024-027 » neither reward nor punishment

[villagemod]

WHO: Everyone.
WHERE: Eastern/Central/Western Mathias + ???
WHEN: Days 024-027
WHAT: The consequences of their actions.
WARNINGS: Will update as necessary. PM this account to have a warning added!
NOTES: Plotting post over here! The next log will be posted January 23rd.

RECOMMENDED ♫ Deadly Avenger "Onryo" 怨霊

DAYS 024-025
CONSEQUENCES
“There are in nature neither rewards nor punishments —
there are consequences.”
— Robert G. Ingersoll
When the unwilling residents of Mathias Township wake on the morning of the 24th day, they will find themselves in yet another set of frustratingly unnerving circumstances. None of them are where they last remember being, and some of them have strange marks on the palms of their left hands. It's all incredibly unsettling, but truthfully they should be used to it by now. No one will remember traveling to their new location.

Residents can wake up anywhere within their new location and in any position. Curled up in a bed, sprawled on a couch, huddled beneath a coffee table, propped against a wall... Wherever they are, they will themselves to be in quite an unusual state. While they are wearing whatever clothing items they went to sleep in, plus their shoes and a coat. The newest arrivals to Mathias Township will perhaps stand out for being slightly more appropriately dressed than their new neighbors. They are all a bit damp, physically worn out, and half-frozen from their apparent walk through a blizzard.

Each of the four locations is inescapable — residents are trapped, with exterior doors and windows being shut tight and a blizzard raging outside. The locations are stocked with fresh food and water and a large pile of firewood for the fireplaces in each building. The circumstances residents will face, however, may vary wildly between locations as the forces at work in Mathias respond to the recent actions of certain individuals.


BOARDING HOUSE | GREY GULL
NEW HOUSE | MYSTERY MANSION

These residents will wake with a mark on their left hand palms, a spiraling black symbol similar to those some may have seen around town. All marks are identical and cannot be removed, but will have seemingly vanished from their skin on the morning of the 26th day.

Castiel, Daisy Johnson, Dean Winchester
Elena Gilbert, Elijah Mikaelson, Helen Magnus
Phil Coulson, Quentin Coldwater, Sherlock Holmes

DAYS 026-027
IN THE AFTERMATH
After their ordeals of the past two days, the unfortunate residents of Mathias Township will be grateful to find that they were back where they are supposed to be, a chill still clinging to their clothes in whatever place they went to sleep the night of the 23rd day. New arrivals will wake in the living room of the boarding house. None of the residents will wake with anything in their possession from the locations in which they were previously trapped, including any notes or documentation they may have made during their time there.

---

CONDITIONS UPDATE

— SNOW continues to fall heavily on Days 024-025, resulting in white out conditions from the wind that blows in gusts of over 35 mph; the temperature also drops drastically, making conditions extremely dangerous for residents. The blizzard clears on Day 26 and residents are left with a cold, calm world covered in white.

— THE FOG remains blocking the paths in the forest, urging residents to stay huddled within the town proper, and it also now blocks the northern section of town, beginning just before where residents know the chasm in the earth to be. Venturing into the fog is... ill-advised.

— DISAPPEARANCES continue to plague the town. Kylo Ren and Thomas Richardson have vanished without a trace.

— NO NEW DEATHS have occurred in town, but there is a new "grave" in the small makeshift graveyard near the schoolhouse. Rey's corpse has been moved and covered with stones to wait for the ground to thaw enough for a proper burial.

— THE LANTERNS will be gone from the morning of Day 024. No trace of them remains.

---

OOC UPDATES

— A GIFT for everyone! As a thank you for being part of this spooky little game, every character in the game is being gifted 2 Activity Points. These may be banked over here — instead of linking to an AC post, you may put "New Year gift" in that field. Happy 2021, friends!

— NEW LAYOUTS have been installed for our communities! Huge thanks to our Eldritch Librarian Stars for putting in the time to get this place looking shiny. (You may have also noticed some new page layouts being installed — these are also our Librarian's handiwork!)

