Sabrina (![[info]](https://www.insanejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small} nomorepaths) wrote in ![[info]](https://www.insanejournal.com/img/community.gif){kind=small} dunwichgame,@ 2024-03-17 15:11:00 |
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| Entry tags: | !log/thread/narrative, ∙ plot: 014 from the deep, ◌ inactive: nikolai lantsov, ◌ inactive: sabrina spellman |
SABRINA & NIKOLAI
Today| ⚠ possession, personality change, questionable consentNikolai found himself on the edge of a cliff, barefoot, trousers rolled up from his ankles. A breeze ruffled his hair, the bottom of his jacket swaying in the wind. The sun was shining for once, and he felt at peace- at home.
Nikolai.
The voice carried on the breeze, sweetly suggestive. He hadn't even been aware of following the voice out here, wasn't sure how he ended up here on the edge of a cliff. A look down showed him waves crashing into the rocks below. A bird sounded in the distance, and Nikolai looked out, seeing sails blowing in the distance.
Nikolai, come to me.
He stepped forward, two steps before he was over the edge, hovering for a moment before gravity pulled at him, down, down to the water, landing with a-
Yes, you're mi-
He jerked awake, gasping. Alone. He was home, and he was alone. The clock shone bright, a tiny beacon in the darkness of his bedroom. It was far too early to be awake, but he wasn't sure that he could sleep. Pushing himself up, he padded out toward the kitchen, starting the coffeemaker. Clio was awake, too, sitting on top of the refrigerator. She gave him A Look, one that he didn't quite know what to make of.
"Clio," he called out, voice soft, but she refused to come any closer. Odd. Sighing softly, he found the creamer and sugar, picking up a mug. He and Sabrina had plans for later that day, and for now, he'd try to relax.
Everything was a mess. Sabrina didn’t have definitive confirmation that the Deep One was behind the latest attacks on Mistakes but she didn’t believe in coincidences either. Not in places like Dunwich, not with circumstances like these. From the floating leading to nightmares of being in a dark, endless sea to people waking up from sleepwalking with some kind of water symbol. Drawn in their own bood. Natasha was right. It did seem like a warning, though Sabrina wasn’t sure why he was doing it this way. She’d kept him tightly locked from her dreams until she’d let the barriers down a few days ago, finding Percy there instead. And while that hadn’t gone all that well, the Deep One hadn’t forced his way in. She was on edge, looking over her shoulder wherever she went. Looking at every shadow that fell across her path as though there was something in it, ready to reach out and snatch her. It wasn’t healthy, but she didn’t know what else to do. Something was going on with Daimon so she didn’t want to talk with her siblings about any of it, not wanting to overburden them. Percy was dealing with his own sea goddess. She knew she could talk to Nikolai though and hurried toward his house after teleporting on the bottom of his driveway. Sabrina had left Salem and Chaos back at her place, not wanting to add their mischief to what she was hoping would be a relaxing outting. Sabrina used her key and headed on inside, calling out for him as she hung up her coat and scarf.
Nikolai had been reading, and he tucked a bookmark into place before standing as he heard Sabrina's voice. He smiled, pleased to have her over as always, and he crossed to her, slipping his arms around her to greet her with a kiss. "Hey, sweetheart." Dropping a kiss to her temple, he shifted to her side, though he kept an arm around her middle as they turned to start back toward the living room. "I am glad to see you. How are you doing, how has your day been?"
“Better now that I’m here.” Sabrina leaned into him as they headed toward the living room. For a moment, her worries melted from her, cascading off her shoulders and landing somewhere on the floor. She meant what she’d said, dropping down onto a sofa. Sabrina tucked her feet under her. She didn’t want to go into all that she’d been doing, which amounted to checking the network for updates on anything crazy happening and continuing to search the microfeche at the library for the new symbol or any information about the Deep One or the other sea goddess. So far she’d come up with a whole bunch of nothing, leaving her more frustrated. “What have you been up to?” Sabrina glanced around. “And where’s Clio?” The eagle usually greeted her too.
