entrancelogs | OPEN | let's change from the heart, let's shout

Entry tags:

OPEN | let's change from the heart, let's shout

Who: Anyone and everyone! That means you! Yes, you, c'mere.
Where: The stream and the lake.
When: July 12th, evening.
Rating: PG ~~in case any of y'all get wild with that decorating~~.
Summary: Come and take part in a mini lantern ceremony, Wonderland-style. Mingle away, comrades!
The Story:

The evening of the 12th, visitors who feel like moseying their way to the stream where it empties out of the forest will be able to enjoy a summer celebration in the Japanese style. Outdoor lights illuminate the area, and tables hold all manner of art supplies and blank paper lanterns waiting to be decorated.

Didn't catch the network 411? Someone around will surely explain: it's a nod to toro nagashi, the paper lantern ceremony meant to guide the souls of the departed by decorating lanterns and setting them loose. Maybe you have a departed soul you'd like to remember, or a prayer to make. Maybe you'd just like to write a note message-in-a-bottle style. Maybe you just feel like taking the air and enjoying the sights. The choice is yours!

Either way, once the sun has set and lanterns have been decorated, the candles inside will be lit (remember fire safety, kids!), and the lanterns will be released into the water.

Gather at the lakeside afterward to watch them empty into the lake and enjoy the ambiance with some food and drink. Because we could all use a little more light in our lives, no?

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[The wind catches her off guard, blowing her back, but she lands like a prowling cat on her feet, head snapping up as her tongue drags across some of the gore still clinging to her lips.

She smirks, wicked amusement dancing in her eyes.]

Don't tell me what to do.

[One moment she's crouching, ready to spring, and the next she's simply standing in front of him, eyes black as pitch as her fingers wrap around the wrist holding the blade. She's impossibly strong, evident by the slowly increasing pressure in his bones as she starts to squeeze.]

Now, what were you saying about my fangs? [Her other hand flies upward, wrapping around Akira's throat, her palm pressing painfully into his windpipe.] I couldn't quite hear you.

_{[Heh, yeah, I sure know how to pick 'em. Later, he'll be severely stung that what appeared to be a completely normal girl managed to fool him--hadn't he already learned that lesson enough times with Kamoshida, with Madarame, with all the rest of the professional liars?--but for now there's the hard thud of his heart and the buzz of adrenaline.

And Akira. Akira in danger.

He has to close his eyes against the wind, and when he opens them again the girl (the whatever she is) is practically on top of Akira, shedding more and more of her humanity by the second like a second skin that's lost its use.]}

No!

_{[Don't run. Even if he was consciously in control, he wouldn't. He couldn't. But as he tries to gain his feet to throw himself at them and break them up, his gimp leg seems to take the command personally, flinching at taking his weight. His foot slips in something wet--a drink he distantly remembers dropping from numb fingers, tinged with what he's afraid are darker droplets of blood.]}

Let him go!

[ Damn it's fast. From the moment Akira realizes his wrist has been snatched up it's already too late: he's caught. Bone and sinew grind together as soon as he's conscious of its frightening speed. It wouldn't be the first time coming to Ryuji's defense has gotten him into a scrape but it's his job to make sure there aren't two Wonderland lives scratched off.

Tch. There's nothing for it. ]

Get out of here already, Ryuji!

[ It barely comes out as a strained command, black playing at the edges of his vision. He's never been strangled before but even his mind could guess at the signs as its work slows with the lack of air.

The knife clatters to the floor. But don't think Akira is disarmed.

The scent of ozone in the air is all the warning the monster gets before a column of lightning crashes down onto her. No matter that she'll carry the current with her to Akira too. ]

[She smiles again, simply and cooly.]

He can't. [She wouldn't want his friend to think that his friend had a chance. He doesn't. Caroline saw to that.] I told him he couldn't.

[She hears the knife hit the ground next to them, but is quickly distracted by something else. There's something different in the air, but as she looks up, she knows she's just going to have to take it. She's fast, but she's not that fast, not when she doesn't realize it's coming.

Electricity crackles through her, sparks inside her heart, and she feels it stutter in her chest. She's thrown back a few feet, hitting the ground, separating her from her new quarter. It's a miracle she doesn't pass out, though it takes her a moment to recover from the hit, the burns caused by it visibly healing over.