— DISCOVERIES have been collected and collated for your review. Please note that this is OOC information only, put together for the purpose of helping you as players see connections and possibilities for CR and your own character's potential avenues of exploration and investigation. (If we are missing something, please report it so we can add it to the list.)

— REMINDERS — Don't forget about the bulletin board. Please continue reporting your updates to locations, plots, and discoveries. The map of Mathias has been added to the locations page for ease of reference. Make sure your character's sanity level is kept updated. Prospective players are still joining the TDM, so it's recommended to track new top-levels so you don't miss them.

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THE GREY GULL —

[villagemod]

TRAPPED HERE —
Daisy Johnson, Elena Gilbert, Elijah Mikaelson, Eliot Spencer, Neal Caffrey, Sherlock Holmes

LOCATION DESCRIPTION —
The Grey Gull is what one might expect of the most frequented restaurant in a small coastal town. Perched on the beach at the end of Phillips Drive, the wrap-around porch is lined with white chairs characterized by peeling paint. Exposed wooden walls and worn seating speak to its many years of existence, and the mishmash of décor confirms that the owner never much cared for how the place looked. What mattered here was the food, and faded chalk menus advertise soup specials and a daily pie. The bar appears to have once been well-stocked, but all the bottles remaining are unfortunately empty. There is, however, quite a bit of food in the kitchen that is somehow as fresh as if it were purchased that day. There is a large fireplace in the dining area with a pile of wood neatly stacked nearby, and a small office at the back of the building beside the kitchen. (The documents out that related to the Mathias Fishing Company and the documents about delivering food to the Town Hall have been removed.)

The second floor of the restaurant is a sparsely furnished apartment. There are no personal items to be found; perhaps it was waiting to be rented out to someone. There are loose boards in one spot of the floor that were previously pulled by to reveal the small spaces below the wood. There is also a small fireplace in the apartment.

DAY 024-025 —
The residents trapped in the Gull will have a brutal awakening as the wind howls around the building and seems to emit a high-pitched shriek that is painful to hear, especially so for those with enhanced hearing of any kind. It cuts through their minds like knives and settles into their veins like ice, dying down after a few minutes but returning again before long. Unfamiliar voices can be heard from the corners of rooms or standing right beside the residents, but nothing is there and only the individual can hear them. The building shakes, perhaps from the force of the wind or perhaps from within, a rumbling that they can feel in their bones and which lasts for minutes on end before settling again.

These disturbances happen just frequently enough to keep these unfortunate trapped souls unsettled, uncomfortable, and awake. By the middle of Day 25, they will begin to feel the effects of sleep deprivation, far more forcefully than they should with the hours they been awake, and it will become clear to them all that this is being done to them for a purpose.

Late on the night of Day 25, the sounds and shaking will cease and they will sleep.


PLAYERS SHOULD RESPOND TO THIS TOP-LEVEL FOR THEIR DAY 024-025 THREADS.

daisy johnson | open+closed

[chuju]

( Check out the plotting comment or hit me up on discord or taintedcrimson )

day 24 » waking up; closed to one response

[chuju]

ache, repeat, the shame, nothing's ever good enough

[ The searing pain in her head is what wakes Daisy; she only hears the howling of the wind and feels the chill in her bones when the agony subsides and she can catch her breath, unclench her fists and lean back to catch her breath. It's then that she notices the close walls surrounding her, her feet touching one as she leans against another, and there against the floor, a strip of light... She's in a closet? An empty closet. Huh.

Reaching up, she fumbles around the door until she finds the knob, turning it and blinking against the sudden flood of light that leaves her squinting and makes the throbbing in her skull spike. When her eyes adjust, she looks out from her spot on the floor — she's in the apartment above the Gull. Huh?

Okay, that's... weird. She leverages herself to her feet using the doorframe, noticing as she rises that she has her boots on, and her grey coat over her black and white plaid pajamas. How...

