about the hours, because she got payed well, but her boss, Mr. Jacobson, insisted that she take regular breaks ever hour or two, to keep from falling asleep. He was a kind, portly man that loved his employees like his own children (both of which were off being Juniors in college out of state). He particularly liked Reese, despite her disorder. The kind man comes out of his office every hour on the hour to make her take a break and actually go back into the workers' break room and take a legit ten to fifteen minute name (he liked to read up on new things, and found that this was helpful with many Narcolepsy cases, thus put it into effect). Reese didn't protest, as it was her boss, and also because she knew he was just looking out for her, even though she usually staked it out pretty well during her shifts. She had to admit though, the short breaks every hour or so did keep her from falling asleep and hurting herself on the job. She didn't want to wake up feeling refreshed (like always after a sleeping spell) only to find that her face was burning in a hot mocha cappuccino or something like that.

Now there she stood with her nice black button-up dress shirt and black slacks and shoes on with the green apron on over it, simply leaning the small of her back and rear against the counter. It was a slow, quiet day it seemed, the cafe's only company that early afternoon being a lone college student, working on what looked like an essay or research paper on his laptop. Occasionally Reese stepped over to the older man and asked if he needed anything, his reply usually another coffee or even just a little cup of water, and she kindly enough brought it over and was tipped out of kindness. That was just the kind of place it was. The shop, known as 'The Lazy Days Cafe,' was between two other buildings in the slightly less than busy little city-town. It was too small to be a city, but too big to be a town, so most people mushed the words together to describe the area.
The college, best in the area and with the most awards for successful students and teachers, was just about half a mile around the corner from Jameson Street, where The Lazy Days Cafe resided between a hair salon and an insurance business. The dorms were a bit farther from their street, but they weren't so ridiculous that college students didn't want to walk around the city-town every now and then on nice warm days like, say, today. Of course, today was Saturday and the students probably had much better things to do, like go to parties, sleep in really late, or even the many (but seemingly so few) good-working students that did their homework.

Yup... it was just a simple, quiet, yet very productive area to live at, and Reese was just find with that. Simple and quiet.

The girl, her features sharp around the eyes and mouth, yet very soft around her actual face, looked around in slight boredom, her blood red eyes seemingly always in that low cast, even in other moods (despite surprised or sad, and other dramatic nonsense). She was a bit shorter than average girls, but for that she blamed her Italian heritage, as well as her German for her love of meat and attitude (though Italian temper was also a part of that as well).
Anyways....
The girl leaned over slightly and lifted her left index finger under a small nozzle and lightly tapped a deep blue button on a machine with her right hand's index finger, a little fluff of whip-cream coming out. She brought it to her mouth and closed her lips around it, canines visibly somewhat sharper than a normal persons would be (of course, there were other people with these features, it wasn't too rare). If someone had to use a word to describe the girl it would most definitely had to be 'Wolfish'.

Every few minutes she continued the process without punishment. Reese tried to eat very lightly, as eating heavy meals would no doubt make her collapse. Even though she'd taken her Provigil pill this morning before work to prevent sleeping spells from happening too often, there was still consequences that the pill would overlook and probably not prevent. Like the heavy eating.

With a small, slow glance at the clock off to the side of the shop, the girl turned on her heel and lifted a small hand in wave towards Mr. Jacobson, who had- as always on the dot of every hour- come out from his office to check up on things.

"It's a slow day, isn't it?" He commented lightly, keeping his voice soft, as to not disturb the student sitting across the room, who had seemed to have just gotten a light-bulb over his head, his fingers flying against the keyboard.

"So it seems, yes," Reese replied steadily, folding her fingers together and then putting them against the back of her neck. "It's nice."

"Why yes it is, isn't it..." The portly man agreed with a short nod of his head, his black hair still thick on his dome, as he wasn't any older than forty-five.

"Mm.... Since it's 1:25 already, would you mind if I stepped out to get lunch?" Reese looked up at the man and blinked, her eyes wondering.

"Oh of course, I'll watch the shop since you're the only one working today. Take your time." The man insisted and waved a hand at the door.

"I won't take long, I promise. You know I'm not out any longer than an hour." Reese untied the apron and folded it against the back counter and slipped under the little door against the side of the front counter. "I'll be back soon, Mr. Jacobson." The wolfish girl murmured, stepped out of the door and turning left, walking down the sidewalk at her own steady pace.

