It's about one moment... [ Open ]

[be_enthralled]

Characters: Elaine and visitors
Time: Various
Location: Blackstone Hotel
Content: Someone had to know what the hell happened these past two months.
Format: Poster's choice
Warnings: This is the real Elaine - you will not get coma'd

Comments

[godofcologne]

It was part of the beauty of the mask Thomas wore that people thought him incapable of being sincere. Which meant that in the rare occasions when he was, he was absolutely confident that nobody would believe him. So he could make whatever gestures he wanted and feel perfectly secure in the idea that nobody would take it for anything but overconfident idiocy.

Which explained why he was outside Elaine Mallory's hotel room with a vase of sunflowers in his hands. An insufferable smirk firmly on his face, he knocked on the door.

[be_enthralled]

The knock on her door shook her out of her thoughts, but she didn't move towards the door to answer it right away. For a handful of seconds, she just continued to look out the window into the abnormally quiet streets before pulling herself away with far more energy than should have been normal. Other than her battered mental state, it felt as if every physical move required her to move through sand, exhausting her

[godofcologne]

Elaine's lack of response didn't seem to phase Thomas a bit, and he offered her the flowers with careless ease. He didn't, however, try to breeze past her into the room. There was probably no threshold worth speaking of to the hotel room, but he wasn't about to risk life and limb by spooking the wizard.

Not yet, at least.

"That glad to see me, darling?" he asked

[be_enthralled]

"What do you want, Thomas?" Her voice sounded hollow, weary - it lacked the annoyed edge that usually threaded through it whenever she had conversations (more like arguments) with him. The flicker of memories from that night were building, and she felt a strong headache already beginning to descend. "Don't have you have someone else to bother?"

[outtabubblegum]

A knock came from Elaine's door, which then opened without actually waiting for any sort of response. That Harry was on the other side likely came as little shock, though that he seemed to be holding in whatever clever witticism he'd devised in the hallway might have been. Still, the sparkle of mischief in his eyes at least helped to slightly offset the worry radiating off of him.

Keeping his mouth shut wasn't the only gift he had for Elaine, however, if the smell of Hawaiian Pizza wafting from the flat cardboard box held before him was any indication. Taking a step into the room, he paused, then gave her a smile like he had when they were kids.

"You know, I'm supposed to be the one in bed all banged up. It's bad enough you copied my phone book idea."

[be_enthralled]

Elaine looked over at the door, fatigue evident in every line of her body. She glanced from Harry to the box in his hand and then back up at him, managing a half-hearted smile. She wasn't surprised, not at all. But...

"Payback for all the times you copied off my tests," she retorted quietly.

[outtabubblegum]

How was it possible for her to look so small in that moment? Then again, given what that thing that had possessed her had done to himself and the others, and that she had her talons in Elaine for months, the fact that she could smile at all was a miracle.

"Well, that's really your fault," he replied, pulling a chair to her bedside. "For being so much smarter than me."

[be_enthralled]

Elaine's laugh was quiet and didn't contain much mirth. "Not too hard, all things considering."

She didn't look over at him when he sat down, her hands clenching into fists on her lap. What could she possibly say? The rational part of her mind told her that none of this had been her fault, that there was no way she could have fought against her, that she had no choice in what had happened these past several weeks. But rationality was the first victim to the residue of black magic that she just couldn't get rid of - she had been completely helpless in the face of that force, and so many people had paid for it.

"Harry, I-" She was angry, she was scared, she was confused...and she didn't know what to do about any of it. But if she started screaming now, she knew that she'd never stop. She let out a shaky breath, desperate to think about anything other than the nightmare everything had become. But she couldn't put it into words, an apology that kept getting lodged in her throat.

[doomedtheworld]

Vin hesitated outside Elaine's door. For the longest time, she'd had no idea who it was who had attacked her that night. It wasn't until a little while ago, when Harry had mentioned the name that she'd even suspected and even more recently when the destruction of Cloud Gate had confirmed it

[be_enthralled]

The knock startled her. She hadn't really expected anyone else - after all, it was in everyone's best interest to stay as far away from her as possible. If she was still there, it was going to be more than a problem if she decided to resurface. More pain, more suffering - and green fires burning all over again.

Then she recognized the voice - Vin. Blinking at the ajar door (damn that magic rendering the mechanical locks useless), she quietly said, "You shouldn't be here, Vin."

[doomedtheworld]

Vin stepped into the room, ignoring Elaine's advice. She had lived according to what was for "her own good" for most of her life and for a long time it had served her well. Since then, however, she had learned a better way to live.

"I came to check on you." She said instead. "I guess asking if you're okay is a stupid question."

[be_enthralled]

Elaine looked briefly over at Vin, her expression strangely blank and drawn. "There've been better days." She shook her head, loose strands of blond hair brushing against her face. "Vin, I'm serious."