"Mm, good." Nikolai smiled as she leaned into him, and he gave her a little squeeze. He settled down on the sofa with her, sitting a little closer than usual, a hand coming up to idly play with the ends of her hair. He just wanted to touch her, to maintain some little bit of contact. "Lazy day today, honestly. I worked a little this morning, then I've been reading here for a bit. I found a book of local folk tales? I was curious to see if there was anything in there that might be helpful to you." He glanced toward the main entry, where the ceiling opened up to the second level. "I'm not sure. She's been keeping quiet today- I tried to check on her, but she just snaps at me and backs away."
That was odd, but Sabrina didn’t have much experience with birds, and while Clio was a familiar she still exhibited a lot of bird behavior. “Maybe she’s molting.” That seemed like a bird thing and something they might want to do without an audience. “And, oh?” Another book to look through was definitely a good thing but Sabrina couldn’t be bothered to worry about it for now. She wanted at least half an hour without thinking about the annoying sea god and his friend or whatever she was. Just a little snippet to exist without worrying. “I’ll look at it later.” She snuggled in closer as his fingers touched her hair, closing her eyes. “Mmm.” This was what she’d needed. A small break from the chaos and Nikolai.
"Maybe." Nikolai thought it was odd that he couldn't sense her today like he usually did, but he shook it off. "She's still young. And I don't think I did anything to upset her?" He couldn't recall doing anything, at least. She had food and water and time outside if she wished. But maybe she'd snuck out on him and wanted to fly some more. Nikolai didn't know for certain, but his attention turned to the book. "Mmm, yeah. That one there. There's one story that might be of interest, but it just tells more about the god-" me- "and I don't think it gives any clues about how to stop him." Nikolai frowned a little, unsure where that thought had come from. He wasn't the sea god. But he was distracted as she snuggled closer, and he gently ran his fingers through her hair, untangling a few small knots that had developed underneath. Mine. That thought was loud, almost like a voice had actually spoken aloud in the room. But Sabrina didn't seem to have reacted and he stilled, brows furrowing as his gaze swept the room. "Did you..hear something just now?"
“Salem is always taking off to do his own thing. Maybe she wanted a little adventure of her own?” Or the two of them were meeting up somewhere. Clio and her familiar had gotten along well since the bird had first hatched. Unlike Salem’s attitude toward Chaos, he seemed to like the eagle. “I’m sure she’ll be back soon.” Sabrina knew it could feel weird when familiars weren’t doing their usual routine but maybe with her growing Clio was just trying out something new. Spreading her wings a little more. She frowned when he brought up the book. If it was simply more information about who he was then she definitely didn’t care to leaf through it yet. Some of the stories had tried to make him sound sympathetic but the whole sacrificing people and then offering up a young woman at the end really soured the whole concept. Her frown deepened as he spoke again and she peered up at him. “No, what did it sound like?” The house was old. Maybe it was just part of it settling.
"A voice. A ma-" Nikolai felt something pushing at his mind. He'd been overcome by the creature before, but it had never felt like this. "A man." He looked down at his hands. They weren't turning black, and he didn't feel any changes in his body. "I don't- that was weird. The creature's acting up, I think. Maybe that's it." Only, it had never done anything like that before. Then again, it had been almost suspiciously quiet for a while. Nikolai was quiet again, listening. "I don't hear anything else."
Sabrina took one of his hands in hers. There weren’t any of the telltale signs she’d seen before when his creature pushed forward and she doubted that Clio sticking to herself would cause the darkness in him to wrestle for control. “Did you sleep alright last night?” She pushed away so she could look at him better. He looked tired, but she knew she did as well. Sleep had been difficult for the last few months. Sabrina reached over, brushing some curls from his forehead.
"I think so. I dreamt some, but I don't.." Nikolai trailed off, gaze going distant for a moment as he tried to recall his dreams. But that still didn't explain Clio's reaction. His hold on her one hand tightened as she pushed away, grasping tighter than he meant to, but he couldn't force his grip to loosen. "I think something's wrong. I don't know what, but it's-" His eyes flashed the color of the sea and he felt that pressure again. "Sabrina," he heard, the voice coming from his mouth lower than usual.