She doesn't have time to fully ponder the utter weirdness of it all before the shaking begins. The entire building moves, shuddering down to its foundation, and she grips hold of the doorframe with both hands, feeling those vibrations arc through her cracked bones. It's all she can do to grit her teeth against the sparks of pain that dance through her arms.

What the hell is going on? ]

[conning]

[ Neal sits up fast when the world around him starts shaking. Or at least he tries to. What actually happens is that he starts to sit up fast, hits his head against the bottom of the bed he's apparently under, and then hits the ground again as both the head slam and the dizziness of quick movement catch up to him.

He groans faintly, takes closer stock of his surroundings, and scoots himself inelegantly out from underneath the little bed.

...He has no idea where he is. He and Doc never actually went upstairs when they came to the Gull. He forces himself up onto his elbows, groggy, and sees the woman standing in the doorway of the closet. That's about when he realizes he's got borrowed pajama pants and nothing else on underneath the coat that apparently someone was kind enough to put on him before shoving him under a bed.

God, his head is killing him. ]

If I say 'you look like I feel', am I going to get slapped?

some day 25 stuff

[cluing]

[ The first day passes well enough. There's enough mystery to keep Sherlock reasonably occupied - why they're trapped here, how they're trapped, why them specifically, what's this mark on his hand. One can make time pass wonderfully fast by examining everything with the most intense of inspections. Sherlock lets nothing go unseen and soon enough the night comes, and the night goes. Ish.

The conditions aren't what keep him up at night. All things considered, he's spent the night in worse, and one can push such things out of mind when needed. Though he may seem asleep to the others there, the way he's draped in a chair, eyes closed. Truth be told he's just lost in his thoughts. Maybe it's around dawn when he finally snaps his eyes open and the manic side of him snaps into action.

He's been pacing now for he's unsure how long, one end of the bar and back again, muttering to himself. ]

[chuju]

[ That draping and pseudo-sleeping hadn't gone unnoticed the night before, at least not by Daisy. She'd spent a good half hour glaring at the curly-haired stranger, wondering how the hell he could possibly sleep through the agonizing racket, before realizing that whatever he was doing wasn't actually sleeping. He still gets the occasional glare after that just for looking a whole lot more comfortable than she is.

When the sun rises with no indication of the storm ending and she resigns herself to the fate of being stuck here for who knows how much longer, Daisy wanders into the kitchen for another steaming cup of coffee. The pacing gets a side-eye as she passes, and another when she returns to the same exact thing. For a long moment, she watches him, grimacing against another round of shrieking, and when it finally ends, she leans against the bar and addresses her fellow trapped soul with a rather unamused tone. ]

Look, I know we're all going kind of stir-crazy here, but could you just stop for like five minutes?

elijah mikaelson ( open + closed )

[prevenance]

( plotting comment here )

day 024 ( closed to elena )

[prevenance]

( he comes to with a start, looking around for something, anything that's familiar. for the first split second that he'd been awake, he'd been hopeful that he was home, that he was in new orleans.

but he's not. he's in mathias and there's a dull ache behind his eyes, a headache the likes he hasn't felt in a long, long time.

he tries to rub the headache away but every time the pain eases, a high pitched whine drives itself like an icepick into his head and he winces, doubling over. at first, he thinks a witch must be nearby, causing this kind of blinding pain.

squinting, elijah peers out the window, unsurprised to find a whiteout blizzard raging. just putting his hand on the glass tells him how cold it is outside. )

Elena?

( her name is the first one he speaks and then he starts looking around the area. he doesn't recognize his surroundings but he just knows he's still in mathias. he doesn't remember how he'd gotten here though. nothing about his memory fits this. )

Elena!

