InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "There's a hero in us all."

the inestimable irene adler . iris thorpe (nightmrholmes) wrote in bellumlogs,
@ 2010-05-23 17:57:00

Entry tags:

beauty, black forest witch, dr. watson, irene adler, javert, jonathan harker, peter pan, plot: riddles, sleeping beauty

Who: OPEN to anyone that wants to spill into the Lobby after they completed their group hell.
What: Probably a lot of wigging out.
Where: The Lobby.
When: After Group C's exit--they were pretty early on, so chances are it was before yours.
Warnings: We'll say language, since people are unhappy.
Notes: 1) The doors to the Group Hells turn back into the doorway down into the basement after people are through. 2) You can't see where they've been. 3) There's no posting order. Just reply to the main post with a new thread if there are specific participants you want to reply to--make sure you note who they are and what the char is reacting to, or leave it open, up to you. I don't have specific directions, my brain is not wired for public planning right now.

Iris looked about as good as she felt. The gray-toned sleep clothes she was wearing didn't do anything to help the ghastly color of her normally bright features, and her eyes were burnt red by stress and tears. As soon as her bare feet sensed wood flooring instead of the cold concrete of the horrible room with the lights, she took her hand from Peter's arm and stood up herself. She wasn't much paying attention to where she was going, and she kept tensing up under hard waves of wracking shudders that went up her spine.

She was trying not to think about what might have happened when she pointed that gun at Peter, but she was too used to sudden attacks of panic and now she was having a hard time breaking that loop of continuous explosive fear. Mostly blind to her surroundings, she didn't look back for John and Cole, she just went forward toward the stair and vague perceptions of safety.

(Post a new comment)

acatalyst
2010-05-24 01:29 am UTC (link)

Micah was sitting on the stairs, waiting. He'd seen other groups come and go, and so far no one had needed medical attention, which was a plus. Maybe the building let everyone get off easy. When the door opened for Group C, however, it didn't look like they'd had the same luck as the few others Micah had already seen.

Despite the dull grays, he noticed Iris immediately, and he pushed himself from the stairs and walked toward her. "What happened?" he asked the men around her, his jaw tense, and he reached out for her, only to stop at the last minute so she didn't panic here in front of everyone around her. He touched her arm, her sleeve, and he waited for someone to tell him what the fuck was going on.

(Reply to this) (Thread)

oscardelta
2010-05-24 01:34 am UTC (link)

John's relief was more than obvious. He was in a hurry to get back to Milo, but he also wanted to make sure that Iris was okay. He watched her pull away from Peter, and watched the other man going toward her. When she reached the stairs, he approached her from the side. Resisting the urge to reach out, he stepped around her so that she would see his approach, and it would give her the chance to back away if she really needed to. He glanced quickly at the guy he didn't know, and dismissed him a second later.

"Are you alright?" he asked Iris, looking down. She looked so tiny and hurt. "That..." He stopped and took a huge breath in. "It's okay, now." He swallowed any other words he might have. There was no reason to offer her empty words to make her feel better. John didn't believe in saying stupid things. He looked at the guy. "John Brown," he said by way of introduction. "Iris and I were... in the same room."

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

nylonghorn
2010-05-24 01:50 am UTC (link)

Peter was glad that it seemed there was someone waiting on the "other side" for Iris. Hopefully someone who could manage to do a better job of making sure she was alright than he could. He didn't really know how to explain what the hell had just happened but Iris' friend was looking for answers and he opened his mouth to answer, and wasn't entirely sure where to start. "We had a little problem," he said gently. "Got stuck in a room, had to participate in some kind of madness to get out. It wasn't pretty," he said not really feeling right about sharing everyone's business. But he tried to put himself in the other man's shoes, and give the best explanation he could.

