westwhere | event log » closed starters

( In a sense, River’s already been possessed once since their arrival in this city. She should have learned her lesson. And perhaps she has because she manages, only just, to resist the cries for sanctuary, swallowing back the way their pain resonates with her.

It’s still her curiosity that damns her. Isn’t it always?

Picking up one of the many paper talismans lying on the floor and a discarded bit of cinnabar, she copies the rune it shows. She doesn’t need any experience with magic - or hell - to know when she’s feeling the force of its effect.

Sinking to the ground, she frowns slightly at the newfound bagginess in her clothes. )

Maybe just a minute to catch my breath.

[ Five entered the Room of Seals with good reason. Once it became clear that they weren’t guarding it as closely, he knew it was a matter of time before others from their group snuck in to see what the gate to Hell looks like. Some may have honest intentions to understand it, but for others their motives are unclear and the area is too volatile to look the other way. As soon as he recognizes the woman who slips past them, he blinks in after her.

It feels wrong inside. Larger than he imagined, and cursed in a way even he notices. He’s looking along the walls when he sees River again, and witnesses the moment she write something and instantly collapses.

He swears silently, then blinks beside her, crouching down with a scowl and hisses in a sharp whisper. ]

What did you do?

( She glances up, distracted. Oh, look who it is again. And he seems rather unnecessarily displeased with her. She'd be insulted if she had the energy. But he asks an excellent question. What has she done? Looking back down, she tries to take proper stock of herself. She's inexplicably thinner, her clothes hanging unflatteringly, and her hair's gone a shocking shade of white. )

Hard to say. It isn't really my area.

( The shrug is audible if not visible. )

I'm an archaeologist, sweetie, not a witch.

[ His eye twitches as he takes in her appearance. It's like the life is being sucked out of her. ]

What is that? [ He looks towards the talisman and makes the connection. Shit. Destroying it might break the hold it has on her, but he doesn't want to risk touching it. ] ...Right. You didn't learn anything from the tower, did you?

( She laughs faintly. At least he's starting to get the measure of her. )

Curiosity. It'll be the death of me. Again.

( But she has the grace to look mildly apologetic. )

Help me up. I don't think I should linger in here.

[ He doesn't return her humor. She did this to herself when she snuck in here, and he has no idea how to fix her. But despite how suspicious he's been, he won't leave her here.

Her request gets an exasperated look. When Wei Wuxian made talismans, distance seemed to lessen their effects. Getting her away from it is probably the first step. ]

Come on. [ He reaches for her arm, like he's about to help her up, but a second after he blinks her back outside of the Room of Seals. When they land he keeps his grip on her to steady her, despite his stature. Hopefully she won't get sick on him. ] ...What did you mean, 'again'?

( Pot, kettle. But to be fair, he hadn't chosen to copy any mysterious runes after sneaking in, something she acknowledges hasn't been one of her finest moments.

She staggers slightly, which she'll absolutely deny later, blinking against the change in their surroundings. It isn't all that unlike taking a short hop with a vortex manipulator, only startling for the fact he's apparently the vehicle of travel. )

Neat trick. ( It's a soft murmur, mostly to herself, but she does feel better with a little more distance between herself and whatever dark energy permeates the Room of Seals. Still weak. But better. )

Despite appearances, I died a long time ago, a long way from here.

Edited 2023-03-07 12:42 (UTC)

[ Good, she didn't throw up. That's about where the good stops though. She still looks like death, which apparently is appropriate, but getting her out was his one and only idea. Despite living with a curse for going on two years, he isn't an expert on them.

He stays an awkward crutch for a woman he hardly trusts, while he debates how to handle this. Did the room know she should be dead? Or was it all the talisman... ]

What happened?

You're very short.

( Deflection. One of her favourite verbal pastimes.

But to his credit, he's tried to help. He's still trying to help, she thinks. And she hasn't moved away from him, not entirely trusting her own strength yet. She can at least tell him the truth. )

Tell me you've never tried to close the gates of Hell by following questionable instructions on conveniently laid talismans. I drew the rune, and it- ( She considers her next words, finally settling on, ) fed on me.

Thank you, sweetie, but I'm fine, really.

( She feels terrible. )

[ From his face, he can tell she’s deflecting by mocking him, which is about what he expects when he goes out of his way to save someone. She’s lucky she decided to go with height instead of his age or he might have been more tempted to leave her to stand on her own.

What she explains is fortunately distracting enough to focus on. ]

…Makes sense. All this talk about sacrifice, that might be how they’ve been feeding the seal.

