open ; welcome to the inner workings of my mind

[persevere]

Who: Caroline Forbes + You + Closed Starters
Where: Everywhere
When: July 6th to the end of the month
Rating: This will get gory, most likely.
Summary: Caroline returns to Wonderland, but she's not quite herself these days...
The Story:

Deux Lux

[Caroline Forbes is here most nights, drinking the night away and dancing on any flat surface she can find no matter the height. She never drinks herself into oblivion because she wants to be at her best, on guard for any of her 'friends' that might feel the need to step in.

She doesn't want help. Anyone with half a brain could see she's just fine.

She's more than willing to dance with anyone who's willing, just don't let her pull you off to that dark corner or you might end up with a few puncture wounds and missing any recollection of the last couple of hours.]

Lake

[She actually carted an inflatable lounge chair out here, and anyone in her path would have seen a blonde blur as she doesn't even bother to hide the fact that she's different. The sun is out and she's in her bikini, hair tied into braided pigtails, sporting a pair of dark shades as she lazily kicks around in the water, catching some rays.

Sometimes you can catch her sunbathing on the edge of the water, too, laying casually out on a towel. Vampire or no, she still likes catching some rays.]

Mikaelson Rooms

[Those who are aware of her living arrangements or any of the others that live there as well can find her lounging in various common areas, usually with a drink in hand, and can be summoned to answer anyone who might knock at the door. She's almost always bored, biding her time with liquor and playing with her phone, stalking messages in search of juicy gossip and drama.

Or maybe she's looking for a snack. It's probably just fine, though.]

Choose Your Own Adventure

Feel free to set up anything anywhere. I'm very flexible.

Comments

closed ; arrival with elena & klaus

[persevere]

[Conveniently, she arrives in the lobby, near the front entrance. And she remembers everything in one giant rush.

It's been a long time since she's seen these walls from her perspective. A lot has happened, a lot of terrible things that she's pushed to the farthest recesses of her mind. Or, more accurately, she's pushed away everything that makes her human until she no longer cares enough to think about it.

They're just memories of something she can't do anything about. She earned this vacation. She's done enough, been enough, and it's her turn to rest. She'll be better at it than Elena ever was; she knows how to make a plan and execute it, and she can make it work here.

She has to.

There's complications, though. Some of the memories of Wonderland, as they flood back, threaten to make her feel something. She remembers Damon burning to death to save her. She remembers wishing for a horse from a magical closet. She remembers Elena, her skin pale and her throat slashed open. Scents, smells, and places that she hasn't thought about in months, things that meant something to her.

They can't mean anything. Not now. So the first order or business is to rid herself of the more simple things that might trigger something inside her.

She goes to her room. Not the place she called home before she left, but her old room, the one that isn't as clean as it should be, not to mention lacking plenty of important essentials that were, no doubt, with a certain hybrid. However, the bear that Stefan left her right before he too vanished from Wonderland, the one he named Mister Cuddles to replace the one her mirror stole, is sitting on her bed, still leaning against the pillow that's been left unused. He'd said he'd always be there for her, but he lied too. She couldn't let herself care about that, either.

She sits on the edge of the bed, picks up the bear, and starts to slowly pick at the seams, plucking the threads, hearing them snap, watching the creature open up, stuffing spilling from within. Maybe when she was done, she'd fetch some matches from her desk and burn it. Then she'd never have to see it again.]

[interpersonal]

( it's strange to roam these halls again, considering how long she's been away.

even stranger to think that only a week's gone by for those left behind in wonderland. she can't make sense of it, so she doesn't try. what matters is she's back, and she now gets the willingness of others to remain here should they have to. after a desperate and tearful reunion with damon, someone elena thought was dead and would never come back to her, she learns that caroline left the same day she did. it stands to reason they'd return on the same day, too.

it's unlike caroline not to answer elena's texts. it's unlike caroline not to beat her to the punch, letting elena know where she is. the first place she thinks to look is the second floor, where the mikaelsons live. enough distance has been placed between elena and that horrible night that she's able to approach, though she only reaches the doorway. she goes to klaus, because that's a thing she can do here: a mutual trust in their alliance even if they don't necessarily trust each other.

there's an understanding, and that's enough. elena is back, and she assumes klaus has heard from caroline... but he hasn't. she starts to worry that maybe caroline didn't come back after all, and it might be a full month before they see her again. so they look, and it doesn't take them long to track caroline down, not with their sharp senses and speed. )

Caroline!

