(open)

[henrydaniel]

Who: Henry Mills and you
Where: Around the mansion
When: Aug 21
Rating: Probably no more than PG but if needed, will adjust.
Summary: Henry's been through it.
Note: Will match prose or brackets. If you'd like a specific starter in the comments, hit me up on plurk at propernice
The Story:

g a r d e n s

[ Henry wants to check in with other people, he does. But there are some things he's not supposed to talk about to them. He knows why, he understands it, even if it sucks. Even if it was his idea. He has the bow Robin gave him, and arrows so that he can shoot at a target. They'd managed to get in a few lessons, but not enough for Henry to actually be that great at it. He misses five in a row and uses magic to recall the arrows back to his quiver. But he gets angry, and sad, and what good is his magic as the Author if he can't bring back his dad and Robin? And why did some people get to come back but not others? He winds up taking his frustration out on the arrows, breaking them one by one and casting them aside.

He sits heavily on the ground, surrounded by broken arrows and draws his legs up, forehead pressing to his knees. People have no idea how hard fairy tales actually suck. ]

l i b r a r y

[ He's avoided going on the network because his track record is pretty terrible, considering. At some point, he wants to tell people that Zelena's not a threat to anyone, but at this point, being off the network still seems like the best plan. He isn't avoiding people, though, and he sits with a book about the dead and the afterlife. He doesn't really expect to learn much and maybe, in the end, it doesn't matter.

It's not like he'll remember anything from here anyway once he goes home again. His own book is beside him, and it's clear he's been writing new things with a very specific pen, but he's distracted, his mind wandering to the point where he doesn't pay attention to one thing very long. In fact, he's easily distracted by people walking by and looks pretty open to conversation. ]

d i n i n g r o o m

[ Usually, Henry likes to try teaching himself how to cook new foods or make huge sandwiches that he can share with others because it's been a good way to meet people. But today he's sitting with a buffet in front of him. Pizza, hamburgers, a few pasta dishes, ice cream, donuts - a lot of food for one kid, but he's not really making a dent in it. He feels kind of bad because he knows he's going to waste it, but then again it's magic food, right? At one point he thought he was hungry, but after a few bites of anything he wants, his appetite fades. Odd, for a teenage kid. Still, he doesn't really want to waste it, so as someone walks by, he calls out. ]

Do you want any of this? There's plenty to go around.

Comments

Dining room!

[uncoils]

[Wow, Henry. That's a lot of junk food. Like a lot a lot of junk food. She's pretty sure she's seen convenience stores that carry less than all that. But you know what? If he's sharing, it saves her having to get anything of her own, so she'll grab a slice of pizza.

...and probably take some other stuff back to her room later. Never hurts to have a stockpile of junk food.]

Yeah, thanks. So what's going on? Eyes bigger than your stomach? Or were you worried this place is about to stop working?

[She's kidding around, it better not stop working. She's been frequenting the diner a fair bit now, but the dining room's still her go to place when she's not up for the whole local diner/bar type experience. But still, she figures it's worth asking, because seriously, he could make a fortune with all this if this were the prison she was in.]

[henrydaniel]

[ Henry looks over at her, gesturing that she really should help herself, then shrugs a little. ]

I just...thought I was hungry and I'm not. This place has stopped working before, during a thing, but it didn't last. Anyway, I have a stash.

Do you ever have those days where you know you want something but you don't know what? That's how I felt.

[uncoils]

All the time. Pretty nice here too since you can actually figure out what it is, you don't have to deal with whatever the cafeteria's serving. Or worry about having the money to get something. Nobody gives you shit about wasting food either.

[It's completely bizzare, but like the closets, it's a kind of bizarre Jolyne's okay with.]

I guess it's sort of a nice tradeoff for all Wonderland's crap.

[henrydaniel]

I do really like that part, yeah. But nothing really tastes...good. So, I don't know what I want.

[ Although, even as he says this, he grabs a cookie that has M&Ms in it and begins eating it. ]

Back home, we have this diner that's basically just like the one upstairs, only the food is always right. This is all really good and made perfectly, but it's not like home.

[ It's missing that touch of being cooked for him, with love by someone like his mom, or grandma, or even Granny. ]

It's like when someone else makes you a sandwich, it's always better than one you make yourself.

[uncoils]

Yeah, that makes perfect sense!

[Sorry, her mouth's sort of full of pizza at the moment. She's definitely not the most dignified shonen hero, that's for sure.]

This is good, but it's not home, so none of sits right with you. I get it now. It's the same if I asked it for a cake, it'd probably be fine, but not as good as the one mom would've baked.

[henrydaniel]

Exactly.

[ Jolyne gets it. ]

So, have you gotten kind of used to Wonderland, or are you still figuring things out?

[ He's always curious after seeing people on the network talking about being new, if they've adjusted or not. ]

[uncoils]

Kind of. I've gotten used to it being weird, it's always going to be weird, and I can't get bogged down by how weird it is.

[Hang on, she thinks she found a candy bar in the midst of all this mess. That one's going into her pocket for later.]

But I don't like it, and if I could find a way to make it stop? I'd do it in a heartbeat.

