[ when elena picks up the banana phone of room 1 in the boarding house, she's a little out of breath. she'd been searching through the closet of the room to see if she could find anything else to help her identify her mysterious jill. ]
Hey, uh... Elena and Elijah's room?
[ how does one answer a phone call in a boarding house? they don't teach this at school. ]
[ she laughs lightly, feeling embarrassed. best to laugh than to sputter. ] You know what they say—misery loves company.
[ and her company is, well… could wear a potato sack and still look good.
moving on.
she sits on the edge of her bed and feels like she's back home, on the landline and talking to her girlfriend… who happens to be a bloke with an accent and a fondness for calling her luv. ]
Are you okay? People don't use the landline in Mystic Falls unless it's for an emergency.
I know a thing or two about that. Misery is my oldest mate.
[ there's something in his tone that says it's not a joke. john's known lady misery longer than he's known anyone in his life. chas has been there, but, well, it wasn't all sunshine and puppy dogs growing up. not that anyone here needs that sob story.
he is leaning against the wall beside the phone, cradling the receiver between his ear and shoulder. ]
Saw your note on the bulletin board.. and a distinct Elena-shaped-personage there to talk about it. So, here I am.
And who says we only use this in the case of emergencies?
[ she makes an amused sound at his question. most of the conversations she has tend to be too confidential to happen over the phone. besides, damon loved his dramatic speeches and even more dramatic facial expression to match. it's kind of nice to be talking on it, but she'd much prefer to be face-to-face. john was expressive.
swapping ears, elena's tone isn't quite as playful as before. ]
Not at all. Most times people don't like sharing certain experiences in person. They've got this fear that they might be judged, or think as of insane. Lucky enough for you, luv, I'm already a bit mental.
[ john tilts his head as he pulls over a small notebook. he has a growing list of names and their numbers attached to it. ]
[ half the time, elena doesn't like sharing experiences. sharing means she can't hide from them herself. ]
You don't think John is short for Jonathan. You are a little mental. [ it's said kindly. just because his name isn't truly jonathan doesn't mean she won't tease him—it doesn't seem like he minds, which is nice.
she inhales and then lets it out. ]
Did those spectres come to town every night before… [ well, she doesn't know the date. what's even the day here? ] I arrived three days ago. Were they always out and about?
Well, my parents named me John, not Jonathan. Probably in reference to the man out of the New Testament, but, well, who says I've ever been humble?
[ he'll take the teasing--and give her a bit of humor in return. he doesn't quite like the tone of her voice. it's haunted and reminds him a bit too much of himself. ]
Looks like they showed up with the snow. Most the time the darkness was too dangerous to go out in. Voices and deadly departures.
[ huh. so, that means they came when she did. that's yet another small connection between her and the spectre, one that doesn't particularly make her feel any better. ]
Deadly departures? [ her voice picks up, the furrow to her brow only deepening. that makes sense—what she'd seen had definitely been a deadly departure. ] Did you ever see any of them? What... made them depart?
The fog came in and killed a few of us - yours truly included. Not sure the state of the other people, but, I can tell you it wasn't something I'd recommend.
[ john turns to put his back to the wall beside the phone. well... this is going a bit different than he had expected. ]
Seen more than my fair share of them back home too. Mathias just has her own way of doing it.
[ all of this is just… a lot of information that always seems to lead to death. elena shouldn't be surprised considering she's been a harbinger of one for two long and exhausting years. ]
[ even though weird shit has happened here already, elena still finds herself hesitant to even say what's on her mind. maybe he'll think she's crazy and needs to be sent to bed for days on end. but she knows what she saw and she knows how she feels. ]
When the spectres were here, one of them didn't have a lantern. Something came and… I think it killed it because it didn't have it.
[ a surge of guilt washes of her, but elena pushes it down. she's already unloaded her feelings on elijah; she doesn't need to dump it on anyone else. ]
I think people need to keep their lantern lit, just like we're all apparently supposed to answer a phone.
