villagelogs | 021 » WHAT GOES AROUND GHOST AROUND

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021 » WHAT GOES AROUND GHOST AROUND

characters: Elena Gilbert and funeral goers—Elijah Mikaelson, Dean Winchester and Helen Magnus.
location: The makeshift cemetery, south Mathias.
date/time: Late evening, say 6pm.
content: Overwhelmed with guilt, Elena holds a little ceremony for the spectre that she witnessed being murdered. In reality, she's holding it for herself.
warnings: Mentions of death, grief, murder.

The makeshift cemetery could use another marker.

Wrapped up in a long, thick winter coat with a patterned scarf wrapped around her neck, Elena isn't quite sure of what to make of the little gathering that's appeared for the spectre. Perhaps they think she's a little lost (they're not wrong) or perhaps they think that she's saying goodbye to someone she knows (she is). Whatever their reasons, it doesn't matter in the end. The one lesson she's learned over the last few years is that strangers or acquaintances tend to pull through for her when she least expects it.

She ensures not to kick the lantern that flickers by her side as she kneels on the snow. It soaks through her jeans and sticks to the denim, but she hardly shivers. It's with an old and worn sneaker (she couldn't find a hammer) that she hammers in the uneven, splintering plank of wood into the earth and snow. She does her best with her human strength, but it's a little on the wonky side.

There's no name on the makeshift marker. Elena had known what name she wanted to put on there, but she uses the excuse of Elijah's presence to forgo using the pen in her pocket.

Letting out an exhale, she looks at the marker. "This is for whoever you've lost that you didn't get to say goodbye to." Plucking the thick pen from her pocket, she still doesn't look up. "You can write that person's name on the wood if you want."

Elena will be when everyone's gone. She'll write two names on the wooden panel.

Jenna Sommers.
Spectre.

[ ooc: Anyone is welcome to have seen Elena determinedly gather things from the general store and abandoned houses and followed her to the cemetery. Action spam/prose welcome.

The above write-up is my top level so I'll assume anyone who tags in wants to interact with Elena. (Please note she has a Madness that means she has a fear of being buried alive or of cemeteries, ha.) That said, please feel free to top level as I imagine some of you may want to interact with one another! (Just imagine everyone coupling off to talk quietly since one big long thread with multiple people is bound to be, in the words of Beyonce, a disas-tuh.)

Any qs, you can reach me here. ]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ helen comes to stand near elijah. not too far, and yet not too close. after all, she is an outsider to this small little gathering. what the young woman she said is gentle --- nice. and what she said is far more telling, and she'll hardly say that out loud.

especially to strangers.

she nods to the man she has come to stand beside and remains silent. vigils are meant to be as such.

at least it's a burial some some sort. more than she could have given to ashley, or james. ]

( though it feels like his usually sharp senses are dulled, he's still very aware of someone's presence beside him when there was no one there before.

he doesn't look over, not immediately, choosing to keep himself still until curiosity gets the best of him and he looks over.

he doesn't recognize the face of the woman that's come to stand beside him but he's learned that people arrive fairly frequently to this place.

perhaps she's one that's just arrived or perhaps she's just one he hasn't met. whatever the answer, he responds to her nod with one of his own. )

[ helen gives a small unafraid smile, her eyes turning back to the small vigil. it seems wrong to start up a conversation right away. although, it's hardly as if she has a reason to really be at the small graveyard. other than it is where she arrived earlier with neal. ]

( elijah waits a moment longer before he actually says something. the service is still ongoing but elena has, at least, stopped speaking so he doesn't feel rude for saying something. )

Do you know Elena?

( he glances over, curious. she's unfamiliar to him but elena is more of a social person than he is so she probably knows the entirety of the town by now. )

[ at that, she shakes her head. ]

I'm afraid I hardly know anyone. I just arrived here this morning.

[ helen gestures to the small graveyard. ]

I woke here and made my way through just a small portion of the town. I was on my way back when I saw the small gathering. I'm afraid curiosity got the best of me.

...I hope I wasn't intruding on something deeply personal.

No. There was an incident the other night that my friend witnessed that she's trying to commemorate.

( it wasn't very easy to explain to someone who was newly arrived so he tries to keep it vague. )

Someone native to the town passed away in a suspicious manner and my friend didn't want the occasion to pass without the...person being remembered.

( was the spectre a person? he's probably closer to a person than not. )

An incident?

[ her head tilts ever so slightly. her gaze wanders down to the graves before returning back to the man as he speaks. ]

It's very kind of your friend. Most people would hardly look both ways after someone else had taken over the situation.

[ although given there's no police or authority here... ]

She handled the vigil rather beautifully.

Yes, an incident. It's rather hard to explain and I'd rather not right now. But, some...one died and my friend was honoring them.

( a spectre qualifies as a human just as much as he does, he supposes. maybe they're both not completely human but they're close enough.

he sighs, looking ove at elena. )

She did. We've only been here a few days so I hate that she had to do that but she did as well as she could all things considered.

Fair enough.

[ she raised her hands in that of a peace offering. no point in pressing for information if it won't come readily. at least, not until she knew her neighbors well enough.

as it were. ]

Only a few days... Good Lord. [ helen sighs at that. ] Here I had thought this might be quite the vacation.

