come_sailaway | Love Does not Discriminate

Entry tags:

Love Does not Discriminate

Who: Valdis and Open with Some Closed
What: Valdis does stuff around the Serena Eterna, feel free to join her
When: February
Where: All Over
Warnings: In Starters

It takes and it takes and it takes | Erin | CW: Nightmares

She’d be lying if she said she hasn’t been avoiding Erin a little, despite their conversation at her hollow. But the woman is important to her, even if just as friends. Sometimes she thinks Erin is trying too hard to be something else, but Valdis isn’t anywhere near ready to move forward in that manner, and Erin has implied very strongly that she is willing and happy to wait. But Valdis can’t stop thinking about what Erin told her back when they first met, about her ability to enter dreams, and there’s something just outside of her reach within the nightmares that plague her every night. If Erin can help her go that extra step, then it’s worth a try, even if the intimacy of it may be uncomfortable for them both. She knocks gently on Erin’s door. It’s a little late for visits, but she can’t go another night in those hallways without knowing what lies at the end of them.

“Erin?”

And we keep loving anyway | Max Maximum | Stellar | CW: None

It’s their first actual date, and of course it’s also Valentine’s Day, which, for the first time in a long time she’s not going to spend alone. The short, tight, sequined black dress with a plunging neckline leaves just enough for the imagination that she knows he’ll be delighted to remove it later. It’s nothing he hasn’t seen before, but she loves how he marvels every single time, like he can’t believe he has her.

For once, she’s early instead of exactly on time, feeling like a schoolgirl on a date with her first crush. Childish perhaps, but the next step beyond just friends with benefits. She may never have his whole heart, but she is happy enough with just a piece of it. The memory of how he felt when he learned she returned his affections was pure magic. The one time that being able to feel what others feel is more of a blessing than a curse. Who else has the power to feel love so incredibly deeply from both sides, especially when one side is your own?

We laugh and we cry and we break | Reading Around The Ship | Open

The Library is the best refuge she has these days and she’s reading romance novels this month. The spicy kind that she’s actually hiding behind a larger book. When she’s not reading romance, she’s rereading the Sherlock Holmes mysteries, or Pride and Prejudice, or some other less spicy book. Occasionally she’s reading out by the pool, lounging in an almost sheer wrap in the sun, she is wearing a bikini underneath so not too much can be seen. You may also find her reading in the lounge or in Sanddollars.

And we make our mistakes | Just Around the Ship | Open

From trying different foods at the various restaurants around the Serena Eterna, to Sundries and the sports deck, Valdis is all over the ship. She meditates every morning on the top deck, practices sword maneuvers or works out in the gym later in the day. In one instance she is lugging a beautiful red ball grown across the ship, grumbling about how Friday needs to stop giving her dresses she’s never going to wear. In another she’s watching Aladdin on the TV at Sanddollars (she borrowed it from Klaus), and sketching cartoon versions of the passengers she’s met on the ship. When they aren’t cartoon versions, they are detailed sketches of flowers, places and people she doesn’t really want to talk about, but ask the right questions and she might be willing to tell people a bit more.

And if there's a reason I'm still alive | Palamedes | CW: Rolled a 5, so there is blood

Sleep doesn’t come easily these days, especially since opening the box with the three feathers from Friday. It’s restless, filled with images and twisted memories. Dreams. But she’s mostly able to cope without causing any issues for her roommate. Until the dreams burn into reality with a searing, stabbing pain in her side. The massive amounts of death energy seeping into the room are suddenly banished by a flash of light and soul energy. The pain increases, followed by something wet streaming down her stomach and back. Blood.

She tears off the sheets and races into the shower fully clothed, almost breaking the handle as she turns on the cold water to fight the burning pain. The pink water swirls down down around her feet. Palamedes is likely awake, that light is still so bright it might as well be daylight inside their room.

“Crap.” At least the bleeding has already stopped.

I'm willing to wait for it | Wildcard

Choose your own adventure! Valdis can often be found in the library, on the sports deck, or wandering around the ship, so anywhere you wish to encounter her works.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

While Klaus being sad is certainly something she'd want to avoid, she's more concerned about upsetting Max. Unnecessary risks were something she wouldn't want him to take. Though, this one seems very necessary.

Valdis takes Erin's hand and pulls her in to kiss her tenderly on the cheek, "Thank you."

Sharing her nightmare with Erin isn't going to be easy, but Erin is probably the only person she could trust with them.

Erin blushes faintly, her cheeks burning. "...I really hate to have to say this but I need you to agree or disagree aloud, Valdis. Some Pledges are done in writing instead but. The Wyrd needs. To hear it. Fate is not very smart."

Which will mean another kiss. She's sorry!

"Yes, I agree to these terms, and yes, I will kiss you again."

And she presses her lips to Erin's cheek for the second time.

