entrancelogs | closed | i can't imagine a world with you gone

( bonnie's room on the first floor may have been wiped out, but a secret room on the tenth floor is not.

you see, many, many moons ago, bonnie — along with damon and elena — claimed a room on the tenth floor. it was the least populated floor, and thus the most appropriate for their Room™. no one else currently knows of its existence — which was kind of the point, after what happened with the mikaelsons. it gave bonnie extra space to practice her new magic, and elena more room to train away from prying eyes. it's spacious, the room itself a hodgepodge of all three of them.

a reading chair for damon, along with a liquor cabinet filled with his favorite brands of bourbon. a mini magic-shop at the far end, crowded with incense and candles and potions for bonnie. a makeshift writing room for elena, a vintage typewriter and desk included. they spent a lot of days here, prior to so many of their friends arriving to wonderland. it was a world within a world, and it's where elena finds herself now, holding a crudely-crafted wooden box filled to the brim with white feathers. if she digs past the feathers, she finds precious keepsakes: the diary she gave bonnie upon first arriving, a black dagger, and a scrap of paper explaining how to add a new 'third' person to the secret room should bonnie ever leave.

there's other keepsakes, for other people bonnie loved, like damon and peter and caroline. elena wipes her wet cheek and carries them all back to her room, where she knows damon and caroline are waiting. caroline, especially, for the final verdict. it's with a heavy heart that elena shakes her head. now that freya has graciously helped them make sure bonnie isn't in wonderland, and her essence isn't lingering behind, thus making her return unlikely, she can confirm to her other best friend: )

I'm sorry, Care. ( bonnie is gone, and all three people in the room will be very upset about that. but elena knows that amidst pain, there is also promise. and somehow, they'll find a way to get through that, hopefully together. there's magic in threes, after all. )

[She doesn't need to ask. She knows immediately what that means.

Caroline tries not to let her face fall too heavily, but she's not entirely successful as she drags a hand through her hair, nodding her head slowly.]

It's not your fault, Elena. It just...sucks, you know?

[Not even because Bonnie went home. As far as she's concerned, maybe that's for the best. Being here can really suck sometimes, and she's not going to demand that anyone stay here just because she wants her friends around.

But if Bonnie can leave, one of the strongest people she knows, who's to say that after another few months, she won't be here all alone, trying to dodge Wonderland's tricks all by herself? It's terrifying to think about.

She lets out a heavy breath.]

I'm okay.

[ damon sits in a corner of the room near the fire. he looks up when elena enters, and the sight of her hits so swiftly across his chest that he almost can't breathe through it. this is hard. it's terrible for all of them, but it's- it's the worst for elena in ways she doesn't know, in ways no one knows but him. because if she does ever get back to mystic falls, she has a very limited time with bonnie. their lives are tied together in the worst way, and they won't see each other again.

he's finished half a bottle of bourbon at this point, gripping tight hold of it. his gaze darts over to caroline's face. there's an apology in his face, which he doesn't express out loud.

but he pushes himself up to his feet, making his way over to elena. caroline likely has her own bottle, which damon has handed over to her at this point. it takes so much for a vampire to really feel it. damon wraps his hand around elena's wrist, squeezing gently as he holds out the bourbon to her. ]

Looks like you could use a drink too.

( it's not her fault. caroline says it, and elena knows it to be true. logically, it couldn't possibly be true. it still feels like it was her responsibility to keep them all together. she and bonnie arrived on the same day over a year ago. it's a failing, somehow, that she left and elena is still here. not to mention, she can't help thinking along the same lines: if the most powerful person in their group can be taken so easily, what hope is there for the rest of them?

elena smiles, albeit achingly, in damon's direction. ) Hold that thought.

( she gives damon's fingers a light squeeze, and sets her satchel on the foot of the bed. ) She left something for both of you. ( the first item she recovers is a stuffed bear that will be intimately familiar to both of them. they've all taken a go at miss cuddles, kai parker included, but its history lies with caroline and bonnie, and when (other) caroline first arrived, she retrieved it from the closets when she was missing her best friends. thus, elena hands miss cuddles to caroline. bonnie's orders.

if caroline is perceptive enough, she'll discover if not now, at some point, that there's something inside the stuffed animal. )

[Caroline hasn't quite figured out how much Bonnie means to Damon these days. She hasn't lived it in the slightest; her Bonnie only barely started to truly accept her, her friend's grudge against vampires still pretty intense. But Caroline also recognizes the expression on his face as someone who isn't taking this much better than her, if at all.

