InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "She turned me into a newt!"

Meg Bennett (dont_need_a_man) wrote in colligo_threads,
@ 2010-04-16 14:19:00

Entry tags:

meg bennett, nick cutter

Needing a walk
WHO: Meg Bennett, and Nick Cutter
WHAT: Meg has been having horrible nightmares, perhaps resorting to something a little more sane and a lot less brass would be the best way.
WHEN: A few days after her arrival, but before this.
WHERE: Starting in front of building C.
RATING: TBA.
STATUS: in complete

She didn't want to change, more because she was afraid she would be up for good if she did, but partially because she wasn't quite sure about the breeches she had in her closet. She had tried on a few pair but they were so... Form fitting. They left noting to the imagination, and felt quite wrong. She only hoped Nick didn't mind that she remained in her pajamas, it wasn't as if she were wholly indecent. Only her arms were bare, her throat no more so than any gown she'd ever worn. She was dressed in a pale blue camisole, and a pair of loose cotton pants that were decorated with clouds, she wore the same shoes she'd arrived in.

She wondered if she'd know him on sight. She was sure no other woman stood in front of the building she could see that plainly. Her hands ran over the top of her head, she hadn't bothered to check the mirror to see how much damage her tossing and turning had done to her braids. When she encountered all the curls that had escaped she sighed in frustration, she wasn't the sort of girl to really care about her looks, but she didn't want this man to think she was nothing more than a ragamuffin. Quickly her fingers pulled the bands holding the pigtails in place out, and dashed through the plaits forcing them out as quick as she could manage.

Satisfied she didn't look as mental as she had moments ago, she rest herself against the wall, beside the doors. She crossed her arms over her chest, and wondered briefly if he would think she was indecent. Her fingers rubbed over her bare arms, there wasn't as much chill as there would have been back home, but there was enough that she longed for her cloak.

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specialised
2010-04-18 05:32 am UTC (link)

Meg seemed like a kind young woman. Nick couldn't say much more, because he really didn't know her well enough yet, but he was fond of her. It seemed like she had been through a lot in her life, and it spoke to a protective instinct in him. The instinct that led him to look out for Abby and Connor, and that had him offering his sofa to Stephen. Part of him didn't want to leave, in case the younger man had a nightmare, but he couldn't hover over Stephen forever. And Meg needed someone right now. He didn't want her wandering alone at night, and he wasn't going to fall asleep again tonight. May as well do something.

He didn't think Meg would appreciate him coming to meet her in his vest and pants, in fact it would likely scandalise her and send her running off screaming, so he grabbed a pair of jeans from beside his bed and pulled them on along with a pair of boots. He knew he hardly looked presentable, and Jenny probably would have cringed at the sight of him, but he got the sense that Meg wouldn't really care how he dressed. Besides, it was late. And they were going to the mall, not to the opera. Casual clothes were just fine as far as he was concerned.

It took him a little while to find Building C, he was surprisingly hopeless when it came to maps and he usually just let Stephen figure it out. Once there, he spotted the girl and gave her a small but warm smile. "Meg?" he questioned, just in case it was some other girl wandering at night.

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dont_need_a_man
2010-04-18 07:04 pm UTC (link)

She was beginning to think the whole thing was perhaps a bad idea. She didn't want one of her new acquaintances to think ill of her. She didn't want Guy to think ill of her either. No, no, she couldn't care about that. When had the thoughts of others ever plagued her? Never, and she wasn't about to start today. Shaking her head she flung the thoughts away, lack of sleep was starting to turn her into a loon.

She couldn't make heads nor tails of the map either, and she hadn't begun to wander the city just yet, sticking close to home she explored what was close to her. His voice penetrated her mixed up foggy thoughts, he had a brogue that made her a touch home sick. Yet she couldn't keep the smile away if she had wanted to. "Nick." Her accent was thick, not really all that refined, but she would never consider herself refined.

Leaning away from the building did her best at a curtsy without a skirt, her ankles crossed, knees bent just slightly, dipping her head so that her chin nearly touched her chest. The fabric of her breeches tugged out from her skin.

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specialised
2010-04-18 08:45 pm UTC (link)

Nick couldn't help but smile. There was just something about the girl that awoke protective instincts inside him. She was so young, but there was something older too and he thought that she might, perhaps, understand him. He didn't doubt she avoided sleep for the same reasons he did, and he felt a kinship there. He'd have to make sure Stephen met her properly.