He scratched the back of his neck and sighed, feeling even more exhausted than he could imagine. "I'm guessing not everyone in the building had to do a sadistic trust exercise tonight," he said shaking his head.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

nightmrholmes
2010-05-24 01:58 am UTC (link)

She saw John before he got near enough to touch her, fortunately, and she took in a few hard breaths in a visibly painful effort to try to get to the point of speaking. (Later she would remember the consideration.) Her best efforts to control the panic weren't working. When she perceived the vague (and it seemed to her, almost supernaturally large figure of Micah rise up from the stairway, Iris came to a dead stop and recoiled back into Peter before she was even aware of who it was. She blinked hard through new tears and brought her head up. "Micah," she recognized weakly, the tension draining out of her again so fast that her knees gave way under her, and she dropped without warning.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

acatalyst
2010-05-24 02:05 am UTC (link)

Micah nodded to John. "We've met," he said, assuming whatever they had to do had been very different than summoning some ugly, winged octopus. "It was sadistic, but not like yours, I don't think," he said in reply to Peter, and he was just about to elaborate when Iris recoiled and then dropped to her knees.

He crouched in front of her in a second, and he looked up at the other two men, even as he reached for her wrist and took her pulse, his other hand coming up to cup her cheek. "What the fuck happened?" he demanded of them, his expression worried and hard.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	oscardelta 2010-05-24 02:09 am UTC (link)
	John scrubbed his hand over his face. "Sadistic doesn't even start to cover it," he grumbled, kneeling beside Iris on the other side. "It was." He swallowed hard and shook his head. "We had to trust people. And then shoot at them." He looked at Peter, his eyes silently asking the other man not to disclose anything in great detail. "It was God-awful." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

nylonghorn
2010-05-24 02:43 am UTC (link)

He hadn't wanted to take his eyes off of Iris until he was sure she was safe, so maybe it was the intense scrutiny he viewed the situation with, but he felt almost like he saw Iris fainting a split second before she actually did. When Iris went limp and he immediately stabled himself to catch her in his arms. O

nce he was sure he had her securely he slowly knelt down toward the floor taking her with him, luckily in time for Micah to come over and start checking her pulse. It was clear that he knew what he was doing and so Pete felt free to just take a deep breath and attempt to stay calm even if every instinct in his body just wanted to run and not look back.

He shook his head when Micah swore at him, "She wasn't physically hurt," he assured Micah calmly, "It's gotta be exhaustion and panic," he answered softly feeling wholly responsible even though it was hardly his fault. "She had to shoot at me, it wasn't a good situation." He said doing his best to stay calm. That was what Pete did after all, he stayed calm, even though all he really wanted to do was find a quiet place so he could scream.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