[ at least some of her english sarcasm remains. ]

If I had my choice of vacation, this would not...be what I chose. I'd prefer something with a little more sun, a little more warmth.

( when he'd first arrived in mathias, he hadn't minded the snow but a few days of only seeing it from his window has left him very much not a fan.

he shakes his head. )

My name is Elijah. I would welcome you to this place but there really is nothing good about being here. Not to me. Perhaps you can find something good about it though.

Most tend not to opt for the winter wonderland unless there is a fair amount of Christmas lights involved - or cocoa with some alcohol involved.

[ you would think that after being stranded in snowy places for days at a time, that helen might end up having a dislike for it. no, not really. if anything she simply dislikes not knowing more about her situation. weather be damned. ]

Dr. Helen Magnus. [ she gives a polite smile. ] Other than the weather and obvious state of decay, what else causes you to dislike the town?

The fact that I cannot leave.

( that, above anything else, is what he dislikes. if he were given the choice of being here, he might enjoy the mystery for a little while but he does not like the feeling of being caged. he's felt like that before and it's never ended well. )

It was not my choice to be here and yet, I cannot leave. There is apparently a murderous fog that prevents anyone from going too far.

( that fog...he's so curious. )

That's fair enough. It puts all of us on edge.

[ although the fact she really has no idea where mathias might be is distressing enough. she supposes she could try to rig up a radio that might be able to broadcast a signal out... but to where? ]

I heard about the fog from someone else. In fact, the man was rather adamant about not going towards it at all.

Yes, that's what I've heard as well.

( and yet, he plans on going towards it as soon as he can find the time. he's always been like that, doing things that people tell him not to do. it might be a mikaelson family trait.

he hums, thoughtful before he blows out that breath. )

Tell me, have you ever dealt with a fog like that? A fog that dangerous?

Well... [ she sighs. ] I treated those that had exposure to mustard gas. While not quite the same, I imagine it may have similar properties? It'd be rather hard to tell without a facility where proper tests could be done.

I would imagine that anything with a similar compound could do an extreme amount of damage... if not out right kill someone if not treated fast enough.

Mustard gas? I haven't heard that sort of thing mentioned in quite some time.

( hm, interesting. he glances over at her, looking at her with some renewed interest before he looks forward again. )

Apparently, some people who go into the fog die. But others come back. I don't know if that's something with the fog itself or the city. I don't think anyone knows that as of yet.

The effects are horrendous, as I'm sure you know. It was the first thing that came to mind that you could concoct in a kitchen.

[ it certainly seems to be in this town's realm: a horrendous chemical weapon. ]

They came back? Do you know if there were any symptoms of exposure to toxic atmospheric changes?

Not that I'm aware of but I confess I haven't actually spoken to someone who's experienced the fog firsthand.

( he's just heard secondhand information through various people. he wishes he could talk to someone to see what it felt like. )

I've been thinking of exploring the fog myself. It means to be the barrier that's keeping us inside this place.

I doubt many of them would want to come forward. People tend not to enjoy speaking of a traumatic experience unless they feel the need to.

[ helen shakes her head with a frown at that. it's best not to press people unless necessary. ]

If you do plan on doing so? It would be best to make safety precautions. Perhaps something that might filter your breathing, or a rope to help you find your way back. Although, I can't say any experiments as of yet are wise. I feel we lack far too much information.

( while he doesn't think that he'll need something that filters his breathing, the rope isn't a terrible idea. he's been in some pretty intense fogs and whiteouts and he's gotten himself turned around a bit.

he's always found his way out but he thinks this fog might be a little different. this fog isn't like anything he's encountered before but it's still a fog. )

I'll take the suggestions under advisement. I think I'll be fine when it comes to breathing. I can hold my breath for quite some time.

( or he'll die and come right back after a few minutes. )

But, I fear the rope might not work very well. If I so wanted, I could take it off or tear it if I didn't want to come back.

Ah, a hidden talent of yours then?

[ the corners of her mouth tilt up in a quiet question. a man of talents, or perhaps a bit more? hm. maybe she's looking too hard for something to be familiar to home. ]

I doubt there's anything in the vein of GPS here in Mathias.

Something like that, yes.

( that's as good a lie as any, isn't it? there doesn't need to be any sort of elaboration right now. )

A fog cannot be endless. There is a beginning and there is an end. I assume that if I just go in a straight line, I will find the end.

Hmm.

[ she'll leave it there for now. it seems the people in this town have as many secrets as the town itself. not that she is one to comment or even above such things. she has her own secrets that date back a century and more. ]

Until you find that your straight line is far from being a straight line. Unless you know the layout of the local forest well enough to judge a straight line.

( she makes a logical point. he doesn't know this place like he should but he's found no way of figuring out the layout. this place is very light on maps.

he rubs his chin. )

I suppose there's only one way to find that out: experimentation.

( which means he still wants to go into the fog because there's only going to be one way to find out what's on the othe side. someone has to go through it.

and considering he's already dead, he thinks it should be him. )

Or, we do some digging. See what we can find out about this town. Surely, someone here has learnt something about where we are. Or even the surrounding layout of the town.

021 » WHAT GOES AROUND GHOST AROUND

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