It was on the tip of her tongue to ask what he remembered when his grip tightened around her hand. Nikolai never grasped her like that. He was always polite, letting her lead how close they got and when she moved away he would let her. She reached for his face as he started talking again, but his eyes weren’t hazel for a second. And then his voice. That wasn’t how Nikolai’s voice sounded. She dropped her hand, sucking in a sharp breath as she stared at him. His eyes were hazel again. Maybe it had been a trick of the light and her hand didn’t hurt but… “Nikolai?” He needed to flash that usual grin of his now, to reassure her that whatever she suspected was happening was just in her head. Too little sleep and worry wrapped up around her and making her think of things that weren’t possible. That she hoped weren’t possible at least.
His head shook, slowly, hand squeezing hers before she pulled away. Nikolai tried to resist against the pressure, even asked the creature to help him. There was still some pressure, but he also felt a faint rumble of amusement inside his mind. He tried to speak, relieved when it was his voice that came out this time. "Something's wrong. It's not the creature, but I think- maybe you need to-" "NO." His voice changed again and he found himself on his feet, the coffee table pushed forward several feet. "You will stay with me."
Sabrina froze. She didn’t mean to but she knew that voice. It had haunted her dreams even after she’d thought the sea god gone, only to come roaring back into her life again. But it wasn’t supposed to come out of Nikolai’s mouth. She remembered another boy she cared about. Standing across from her and staring at her just like Nikolai was now. But it hadn’t been that boy looking at her back then either. It had been her father in his body, caged and thought to be locked away, but he’d taken over Nick Scratch, twisted him until he’d been nothing but a broken mess, nearly losing his mind. “No.” Her voice sounded so soft to her own ears and she took a step back and then another. She flinched as the coffee table moved, his voice thunderingly loud. “Get out of him.”
Nikolai tried desperately to take over. To plead with the god, bargaining for him to just let her go. Take him instead. But the god ignored him, watching as Sabrina stepped back. "I don't think I will," the voice replied, his smile almost smug as he took one step toward her. He spoke to both Sabrina and Nikolai, and Nikolai felt himself being squashed even more. "I think I like this form- I know you do, Sabrina." The expression on his face was unlike his usual- much more severe than Nikolai ever held himself. "I think I'll stay, until you're ready to come back with me."
It would have been so easy to fall apart at that point. Part of Sabrina wanted to but instead she balled her fists as she stared back at him. He’d taken a step forward and she pushed out one hand, fist clenching as she used her telekinesis to try to hold Nikolai’s body in place. Her fear was quickly replaced by anger. It stirred within her, a spark that had been lit and was beginning to roar quickly to life. How dare he take over Nikolai. How dare he do what he’d done to the others in Dunwich. How dare he try to force her to go to the sea. “I think you just made a really bad decision and pissed me off.” She might have held back before but like heaven was she going to do so now. Sabrina took a step forward and then another until she was standing in front of the god in her boyfriend’s body. She rose a foot in the air so they were on eye level. “I’m giving you a chance to get the heaven out of him and slink back to your cold depths before I force you out of him.”
Nikolai continued to struggle, relieved when Sabrina appeared angry rather than afraid. He felt the god weaken the tiniest bit and he pushed himself forward. "Sabrina-" His voice was rough, urgent, but it was his own. His eyes were wide, but hazel, fear flashing in them, and he still felt like he wanted to crawl out of his own skin- fighting for one's body was exhausting, especially when they had to do it several times. "Don't let him take you. He's not going to go easily. I don't know how long I'll be able to fight, but you have to stay safe, okay? I love you. And it's- you're going to be alright, whatever happens."
No. I love you. Pain flashed in her eyes as he said it, remembering another declaration of love as her father had possessed another. And then everything had gone so terribly wrong. She hadn’t said the words back then. “I love you.” She reached out and touched his face. Sabrina could see the struggle it was taking for Nikolai to stay in control, the exhaustion that was surely taking its toll. Neither of them were in their best forms. Not with how long they’d been experiencing invasive dreams. “I’ll get him out of you.” Without hurting him. Without letting the sea god internally torture him. “I promise.”
Nikolai smiled softly, hand coming up to cover hers at his face. "I believe you." There was a rush of power through him, and he could almost feel his consciousness being shoved back. Nikolai did his best to shove his body back from Sabrina, stumbling backwards even as he felt himself laughing, the sound thundering in the former church he called his home. "How sweet," the voice said. "He's willing to give up so easily."
