021 » WHAT GOES AROUND GHOST AROUND

[descendent]

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. ]

Comments

[descendent]

[ elena now understands what it's like to deal with a martyr. while he isn't choosing to send himself to the gallows like she had, he's still frustrating.

she eyes him for a moment, lips curving up slightly. always the gentleman? she doesn't want to think there's anything else to it. elijah is old school. ]

Why won't you share the bed? I don't have cooties.

[prevenance]

Because I don't want to make you uncomfortable.

( he knows what she's going to say as soon as he says that. he knows but he says it anyway. )

We're still learning about each other and I wouldn't want to cause discomfort.

[descendent]

[ it's truly kind and gentlemanly of him to be concerned about that, but it's unnecessary. elena knows that he's not going to get handsy. he's not damon. ]

And you're sleeping on the floor because of that.

[ she can't help but let out a puff of air. would it cause her discomfort? most likely. she's only ever shared a bed with two men in her life. elijah isn't a girlfriend, either.

but she's going to push onwards, digging her feet into the ground. what elena wants, she'll get, even if she has to wait. ]

I'm sure there's a house we can steal pillows from so there's a barrier between us.

[ yes, she's softly making fun of him. ]

[prevenance]

Elena, what's so wrong with the current arrangement?

( she was getting sleep and he was getting sleep and he doesn't think anything needs to change. he shakes his head, not sure why she wants to change this so suddenly. )

I don't think we need to change what's working. I don't think we need to suddenly share a bed when what we're doing currently is doing all right.

[descendent]

[ she tries to pin him down with a stare, arching her brow as she looks at him. ]

You really think I'm going to believe you sleeping on the floor is working?

[ it's not. he's going to grow tired of the floor sooner or later. when there's a perfectly good bed there, she thinks he's going to need all the sleep he can get.

tilting her head up defiantly, ] If it is, then you'll swap with me.

[prevenance]

You don't need to sleep on the floor. I've slept in coffins before, Elena. I can do this.

( granted, he'd been daggered and unconscious but that's a detail they don't need to discuss. )

Please, I'm asking you to keep sleeping in the bed. It's working, you're comfortable and I'm fine.

[descendent]

Technically you were dead. That's not the same as sleeping.

[ she can't help herself. he's not exactly right. she's never been daggered and shoved into a coffin, but she had seen his face. ashen, grey, sick. he'd been dead when she had removed that dagger from his chest in the cellar of the salvatore boarding house. everything about him had been dead.

letting out a huff. ] But fine.

[ then she starts to walk quickly like she's in a hurry. yes, elena has a plan, and no, she has not listened to him. ]

[prevenance]

( elijah knows there's no way she's just going to give up that easily. he watches her start walking and, after a moment, starts to follow her. she's moving quickly but his legs are longer. )

Elena, what are you doing? Where are you going?

( honestly, the real question is what is she up to and how can he stop her? she's trying to do something but he can't tell what just yet.

and he wants to know. )

[descendent]

[ she's just figuratively buried her aunt and all elena can focus on is wanting to outpace a vampire. it's a good use of grief; it's a good way to distract herself.

she knows he can catch up to her, but that's the point. keeping her feet hurried, they quickly begin to protest. walking in snow this quickly is not something elena is used to. ]

Oh, I'm just trying to get to our room so I can take the floor.

[ one thing he will learn is that elena doesn't accept no as an answer. ]

[prevenance]

So, you're racing me?

( is that what she's trying to do? she's trying to race him to the room to lay on the floor? elijah increases his pace, rolling his eyes because he's not going to let her do that. )

Elena, you know that if you lay on the floor, I can pick you up and put you on the bed.

( would she just take the bed and be fine with it? )

[descendent]

And you know that if you do that, I'll get off the bed and go lie on the floor.

[ to her credit, she does walk with lengthened, harder strides for a good extra minute before she ultimately slows down. she's human; she tires easily. she does her best not to puff or pant, tugging in deeper breaths in order to control herself.

she isn't lying, though. she is going to take the floor. ]

I want the floor experience, Elijah. Are you really going to deny me?

[prevenance]

Yes.

( of course he's going to deny her. that was a ridiculous question, elena. he was going to deny her until his dying day. the bed was for her, the floor was for him. )

Did you really expect a different answer to that question, Elena?

( really? )

[descendent]

No.

[ as human as she is, she isn't stupid. elena knows elijah will insist on being on the floor and she be on the bed. the fact that he hasn't insisted he'll claim the bed makes her feel strangely uncomfortable. if her company had been someone else with dark hair and blue eyes, she thinks he'd have claimed the other side of the bed immediately. ]

But I'm going to sleep on the floor tonight and maybe the next few nights.

