[open + closed] I can't understand, no, I can't understand

[nascensibility]

Who: Evelyn O'Connell & You
Where: Tartarus
When: Duration of the event
Rating: PG-13
Summary: In an effort to locate her son and get to safety, Evelyn encounters a heap-ton more dangers than desired.
The Story:

Out & About

[This place feels eerily familiar, only in the way any strange place can when one has spent a long time traveling between the shadows of people's memories. Events long-passed have run together by now, though the environment they all currently found themselves in - Evelyn in her nightclothes and robe, of all things - reminds her strongly of another time when manifestations of their true selves emerged to torment residents. Something about the shifting walls covered in dead faces, the muffled music emanating from every corner and wall, the knee-jerk quality of this reality. Arqa Block is emblazoned on the columns at certain intersections and she wishes the reference made sense.

Not that it matters.

Armed with a Beretta and a clip with too few bullets for comfort, Evelyn moves through the halls barefoot, occasionally stopping to check her communicator in the hopes that it might pick up an adequate signal for correspondence.]

Oh, for the love of- come on.

[It rarely has enough strength to reach another person, or hold it for long. She continues in spite of that, far too on edge from the occasional distant screeching, and tightens her grip on her handgun.]

Safety

[Once she's located the primary foyer and find it designated as a safe zone Evelyn is keen to help anyone suffering from wounds inflicted by those creatures on the upper floors, more than happy to set aside the gun in favour of sacrificing fabric from her robe for bandages.

Aware that she does not have the luxury of being able to risk her skin the way she normally would, she lingers here longer than she does on the other levels, aware of her current precarious position in Wonderland.]

Are you all right?

Comments

[CLOSED] to Frank Castle: Tziah Block

[nascensibility]

[Evelyn didn't mean to wander up this far.

On the hunt for Alex she scoured every floor she possibly could, expending a bullet or two along the way before staying smart and avoiding contact with anything that looked less than human. The creatures of this place are familiar in that they resemble those of Sam's world, based upon appearance and his descriptions, and their desire to kill is insatiable. Far too tense for comfort and wishing she had something to wear that wasn't her damned nightgown Evelyn hazards another dimly-lit, Baroque corridor and freezes at what she sees down the hall.]

Hello, Evelyn.

[Dressed in a plaid shirt and dark trousers is Will Graham. His hair is still curly, rumpled but refined in style, as though it was recently cut, and his perpetual not-quite-a-beard accompanies a wry smile. A self-deprecating expression. So uncannily like him that for a long moment all she can do is stare.]

It's been a while.

[Too long, and yet not long enough. Their last interaction was a torn one, lingering nostalgia and peace with a heavy side of regret. He steps closer and she flinches, lifting her gun.]

Don't.

I'm hurt.

Not yet you aren't.

[scoutsniper]

[One of them is fake. That's Frank's first impression. He's been in the levels long enough to know that predator and prey is the way this place works. So one of them was the prey, one of them the predator.

The guy, he doesn't recognize. The woman, though, he does, though he's pretty sure that right now, she's 50/50 likely to at least point that gun at him, likely as not to see him as a threat, in this stupid level or not. And if this place wanted to fuck with him, without diving too back into his past, well, she'd be Exhibit A.

He's got his own gun, because, fuck sleeping without one. So he'll just casually pull it out, aiming at both of them. ]

How about we all just stop and talk about this like civilized motherfuckers.

[nascensibility]

[Evelyn turns before anyone else speaks, largely due to the way that Will's eyes slide off to her right, lazily settling on a newcomer that she almost anticipates being Hannibal Lecter. The person she does see is simultaneously surprising and not: he'd gotten such a damn bee in his bonnet the other day about her that to find him pointing a gun at the middle ground between her and the doppelganger feels next to normal.]

For the love of- coming from you, that's particularly ironic.

[She lowers her weapon, but only enough that she might hit the creature in the stomach, rather than the head. Lucky for Frank, Evelyn knows what is real in this realm and what is not.]

Haven't you made enough trouble recently?

[scoutsniper]

[He's an incredibly civilized motherfucker, ma'am. ]

I thought you were all about talking things out. With words.

[If it IS even you, Evelyn.]

I was checking up, like you told me I could.

[He's going to study her response, because he's still not quite sure she's not one of, you know, them.]

oot and aboot

[ofletters]

It's not gonna work.

[ The communicator. Somehow, though, Sam looks immensely relieved as he says it, smiling weakly as he jogs up to her side. One less thing to worry about. ]

Are you alone? [ And then, just as important: ] Are you armed?