[ He frowns at her again. Saying she’s fine is laughable, and he doesn’t trust that she’ll survive if he leaves her for someone to find. ]

I could have told you it was a waste of time, it’s going to break eventually no matter what we do. I don’t know how to reverse it.

What did the instructions say exactly?

( She pulls away slowly, determined if unsteady, brushing him off. )

I'll survive. Probably.

( It isn't him she's annoyed with so much as her own weakness. She hates asking for help, but she hates needing it even more. Maybe she shouldn't be standing after all. She's on the ground again almost before she's finished the thought. It's a little less graceful than she might've liked, but at least she isn't waiting to fall over. )

And you didn't listen. I'm sure sealing the gates of Hell, or whatever's down there, is well and good, but that isn't strictly why I did it.

( Curiosity. She'd wanted to see what would happen. )

Redraw the rune in cinnabar. Which I did. Clearly.

( Her words are as light as always, but there's something unusually honest about the way she looks up to meet his eyes. )

Sometimes I forget I'm not still invincible.

[ Five makes no move to catch her when she pulls away and collapses. He'd meant to move her to somewhere she could sit, so it's just as well. She's still taking it entirely too casually, but he can't think of one reason why that should bother him as much as it does. Maybe he's just taking offense that she barely seems to care about the possible end of the world.

He isn't sure how to interpret what she says, or the look she gives him. Wrath has said that this world limits his power, so it's possible it's that, or something else that happened when she died before. ]

Meaning what? You used to be before you came here?

It's complicated.

( Well, she's already told him she's dead. )

My death was a fixed point. It always happens, on that day, in that place. ( She shrugs, shaking her head. ) I never knew the details, but I knew more than I should have. There was a restaurant, spectacular views, dessert to die for. I couldn't die until I'd gone there.

( So maybe not that complicated. Her voice softens. )

It really was beautiful.

[ He's heard the Doctor telling him about 'fixed points' before, when he mentioned the apocalypse. He's not a fan of the terminology, or how his experience in repeating history supports the theory.

It's not important right now. Five should contact the Doctor or one of the experts in curses to take over, but there's still too much that bothers him about River. She seems to put herself into these situations intentionally, with little regard to her own survival, and it's possible that hits too close to home. ]

Is that why you're not afraid? You're confident that there's only one time and place you're supposed to die?

( Maybe it shouldn't, but the question catches her off guard. Whoever said she isn't afraid? So why does she keep ending up here? Does she have a death wish? Is she just reckless? )

Not exactly.

I've already been to the Library. That loop's closed. I shouldn't be here. Whatever happens now- ( She smiles, shrugging. It's still slightly novel, the idea that her life is entirely her own, no promises to live up to, no timelines to keep in order. )

I'm not invincible, sweetie. Not anymore.

( If she's being honest, the truth is, now more than ever, she's living like she's already dead. )

[ She at least has the energy to talk, but he can't see any visible improvements in the time she's been sitting out here. One would think it's a perfect time to get answers from her, if he wants to be heartless. ]

Clearly. [ He looks back at the entrance to the room that's been quiet since they left it. ] None of us should be here. We have an illusion of choice, but ultimately we've been pulled along towards this place since the beginning. They've been using us and we've been letting them.

[ And because you're never too old for a lecture, he turns to her and adds: ]

I understand that there's an adjustment if you're used to being invincible, but now's the time to be a little less reckless. Don't you think?

( She's well too old for a lecture, but his attempt makes her laugh. If he knew her better, he'd know the futility of expecting her to be more careful. )

I'm not leaving here either way.

( There's no anger or disappointment, only the casualness she seems to favor. )

If we're letting them use us, is it really an illusion of choice? Because I know something about not having a choice.

( She tips her head to the side, watching him. )

I wasn't the only one in that room. What were you doing there?

[ Those are some interesting word choices, and Five narrows his eyes at her as she immediately tries to turn it around on him. There's a couple of very key differences to what he was doing there and what she did. And one annoying similarity. ]

Aside from saving you? [ He could say he went in just for that reason, but she seems with it enough to see through that. ] Maybe I wanted to see how close our versions of Hell are. The difference is that I had a way out. At least until the seal breaks and we're all in the same boat.

The fact is that we're screwed, no matter what choices we make. It's only up to you if you want to be around long enough to see how it ends.

( The slightest of mock gasps. ) And I thought you didn't like me.