[There we go. An honest answer after more terrible dietary decisions.]

garden

[blackbirdsing]

[Sarah feels like she can relate when she sees a kid completely destroying a set of arrows. She can't help it, she approaches him and maybe it's the pang of missing her own son that makes her sit. ]

Destroying things helps, but only for a little while. I know we don't know each other, but you look like you could use someone to talk to.

[henrydaniel]

[ Henry looks up and wipes away any trace of tears there might have been, then just shrugs. ]

Nothing's going to help. It doesn't matter anyway. I can fix them.

[ And he does, right then and there, with magic. ]

[blackbirdsing]

[ Sarah watches for a minute, completely fascinated with the way the arrows repair themselves, but then she pauses, realizing she recognizes him. ]

You're the kid who did the sleeping curse thing, right?

[ She's not mad, it just dawns on her that's where she's seen him from, apologizing to everyone. Of course, she'd watched it after she'd woken up. ]

[henrydaniel]

[ Henry sighs heavily and nods. ]

Yeah, that was me. I'm really sorry if you got cursed.

[ He is, truly. ]

It wasn't supposed to do that, but sometimes Wonderland like to mess with all of us and do pretty terrible things.

[blackbirdsing]

I'm pretty sure as long as you don't plan on doing anything like that again, you can get a pass from me. I don't know about anyone else, but me, at least.

[ Sarah assess him for a second, and he just looks so upset (he did before she sat) that she has to go easy on him. ]

I have a kid who's a little bit younger than you look. He probably won't ever do anything magical to get into trouble, but kids do things and mess up. It's normal. Don't be too hard on yourself.

[henrydaniel]

I'm pretty sure you're more understanding than probably most everyone here except my parents.

[ He sighs a little, but he's grateful when he looks at Sarah again. ]

Thanks. I'm really glad you are. Understanding, I mean.

gardens

[startingpoint]

[ He remembers Henry, of course. Not that they were super close, but he'd talked to the kid a few times, he seemed like a good kid. He looks like he feels terrible now, though, so Kurt steps forward, kneeling beside him. ]

Hey.

[henrydaniel]

[ Henry swallows and quickly wipes away a stray tear and takes a deep breath. There was no crying here. None at all. ]

Hey. I haven't seen you since you first got here, I think. Figuring things out okay?

[startingpoint]

[ But there's no shame in crying, kid. Happens to the best people. ]

Yeah. Getting there, I guess. You doing okay, kid?

[henrydaniel]

No, not really.

[ He lets out a heavy breath. Might as well be honest. He figures it's obvious anyway. ]

People at home died. I left here, and now I'm back, but people in my family died.

[startingpoint]

[ God, that's a lot for a kid to deal with. ]

I'm sorry. [ He knows what that's like, but he doesn't want to say that and take away from what Henry's dealing with. ] Nothing hurts worse.

[henrydaniel]

I'm trying to be strong for my mom. it was my step-dad who...

[ He wonders, briefly, what Robin would think about being called that. Him and his mom had been engaged here, after all. It's not far off. ]

She needs me to be strong.

Dining Room. Obviously.

[morethanasidekick]

[Henry doesn't really need to offer Kenzi, because before he can decide he's not that hungry afterall, he has a Kenzi sliding into a seat opposite him. Helping herself to a slice of pizza without so much as asking.]

So - [Pausing only long enough to take a massive bite. Stringy pieces of cheese, looping in the air as she drags it free.

Chewing enough to speak around a mouthful.] How goes the quest for the holy cleavage?

[henrydaniel]

[ Henry had actually forgotten about that. What with going home and his mom being a Dark One, then Killian, then going to the Underworld, and then all the death before coming back to Wonderland....yeah. Boobs have been the actual last thing on his mind. So, he groans a little because oh yeah. He did that. ]

Not so much a quest anymore. When it happens, it happens is basically the advice I got.

[morethanasidekick]

[Snorting as she finally has the decency to swallow.]

Well that's boring. [The word you were looking for Kenzi, is Responsible.] Have you at least started your own stash of Wonder-porn?

[henrydaniel]

[ Henry takes a deep breath, shifting a little in his seat. ]

No. I left for a while. I didn't even remember. And I hadn't even thought of it again once I got back.

[ He frowns a little but not at her. ]

Other stuff's been more important than...that.

[morethanasidekick]

[Staring at him for a long moment.]

Wow, this place should really offer a master class in puberty 101.

[Which is funny when you consider that despite her encouragement of Henry to be a 'typical teenage boy', there was nothing about her life that was even remotely typical at his age.

It was probably why she was pushing the normalcy though.]

So spill. I mean if you're seriously telling me something is more important to you than boobs, then I know it's gotta be big.

[henrydaniel]

[ Henry swipes just the frosting off of a cupcake and shrugs a little, trying not to make a big deal out of anything at all, trying not to dump his baggage on literally every person he talks to. ]

I went to the Underworld with my family. Met Hades, all of...that. It was kind of intense. I also destroyed magic and then had to somehow create it again.

[ Wow, what a screw up. ]