"Is there some sort of spell or something to help us sleep, or do I just have to hope that I'm tired enough to do so?"

At Valdis's agreement the world lets out the breath it was holding; their hearts beat in tune for a moment, and there is a feeling of connection, of the two being bound by fate.

Which of course, they just have been.

It takes Erin a moment to answer. The second kiss has her heart fluttering and she blushes shyly, turning her head away while she gets herself back under control.

Eventually, though: "No spell. I need to meditate while you sleep, so...I guess my best offer is to go grab my blankets and pillows, and...if you'd like to, Ruby slept with her head in my lap. I sang her lullabies."

The sensation is strange and unnerving, one she's not certain she likes. But it's is done and it's only for one night. If they get what they are after. But days of restless sleep mean that it could come swiftly, but also not at all.

"The grass is fine. I always got my best sleep with the wolves in the deep wilderness."

In moments she missed her pack, something Ylva had understood so well.

"Then when you are ready. What should I look out for, in case the dream arises naturally? I don't want to cockblock it by mistake."

Erin shifts how she's sitting, adopting a meditative posture.

"A hallway lined with doors." She replies, settling on the grass, "I am hoping we will start somewhere near the end."

And avoid the unpleasant passages, but that would make it far too easy.

"Just, try not to disrupt anything. No matter what you see."

Shyly, unsure, Erin reaches out and brushes at Valdis's hair with her fingertips. "Alright. I don't need to manifest in the dreamscape, so my last question here before you settle down is...do you want me by your side, or just diffused into the dream? It isn't necessarily any safer for me, but it's a good way to hide from things...and maybe less distracting for you."

Valdis allows the touch. Erin's affection isn't unwelcome, even if it makes her uneasy.

"If you are going to be there, I want to know without forgetting."

It will help her keep herself in check at the very least. With a sigh, she lowers herself to the ground, resisting the urge to shift. This is supposed to be a moment of trust and she needs to set aside everything else.

"Alright. I'll see you in your dreams, Valdis."

Valdis hasn't asked for a lullaby, so Erin resists the urge to sing one. She settles in, and waits; once Valdis is asleep, then Erin can enter her dream, wake her to full lucidity, and manifest.

Sleep comes more easily than she expected. Valdis isn't sure if it's because Erin is here and she is actually going to learn something. Or if something else wants her to learn it. Either way, the dark, stony hallway manifests.

Flames flicker against the stacked stone walls, dark doors lining both sides as far as the eye can see. It smells earthy for now, but she knows that will soon change.

Erin appears in the dream next to Valdis, as if she'd been there the entire time. She snaps her fingers, a needless habit, but one she associates with waking the dreamer to full lucidity.

Erin has eyes, here, leaf-green with pupils shaped like music notes. Every time Valdis looks away, they're different notes.

The sight of Erin with eyes will need to be a conversation for a bit later. The snap bring a different level of awareness to her surroundings, almost as if there's a thin golden string to follow, one tied from her to the place she wants to go. Perhaps she will really make it there this time.

With a breath, she begins to follow the tug. Some of the doors are ajar, temptations designed to distract her and potentially Erin from where they actually want to go. As they walk the scent of blood will begin to seep into the air and the stony ground develops a slight sheen to it. White feathers splattered with red begin to appear, growing more and more common until the path of bloody feathers clearly leads to an open door.

Erin keeps pace. She didn't bring her sword, and it's back in the cabin, so it's not here in the dream with her; she's starting to think maybe she should have gone back to get it. At least she has an exit...

Some part of her wants to comment, to say something, to ask something, but this moment feels...private, in its way. Not sacred, exactly, but solemn, and to speak might be to shatter it.

Still. Her wings twitch and bend inward, protectively.

Erin's concerned curiosity is coming through more clearly, enough to make Valdis pause and glance over at her. Part of her feels like she will owe Erin an explanation for what is being seen, but she doesn't fully understand everything herself. The tug stops at the wide open door though, only a moment, as if it's allowing them both time to adjust before going past it. A hallway means only one way forward, no way around it.

A brief glance is all it takes as she moves past the door. A young, dark haired girl, late teens at most, lies in a pool of blood, the skin stripped from the muscle on her pale back, broken white wings ripped to shreds and tossed around the room. A few sobs and the unmistakable rattle of death still fills her senses, no matter how quickly she leaves the door behind.

Oh dear God. Sympathetic pain - both at whatever trauma is being alluded to and the literal memory of her own recent acquisition of wings - hits Erin hard.

Silently she gives Valdis a faint touch on the shoulder. "Hey. You sure tonight's the night you wanna do this? Are you good?"

Will you be okay? Are you prepared for this?

The touch draw only a pause in her steps, but the thread tugs again.

"I pass that door every night I dream of this place."