I would have made my own way out. Eventually. ( Ignoring for the moment that she still isn't sure if she has the energy to stand under her own power. But she does feel better, for whatever that's worth, even if she still looks dreadful. ) You know, sweetie, I don't think we're that different.

How do you think it's going to end?

( Is she avoiding the quite obvious point? Maybe. But open honesty suits her only so well. )

[ He smiles, if only because he doesn't like anyone. Obviously, with how he's made no effort to help her back up. But he's not the psychopath that people assume he is. He was actually working pretty hard to save the world and everyone in it, prior to several spectacular failures.

Then he laughs in a way that completely negates the good nature he was just demonstrating. ]

If history proves anything, it'll end in a big ball of fire. [ The moon exploding, nuclear holocaust, and whatever the hell is waiting in the future. ] Your Doctor seemed to think the apocalypse might be a fixed point. I thought that was bullshit, but four times has to be a record.

He does have an annoying habit of being right about that sort of thing.

( And there's genuine annoyance in her voice, despite her affection for the man. She understands time as well as he does, but she's always been more compelled to fight against it. )

So if everything's going to end, why should my recklessness bother you?

( Something about Five reminds her of herself. She'd gotten the same impression the first time they'd spoken. She still doesn't trust him. But she doesn't dislike him. )

[ His mouth twitches. She’s a strange one to be focused on why, but maybe it isn't entirely unfounded to question his motives. It isn't like he'd been expecting gratitude. Aside from basic human decency, he had no reason to step in.

It does bother him though. He's been afflicted by magic far too many times, and it's jarring to watch it happen to someone else. ]

If you were that eager to be done with it, all you had to do was ask. [ Hard to tell when he’s kidding with the look on his face, so better not to press it. ] It’s ending, but it is possible to slow it down. I needed more time.

I doubt you intended to sacrifice yourself for the cause. There are better ways.

( She gives a brief, considering hum. )

I'm not the sacrificing type.

( But just ask her how she died. If she thought it would make any difference, she'd sacrifice herself in a heartbeat, if only to keep someone else from doing it. But she'll never be as selfless as the Doctor or as ready to champion any hopeless cause, and current appearances aside, she doesn't actually have a death wish. )

But I'll keep that in mind.

( Maybe like recognizes like or maybe she's reading too much into it, but strangely, she does think he'd near the top of her list if she did intend any grand sacrifices and was looking for insurance. )

We always want more time, sweetie, but Time doesn't play by our rules. The Doctor doesn't have the market cornered on understanding that. ( In fact, she'd say, for a time lord, he still has a lot to learn about time. ) Explain it to me.

[ Five might have respected her choice if she'd had more of a reason for doing something stupid. He's not entirely convinced it was blind curiosity, but he can't figure out what else it could be.

He allows the 'sweetie' to pass with a frown, distracted by the fact that she could be dying and probably desperate for answers. From the way she's talking, she might even understand what he's about to imply. ]

If I knew what caused the seal to start breaking in the first place, I'd have a frame of reference. [ He pauses for a second or two, in case she miraculously stumbled on something useful, then continues. ] It's a long shot, but if I can rely on math I've already done, I could go back and stop it.

I was just hoping it wouldn't come to that.

( Sorry. Nothing useful here.

But she is terribly curious. )

I see.

Is this what you do, then? Chase any potential apocalypse, hoping you'll find the key to preventing one of your own? I'll spare you a lecture on paradoxes. How did your apocalypse start, originally?

[ Five wasn't expecting to be called out, and for a moment he wonders if she knows about the world-ending paradox that's waiting on him. It reminds him that he needs to watch what he says, even if she's in this state. ]

Originally. [ He flexes his jaw and the edge of a headache pulses in his temple. ] The moon exploded.

I'm not chasing the apocalypse. If anything, it's chasing me.

Well that would do it.

( She isn't without sympathy, but what good would her pity do him? )

If you're so sure you aren't chasing it, sweetie, why go looking into the gates of hell?

( But she doesn't really give him time to answer that. )

Maybe it wasn't an apocalypse, but I know all about fixed points, disordered timelines. When every choice you think you've made is part of someone else's plan. You'll go mad trying to stop it this way.

[ Five doesn't do well with pity, so her reaction is as good as any, even as he tenses his shoulders in an attempt to shrug off the pain in his temple. She makes a valid argument, if not for the fact that this particular fixed point means the end of everything. What is he supposed to do?

If everything she says is true, all of her experience screwing with timelines isn't paying off. He can relate. ]

I'd say I'm open to suggestions, but I see where that led you.

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