( at first, there's only relief. it's short-lived once elena really focuses on what caroline is doing. stefan skipped town, too heartbroken to remain in mystic falls without his brother. she knows caroline has missed him, knows she's been trying to reach stefan with no success, but this...? ) Caroline?

[poppycock]

[ there are few things about elena's reappearance that don't concern him and one that does. the inconsequential parts are noted: she's not the elena who left, not by a long shot — considering the new hairdo and sudden propensity for vampire senses and speed. he doesn't comment. he doesn't care. (he doesn't care past the reminder of when caroline could have returned from: years. years in the future. even that doesn't matter next to finding her.)

these are footnotes to the terror and hope that seized him when elena showed up at his door:

caroline.

that name encompassing everything in his heart and the woman he's given it to; entrusted it to, for her safekeeping. the woman he loves that has filled his mind and laid torture and longing into him this long week.

his fear and terror turn to resolve; to determination. alliance or not, he and elena are united by one common cause, one undeniable space in their beings for the woman they love. he knows caroline's heartbeat. he knows her scent. he does not doubt elena does just as well.

at first, there is only relief for him, coming in the room at elena's heels. it's a shock that renders him dull for a split moment, seeing caroline plain in front of him. in that same moment, he knows something is terribly wrong, and it's not only the macabre scene that unfurls before them that tells him so. it's the faraway look on caroline's face. it's her presence, different than what it has been. it's the room, dusty and silent. elena has barely spoken caroline's name a second time before he is kneeling in front of her, hands resting at her knees, his eyes wide and searching and here; he is here for her and with her, present with every fibre of his being. ] Sweetheart, [ he says, tender and calling to her. ]

Sometime after she's gotten settled

[hypoxic]

[Fitz doesn't visit Klaus very often. The Mikaelsons are all pleasant enough, but there's a certain air around this space that unsettles him. They have too many agreements, and too many unsavory acquaintances. There's no way to tell who else is here, or what sorts of things might be happening behind closed doors. Fitz has long since decided that it's better when he knows less. But today, there's an update that seems both too important to trust with an insecure network and too minute to worry him with a formal request. It's faster to just drop by, say a few words, and move on with their day. They're overdue for tea anyway.

He knocks briefly, and has enough time to reconsider his unannounced visit approximately three thousand times before the door opens. My, Klaus, you have so many curves today.]

Oh -- I -- hello.

[This is fine everything is fine new people are part of life. It's just a woman in Klaus' room and that doesn't have to mean anything untoward. It doesn't have to be weird if he doesn't make it weird.]

Is Klaus in?

[persevere]

[She leans casually against the inside of the doorframe, one arm draped up against it as she inspects their guest with her eyes.

If she's being disconcerting, she doesn't care.]

Not right now, but I'm sure he'll be back soon. [She opens the door a little wider.] You're welcome to come in and wait.

[hypoxic]

[NOPE. NOPE. A THOUSAND TIMES NOPE.

The way she looks at him makes him feel like she's already eating him. It might be sophistication, but all he can detect is a predator. His pulse throbs -- can she hear it? Is she one of them?

This woman is no Cami. And she's making him feel like he needs an adult.]

I'm on vervain.

[Just in case she was about to murder him horribly. Because she seems like she might be.]

if it was up to me I would have figured you out

[easily]

[When Rebekah spots Caroline lounging about in the common areas she plops down next to her. Rebekah also has a drink in her hand, but that's often true.

Caroline wasn't exactly a friend but they had worked together to try to help Klaus; that means something.]

I didn't realize you were back.

if it was up to me I would have figured you out

[persevere]

[Functioning alcoholics. Just vampire things.]

Maybe your brother wants to keep me his dirty little secret while he tries to figure out how to 'fix' me.

