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Tweak says, "Waiting... with pie & a gun"

fen ; birth mother of fillory (tuzzah) wrote in valloic,
@ 2021-11-06 22:34:00

Entry tags:

!: action/thread/log, ₴ inactive: eliot waugh, ₴ inactive: fen

FEN AND ELIOT WAUGH

Backdated to end of October, around Eliot’s reappearance, Fen answers some burning questions about what Eliot’s missed out on since his last few seconds in Fillory.

“So how are you doing here in this lovely place.”.

⚠ Talk of death and murder, some last season of Magicians spoilers

Eliot sank down into the couch and ran a hand over his face. He felt a little overwhelmed by everything that had happened and what he was learning. Bits and pieces from strangers and from his fellow magicians. At least the ones that had also ended up in this place. Why was he here? Nothing was making and sense, and he didn't like that.

So far Fen and Marina had been the most forthcoming with information. Well, perhaps not Marina so much. She hadn't changed much it seemed. Fen, she seemed to be the same sweet, helpful and upbeat girl he had met in Fillory. Fillory. How had it been destroyed? What happened? And how was Q? That was like his second "home" that had got him through so many rough times. Sure, Eliot teased him from time to time about the books and all, but deep down he knew what Fillory meant to him.

He stood and made his way to the bar. A drink was needed. Several. Self-medicating was his way of coping. Fen was coming over and he hoped she would have more answers. Maybe she could tell him why all this was happening.

The first thing Fen did when she got to the cottage and stepped through the door was throw down her bag right there and run right over to wear Eliot was waiting for her. She was careful not to jostle anything she had his hands as she slid her arms around his waist and gave him a hug.

"Eliot, it's so good to see you again!" The same chipper self, yes. With a bunch of added traits now. For example, the lycanthropy. She'd have to tell him all about the lycanthropy. And about how Q had probably not been too upset about Fillory being destroyed because well... he himself had been destroyed before that happened.

The hug pulled a smile from Eliot. He slipped his arms around Fen and gave her a squeeze. The familiarity felt good. The touch, affection as well. "It's good to see you, too." He dropped a sweet kiss on the top of her head. "Thanks for coming over. I...I feel a bit out of sorts." He pulled back and looked down at her. "But don't tell anyone, okay? It's our secret."

"Do you want something to drink? I'm sure there's other things around here if you don't want alcohol." His arms dropped away and he finished his drink. "Come sit." He took her hand and walked over to the couch where he sat down. "Tell me everything. How's Q? Margo?"

"Oh, I would never say no to alcohol, especially if it's your cocktails, but yes, let's sit first." She let him lead her and then sat down next to her, tucking her legs underneath her as she faced him. She tried not to let too much nervousness show on her face because there was a lot that happened. Too much for anyone to probably take it in while keeping a firmly stable mindset.

She could take a drink eventually, but she probably should be speaking with a clearer mind first. Maybe if things didn't go as well as she hoped it would go, she'd take a whole ass bottle of tequila to her bedroom.

"You said you and the others had taken the keys to turn magic back on, right? Do you remember exactly what happened after you turned it on?"

Eliot was going to drink now. He would make Fen something when she wanted it. He took a sip then shook his head. "Did we turn magic back on? The last thing I remember was literally putting the keys in and boom, I was in a forest here. Wherever the hell this is."

"Fen, what's going on? I know you won't lie to me or hide things from me. I feel like most people are. I'm a big boy. I can take it." He gave a small grin, but it quickly disappeared. "I just want to know what's going on. I want to know how my friends are doing." Really Eliot had no room to talk. He was a master at hiding his emotions and, well, everything.

"I know, Eliot," she said reaching out to take his hand to squeeze it. "Just... bear with me, because I don't have the entire story, just my side of things and the rest of it, Q and Margo will have to tell you."

She sighed before continuing. "You all did turn magic back on, but there was some double-crossing action happening with Dean Fogg, Irene McAllister, and the library. They took control over magic. And then they sent you all to different areas in your world, with different identities, a kind of a.. new life overlapping to keep you safe. At least that's what Dean Fogg had said. For the longest time, you all had disappeared. I was in Fillory waiting for you to come back, and then Margo landed in Fillory but she didn't look like herself at first. And then she did! And I guess it was thanks to Julia who managed to break the charm that kept everyone's real memories locked away."

Here was the part that would prove if he really could take it like a "big boy". "But... do you remember the monster locked away in that castle?"

Eliot nodded and took a deep breath. He rolled his eyes. "Of course. Why would anything go right for us?" It never seemed to. "Dean Fogg working with Irene and the library? That doesn't seem right." What did he know though? Things weren't always what they seemed.

"You mean they wiped our memories?" His brows knitted. "Why would they do that? Wait. How did Margo get back to Fillory if we were all scattered? Never mind. I'll get filled in on that from her I'm sure. So everyone got their memories back then?"

