Layla & Nico | Thursday night

[x-mandelbrot.livejournal.com]

Layla finds a loitering Nico who decides to check up on her "protege" while she has the chance.

Very few things managed to get Layla away from Sarah since their return to their own country. Food was one. Any summonings from adult types was another. As far as Layla was concerned that was pretty much where the reasons to leave her girlfriend's side ended. Sometimes Layla wasn't sure if she was clinging - because let's be honest here, she was clinging - for Sarah's sake alone or also for her own. It was nice to have the calm of the mansion, to not have things blowing up and firing and potential death around every second of every day. Yet Layla couldn't quite relax enough about it all to leave her girlfriend for more than a few hours at a time by choice. It was just hard after she couldn't do anything to protect Sarah from everything that'd happened in the first place. And, sure, it wasn't exactly Layla's responsibility to protect Sarah. But it kinda was. In a way. To Layla, anyway, it was. It was part of the whole girlfriend gig.

For now, they needed food. They needed food and Sarah had something or other to do so Layla was on her way to the kitchen to scrounge or cook or whatever seemed most viable.

Nico was in the kitchen, and she was not even one bit surprised. The kitchen was, as usual, a point of convergence for the mansion dwellers, she knew this very well. "Hey girl," she called with a small smile as she lifted the can of Coke she was drinking. "Guess I was right when I decided to wait for you over here." The goth looked tired, but she was...oddly fresh, all things considered. Perks of being somewhat corrupted by evil magic, she guessed. There was also the fact she hadn't been captured at any time, which helped. But Layla had suffered it all, and as soon as Amanda had been convinced not to worry about her Nico had set off to find her protege of sorts.

"How's Sarah?"

Layla rubbed at her eye and shrugged a shoulder. "I dunno. OKay I guess? I mean, I think she's still worried about whether or not she like hurt or killed people when she was all fucked up and brainwashed. And she like really doesn't like rockin' the bald look. But, I mean, she was sort of kidnapped and in jail for like a day and then she doesn't remember most of what happened between then and getting de-brainwashed and shit, so." The blonde shrugged again and headed for the fridge. Bruises could be easily spotted on Layla's legs and arms from diving or being thrown or being clipped by flying objects. She was remarkably unharmed overall though. "I guess like when you think about it she sort of got the less fucked up straw or whatever, right? Like she doesn't even remember the really bad parts. She wasn't even her for them."

"Hm. I wouldn't know. Not being myself sounds particularly sucky. I hope she doesn't blame herself too much over it though. We made it through now." She said the last bit while staring right at her. "When the Sun goes down, that's all that matters." She would not point the bruises out either. Everyone had them all over, some nastier than others. Nico wasn't wearing long and loose clothes just because she liked them at the moment.

"What about you?" No sense on skirting around the question. "Dealing with it well?"

Another shrug answered. Layla pulled vegetables and what looked like some prepared meals out that didn't have names on them. "Yeah. I mean, I dunno, like, what is dealing anyway? I'm not like freaking out or having panic attacks or whatever. It was totally fucked up and I am never going there on vacation ever, but like, what else is there?" Her tone lacked it's usual conviction and exuberance. That was to be expected, of course, considering everything but it was a little more hollow than Layla normally seemed capable of. The thing about Layla was that she didn't really do things by half. She felt things fully and intensely and generally had the reactions to prove it. Nico knew that about her and would no doubt spot the muted feeling about the little zombie raiser.

Nico tilted her can to a side, as if it had suddenly become the most interesting thing ever. "Yeah, what else is there? I wonder..." Everyone reacted differently, she knew this, but Layla wasn't sounding all that Layla-like. But because she knew her, Nico couldn't push her. Not yet. "I'm with you about the vacation part though. I wouldn't be too hasty on letting go of that, you know?" Nico felt helpless trying to decide what to say next. "Nobody is expected to just keep going on just like that."

"But what else are you supposed to do?" Layla looked at Nico and it was clear the blonde really meant that question. "What else is there other than to just keep going on? I mean, you go crazy or have a break down or fall apart or you don't. But you get past all that shit and then you keep going on. Like that's the entire point, isn't it? Eventually you keep going and if you aren't all like broken and shit what else do you do?"

The girl turned around to inspect Layla. "I don't think it's about being broken. Sure, people scream and kick and break stuff. And others silently brood as they take new directions." And some, like herself, doubled their training and started to doubt if the world at large was worth saving, if it wouldn't be better to burn most of it and be done with it. But it wasn't about Nico right now. "I don't think you just move on, Layla. It doesn't have to be big and showy but, I think...there's got to be closure somewhere."

"We took down the big asshole, the country's like rearranging and shit and we got our people de-brainwashed and shit. How is that not closure?" Okay, it didn't feel like closure but it seemed like it was. "I mean, dude, there is nothing else. Our big ass drama like got done, the bad guy lost, they wrote us off the show. There isn't even a cliffhanger. Like, we're in the re-runs months now, right? People are in this weird limbo while they like heal or go crazy or rage or stitch themselves back together. But I was like a minor character. I showed up in like two episodes and most of the audience doesn't know my actor's name. So, like, I exited stage right or whatever and it's done. What closure do you think there is other than that?"

Nico was silent for a moment. "Well...I know your actors name. I'm a big fan, actually, and I would like to know what happened next." She shrugged a bit. "What happens next, Layla?"

"Dunno." She shrugged and offered Nico a piece of turkey from the container of deli meat she had decided to pillage. "The writers never tell me this shit ahead of time. My guess is Layla learns to not be bait levels of useless in a fight and never lets her girlfriend go anywhere near a protest ever again. And maybe helps her find a wig since she doesn't like being bald and is all vain. Because she's a girl. Oh, and she feeds the over dosed German in the basement. Which, wow, makes der Fremde sound way more like the hunchback in the bell tower. When he's awake, I mean. The feeding, not the hunchback. He's on perma-hunchback status until he leaves the basement."

Nico took the turkey and stood, proceeding to mess with Layla's head in an affectionate way. "Why don't you send the writers to hell and write what happens next yourself? I'm sure that would be quite the read." That said, she made her way to the door. "And feed the German, would you? See you around kiddo."

The word "kiddo" resulted in Layla's nose wrinkling. "Later, granny!" It was cheap vengeance for the kiddo name but Layla would take it.