entrancelogs | + Your imagination can't hurt you! +

Entry tags:

+ Your imagination can't hurt you! +

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."

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[Lucifer pauses then to look at her fully. It's not often anyone says something like that to him, whether they believe in his existence or not. Considering the fact that they're literally surrounded by either Hell itself or a very good recreation, it's likely that she does actually believe him.

That makes it all the more surprising.

He swallows as if his throat his dry, his brows pulling together slightly before he finally speaks. Though the words themselves might seem flippant, his tone is anything but.]

It isn't as if I would hurt you, as I'm sure you're aware. [That won't stock her likely reaction, but she might remember that at least.] Let's just do this quickly shall we?

[And then he only hesitates a moment longer before his appearance shifts, and if anyone were to look beyond the hideous, painful, bleeding visage of Hell's most affluent torturer, they would see that he was afraid.

Without waiting for the rest of her reaction, he covers the hand at his arm with his own and starts to lead her toward the gate.]

Come on now.

I'm aware.

[ from the beginning, lucifer's been amiable, albeit also incorrigible and flippant. he met her compassion with sincerity and not disdain, like it was something unfamiliar to him. wonderland's events may be predicated on smokescreens and mirrors, but she remembers the young man who would've razed cities to the ground if anyone dared to hurt her. a young man who was capable of boundless emotion and deep loyalty, if not for the fear that surrounded him.

fear of being rejected and abandoned. fear of getting hurt.

elena keeps all this in mind as the human mask is stripped from him, layer by layer, until all she sees is blistering red. she draws in a sharp breath, lips parted in stunned and muted alarm. shock. she doesn't look away, where many others might, swallowing past the thickness (and bile) in her throat.

a tremor runs through her body, and then acceptance. this is still lucifer. nothing important has truly changed. tension saps and her shoulders droop. a nod.

she is not afraid, and she does not fight his pull, some of her dismay admittedly lingering. ] Where — where does this gate lead to?

[He was waiting for the press of her nails into his arm or pulling it roughly away, but it never comes. She simply shudders for a moment beside him and then...stills.

He's nearly shocked into stillness himself.

It takes a long moment for Lucifer to process that she's even spoken to him, formed a question that is totally acceptable and is simply waiting for his reply. He clears his throat before he answers.]

I'm not actually sure, honestly. I have a suspicion, but I'd rather see it confirmed first.

[And then they pass through the gateway completely unharmed, emerging from the other side to Lucifer's mask slipping back into place as soon as it's safe to do so, breathing a sigh of relief as he looks around.

There's a dark river up ahead as well as a shoddy old dinghy sitting at the shore. Inside is a humanoid figure dressed in dark robes, though it's impossible to see what the person wearing them actually looks like.]

[ elena's fingers curl into the sleeve of lucifer's suit, and she's only half-aware of how tightly she grips hold. she can't be sure if she means to hold him back or to reassure herself; it might be a combination of both. all elena knows is she has no shiny gold coins in her pocket, and no desire to step inside the dinghy. she knows what this is: the cloaked figure, the endless river. she knows just how vicious and unforgiving the bottomless waters can be. ]

It's going to want payment. There has to be another way.

[ if this is the final test, it means the test comes with a price. their own metaphorical coin.

and elena has learned in wonderland some costs are just too high. ]

[Lucifer is still mildly reeling from the fact that she's as calm as she is, isn't screaming into his face or hiding her own. Fight or flight is the usual response, and she's exhibiting neither.

It creates a strange wave of emotions he hasn't felt before.]

It does. I know exactly what it wants.

[He purses his lips as his hand dips into the inside pocket of his jacket, producing a coin, which he lets hover above his hand, spinning with each flick of his thumb.]

Something tells me we aren't going to be able to get a 2 for 1 sale, however.

[ elena's never seen anything like it.

her eyes follow the coin as it rotates right above lucifer's palm. she doesn't know why a coin, of all things, makes everything so much more real. her shoulders sink as realization sets in. it wouldn't be a test if the choice wasn't hard, and sometimes all you have are terrible choices. ]

You only have one.

[ one coin for one of them. ]

[He nods slowly, watching it as he speaks.]

It's my pentecostal coin. A get out of Hell free card, so to speak. Though in my case, it was meant to be for the option of coming back here should I desire to. I didn't realize I would be back so soon.

[His fingers close over it, nails pressing into his skin, before he turns to her. He takes a step towards her, reaches for her hand, and turns the palm upward so he can press the coin into it. He speaks again, voice quiet, as he press her fingers around it tightly, holding it for another moment.]