(no subject) -

acatalyst, 2010-05-24 02:53 am UTC

(no subject) -

oscardelta, 2010-05-24 03:01 am UTC

(no subject) -

nylonghorn, 2010-05-24 03:52 am UTC

(no subject) -

acatalyst, 2010-05-24 03:58 am UTC

(no subject) -

nylonghorn, 2010-05-24 04:19 am UTC

(no subject) -

acatalyst, 2010-05-24 04:26 am UTC

(no subject) -

nightmrholmes, 2010-05-24 04:48 am UTC

(no subject) -

nylonghorn, 2010-05-24 05:12 am UTC

(no subject) -

acatalyst, 2010-05-24 05:17 am UTC

(no subject) -

nightmrholmes, 2010-05-24 05:32 am UTC

(no subject) -

nylonghorn, 2010-05-24 05:39 am UTC

(no subject) -

acatalyst, 2010-05-24 05:47 am UTC

(no subject) -

nightmrholmes, 2010-05-24 06:00 am UTC

(no subject) -

nylonghorn, 2010-05-24 06:20 am UTC

(no subject) -

acatalyst, 2010-05-24 06:31 am UTC

(no subject) -

nylonghorn, 2010-05-24 06:49 am UTC

(no subject) -

acatalyst, 2010-05-24 06:55 am UTC

(no subject) -

nylonghorn, 2010-05-24 07:06 am UTC

(no subject) -

acatalyst, 2010-05-24 07:22 am UTC

(no subject) -

nylonghorn, 2010-05-24 07:42 am UTC

(no subject) -

acatalyst, 2010-05-24 03:00 pm UTC

(no subject) -

nylonghorn, 2010-05-24 05:30 pm UTC

(no subject) -

acatalyst, 2010-05-24 06:18 pm UTC

(no subject) -

nylonghorn, 2010-05-24 10:52 pm UTC

(no subject) -

acatalyst, 2010-05-25 02:04 am UTC

(no subject) -

nylonghorn, 2010-05-25 04:25 am UTC

(no subject) -

acatalyst, 2010-05-25 05:41 am UTC

(no subject) -

nylonghorn, 2010-05-25 06:19 am UTC

(no subject) -

acatalyst, 2010-05-25 03:20 pm UTC

(no subject) -

nylonghorn, 2010-05-25 06:38 pm UTC

(no subject) -

acatalyst, 2010-05-25 08:24 pm UTC

After Group C's exit

bookshelved
2010-05-24 02:46 am UTC (link)

Ella had stopped hiding in the bedroom of R1 about half an hour after she’d gotten there. It had taken her that long to explain to Kat and Home that the Phantom was not waiting outside the door, and that they had to be brave and go looking for Daniel, because Daniel was much more frightened of being outside R1 than she was, despite everything.

She’d gotten dressed in a pair of soft lounge pants and one of Daniel’s sweatshirts (for the warm comfort his scent offered), and she’d put Home in his cage and carried Kat all the way to the door with her.

The walk down stairs on bare feet was a cautious one, and she checked every landing before stepping onto the next. On a whim, she’d stopped by 905 and found the door open. The apartment, however, was such a shambles that she’d quickly turned away and pressed herself against the opposing wall. For someone who had never had a true home, that apartment held more significance than just a set of walls and a roof. She’d been in R1 a month now, but she’d never stopped considering 905 her home - until now. She’d seen walls knocked in by fists and bullets and bottles; this wasn’t going to be cheap to repair, and she wasn’t going to ask Daniel for any more money. As it was, she’d figured out a repayment schedule for the flower shop over thirty years that included interest and insurance, and the number was in the neighborhood of three thousand dollars a month.

She started back down, further and further, and she stopped just short of the lobby. She could see the catacombs door from here. She leaned against the wall, and she waited.

(Reply to this) (Thread)

Re: After Group C's exit

shebringscurses
2010-05-24 03:13 am UTC (link)

[ after this ]

She did not put up a fight when Daniel slid his arm beneath her's, although she stiffened with the first brush of contact. It was a formal exit, and the long train of her dress dragged behind them in a satiny shimmer. They breached the exit of the church, and the fact that they were now entering the lobby barely registered. She seemed forlorn and terribly fragile at his side. The dark script of her hair was still twisted into an intricate, but elegant chignon with the baby's breath flowers twisted within. Under less oblivious circumstances, she would have found it odd that their clothes did not change back. She was still dressed in the wedding gown, and Daniel in his formal wear.

But neither of those curiosities seemed to be on her mind, as her eyes were only for Daniel. He still had not looked at her again, and when he released her arm, the only sign of weakness was a quiver of her painted lips. This was a goodbye, a gentle one, as heartbreaking as a funeral. She'd make sure of it. She knew that he had loved Jane, she'd shared those memories with him once. The regret and the self-loathing that simply thinking about her had brought about in him. She'd ensure it continued, that he'd relive the moments of her goodbyes over and over. The way she felt, the way she smelled.. it could never leave him. She'd make it painful enough that he'd have to remember it.

Jane leaned into him, resting the rosy curve of her cheek against his arm for the briefest of moments. She turned her face into the arm, pressing eyes that would not stay dry for long against the sleeve of his shirt. One gentle exhale against the fabric, but not a word when she finally stepped back from him and turned so that she wouldn't have to see the way he refused to even look at her.

There were confused voices rambling in the lobby, and she looked toward them hesitantly, unsure of who would recognize her. Doe eyes wide, and a little wet.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

Re: After Group C's exit

bookshelved
2010-05-24 03:35 am UTC (link)

Ella noticed Daniel before she noticed the woman on his arm, and she moved toward the steps curling down to the lobby, careful to stay on the far side of the catacombs door. It was an effort to keep vines from overtaking the lobby, but the situation with Shane and, subsequently, in the Globe was making control a little easier; the smell of greenery was crisp on the air, but there were no vines to be seen.