She's smoking as she gets to her feet, and now instead of amused, she's just pissed.]

Alright, then. This party is over.

[She blurs back over to Akira, wherever he ended up, and positions herself behind him. A slim arm encircles his neck, trapping him against her, before she sinks her teeth into the slope where his shoulder meets his neck.]

( it's elena who is too late.

elena who'd been hoping against all hope that she made the right decision in respecting caroline's wishes, but knew deep down her friend would be clever enough to find loopholes. elena knows what it's like; she's been without her humanity before. knows what it feels like when the switch goes off and the longer it stays off, the less you care about everything, including not caring. caroline said she wouldn't kill. she never said she wouldn't feed, but right now, elena isn't seeing the difference.

this was meant to be a night of mourning, and caroline is not only being cruel, she's being sloppy by drawing this much attention to herself.

elena can't stand by and watch someone else get hurt because of them. sooner or later, this will hurt caroline, too.

and so she is there in a blur of speed, hoping the element of surprise is enough to yank caroline off of akira. a low hiss strangled in her throat as her own fangs come out in a display of dominance, elena attempting to back caroline and herself away until she's slammed her into the ground.

... hi, guys.

there are now two vampires in your midst. )

[ Holyshitwhat. Akira's life went from being a zero vampire area to two cropping up within minutes of one another. On its face he doesn't see why he has to be afraid of them without reason. Save for the fact that the reason is staring him right in the face, sinking its fangs into him until the moment they suddenly aren't.

He can't help the yelp as he's torn free (or is the vampire simply removed from him?) by another. Yeah, he'd have liked to talk first, bite later, but as long as a distraction is staring their attacker down Akira is all instinct, clapping a hand to his bleeding neck and launching himself past them and toward Ryuji. ]

No time to be skimping out on a training opportunity. [ He grunts, managing to snatch up Ryuji's wrist and pulling. Why's Ryuji just staying put!? ] Come on, off your ass - !

_{[I told him he couldn't. What's that supposed to mean? As if he could run when his friend's in danger. His blood--what's left of it that isn't currently in Caroline's stomach or smearing her chin--boils with a protective anger for the sound of pain Akira makes.

Always quicker on the uptake, their leader. The air hums with a familiar charge and he thinks, with a spike of hope, that this is it, she doesn't stand a chance against one of Akira's Personas.

Everything goes bright and hot for a moment, forcing him to cover his eyes or be blinded.

When he lowers his arm, his hopes are dashed with the same speed Caroline wields. The electrical attack seems to have hurt Ryuji's retinas more than their attacker; she's on her feet and slipping behind Akira while he's still scrambling to get to the other, blinking spots from his eyes. Goddamn it.

It all happens so fast after that. Bodies collide and strain in less time than it takes to blink, and at first he doesn't even realize someone else has arrived until the hiss, Akira slumping forward, free. He doesn't even care--all he can think is back, back, back. They gotta pull back, get some distance.]}

Book it, I'm right behind you!

_{[Or beside, as the case may be, pulling Akira with as much urgent force as he's being pulled. When he'd said they'd run together again, this isn't exactly what he'd had in mind.]}

[It's been an evening of unexpected twists to this little endeavour, the newest being the loud crash and sharp pain in her back as Elena slams Caroline's back into the ground.

She knows it's her; she can smell her before she can see her through the commotion.

Caroline laughs as the dirt settles, face shifting back to normal, if not for the blood that's still splattered across her lips and chin, a macabre display all on its own.

She bends her knees, plants her feet into Elena's chest, and shoves as hard as she can to get her off of her.]

( elena's training has been extensive and varied, but caroline is still the older vampire, and elena's heart isn't in this -- she doesn't want to hurt her friend, and caroline succeeds in shoving her off. she lands gracelessly, tush on the ground and a small oomph for her efforts. )

Caroline, what the hell?

( what was she thinking?

and those boys have now fled before the 'erase' part of this procedure, damn it. )

That's my line, isn't it? You're the one that let them get away so that they could shoot their mouths off about both of us. Good work, Elena.

