[closed/complete] Characters: Merlin [merlyn] & Lethe [lethe] Date/Time: 19th May, afternoon Location:Medb and Lethe's Roman villa type place. Rating: PG Warnings: None! Summary: Lethe is having trouble adjusting, Merlin decides to 'help' and by that we mean 'annoy'.
It wasn't the drastic switch in time and place, or even finding herself settled with a sister she didn't know that caused Lethe the most concern as neither was particularly disagreeable. All things considered, she was one of the luckier ones in a far too luxurious bed (thankfully only her own) instead of a brothel or the ludus, though Lethe didn't dare to ponder if it reflected any sort of favour from Khaos. Even Hades' condition didn't cause too much alarm with his insistence that he was doing well enough, and he must have known better than she.
So what was wrong wasn't immediately obvious to the confused girl, why her head suddenly hurt and why she felt so unbearably overwhelmed for no identifiable cause. Then came the slow realization that her powers were gone, and with them the perpetual fogginess they inflicted upon her thoughts and dulled her senses. And that was a bit much to take in, causing a rather sulky Lethe to spend most of the day hiding beneath the sheets and avoiding too much stimulus.
Never make the mistake of thinking that Merlin is a good man, he isn't. He has taken his fair share of fucked up decisions (that he'd still do all over again, thank you very much Igraine, Morgause and Mordred) and frankly he felt everyone was losing perspective. He was a prophet, a madman, and he had nothing more than suggest things. Solved problems, built something great. Personally, he was more than ever certain that if Mordred had not overcome his impulses to be evil back then he never would. Merlin had. He had a choice to be the Antichrist, and he choose to do good. Why? Mostly because his mother had the foresight to baptise him (and not sleep with her brother). But hey, what does he know, he's just a man.
Honestly he was more than annoyed at having to deal with Morgan asking him not to provoke Morgause. Since when was that his fault? Regardless of Merlin's deeds, he was not a murderer (leave that to the Orkney clan, bitte and danke). All that whining. It never really bothered him except that he missed Morpheus and he was sorely preferred his flat in NYC than this place. It wasn't the worse place possible, and he enjoyed the backing of Medb and Lethe. Which was considerable in the senate, even without his abilities, Merlin was an adept speaker and making his advice heard? It was easy enough. Besides, he liked Lethe - Medb? As long as she didn't approach him with anything sharp they could get along.
Besides, Merlin was not a moron, he understood his situation and Theseus' words did not go by unheeded. If Arthur did not step up to the plate, he would need new king. That would be so troublesome, but Merlin was a patient man, he could get to it. Eventually. For now he was busy yanking the covers off a sulky river and grinning, "Now, you, are really not enjoying the change in scenery, what is the matter?"
If she were in a better mood, Lethe wouldn't have looked quite so initially offended at the intrusion, although it wasn't a particularly effective look with a forearm thrown over her eyes to shield from the light. "Agh," Lethe responded quite ineloquently, blindly and rather unsuccessfully groping for the edge of the blanket to pull it back over. "I could have been naked," she protested weakly as she gave up and pushed herself into a more dignified lounging position, stretching slightly as she did so to work out the discomfort of being in the same curled up position for too long.
While it hadn't been much more than a week since Merlin had pulled her into some sort of rigged game of blackjack at the casino under the pretence of fun, his refusal to be ignored had grown on her despite initial hesitations. She hadn't allowed him too close, hadn't revealed too many personal details and wasn't sure she ever intended to, and yet somehow here they had known each other much longer despite only having been in Rome for a couple days as far as she could recall. Perhaps she never cared too much about politics or her sister's interest in influencing the senate, but she didn't so much mind the frequent visits of the politician, even if he did invite himself in without knocking.
"The scenery is just fine."
