entrancelogs | Outside the rain, the heart skips a beat

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Outside the rain, the heart skips a beat

WHO: Misty Day
WHERE: Forest Edge, Mansion around just about everywhere
WHEN: April 12th through 20th
OPEN TO: Anyone and everyone
WARNINGS: Mild spoilers for AHS Apocalypse. PG for talk of death and animal deaths briefly, will update as needed

Well it's one more link in the chain

For Misty leaving Wonderland meant returning, quite literally, to Hell. To a never ending loop of being forced to murder a frog that she is endlessly bringing back with a power she hadn't known she had, nor could she control at that time. Over and over again, years spent in Hell. Trapped. Wishing for death and release, and finding neither.

Except, that when she did find them, they came with an elegant man with no emotion behind beautiful eyes and a smile full of mystery and promise. He caused fear to grow within her, icy and bitter and cold. A fear she couldn't control, just as her power once had been. Yet she knew how to swallow it, to bury that fear and find a way to move on because, if nothing else, she was home.

Not that home lasted all that long. Long enough to see the White Witch return, to know that the world is ending, and to know that Cordelia is Supreme. The coven is in good hands, if only they can keep the world from ending in flame and destruction.

Which is Misty's first thought when she finds herself barefoot, her unburnt shawl of the White Witch around her shoulders once more, and standing in the middle of the forest. A forest she has charted, the marks she left to mark where you start to pass out just before her.

"Wonderland."

You say that it's been forever - For Gren

All her things are there, just as she left them. It hasn't been long enough for the season to change again, and her garden is just as she left it.

Memories flood back and she gathers her skirt up, grinning as she raises like a wild child for the house, racing up the stairs, seeking out one person, first and foremost. Her run takes her by the lake, and if he's not there she'll be tearing through the mansion, excited and giddy to try and find Gren, to be certain he's still there and that she's not returned to find him gone.

But you know I'm changing

She's returned. She's excited and happy and she spends every moment she has running about the mansion, seeking out others. Those she's met, those she's been friends with, those that are new. She may well be alive again back home, but this place, Wonderland, the people here, they are her family. Just as much as Cordelia is her family, but this place. It's become home, and she's more thankful than she thought she ever might be to be out of Hell but back here rather than in New Orleans.

Outside the rain - For Cisco

Days after Misty returns, she finds a message on her mirror. She's never spoken to her mirror, but now there is a message asking for a favor, of all things. So Misty sets out to find a man named Cisco, hpping to find him and deliver the message.

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His arm wraps around her waist, pulling her in. He closes his eyes, breathing deep, taking in the smell of her, hearing the familiar lub-dub of her heart. She was back, and she was alive. For a moment, he's overwhelmed by the sheer amount of relief he feels that she's here again. That if she's here, then she's not in Hell.

He's about to point out that she's asking questions they know have no real answers to. That it's just Wonderland bullshit they all got to just live with- no choice otherwise. But then she says those words, and he stills himself. They're words that have been rattling around in his head for a while, but words he hasn't spoken out loud. Fear, maybe- he's not used to this. It's not supposed to be a part of his narrative. The monster doesn't get the girl. And yet...here she was.

"You beat me to it," he says, his voice his usual rumble- but with gentleness to it that only a select few get to hear.

He takes his time, as always- when things actually matter, Gren is careful with his words. It's important that he does- that it's said right and not just whatever the fuck comes falling out of his mouth at any given time. It's important that she knows he means it. He pulls back, to look at her- really look at her, and he smiles. A real, genuine smile.

"Love you, too," and he felt lighter for the saying of it- he'd worried if Wonderland was fucking with him, that there was a chance she'd go home and never near it. "I really fuckin' missed you."

It's painful realizing how much she had forgotten when she was back in her world. Even ascending from Hell, there was no memories of this place, and that knowledge makes it feel like her heart is being literally torn into chunks in her chest.

Her arms wrap so tightly around his neck, clinging to him, holding so tight because this is her Gren, her love, the one person that makes her feel comfortable everywhere and not just when she's alone in the swamps.

There's no helping the tears that rush down her cheeks, hot and heavy and seemingly not stopping. Only leaning back enough to look at his face, to study that beautiful face and see that smile. It's like freaking sunshine and perfection and how could she love him anymore? She's not even sure but in that moment she does.

