RP:Every Day is Exactly the Same

From HollowWiki

Synopsis: Two former friends cross paths once more.

Characters: Trent, Meri

Location: Cenril-Kelay Bridge

Date: April 6th, 2016


It has been two years since Trent went to sleep at the Cenril Inn. Two years that he suddenly went missing. He recalls nothing in that time. It is as if he suddenly traveled forward in time. Confused.. Lost.. he once more sets out to find answers. Even more, to find his former friends....


Cenril-Kelay Bridge

Meri met Trent at this very spot probably a year and a half to two years ago, no? Was Meri not posted up on the railing it the bridge with sketchbook opened across her lap? Ideally the answer to those questions is, yes, for that is how Trent will find Meri for their reunion. Same spot, same activity, provided Meri's player remembers the details of their meeting correctly. Alas, things have changed since they have last spoken and Meri will have no recollection of Trent this encounter. How sad.

Trent's journey began from the west. How many times had he traversed this very path long ago? How many times had he ventured between the reaches of Kelay and Rynvale, seeking answers to where he had come from, or whom he had been in his past? And just as he had began to unravel the mystery, he once again ceased to exist. What had happened? Why didn't he remember the last two years of absence? How did he go miss- Instantly any questions he had been dwelling upon were immediately cut short as something, someone, all too familiar caught his eye. Unsure if his vision were playing Tricks, Trent slowed his approach, taking time to get a better look at the familiar features of the one he would come to know as Meri. Appearance concealed by a large black hood fastened to his leather jacket, Trent finally came to a stop, staring at the woman for a moment in stunned silence.

Meri was not as familiar with Trent as he was her. There was a time when she would have been able to pluck him out of a crowd despite the hood that he uses to mask her features. Right now? Not even close to something she is able to do. It takes her a moment to notice Trent and when she does it is with confusion that he is regarded. Who is this hooded person and why does he keep gawking at me? There is this awkward period of silence where Meri just does not say anything. She is merely watching him watch her. Red lips part and words are finally geared toward Trent, "Can I help you? Do I know you or something"

Trent could feel a sense of joy wash over him as that most familiar voice reaches his ear drum. "Meri?...." he asked, his own tone reflecting a hint of confusion. Both hands; One donning that twisted silver gauntlet, pulled back the hood to reveal his once familiar features. Although Meri wouldn't know it, nothing seemed to have changed. His golden hair was still the same style, same length as it were two years prior. Although time had passed, there were no visible signs of aging. It was as if he had never even left. A smile was offered. "is it really you? Thank the guardians of the Heavens... I wasn't sure I would ever find you."

Meri wouldn't know it, no. Though Trent may have spent a good chunk of time conversing with Meri and though he is one of the handful that Meri was actually close to, there is not the slightest bit of recognition held in those baby blues. They take a moment to glance the man over from head to toe. While Meri may have lost her memory, she has discovered that there is a certain manner people have when they were actually quite familiar with her. It's this cue that causes her to turn from where she is sitting, dismounting the railing so that she can speak with the man while both feet are securely on the bridge. "Meri is my name, yes...and it sounds like you know me...and that I should know you...but I am afraid I do not remember."

Trent's expression furthered into that state of perplexity. "I do not understand. You were the first person to offer assistance when I needed it most. You are responsible for helping me on my path to answers. It is I, Trent. We met two years ago- if what the barkeep of Kelay said is in fact truth." How odd. How could she not remember him? Had he been gone so long that she just forgot? Was she angry with him, and this was just her means of revenge? Perhaps this was a doppelganger or some sort. Or what if the same thing he had been through, she too had experience? Was it a conspiracy? Was it something in the water? Over and over these thoughts raced through his head as he tried to understand what was going on. To be sure he asked, "You are the very Meri that works in Rynvale, yes? The artist? I apologize to be so forward, but I am sure you are... my friend."

Meri chews on the inside of her bottom lip. She has had this conversation on at least three other occasion. Emilia. Lita. Raphaline. They all seemed to understand, handle, and react to what Meri was telling them far better than Trent has. Not that he can be blamed, everyone handles bad news a little differently. Blue eyes seek to connect with Trent's at least briefly, they do not hold that contact for long. "I am Meri that works in Rynvale. Occasionally I like to hang out in Gualon as well, yes. I do draw and do tattoos, yes, it sounds very much like you have the right woman. But I am sorry. I don't know what happened. I don't remember anything." A beat before she amends, "I am just starting to remember flashes..."

Trent shifted his stance, that silver gauntlet taking to adjust the strap that held in place the sword sheathed to his back. "Strange." he stated simply. It seemed like an eternity that he would simply just stare upon the blonde, the situation at hand both mysterious and perhaps a little awkward. "What sort of flashes? That is, if I may inquire." he finally asked. "Forgive my intrusion. I know how this feels. After all, two years ago I was in your very position. In a way, I still am. You are just the only familiar face that I know.... or... knew, rather."

Meri had many of the same curiosities that she did when she first met Trent. The gauntlet upon his hand? The pendant around his neck? They were all strange to Meri and that urge to reach out and touch was still there, but she thus far as managing to resist that. The questions that Trent is hitting her with distract the tattooed blonde enough from repeating that history. "Um...This one is not my memory? But it was shared with me. I was in the forest not far from here and was attacked...my attacker shared a vision. I knew him before he died...." Meri frowns heavily. "Raphaline....I do not remember everything about her, but when she played for me, I remembered the time that we met....that is it. Only those two."

