( write on and regret nothing )

[A woman has come wandering out of the wild places, dressed in bare feet and bright colors, strings of beads around her neck. She has sun-toasted skin that has clearly never seen a sunburn a day in its life, a smiling mouth, and her deep brown eyes are ringed with dark circles, not quite like the bruises of the sleepless, but close enough ( Read more... )

[The video feed turns on to show a close-up view of Eleanor's pale face; she's nearer to the Vine than she'd usually be, peering in. She waits for a moment, and then says with absolutely no preamble whatsoever in her soft British voice:]

Have you found what you're looking for? [...] The thing most important to you?

[She stares impassively into ( Read more... )

( The Vine blooms, but a mysterious mist swirls, clouding the view for those who might behold it ( Read more... )

[The Vine opens on a setting that is uncharacteristic of the Gardens. It appears to be a dimly lit laboratory. The walls are pale gray, with dark screens that flicker with green, displaying data that may or may not be meaningless. There is a low humming, from the lights or machinery. In the background, there is another sound--faint, but sharper ( Read more... )

[Austria sits alone in her house, playing a melancholy tune on the flute that Spain had given her not too long ago. Her back is to the screen.]

[The robots that she took in seem to notice that something is wrong. One of them goes to make coffee while the other two stay near her in an attempted comforting gesture.]

[After a while she puts the ( Read more... )

[There is a look of absolute bliss on the woman's face. Her features soft, her brown eyes dark and liquid in a face turned golden by the sun. Those who know her, who she is and what she does, will know this look well. Perhaps it will strike a chord in others as well, those with addictions that consume their minds and wrack their veins ( Read more... )

...

[There isn't any taking it back, though Reeve wishes there was. She ought to know better than to take anything for granted in this place. It's too easy, getting used to one's cage, letting one's guard down. Everything is too easy, right up until it becomes unbearable ( Read more... )

[She wakes with a groan, rubbing her head as she curses under her breath, a fluent stream of Italian.]

Di tutte le cose dannatamente... [And then a folding of her arms across her chest - where the hell did her bindings go - as she plucks at the dress. She does manage an annoyed smirk and a roll of the eyes as she takes note of it before spying the ( Read more... )

[With her back turned to the mirror, unaware of the broadcast, all seems calm for Gabrielle as she stands in the Garden-but a brief disturbance says otherwise. Her body seems frozen, tense, as if she's seen a ghost.]

Have you forgotten me?

[It seems Gabrielle is silent-her hands fall to her side. Before her stands the phantom, or rather what she ( Read more... )