( she'd better not have wandered out into that snow. she might have the slightest of death wishes but he hopes she hadn't done that. )

[descendent]

[ elena wakes up on the wooden bar, dressed in her over-sized dark flannel shirt with converse shoes on her feet and a thick coat pillowing her head. disoriented at first, she presses her hand against her temple and squeezes her eyes shut when a noise sends a small sharp pounding in her forehead. her mouth feels dry and she can't help but wonder if it's because she hasn't drunk anything at all. she really does need to heed elijah's requests to, you know, not be dumb.

she's nowhere near elijah when he wakes, but when she hears her name, she tries to find him. her hair's mussed as she's been raking her hands through it and she pulls her long coat snug around her to give the illusion that she is, indeed, wearing pants. she holds a glass of water, leaving some droplets on the ground.

despite being very human, it's not difficult to find him. he's a dark figure by the white windows, and he looks just as out of sorts as she does standing here.

maybe she should've tried to search for someone else in this strange bar, but she needed to get rid of the headache lingering behind her eyes and the sleep that sits on her bones. ]

Elijah—

[ she means to say it louder, but she finds she can't up the volume of her voice. she pads over to him, hand holding her glass tightly. ]

I'm here.

day 024 ( open )

[prevenance]

▶ 01 AROUND

---

( he doesn't like feeling trapped. after his conversation with elena, he'd figured out that any attempt to leave was impossible. even using his substantial strength, he fails.

his headache seems to grow worse with every shrill sound, with every uncharacteristically loud creak of the house. he tries everything he can to block it out but the sound cuts through and burrows deep into his head.

he finds himself leaning against walls and tucking himself into out of the way corners to try and ease the pain. he tries to keep himself away from people for the most part, not wanting to snap at them and not wanting to deal with anyone coming to him for what he'd done to neal while he feels like he does.

he'd rather not snap someone's neck in irritation. )

▶ 02 SLEEPLESS

---

( night decends and the sounds continue. elijah does his best to make sure elena's all right but there's little he can do for her since he can't get her out of here and he can't stop whatever's going on.

the scant few people mill around but elijah finds a place to sit, trying his best not to rub at his head since it does nothing.

what he tries to do is think. they're stuck, a blizzard is raging outside and there's no way out that they can see.

there's food but it's finite but enough to survive for a little bit. when that goes though, there might be trouble.

irritated, elijah gets to his feet and steps closer to a window, slamming his palm against it to see if it would break.

it doesn't. the vibration runs up his arm and just seems to make the noises louder and louder. maybe that hadn't been the smartest thing. )

sleepless—

[chuju]

[ When it becomes clear that the piercing sounds and rumbling shakes aren't going to be stopping anytime soon, Daisy gives up on any attempt of getting sleep. It's hard to even properly rest in between rounds, thanks to the splitting headache that's settled in. Really, it makes everything hard to manage.

Emerging from the kitchen with a glass of water, she nearly drops it as one of her fellow prisoners decides to attack the window. She doesn't even consider how odd it is that it doesn't break — she's too busy trying not to break the glass in one hand while she presses the other to her head. ]

Hey! Can you not with whatever you just did? [ The words are stretched thin as her voice tightens in response to the pain arcing through her skull and arms. She doesn't hear any difference but she sure does feel it. ]

01 - around

[conning]

[ Elijah may not want company, but Neal spotted him when he and Daisy finally came downstairs, and... well. They have some things to talk about.

He approaches with caution, not sure whether he's doing it to try and keep Elijah at ease or keep himself in a position to bolt if the vampire lunges at him.

Neal still makes a point to stay out of easy reach. ]

Hi. You look like shit.

day 025 ( open )

[prevenance]

▶ 01 FOOD

---

( the one good thing about whatever's going on is that he isn't hungry. not for blood, at least.

but he still finds himself rummaging through the pantry for something to eat. there's a few people that have taken up the chore of cooking but elijah hasn't really eaten what they're serving. he wants those that need it to have it but this morning, as the sun rises and the blizzard continues to rage, he finds himself in the pantry, looking through things to find something small to eat.

when he pulls down a box of pop tarts, he stares at it and then shakes his head. )

Not even a blinding headache is going to make me eat those.

