livlaughlove | sticksandbones IC Inbox

livio

netbook · overflow

  
      Powers nerfed & gained
    Self-healing: Nerfed on arrival from near-instant to delayed by a few minutes. Think 5-10.
Superhuman strength: Nerfed on arrival. Still super strong, but not to the same extent.
Dragon Blessing - Strength: Makes up for original nerf. Plus dual sets of horns, one pair curved down to frame his face, one pair curved back and up. Sharp and harshly angled, like his sunburst tattoos.
Dragon Blessing - Balance: Thick, alligator-like tail.

      Deaths & Resurrection prices
    Death - August 2024: Killed by a Corrupted Vash.

Price: Marksmanship skill. Can no longer aim a gun worth a damn. 

      Other permanent changes
    Memory Loss - February 2024: In Razlo's heartspace, his memory of Chapel defending him to the other Masters was destroyed. He still recalls having been fiercely loyal to Chapel, but not why.
Scarring - March 2024: Scars in an enormous jaw pattern spanning from his thighs to upper arm, with teeth marks along both his chest and back.

      Temporary changes
    Hydra form - May 2025: from Event/TDM 24. A bunch of fungi made LR into some fun guys.

  
    CODE
  

weasel's note: livio's handwriting is extremely neat and uncannily consistent. every letter is always the same exact size and shape. as if simply writing perfectly in times new roman was a humanly possible thing.

livio can commonly be found where he lives at vash's house or looking after the school.

plotting contact: PM // discord @ fuckweasel

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only | Expand All

From:

livlaughlove

[at that, liv's brows furrow almost angrily.]

You don't owe me shit, Nicholas. [despite his face and his words, he lays his other hand atop wolfwood's as well, holding it as gently as possible in both of his. his voice softens, as welll.] Christ... I'm just glad you're here now.

From:

lupusxylem

[Well. He knows better than to press that particular issue right now. He has no way of knowing the scope of just how long he's been gone for without discussing it further, and he's not sure that's something Livio wants right now. Hell, he's not sure that's something he could handle. Just the idea of being dead (as in DEAD dead, not dying but revived at the last second) is still struggling to fully sink in.

For what it's worth, he isn't just going to keep laying there.

He'll use his grip on Livio's hand to pull himself up and forward a little, grunting deeply under his breath. He can still feel the distant, aching soreness of the old wounds that the serum healed over, yet for a mercy they're no longer there. Even if the serum killed him in the end, it at least did its job.]

Yeah. ...yeah, me too.

[His other hand comes up, shucking through his hair as he glances around the Garden for the first time, only just now noticing Nene nearby.]

...the others. Are they-?

[The Grove was attacked. It was attacked, and it was his fault.]

From:

livlaughlove

[of course livio allows himself to be used as leverage. he even moves one hand to wolfwood's back in an effort to try holding him up better.

... shit, he should have led with this.]

They're fine. It... was just you. Even Elsword's recovering.

[now his brows turn up. surely nick is concerned about vash. and... livio doesn't know where the hell to start. doesn't want to worry him. not when they haven't even left the garden.]

From:

lupusxylem

...thank God.

[And he means that, genuinely. Like, he doesn't have time to unpack how he's feeling about everything that happened right now, but. Boy, does he have feelings about it.

His hand tightens its grip on Livio's hand, just as his other reaches out to carefully rest along his shoulder.]

Help me up. We need to get outta here.

[He needs to get back. To figure out...what to do next. But, more than anything?

He wants to see Vash. His dog.

He wants to be in his own "home".]

From:

livlaughlove

[and here livio is, still painfully aware that there's a cost for leaving. still unsure whether or not it's already been taken.

nonetheless, he holds nick steady as they stand.]

Take it easy, okay? Nene said we can't stay long, but that doesn't mean you gotta push yourself...

From:

lupusxylem

I got it. I'll be fine.

[Ha...haha...

He manages to stand, at least. He's still feeling sore, and his body hardly feels fully like his own, but the longer he's awake, the more aware of being alive he is. His heart beats in his chest, he's able to draw breath. It feels all too lucky, but it wouldn't be the first time he's cheated the reaper.

Wolfwood exhales slowly, still leaning against Livio a bit as he looks out past the flower-laden Garden again.

He knows about the Garden. He knows about people returning from it, like Gnosis said would sometimes happen. But the notion of losing something...that he hasn't recalled.]

She brought you here. [He muses, glancing over at the little girl once again.] ...thanks, kid.

From:

mermaidcursed

Of course. Mom says your will to live helped you heal way faster than normal... Most people take months.

( "months".

though maybe that just says a lot about the previous people who died. maybe she shouldn't out them like that. or maybe wolfwood's just especially voracious for life despite everything.