[ she shrugs on her end of the line, still confused about that one. ]
[ there is a sinking feeling he might have to share some things he has done in his life. not newcastle. things like the cases he worked before he showed up. ]
Killed one of them? ... Extinguishing the spirit is nasty business. Possible, but, takes a bit of effort. Or, something that's a real piece of work.
[ she takes a small breath, wondering how to even phrase it. it ate it up. it took it. it killed it. but how does a shadow even kill anything? elijah had a point. ]
It knocked into it like a bowling ball and then the spectre was gone. It left the others with their lanterns alone. It moved like something inhuman.
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descendent) wrote2020-11-29 01:10 pm
âžť ring ring ring banana phone [ day 22 ]
no subject
Hey, uh... Elena and Elijah's room?
[ how does one answer a phone call in a boarding house? they don't teach this at school. ]
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john leans against the wall of his adopted house, one hand holding the receiver. ]
Been here just a few days and already shacked up with someone. And here I thought I was a bit quick to the draw.
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[ and her company is, well… could wear a potato sack and still look good.
moving on.
she sits on the edge of her bed and feels like she's back home, on the landline and talking to her girlfriend… who happens to be a bloke with an accent and a fondness for calling her luv. ]
Are you okay? People don't use the landline in Mystic Falls unless it's for an emergency.
no subject
[ there's something in his tone that says it's not a joke. john's known lady misery longer than he's known anyone in his life. chas has been there, but, well, it wasn't all sunshine and puppy dogs growing up. not that anyone here needs that sob story.
he is leaning against the wall beside the phone, cradling the receiver between his ear and shoulder. ]
Saw your note on the bulletin board.. and a distinct Elena-shaped-personage there to talk about it. So, here I am.
And who says we only use this in the case of emergencies?
no subject
swapping ears, elena's tone isn't quite as playful as before. ]
Did you think my note was weird?
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[ john tilts his head as he pulls over a small notebook. he has a growing list of names and their numbers attached to it. ]
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You don't think John is short for Jonathan. You are a little mental. [ it's said kindly. just because his name isn't truly jonathan doesn't mean she won't tease him—it doesn't seem like he minds, which is nice.
she inhales and then lets it out. ]
Did those spectres come to town every night before… [ well, she doesn't know the date. what's even the day here? ] I arrived three days ago. Were they always out and about?
no subject
[ he'll take the teasing--and give her a bit of humor in return. he doesn't quite like the tone of her voice. it's haunted and reminds him a bit too much of himself. ]
Looks like they showed up with the snow. Most the time the darkness was too dangerous to go out in. Voices and deadly departures.
no subject
Deadly departures? [ her voice picks up, the furrow to her brow only deepening. that makes sense—what she'd seen had definitely been a deadly departure. ] Did you ever see any of them? What... made them depart?
no subject
[ john turns to put his back to the wall beside the phone. well... this is going a bit different than he had expected. ]
Seen more than my fair share of them back home too. Mathias just has her own way of doing it.
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Did you have your lighter with you?
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[ he wonders why that has to matter. other than the fact it's ornate and got the ability to channel magic. ]
Why? What's this all about?
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When the spectres were here, one of them didn't have a lantern. Something came and… I think it killed it because it didn't have it.
[ a surge of guilt washes of her, but elena pushes it down. she's already unloaded her feelings on elijah; she doesn't need to dump it on anyone else. ]
I think people need to keep their lantern lit, just like we're all apparently supposed to answer a phone.
[ she shrugs on her end of the line, still confused about that one. ]
no subject
Killed one of them? ... Extinguishing the spirit is nasty business. Possible, but, takes a bit of effort. Or, something that's a real piece of work.
[ he is quiet for a moment.]
How did it kill it?
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[ she takes a small breath, wondering how to even phrase it. it ate it up. it took it. it killed it. but how does a shadow even kill anything? elijah had a point. ]
It knocked into it like a bowling ball and then the spectre was gone. It left the others with their lanterns alone. It moved like something inhuman.
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And you haven't seen this shadow since then?