It wasn't hot out, far from it, it was actually pretty cool outside at the moment, as winter was soon on its way, but it wasn't too cool that it was uncomfortable for the girl, especially with her dark colored work clothes on (the logo for the Cafe sewn into the left side of her shirt in swirly green letters). She didn't really feel like eating much anyways, she just thought that maybe she'd go for a walk for a while, and that Mr. Jacobson knew that from the start. A few people were out on the sidewalks as well, but they were either on the other side, or far from where Reese was walking, so she paid no mind to them, her eyes only forward, or occasionally looking at the ground. To be honest with herself, maybe a lap around the block would be good enough... or maybe she'd go down Keeber's lane and look through that one 'Hippie' store with all the handmade necklaces and little or even big statues and signs. Once she'd found a neat little glass heart thing that came in two pieces that would be meant to give one half to someone special, but she didn't have anyone like that besides her father, whom at the moment was overseas on business with the government. Or maybe she'd just go to the park and sit on the bench for a while.... Yeah, actually, that sounded pretty nice.

When the girl stopped she pressed the little button on the lamp post and waited for the little red hand across the street to switch to a white stick-man sign, signaling that she could cross the road. However, there were cars moving along the city-town roads more than people were, and although it wasn't busy, she'd probably still be standing there for a bit.... Or... she could just quickly walk across when she thought she'd seen no cars, but she didn't feel like it. She wanted to take her time today... it was just one of those slow, lazy days.

[Livvia]

There was something about moving to a new place that was comforting, yet at the same time terrifying. It was a start-over. Somewhere no one knew you, the possibilities endless. At the same time, however, there was no familiarity. Nothing to cling to for comfort, aside from that which you brought from your old life. Mercury's only comfort happened to be his family, and his music. He was a music addict, a trait his siblings seemed to share. He couldn't last more than an hour without at least humming something. In his old town, this hadn't been an issue. He'd gone to a school specializing in cultivating the musical prowess of particularly gifted individuals, graduating with what basically equated to top honors. His twin brother had his own skills, but lacked a certain ability to concentrate for longer than 30 minutes affected his school work noticeably. Their sister had similar issues, though no where near as sever. No, Dori tended to be an issue all of her own.

Thinking about it, a smile came to the ginger boy's mouth. She'd kicked and fussed, being uprooted. The boy's hadn't fought it at all; they'd be leaving for college soon, anyway. But Dori? She couldn't seem to get past the idea of leaving her best friend. At one point, she even suggested she stay behind to finish her highschool career at the school she so loved. As it happened, they're father was still considering it. Sending her back would give them all some peace in the home, and would make her happy.

Mercury wasn't sure what would make him happy, though. They had a nice enough house, just near the edge of town. They certainly had no reason to complain. Mercury was set to take extra music lessons in the evenings from the local university, so he wouldn't lose any practice or skill. But what else was there? He didn't know anyone outside his twin and sister -- whom he loved, sure, but weren't entirely enough. He craved an outlet. He had music, yes, but what good was that if you had no one to share it with? These thoughts had weighed heavily on him from the moment they'd moved in, weeks ago. Practicing at home alone drove him crazy, almost to the point where, finally, he'd had enough. Grabbing the first instrument he saw -- his old acoustic guitar, which happen to be his last remaining reminder of his late mother -- he headed out the door, his brother watching him go with a furrowed brow. He didn't know where he was going, and honestly didn't care. He just needed out. He needed to see other people. He needed a stage, even if it was makeshift.

The streets were easy enough to navigate. His treks to the college helped him remember the way, though he had no hope of remember the street names. He got one or two looks as he went, but most people seemed to find it normal for a guy around his age to be strolling along with a guitar case in tow. He had a look of determination on his face. He needed to do this. He needed to do something

He came upon the park in no time, breathing in deeply in preparation. There seemed to be plenty of bodies milling around, though not too many. At least they were actual, legit people. No one who looked like him, or had obnoxiously pink hair in sight. It was refreshing on so many levels. A smile caught itself on his face, not budging in the least as he found a park bench that seemed to be situated well enough and opened his ancient looking guitar case, pulling out his beloved instrument and his favorite ivory pick and closing the case. Less then ten seconds of tuning later and he was ready, scanning through the vast library of songs he had filed away in his mind. As soon as he found one he liked, he began strumming, the sound rippling through the park.

"Hey, girl, you know you drive me crazy
one look puts the rhythm in my hand.
Still I'll never understand why you hang around
I see what's going down.