[She rolls her eyes, taking the last sip out of her drink before sitting up so she can fill it back up.]

if it was up to me I would have figured you out

[easily]

I don't doubt it, Nik likes his secrets.

[well, that's the understatement of the year, but whatever.]

Why does he want to fix you?

party girls don't get hurt

[middlefinger]

[wynonna decides to take a break from damon's bar for a night to explore some of the other party spots the mansion has. it's weird not to have cases to work, not to have work to distract her from...well everything she wants to distract herself from, honestly. so instead she's been partying it up. tonight it's been dancing on top of the drinking.

she's been dancing next to the same girl for a while now. a pretty blonde girl who looks barely out of high school (wynonna isn't here to judge, she was doing worse in high school).

she shouts over the music.]

You look like you're having fun

party girls don't get hurt

[persevere]

[Caroline is avoiding Damon's bar like the plague. This place suits her current interests much better, anyway.

She tosses her hair to look over at the person shouting at her, her eyes hazy with liquor, her body warm from the extended activity, dancing among the other bodies in the room. She shifts closer, grinning from ear to ear, sizing up the woman.]

I've earned it. [Her head tilts slightly to the side.] I haven't seen you here before.

party girls don't get hurt

[middlefinger]

[Wynonna doesn't have anything to avoid, though if she starts going to the same bar too often she imagines doc might give her a disapproving eye. which is, whatever, none of his business. he made that very clear to her.

anyway.

she's having fun for the moment, it's easy to get lost in the momentum of dancing, of the mixture of sweat and alcohol.]

I'm new, so that would be why. I'm Wynonna.

lake;

[endingpoint]

[ Jane's really just here to scout out the lake and see if it's nice enough to really plan a date by. She can't help thinking of her mother - Shepherd - telling her about Lake Aurora, how the toxic water killed her family thanks to government waste. She also knows, though, that Kurt grew up doing things like going fishing, swimming, camping, and hiking. So, she wants to see if this is all viable.

She doesn't expect to see anyone sunbathing since she figured most people went to the beach for that, but hey, who's really going to care? It's hot, so when Jane decides to see if this woman knows what the water is like, she's just in shorts and a tank top, calling out when she's still far enough away that she won't startle her. ]

Excuse me? Sorry, I hope I'm not really bothering you. I was just curious, have you been in the water? Would you swim in it?

[persevere]

[Caroline turns her head and opens her eyes from her position propped up on her elbows before she closes them again and lifts her head to the sun.]

Depends on the day. Sometimes the water is clear and sometimes it's super gross. And it's Wonderland, so I'd always stick a toe in before getting soaked. Who knows, maybe one day the lake will be filled with acid or something.

[endingpoint]

I don't really wanna lose a toe to find that out. You shouldn't, either.

[ Jane sits, but far enough away that she's not in Caroline's personal space, not wanting to actually bother her if she decides she's not in the mood to talk. ]

I wonder if anything lives in it? I heard someone say once that something lives in the ocean. I don't know how true that is.

[eyething]

( Damon's been caught up, and he informed Elena of what he knew in turn about the last time it happened. How Caroline had this elaborate system in place to keep herself in check, how it all fell apart because she brought out the ripper in Stefan. It brought back the very painful memories of Liz's death. They had the time to prepare for once before someone was gone, and it still didn't make the sting any less. It was its own kind of torture to watch a strong, good woman be hurt, weakened, and eventually taken out by something so terrible and so ordinary.

But the deal was he can't talk about the emotional triggers so he can't, so he won't blatantly speak about either of them, at least not in any attempt to get her to flip her switch back. It won't work. He knows that. They waved Liz's letter in her face, and she burned it. Now he knows how much it stings to fail to say an actual goodbye to your mother, and he fucking hates his mother. The magnitude has to be that much greater for her.

He's still worried. Last time there was Stefan and Elena to help Caroline, and Damon hung back, played a supporting role. This time is different. They've had different growth here in Wonderland, different experiences. He's had to face his own shit in a way he never really had to back in Mystic Falls, and now- now he's here at the lake, after following her blonde blur there. )

Not even trying to hide anymore, huh?

Not very control-y of you.