[ Because depending on what she has with her, they could be in a good amount of trouble... ]

[nascensibility]

[Evelyn startles, turning to see Sam and smiling immediately. There are few reliefs she has in this world, but seeing him when she least expected him is one of the highlights. She shifts the shoulder of her robe a little higher, huffing.]

I'm not alone anymore.

[Lifting her Beretta, she raises an eyebrow.]

And when am I not armed?

[ofletters]

Good. [ But, it's not a flare gun, and so they're still in trouble. No use dancing around the issue, here. ] Listen, these things are called wendigo, and... to be blunt? We should find a way out of here.

[ He adjust the shotgun in his arms, looking... only a little grim, actually. ]

This'll hold them off for a while, but it can't kill them. Basically only fire's gonna do that.

[nascensibility]

A wendi- wait, I've read about this.

[Dean left his father's journal with Philip, after the first time he left. Permitted him to transcribe the information, and Evelyn had spent hours poring over the material with him, simultaneously cursing John Winchester's inability to keep organised.]

They're- people who were...cannibals. Weren't they.

safety

[choosetruth]

[George isn't injured badly, but she is bleeding. A scratch on her shoulder, nothing life threatening, but not anything pleasant either. When Evelyn approaches, she holds up her hand.]

Please stay back. If you have bandages, I would appreciate them, but you don't want to touch my blood. Trust me, the last thing we need right now is more damn zombies.

[nascensibility]

[She stops immediately, not especially keen on testing fate. Crouching several feet away, she twists her mouth in a little frown and studies the cut on Georgia's shoulder.]

...are you asymptomatic?

[choosetruth]

Sort of.

[Gritting her teeth, she tears off the sleeve of the oversized shirt she's been wearing. It's easy because it got torn when she was injured, but it does jostle her arm, and that's not fun.]

The disease has two forms, active and passive, and as long as I'm living and not exposed to the active form, it'll stay passive. But most people here are completely unexposed to Kellis-Amberlee, and no one has my specific strain. You should be fine unless my blood gets into your bloodstream, but I'd rather not take chances.

[She would kill for some bleach right now.]

[nascensibility]

[It's a bit silly, watching her tear off pieces of her shirt, and so while Evelyn listens to her she settles down and begins the process of stripping out the hem of her nightgown.]

Move over here. [She gives her a stern look with a proviso.] I won't touch it, but I can help you bandage up more effectively.

Safety

[saunteredvaguelydownwards]

Oh, me? I'm fine.

[There's something in the dripping sarcasm of his tone that doesn't make him sound fine, and if that wasn't enough, the hunched-over posture and altogether unhappy appearance probably give it away.

He looks up, giving a slow glance around the designated 'safe zone', then looks up to Evelyn with a thin smile.]

This place makes my wings itch.

[nascensibility]

[From an outward perspective, he seems well. Evelyn doesn't know much about the general physiognomy of demons, but she certainly knows when a regular person is unhappy based upon body language. She has very little other precedent.]

Physically or metaphorically? Or both?

[She's just curious.]

[saunteredvaguelydownwards]

It's...

[Crowley begins, then stops.

Explaining the sensation currently twitching over what is undoubtedly the most intimate part of his anatomy to a human is a new one for him, and his lips stay parted for a moment before his jaw clicks shut and he attempts to find a way to put it into words that she'll understand.]

It's like... when you walk through a cobweb. You've done that, haven't you? And even after you're sure you got all of it off your face and out of your hair, you still feel it there. It's that feeling, stuck right up in the shaft of every fucking feather.

[The demon shudders subtly.]

It's telling me this is a very bad place to be.

[nascensibility]

[Evelyn has no express concept of what is and is not intimate conversation with a demon, and would gently back away from the subject if it bothered him, but Crowley doesn't seem to mind sharing even if he's having trouble finding the right words.

She glances around briefly before settling on the floor next to him, attentive.]

I know the feeling. [It's not an enviable one.] And it's everywhere? How can you- I'm sorry, I realise it sounds like a silly question to ask, of course they're a part of you, it's just more difficult to grasp when they're-

[Evelyn waves a hand.]

Incorporeal.

safety ; /slides in here late

[walkingheroin]

Ah, yes. I'm fine.

[He's not suffering from wounds but it likely looks like he is; his clothing is in a sorry enough state and he's dirtier than he'd ever like to be, but Chloe keeping her distance has kept him immortal and invulnerable at least.]

No need for concern, I assure you. [His smile is weaker than normal. He's worried.] Didn't run into anything too nasty yourself, I hope?

[nascensibility]

[Evelyn hadn't recognised him from behind, so when Lucifer turns she is surprised to see him - not simply because he looks as though he's gotten into a fistfight with a speeding automobile, but also because it's been so long since they last spoke.