She noticed Daniel's clothing just moments before she noticed the woman's wedding dress, and her step slowed and then stopped. She was beautiful, the unfamiliar woman, but that isn't what made Ella stop - no, it was the way she was looking up at Daniel, with all of the love of the universe in her eyes, and the way Daniel wasn't looking at her. It made the fine hairs on the nape of her neck prickle, and she had to force herself forward. Ella had never been self-conscious about her looks, but in that moment she was very self-conscious about her attire; it was hardly suited for a wedding.

She approached them just as the woman pressed her face to the sleeve of Daniel's arm, and she felt sure she should stop, retreat; she didn't. She finished closing the gap between them, and she waited for an introduction.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

Re: After Group C's exit

labete
2010-05-24 03:50 am UTC (link)

Daniel turned back around and was presented with the advancing figure of Ella coming through the lobby toward them both. He was relieved to see her, and it showed, and he brought a smile up for her, only interrupted when Jane pressed a little closer and he brought them both to a halt. Daniel looked down at Jane with a look indescribable, a resigned loss that was so much accepted into who he was that it matched the vague look he often wore when he was thinking about something far away. Very, very gently, as if he was glass, he relaxed his arm from her grip and unwound it so that she had ample time to support herself.

"Jane," he said, in a voice empty of all sense of self, "this is Ella." He turned his eyes to the latter, familiar brown. "Are you alright?" He smelled the green in the air just like he smelled the faint sweetness of Jane and her satin dress.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

Re: After Group C's exit

shebringscurses
2010-05-24 04:06 am UTC (link)

Ella, of course. So involved in her own determination to not cause a Vaughn-worthy scene, she'd nearly missed her sister's approach. The haunting chocolate of her gaze rose just as Daniel spoke the introduction. Eyebrows twitched with a note of recognition, but it didn't seem very strong. Of course, Luther had mentioned Ella's name in the chapel. "Hello, Ella.."

Her smile was notably forced before she swept past the woman and toward the stairs, shifting discreetly to give one last glance of consideration to Ella. There had been no words for Daniel, but her eyes strayed to him before she vanished up the stairwell and out of sight. A final glimpse, with that same strained smile. Something that said she was happy for him. She imagined that Jane would have been the self-sacrificing kind. All these wounded, sap-eyed girls of his were. Daniel had a type.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

Re: After Group C's exit

bookshelved
2010-05-24 04:14 am UTC (link)

Ella barely had time to acknowledge who the woman was before she swept past, so caught up was she in the way Daniel's expression flickered and changed with the introduction. The loss was so poignant, so obvious that even a blind person could have seen it; as was Jane's interest - no, adoration. The vague look that took over his features was so familiar that Ella almost screamed; it was the look that had slipped into place in the past few months, the one she couldn't get him to shake, no matter how she tried.

She took a very deep, very steadying breath, and she held onto the banister behind her as Jane passed. "It was nice meeting you," she said to the woman as she glided past them, voice cracking perceptibly with the greeting.

Then she turned, and she started up to R1. She knew Daniel preferred the elevator, but she needed the time to think, to become determined, to do a million-and-one things she hadn't counted on - not yet, anyway.

(Reply to this) (Parent)

After Group H's exit

redhorse_tea
2010-05-24 03:21 am UTC (link)

Katya stumbled out of the chapel and into the catacombs. Her slippers slid across the gravel and she nearly careened into a wall. She overcorrected and, her eyes red and wet with unshed tears, turned toward the exit.

The lobby was filled with people coming out of their own traps. She hesitated, feeling ridiculously out of place in the red dress that hadn’t vanished when she left the chapel. Katya took a deep breath, pressing herself close to the wall and closing her eyes against the burn of tears. She shouldn’t have run out on Luther. Should she have? She didn’t know. She couldn’t process all the feelings and emotions and thoughts and ideas that were bashing about in her head, driving her mad. She wanted to empty her brain onto the ground and just stand there in blissful silence, but her thoughts were racing and screaming at her.

Pressing the heels of her hands into her eyes, she took a deep, shuddering breath. When she lowered her hands, she saw Jane and Daniel in the lobby. But she didn’t want to face them. She saw Micah and Iris across the way, but she didn’t want to face them, either. Instead, she hurried toward the elevator, pressing at the up button frantically, hoping no one would notice her or talk to her.

