when it's needing it's careening toward being alone

[nowhere_to_grow]

[The plane stopped rocking two hours ago, which made it especially easy for Mattie to doze off close to the window. Though the sky outside was dark and rain pattered lightly against the glass, it was soothing, and wide blue eyes slid shut behind orange-tinted goggles; she wouldn't remove them, not for anything.

After a while, consciousness began to

Comments

[faithinthefire]

[Mello's been keeping himself to himself, lately, spending time in the garden the Matt from his world began, collecting supplies in case the siafu appear here, a threat he has been assured is baseless, but one he cannot discount, even after several months in the mansion of crazy.

He hasn't seen a girl version of Matt in quite some time, and there is only one he knows. They did not part on the best of terms, and so he is uncharacteristically hesitant when he asks:] Tilda?

[nowhere_to_grow]

[She blinked, standing to meet Mello as he came closer.] 'fraid not, bud. [Smiling a little, she couldn't help the slight flush spreading across her cheeks at his hesitation; had she really grown that much, that he wouldn't recognize her?]

It's me. Mattie.

[faithinthefire]

Oh. My apologies, miss. I thought you were somebody else.

[He would walk away, except that she is clearly a new arrival who might need some assistance, and he is, after all, chivalrous, or likes to think himself so.]

You are new to the mansion of crazy?

[nowhere_to_grow]

The mansion of what?

[He looked like the Mello she knew, but he sure didn't sound like him - and his clothes were different from what she'd expected to find Mello wearing. Mafia guys had to be intimidating, after all, and if she knew her old friend like she thought, he'd be decked out in the finest, most intimidating outfit he could find in LA - which meant leather.

Mattie gave him a puzzled look, stepping back.] Who are you?

[faithinthefire]

Craziness, [he corrects himself. It's easy to fall out of the habit of speaking English to people when you barely speak to anyone at all.]

I'm called Mikhail. My world is not the usual sort.

[nowhere_to_grow]

[She blinked again, flushing slightly. Cursing silently at her stupid face and its stupid, constant state of blushing, Mattie fidgeted slightly where she stood; she actually started to chew her lip a little, an attempt at not lighting up. She wasn't sure who would bitch at her here for smoking, but she was confident that someone would.]

What are you - Russian? Though you look a helluva lot like my friend Mello... [She tilted her head a bit, looking him over from any angle she could manage.] Mind explaining that?

[faithinthefire]

I was Mello, a long time ago. In a world that no longer exists. I am from the motherland, yes. I was born in Kiev. [Which also no longer exists, or not as it was, thanks largely to him.]

You are like my friend Matt, except I am certain that he was male, and that he has gone home.

[He finds her blush charming, though he would never say so without coercion.]

May I have your name? It needn't be your real one, of course.

[nowhere_to_grow]

[She watched him, even more closely than she had been watching him before. He just seemed so interesting, like there was something lying just below the surface that she was missing...

And that she wanted to find out.]

What's your world like?

[That was about when his other statement caught her by surprise. She stepped back, jerking a little in surprise.] A boy me? Seriously?

Oh! [He received another blush and small, shy smile.] You can call me Mattie.

[faithinthefire]

Mattie. It is nice to meet you. [He inclines his head slightly. Though he's still embarrassed about mistaking her for Tilda, he believes pretty girls warrant a certain amount of deference.]

My world is overrun. [He looks away, jaw tensing.] Zombies, you would call them. I left the orphanage at not yet fifteen to go back home and do what I could. I am a Major, now, in the army of the Holy Russian Empire.

[nowhere_to_grow]

[She smiled brightly; that tip of his head was very gentlemanly and formal, very unlike a certain Mello she knew back home.] And it's nice to meet you as well, Mikhail.

[Her eyes widened, and Mattie couldn't help staring at him a little.] D-Did you say zombies? As in Left 4 Dead?

[faithinthefire]

I don't know what that is. I assume it is a game. [If there's any consistency in Matts across universes, it is, anyway.] It is no game at home, unless of the sort where everyone loses.

[He's been here long enough that he half-expects humanity will be extinct if he ever returns.]

[nowhere_to_grow]

Oh. [The blush deepened, until it encompassed the majority of her face. She took a step to the right, meaning for it to be perceived as a polite gesture, one of backing away from the subject. Mattie honestly felt a little bad, since it was quite obviously a very dire situation - and she had just, in some views, made light of it.

Stupid, stupid Mattie, she couldn't help thinking.]

Uh, yeah - it's a game in my world. A zombie one. [Her flush just deepened, and she babbled an apology.] I am so sorry- You must think I'm a narrow-minded bitch or something-

[faithinthefire]

There is no reason to be sorry for not having known something you could not have known. [He feels bad about embarrassing her. Admittedly, he might not feel quite so bad if she weren't a version of Matt, and cute.]

There were zombie games in my world, too, once. Matt has probably played all of them.

Do you need anything? Food, cigarettes?

[nowhere_to_grow]

[Her smile just brightened as she continued to fidget. Then she actually laughed at what he said about his own Matt.] You can't be serious! [She cried out with a small laugh; it just seemed so scandalous to her.] So he spent his real life killing zombies and still took up time on the sofa to kill a few more, in a game? [Mattie shook her head, still smiling over it.]

And that's really nice of you, but I have my own cigarettes. [She turned a little, patting her back pocket.]

[faithinthefire]

Not exactly. [It's his turn to feel self-conscious, about being such an unremitting downer, but it's simply not in his nature to sugarcoat the truth.] He played games such as that at Wammy's, but not any longer. He went to the States, I returned home, and we have both been fighting in the war ever since.

[There's a hint of lingering bitterness when he mentions where Matt went after The Great Panic; Mello still disapproves of the top students essentially being farmed out to various nations.]

But these are terribly depressing topics, yes? Have your cigarette, and I'll find something happier to speak of.

[nowhere_to_grow]

[Nodding gratefully, Mattie lit up, licking her lips before she took a deep drag. The nicotine washed through her system, calming her immediately, and her smile softened; she stopped fidgeting.]

I really don't mind the subject; I find your firsthand account of the goings-on of your world to be quite fascinating. [Frightening but fascinating nonetheless; he seemed like a nice enough man, and it was strange to speak with someone who was essentially a complete gentleman wearing her best friend's face.]

It doesn't seem right that you and Matt split up. [With the situation he described to her, it didn't really seem like a necessary course of action - unlike the way things had played out with Kira in her own world. She frowned as she anticipated his reply.]