She has to wonder if it's just for Elena's sake.]

She did?

[Caroline sits up a little straighter, wiping at an eye with the back of her hand so she can see better as Elena makes her way over with her 'gift.'

The blonde exhales a sad little laugh, another tear spilling down her cheek as she takes the bear.]

...of course. [She smiles at her best friend.] Thank you.

Of course. ( elena gives a bittersweet smile in return, wiping caroline's tear away with the gentle pad of her thumb.

much like caroline, elena had not fully understood the depth of bonnie and damon's friendship. not until today. not until she read several diary entries that gave her a small glimpse into their own connection. it's how she can walk over to damon with newfound understanding in her eyes and place a magical device into his hand. attached to the bottom of the ascendant is a card, though elena doesn't know what it says. she didn't want to infringe on their privacy, and it's for damon's eyes only. )

And this is for Damon. ( her tone is soft, and almost inaudible. it's a good thing she rolls with vampires. )

She cares a lot about you. ( bonnie just hadn't said it yet. but elena wants damon to know whatever he intended to rebuild with bonnie? he did. )

( damon picks up the ascendant in his hand. he stares at it, shaking his head. his hand tightens around it. he picks up the card to read, and it manages to get an aching smile out of him if nothing else. he doesn't know that bonnie back in mystic falls would say this about him anymore even if she may have finally forgiven him for putting himself to sleep, for desiccating in that coffin with the promise that he would never see her again. )

How did she- ( he breathes out. ) She hasn't lived this yet.

( he glances at the note again, handing it to elena. he doesn't mind if she reads. hell, he doesn't mind if caroline does either really. it's just not... something he's able to read out loud. )

[And Caroline, being as nosy as she is, can't stand the idea that she might not know what something is, especially when it involves her friend.]

What is it?

[It's certainly a weird looking object, which usually meant it did something crazy.

She looks to Elena after she takes the letter.]

What does it say?

( damon doesn't seem intent on keeping the letter's contents to himself, and it's why she offers it to caroline.

it's a heartfelt note, but it's in bonnie speak. so while the letter basically calls damon family, it also calls him an idiot. fitting that it should be a letter, considering. ) The journal she left me called it an Ascendant. The entry also mentioned visions about a prison world ... ?

( it's asked almost tentatively. so much about the future is a giant question mark.

the more she hears about it, the more she understands there is a lot left to learn. it doesn't stop at vampires and werewolves. it doesn't even stop at hybrids. )

( damon presses it between his fingers. he doubt bonnie would have gotten this from a vendor. it would cost memories, and it wouldn't mean anything to her until- until she'd lived it. if she'd lived it, she wouldn't need the ascendant. she'd already know. )

Bonnie and I were stuck in a prison world together.

For awhile.

( he swallows thickly, and then shakes his head. he doesn't elaborate on how they both ended up there. they both died. )

Ascendants were how those prison worlds were created.

[One of Caroline's brows lift because Damon's talking like that should just explain everything and it...sure doesn't.]

What the heck's a prison world? Some kind of magical jail or something?

It's a pocket dimension, an alternate plane of existence.

( damon feels like he might not be the best person to explain any of this, because he barely wrapped his head around it at the time. but bonnie isn't here. there aren't any witches in this room so he'll try to stumble through explaining it. )

The Gemini Coven created them. They're set in other time periods with no one else around but whoever's trapped in there. It was great fun going back to 1994. Really. ( sarcasm. ) The ascendants were also the key to getting free from those prison worlds.

And let me guess. This Gemini Coven consists of people from the future that we're also going to meet.

( it's right about now that elena takes hold of the bourbon offered to her previously. )

You're right, I'm going to need this.

Very powerful magic users. But yes, you got it in one.

( damon hands over the bottle of bourbon without much prompting needed, and then he sets the ascendant down on top of the table. )

The future's an overly complicated and dangerous and painful place.

