[ it's been a few weeks, but with how gung-ho she'd been wanting to smoke, even without experience, he does feel a tug to check back, to make sure she hasn't tried something far more dangerous. he's that social kind of guy who digs down every which way and tends to lose track of all the acquaintanceships he's courting though, so it is some time before he manages to remember and send something to her before he gets distracted again.
who thought there would be so much to do in dead not-dead land? ]
hey. hope you haven't tried eating cigarettes by now. they don't taste great. just fyi.
[ It's not a message she's expected, but that doesn't mean she's not glad to hear from him. While the username is a mystery, the cigarette reference is a dead giveaway to who lies behind it. And it makes her smile, which is nice. Really nice. ]
my diet might be kinda weird, but I can assure you, it doesn't include cigarettes yet.
[ oh. cute. he almost teases her inclusion of "yet" but decides against it in favor of asking about the diet thing. because that kind of didn't come up before. ]
[ Well, guess he didn't get the memo. She wonders briefly about how many others are also clueless about her no-longer-secret identity before typing out the answer in plain English. ]
[ oh. actually that makes a lot of sense. not that he's really concerned since she seems to be fairly lucid and not at all talking like a starving vampire in a horror movie. that would have been more of a red flag. no, eliot's just curious. vampires tend to keep to their own in his world, and better understanding other vampires is still something quite new to him, especially since all of them seem to come from different worlds anyway.
what if sparkling vampires are real somewhere? ]
so long as you aren't being starved. I'm glad you have that support.
is this weird to ask? I don't know, but I'm asking anyway. how often do you actually need to eat? is it like a "I'm hungry now and must feed" kind of thing? or just creeping hunger like. y'know. normal.
[ Somehow, she doesn't mind him asking these questions. It actually makes it a bit easier to just have it be out there in the open and on the table for discussion — it's not some big secret anymore and just talking about it helps really hammer that fact home. ]
thanks. I'm honestly surprised so many people are willing to do it, but I'm also really grateful.
it's not weird. it's just... complicated.
do you want to get a drink? the alcoholic kind. I think I could explain things better in person.
back where I'm from, you can definitely get a kind of high when you're bitten, so. I don't know maybe some of these people wanted to test those limits?
but also people are just. really nice about some things too while being shits about others [ what else is new though? ]
ah, you're speaking my language though. I'd invite you back to my place if it didn't seem awfully forward and also the living room wasn't covered in paper because my roommate is trying to become this place's Stephen Hawking, but. Invincible?
[ all things considered, their attempt to burn the flowers could have gone a lot worse, but elektra isn't interested in looking on the bright side. not only did nothing burn up, the smell gets that much worse and that much more intense, becoming scorched and smoking in spite of the source still remaining mockingly in tact.
she's not typically one to back down from a challenge, but she also knows when something's a lost cause and considering her past experience with plants in this place, she's not all that interested in trying again. the wind picks up and assaults her senses further, the scent invading her nostrils and flooding her stomach, and she turns and bolts to where elena's been hanging back, keeping watch over their lanterns and looking out for anything that might go sideways. it's not until she reaches the other woman again that her body gives out and she doubles over, yanking the collar of her shirt down and turning away from elena as she gets suddenly and violently sick.
there isn't a whole lot to come up, her appetite's been severely lacking with the stench still in the air. but that hardly makes it any more pleasant, especially when her ribs are still aching and bruised. after losing what she's managed to get down, some bile, and then a few rounds of dry heaving, elektra eventually straightens, swaying a little and wiping at her mouth. ]
I think you can tell the people who were mouthing off to you that burning definitely won't work now.
Edited (wording changes mostly, sorry for all the edits!) 2019-10-08 20:47 (UTC)
God. El. I found him. I fucking found him and. Just? I. Call me.
[ there's maybe a gap of time before she gets another. he thinks maybe she was asleep so like. y'know. but he's also a self important bitch, so when she doesn't answer, he has to prod again. and also he has more he wants to say. and also she's not allowed to ignore him. ]
El? You there?
[ there's less of a wait after that. like. twenty minutes. tops. ]
Elena?
[ okay, so he's not really that self important, but she's not exactly someone who is untimely with her responses so. ]
Elena. Are you okay?
[ he's trying to keep it plain enough, in case she just doesn't have the time. even a small, 'hey, gimme a bit,' would suffice. it's just unusual given how easy it is for them to talk to each other usually, which he certainly doesn't take for granted in the least. ]
Did something happen?