[She sounds annoyed, but they both know she doesn't really care. Not anymore. People had been pushing and she was pushing back. It wasn't her fault things had gotten out of hand. She wasn't supposed to get hit with lightning, and she wasn't supposed to get blasted by memories of flying lanterns for dead people from her past.]

You know, you're the biggest buzzkill.

You were supposed to be careful. We had a deal.

( the words slip through gritted teeth as elena boosts herself back up to her feet. she knew that deal wouldn't last forever, but she did believe it would buy them at least a little bit of time. it was difficult enough to agree to the first time around. now that things've spun out of control? she plans to do no such thing. )

So what happened?

I had it under control. Besides, I said I wouldn't kill anyone. I never said I wouldn't feed on people.

[She toys with her hair, trying to tame the frizz caused by a freaking lightning strike. Ugh, she was going to have to kill that kid eventually for ruining her hair.]

What do you think happened? I'm being pushed from all sorts of sides and I'm pushing back. Your boyfriend needs to back off and mine isn't playing very nice, either.

[The way she says 'mine' is condescending and sarcastic; he's just watching her like a little lost puppy half the time and trying to act all tough the next. It was gross.]

At a funeral? Where anyone could've easily caught you?

( elena doesn't have to tell her why that's dangerous.

caroline has her humanity off. it doesn't mean she's lost the art of nuance. )

Forget Damon. Forget Klaus. ( her shoulders slump and her gaze grows soft, useless though that may be at the moment. ) I'm talking about you. This isn't you. You think you want to be this person and you don't. How long are you going to push away the inevitable, Caroline?

Maybe I want to get caught.

[She doesn't, not really, but if she does then oh well. She'll just kill them too, and if she dies, what does that matter either? Then maybe she'll lose these memories that threaten to make her suffer, that want to drag her down to an abyss.]

Oh you're one to talk, Elena. Tell me, how many people did you kill on your way back to humanity, hm? How many lives did you ruin in order to save yourself a little grief? We're in a place where it doesn't matter. Eventually, everyone will get dragged home, and they'll forget everything, anyway. Including you and me.

Don't you get it? That's why I'm saying this to you. I don't want you to make my mistakes, and you're mentioning the biggest one. ( all those lives she hurt, the ones she ruined, the families she left without mother or daughter or son? she has to live with that.

it's not just the pain that floods back. it's anger and hate. so much hate that there's plenty to go around. enough that you hate yourself, too. there's no saving caroline from this grief. a piece of her heart will always cry for liz, the way a part of elena would not stop screaming for jeremy.

elena wishes that weren't true, but it is. )

And it matters, deep down in that place we both know is still there. I don't want to push you. ( not the way she was pushed. that doesn't work, either. it breeds more pain and violence, and if she's fully honest with herself, resentment. )

But I love you, and I can't just watch you destroy yourself.

Edited 2017-08-04 03:01 (UTC)

Then don't push me. It's really simple, Elena.

[But they're going to. She knows that now. She just has to find a way to stop it, to prove that they can't push her around. They can't kill her, she'll just come back, and Wonderland has a way of not having anything be too permanent in other ways, too.]

Well, now I'm going to have to make them because of you. Since I couldn't erase those boys' memories, now I have to track them down and kill them, so you can have that blood on your hands now, too.

[She smiles at her, full of white teeth and sass, as if challenging her to do something about it.]

It won't be hard. I know what they're blood smells like, and the dorky one isn't going to be able to move that fast either. I'll have this problem taken care of before they even have a chance to tell anyone about it.

( elena doesn't need much of a challenge to step right up.

there are other ways to deal with those two boys, and she can take care of that after she's subdued caroline somehow. compromising their identity isn't an option, but neither is caroline killing two perfectly innocent boys who were only looking to mourn their loved ones in peace. )

Trust me. If I could make you do anything, we wouldn't be having this conversation. What you do is because of you. ( that's what elena is afraid of. it's the pitfall of the switch: it works until it doesn't. and when it doesn't, it hurts like hell. )

But you're not killing anyone.

( not tonight. not around her. caroline wants to play mean girls, and that's what she's going to get. )

[That's the whole problem; they tried to mourn people. Caroline didn't want to mourn anyone and there was only one way to make that memory go away.

Violence.]

Whatever helps you sleep at night.