I found my own way out once before. I can do it again.

[Then he lets go, gesturing for her to move ahead.]

Go on, now.

[ elena is already shaking her head in stubborn refusal, even as lucifer places the coin in her palm; it's heavier than it looks, and so is the dread that settles into the pit of her stomach. she'll attempt to grasp his fingers with her own, panic seizing her chest, forcing her to hold a breath she should be releasing. ]

No.

[ resolute and final. her eyes water. ]

Too many people have sacrificed themselves for me. [ all those gravestones he saw earlier. all of them. they might as well have had her own name written on them as cause of death. she carries each on her back and she always will. she can't leave him here. ]

I'm not leaving you behind.

Please, I'm not the sacrificial type, believe me. I've lived here for more time than you can imagine. I'm bloody immortal. I'll be fine.

[If he's nervous about this whole thing, he doesn't show it, rocking casually back on his heels.]

I'll trust you to look for me, you'll trust me to find a way out, and we'll meet somewhere in the middle. That's how this is supposed to work, is it not? [He grins.] You'll be seeing me again. I can promise you that, bright eyes.

[ her mouth parts so that it may continue to refuse, but she looks over lucifer's shoulder to find the gateway is no longer there. once again, they are surrounded by black rock. no way out, save for the river up ahead. to say that elena is distressed is an understatement, for many, many reasons beyond what has transpired today. his term of endearment reminds her of the event that bound them together. reminds her of the person who knows how to survive.

(the person she has always been.)

a slytherin would think in terms of strategy. nothing will be accomplished if they both stay here.

elena is a tactician, but she never forsakes her heart. she takes his hand in between both of hers. a shock will run through his fingers.

and then, a memory. ] I am coming back for you. [ this isn't real. it's her imagination, or his. it's not real. so why does she so feel awful? her fingers release his so that she may move toward the dinghy, letting the coin drop into a scaly hand. in this story, nobody drowns. ]

[His fingers still sharply against hers, his expression morphing into one of shock and then...it's not quite sadness, but it's certainly close.

It's uncomfortable, whatever it is. Lucifer clears his throat.]

Let's just hope you don't have to, shall we?

[As the hand draws back with its payment and she steps into the boat, he leans down towards the toll man's head, muttering darkly under his breath:]

Do be sure you take good care of her, or I promise you will suffer.

[The he straightens up to watch them go.]

[ and with that, lucifer is left to his own devices.

and for quite a long time. at least, to his perception. it's a couple of hours at most, but the mindscape makes each minute feel interminable, gnawing at ones inside's like a hunger. but eventually, something does change. lucifer is no longer laying on the ground next to a boat.

he is back where it all started.

sort of.

he's laying near the entrance of the cemetery, where night has become day. a jangling of keys, and elena opens the gate with an insufferably smug smile on her face. ] Told you I'd come back. [ she's a woman of her word. sometimes. ]

[He turns his head almost comically toward her, eyebrows raised in a mixture of confusion and something akin to awe.]

So you did. Aren't you a sight for sore eyes.

[There's a bit more warmth than teasing flirtation than is typical of him as he pushes himself up to sit and then stand.]

[ her smile widens into a grin. ]

I think I have a sight for you that might be even better.

[ she steps back so lucifer will walk past the gate, and once he does, both of them will find themselves in wonderland once more. ]

Well, would you look at that.

[He looks down and grins at her, clearly impressed.]

I think you've thoroughly proved that you do, in fact, know a bit about Wonderland's tricks. [He tilts his head at her, tapping himself on the temple.] How's the head doing? Sanity intact, I presume?

[ elena returns the grin in spite of herself. there's really not much to grin about, they just went through a hellish experience — somewhat literally — but it feels so good to be on the other side. ]

I don't feel any different.

[ elena gives pause, as though checking in with herself. ] Should I?

Well, yes. I should have expected at least a bit of trepidation in the best case scenario. More realistically, I thought it might break a cog or two.

[He straightens back up again.]

It seems I underestimated you. Or you've already seen some very nasty stuff. I'm not sure which is more disconcerting.

[ her lashes lower almost instinctively, swallowing past the thickness that gathers in her throat.

(it's both.) ]

Maybe the event had something to do with it? Wonderland doesn't like to play by your rules or mine.

From what I could tell, this little escapade did little more than affect our surroundings.

[He doesn't exactly think she's lying, but perhaps doesn't want to be honest with herself. Or cause him any concern.]

You should really give yourself more credit.

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+ Your imagination can't hurt you! +

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