Eliot remembered the monster well. He had shot it after all. "Yeah, I don't think I could forget the monster."

Well, here it went, Fen thought as she sat up straighter.

"That monster was a vessel. I mean the person you shot. The monster was able to escape and find another body to inhabit, and... and it turned out the body was yours." She ran her fingers through her hair for a short pause. "At first we thought it was just the monster and not you and that you were gone. I was about to do the whole Fillorian traditions a widow does but then we found out you were still alive but trapped in your own mind. I'm not.. sure how long it stayed in your body, how long it kept you in there but it was a while, and there was some terrible damage done. That monster killed a few gods along the way."

Eliot sat there for a long moment not sure how to feel. He had no memory of...being a monster. Some might argue that point, but that wasn't the issue at present. "I was the monster for a while." That was a lot to take in. He finished off his drink. "I think that calls for another drink. Do you want anything?"

He didn't get up though. "Fen, did I hurt anyone? Not the gods. I mean my friends." He could give a fuck about the gods, but Margo and all the others were a different story. Eliot swallowed hard. He wasn't sure he wanted to know the answer, but he needed to.

"Surprise me," she answered in response to his question about a drink. "With literally anything, the stronger the better, I think for both of us."

This was where it was tough, where she could tell him as much as she could but it wouldn't be enough because she wasn't there for a good chunk of it. "I'll be honest, majority of my time was in Fillory, and the monster -- thankfully -- never made it to Fillory. If you want details on who you killed you-- you might want to ask Quentin and Margo. If you really really want to know.

"As for the rest of us? The people in our circle? No, they were fine. Physically, at least."

"I think I know just the thing." He may have improvise a little as he wasn't sure what all they had in stock. He stood up and went to make his way to the bar then stopped. "Did you say who killed me?" He didn't turn around. He was killed? "Drinks."

Eliot went to the kitchen first and rummaged around a bit before making his way back out to the wet bar. "Whoever is stocking the bar needs to be hung by their toenails." He took two glasses down and began mixing several different alcohols before adding the juice.

"It's Jungle Juice," Eliot explained as he went back to the couch and sat down handing Fen a glass. "A little vodka, tequila, rum, whiskey and gin with juice. Don't say I didn't warn you," he smirked then took a drink.

"You're not going to tell me who killed me?" He took another sip. His friends were okay physically which was good. He looked into Fen's eyes and spoke almost softly. "Did I fuck up Q mentally even more?" It was perhaps the biggest question on his mind. Quentin was sensitive, full of hope, dreams and all the things Eliot wasn't.

"I'm sorry, not really killed you. You may have gotten severely wounded along the process but I meant the monster." She took hold of the glass and spent a second or two to sip it and savor the taste. "This is good! Your talents at the bar have been sorely missed!"

She settled back into the sofa again before continuing. "I am pretty sure Q was fucked up after what happened to you in general but I also don't think he ever quit on you. But like I said, I was in Fillory for most of that time. Margo had to leave Fillory in order to figure out a way to get you back. Which involved, unfortunately, me staging a coup. I didn't want to do it at first but she told me to so she could have the chance to be exiled and get what she needed to bring you back.

"And oh boy, did she! She came back with these huge sexy ass axes and all that were able to dis-possess whoever was stabbed with them! But of course," she cringed slightly. "It meant while you were possessed, she had to use it to hurt you. It worked though. The monster was expelled, locked away for good, and you, um, were bleeding out but you pulled through!"

"Thanks, Fen. Mixing drinks, this place feels like home, I guess." But it wasn't. Never would be.

Eliot smile a little sadly. "He's one of only a few people who never gave up on me. Not sure I ever really understood why." Fuck. This was no time to get sappy. That was a Quentin thing. Maybe. "A coup? Fen, you badass," he grinned. "I wish I could have seen that."

He listened as Fen explained more of what happened. "Margo with axes. I think I'm a little scared," he joked. "So Margo killed me to get the monster out of me. Somehow that seems so fitting. Maybe she even enjoyed it a little?" He raised his eyebrows and laughed a little. "I made it though. We all did and that's all that matters."

"Yeah," Fen said, agreeing that, yeah, surviving it all did matter but it seemed like the problems never stopped. It was at this point where Fen could have mentioned Quentin's death to Eliot, except Q had made it clear that he would be one to let Eliot know and Fen respected that. Besides, she had a pretty good excuse in the form of the story continuing.

"While Margo was in your Earth saving you, Josh and I stayed back in Fillory, of course. We waited for you guys to come back for days. And then it became weeks... then months... then some years." Fen sighed. "You and Margo did come back to Fillory, eventually, but Fillory decided it was best for you to come back about three hundred years into the future. By which Josh and I were long gone, both overthrown. He was beheaded. I was hung." She gave him a grim smile. "You two somehow managed to learn how to bring us from the past into your future before all of that happened, but it took a long time. A long time before we heard from you all again."