[ of course, when you don't get responses to these kinds of questions, it starts to get really worrying. like, 'hey, maybe they didn't just get distracted while going out to get some milk,' and more like, 'my dad never came back when he left to get cigarettes,' but as their previous conversations have dictated, elena isn't out getting cigarettes.
also there aren't any in the general store anyway. ]
Hey, starting to get really worried here. Just. Hit me up? As soon as you've got a minute.
[ except she doesn't. so it just gets worse. ]
Please answer. Just like two seconds. I need to know you're okay.
[ by now it's been more than ten hours since the first message. there's something really off, even if he can't place it. he can only hope it doesn't have to do with the crazy shit that's been happening, but he really doesn't know if elena will even answer, if she can break herself free from that moment so that eliot can keep her grounded, even if it's just his voice. ]
Elena, please. I'm really hoping this is just like some kind of elaborate joke because of the. Y'know. But. El. Fuck, I'm really worried? Text me back if you can't call. Just. Anything. Please.
[ it carries on like that, message after message of concern, something maybe a bit close to fear lingering in his voice, and not the kind she's heard before where he feels like he'll be swallowed whole. the kind where she would know how much she matters to him here, even if he can't say it with all the right words yet. there's fifty-four messages by the time she checks. from the timestamps, it seems he did give up at some point to sleep, but he was back at it again first thing, trying to make jokes to keep from panicking. ]
[ When Elena finally opens her tablet again to try to reconnect with Beacon after many long days of hiding in her apartment with Jon, she's honestly surprised to see so many messages. This isn't like back in Mystic Falls where she has a formidable group of friends who try to keep close tabs on each other. She's made some connections here, of course, but only a few feel like they could be something like what she'd shared with Bonnie, Caroline, or Matt. By the time she finally finishes listening to all of the messages, though, Eliot has very firmly moved into that category, whether he knows it or not, and after she's stopped crying she sends one of her own. ]
I'm so sorry, Eliot. I've had my tablet off for a while. I didn't mean to worry you.
[ The apology is sincere, the words laced with regret and sadness and... exhaustion. ]
[ the response is near immediate. he checked in every day, at the least. just in case. by the end, it felt like there was a high possibility she might have died, and the fact he hadn't been there to help makes it all the worse. ]
Elena. Oh, thank fucking Christ. Jesus. Are you okay? [ and he asks that not because she didn't answer it yet but also because there's something there, something tired in her voice. she would tell him if she died, right? ]
[ The immediacy of his response makes her chest tighten and she's almost on the verge of tears again. But she's trying not to wake Jon, so she steps out into the hall at the inn, leaning against the door and taking a few deep breaths before answering. ]
I'm okay. I just... needed some time. I'm really sorry, I didn't think—
[ some time, she says so simply after saying she's okay. it doesn't track. something happened, and she doesn't want to say. there's a part of him that had hoped they were beyond that point. that's the only way any of them will survive, right? trust. except even q seems to be thinking private things too, and--
mike isn't around mocking and grabbing at him anymore, but eliot can still hear the words. 'even if you don't kill them, they'll all leave you anyway.' he glances back to the door of the room he now shares with quentin and swallows thickly. ]
Did something happen? Because of the. Hallucination shit? Or was this like. Um. A sabbatical?
[ Closing her eyes tightly, she debates for a moment whether or not to lie. Wouldn't it be easier? Just pretend that everything is really fine, she's better now, nothing to worry about. It would be just like after her parents died, and after she lost Jenna... I'm fine and a smile that people will believe. But Eliot isn't like everyone else, he's not asking out of politeness and not really wanting to know the answer. He's asking and she can't bring herself to lie to him.
She needs someone to know. Someone to understand. So she slides down to sit on the floor, carefully shielding the light of her lantern with the blanket around her shoulders just in case someone happens to walk by. ]
Something happened in the woods. Just before the hallucinations stopped.
[ okay. so not a sabbatical. it's a joke he could make, but he knows it would just as easily distract from the gravity. there's defeat there, hidden in the words, something that doesn't want to be revealed, and a secret wished to be kept. that's not something you tread on.
his voice is as gentle as he can manage, just above a whisper as he moves further away from the door, finds somewhere more private. ]
Are you able to talk about it? [ he doesn't want to push her if she isn't ready. he respects her want to, but sometimes the words aren't there either. ] If it's a lot-- I mean, even the hallucinations were. A lot. So.
