brightly shone the moon that night ( open )

[onevice]

Who: Sam Winchester, Snow White, Ellie, Robyn Cousland, and YOU
Where: Various.
When: December 12th - December 26th
Rating: PG-R for language and likely violence, potential for character death.
Summary: See various character top levels below! Basically, Wonderland Christmas is as fun as always...
The Story: ( though the frost was cruel )

Comments

[oversight]

[ She certainly doesn't seem fine, but John's trying not to be too quick to judge. Some people do change a bit when the seasons turn, after all, but by the looks of things, he's not convinced Wonderland doesn't have a hand in this.

He reaches out and squeezes her bicep gently, trying to apply some small amount of reality to the conversation — something to ground them both. ]

You sure? Was just gonna ask what you're doin' out here...

[onevice]

[ It helps. She seems to regain some of herself, blinking. ]

I... I don't know. [ Snow swallows, glancing over toward where the phantoms of her family had been. ] I saw... something that isn't real.

[ At least she can be practical about it. She shivers violently, wrapping her arms around herself. ]

We should go back inside. [ Snow mutters, as if that much wasn't obvious. ]

[oversight]

[ He notices the shiver and struggles out of his coat, quick to put it over her shoulders. It's not too far to the mansion and he's not freezing, so it makes sense to give up his jacket for the time being. ]

Yeah, c'mon, that's a good idea. There's a whole lotta snow out here an' not much else.

[ He's fairly confident in that fact, hoping to reassure the part of her that knows what she saw was just another Wonderland trick trying to lure her to her demise. ]

[onevice]

Thank you. [ She replies quickly, grateful for the coat and for the help. ] If you hadn't stopped me, I think I might have stayed out here for... a long time. Too long.

[ Long enough to freeze to death. It's cruel, enchanting her with images of the family she loves and misses desperately. ]

You haven't seen anything like it, have you? [ Snow questions, glancing at Blake as they head back through the doors. ]

[oversight]

No, I— I haven't really. Not exactly like it, anyway.

[ Considering the way everything goes in Wonderland, Blake's got a wealth of experience that he's willing to break down into tiny little categories. Little does he know, he'll be feeling exactly what she's experiencing soon enough. ]

Maybe we get you some coffee? Or tea? Somethin' warm, 'cause you look like you might be made of ice by now.

[onevice]

That isn't the first time I've been told that. [ She smiles thinly; even without the pun on her name, she's been called icy and other less-kind names for centuries. Snow just brushes it off; Blake, of course, isn't teasing her. ]

... But, that does sound nice. Coffee, I think. I'd love for you to join me, unless you have someone else to save from the cold.

[oversight]

Nono, that's—

[ He offers a thin smile and puts an arm on her shoulder as he directs them forward. It doesn't hurt to show his softer side now and again. ]

Can't think of anywhere I need to be. Coffee sounds good.

[onevice]

[ She's always considered him to be 'softer' rather than more gruff, in their brief interactions, and not at all in a bad way. Snow smiles, grateful, and nods at his agreement. ]

Then, off we go. [ It's strangely comforting to have an arm around her shoulder, a gesture of physical reassurance that she hasn't had in a very long time. ]

I'm honestly not sure how long I would have been out there. [ She speaks up suddenly, smile fading a bit. ] It... might not have been able to kill me, if I'm being honest.

[ It would've been very uncomfortable, though. ]

[oversight]

Dunno if it's worth testin' out your fortitude. Death kinda puts a damper on things.

[ He wouldn't recommend it, especially in Wonderland. Coming back from having his face mauled by a crocodile had been particularly unpleasant, as he still very clearly remembers it all happening. ]

You're good in the cold, then?

[onevice]

It- mm. [ It's strange talk about these things to mundies, after centuries of secrecy. ] Fables are hard to kill; the more well-known our stories are, or the more beloved the, ah... 'characters,' then the more difficult it is. And everyone seems to know the story of Snow White.