It isn't that her countenance suddenly twists, or that her mood changes abruptly, but she remembers hearing from Dan that Lucifer might reach out to her, or something to that effect. The details immediately following her resurrection are cloudy, each return weighing heavier than the last and swirling in a mire of foggy memories. When he didn't, well.

They're here now, at any rate.]

I slapped a Marine across the face.

[Evelyn replies with a little shrug, looking him over.]

You should sit down.

[walkingheroin]

[That entire situation has been a mess that Lucifer hadn't ever quite figured out how to field.

So he pretended it didn't exist and with luck it would just go away. No one had come after his friend, so he assumed all was well. Assuming things also tended to bite him in the ass later, but he didn't particularly mind that, either.]

Well done, Hazelnut. I hope it left a mark.

[If Evelyn hit someone, no doubt they deserved it.]

As you wish. [He unceremoniously does as he's told, reaching up to adjust his pathetic excuse of a collar. At least he's not uncomfortable showing his skin because it's just...peeking out all over the place.] This one has been particularly nasty, hasn't it.

[When he'd first arrived, something like this would have had him excited. Now, he just looked worn down like anyone else.]

[mulletrock]

[Hell isn't exactly news to him. No matter where it's coming from it's always the same. Monsters, darkness, death, and decay. It's not like it's hard to figure out.

Seeing Evelyn in her nightgown, though, not really part of the normal scenery. It's a little racy, and by racy it's got no edge whatsoever. He's seen more skin at the doctor's office, and he's not a big fan of hospitals, to begin with.]

Jesus Christ. Slow down.

[Dean narrowly misses body checking her, while doing his own thing with his own handgun. The way she's handling her weapon makes it clear that it's not the first time, but there's still room for improvement. That much is clear.]

[nascensibility]

[It's autumn, and Evelyn isn't about to wear something as impractical as lingerie to bed. If she had, wandering around so unprotected would be even more of an issue than it already is.]

Slow down yourself.

[Comes the immediate retort, and if Dean is feeling critical of her firearm expertise he is more than welcome to offer unsolicited advice that will absolutely not be taken. She spent the better part of her childhood on the family hunting grounds with a rifle and would be more than happy to challenge his opinions on her marksmanship.]

Unless you're in a hurry to- get eaten, or whatever it is you usually try to avoid when you're on the job. These things are from your world, aren't they?

[She's seen his journal before. The descriptions fit.]

[mulletrock]

[Not his journal, his dad's, but that might be a conversation for another time. For someone hauling ass through corridors, he's not worried for himself. It's the same song and dance, just this time he's the one that gets to feel violated. Cas would be having a field day if he were here, and he still hasn't had the pleasure of running into his brother or anybody else he knows. Besides her.]

Yeah, that's what I'm trying to do, and no offense but I really don't have time for your attitude problem. Not right now.

[Most of the time it's cute, but that's not the case right now. There's no panic, mostly he's doing recon and saving who he can along the way, and also looking for any possible exit doors. Not like he knows how this place manages to get things so exact. It's possible this is more than just hoodoo.]

You wanna go this alone? Or are you up for double-teaming this bitch?

yooooooooo | out & about

[thecourier]

[He hears her voice from two crossroads away and follows it, hoping that it isn't another auditory hallucination. That kind of thing brings up memories he doesn't want to re-experience, and he's very much relieved to find that Evelyn is there, and appears to be real.

Still, he keeps one hand ready on his weapon, just in case. If it's really her, he trusts that she won't take offence.]

Hey. [Dan speaks up softly at first, to keep from startling her. It's only when he knows she's seen him that he ventures forwards with a small, crooked smile on his face.] 'M trustin' yer you right now, so 'm gonna be real upset if y' shoot me.

bae

[nascensibility]

[Evelyn's eyes flicker down to his weapon immediately, and she knows it's within Dan's usual precautionary measures to linger on it. No one needs to persuade her that it might not be him - if it wasn't, she would know.

She huffs a quiet laugh, lowering her firearm and approaching.]

I'm me. [Evelyn grins at him.] And I'd forgotten you went to bed without a shirt, you must be cold.

bae <3

[thecourier]

[When she laughs, he moves his hand off his weapon and huffs out a relieved breath at the same time. A smile quirks one corner of his lips up, quickly turning into a grin to answer hers as he crosses the distance between them to pull her to his chest and squeeze her tightly.]

Yeah, I guess, but it ain't anythin' I can't handle.

[He kisses Evelyn's forehead and steps back, lightly trailing a hand down her arm, then catching her fingers in his.]

Y' look good. Got a real action-girl thing goin' on in that nightgown.