She narrowed her eyes even as she held up her hand, ignoring the god’s taunts. “Sleep,” she commanded, thankful that Nikolai’s body obeyed. He fell back against the couch and Sabrina moved forward, hurriedly working the magical bindings around his body so the god wouldn’t be able to lunge at her when he did wake up. She knew it was only a matter of time before he did. Sabrina studied him for a moment, trying to see any threads that might show her how the god had gotten inside of Nikolai. Was it all of him, a fraction, was he only manipulating his mind and body and not inside? She coudn’t be certain yet, the possibilities endless. Exorcism could take various forms and she didn’t want to needlessly hurt Nikolai trying to determine which was needed. The sea god didn’t get to take him from her. That wasn’t going to be how they defeated him. She wouldn’t let it. Not again. Pulling back, she hurriedly pulled out her phone and called Daimon. “I need you. Now. Please.”
Everything was a mess. Sabrina didn’t have definitive confirmation that the Deep One was behind the latest attacks on Mistakes but she didn’t believe in coincidences either. Not in places like Dunwich, not with circumstances like these. From the floating leading to nightmares of being in a dark, endless sea to people waking up from sleepwalking with some kind of water symbol. Drawn in their own bood. Natasha was right. It did seem like a warning, though Sabrina wasn’t sure why he was doing it this way. She’d kept him tightly locked from her dreams until she’d let the barriers down a few days ago, finding Percy there instead. And while that hadn’t gone all that well, the Deep One hadn’t forced his way in. She was on edge, looking over her shoulder wherever she went. Looking at every shadow that fell across her path as though there was something in it, ready to reach out and snatch her. It wasn’t healthy, but she didn’t know what else to do. Something was going on with Daimon so she didn’t want to talk with her siblings about any of it, not wanting to overburden them. Percy was dealing with his own sea goddess. She knew she could talk to Nikolai though and hurried toward his house after teleporting on the bottom of his driveway. Sabrina had left Salem and Chaos back at her place, not wanting to add their mischief to what she was hoping would be a relaxing outting. Sabrina used her key and headed on inside, calling out for him as she hung up her coat and scarf.
Nikolai had been reading, and he tucked a bookmark into place before standing as he heard Sabrina's voice. He smiled, pleased to have her over as always, and he crossed to her, slipping his arms around her to greet her with a kiss. "Hey, sweetheart." Dropping a kiss to her temple, he shifted to her side, though he kept an arm around her middle as they turned to start back toward the living room. "I am glad to see you. How are you doing, how has your day been?"
“Better now that I’m here.” Sabrina leaned into him as they headed toward the living room. For a moment, her worries melted from her, cascading off her shoulders and landing somewhere on the floor. She meant what she’d said, dropping down onto a sofa. Sabrina tucked her feet under her. She didn’t want to go into all that she’d been doing, which amounted to checking the network for updates on anything crazy happening and continuing to search the microfeche at the library for the new symbol or any information about the Deep One or the other sea goddess. So far she’d come up with a whole bunch of nothing, leaving her more frustrated. “What have you been up to?” Sabrina glanced around. “And where’s Clio?” The eagle usually greeted her too.
"Mm, good." Nikolai smiled as she leaned into him, and he gave her a little squeeze. He settled down on the sofa with her, sitting a little closer than usual, a hand coming up to idly play with the ends of her hair. He just wanted to touch her, to maintain some little bit of contact. "Lazy day today, honestly. I worked a little this morning, then I've been reading here for a bit. I found a book of local folk tales? I was curious to see if there was anything in there that might be helpful to you." He glanced toward the main entry, where the ceiling opened up to the second level. "I'm not sure. She's been keeping quiet today- I tried to check on her, but she just snaps at me and backs away."
That was odd, but Sabrina didn’t have much experience with birds, and while Clio was a familiar she still exhibited a lot of bird behavior. “Maybe she’s molting.” That seemed like a bird thing and something they might want to do without an audience. “And, oh?” Another book to look through was definitely a good thing but Sabrina couldn’t be bothered to worry about it for now. She wanted at least half an hour without thinking about the annoying sea god and his friend or whatever she was. Just a little snippet to exist without worrying. “I’ll look at it later.” She snuggled in closer as his fingers touched her hair, closing her eyes. “Mmm.” This was what she’d needed. A small break from the chaos and Nikolai.