...

she wouldn't know. )

Once we leave the mist and re-enter the forest, it will take something from you. Felicity and Add lost an arm and an eye respectively, but it may also take a memory or a skill. You may not even notice it. But, me and Livio are here to help you get back home regardless.

From:

lupusxylem

[His will to live, huh? That's almost funny. But...

...ah. That's the catch, isn't it? You don't just get to live again for nothing. You have to lose something. The Forest has to take once more.

For a long moment, Wolfwood says nothing, leaning against Livio with his hand in one pocket. It's hard to tell what he might be thinking, though with the way his jaw subtly moves, it's obvious he wishes he had a cigarette.]

Whatever it is...I'll handle it.

[Even if he doesn't remember, should that be the price. It's said in a tone, like "I brought this on myself, so I'll take my licks".]

M'ready whenever you are.

From:

livlaughlove

[it's... sure not fun, hearing about this again, but still, liv holds steady for wolfwood's sake.]

I'm here for you, Nico. [it isn't merely an echo of what nene said, but also holds a silent correction: we'll handle it. it may be nick's pain and loss on the line, but he's nick's partner, and nothing if not empathetic. it's their burden.]

From:

mermaidcursed

Once we're out, one of you has to hold my hand.

( she'll lead the way out though, back through the gentle mist. the air is cold and clear, and the entire forest is silent.

... )

From:

lupusxylem

[...

Wolfwood will take Nene's much smaller hand in his own as they begin to walk out of the Garden, all three of them. Livio is welcome to hold her other if he'd like, but he feels like he needs to do this, even so.

He has no idea what to expect. He's been warned, and- if he's lucky- the Forest will simply take what it wants and leave him wondering what that might have been, exactly. He would hate it no less, of course, but. You can't miss what you don't remember losing.

It feels too still. Too calm. The anxious wait for the other pin to drop is agonizing, yet it's one that Wolfwood keeps silent to himself as they trudge slowly forward. He walks with intent, one foot in front of the other, thinking more about what he'll meet with back at the Grove than anything else. Surely, he will not be welcome. He wouldn't be surprised if the others didn't want to see him again, alive or not.

The thought lingers at the forefront of his mind as the trio take their first steps out of the mist and into the forest proper. The silence, at this point, has become suffocating, like walls are trying to close in on him. Around his body, his chest, his head. A massive weight seems to settle, the trees crowding uncomfortably close to them the further they step. Wolfwood is tempted to try to turn a different way as the forest grows even thicker, but all that does is drive him headfirst into the thickest undergrowth yet.

He hesitates, just for one moment. His glasses are missing. He can't see whatever safe paths may be out here, relying entirely on Nene's guidance to ensure they don't walk face-first into the fog wall.

That is the least of his concerns.]

From:

lupusxylem

[The trees come alive at once.

Branches twist and crackle, gnarled restraints like fetters around Wolfwood's chest as they snake around him with more force and speed than he's capable of fighting back against. He feels his body wrenched forward uselessly like a ragdoll, torn away from Livio yet no matter how hard it tries to pull him from Nene's grip, her hand manages to keep hold. A mercy, given that the Forest has him, and seems unwilling to let go.

Wolfwood lets out a wordless snarl of rage, kicking out with his right leg at what ends up being the air as the trees bow forward, branches like cages hemming him in. His hand flies to his side instinctively, to his gun that would have been there, but now isn't. But what is a bullet to a tree, bark unyielding no matter how much he thrashes and tries to break free?

He continues to struggle, yet even that, too, is fruitless. It isn't long before the grip of the trees manages to bind him so tightly that he can't move at all, heavy like the force Legato would place upon him like a cat toying with a mouse. It's a reminder of just how powerless he is, that no matter how hard he fights, he will never be free.

Eyes darting wildly, he feels the branches continue to coil around his limbs, both arms and legs, each side squeezing independently. Deliberating. Choosing.

Then, the branches begin to pull. And they pull. And they pull, like a child pulling the wings off a butterfly.

Wolfwood doesn't even realize the howling voice in the woods is his own as his right leg, from just above the knee, is torn from his body with a sickening crunch of bone, the flesh coming clean with it almost too easily. The branches curl around the limb now divorced from Wolfwood's body, pulling it quickly back into the darkness. They drop Wolfwood's convulsing body back to the ground just as remorselessly, leaving him there to bleed, unable to stand, unable to feel-

He can't breathe. He can't catch his breath. It hurts.]

