005 ♟ closed } { bombs are falling everywhere

[emojis]

Who: Drizella Tremaine/Freya Mikaelson + Regina Mills, Leopold Fitz, Natasha Romanoff, Klaus Mikaelson, probably some other people. It's a party!
Where: Various places in the mansion/love hotel
When: Last week of January through the event.
Rating: PG-13?
Summary: Drizella is trying to help Fitz out. Whether she is on the right path or not remains to be seen.
The Story:

Comments

[hypoxic]

[For a long, horrible moment, there's more pain than he knows how to process. His eyes widen in mute agony, breath catching. Slowly, he gurgles something hoarse and wordless, knees weakening as she begins to tug at his heart, severing it from the system it perpetuates.

It budges slightly, but it's hers with just a bit more force. It emerges as a bright red orb, flecked with streaks of darkness but still pure enough to glow, black ribbons twisting within without diluting the color into a cloudy mess.

His nostrils flare, and he drops to one knee, panting. He pats his chest, expecting to find blood, or some other evidence of a wound.]

....you...

[He doesn't quite have the language to express what he's experiencing. It's weaponized sensation. Another betrayal?]

[emojis]

Oh, relax, you'll get it back.

[She has a box in her bag for it, and his heart will go there eventually, but for now, she keeps it in her hand, ready to use it against him if he happens to take this poorly.]

Honestly, this is to your benefit. It's easy to lie to your captors convincingly if you're not the one doing the lying.

[hypoxic]

[It takes a moment for his body to adapt and recover, but he's self-conscious about how long he's been kneeling, enough that he rises back up while his legs still feel weak.]

Explain.

[He eyes the heart in her hand with suspicion. This feels like a trap.]

[emojis]

Me having your heart means I'll be able to see what you're seeing and experiencing through your eyes. Sometimes, I can even talk through you.

[As she said, it's a lot easier to lie when you're not the one with the tells.]

[hypoxic]

[It would sound like abject rubbish if he had any other explanation for it. Instead, he tilts his head at it, considering as he adjusts his clothes.]

You're saying that thing represents my heart? It's filthy. [He greatly prefers immaculate things.]

[emojis]

Actually, it's brighter than I thought it'd be.

[Just ... given what she knows about Fitz and what he's done. It's certainly lighter than hers, but he's never cursed an entire race of people, that she knows of.]

I thought it would be more black.

[hypoxic]

[In some ways, it's validating for him. He's known since the start that his ideas were rooted in heroism. He's the victim in all of this. He's here to do the things that are Right.]

I've taken great pains to keep it safe from otherworldly influence. [The black marks are obviously from her witchcraft.] Until today.

[emojis]

[She raises an eyebrow at that, before shaking her head.]

That's not what that means, but it's cute that you think it does.

[hypoxic]

[ it's close enough to making fun of him that he tightens anew, scowling. ]

Then please, enlighten me.

[ how dare she. The absolute nerve. ]

[emojis]

The black is all of your "evil" choices. Killing the innocent, using power for your own personal gain, rather than the good of all - basically for every bad life choice you make, your heart gets a little bit darker.

[It's hard for her to be threatened by that scowl when she holds all of the power in her hand.]

All these black streaks, you did to yourself.

[hypoxic]

I've found that there are very few innocent people in the world. [ he's always known the murders were justified, and that the Inhumans he's rounded up were nothing more than animals. ]

Compassion is a luxury that is regularly unavailable. A story such as yours could be used to twist the behavior of gullible people. Do you find it easier to control those who believe your superstitions?

[ it's all cosmetic. He's still Right. ]

[emojis]

[He's not entirely wrong. Darkening her own heart a long time ago had been a means of taking back her own control, of keeping her life from being used to bring life to something that has long been dead - being discarded and thought of as worthless was still somehow better than being an acceptable sacrifice for Anastasia because at least then she got to live.

But at the same time, she knows everything that compassion and kindness has done for her, as well as everything that her bitterness and anger had swallowed her into, and she can't really say that her way was better.]

Compassion is the root of love - you felt compassion enough for your true love to try and conquer another world for her. It's always easier to be cruel and much harder to be kind.

[Compassion being a luxury is what makes it so powerful, and that's why almost every fairy tale involving a curse starts with someone who didn't care enough to use it.]

But what do I know? I'm from a world where True Love's Kiss is an actual thing.

[hypoxic]

You're from a world that's deluded enough to normalize magic. I'm sure you've been raised among several unrealistic narratives.

[She speaks of compassion in a way that would make his father's blood boil.It's by force of will alone that his face remains impassive. It's his responsibility to fight on, so weaker people can indulge in the emotions that hold him back. He's doing them a service.]

Has anyone told you that you're different when you have access to your abilities? [She sounds just ever so slightly touched.]

[emojis]

[At first there's silence, as she weighs the response to all of that, because in some ways he's not wrong. Magic is fairly normal, though not everyone has it. And magic is feared, despite the normalcy. But unrealistic narratives and when he tries to make it personal just put her slightly on edge.]

You know next to nothing about me and magic, so I'd be careful what you assume. Moreover, you don't know the trust that I'm risking trying to help you.

[Her voice is surprisingly level for something that is a bit touchy, but she knows the edge of the precipice that she's just balancing on the edge on. The things she's done to help him are likely not going to be looked favorably upon by other people if they were to come out.

But Regina trusted her enough to give her her magic back, and she's trying very hard to keep that balance and not abuse it.]

That weak fledgling witch you manipulated into helping you during that event isn't even close.

[Her fingers squeeze, ever so slightly, just like a reflex. It's not enough to cause him any pain, but it's enough to have him feel that squeeze in his chest, just a little.]

You're dealing with the real deal, and to answer your question, yes. They did tell me I was different. But it wasn't because of the magic. It was because of what I did with it.

[hypoxic]

[When she squeezes, he withdraws in discomfort, grunting and instinctively clutching his chest. It's enough that her message is received.

He's expected this. They'll all betray him, in the end.

His other hand retrieves a pistol from his vest pocket. He's aiming for her before he's finished straightening his back again.]

Make another move like that and I'll make sure you don't live long enough to regret the mistake.

[She's testing her limits. He needs to show her where they are.]

[emojis]

[The gun doesn't bother her, even though it probably should. Instead, she just smirks and shakes her head.]

Boys and their toys. You'll have to catch me first.

[And with that, she disappears, in a cloud of magical smoke.]