"Maybe." Nikolai thought it was odd that he couldn't sense her today like he usually did, but he shook it off. "She's still young. And I don't think I did anything to upset her?" He couldn't recall doing anything, at least. She had food and water and time outside if she wished. But maybe she'd snuck out on him and wanted to fly some more. Nikolai didn't know for certain, but his attention turned to the book. "Mmm, yeah. That one there. There's one story that might be of interest, but it just tells more about the god-" me- "and I don't think it gives any clues about how to stop him." Nikolai frowned a little, unsure where that thought had come from. He wasn't the sea god. But he was distracted as she snuggled closer, and he gently ran his fingers through her hair, untangling a few small knots that had developed underneath. Mine. That thought was loud, almost like a voice had actually spoken aloud in the room. But Sabrina didn't seem to have reacted and he stilled, brows furrowing as his gaze swept the room. "Did you..hear something just now?"
“Salem is always taking off to do his own thing. Maybe she wanted a little adventure of her own?” Or the two of them were meeting up somewhere. Clio and her familiar had gotten along well since the bird had first hatched. Unlike Salem’s attitude toward Chaos, he seemed to like the eagle. “I’m sure she’ll be back soon.” Sabrina knew it could feel weird when familiars weren’t doing their usual routine but maybe with her growing Clio was just trying out something new. Spreading her wings a little more. She frowned when he brought up the book. If it was simply more information about who he was then she definitely didn’t care to leaf through it yet. Some of the stories had tried to make him sound sympathetic but the whole sacrificing people and then offering up a young woman at the end really soured the whole concept. Her frown deepened as he spoke again and she peered up at him. “No, what did it sound like?” The house was old. Maybe it was just part of it settling.
"A voice. A ma-" Nikolai felt something pushing at his mind. He'd been overcome by the creature before, but it had never felt like this. "A man." He looked down at his hands. They weren't turning black, and he didn't feel any changes in his body. "I don't- that was weird. The creature's acting up, I think. Maybe that's it." Only, it had never done anything like that before. Then again, it had been almost suspiciously quiet for a while. Nikolai was quiet again, listening. "I don't hear anything else."
Sabrina took one of his hands in hers. There weren’t any of the telltale signs she’d seen before when his creature pushed forward and she doubted that Clio sticking to herself would cause the darkness in him to wrestle for control. “Did you sleep alright last night?” She pushed away so she could look at him better. He looked tired, but she knew she did as well. Sleep had been difficult for the last few months. Sabrina reached over, brushing some curls from his forehead.
"I think so. I dreamt some, but I don't.." Nikolai trailed off, gaze going distant for a moment as he tried to recall his dreams. But that still didn't explain Clio's reaction. His hold on her one hand tightened as she pushed away, grasping tighter than he meant to, but he couldn't force his grip to loosen. "I think something's wrong. I don't know what, but it's-" His eyes flashed the color of the sea and he felt that pressure again. "Sabrina," he heard, the voice coming from his mouth lower than usual.
It was on the tip of her tongue to ask what he remembered when his grip tightened around her hand. Nikolai never grasped her like that. He was always polite, letting her lead how close they got and when she moved away he would let her. She reached for his face as he started talking again, but his eyes weren’t hazel for a second. And then his voice. That wasn’t how Nikolai’s voice sounded. She dropped her hand, sucking in a sharp breath as she stared at him. His eyes were hazel again. Maybe it had been a trick of the light and her hand didn’t hurt but… “Nikolai?” He needed to flash that usual grin of his now, to reassure her that whatever she suspected was happening was just in her head. Too little sleep and worry wrapped up around her and making her think of things that weren’t possible. That she hoped weren’t possible at least.
His head shook, slowly, hand squeezing hers before she pulled away. Nikolai tried to resist against the pressure, even asked the creature to help him. There was still some pressure, but he also felt a faint rumble of amusement inside his mind. He tried to speak, relieved when it was his voice that came out this time. "Something's wrong. It's not the creature, but I think- maybe you need to-" "NO." His voice changed again and he found himself on his feet, the coffee table pushed forward several feet. "You will stay with me."