[persevere]

[She's pretty sure that no matter where she goes, someone's going to be following her, keeping tabs on her, like she can't do it herself.

All she wants is to be left alone and seeing Damon only threatens to bring back memories of his speech and her mother's funeral. No thanks.]

It's not a very big place, Damon. Besides, I was never hiding. Why would I bother?

[eyething]

Because hunters, scientists, etc.

( Damon waves a hand as he crosses the distance until he's at the edge of the lake, watching her from where she sits. Liz loved her so much. She worried about Caroline in the end. Damon was there. Some of her last words were her desire to tell Caroline just how proud she was of her, how much she cared about her, how special Caroline was. He promised Liz he'd make sure Caroline knows, and Damon means to keep that promise.

He can't help thinking of it as he stands in front of her now, knowing how this all turns out back in Mystic Falls. )

So how long ago did you turn off your emotions before being flung back into Wonderland? Just wondering.

mikaelson rooms }

[deathlessness]

[Freya doesn't spend all of her time doing magic in her room. Sometimes she does magic in other places.

Going outside and going back to her roots and the grounding nature of the earth is a good motivator when she finds herself having been cooped up for too long. Part of her simply misses her bell tower in New Orleans, where she could work in peace without being disturbed, but for now, she'll settle for what she has.

When she returns to her room this time, however, she looks up in surprise at the presence of a vampire. Not that there aren't always vampires around in some shape or form (her siblings are vampires after all), but Originals have a different signature, and Klaus, of course, is a hybrid. She turns and makes her way from her room to the common area, and she raises her eyebrow when she sees Caroline.]

You've returned.

[persevere]

And you're still here.

[She's had some time away from the other Mikaelson's in her mind, but she still hasn't met Freya. It's hard to know if she ever will, back home, but it wouldn't shock her in the long run.

Caroline had always liked her, but today her eyes are empty as she doesn't even bother to look up from the drink in her hand.]

I don't really think either of those things are all that surprising.

[deathlessness]

It is when you weren't the day before.

[she'll leave it at that, however. She can tell that Caroline is different from the Caroline that left, and she doesn't want to seem as though she knows what's best for her.]

Have fun in Mystic Falls?

lake

[cloned]

[It might be a blur to some people, but Kon's pretty damn fast himself. Not speedster fast, but still much, much faster than a normal human. When he sees her blur by, he takes off after her, catching up to her at the lake.

He stays in the air, floating a little ways above the water.]

You a superhero?

[persevere]

[Her eyes are closed to shut out the sunlight, and she answers without opening them.]

Nope. Vampire.

[She opens them then, realizing that the voice sounds too close, and her eyebrows lift when she realizes he's...flying.

That's a new one.]

What are you? Superman or something?

Deux Lux

[screwedontight]

[Eventually Seth will get his head screwed on straight but right now is not that time. The last few nights of drinking, not sleeping unless he passes out, and avoiding those he actually cares about and likes is not the time. It's all his own damn fault, building up some fantasy in his head that life here could be everything they knew it would never be. What he gets for dreaming.

Alcohol isn't killing all the pain and thoughts but it's doing a pretty damn good job, and at least at Lucifer's place he can pretend he's not turning into a lush drinking alone until oblivion comes. There's not a lot of common sense though in how Seth is acting, like convincing himself that dancing with others will mean not thinking about anything but the here and now.

Caroline is beautiful, elegant even, he realizes and so he kind of catches the guy she's dancing with by the scruff of his neck, tugging him back and to the side, pushing him away.]

Time's up, Asshole. Get a drink at the bar. It's on me.

[Not even worrying if whoever it was wanted to start shit, his focus was on Caroline.]

[persevere]

[Oh hello.

The random guy just looks dazed and confused, and as she looks at him, her eyes constrict slightly, though it would be hard to notice unless he was looking for it.]

You can go.

[The other dude wanders off, then, and she turns her focus to Seth who has decided to put himself in her way on purpose. She's not sure if he's here to hit on her or 'save' her, but she decided she doesn't particularly care. He certainly has her attention, which is made obvious by the way she steps into him, slips her arms around his neck, and tugs on her bottom lip with her teeth.]

You have good timing. He was starting to bore me.