▶ 02 AWAKE AWAKE AWAKE

---

( going without sleep isn't too uncommon of a thing for elijah. he's had instances where he goes days without sleeping or he sleeps for centuries with a dagger in his chest.

he thinks he prefers the sleeplessness. but the sounds have continued on and on and on. there's absolutely no respite and his head continues to pound.

it's gotten bad enough that he thinks it might be affecting his eyesight, making things blur and tip but he's able to shake it off and keep going.

it's dark now and the only thing he can hear are the shrieks from the wind and the pounding of the wind smacking against the wall.

he's pacing tonight, trying to keep his mind busy. he thinks of his family, of new orleans, of mystic falls. he considers opening the red door in his mind just to get out of this reality but he restrains himself.

he paces and he tries to ignore how bad he's feeling. )

Eliot Spencer | Open + Closed

[likeknives]

(Plotting comment here or find me at indymica)

Day 024 - Arrival - Closed to the first person to respond!

[likeknives]

[He's been in worse and in stranger situations.

Not in awhile though.

Eliot wakes up, his motorcycle jacket and hoodie half-soaked through and freezing as if he's just walked through the snow, the ankles of his jeans are freezing and the only thing he can think of is that he must have passed out somehow in a blizzard and someone dragged him here.

Wherever here is.

As soon as he manages to gather his wits and his senses about him, he immediately gets up, on edge, his blue eyes wide and wild.

Where is he? Where's Hardison? Where's Parker? This isn't Portland, this isn't anyplace he recognizes.

The first person he sees, he's going to storm towards them, shoulders squared, that same, wild look on his face. He's not playing around and he's gonna get answers. Are you one of his enemies!?]

You--tell me what I'm doin' here!? Did you do this? Who hired you!?

[conning]

[ Neal's focus had been on one of the windows. He'd been staring out at the storm, not thinking about anything in particular, just waiting for the rumbling or the screaming to come back. He could swear he heard people talking in the next room, but when he went to look the occupants were still unconscious.

Except that one is very much not unconscious any more.

Neal backs off fast, putting his hands up. ]

Easy, buddy, we're all wondering what we're doing here.

Day 025 - OTA

[likeknives]

a. Early 025: Cooking up a storm in the storm -

[Apparently things aren't getting better, and even though he was never much of a great sleeper anymore, it feels like it's been years since he caught some z's. In any case, the best thing to do would be to get his mind off it and the unsettling...everything of this place.

The scent of chili wafts through the air as he stirs the pot a little agressively, chopping tomatoes and onions just as agressively. Cooking has always lifted his mood, always helped him to just think or conversely, not think, and express himself.

It's just this doesn't make any sense. If someone had captured him, they hadn't revealed themselves to him yet. Someone would have done this for a reason, one of their enemies, some CEO that they put away or someone that had it out for them. Someone who thought it was funny to put speakers in the walls and make it sound like there's voices. It couldn't possibly be Moreau and yet...

He's lost in thought as he continues with the chili, his eyes clearly not focused on what he was doing in front of him, his mind in another place...]

b. Late 025: Enough is more than enough -

[It just doesn't stop. The noise, that unsettling feeling, that sensation of wrongness, the voices, the rumbling, and the overwhelming idea that maybe, just maybe, this is all on purpose.

This can't be real, what's happening here. He's dreaming, he's gotta be, this kind of stuff didn't just happen. Every time he hears a voice he swats at the air, practically punching at it, his eyes wide and a faint thread of sweat on his brow.

This stuff shouldn't get to him like this. He's been through worse, but it feels like he's been awake for years and every shriek, every rumble just tears a little more away at his patience.

He can be found trying to see if the windows or doors open--it's just that he doesn't have an exit here, you always need an exit, this place is getting worse and he really needs to have an out. He sits down near a corner and it looks an awful lot like he's trying to start a fire in what he thinks is a weak portion of the wood...]

b. please don't start a fire, eliot, this is not survivor

[descendent]

[ elena's carded her hands through her hair so many times this day and the previous that it's beginning to tangle and mat. her right hand has a bandage wrapped around it to match the bandage on the right side of her neck. she hasn't been coping extremely well with the day's events, beginning to become a victim of cabin fever.