[ his hand itches to grab hers, but she's so far away. ]
I. This may be better in person. Would that be okay?
[ She doesn't want to talk about it. She wants it all to go away, for her to be okay with it instead of for the terror to be clinging to her even all these days later. But even as the urge to just shove him away rises, so too does the need to have him close. She doesn't want to talk about it but she needs to, and she knows without a shred of doubt that Eliot is the person she needs right now.
There are tears in her voice when she answers, emotion making her throat tighten as it becomes just a little harder to breathe. ]
[ he hears it so clearly, and it breaks his heart. he should have been there. he should have done something. it's such a familiar helplessness, that way he used to grasp onto anything soft, a pillow or blanket, and pull it tight to his body, trying to will away something terrible, for any kind of comfort, real comfort, only to be feel the cold, empty space around him ignore him all the same, remind him that the world will never have his back. he still feels it some days, washes it down with a few gulps from his flask. but he knows he never wants to be the one that walked away. ]
Where do you need me, El? Tell me where, and I'm there.
[ It's been a long time since Elena felt so alone and helpless. Even with Jon waiting in their bed, she feels desperately alone, the incident in the woods bringing up all sorts of things that she simply can't talk about with him. There are so many things they share, emotions and stories and support, but this can't be one of them. So to have Eliot reaching out like this now, to know that he's truly offering her this lifeline...
She sniffles loudly and pulls herself up off the floor, rubbing at the moisture in her eyes before picking up her lantern. ]
I'm at the inn. There's no one downstairs...
[ This would be better in her apartment or somewhere else hidden from view, but at least for now they won't have an audience. Hopefully, that won't change. ]
[ he knows that fear too, so his first words are to stop it before it gets very far. ]
I can cast a muting charm around us. [ and he leaves it at that. ] Be there in a few.
[ though only after he gets some things first. he grabs his satchel, a couple mugs and boxes of tea. refilling the canteen, he tucks that away too before throwing on his coat and trotting swiftly out the door.
he arrives as he says, a few minutes later, slightly winded, but no less concerned. the invincible is the most obvious choice for seating, so he looks for her there first. ]
[ She's surprised by how quickly he arrives, the little light of his lantern coming through the door feeling as bright as the sun. Back in a corner booth where they'll be out of the way, she still has the faded blue blanket wrapped around her shoulders like a shawl, covering the leggings and tank top she'd worn as pajamas. Her feet are a bit cold, bare against the floor because she hadn't thought to get shoes, but she doesn't care.
Lifting her lantern, she smiles genuinely, though it's small and worn. ]
[ elektra had been mostly holed up in matthew’s house since her hallucinations had hit their peak and convinced her that she was bleeding out from the wound that had lead to her death. there aren’t a whole lot of people she’s inclined to check up on, but elena had earned that privilege when she’d offered to watch her back. (actually, she’d earned it when she’d saved her from being trampled.) she’d noticed the girl has moved with someone nearby and that she hadn’t seen her outside much since moving in. (not that she’s been leaving matthew’s residence much, either.) so she sends out a message a few days after she’s had some time to recover herself. ]
[ The normal hallucinations (how ridiculous to think of hallucinations as being normal) hadn't been all that bad, things she could reasonably deal with. But that last day before they'd finally ended... The mad sprint into the forest after a Damon who hadn't been there had been bad enough, but to add the encounter with the Baubledook on top of that.
Well, there's a reason she hadn't left her home much in the last few weeks, and Jon hadn't been it. At least, he hadn't been the only reason. ]
I've been better, but I've also been a lot worse. You?
[ elektra can’t fault her for either reason, especially when she’s hardly social herself. but elena is fairly more social than she is, so it had been notable, even if she hadn’t heard about her encounter in the woods yet. ]
about the same. glad to no longer believe i’m bleeding out.
[ they've got that in common, although the things that had really set her on edge beforehand had been the voices she'd heard. all people she had trusted that had let her down and in one case, decided she was too dangerous and needed to be put down. ]
no. sorry you've been through it, too.
[ there's a pause as elektra debates how to continue, or if she even should. ]
[ She doesn't even bother to reply, she just vampire speeds next door, panic settling into her chest because, after everything, what now? A casual knock on the door and then she's quietly shouting through it with another more hurried knock. ]
[Due to the wound on his back, Quentin can't sit properly on the couch anymore, so he's kind of perched on the edge of a chair, cross legged and writing on his tablet when the knock comes and he almost loses the tablet to the floor in a brief struggle against gravity and his own clumsy hands.