[prevenance]

I can sleep on the floor too.

( he can just make sure there's ample distance between the two of them so she gets what she wants but he doesn't give in her to her demands about the bed. )

I think there's space on the floor for the both of us. But, I think you'd be more comfortable on the bed.

[descendent]

[ tilting her chin upward, she looks at him as stubbornly as she can. he may be a thousand years old, but she's elena gilbert. she can be stubborn. she's stubborn personified. ]

Well, I think I'd be more comfortable on the floor. I'm looking forward to it.

[ it won't kill her to not have the bed. it's not like he's sleeping outside. god, she hopes he doesn't try and sleep outside.

looking away, she keeps her head tilted haughtily. ]

[prevenance]

What are you doing, Elena? How are you making this a competition?

( this was the most absurd thing to argue about and he doesn't even know how it's gotten as far as it has. he rubs his brow and shakes his head. )

Please take the bed, Elena. It would make me feel better and I don't mind being on the floor. I'm comfortable. I like being the first person that someone might run into if they come into the room.

[descendent]

[ if she needs to twist it into a competition, then she will. him lying on the floor isn't acceptable anymore. elena doesn't need to be protected, even though she's a mere human who often requires it. putting elijah out isn't something she wants to do, not anymore. she did it to stefan for so long, and she thinks she's done more harm than good because of it.

shaking her head, she lets out a puff of hair. she's beginning to feel tired. her walking slows down. ]

You should also consider lying on the bed. Someone might break in through the window.

[prevenance]

Or I could just sit outside the room entirely and stay there.

( she doesn't want a guard or anything like that so how would she feel if he literally stood at the entrance to the floor like a sentinel? because he would do that. he's not afraid of going to that particular bit of ammunition in the hopes that it would get her to just sleep in the bed. )

I might even be able to borrow a chair and sit outside the door like your personal bodyguard.

[descendent]

[ she lets out a huff. he's getting to her. the last thing she wants is a personal bodyguard. she's spent so many months with two of them smothering her. she doesn't need to be protected. ]

Why can't you just go get a bed from another room and put it in ours?

[ elena looks at him, brows raised, exasperation in her voice. she's really close to stomping her feet in the snow. nevermind that her suggestion won't work; their room is only so big, and the bed takes up a good portion of that space. ]

[prevenance]

Because there's no need to do that, Elena. There's no need. I am getting plenty of sleep on the floor and you're getting plenty of sleep in the bed. Everything is working.

( so, no one needs a bed or a chair or anything. everything is going just fine and they don't need an extra bed. he sighs, rubbing a hand across his face. )

Let's just...we don't need to change anything. Not a thing.

[descendent]

I don't agree.

[ she'll never agree. someone sleeping on the floor because they're too afraid of sharing a bed with her is something she doesn't like. she doesn't have cooties, elijah! she knows his surname; she knows almost everything about him that one should know before jumping into bed. ]

And if I wake up in the middle of the night and stomp on the floor by your head, you'll remember you agreed to this.

[ because she's so going to do that. ]

[prevenance]

At least you wouldn't be stomping on my head.

( she'd met her match when it came to stubborness in him. she was going to have to dig deep and find something that he couldn't possibly argue against or else he'd find a way to wiggle out of this particular situation. )

That might hurt.

( even an original vampire wouldn't want that. )

Now, can we please go back to the room and settle down for a bit? It's been a long day.

[descendent]

I'm stomping there.

[ she feels ridiculous now, and says that with a sheepish smile. she will get him in the bed. elena doesn't want to have her wicked way with him, but she wants him to be comfortable. feeling like he's discomforting himself for her isn't something she's comfortable with.

wrapping her arms around her, she stops stomping (not that she was) and huffing. ]

You can move into another room in the Boarding House if you want. You don't have to sacrifice your privacy or space for me. [ she looks at him with a smile. ] I'll be okay.

[prevenance]

( that draws him up short and he stops, staring at her back as she walks. he starts moving eventually but he stays behind her, a frown on his face. )

If that's...what you want.

( it's sudden but his priority is that she's comfortable and if she'd be comfortable with him gone, he can do that. )

I can leave.

[descendent]

I... no.

[ his reaction is surprising. her reaction is surprising. she frowns before she turns around, effectively stopping them both as she looks up at him. it'd be better if she was walking and he remained behind her like a constant, protective and not overbearing shadow.

elena doesn't want elijah to leave. she doesn't want to be left behind, not again. not by circumstance and not by choice. but she knows it's selfish to ask him to. ]

I don't want you to leave. [ her brows furrow deeper. ] Do you want to leave?