"Cover up with makeup in the mirror
tell yourself, it's never gonna happen again
You cry alone and then he swears he loves you.

"Do you feel like a man when you push her around?
Do you feel better now as she falls to the ground?
Well I'll tell you my friend, one day this world's going to end
as your lies crumble down, a new life she has found..."

[Kage]

By the time the girl had gotten just a little more than halfway to the park she began to hear little lyrics in the air. It might have just been her imagination at first, and at this she feared she might faint from a sleeping spell, but the nearer she got to the park, the louder and clearer they became. Unfortunately, by the time she'd reached the actual park the song was over, and she went on her way towards one of the benches that she normally sat at whenever she came to the area.

Of course... she usually sat alone, and found it slightly more than unusual to see a stranger sitting on the bench with a guitar in his hands. Acoustic, pretty old by the looks of it, but spruced up just like new. Oh there she went- figuring out and able to name types of guitars just by a glance. Really now... she needed a new hobby (besides the other two she had, drawing and playing guitar herself).

Reese contemplated moving to a different bench, but with a short sigh she went against the idea after all, ending up at the bench where the red-headed boy was sitting with his instrument. The girl crossed her right leg over her left knee and took her earphones out of her left pocket, putting them in her ears and leaning against the back of the bench. She pulled out the I-pod and flicked her left thumb against the screen, scrolling through the songs with a nonchalant stare on her face. When a song was picked she put it back in her pocket and folded her hands against her stomach and closed her eyes, breathing in a deep breath through her nose before giving a sigh.

Maybe she did need to actually take her own breaks like this every day... like Mr. Jacobson had been erging her to do for lunch-break. Meh... she'd think about it.

The copper-haired girl opened her eyes slowly, their stare low as was usual, and gave a quick glance to her right, seeing if the other was on the other side of the bench. He was. She cast her gaze forward instead, and remained on the far side of the left side of the bench, listening to her music.

[Livvia]

He kept his eyes scanning the park throughout the song, tracking the other people's reactions. Most of the passers by seemed to be enjoying it, some of them looking like they were mouthing along the lyrics. He'd done well, picking a song that happened to have been fairly popular. He still had it. The song soon ended and Mercury couldn't have been feeling better. This really was all he needed. Getting out of the house, seeing people, playing music. It seemed ridiculous how happy and at peace it made him.

He was just then smiling to himself when he found himself no longer alone on the bench. He didn't mind, not in the least. He even thought maybe he'd finally have someone to talk to -- until the girl unceremoniously stuck a pair of headphones in her ear. Well then, he thought. There goes that possibility. Shrugging to himself, he looked down at his guitar and plucked a few strings, losing himself for the moment in the random, yet sweet, melody.

He didn't stop until, quite suddenly, the world became dimmer. Looking up, he realized it was nothing more than clouds rolling in front of the sun, but that didn't change the worried line of his brow. The clouds were dark, vast, and rolling in fast. Even as he watched, he could feel drops hit his arm. "Crap," he muttered, reaching down to put his instrument into it's protective case as fast as he could, sticking the ivory pick in his mouth until he had everything else stowed away. The last thing he needed was his mother's memory being ruined by the rain.

[Kage]

Reese was just about to check the time on her cellphone when a small blip appeared on her screen. The girl stared at it like it was a demon rising from hell. Her dark eyes slowly slid upward, to stare at the sky, hoping, praying that they were simply light gray, normal rain clouds. They weren't. The girl ripped the earphones from her ears and wrapped them up, stuffing them and the I-pod back into her pocket before just sitting there, paralyzed and unknowing of what to do. She wouldn't be able to make it back to the cafe, that was for sure.

Her form began to shiver slightly, a panic attack creeping along her muscles as she lifted her right fist to her mouth, trying to figure out what to do. The rain had in fact started to pick up, and just as she was about to bolt for it (in an attempt to make it back to her job, even though she knew she wouldn't make it) when a white light flashed across the sky and made her freeze up. Her red eyes were immediately scrunched up and she clapped her hands tight over her ears as the loud boom of thunder followed the lightning. The girl leaned her torso forward, both her feet touching the ground while he continued to sit against the bench, with her forehead against her knees.

This wasn't happening- she wasn't outside during a thunderstorm-- no, God yes she was!! She was outside, frozen with fear and unable to move, her body quivering as she tried to keep herself from falling asleep out of anxiety. She was outside where, yes, it could hurt her- and not in the little cafe where she would sit in the break room and quiver in fear by herself with her music blasting in her ears while she waited out the storm. She was out in the open, alone in the park, drenched in rain and surrounded by her worst fear ever.

