⚕ // way to fall

[liquidouroboros]

Characters: Liquid and anyone in the Tower
Setting: The workshop and the library
Format: I'll try to match.
Summary: New (old) uniform, same sarcastic jerk.
Warnings: None yet.

[floor fifteen]
[Liquid was rarely an easy man to find in the Tower. Being a stealth operative by nature led him to make himself scarce; being highly paranoid led him to stay that way. He was rarely seen anywhere but the network, and even then only when someone amused or bewildered him enough that it was deemed a necessity to speak up. While he tended to speak loudly and at great length, there were few people these days that Liquid deemed worth the effort of speaking to at all.]

[Addressing his little 'gift' from the tower was something that took quite some time to call 'worth the effort' as well. It was something he'd discarded years before, something which held only what one could call 'sentimental value'.]

[Hatred was a sentiment, right? Then yeah, sentimental value.]

[But if that was the case--which Liquid repeatedly assured himself it was--then why bother wearing it? The old FOXHOUND uniform was nothing special: fatigues, combat boots, and a long dark brown trenchcoat. (No shirt, of course, because Liquid was the kind of man who spent around sixty percent of his time without one.) The coat was the only part worth notice; he recalled having once worn it proudly as a commander, and it was almost depressing to see what it had become. Bloodstained, singed, and with several bullet holes in it, this was definitely no longer the uniform of a commander.]

[So for reasons that perplexed even Liquid himself, he had found his way to the fifteenth floor workshop. He had nothing better to do, and simply burning the damned thing seemed impractical.]

[That was the story of how a 6' shirtless soldier with a snake and sword on his left arm came to be sewing up bullet holes in a trenchcoat he would never admit he might have still been attached to. Just a little.]

[floor three]

[It was strange to be wearing his old uniform once more; strange enough that Liquid made a mental note to just throw the damned thing back into his trunk later and never spare a thought to it again. The trenchcoat had a nice dramatic flare to it, but even the melodramatic former commander was regretting not having gotten rid of it immediately.]

[Scowling, Liquid focused on the bookshelf in front of him; there was nothing specific he was after. His current criteria was 'anything that could serve as a distraction'.]

[Damn could this place get boring sometimes.]

Comments

[notayoungkitten]

I suppose that counts.

[Ocelot approaches him, leaning against a table closer to him than she was before.]

The reason for them giving us items is tied into keeping us here. A false sense of security for those easier to please, I suppose.

[liquidouroboros]

Any imbecile could reason that much out. Are you stating the obvious for the sake of stating it, or just to annoy me?

[notayoungkitten]

To annoy you.

[liquidouroboros]

You did that well enough by walking in.

[notayoungkitten]

[She slowly circles around to see what materials are available. There's at least something for her to repair her uniform, but she's been careful to keep it in good condition. It's her hat that needs some work, but she's a little too hesitant to sew it up right now.]

Were you... affected earlier this month?

[liquidouroboros]

If you mean by the recent insanity, I seem to have been left out of that.

[notayoungkitten]

Good.

[She leaves it at that. She's glad that he was spared from it because she's not sure she wants to know what could have happened to him otherwise.]

[liquidouroboros]

Does it matter?

[He glanced up from what he was doing, having finished repairing one of several bullet holes in his coat.]

I hardly need to be Mantis to predict my own future.

[notayoungkitten]

I can't... remember it clearly, but it is a maddening thought.

[She studies him carefully.]

No one does.

[liquidouroboros]

It should be obvious.

[Shrugging carelessly, Liquid continued fixing the mess that used to be a FOXHOUND jacket.]

I continue doing what I've been doing with Philanthropy, kill my world's Ocelot, then eventually get killed by someone or something myself. Simple and predictable.

[notayoungkitten]

[Ocelot is referring more to the idea of growing old and dying in the Tower, but she doesn't bother correcting him.]

I'm sure Otacon wouldn't appreciate you talking about getting yourself killed, Liquid.

[liquidouroboros]

[He actually stopped long enough to glare at her, looking almost like he wanted to throw a punch at the mere mention.]

He knew what we were getting into, and so did I. Such an outcome shouldn't be a surprise.

[notayoungkitten]

[She can empathize. But at the same time, she can't reveal her goals. Not even to him, not even if she will never return to her own world.]

Of course.

My apologies.

[Though she doesn't sound very sorry.]

[liquidouroboros]

Don't bother. I'd have to be an idiot to find that sincere.

[notayoungkitten]

Such a mind is why unlike the majority of the idiots here, you have a higher chance of survival than you give yourself credit for.

[Why yes, this is a compliment, though it's said in the same sardonic tone as always.]

[liquidouroboros]

[Deadpan:] ...I'm flattered.

[notayoungkitten]

[And then she glances at him very briefly before going back to seeing what sort of materials are available.]

Would you fancy a hunt?

[liquidouroboros]

What, alone with you and any number of weapons? I'd have to be suicidal, stupid, or bored out of my mind to accept.

[Beat.]

I might just be the latter. What did you have in mind?

[notayoungkitten]

I've heard that the deer in the forest are quite ferocious. Fangs, a taste for human flesh and such.

It might be too much for a civilian, but we shouldn't have a problem finding one and taking it down.

[liquidouroboros]

Have a taste for mutated venison, do you?

[notayoungkitten]

Not to eat, no.

[liquidouroboros]

So just for the hell of it, then. I don't have a knife and I'm not sure I'm willing to waste a bullet for no reason.

[notayoungkitten]

[She shakes her head.]

For the hide. Though I suppose the meat may not be too bad assuming it's not poisonous.

[liquidouroboros]

...hmph. I suppose that's practical enough for my time.

[notayoungkitten]

Good.

The only question is how to skin it.

[She searches around for a bit before she finds a rather sharp piece of metal. Blunt enough that it might be a bit messy, but sharp enough to do the job.]

This will do.