Her hands shaking as she moves to cup his cheek, staring in his eyes, practically going cross eyed as she leans in, kissing him tenderly. It hurts and it's perfect, and she's so scared to lose him again but for now, he's hers once more and that's all that matters.

Except for everything she needs to tell him, but that can wait. For now.

He is absolutely hers. Completely and utterly. He genuinely thought there was a chance he'd lost her for good. That she just... wouldn't come back here. That she'd be trapped in her own literal Hell until the end of time. Probably longer, knowing how that kind of shit worked.

He's lived a long time, and he's lived through a lot- but that... that's something that digs a deep pit of dread and sorrow into his chest. He doesn't want her to face that. She deserves so much more than that. If he could take her place, he'd do it in a fraction of a heartbeat. Misty's good people, she should be out in the sun, enjoying her plants and her animals. She should get to live. If he could change that, he would. Unhesitatingly.

He knows he has to bring it up, and soon- find out where she went- if she went home. He knows it likely won't be good news. Hell, she could have been stuck there for years. But he doesn't want to, yet. As if speaking about it might undo the fact she's here at all. He doesn't want to chance it- not yet. For now, he just wants to hold her, while she's alive and whole and here.

And so that's what he does. His arm curls around her tighter, pulling her closer- as if that would stop her from being torn away from him again. He returns that kiss, solid and strong and very much there. And he was fine being that way for as long as he possibly could- keeping reality at bay for just a little longer.

It's like reminding herself that she's real, and she's here. That he's here and she hasn't lost him. It keeps running over and over again in her head. Those images of the warlocks, of her coven, even of the White Witch herself being there, and yet now all that she can hear in her head is that Gren wasn't there. That in her world Grendel is gone, maybe not even real, not part of her life, and she is terrified of what that means, of what happens the next time. When he goes back to that god awful world that has no care or love for the wicked and the strong and the fairy tales. A world without someone that cares about him, that is there for him.

"I got out," she whispers, breaking the kiss for another, whispering the words somewhere in between one kiss and another. Murmuring to him as she keeps kissing him as if that will erase all the time that he hadn't been in her life. "It's bad and it's ugly but I got out."

Because she knows that matters. The rest he can find out as they go, but she needs Gren to know that she hasn't spent all her time in Hell. Not all of it, at least.

It's part of Wonderland's cruel trick, he knows. To make people care about one another- when they live literal worlds apart. Shit, he's just a Fictional Thing in her world, like he is in umpteen others. Not for the first time, he wonders with they could open up a dimensional gate between their worlds- but he knows even if they could manage it, it would never be allowed. Can't risk the Adversary catching wind of such a thing- and if he was aware of Misty's world, with all its hidden magic...well, the Adversary would be on it in a second. He wouldn't wish that on anyone's world.

He hears her say she got out and a wave of relief washes over him. She's out. Out of that endless hell cycle that she got trapped in unfairly. He returns each and every kiss, so very, very grateful she's there to give them.

"Jesus, thank fuck for that. I was worried," the world sounds like a fucking mess but she's OUT. "How'd you do it?"

She hates that she's crying, that she can't stop the tears that just trickle down her face. Constant tears for all she's lost, what she's gained back, and everything in between. Yet it all hurts, more than she can find words for.

Smiling at that though, loving how much that means to him as well. She knows it had hurt the others, but only two truly had felt her time in Hell as acutely. Cordelia and Gren.

That question though. She leans back slightly, wiping at her face though there are instantly fresh tears on her cheeks.

"I think... I think that the coven, because of the warlocks, made a deal with the devil. Literally," she says. "He... when he came for me, it was the most terrifying thing I've ever been through. Even more than Hell itself. The world's ending," she whispers. 'They brought me back for the apocalypse."

Well. There's no way to make 'deal with the devil' sound good. That suggests that someone, probably Misty, will pay for that later. He can't imagine the devil would be someone who'd let a favour like that go easily. No way, no how.

His brow furrows as she continues to speak- as things go from bad to worse. She's free, and that means the entire fucking universe to him. But she's free into what?

"So...fuck, what? They brought you back in time for the end of the world?"