[Livvia]

The rain was coming down harder by the time Mercury stood up and started to leave. He probably would have run home to get out of it if, out of the corner of his eye, he hadn't seen the girl he'd been sitting beside just as she began curling in on herself. The action was too familiar. He'd seen the same look on his brother's face so many times over the years -- when he was afraid of the dark, monsters in his closet, storms like this one, even after their mother's death when he became worried that her ghost would haunt him. Had it not been for the memory of how hard it had been for his brother to overcome all that, he likely wouldn't have thought twice about it -- but the girl seemed terrified. He could even just see her shaking. Abandoning thoughts of heading straight home, he walked back to crouch in front of the woman, placing his hand that wasn't sporting the guitar case on her shoulder.

"Are you ok?" He cooed, trying to calm her. "Come on, you'll catch a cold if you stay out here." He offered her an understanding smile and his hand to help her stand up. A bolt of thunder sounded, making his eyes flash toward the sky before returning to the poor girl before him.

[Kage]

The copper-haired girl's body jerked at the touch against her shoulder, giving a small gasp. She stared forward at the red-haired boy kneeling in front of her with wide, terrified eyes. When the thunder sounded she leaned back and quickly bolted upright, clinging to the boy's side without warning. Her fingers twitched against the fabric of his shirt as she held onto it, her eyes scrunched shut tightly. This was insane, she didn't even know this boy and yet she was holding onto him like he was her only protection. In a way, he seemed to be... in her mind. God forbid he was a creeper or something.
No- he didn't strike her as one.

Reese's form shook violently against this stranger's side until she forced herself to pull away, lifting her trembling hands. "I'm sorry, forg-g-give me... I-I'm not u-usually l-l-like this around complete str-strangers," the girl started, cut off by a rather loud crack of lightning whipping across the darkened sky. "Eee--!!" The girl clapped her hands against her ears and took a step back, her torso leaning forward, shoulders hunched slightly. She froze, trembling like an earthquake as she stood there in fear.

[Livvia]

In all honesty, it came as no surprise to Mercury when the girl clung to him. He'd seen it plenty of times with Marcus; it seemed to be a simple natural reaction, to him. "It's ok," he murmured, frowning when she stepped away. The next clap struck and she seemed to recoil.

"Storms can be scary," He reasoned, stepping forward to put a hand on her arm, as if to reassure her. "Let me help you," He urged, unable to stand the thought of seeing someone so terrified dealing with this alone. "I won't hurt you. I promise. I just want to help." He tried to get a look at her face, concerned. He knew it was crazy to expect her to trust him, but he couldn't just let her be. He wasn't wired that way. She was scared and alone. He'd grown up with a constant companion; the thought of being all alone scared him deeply. He couldn't imagine letting someone else go through that.

[Kage]

Drenched, scared half to death, and completely vulnerable outside, the girl didn't hesitate when another rolling rumble of thunder broke the sound barrier. She immediately clung to the orange-haired boy for dear life, shaking like a rattle. That was her only response to his offer to help. Her red eyes had tears running down from the corners of her eyes, but they were mixed with the heavy rain. Reese teeth clicked together from the immense shivering from fear, as well as the cold. She couldn't protest help now... because she knew she needed it. Bad.

However, things were different back in The Lazy Days Cafe, where Mr. Jacobson was in his office nonchalantly rummaging through paperwork. The wolfish girl's boss hadn't exactly realized that she was still missing, let alone out in a storm. He had assumed she'd either gone home or taken refuge in a store she knew. Still, the thought of her having to deal with such a fear all alone made his heart ache with worry for the girl. He would call her when the storm was over, no matter how much he wanted to call her now, to make sure she was okay. The man looked up from his papers and stared out the window in his office, a concerned look on his face as he stared at the down pouring rain. He hoped she wasn't dealing with it all alone... like she normally did.

[Livvia]

He took the girl's sudden clinginess as her agreeing, his free arm wrapping around her shoulder protectively to guide her. It wasn't like he had much choice -- well, in theory he could just walk away, but he would never ACTUALLY let himself do such a thing. Once out of the park, he started wracking his brain for somewhere they could go. His house as certainly too far away. The university wasn't all that close at all, and otherwise likely wouldn't permit them to enter, as there were no classes and he, for one, was hardly a student. There were stores near by, but if his instinct was any good, most would be too crowded and not likely to help the poor girl in the least. Frantically, his eyes scanned the nearby buildings until, gratefully, they fell on what could be the pair's only hope.