"Three hundred years into the future? Fuck. Wait. Josh became king of Fillory? And was beheaded? And you were hung? Fuck. The future is fucked up." Eliot took a long drink. Somehow it felt like bits and pieces were missing, but it wasn't like Fen could give him every little detail.

"That's good," he said with a genuine smile. "I like having you around. You were always good to me. I wish I could say the say. I'm sorry I wasn't a better husband...friend." Everything. "Where was Q? I always felt like he should have been the true king of Fillory. He loved it so much."

"No, we were more like acting royalty. Though... yeah, that fake coup put me on the throne but Josh was my right-hand man the entire time."

Fen frowned in thought again. There was always an extra seat in the throne anyway and Josh would take it. Maybe he did become associated to it. "I guess maybe he was unofficially the king..."

"I think," she started again, returning his smile. "That if Q was trying to come too... I don't know if he was but if he was, you'll have to ask him more details on his side of things, but he was on Earth with the rest of you, and so I think Fillory would have put you all in the same situation -- arriving at Fillory in the future well after I was gone."

"Sounds serious," Eliot said with a small smirk. He took a long draw from his drink. "Josh is alright. A little nerdy, but aren't we all?" He grinned.

"Not sure I understood all of that, but i"m sure wherever Q was he was needed. Off questing or saving something on earth." He smiled a little sadly. Quentin had been the most talkative or
open since he'd arrived in Vallo, but he didn't blame him. No really at any rate.

"So how are you doing here in this lovely place." Sarcasm, he knew it well.

“A little nerdy,” she mumbled slightly to herself before taking a few more sips and then placing the glass down.

“There’s something you should know though. About, well. What happened while Josh and I waited for you all. I think at one point, we were in a really low low spot and we ended up sleeping together. So ummmm, surprise, your wife is also a werewolf!”

Eliot was bracing himself for something terrible when said there was something he should know. He let out a bit of a relieved laugh when she shared that she had slept with Josh and was now a werewolf.

"That's kind of hot," he joked. "Seriously though. how is it being a werewolf? I guess you're doing okay with it?"

That was honestly not a reaction she was expecting but then again... there wasn't really a reaction she actually was expecting. It's not like it was cheating, necessarily. Well, it had been for Josh and Margo at that time but the Margo here was not of the falling-in-love-with-Josh variety. And Eliot and Fen's marriage was anything but conventional.

"Um, not too bad!" She said with a smile. "I have gotten used to it, oh and! And... there's someone I know here who I've become good friends with, Regina Mills, she helped me with getting an amulet that supposedly will keep the lycanthropy from spreading to anyone else while I have it on. I... haven't tested it out yet but I will. Eventually."

"Fen, I was joking." She seemed a little off with his reaction. "I don't know what to say. I don't know a lot of what's going to happen and I feel a little out of sorts here." Feelings. Honesty. He didn't always like them, but with Fen she knew. She saw through him. Much like Quentin.

"That's great. I'm glad you found someone to help you." Eliot nearly drained his glass. "Fen, while you're here...what are you telling people about us? Anything? Nothing? My asshole husband showed up again? Friends? Enemies? I don't know what to say."

Fen smiled at him fondly as she moved herself close enough to him to place her chin on his shoulder. "Not the asshole husband. I mean the last time you were here, you asked me for a divorce and I said to go forth and enjoy. I mean, I was also slightly resentful because you were able to have relationships with anyone else while I was stuck as a celibate werewolf but that's no longer an issue."

She straightened up again and gave his arm a squeeze. "You're one of my closest friends and confidantes. That's what I've been telling people."

Eliot smiled at her. "At least it's not asshole husband." Could be fitting though. He glanced down at Fen. "A divorce?" Somehow that wasn't surprising to Eliot. "Are we divorced then? I know you think this shouldn't matter to me, but it does. I mean...us. You know what I mean. You're like Q. You're loyal, always believed in me and stuck by me." Many times when he didn't deserve it.

"Ditto, to borrow a Swayze line," he grinned. "You're amazing Fen. I hope whoever," he said with a wave of his hand, "knows that.

"If you want to be! I doubt Vallo law really legitimizes any marriage from other worlds but... if you want to still call each other husband and wife, that's fine with me too."

She leaned over to give him a kiss on her cheek. Fen wasn't one to have a low self-esteem or self-pity except maybe when it came to the whole lycanthropy thing but thanks to Regina, even that sort of self-doubt had been cured. "Thank you, and I hope so too."

"No, I don't want to be divorced. You're stuck with me." He reached for her hand and brought it to his lips to press a kiss to it, then spoke in pure Eliot flair and charm. "My darling wife, there will never be another wife for me," he smiled widely.

"And that is something to drink to." He picked up their glasses handing one to Fen. "To a long and happy life." He clinked his glass against hers then took a sip.

"So it shall be, husband," Fen said, returning his smile and taking the glass. "Just keep making these wonderful drinks here and we will definitely have at least a happy life!"