(Reply to this) (Thread)

Re: After Group H's exit

sentinelstar
2010-05-24 03:36 am UTC (link)

Teeth clenched and still furious with himself, Luther walked into the lobby with a mission. He barely paid attention to anyone else, noticing the people gathered over the fallen women, before pushing on. He passed Daniel and Jane, slowing for a moment as his eyes met Ella's. Though he momentarily was brought to reality by the sight, he couldn't bring himself to step forward. Selfishness for once. He gave a small nod, which should have said enough, then moved to the stairs and elevator.

And then he saw Katya, still in her dress. He'd barely realized he was still in his groomsman's and he looked down in dismay. He looked to her and the elevator, then to the stairs, and back again. As the doors opened he moved forward past her, intending to head up. At this hour, he couldn't risk it with his leg.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

Re: After Group H's exit

redhorse_tea
2010-05-24 03:45 am UTC (link)

Jerking away from the elevator, Katya stared at Luther. Her mind raced, in broken English and Russian. She could walk. She could walk up the stairs, yes, but she did not want to. She wanted to curl up in the elevator and let it take her where it would so that she could take the time to process. So that she could cry. She always cried when she became emotional; it was cathartic. But she couldn't even do that because he was in the elevator.

Sliding in after him, she sat in the far corner. She didn't push a button, she simply curled up, bringing her knees to her chest. She dropped her forehead onto her knees, heedless of the beads pressing indentations into her skin. She wanted to apologize, she wanted to tell him she didn't mean to run, that she didn't hate him or the kiss or anything like that, but the only words she could manage were Russian, and she was certain he didn't know what "prostite" meant.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

Re: After Group H's exit

sentinelstar
2010-05-24 06:02 am UTC (link)

Luther kept to one side of the elevator, thankful when the doors closed. He hit second and fourth floor buttons, eyes glancing sideways at her. He realized belatedly that his hands were shaking and he clenched them into fists at his sides in order to stop. He wanted to apologize, say something to make it better - the way she curled up only made him feel more like a failure in this moment.

But his throat remained dry and nothing came. He kept watching her from the side, trying to make sense of the few words she said but they were little more than gibberish to him. The look on his face was pained - even when the elevator suddenly went past the second floor, stopping in between the third and fourth.

"Shit."

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

Re: After Group H's exit

redhorse_tea
2010-05-24 01:56 pm UTC (link)

After a few moments of utter insanity, Katya lifted her head. She stared at the elevator doors that had opened to reveal a wall. On the side of the wall, she could make out the number 3 toward the top and 2 toward the bottom of the visible space. She resisted the urge to whimper. She was a grown woman, and there was no need to panic and cry and carry on, regardless of the fact that part of the reason for her neurosis was sitting in a small elevator with her.

Slowly, she rose. She stood for a moment, fingers holding to one of the little railings on the elevator wall. Then she started shifting closer to Luther, feeling as though she couldn’t simply turn to him and start talking. She felt terrible for running away from him, and she knew she had to tell him that she hadn’t been running from him – not really.

When they were close enough that their hands gently brushed against each other, Katya took a deep breath. She didn’t look at him. She couldn’t. “I am sorry,” she said very, very quietly. “For the running.” Flexing her fingers slightly, she brushed her knuckles against his, a silent attempt at a second kind of apology. “It was… that was…” Well, this wasn’t going so well. With a shake of her head, she glanced at him from the corner of her eyes. “You are not so bad with kisses.”

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

Re: After Group H's exit

sentinelstar
2010-05-24 02:09 pm UTC (link)

Luther's eyes had only left hers for a moment, to stare at the elevator doors in disbelief but she was up by then. He looked at her, curiously and froze when she moved closer. Refusing to move and startle her - especially when she seemed to be doing better than he was, on the approaching and conversation front.