she'd noticed him punching the air a few times and had steered clear, imagining that he needed to get his aggression out against an invisible enemy (and she'd tried to fall asleep on a table when he'd swatted the air a little too loudly—or maybe the air had simply whooshed by her louder than it had any right to). every other time she thought to approach him, her feet had felt sluggish and her attention splintered.

it's when he's sitting suspiciously in a corner that she can't help herself. she doesn't know him, and she's itching to do something that isn't staring at the wall and hear her own blood sing slowly and sluggishly in her veins.

standing over him, she keeps her hands by her sides, shoulders slouched. she's pale-skinned with some darkness beneath her eyes, but her brown eyes are still alert and inquisitive.

she stares down at him and her voice comes out a bit harshly. ] Are you trying to start a fire?

a;

[cluing]

[ It absolutely doesn't make any sense. Sherlock has never enjoyed anyone getting one up on him, and the fact that he's now been seemingly drugged and relocated twice without any indication as to how is just one of the many things currently spinning his mind of out control.

The first day had been relatively fine. The conditions hadn't bothered him much, he's a Mind Over Matter type of man, but everything then was still relatively new. He could explore the rooms and all the nooks and crannies and corners. He'd done it over and over, wondering what he might have missed. Now? Of course he's done it all over again, feeling (despite himself) more and more manic with each turn of the hour.

It takes a while before the smell radiating from the kitchen finally manages to grab his attention. It had always been there, present but not important, and now that Sherlock's exhausted his search (for now), he lets himself go and see who's feeling fine enough to cook. ]

You're about to boil over.

a. sorry for showing up late with no sbux

[chuju]

[ Daisy is used to not getting a lot of sleep, but even this is pushing her limits. The massive amount of pain she's in isn't helping either and there's just not a whole lot that can be done about that. She's commandeered a bottle of tylenol from the first aid kit and is doing her best to ration it despite the temptation to down the whole thing in one go, but she's due her next dose, so into the kitchen she goes in search of a glass of water. She doesn't expect to be greeted by the sight of one of her fellow trapped souls almost violently chopping ingredients for what is smelling a lot like chili. ]

Hey, you need any help? [ Speaking from just inside the doorway so she hopefully doesn't startle him too much — he is holding a knife, after all, and she doesn't want him hurting himself with it. ]

elena gilbert

[descendent]

plotting comment. | you can reach me @ boofhead for further plotting.

DAY 24 | OPEN.

[descendent]

1. TIC TAC TOE.
[ one response max. please. ]

---

[ after elena wakes up, dressed in what she'd gone to bed in (an over-sized dark flannel shirt) with the addition of shoes (converse shoes) and a coat (thick and long), she ensures to keep a glass of water—filled, half-filled, almost empty—in her hand. sometimes, when she wakes up dizzy, usually from getting up way too fast, elena finds drinking some water and resting her head steadies her. but not today.

in the bar, she only rests her head for a minute before someone appears. she sits at a table, head in her hand, eyes closing as her head lolls to the side, and the moment she hears someone with her human hearing, her head's up and she smiles a little sleepily despite telling herself she's not tired at all.

laid out before her on the table is a collection of utensils—knives, spoons, forks—and she's tried to create a puzzle of squares out of them to cover the entire table. it's nothing fancy, but it keeps her mind busy trying to create some sort of square patchwork of silver.

a little embarrassed to be found, she sighs. ] I tried looking for a pack of cards, but all I have are utensils.

[ one might notice on the right side of her neck a bandage, slightly pink from where she keeps ripping open her wound. ]

2. BE OUR GUEST.
[ two responses max. please. ]

---

[ there's only so much sitting one elena gilbert can do.

still with a glass in her hand (she's still not feeling great), she ventures into the gull, interested in seeking out answers. surely there'll be business cards around. voices succeed in pulling her out of her seat, and although she suspects that she's merely hearing things (it wouldn't be the first time), she gives in. what else is a girl supposed to do?

well, a girl could eat.

resting her elbows against the kitchen counter with food piled up on a plate, elena doesn't stand up straight nor stop leaning against the surface. her glass of water is almost empty, and she's pushing her food around on her plate despite not meaning to. she's lost in her own little world, but she's also not there, either. it's hard to concentrate, hard to daydream…

she jumps when she hears a sound—perhaps your approach? ]

Oh my god, you scared me.

