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

I don't want to forget her.

[ if she forgets her, it means jenna died in vain. it means her parents died in vain. she refuses to forget them even when it feels like it'd be a lot easier to simply turn off her memory and her emotions attached to it.

but she has to live with it. every choice she makes, every choice made around her, she has to live with it. isn't that what being human is all about? ]

Do you think we could go back to the Boarding House? I'm starting to feel... [ she presses her lips together and shakes her head, arms wrapping around her chest. ] I just don't want to be out here anymore. Is that okay?

That's all right. Of course it's all right.

( elijah reaches out and curls a hand around her bicep, giving her a little tug to get her feet moving. once she starts walking, he let's go but he fall into easy step beside her, not speaking. )

Maybe you should lie down once we're back. You could probably use the rest.

( between the phsyical turmoil of arriving here and all the emotional upheaval, she has to be tired. )

[ walking makes her feel a little better. she has an objective, and that's to get back to the boarding house. sometimes, having those little goals helped her in the aftermath of losing her parents.

she wishes that he'd wrap his arm around her, but that's a wish that truly belongs to stefan. she wishes he was here. his smile and broody frown always made her feel sturdy when she felt adrift.

but stefan isn't here, so elena knows she has to keep herself afloat.

she tugs in a rough breath. ] I'll sit down. [ and she'll no doubt fall asleep, but the upward tilt of her chin wants to defy the fact she's human and tired and been thrown through the wringer several times over. ]

There's some things I need to talk to you about and I can't do that if I rest like you want me to.

Very well.

( he's silent for a few moments, walking by her side and helping her traverse the snow and the unfamiliar landscape. )

You know, when people say that, it's usually a harbinger of something bad.

( but that was his luck, wasn't it? )

Or it could be a harbinger of something good.

[ she's never one to pass up an opportunity to look at the bright side. there was always one, even during a highly emotional and negative feeling moment.

she glances at him and then turns her gaze away, sighing softly. ]

Or at least eye-opening. [ she lets out a heavier breath and clears her throat, imagining that elijah isn't one to skirt around the details. ] I was talking to Dean and he very heavily implied that you were too intense with him.

I'm too intense for everyone, Elena. I did nothing more than speak with him.

( elijah doesn't even know how he'd be too intense for anyone but he barely stops himself from rolling his eyes. he could have been much, much more intense and here was dean, complaining to elena. )

How cute that he thought to talk to you about it instead of myself. Are you going to lecture me?

I don't have it in me to lecture you even if I wanted to.

[ and she doesn't particularly feel like it. in all honesty, elena is very tired of being put in the middle by two men. she's not a tennis ball to knock back and forth in a court. she's not a pawn to be used to pit against one another. grown men can work their own shit out without a teenage girl who's dead tired getting in the middle of it. ]

He felt like you implied something… indecent was happening between the two of us. I don't know what you said, but I'm assuming you were trying to look out for me. [ she gives him a kind, tired smile. ] I can look out for myself.

What?

( elijah stops walking at that, looking at elena like she's sprouted two heads. he thinks back on the conversation between he and dean and scoffs, shaking his head. )

I don't know what he got out of the conversation but I didn't imply anything like that. You're a teenager and I am not. I want to help you, that's it.

( he feels annoyance creep up that someone would think he would try that. that was more something his brother kol would do. )

If anything, I applied he was an indiot.

[ she can't help but shake her head in amusement. he reminds her a little of stefan.

she hadn't expected he would stop walking. she's a couple of steps ahead of him before she turns and takes one to shorten the distance between them. selfishly, she doesn't want to be standing alone right now. ]

Apparently, he's suspicious of you—or everyone, I don't really know. But he knows a lot about the supernatural. I feel like you're on his radar, and you would know better than me how paranoid hunters or Council members or whatever can be when they think they've got someone all worked out.

[ like dogs with a bone. the conversation had made elena uncomfortable. the last thing she wants is vampire trouble in this town. elijah's a good person, someone who's helped her when he never owed her a thing. she feels like she should be helping him.

and she's trying to. ]

Of course.

( it's something to be cautious about. elijah isn't ashamed of what he is but he's been keeping a low profile for the moment while he gauges these people and how they might be able to handle what he is. elena knows and that's enough for now.

he sighs, giving his head a shake. he admits that he'd been a little over the top with dean but he hadn't been able to help himself. )

He's welcome to be suspicious of me if that's what makes him happy. He's far from the first and he won't be the last. And here I thought I hadn't made a good impression.

I know you're a billion years old and you can take care of yourself, but...

[ they're in a strange town that not even elijah, the billion-year-old vampire, can figure out. elena thinks she has a right to be suspicious of this place and the way some people may use it to hurt others. her conversation with dean had felt a little like dealing with a young caroline—for all the talk of braiding hair, elena doubts the hair that he wants to braid is hers and being shoved into the middle of a testosterone-filled squabble is the last thing on her to-do list.

her experience with people taking an avid liking to the person she seems closest to is limited in comparison to elijah's. still doesn't mean she's not worried. elena gilbert is tired of the people she cares for—no matter the degree—being taken from her.

maybe she should continue walking, but she stands before him and speaks quietly. ] I haven't told anyone you're, you know. Just in case you were worried.

I wasn't worried but I also...trust that you wouldn't do that. I know we don't know each other well, Elena, but I know you wouldn't tell anyone anything without my consent.

( despite all that elena's experienced and dealt with, elijah thinks she still retains the things that make her a good, caring, compassionate person.

he sighs and shakes his head. )

I'm sure it's going to be something that comes out sooner or later but I appreciate your discretion. I trust you.