[ Said with the appropriate amount of bitterness. Everyone thinks they know the story, anyway. ]

Someone trying to kill me shot a bullet into my head, once. [ She smiles very thinly. ] I was hospitalized for a while, but I recovered. That's what I mean.

[oversight]

[ Cue some serious shock at that. Blake has never been a fan of guns (for good reason), but this actually makes him shudder a bit. Who could do that to a person? ]

That's... I-it sounds like remarkable odds. Is it—? Is it like that with everything? Or were you lucky?

[ Maybe more importantly, was that what happened to her instead of the poison apple? Blake is morbidly curious. ]

[onevice]

I don't think anyone could be that lucky. [ There's a humorless chuckle. ] No, it's just as I said. Fables are very, very... hardy. Some more than others.

[ She's had more than one fight with her sister, Rose Red, who has announced her jealousy over Snow's own "popularity" with the mundies. ]

[oversight]

[ It's hard to tell if that's a pro or a con. He supposed it might at least be a benefit when getting used to the way things work in Wonderland. ]

We don't have anything like that where I come from. Kinda forget that sometimes, though. On account of bein' here so long.

[onevice]

Wonderland isn't so different from Fabletown. [ Snow states as they enter the kitchen, feeling warmer already. ] But I can imagine how strange it would be coming from other parts of the world.

[ The mundy parts, anyway. ]

[oversight]

Strange for a little while, yeah.

[ He immediately begins gathering what he needs to make them both a little coffee. ]

Pretty sure someone'd think the same of where I come from, though. We're not exactly normal in Gotham, near as I can figure.

[onevice]

Is that so? [ She smiles, watching him sideways, retrieving cups for the pair of them. Already, she's feeling a little warmer, and the visions haven't appeared... yet. ] Why do you say that?

[oversight]

Well, for one, we've got a vigilante crime fighter that dresses like a bat. Not to mention the kinda people that take cues from that.

[ The escalation in Gotham is extraordinary. Even if Blake is part of the problem, he knows that there's something about the way Gotham operates that means everyone is a little more apt to be extreme than one might normally expect from average citizens. ]

It's a diff'rent kinda strange. Not awful. Just... [ A small laugh. ] Strange.

[onevice]

Oh. [ And she actually laughs, but genially, surprised. ] I have to say, I wasn't expecting that. Is there any reason he chose a bat?

[ It's an interesting choice, but there have been weirder superheroes in history. ]

I can see what you mean now, I think. At least a little.

[ They don't have anything like that in Fabletown, but there's more than enough weirdness in their city to make up for it. ]

Where I live, there are some Fables whose natural forms are animals. Like... you might know the story of the three little pigs? One of them lived with Bigby, but if you live in the city, you can't keep that form. People start to ask questions, obviously, if they see a giant, talking pig. So, our laws require that those Fables use spells called glamours to make themselves look human. We avoid attention that way.

[oversight]

[ Blake doesn't quite know why Bruce chose a bat — the eccentric man hadn't really been entirely forthright about the legacy he'd been passing on — but he suspects he knows the reason he became a bat at one point.

He pours the prepared coffee for each of them and places the cream and sugar out in front of her. ]

That's interestin'. We kind has somethin' like that happen here. Opposite, though — turned the humans into animals.

[ John remembers life as a massive fruit bat. It has been... interesting. Not quite what he was expecting. ]

The events here come from the people that are here, you know. We might all be fairy tales... again. Or maybe you'll wake up as a vigilante bat.

[onevice]

I'm not surprised. Wonderland seems to change everything it can about us.

[ To see how they're react? Or is it just random spurts of magic beyond anyone's power?

Snow takes no cream, but does add two to three scoops of sugar. ]

I can't begin to imagine. [ She laughs again, trying to picture it, to imagine what that might feel like... and just shakes her head. ] I can only hope that it chooses more mild transformations for us, particularly if it's already turned people into animals. I haven't noticed if it repeats those things or not...

[oversight]

From what I've seen, we've had some similar stuff happenin', but I dunno 'bout repeats. I hope not.

[ If the event he was responsible for rolls around again, John's going to put his head in the sand and never pull it up again. ]