Sabrina froze. She didn’t mean to but she knew that voice. It had haunted her dreams even after she’d thought the sea god gone, only to come roaring back into her life again. But it wasn’t supposed to come out of Nikolai’s mouth. She remembered another boy she cared about. Standing across from her and staring at her just like Nikolai was now. But it hadn’t been that boy looking at her back then either. It had been her father in his body, caged and thought to be locked away, but he’d taken over Nick Scratch, twisted him until he’d been nothing but a broken mess, nearly losing his mind. “No.” Her voice sounded so soft to her own ears and she took a step back and then another. She flinched as the coffee table moved, his voice thunderingly loud. “Get out of him.”
Nikolai tried desperately to take over. To plead with the god, bargaining for him to just let her go. Take him instead. But the god ignored him, watching as Sabrina stepped back. "I don't think I will," the voice replied, his smile almost smug as he took one step toward her. He spoke to both Sabrina and Nikolai, and Nikolai felt himself being squashed even more. "I think I like this form- I know you do, Sabrina." The expression on his face was unlike his usual- much more severe than Nikolai ever held himself. "I think I'll stay, until you're ready to come back with me."
It would have been so easy to fall apart at that point. Part of Sabrina wanted to but instead she balled her fists as she stared back at him. He’d taken a step forward and she pushed out one hand, fist clenching as she used her telekinesis to try to hold Nikolai’s body in place. Her fear was quickly replaced by anger. It stirred within her, a spark that had been lit and was beginning to roar quickly to life. How dare he take over Nikolai. How dare he do what he’d done to the others in Dunwich. How dare he try to force her to go to the sea. “I think you just made a really bad decision and pissed me off.” She might have held back before but like heaven was she going to do so now. Sabrina took a step forward and then another until she was standing in front of the god in her boyfriend’s body. She rose a foot in the air so they were on eye level. “I’m giving you a chance to get the heaven out of him and slink back to your cold depths before I force you out of him.”
Nikolai continued to struggle, relieved when Sabrina appeared angry rather than afraid. He felt the god weaken the tiniest bit and he pushed himself forward. "Sabrina-" His voice was rough, urgent, but it was his own. His eyes were wide, but hazel, fear flashing in them, and he still felt like he wanted to crawl out of his own skin- fighting for one's body was exhausting, especially when they had to do it several times. "Don't let him take you. He's not going to go easily. I don't know how long I'll be able to fight, but you have to stay safe, okay? I love you. And it's- you're going to be alright, whatever happens."
No. I love you. Pain flashed in her eyes as he said it, remembering another declaration of love as her father had possessed another. And then everything had gone so terribly wrong. She hadn’t said the words back then. “I love you.” She reached out and touched his face. Sabrina could see the struggle it was taking for Nikolai to stay in control, the exhaustion that was surely taking its toll. Neither of them were in their best forms. Not with how long they’d been experiencing invasive dreams. “I’ll get him out of you.” Without hurting him. Without letting the sea god internally torture him. “I promise.”
Nikolai smiled softly, hand coming up to cover hers at his face. "I believe you." There was a rush of power through him, and he could almost feel his consciousness being shoved back. Nikolai did his best to shove his body back from Sabrina, stumbling backwards even as he felt himself laughing, the sound thundering in the former church he called his home. "How sweet," the voice said. "He's willing to give up so easily."
She narrowed her eyes even as she held up her hand, ignoring the god’s taunts. “Sleep,” she commanded, thankful that Nikolai’s body obeyed. He fell back against the couch and Sabrina moved forward, hurriedly working the magical bindings around his body so the god wouldn’t be able to lunge at her when he did wake up. She knew it was only a matter of time before he did. Sabrina studied him for a moment, trying to see any threads that might show her how the god had gotten inside of Nikolai. Was it all of him, a fraction, was he only manipulating his mind and body and not inside? She coudn’t be certain yet, the possibilities endless. Exorcism could take various forms and she didn’t want to needlessly hurt Nikolai trying to determine which was needed. The sea god didn’t get to take him from her. That wasn’t going to be how they defeated him. She wouldn’t let it. Not again. Pulling back, she hurriedly pulled out her phone and called Daimon. “I need you. Now. Please.”