From:

livlaughlove

[one moment, everything is eerie but still, and the next -- nick is ripped away from him. and whether it's the forest keeping wolfwood out of reach, nene holding liv back, or his own horror keeping him rooted in place, livio can't get back to nicholas. just as nene said, he has to watch, helpless in the face of what's happening. his own desperate cries mingle with wolfwood's, as well as the creak of trees and snap of bone and tear of flesh.

then just as quickly, it's over. at least, the forest's attack is over. nick's suffering is only beginning.

whether or not he should still be holding onto nene, he throws himself next to wolfwood instead. he may not have medical training, exactly, but he's seen more injuries than most people ever will, and he knows how many major blood vessels are now pumping into empty air. the first thing he does is rip his belt off and get a handle on nick's thigh despite the slick of blood. he chokes out a likely unheard --] Sorry. I'm so sorry -- [as he works to tighten and tighten the leather strap above the amputation and slow the blood flow.]

From:

lupusxylem

[It is, genuinely, as if he's dying all over again, except far worse. He's experienced horrific injury in the past. He's suffered shots to the heart that would have otherwise killed him, if not for the serum.

But he has never, ever, been mangled to this degree. Because unlike Livio, Wolfwood cannot regenerate full-on body parts, at least not quickly enough to survive losing them. Certainly not when he has no serum to fall back on, having drank the last of it when it killed him originally.

He can't help but think. Ah. Shit. Guess I'm really gonna die, this time, because what happens if you die before you even get out of the Forest proper? It's better than trying to process the pain he's feeling, and honestly he's not sure he even can right now. He's immediately gone into shock, his brain cutting off every bit of stimuli so as to save him from the agony that would cause him to surely pass out from its severity. It can't do that for long, of course, but god damn is it not trying desperately to save his stupid ass.

If nothing else, he is grateful for Livio. Livio, who has jumped in immediately to help him even as he bleeds out all over the grass. The belt being tied around his leg acting as a tourniquet will buy him precious time, but will it be enough time to actually get out of here? There's no telling how far they are from the Grove, and even if Livio were to carry him, could he make it back quickly enough even with Nene's guidance?

Wolfwood beats back the panic trying to settle in his chest, because there's simply no time for it. He just looks up at Livio listlessly, eyes wide and glassy as sweat rolls down his temple, brows furrowing before he finally screws his eyes shut and manages a single word.]

M.....o- .....der-

From:

sticksandbonesmods

[It's a good thing that calling the Guardians' names tends to summon them places. In this case, Moder — all the way back in the Grove, grazing as she tends to do — hears Wolfwood's strained cry.

It won't take her longer than a minute to arrive. Her hooves shake the earth as she speeds out of the Grove and into the fog, and Wolfwood and Livio will feel it, the way the earth shakes under her hooves, and she skids to a stop a short distance from the both of them.

There's a sound, a distinctly depressed bellow, deep in her throat as she hoists Livio and Nene onto her back first. A firm grip on the branches restraining Wolfwood is all it takes to snap them; the Forest doesn't fight her, for it has taken what it needs to. Wolfwood gets gently held in her handibles so that he doesn't tumble off, not that she doesn't trust Livio to keep him, but rather thinks it's faster if they do it this way.]

Welcome back, Little Wolf. Hold onto the threads of life but a moment longer.

[It won't take them long to get back to the Grove now. In the time it takes Moder to sprint through the True Paths with Wolfwood in-hand, he'll likely be fine. She's headed directly for the clinic, naturally.

Hold on tight.]

From:

livlaughlove

[god, livio owes moder so much. so much. of course he was ready to carry nick all the way back himself, but he doesn't have four legs a story high each. he's going to have to do something to thank her and nene both.

and hell, if he lets himself shed a few panicked tears along the way, well, that's between him and nene.

when they begin to so much as approach the clinic, he takes the liberty of jumping from her back himself. he tumbles and rights himself as she comes to a stop, so he's ready to accept nick from her arms into his and carry him into the clinic proper.]

From:

lupusxylem

[Wolfwood will have to find a way to thank her, too. He's not sure anything he could ever do would be enough. For Moder or for Nene.

By the time he's been lifted up into her arms, he barely knows what's going on anymore. He feels the motion of being lifted extremely high up off the ground, and then the wind beating against his face as she runs back to the Grove. He's left with the distinct feeling that no matter what happens from here, he will probably be okay. It's very likely, anyway...

He's not sure he'll deserve surviving this, but. He will.

By the time Moder does make it to the Grove, the trio will find Wolfwood unconscious in her arms, having finally lost the fight against the blood loss and pain trying to creep into his senses. Perhaps it's better he's not aware, for perhaps his pain can be dulled before he wakes up again to feel it.

Unconscious, but alive.]

From:

livlaughlove

[turns out, livio has plenty of time to get the crying out of his system as wolfwood gets patched up. he spends the majority of it pacing around outside, given that his haphazard footsteps might shake the floor of the clinic otherwise.

as soon as he's made aware that nick is stable and not being actively worked on, whether he's awake or not at this point, liv is making the executive decision to let himself in regardless of anyone's approval or lack thereof. he's decidedly more restrained in his movements now, though, light on his feet and forcing himself to breathe easier. he simply pulls up a chair beside nicholas' bed and waits, letting him rest and come around to either consciousness or the desire to talk on his own.]