[Caroline will be over here sipping at the drink she already has because she doesn't want to think this hard. Everything already sucks without adding more on top of the pile.]

Oh good. Something to look forward to.

[She mutters it dryly. She doesn't entirely get it, and she's not sure she wants to.]

( elena glances over at caroline sympathetically. ) There will be things to actually look forward to, Care.

( when her gaze travels back to damon's, there's tentative hope in her expression. potentially non-spoilery, positive things? )

( damon lifts his eyebrows, releasing his breath, because even the positive things? they come with a world of complications like the fact caroline has children. and they're ric's. yep. nope. not ever gonna talk about that one. his hand brushes over elena's, winding his own hand around hers again. )

You both go to college. You're roommates. We do regular Friendsgivings back in our world too. ( he points a finger at caroline with a little smirk. ) You demanded I bring string beans every year, and I do make damn good string beans. ...Elena always brought the rolls. ( cause she definitely can't cook. he sends elena a teasing smirk. )

[That causes her to finally grin a bit. College is one of the things she's actually looking forward to.]

What about Bonnie? Did I compel us a three person room?

[That seems like something she would do, okay. It's the obvious solution to make sure they stayed together, and refuses to think that Bonnie would go to a different school.]

[ God, does every good thing have to have a bad one attached? Bonnie didn't go to college with them at the start, because she was dead, and then she was there for less than a year before she died again. It's endless over there, which is why he doesn't like to talk about it, but he can pull out the good from all the terrible, all the bad.

During all this time, he was being an absolute terrible ass and a monster, and Elena shortly gets possessed by Katherine, and- Focus on the good here. ]

Bonnie was busy at first, but she joins you both and the three of you share a dorm room together.

You attend college parties and classes at Whitmore.

( busy with witchy business?

elena is curious, but she doesn't go down that line of questioning. she's finally understood there are details they're better off not knowing. the future is a vast and incomprehensible space. elena is not meant to fill it, not yet. and the thought of all three of them in a college dorm makes her smile.

(caroline totally used compulsion to make this happen.) )

I've been here for over a year. Technically, I should be in college. ( that's so weird. sadly, wonderland has no campuses. )

So, yes, I definitely got us that room.

[She didn't believe for a second that they got lucky and with one of them arriving late they managed to be roommates.

She's okay with it.]

We have a library better than any one you'd probably find on the Whitmore campus. Bet they can't boast having texts across dimensions.

( damon glances over at her. bonnie and elena arrived at the same time, and it was a year ago. he has a couple of months before he's been in wonderland a year too. it's strange to think about. years don't really have the same meaning to him being almost two hundred except when he throws elena into the mix, years change. they become fuller. they mean more. he wonders how many memories they've all lost and if they'd even know that they had. his hand slides over elena's briefly to squeeze it tightly,

and then he smirks at caroline, genuinely appreciating her commentary. )

Nope. Their books were all from the one dimension, and the coffee wasn't that great. Definitely didn't come fresh out of your closet.

closed | i can't imagine a world with you gone

go home again, so long as you understand home is a place you've never been | damon & caroline

go home again, so long as you understand home is a place you've never been | damon & caroline

go home again, so long as you understand home is a place you've never been | damon & caroline

go home again, so long as you understand home is a place you've never been

go home again, so long as you understand home is a place you've never been

go home again, so long as you understand home is a place you've never been

go home again, so long as you understand home is a place you've never been

go home again, so long as you understand home is a place you've never been

go home again, so long as you understand home is a place you've never been

go home again, so long as you understand home is a place you've never been

go home again, so long as you understand home is a place you've never been

go home again, so long as you understand home is a place you've never been

go home again, so long as you understand home is a place you've never been

go home again, so long as you understand home is a place you've never been

go home again, so long as you understand home is a place you've never been

go home again, so long as you understand home is a place you've never been

go home again, so long as you understand home is a place you've never been

go home again, so long as you understand home is a place you've never been

go home again, so long as you understand home is a place you've never been

go home again, so long as you understand home is a place you've never been

go home again, so long as you understand home is a place you've never been

go home again, so long as you understand home is a place you've never been