"Milady," he said in a teasing tone at the curtsy, bowing in return. It was a little ridiculous, but he couldn't bring himself to care. It was hardly as if anyone was around to see him make a fool of himself, and he doubted Meg would judge him. She didn't seem the sort. "So," he continued, "what brings you out here on this lovely evening?" Even though they both already knew. She could answer truthfully or lie as it suited her. He didn't mind.

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dont_need_a_man
2010-04-18 09:28 pm UTC (link)

She knew when she was being teased. In an almost childish, and very unladylike, gesture she stuck her tongue out at him once she straightened. "Don't tease, I don't know what's proper here." Giving a playful swat on his shoulder when he straightened. She didn't know what it was about this man, but she felt instantly at ease with him. She felt no harm in being as bold as brass, slipping her arm through his weather or not it was offered, as if they were bosom buddies already and they had known one another for a life time, she wasn't shy in the very least.

With a glance skyward she frowned, at his question. "I would say the stars, but oddly enough I don't see any." They both knew the truth, but she wasn't quite ready to talk about her dream just yet. "I hope you don't mind my state of dress... I was afraid to put on those odd breeches they have, they cling in the most inappropriate places..." She glanced down at what he was wearing...Oh... he wore those breeches. "On a woman that is." She retracted quickly. "And I haven't finished mending my gown yet. Honestly they can repair a mortal wound but they couldn't darn a hole." Curiosity got the best of her, but she wouldn't ask... Not until he offered, yet she couldn't keep her eyes for searching for some indention to where this "bullet" could have gone in.

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specialised
2010-05-08 03:20 pm UTC (link)

Nick stuck his tongue out in return, in an equally childish gesture, then smiled fondly at the girl. In some ways, she reminded him of Abby, and it awakened a sort of paternal instinct in him. "I wasn't teasing," he insisted. "Not much, anyway. And don't worry about what's proper here. Just be yourself. I happen to find it endearing." He allowed her to slip her arm through his as they walked along, and glanced up at the sky thoughtfully. "That's the thing about modern cities," he said after a moment. "With all the artificial lights, it's hard to see the stars."

He personally didn't see anything wrong with her clothes, and he patted her hand gently. "It makes sense that you would be uncomfortable with some elements of this time, Meg," he assured her. "It's impressive that you've adapted as easily as you have." He caught he glancing at him, and had a fair idea of what she was curious about. "You want to see?" he asked. It was only natural, given her curiosity about bullets.

Nobody was around but her, so he calmly released her arm and lifted the edge of his shirt so that she could see where the bullet had gone in. It didn't feel strange or uncomfortable, and there wasn't anything inappropriate about it, though there could have been with someone else. "They're worse coming out," he explained, turning his back to her and lifting his shirt again. His back was a mess of scarring, and he didn't let her look very long before he pulled his shirt back down. "And that's what a bullet does."

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dont_need_a_man
2010-05-09 06:43 am UTC (link)

She couldn't help but laugh when he returned the gesture. Never before had a man indulged in her childishness, it was a good laugh. Her face turned up skyward, as it spilled from her. "Oh do you now?" Her dark brows arching as her chuckles rumbled into her words. Normally she wouldn't have shown a man such pleasantries if this had been in her time, she'd had a deep dislike for the lot. Though if Nick had been there, she was sure she wouldn't have hated them so. When he mentioned the lights being the reason for no stars. She shook her head. "How can anyone tell where they're going?"

"Well it was a bit confusing, and I thank God that I know how to read and write or I would have been utterly lost. But it wasn't too hard Marian helped me a little before she got too uncomfortable and had to leave. She showed me the important parts of my flat." The bathroom was the best feature she by far, but she didn't tell him that. She colored just a little when he caught her curious eyes, rather than word her want she simply nodded.

She was surprised the in hole was so neat, almost like an arrow, or a crossbow bolt. Yet when he turned around she bit back a gasp. "Oh Nick..." It looked like it had hurt. She had been tempted to feel the raised edges but she held back the want by balling her hands up at her sides. "Some modern things are so horrible, why would they make something that did so much damage?" Shaking her head she had to keep from getting emotional.

Figuring since he showed her, she would show him. Glancing around to be sure absolutely no one was up and about, she eased the edge of her camisole up just enough to show where she had been ran through. The raised flesh stretched over most of her stomach, horizontally, just over her naval. "That is what a halberd does..."