Trent listened carefully, head listing forward- a confirmation nod. "Raphaline. I... remember her. We only met twice, but I remember her." Taking time to think, Trent turned toward the railing of the bridge and placed both hands upon it, stone-cold gaze staring deep into the chasm below. He wished he knew how to help the woman. He wished that he could help her in the same way she had begun helping him in the past. Sadly, he was at a disadvantage. He didn't really even know anyone outside of a couple of friendly faces and the foreman in Rynvale. "Peculiar. Well, it is a start at least. It sounds like the memories are there, but they are locked away. Have you spoken with any of the local healers per chance?" Upon his heel he turned, lower back still resting against the rail as he eyed Meri closely. "What happened when you lost your memory? As in, the first time you had woken. Where were you? Were you in pain?"

Meri gives a slight shake of her head. While Trent seemed content with staring at the chasm below, Meri was starting to feel flustered. She gave into the urge and plopped onto her rear in a pouty sort of manner. Not really like Meri, but then again she was usually not in situations like this one. She was permitted feelings of intense frustration. At least she was not screaming and kicking as she pouted like a toddler. "No, I have not really. I spoke with someone by the name of Banto. He thinks he might be able to help me but..." She has yet to actually accept said help. "I don't know what happened when I lost my memory. I don't know any of that. I woke up on a beach." Perhaps next to some wreckage. Meri has not made that connection.

Trent tucks his hands into his jacket pockets when a breeze passed betwen the two, those steel-blue eyes stuck on the familiar tattooed woman with a moth to light. He really did feel for her situation. Just two years ago they were ina similar situation, yet he was the amnesiac and she were the kind stranger. How ironic. A twisted act of fate. "A beach?" He didn't know the areas all too well, but the only beaches he could think of sprang to mind. "Cenril? Rynvale? Do you suspect you were sailing? Swimming? Was there anything else around that could have been a clue?" his weight shifted from leg to the other. "Banto.... I do not know this name. I think if he can help, you should definitely try. If the man needs funding... I am certain the Bank of Cenril still has a vault for me. I am willing to assist in any way that I can."

Meri goes wide-eyes as Trent offers to foot the bill for her memory should Banto require it. It was an odd feeling, someone who feels like a total stranger being willing to spend the gold on what could be a hefty expense. Of course in the back of her mind she knew that they were quite familiar, but it was hard to connect that knowledge to her present feelings. "I did a piece for him," she flexes her hand as if she were trying to show where she did this artwork for Banto. "That was our bargain. Art for a favor. I just have not collected on this favor...You should keep your own gold. It....feels weird to even consider accepting it."

Trent nodded once more, golden strands moving fluidly with the motion. "Ah. That is a kind enough favour. I do hope that you collect soon. If you have any sort of chance to regain what you have lost, I urge you to take it. I would give anything in this world to reclaim memories of my former life." To her latest statement, his less-than-peculiar hand left the pocket in which it rested, and waved off her notion of feeling 'weird'. "Think nothing of it, Meri. My vault contains more than I will ever use." As he recalled their first meeting, he smiled. "When we first met... You tried your best to help me. You showed me to this city.." he started, tilting his head to the east. "You showed me the inn and you gave me gold to stay a few nights. From there, you went out of your way to talk with me, to show me friendship. You offered to help me find my way. In fact, before I... Before I found you today, you, Raphaline, and I were to take a trip to decipher a vision I had. So, I insist that you should not feel 'weird' to consider accepting it. I would like to do my best to help you, as much as you had tried to help me."

Meri 's memory doesn't seem to be triggered or jogged by any of the tidbits of information that Trent was feeding to her. Brows knit together as she tries very much to force herself into remembering any of this but no. Nothing. A shake of her head to signal that the memories shares were doing nothing. "It sounds like we knew each other for awhile and quite well...I am sorry I do not remember." What a somber conversation. Much like the first time they met, Meri reaches out to try and take hold of that gauntleted hand of Trent's. Successful or not, she'll inquire, "I am guessing when I had my memories I knew why you were rocking the one gauntlet look. What is the deal?"

Trent was distracted from Meri's issues for a moment when her question was posed, the metal encased appendage brought out in a manner of showcase. He gazed intently at the back of his hand, the sharp claw-like fingers spread out and flexed one by one. "I do not know. We never discovered what it was, exactly. I know that I can not remove it, and that it has a mind of its own at the worst of times; Going so far as to have gotten me into trouble. It once made a move to attack you." Fingers curled into a ball, the hand dropping down to his side. "Last I can recall, I believe you proposed that it might have once belonged to another."

Meri wrinkles up her nose lightly at the news. She and the hand had a history, did they? Well, with that little revelation, Meri is just going to have to think twice about being so grabby with that hand. Trent shares more memories that Meri still cannot recall, the frustration at her inability to remember starting to bubble and boil. A deep breath is taken in and released ever so slowly. "Trent. I am glad that our paths have crossed again....but I need to clear my head a little bit." Try and process all of this, regroup, calm her nerves that were starting to unsettle. "I am going to walk down toward Gualon...but maybe soon we can meet up for a drink and talk more?"

Trent pushed off of the railing with one foot, a half-smile offered to the woman. "I understand. Take time to think. I will find you in Gualon when I am able. I need to take care of a few errands." Placing his hood atop his head Trent offered, before turning away and wandering to the east. "Remember Meri. You are not alone in this. Safe travels." With those words, the stranger wandered off toward the city to run his errands.