From:

lupusxylem

[Once more, he returns to that blissful silence. The nothingness of unconsciousness. He's thankful he doesn't dream, because this might be the last time in a while that he doesn't. He has too many awful things his subconscious is going to helpfully conjure up for him in the near future. Whether he lives or dies at this point is firmly in the hands of those working at the clinic, and- fortunately- they're skilled enough to not let that happen. Stabilizing him is a matter of replenishing the blood lost and getting the wound cauterized and stitched up, which is thankfully a lot easier than trying to fix him when he's dying from serum overdose.

Outside in the Grove, the grave Livio dug for Wolfwood's body has collapsed. It's now a strangely formed half-pit of loose earth, the body within absent from its former resting place.

He's still asleep...seemingly, when Livio comes into the room. He's likely still in his bloodied clothing unless the clinic usually provides something like a hospital gown for its occupants. Not that it matters to Wolfwood, when he's rarely been afforded medical care when things like this happen. Now, here he is, his body battered and broken with his head turned away towards the far wall. Since he's uninjured everywhere else save for the bruises left behind by the branches, it would be impossible to tell what was wrong if not for the empty space under the sheets on his right side.

Eventually, though...he takes a deeper breath than usual. A heavy exhalation of breath. Then, his head slowly turns the other way, half-closed eyes settling on Livio.]

Livio...

From:

livlaughlove

[livio's eyes are still red from crying by the time wolfwood looks at him. he sniffles and rubs at his eyes before reaching a hand out, laying it face up on the bed. waiting for nicholas to choose whether or not he wants to be touched anymore at the moment. his voice is quiet and shaky, reminiscent of wolfwood's final moments just a few weeks ago.]

Nick, I'm so... so sorry. I couldn't... do anything.

From:

lupusxylem

[Wolfwood is too tired to sit up. Too tired to throw himself from this bed and hobble out of the clinic like he so wishes he could, stubbornness boiling hot in his veins.

He isn't too tired to pull his hand away from where it rests limp on his torso to lay it carefully in Livio's.]

Woulda'...woulda' happened whether you were there or not.

[He manages in a low voice, turning his hand over so they rest palm-to-palm, his fingers tangling loose with Livio's much larger ones.]

Y'still came for me.

From:

livlaughlove

'course I did. Do anything for you, Nico.

[and yet, not enough. he's never done enough, he thinks as he squeezes wolfwood's fingers delicately between his own.]

D'you need anything? Are you in pain...?

[it's a stupid fucking question. he knows even before he asks it. doesn't even know why he bothers. he feels like he's lost more of his mind since wolfwood died at his feet.]

From:

lupusxylem

[He actually laughs. It's more of a huff than a real laugh, humorless, but it sort of blurts its way out of him anyway as he closes his eyes for a moment, waiting for the room to stop swaying before he answers.]

Well. Ain't feelin' great. But I'll live.

[Perhaps in poor taste, considering. He's just not sure he cares anymore.

He's trying not to think about it. He cannot dwell on it, otherwise he's going to find himself in a place he can't crawl out of, and he's got weeks worth of catching up to do before that can happen.]

...how long's it been.

From:

livlaughlove

[poor taste or not, wolfwood saying so is actually a comfort to livio. he wishes the circumstances weren't this, but he's unbelievably grateful to be sitting here holding nick's hand at all.]

I'm... not sure. Weeks, at least. Maybe... a month? I -- I can't... really tell time, especially here. It feels like forever.

[he swallows, a thick lump in his throat. if he isn't already, surely wolfwood will start to wonder why vash isn't here. start to hurt and question whether vash cares. it's the last bit of news livio wants to deliver, but... he has to, doesn't he?]

Nick... Vash, he... I haven't seen him since. He took off into the forest with your glasses...

From:

lupusxylem

[Honestly? He was expecting to hear a lot worse. That it had been years, not weeks. Not to say a month is any better, but...it could be worse. He could have simply died and then never returned.

Of course...he's only just barely processing that before Livio drops another bombshell in his lap, much larger than the previous. Because yes, he has been wondering where Vash is. Vash, who no doubt would have been at Livio's side if he were here.

And where is he? Where the fuck is he-?

Wolfwood suddenly sits up so fast that he jostles the bedframe, and immediately the room spins dizzyingly. He can't even fully focus on Livio's face because of the room trying to whirl its way right out from under him, but he doesn't care.]

Took off? You're fucking kidding. You're KIDDING.

[His tone says that he knows Livio is not kidding.]