Edited 2021-01-05 21:42 (UTC)

It shouldn't have to. If it's something you want to keep private, it should be kept private. It doesn't matter that this is a small town.

[ but elena knows better than anyone that there are some people who simply can't keep their noses out of things that aren't their own business. as much as she likes mrs lockwood, she had always had her fingers where they didn't belong. it always caused unnecessary stress for elena, especially after the pocket watch debacle. ]

Being a vampire is hardly the most riveting thing or scary thing about this town.

[ hello, how did they even get here? ]

You're right, it's not. But it also might not be something a lot of people have exposure to. I'll deal with the reaction, whatever it may be, though. Believe me, there's very little that I haven't experienced.

( some peopel were fascinated by the vampire thing, some people were terrified, some people were confused. he was old enough to have dealt with it all.

he sighs, rubbing a hand against the back of his neck. )

I'll keep it private until it's not. I'm sure I won't be able to hide it forever. It's not easy, is it?

( she'd been around a few vampires to know that the secret could be kept but not for long. )

It's not easy when you're not careful.

[ she would and wouldn't know. she'd spent fifteen years thinking the world was rainbows and butterflies until her parents had crashed their car into a deep body of water. life hadn't been the same since then, and it sure hasn't been remotely the same ever since stefan came into town.

but it's easy to hide a secret if you're careful. elena knows this well.

turning on her foot, she begins to walk, albeit slowly. ]

Have you ever been exposed before? Like how the Salem witch trials were apparently like?

[ did he have an angry mob chasing him out of town with pitchforks and curse words? ]

We weren't always careful which meant sometimes we were discovered, yes. But, we had the ability to compel those discoveries away until we were able to get out of town.

( he has two younger brothers that weren't always careful of who they fed off of and how obvious they were.

he sighs and rubs the bridge of his nose. )

It wasn't always easy when that happened. Sometimes, we would find a spot that we liked and wanted to stay but couldn't for that reason.

[ she imagines he could do what was successful for him in the past, but mathias will pose so many problems for that. the fog, for one... and the fact that there doesn't seem to be a town close by to run to. she's seen how the cold has affected him; elijah postures of being tough, but he's still vulnerable like her. ]

Do you have a plan for what you'd do here?

I don't have a plan. I want to hope that people will be accepting especially because I am in control but if they aren't, I'll deal with it.

( he's well versed in defending himself and if he has to use compulsion, he will. he just wants to hope that it doesn't come to that.

he hums and shakes his head. )

You are entirely too concerned about me, Elena. I'll be fine. I've lived over a thousand years and I'm still here.

[ he may have lived for over a thousand years, but he's spent some portion of it locked in a box with a dagger in his chest. elena doesn't need to know how many times and for how long elijah had found himself incapacitated. considering she's daggered him at least once, she imagines he's become familiar with it over his lifetime.

good thing there's no dagger or stake in mathias.

elena keeps her gaze on the endless snow ahead of her. ]

Why shouldn't I be? Someone came to me wanting to throw punches at you. You're the only person I know from home here.

[ and thus, she's concerned. ]

Did he honestly want to punch me?

( how amusing. he would have enjoyed seeing dean try before elijah broke his hand. or at least shoved him away since he has more control than his erstwhile siblings.

he just hadn't realized he'd made that much of an impression. he makes a quiet sound and shakes his head. )

I'm not going anywhere, Elena. Even if someone threatens me, I'm not going to go anywhere and leave you here to deal with this on your own.

It's a matter of speech, Elijah.

[ she rolls her eyes good-naturedly, but now that he's asked, she wouldn't be surprised. it was all very high school chinese whispers.

focusing on that makes what he says next easier to swallow. elijah owes her nothing—he's never really owed her much at all—and yet he treats her like they've lifelong friends. it's interesting and strange and telling that someone of his calibre is like this. ]

I haven't seen any White Oak here.

[ had elena done her bing search since finding out about the white oak dagger? she had. she isn't someone who knows how to identify trees from how they look, but she's certain she could give it a good go now. ]

That's comforting. I'd rather not have to deal with the constant worry of someone stabbing me in the back with something that could truly kill me.

( he's lived a long, long time but he's not done with his life just yet. he has things to do back home that he will make sure are completed before he meets his end. )

You make it sound like you actually checked for the presence of a White Oak.

[ elena knows that her comment has revealed a lot more about her than she'd possibly like. she's not necessarily someone who thinks about how she'll come off to someone else. she tries to be kind to everyone she meets... and she tries to remember that sometimes people are stepping stones into getting what she wants. looking for white oak in this town not only secured the safety of elijah as her ally and someone from home... it also meant that no one could get the one-up on either of them.

she glances at him. ]

Didn't you?

Not exactly. I assumed it wasn't here but I hadn't specifically checked.

( white oaks weren't exactly prevalent in the world and considering this place was a snow filled mess, he doubts anyone would have been able to tell the difference between a white oak and a regular oak.

and even if someone did know what a white oak looked like, he doesn't think they'd be making a stake out of one.

but, he appreciates her care and her oversight. )

Thank you for caring enough to do that, Elena. Not many people would and it wasn't your responsibility but thank you.

[ now she feels embarrassed. ]

It was the least I could do.

[ she shrugs, wanting to downplay it. she also wanted to check for herself, just in case... well, just in case his brother ended up here. she wanted to protect herself from him.

hands in the pockets of her coat, elena looks down at the snow and its indents and smooth slopes. the last time she truly enjoyed the snow was with her parents and jeremy.

she sighs heavily. ] This place is definitely not in Virginia.

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