[ A parcel arrives, a small box wrapped in paper and tied in red ribbon. Inside is a folded piece of paper, along with a dozen of somewhat clumsily made truffles - crushed nuts rolled in caramel and then dipped in chocolate. The note reads: ]
Don't know what to say. Except I'm sorry. It should have been me. This won't make up for what you lost, helping my friend. I don't even know if you can eat these. I'm Not good at this kind of stuff. Whatever you need, just ask.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
otrazhenie) wrote2018-05-07 10:48 pm
@regina
who thought there would be so much to do in dead not-dead land? ]
hey. hope you haven't tried eating cigarettes by now. they don't taste great. just fyi.
[ teasing is always a good way to start, right? ]
no subject
my diet might be kinda weird, but I can assure you, it doesn't include cigarettes yet.
no subject
what's so weird about your diet?
no subject
I'm a vampire, I have to drink blood to survive.
1/
2/2
how does that even work here? i'm guessing the general store doesn't have a secret stash of blood?
no subject
[ Trying to cope. Being really dead undead but still getting hungry has been... an adjustment. ]
no subject
what if sparkling vampires are real somewhere? ]
so long as you aren't being starved. I'm glad you have that support.
is this weird to ask? I don't know, but I'm asking anyway. how often do you actually need to eat? is it like a "I'm hungry now and must feed" kind of thing? or just creeping hunger like. y'know. normal.
no subject
thanks. I'm honestly surprised so many people are willing to do it, but I'm also really grateful.
it's not weird. it's just... complicated.
do you want to get a drink? the alcoholic kind. I think I could explain things better in person.
no subject
but also people are just. really nice about some things too while being shits about others [ what else is new though? ]
ah, you're speaking my language though. I'd invite you back to my place if it didn't seem awfully forward and also the living room wasn't covered in paper because my roommate is trying to become this place's Stephen Hawking, but. Invincible?
no subject
Invincible works. you'll have to tell me more about this roommate, he sounds interesting.
no subject
see you in a few
post their attempt to burn the flower
she's not typically one to back down from a challenge, but she also knows when something's a lost cause and considering her past experience with plants in this place, she's not all that interested in trying again. the wind picks up and assaults her senses further, the scent invading her nostrils and flooding her stomach, and she turns and bolts to where elena's been hanging back, keeping watch over their lanterns and looking out for anything that might go sideways. it's not until she reaches the other woman again that her body gives out and she doubles over, yanking the collar of her shirt down and turning away from elena as she gets suddenly and violently sick.
there isn't a whole lot to come up, her appetite's been severely lacking with the stench still in the air. but that hardly makes it any more pleasant, especially when her ribs are still aching and bruised. after losing what she's managed to get down, some bile, and then a few rounds of dry heaving, elektra eventually straightens, swaying a little and wiping at her mouth. ]
I think you can tell the people who were mouthing off to you that burning definitely won't work now.
@regina; private, voice
[ there's maybe a gap of time before she gets another. he thinks maybe she was asleep so like. y'know. but he's also a self important bitch, so when she doesn't answer, he has to prod again. and also he has more he wants to say. and also she's not allowed to ignore him. ]
El? You there?
[ there's less of a wait after that. like. twenty minutes. tops. ]
Elena?
[ okay, so he's not really that self important, but she's not exactly someone who is untimely with her responses so. ]
Elena. Are you okay?
[ he's trying to keep it plain enough, in case she just doesn't have the time. even a small, 'hey, gimme a bit,' would suffice. it's just unusual given how easy it is for them to talk to each other usually, which he certainly doesn't take for granted in the least. ]
Did something happen?
[ of course, when you don't get responses to these kinds of questions, it starts to get really worrying. like, 'hey, maybe they didn't just get distracted while going out to get some milk,' and more like, 'my dad never came back when he left to get cigarettes,' but as their previous conversations have dictated, elena isn't out getting cigarettes.
also there aren't any in the general store anyway. ]
Hey, starting to get really worried here. Just. Hit me up? As soon as you've got a minute.
[ except she doesn't. so it just gets worse. ]
Please answer. Just like two seconds. I need to know you're okay.