The warehouse was large and obviously out of use. Luckily for them, though, the former owners had neglected to properly lock it up. Mercury let go of the girl for only the moment's time it took to kick the door open, the feeble and rusted lock breaking with ease. "In here," He murmured in her ear, swiftly pulling her inside. He took a second to lead her to what seemed to be a large metal box, urging her to sit as he put his guitar case down, before looking around the dim, vast room. It was mostly empty, but dry. He resigned himself to the temporary security of it before taking a seat beside the girl and rubbing her back comfortingly as he always had for his brother and sister when they were upset. "Better?"

[Kage]

At the sound of the others voice right next to her ear, the girl didn't respond with anything more than her feet allowing her to be lead through the abandoned warehouse (normally they would have been plastered to the floor). It occurred to the girl that she hadn't even caught this perfect stranger's name, but she couldn't work up the nerve to ask, her hands still against her ears to attempt to block out the loud thunder from outside, and her red eyes shut as to not see the lightning.

It might have been from gratitude, or it might have been from the anxiety gnawing at her chest, but as soon as she felt the boy's hand on her back the girl clocked out. He head dropped forward, but even though a sleeping spell had been thrown over her like a blanket, her body remained shivering violently... as the fear was still there. And she was near freezing to death, as she assumed the other might have been, as it was still almost-Winter weather outside, and they were both beyond soaking wet with rainwater. She would surely catch a cold, or worse, the flu.

[Livvia]

It took the ginger a moment to realize that the girl's head slumping forward actually, most likely, was not a good sign in the least. She was shivering heavily, but didn't seem to respond beyond that when he gave her a light shake. "Fuck," He muttered, shifting so he could lift her head and look at her face. She certainly wasn't awake. Not dead. The shaking wasn't violent enough to be a seizure. What actually WAS wrong, however, he couldn't be sure in the least. All he knew was that it wasn't good.

After a moment's consideration, he stood back up and picked up his guitar case, putting it at one end of the long metal box the girl still sat on. Careful as he could manage, he rearranged the girl so she was laying with her head on the case as if it were a pillow. She still seemed to be shaking, though, which worried him, but all he could do was bite his lip and wait, wondering at what point calling a hospital would be necessary...

[Kage]

Surprisingly it was a rather short attack, and the copper-haired girl bolted upright after a measly six minutes. She looked forward with wide, scared red eyes and brought her hands back up to her ears, her eyes tearing up again as the wind howled against the unoccupied building they were taking shelter in. "Y-y-you don't t-think there-there'll b-b-b-be a-a t-t-t-torna-a-ado.... do you?" She suddenly turned towards the orange-haired boy and stared at him with a quivering bottom lip.

"..... I-I-I d-didn't e-even ge-get y-you're n-n-name....." She stuttered, teeth clicking with the shivers of fear that tore up her body in courses now. They would stop for a moment, but the cold kept her shivering, and then the more violent shivers would start again, fueled by the fear.

[Livvia]

He'd be lying if he said that the girl suddenly popping back up didn't make him jump. It was just so sudden, he supposed. She was still just as upset as she was before she seemed to faint. Mercury wasn't sure if he was supposed to acknowledge it or what, but the girl seemed to have other things on her mind. "I don't think there would be," Mercury said thoughtfully, using his hand to shake some of the water left in his hair out. Seeing her shivering, he moved to sit beside her, pulling her into his arms without hesitation.

"I'm Mercury," He said gently beside her ear, as if it might help calm her. "Mercury Selwyn. I'm... new in town." Rubbing her arm to start up a little friction, hopefully to warm her up, he swept his eyes over the rest of the vast, empty room. "What about you? Have a name?"

[Kage]

The girl only nodded when he spoke those somewhat reassuring words, her fingers clenching the fabric of her pants. When he moved closer she instantly felt the little bit of heat their bodies were trying to share with each other, and though it was small, it was still something in the freezing weather.

"I-I'm Reese," She murmured quietly passed her shivering form. "Reese Revned. S'-s'nice t-to me-meet you.... M-Mercury," Reese stuttered. Such a pretty name, she thought to herself, Mercury.... She wondered for a moment if it had been a family name, but turned against such an idea with a small shake of her head. She saw the water droplets form at the ends of the strands and drip off to the floor.