+ Your imagination can't hurt you! +

[vitaelamorte]

Who: YOU!
Where: The Mindscape
When: starting November 11th
Rating: may be up to R for character deaths
Summary: Navigate challenges to learn valuable lessons about nonviolence, cooperation, and self-sacrifice! Release your inner animal! Read more about the event here, and on the bulletin board.
The Story:




"If you know yourself, you have nothing to fear."
"Working together is the only way."
"Deaths are a necessary part of life, but not all deaths are necessary."
"The needs of the many outweigh the life of just one."

Comments

[stefanged]

[He exhales, slowly and softly, with far more force than usual. That bookshelf had worn him out, even though he doesn't want to admit it. Even if it's a test from the Mindscape Gods. He should've been stronger; he should've been able to protect her.]

Like the ones I went through before... [He runs a hand through his hair.] If I had to guess, this one's all about knowledge.

[His gaze once again falls upon the diary page, and Stefan picks it up as if it holds the weight of the world.]

Should we take another look around?

[interpersonal]

[ elena holds her breath, eyes never leaving the diary page as it rises along with stefan. her private thoughts are scattered across the library, emotional innards in full display. he once gave back a journal she'd left misplaced, and he didn't read it where so many other people would have.

after they stayed up talking all night, she found she wouldn't have minded if he had. her thoughts felt safe with him.

for a brief, brief moment, elena almost envies stefan's blank canvas. remembering alone hurts. ]

Just ... we need to be careful. The floorboards are unsteady.

[stefanged]

Right. [He nods, holding out the page to her.] In the meantime, I think you should keep this.

[It's a diary entry - that much he can tell from the handwriting, from the way his name pops up on the page, and even from the scent of the paper. It carries traces of her, without really meaning to. Stefan swallows, glancing around and noticing just how scattered every page is.

If they're supposed to collect them all, they've got a long, long way to go.]

[interpersonal]

[ an ache pinches her throat as she extends her hand to receive the entry.

she was a different girl then. so unaware of the dangers that surrounded her. unaware of vampires and witches and curses. and still, not unfamiliar with grief. she once had a family, and it was bright and full, until they went into the water. she met death, and would've stayed in its arms if not for the boy in front of her.

she'll always be grateful for that, even if he never forgives her for the rest of her life. ]

Thank you. Should we just ... pick them all up? [ is that all they have to do? except no, that would be too easy. once stefan takes a step forward, he'll be met with a floorboard that is particularly loose, its coloring a bit darker than the rest of them. that is curious, isn't it? ]

[stefanged]

I'd think so. [Curious indeed. He takes a step back and kneels down, if only so he can try to pry it off. Like the bookshelf, it's harder to pry open.]

Hang on, there's probably something under here...

[He pries it off, reaching down and grabbing an old, worn envelope. He brings it over to Elena, unfolding it so they can look at it better. Inside are instructions - clues, really - and three book silhouettes at the very top. The titles are impossible to make out, but their shapes & colors are bright and distinct. One's a leather-bound journal (not unlike what Stefan owns), one's a brown suede journal with pages sewn in, and the third seems to be the only hardcover among the lot.

To restore what was once lost, reunite the pages with their covers.

Hm. Looks like there are three books, and in turn, probably more than three pages to recover.]

Looks like, [He smiles a little,] we're gonna play detective.

[interpersonal]

[ elena kneels down beside him, expression curious as she peers over his shoulder. if it's a detective game between them that wonderland wants, then elena can rest assured: both of them are good at puzzles, and whatever else is going on in their lives, they make a good team.

it's the silhouettes that give her pause; her scattered diary entries make a lot more sense now. ]

This is the cover to my journal. [ a frown knits on her forehead. then she gently reaches for the one that's leather-bound. ]

And ... this is the cover to yours. [ she'd recognize it anywhere. ]

[stefanged]

One of them, right? [He's not making light of the situation; he trusts Elena's memory far more than his own.] Last I checked, I had a whole bookshelf of diaries.

[He just hopes that whichever year or era this one represents, it'll be a good one. God knows that they deserve that much. Since she's holding her diary page, he'll go ahead and keep the clues in his hand as he gets up to his feet.]

Is this library familiar at all? [If it is, that's a clue in and of itself.] I don't think this paper'll tell us much else.

[interpersonal]

[ if stefan's journals were anything, they were certainly prolific. it's part of why elena was so horrified to learn his memory had been wiped. stefan would go to great pains to ensure every important detail was written down, so he wouldn't forget any of it. but maybe it's refreshing, not carrying every single date on his back. ]

I can't say that it is.

[ she looks around, finding nothing too familiar. ]

We're just going to have to organize all the papers. [ a small bout of silence follows, and then: ] I know you wouldn't read anything if you didn't have to. [ which is to say, she trusts him with this should he stumble on other diary entries. ]

[stefanged]

[So much for that idea. Stefan should've seen it coming; a familiar place wouldn't mean much to him. Even Mystic Falls High hadn't returned a single memory, and he had spent two whole years in those hallowed halls.

He pauses, his expression turning apologetic.] I still wish I didn't have to.

[His memories and past life experiences may not mean much to him anymore, but they're still sacred. Elena's memories are even more so.]

Come on, I think I see a few more ahead.