The coven finally did something fucking right by her and it was this? He's not sure if it was a final act of altruism or something else.

"...Do they- do you guys even have a chance?"

"He... There was this warlock and he was proving he was somehow strong enough to be supreme. Which is for witches," she points out. "But he... he raised me. It shouldn't be possible. My body... it disintegrated when I failed the test," she admits, having learned that from Cordelia. "Yet he walked right into Hell, not the afterlife but Hell, and pulled me out. Whole."

At least whole as far as she knows, and she's good with that then.

"I don't know though. He's... He's so powerful, but I'm not sure he's with us, Gren. He claims he is but there's nothing right about him. The others don't want to see it, but I saw him in Hell, and I saw how it reacted to him. He ain't right."

"So they essentially raised you up and dragged you into...who the fuck knows what new mess. It's literally out of the frying pan and into the fire."

Which isn't fair. Why the hell can't she just live? Why can't she be given some goddamn peace? Why does it always have to be another fight? Another pile of bullshit for her to wade through. He frowns- torn.

"I mean...shit. I'm glad you're outta Hell. But ain't too thrilled about what's coming after."

"Yeah, pretty much feels like it. Not being tortured, but who knows what's coming. Least if it ends, I should go to the underworld and not Hell. Like Nan has. At least I hope that's how it'll go. I don't much petition Papa Legba, but then neither did Nan. She's not even from the swamps and the places he mostly is, so it might work out for me."

She pauses, considering him for a long time. "Is... I don't even know if the Devil is real, but if he is..." She can't help but wonder about this Warlock given how he looked, the magic that came off of him and how he acted."

"I mean, shit, that's something. Least if it all goes to fuckin' shit, you've got a better out than you had before."

Which is all the can hope for sometimes, awful as it is. He wishes better for her- a genuine happy ending. But sometimes, you gotta take whatever you can get and hope it's less awful than all the other options.

"I wouldn't be surprised, honestly," he shrugs. "Takes all kinds, I'd expected that where I come from, but from what I've learned about your home? I'd buy it."

"Was the devil part of your worlds? I mean, I just kind of always thought he was made up to upset kids and make them behave. I know Papa Legba is real, and the gods of some of the religions but the devil in red and with a tail and pitchfork, I don't know. Not that Michael looks like that," she admits, shaking her head.

"He's pretty and slick and people want to believe him," she admits, making a face. "Even the White Witch seems to believe in his power. She came to visit when I was back. Stevie did."

"Gods and shit are always trickier. I mean, they're talked about sometimes, in the Fables, but at the same time, they ain't Fables," he shrugs. "They exist about the same way they do in the Mundy, for us. All religious shit does."

Fables themselves hold faith if they so wish. Grendel is in a strange place with it, he came into this world between old Gods and new. He's never really held much care for either- regardless of what scholars who poor over his text like to think.

"Aww, you got to see Stevie again?" he smiles, that's nice- something fucking decent to happen to her for a change. "And yeah. Slick and pretty people always get others to fall behind. Something about the look of 'em makes people more receptive or some shit."

"Tricky. That's him. Some of the warlocks, they believe in him, and he brought back others. Not just me. Madison died right after I did, and then Queenie after she left the coven for a spell, but I don't like how they trust him. He reminds me of when shows and people talk about snake oil salesmen. He's like that. Slippery."

And dangerous. She's sure of that. She's just not sure how to prove it.

She smiles, nodding. "I did. We sang, and ... and I came back with my shawl too," she says, tugging it a bit around her. "So I guess I can win over those fire breathing rats then." But it's focusing on the good, like being in Wonderland. That's what matters.

"Ugh, he brought back fuckin' Madison."

Was that rude? That was probably rude- but fuck Madison. He's never clapped eyes on her, but his view on the young woman will never be the shiniest. She could have goddamn stayed dead.

Still, he's doing his best to be happy for Misty. Because this is a happy occasion. She's alive again, she's out of Hell. She might not be completely safe, but she's better than where she was. He offers a small smile.

"That's...that's real nice, glad you got that. And yeah, they ain't no match for Misty Fuckin' Day."