[ by now it's been more than ten hours since the first message. there's something really off, even if he can't place it. he can only hope it doesn't have to do with the crazy shit that's been happening, but he really doesn't know if elena will even answer, if she can break herself free from that moment so that eliot can keep her grounded, even if it's just his voice. ]
Elena, please. I'm really hoping this is just like some kind of elaborate joke because of the. Y'know. But. El. Fuck, I'm really worried? Text me back if you can't call. Just. Anything. Please.
[ it carries on like that, message after message of concern, something maybe a bit close to fear lingering in his voice, and not the kind she's heard before where he feels like he'll be swallowed whole. the kind where she would know how much she matters to him here, even if he can't say it with all the right words yet. there's fifty-four messages by the time she checks. from the timestamps, it seems he did give up at some point to sleep, but he was back at it again first thing, trying to make jokes to keep from panicking. ]
@eleven | text 1/4
i wanted to ask if you are okay
2/4
3/4
4/4
eleven
voice; around 3am on Oct 25
I'm so sorry, Eliot. I've had my tablet off for a while. I didn't mean to worry you.
[ The apology is sincere, the words laced with regret and sadness and... exhaustion. ]
no subject
Elena. Oh, thank fucking Christ. Jesus. Are you okay? [ and he asks that not because she didn't answer it yet but also because there's something there, something tired in her voice. she would tell him if she died, right? ]
no subject
I'm okay. I just... needed some time. I'm really sorry, I didn't think—
cw: murder talk??
mike isn't around mocking and grabbing at him anymore, but eliot can still hear the words. 'even if you don't kill them, they'll all leave you anyway.' he glances back to the door of the room he now shares with quentin and swallows thickly. ]
Did something happen? Because of the. Hallucination shit? Or was this like. Um. A sabbatical?
no subject
She needs someone to know. Someone to understand. So she slides down to sit on the floor, carefully shielding the light of her lantern with the blanket around her shoulders just in case someone happens to walk by. ]
Something happened in the woods. Just before the hallucinations stopped.
no subject
his voice is as gentle as he can manage, just above a whisper as he moves further away from the door, finds somewhere more private. ]
Are you able to talk about it? [ he doesn't want to push her if she isn't ready. he respects her want to, but sometimes the words aren't there either. ] If it's a lot-- I mean, even the hallucinations were. A lot. So.
[ his hand itches to grab hers, but she's so far away. ]
I. This may be better in person. Would that be okay?
no subject
There are tears in her voice when she answers, emotion making her throat tighten as it becomes just a little harder to breathe. ]
That would be great.
no subject
Where do you need me, El? Tell me where, and I'm there.
no subject
She sniffles loudly and pulls herself up off the floor, rubbing at the moisture in her eyes before picking up her lantern. ]
I'm at the inn. There's no one downstairs...
[ This would be better in her apartment or somewhere else hidden from view, but at least for now they won't have an audience. Hopefully, that won't change. ]
> action
I can cast a muting charm around us. [ and he leaves it at that. ] Be there in a few.
[ though only after he gets some things first. he grabs his satchel, a couple mugs and boxes of tea. refilling the canteen, he tucks that away too before throwing on his coat and trotting swiftly out the door.
he arrives as he says, a few minutes later, slightly winded, but no less concerned. the invincible is the most obvious choice for seating, so he looks for her there first. ]
no subject
Lifting her lantern, she smiles genuinely, though it's small and worn. ]
I'm over here, Eliot.
@badeaux | pre-event, early in november
how are you holding up?
no subject
Well, there's a reason she hadn't left her home much in the last few weeks, and Jon hadn't been it. At least, he hadn't been the only reason. ]
I've been better, but I've also been a lot worse. You?
no subject
about the same. glad to no longer believe i’m bleeding out.
no subject
[ Both as a human and a vampire, she'd had the joy of experiencing many unpleasant deaths and near-deaths. What fond memories they make now. ]
no subject
no. sorry you've been through it, too.
[ there's a pause as elektra debates how to continue, or if she even should. ]
is that what you saw?
no subject
You told me once that your blood can heal injuries. I need your help.
no subject
no subject
action;
Q? Open up, it's Elena!
no subject
He opens the door with a frown.]
Hey Elena? Are you okay?
backdated to 25 December
Don't know what to say. Except I'm sorry. It should have been me.
This won't make up for what you lost, helping my friend.
I don't even know if you can eat these. I'm
Not good at this kind of stuff.
Whatever you need, just ask.