Doesn't make it less painful to infer the meanings, but tonight or another night makes no differences. The next open door is simply cracked, a pale purple light and screams of pain from beyond it interspersed with murmured voices and a low hissing. She keeps moving.

"...Alright."

Erin is unfortunately familiar with creepy hallways. The gods of nightmare are more creative than fate itself but ultimately, not much more so. These sorts of tests are a common feature; hell, she's deployed them before.

She'll only stop where Valdis does. She's here to protect her friend, and to help her.

The thread is getting shorter, drawing them closer to the door it wants her to see. A low growl rises ahead of them and the hallway brightens and gets wider, almost like a room. With the golden thread tied to the door on the other side. Pain shoots through her head and it suddenly feels like they aren't alone. Seven voices winding together, hissing and whispering over each other, words unable to be made out. Screaming and the stench of blood fills the air and the red liquid begins to flow down the walls.

Valdis hesitates halfway into the room, this is the place she normally wakes up, but she has to get to that door this time. There might not be another chance. Howls come from behind them the sound of large wolves racing down the hallway. And the shadow of a giant serpent flickers against the walls.

Well that's Fucking Concerning. Erin glances behind herself, then at Valdis. "Call your shot love -" No time to unpack that this is an emergency -

(Don't worry I'll drag you for it later.)

FUCK YOU HEAD VOICE -

"- In or out?"

Erin's voice breaks through the paralysis and since she hasn't woken up yet, this is her chance. She grabs Erin's hand and yanks the woman after her, slamming into the door and yanking at the handle. For a second, the door doesn't open, like it's locked. Then she pushes and they both fall through the door into a bright garden. The door slams shut behind them and vanishes.

A tall manor stands across the way, but the world around them is filled with light and life. Birds sit in the trees, singing and twittering amongst themselves. Butterflies flutter through the air with bees and other life. Flowers of every kind and color fill her nose with their perfume. It's peaceful and more beautiful than any garden she has ever seen.

"I think this is Eden," she whispers, touching one of the white roses growing nearby.

There is a young girl, perhaps six, not far ahead of them, sitting on the ground by a fountain, holding something in her hands.

Edited 2023-02-11 22:15 (UTC)

The sight catches Erin's breath in her throat. She takes it in, floored by the beauty of it, lips parted as if to drink it in. It's glorious. It's perfect. She can't even process the existential idea of there being an Actual Eden right now.

She says nothing. She can barely wrench her head aside to look at Valdis.

There's a small bird in her hands. It's plumage soft and beautiful, but she's crying, small teardrops sliding down her cheeks. The poor little bird hit the window and had died by the time she got to it. The little hole in the garden isn't the best place to bury it, but she couldn't just leave it on the ground.

"What do you have there?"

A gentle voice reaches her and she looks up to see a man she doesn't know. His calm smile and presence make her happy for some reason. He kneels down in front of her.

"It's dead," she tells him, showing him the little bird.

Sadness crosses his face and he gently stroke the bird with a worn finger. "You can change that you know," he replies.

"Abaddon!" An irate voice, her dad sounds from down the way, "You shouldn't be here."

That name. It trips something in Erin's memories, some vague occult knowledge picked up by osmosis, and she shakes it off; whatever she thinks she knows, it won't be the same as Valdis's experiences.

Thoughtlessly, without realizing she's doing it or turning her head away, she reaches for her friend's hand.

Valdis does not respond to Erin's touch, as she is seeing through the eyes of the young girl.

****
"Lord Raphael," Abaddon bows his head in acknowledgement, "I wanted to see her, she is my kin."

She looks over at her father, his fury simmers below the surface, laced with concern and perhaps even a bit of fear.

"She is also mine and I have guardianship. It will not transfer to you until she is of age." Raphael replies firmly.

"It is better if I start teaching her now," Abaddon says in return, his eyes still filled with sadness.

"Meira, go find Michael, your brother will help you bury the bird. I must discuss this matter in private."

She looks back at Abaddon and he smiles and gestures for her to go. So she does, following the path towards the two figures observing. She approaches curiously, not recognizing either of them.

"Who are you?" She asks.

***
Perspective shifts again and Valdis is looking at the young girl holding the bird again. She glances at Erin, not sure if this is how things are supposed to work, but she kneels down to be closer at Meira's level.

"I.." She's not really sure, "I suppose I'm you."

The girls smiles as if finally recognizing her. She holds out the dead bird, waiting until Valdis takes it. "It's your choice!" She says happily.

The bird is cold in her hands and the same confusion from moments before fills her mind. Suddenly the bird stirs and in a flurry of wings it launches itself out of her hands and into the sky.

A sudden tug in her chest and the memory is flowing backwards, followed by a low menacing hissing. It feels like the wind is knocked out of her as they are thrust from the dream and back into the waking world.

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CW: This is where the gore starts, will note when the happy memories begins

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End Gore, start pretty memory

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