[Her grin returns, eyebrows lifting expectantly.]

Oh really? What are you going to do, then? Try and stop me? Put me out of my misery? You're going to have to, because otherwise- [She steps over to a nearby tree, pulling off one of the low hanging branches for a crude makeshift stake.] -I'll end up putting you out of yours.

( elena doesn't answer at first.

she eyes the makeshift stake, but remains frighteningly still and twice as alert. the predator in her starts to stir, a light ache threatening to push her fangs out. elena doesn't shift her stance, as it's affording her just enough balance, but the moment caroline takes a step she'll try using that to her advantage.

she aims right for caroline's ankle with her instep, putting strength into the scooping motion that follows to push her feet off the ground.

it's only a second that elena digs the heel of her boot into her friend's chest. she wants to see if caroline still has a hold of the stake. )

Yeah, Caroline. I'll stop you.

[She's waiting for it. She knows Elena isn't going to stand for it, that the moment she moves there's going to be a fight.

She wants it. Elena beat her last time, nearly shoved a stake in her back. Time to repay the favor.

So when she hits the ground this time, she's ready for that too, and it doesn't knock the wind out of her the way it could have. She looks up at the brunette, a bright gleam in her eye, before she grabs onto Elena's ankle with both hands as she shoves her boot into her chest.]

Do your worst.

[And then she wrenches to the side with her hands, content to either break her ankle of simply catch her off-balance. She knows Elena is a better fighter than her; the difference is that Caroline is perfectly content to kill and she doubts Elena has it in her.]

No. I'm never going to be that person again. You'll understand.

( because she doesn't.

she doesn't have it in her, not here and not now. besides, her extensive training doesn't change the fact caroline is an older vampire, and that means she's inherently stronger. the sickening twist to her ankle makes her features pinch, elena jumping back to afford herself some space.

but she doesn't give herself time to recover, because caroline won't. it's the first thing faith lehane taught her: fights will never be fair.

elena grabs hold of the makeshift stake now that both of caroline's hands were busy. she snaps it in half and tosses it away. and before her ankle has fully healed, she's already charging forward again. )

Edited 2017-08-04 03:54 (UTC)

[She doesn't need the stake. She'll just snap her neck and then kill her. Or maybe tear her heart out with her bare hands. It doesn't really matter; the end result will be the same.]

That's because you already lost everyone. Don't act like you handled losing Damon well, either.

[She rushes forward to meet her, using the fact that her ankle isn't broken to her advantage. She reaches out, grabbing for her arm, attempting to fling her with one large jerking motion into a tree, yelling with a strained voice as she does.]

At least I didn't have someone erase my memories like a coward.

What? ( it's not the brute force that messes with elena. she knows she can take caroline. she doesn't want to, but she can.

no, it's more what caroline says.

there's a lot she hasn't lived that caroline did, and it's not something caroline could know, because they haven't talked about it. they haven't talked since this whole mess started. even if caroline did know, elena is aware that it wouldn't stop her from delivering such a low blow. she erases her memories?

it's this revelation, more than anything else, that sends elena back against a tree, with enough force the bark gives. )

[She watches with satisfaction as Elena smacks into the tree, blurring with violent speed to follow her. Her left forearm presses into the brunette's throat, holding her in place, threatening to crush her windpipe.

Her right hand flashes out, fingers pressing into her chest just beside her ribcage with increasing pressure, just enough that if she presses a bit harder, her fingers will sink into her flesh.]

He didn't tell you, did he? Who am I kidding, of course, he didn't. [Her fingers press harder, nails starting to break the skin.] Would this one make five? Maybe you'll forget about him here, too.

[There's a whirring sound like something being powered up and one of the nearest trees gets nearly split in half by an errant bit of laser fire. Unlike some people, Rocket doesn't enjoy girlfights. Or any fight that he isn't in the middle of and winning.]

Ladies, ladies... You're both... Eh, I guess reasonably attractive for bald-bodies.

[He shoulders the gun just to make it clear he isn't going to fire again and gives Caroline a look that seems to be confused... and a bit disappointed.] Let her go, Caroline. It ain't gonna take, and... Murdering your friends is awful, I guess.

OPEN | let's change from the heart, let's shout

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