[ she laughs nervously. ]

1

[cluing]

[ Sherlock is finishing his first round of wandering the Gull. It's a place he hasn't yet had a chance to explore, and, as it appears he's trapped inside, it seems as good a time as any to get to know the building.

She must be trying to defend herself from feeling embarrassed, which is why Sherlock stops when she immediately starts to speak to him. Apparently that's the curse of having some sort of familiarity with a person - they just start talking to you.

He glances at her makeshift game board. ]

Have you found anything a bit sturdier than utensils?

b. super late and no sbux, sorry!

[chuju]

[ Eating is something Daisy knows she needs to do, but it's not exactly something she wants to do. The constant shaking and shrieking is exhausting, the pain lancing through her bones enough to put her off food entirely, but she can hear Simmons lecturing her now to keep her energy up and reminding her that she's still recovering from the barn.

So into the kitchen she goes, stopping inside the door when she notices the girl already there. A teenager, probably, looking as lost as Daisy herself feels. Stepping a little closer, she's about to speak when suddenly— Well. ]

Sorry about that. [ Frowning slightly, she gives the girl a once-over in concern. ] You okay?

DAY 25 | OPEN.

[descendent]

1. THE OFFICE.
[ one response max. please. ]

---

[ she'd wanted to venture into the small office yesterday, but elena thought perhaps getting some sleep would improve her mood and motivation.

she was wrong.

feeling more tired than usual, she pushes through it like always. she's in the small office at the back of the building, going through the drawers and items on the desk with interest. there's nothing to be found of note, but that's find; ambition, persistence, patience… it's all key.

she keeps eyeing the menu board, but she takes a seat—drops into it, really—and rests her head against the table. she left her glass of water on the bar. elena's been telling herself it's been making her feel a lot better, but, really, it hasn't. ]

2. STATUS UPDATE: I'M TIRED.
[ cw: self-inflicted wound, blood. ]

---

[ she's tired.

no matter how hard she tries to sleep, something keeps waking her up. she rests her head against the bar, against the table, against the wall, and no matter how many times she presses her hands to her ears, she still jolts awake. the paleness of her skin is more obvious now. elena's not well, and she hasn't been for a while. being drained of one's blood can do that to a girl.

she's taken off the long coat she'd been wearing to hide her state of undress, leaving her dressed in her over-sized dark flannel shirt. her hair isn't as sleek as it has been previously, mussed up and starting to become knotty from her running her hands violently through it.

with a large knife in hand, elena stands by the front door of the bar, eyeing it. she's tugged at the doorknob several times since being here, rammed her shoulder into it hard enough to bruise her arms, and kicked it so hard she's sure her feet are bruised, but she thinks that maybe this is going to be the thing that breaks it. this is going to be the thing that gets them out of here.

she eyes the door, her eyes stinging. frustration feels too tangible beneath her skin and she grips the knife too tightly in her hand. except, elena doesn't hold the handle. her fingers are around the blade of the knife.

her blood is what everyone wants, isn't it? so maybe that's what she should give this town. ]

3. LIGHTS OUT.
[ cw: elena's going to pass out from her canonical blood loss and pushing herself too hard. one response max. please. ]

---

[ back in the kitchen, elena doesn't go anywhere near the knives since slicing her palm wide open. she stands there by the counter, eating slowly and in small bites. eating will keep her awake. eating will make her feel better. it's a stupid mantra she tells herself over and over.

she's been feeling lightheaded for days, but it'd been easier to push through. it's almost like the bar has a lack of air, a lack of anything for her to put her mind to. the dizziness makes her head spin and her stomach somersault, so she tries to eat and drink. lifting her glass to her hand, elena closes her eyes for a moment, her hand going slack.

losing her balance and momentarily her breath, she collapses on the floor. ]