The contact, even if it was the barest of connections reassured him. His mouth curved slightly and he shook his head. "It's - it's fine. I didn't mean to get so carried..." He trailed off as she said that he wasn't so bad. Luther coughed, eyes glancing at her. "You're - you're not so bad yourself." He cleared his throat, eyes moving abruptly forward again. "I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable, however. I didn't intend that and I apologize-"

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

Re: After Group H's exit -

redhorse_tea, 2010-05-24 02:39 pm UTC

Re: After Group H's exit -

sentinelstar, 2010-05-24 04:00 pm UTC

After Group L starts dispersing

never_old
2010-05-24 04:01 am UTC (link)

The lobby was a little cold, Nick finally noticed as it sunk in that they were actually home. He stood there, soaking wet in his pajamas and dripped water in a puddle around him. Running a hand through his hair, he pushed his wet bangs out of his eyes and looked at Rosalie.

"I need to find my sister," he told her. Of course, it sounded a lot easier than it was. Also, he was starting to shiver -- a combination of anxious fear and just being in cold water for so long. He looked around a little helplessly. Where was he even going to start looking for Evie?

(Reply to this) (Thread)

Re: After Group L starts dispersing

beaute_endormie
2010-05-24 04:38 am UTC (link)

Rosalie dropped his hand to undo the sopping french braid of her hair and wring out the curls. She rubbed a hand under both eyes in a move that was automatic before realizing that she had been sleeping and hadn't had any make-up on. The chill of the lobby was something that set in gradually and was less of an issue to her than her nightgown, which although not sheer or particularly revealing, still was soaked and clinging to her thighs. With a frustrated sigh, she tried to twist some of the water out of it to make it less unseemly. When it worked some, she straightened back up a little self-consciously to offer her help to Nick. "I can look with you. Presumably, something like this happened to everyone? Only it must have been a little different because they wouldn't have had Dr. Archer, would they?" Rosalie was talking a little too quickly, trying to fend off her own shivers as she began to notice his. "Which apartment is yours? We might as well check there first. And we can get towels from my apartment on the way up."

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

Re: After Group L starts dispersing

never_old
2010-05-24 04:48 am UTC (link)

"Maybe?" he said hesitantly, face creased with worry now. The thought that Evie had to go through something similar wasn't a pleasant one, even if he knew Evie could handle herself. Perhaps she'd even handle it above and beyond Nick ever could handle it. She probably was fine, he tried to reason with himself.

Nick crossed his arms in front of him, fighting off a shiver. "I'm up on the 12th floor." He looked around and said thoughtfully, "I wonder if we're the first out of our...weird room thing."

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	Re: After Group L starts dispersing beaute_endormie 2010-05-24 05:08 am UTC (link)
	She hadn't meant to worry him. "I'm sure she's fine." Rosalie's hand went back to squeeze his reassuringly and tug him a little towards the stairs, not wanting to hang around the lobby at whatever time of night it was now. "Maybe. How long do you think we were gone for?" It had felt like ages, but they couldn't really have swum too long. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	Re: After Group L starts dispersing never_old 2010-05-24 05:26 am UTC (link)
	"Oh I'm sure she is too," Nick said calmly, giving Rosalie a little smile. "She's tough. I just hope she didn't beat anybody up trying to find where I am. Worry her enough already, you know?" Nick scratched his head as they began their trek up the stairs. "I don't know. It looked like morning, but what morning like. Wednesday or Thursday or whatever.." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	Re: After Group L starts dispersing beaute_endormie 2010-05-24 11:40 am UTC (link)
	Rosalie nearly asked what he meant when he said he worried his sister enough already but refrained as she remembered what Derek had said about the boy who had been tortured. She didn't want to accidentally make someone bring that up. "Oh, I hope not." She didn't want to think about what might happen if the building started skipping time around on them. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

Re: After Group L starts dispersing -

never_old, 2010-05-24 05:05 pm UTC

Re: After Group L starts dispersing -

beaute_endormie, 2010-05-24 05:26 pm UTC

Re: After Group L starts dispersing -

never_old, 2010-05-24 05:45 pm UTC

Re: After Group L starts dispersing -

beaute_endormie, 2010-05-24 06:52 pm UTC

Re: After Group L starts dispersing -

never_old, 2010-05-24 08:04 pm UTC

Re: After Group L starts dispersing -

beaute_endormie, 2010-05-24 09:31 pm UTC