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specialised
2010-05-10 11:43 pm UTC (link)

"Do you mean seeing the way or knowing what direction to go?" Nick asked. "For the former, there are street lamps and torches, and for the latter, there are maps." It was funny. As much as he loved his work as a professor, he had never much liked actually teaching. Speaking to students who rarely paid attention wasn't something he'd ever enjoyed. But with Meg, he liked explaining things to her. For one thing, she seemed to care about what he said, and for another, he just had a desire to help her. He couldn't explain it, but something about her made him want to ease her transition into modern times.

"Well, you're doing a brilliant job of settling in," he said again, "but if you do need any help with anything, please don't hesitate to ask." And he meant it. Meg had been kind to him in his time here, and he had a soft spot for the girl, though he couldn't quite say why. He supposed he didn't need to over-analyse it. It was what it was, and he wouldn't complain over having a friend here, however strange the circumstances of their acquaintance.

He closed his eyes at her shocked gasp, and tried his best not to react to her words. He didn't want sympathy. He had never been comfortable with the idea of anyone feeling sorry for him. "People are destructive, Meg," he said softly, "and they'll always find new ways to cause destruction. That is, unfortunately, a large part of our nature." He looked at her wound, considering it from the standpoint of someone who had always been fascinated by the past. A wound like that would have been awful indeed. "It looks as though destructive weapons aren't just an aspect of modern times."

There were things he wanted to say but hadn't, that he wasn't sure how to say or who to say them to. He would have told Stephen, getting back to that place where he trusted the younger man with everything, but he couldn't burden him with his own troubles. He also didn't feel comfortable telling Jenny about it. But somehow talking to Meg seemed easy. Maybe it was because she had been killed too, or perhaps because she was removed from the situation. "It still hurts sometimes," he admitted, looking up at the sky. "Not often, but sometimes. It's the other parts that make it hard. Guns make me uncomfortable, I used to use them for my work, but now...and loud noises. Guns make a rather loud noise when fired."

He sighed in frustration. "I rarely sleep any more because every time I do...I either remember my wife killing me or Stephen dying...and that's always worse. I just...don't quite know what to do about any of it. I'm a mess and I'm not even sure how to go about fixing it." He looked over at her. "I shouldn't be laying this all on you. It really isn't fair of me."

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dont_need_a_man
2010-05-11 02:04 am UTC (link)

"I meant direction, they had maps in my time... Though most were hung up in the castle. And the city streets were torch lit. But the map doesn't help if you can't tell North from South or East from west." Of course there was always the way the sun and moon set, but with all the buildings even that was hard to tell at times. She didn't want him to think she was dull witted or slow.

There was a great many things she didn't know about, or how proper one thing was over another. "It helps that my roommate is someone I know, and he's been here a good while it seems. But he's very... Reserved, he was one of the Sheriff's Master at Arms." She mentioned as if that would explain everything. "So... there are a good many things I can't ask him, or Marian. Could I ask you, I mean when I have a question that I feel to modest to ask either of them?"

She didn't pity him, so much as she was aghast at what one would do to another. And because she saw just a touch of red. Sure she had seen her fair share of cruelty, but being the kind hearted girl she was she didn't think a soul deserved such damage. No matter the reason. She couldn't help but frown at his conclusion. "I wish there was a good answer to 'Why?', but I fear I know it all to well." His comment about her own wound did not phase her much. "Well no, but mine would have looked the same if he had been able to go all the way through." There was no guessing with a sword or a spear, the wound looked the same both front and back. The small hole in his front gave a little hope, until you looked at his back.

Now that they had played 'you show me yours and I'll show you mine' she moved to stand beside him. Rather than take his arm as she had at first, her hand moved to clasp his, fingers threading between his own. The gesture was a friendly one, even if it felt a touch intimate. She had felt the need to do so. Yet he had her full attention. Her lips pressed together, though rather than commenting she remained silent.

Her jaw dropped at the telling of his wife being the one that killed him. His own wife had done that to him? She knew a little of Stephen's turmoil, he had been mauled... She wasn't sure there was a way to go about fixing anything, weren't they here because neither of them had been able to sleep? Her eyes caught his when he paused. "I am here to listen Nick... If you need someone to confide in it is no burden for me to hear it. I cannot say that I will stay silent completely. Wrongs done to you prick my heart. But that does not mean that you should not speak your mind." She squeezed his hand lightly, trying to encourage him. "And you need not worry about me being a gossip... I shan't say a word to another living soul if you do not wish it."

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