She can't help but to smirk at that, covering her mouth with both hands, trying to hide that. She just can't help herself, appreciating that more than he might imagine. "I think... I think we were all an offering," she admits. "He brought back Madison and Queenie to make them an offering to Cordelia, to make her trust him. I was proof he was stronger than she is, by doing the one thing she couldn't ever manage to do."

And that hurts her as well, hating that he had the ability to save her when Cordelia couldn't.

Lighting up at that, grinning. "I feel like I've won a few things in all of this. Especially in being here again."

"I mean, if I was given Madison as an offering, I think I'd ask for the fuckin' receipt back but whatever," he is never going to be a fan of her, no sir. "So he was flexing his metaphorical muscles? Showing he could get you?"

Cordelia, Gren is sure, would have done everything in her power to get Misty back- from what he knows of the woman. He's grateful she's tried so much.

"Yeah, looks like you really lucked out huh?"

She knows it's wrong, but Gren's hared of Madison makes her smile and cover her mouth to try and hide the giggling. Though she can't. She can't hide how happy his words make her.

She nods though with the question about Michael. "That's what bringing me back was. He wanted to prove he is more powerful than the Supreme. Cordelia couldn't bring me back. He did. In his book, and the book of those damned warlocks, that makes him next Supreme. A man!" She shakes her head, making a face. "I don't think he's right. Like up here, right," she says, tapping her temple, making it clear what she means.

A tiny smirk crosses his lips- hey if it makes her happy, he'll bitch about Madison until the cows come home. Whatever makes her happy.

"Ohhhhhhhhh, so it was a fuckin' power grab?" he snorts, well, that's exactly the sort of bullshit the 13th floor would pull- all backstabby and reaching for power. "I mean- yeah. Wouldn't be surprised. But he got you out... so I guess I can't be all that fuckin' mad at him."

"I keep trying to focus on that too," she admits. "It's what Cordelia said too, that he brought all her girls back together. I just..." She shakes her head. "He's not here, and I'm safe here," she says, because worrying about her world and her life there only matters if they send her back.

"And I know the coven isn't giving up. There's a chance that we can fix it all and safe everything." God, if they could save the whole world, she can't even imagine.

Instead though she hugs Gren once more, kissing him. Hard, sudden, just all of those emotions that come with being back in Wodnerland, with remembering him, poured into that kiss.

"Yeah, that's true. You're safe here. I mean it's Wonderland anyway, but you got me. I won't let anything or anyone do shit to you."

He would literally tear someone limb from limb if they tried. Then he'd wait for them to come back and probably do it again. Hurting Misty would be a terrible life choice for anyone in this place. "That's... something? Maybe it'll work out."

He hopes it does. He wants her to have a good life. He wants her to be happy, more than anything in the world. Her kiss knocked him off guard for a moment- at the sudden intensity of it. He certainly isn't going to complain though, returning that kiss - solid and reassuring, meeting her with it. He was there. He wasn't going anywhere.

"Sad that Wonderland feels safer than home, isn't it?" Or she would be sad if she didn't have her life here. If she didn't have Gren and her friends. Going home had only made that clearer to her.

"I promise, I'll add him to the list of people from home that you'll be the first to know when they arrive." Because while she doesn't exactly need him to fight her battles, she understands both the nature of what he is, and the need to protect. She would help with that if it came to it.

"I need you," she whispers, barely breaking the kiss. "I don't want to lose you again."

Clinging to him, her brow to his, eyes closed. "I'm so lucky I met you here. No matter what happens, know that, okay? Know that i love you."

"Given your home is literally at the end times, ain't really much of a thing," even Wonderland, awful as it is, is better than that. "And good. I'd be really fuckin' put out if you didn't."

Because Gren wasn't great at a lot of things, in his estimation- but protecting his loved ones by being a vicious and unrelentingly violent fucker was absolutely one of those things he was fantastic at. He holds his close, resting his forehead against hers. The intensity worries him a little. It's too much like a pre-emptive goodbye and it scares him.

"I know, and I love you too- but don't worry, okay? No matter what bullshit Wonderland fuckin' pulls- even if it does make us forget each other- it'll turn back to normal, always does. And if it doesn't? I'll make sure there's a fuckin' shitton of notes in my room about you and I'll come find you. Won't let it get me again."

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Outside the rain, the heart skips a beat

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