Merlin began to laugh, "But you were not naked. All is well." Had she been naked? Well, Merlin probably wouldn't have acted any differently than he was right now. The whole scene was ridiculous in his opinion but he didn't really wait for an invitation to prop next to Lethe on the bed, his back on the mattress, staring up at the ceiling. Part of him felt rather exhausted because of the new uncomfortable weather, but he'd never let anything like a little heat stop him. Not that there was anything to stop. Nothing was happening, and that was equally frustrating. Like being trapped in the past, reliving an endless loop.
He got bored easily. He needed a purpose, a king, to guide someone. No one needed to be guided here.
"You haven't even looked around the city yet, have you? Most people would kill to enjoy ancient Rome and all of its wonders."
"What wonders?" she inquired while rubbing the bleariness from her eyes, not bothering to confirm his suspicions that she had barely moved since she arrived. He knew well enough. Lethe wasn't most people, way too content with staring at the interior of her room and allowing her mind to wander for what could have been eternity without so much contemplating boredom. And at least she had the luxury to do so, the plush bed not inspiring any motivation to do much else. Maybe she could convince Merlin that a nap was a better idea, refluffing her pillow in preparation and tossing a blanket partially over him.
Sometimes she needed a firm nudge to pull herself out of lethargy, and Merlin never so much as nudged as shoved. She would have resented it from most anyone, but Merlin had an undeniable charm about him that intrigued her as much as it annoyed.
"Are you trying to get me to nap too?" His tone was amused and incredulous at the same time and he shifted on his side so he could watch her. What a girl. River. Girl. Although not river girl like a nymph or a mermaid. Wait, he was losing the point of the entire thing. For a moment Merlin attempted such a nap, the thought crossed his mind. He twisted and turned it. Putting it back and forth. Pondering- and then he realized that he was thinking so much about having a nap that his mind would not nap.
With a dramatic sigh he sat up. "This isn't working, I can't nap. Neither should you, I mean really." He began slowly prying the blanket away from them both. "It is interesting to be outside. I'll even take you to this weird place where people sit and watch and- I don't even know what you would call it. Also there are pathetic plays put up in an attempt to mock senators and air every scandal in Rome. How can you say no to that?"
He straightened up as he spoke, pushing the sheet aside and adjusting his clothing. "Come on, don't make me carry you over my shoulder. Sacks of river potatoes are not fun."
Almost certain of her victory, Lethe buried deeper under the soft blankets until Merlin once again was uncovering her. Stubborn, restless man. "Not with you talking, I can't." Making a face at his comment, river potatoes, Lethe reluctantly rolled out of bed and onto her feet with an exaggerated stretch and yawn, making quite a show of what a hassle she was going through for him. Not that she would mind being carried.
"Potamos," she corrected offhandedly, more amused than offended. Her hair was coming loose from its braid, ruffled from sleep, but Lethe didn't do much more to fix it than a quick attempt to smooth out the sides with her palms as she caught her reflection in the mirror. "I could easily say no," she shrugged, not willing to admit aloud that she actually enjoyed his company, "but maybe they'll mock you. I imagine it's rather easy."
"I know." Merlin replied smugly in correction to his phrase, hey- what was wrong with wanting to take some credit in his pun? He liked it, he was a regular comedian. Or something. "Maybe they will mock me." he agreed with a tone of indifference. Really, when you've been considered mad and a pedobear... what else can be said, right? Yup. "And of course, you could say no and then I would just ignore it." Unless she really did want to be left alone, then he would. He wasn't totally insensitive (though maybe not for the right reasons).
"Besides, you know you could just get carried around outside, right?" Merlin flashed a quick grin, "Too late now though, we're walking. It will do you good." And that was that. Merlin was used to dealing with stubborn people who did not always take the best care of themselves. Primary example? Morpheus. Speaking of, he'd best check on the guy later and made sure he hadn't offended someone else with his radical (for this time) views.
Frankly, Merlin wasn't in the mood for that ending in tears and blood.
Shaking those thoughts aside, filing them away for later consideration, he placed a companionable arm around her shoulders as he guided Lethe out. "It won't be that bad." A promise that was not likely to be kept.