snowblindrpg | [log] we meet again [closed]

Entry tags:

[log] we meet again [closed]

Characters: Baelfire & Tinker Bell, network to Hook later potentially
Location N3, Building 79
Date: Backdated to Day 3, evening an hour before doors shut
Summary: Baelfire and Tinker Bell finally run into each other.
Warnings: not yet!

[ it's still bitterly cold, and while the boots Baelfire found help (albeit stuffed to the brim with paper towels so his feet actually fit in them), they certainly don't protect against the frigid air. it's getting late, though, and knows the doors will shut soon enough. when he approaches the house, he walks its perimeter first, and there are footprints no doubt, but nothing that looks too fresh, anyway.

he pulls the butter knife out of his coat pocket -- it isn't much, but if he'll be surprised here then it's better to be prepared. the house already has four stable walls and that's enough to satisfy Bae, as the previous two houses alone have hardly been in tact. it's dark in the house, and he moves quietly, turning corners slowly, listening for sounds of anyone else as he rounds each corner. he sees the basement door open, however, and pauses, peering down into the dark, both nervous and uncertain. wherever they'd ended up, it's deadly quiet, and it puts his hackles up, makes him far, far too jumpy. ]

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[ She's always searching here. Searching for what she needs, searching for the people she's been looking for, searching signs of magic, or a way out. It's an unusual place and she knows it, and not just for how it's been left behind. There's something about the atmosphere that nudges at the parts of her that the fairy is no longer in touch with; the magic she had before arriving. It's gone now, possibly just blocked, but she tries to balance her hopefulness with what she knows to be true of this place. It's cold, dangerous, and bleak. There's not much room for her to hope that she might earn back her wings.

So when she does start looking around, she searches the house from top to bottom. It's in the basement that she hears the footsteps of someone above her, and while Tink is ready for a fight, she's not entirely ready for the form she's able to make out through the darkness. It's so hard to see anything that all she can do is dare to call out to the person above her.]

... Hello?

[ and the call alone is enough to send Baelfire staggering back away from the stairs. the voice is familiar, in a way, but he doesn't trust his ears, not when he can't see and he's in a place wholly unfamiliar to him. he'd thought he'd been alone, had the house to himself at the very least, but no. ]

Who's there?

[ his voice is tentative, fumbling for the butter knife in his pack for protection. it wasn't much, but it was better than nothing, right? ]

Show yourself!

[At first, Tinker Bell just listens. She hears the creaking floorboards and the soft footsteps of someone ready to retreat - someone likely as nervous about this as she is, and for once, she isn't spiteful about following orders. This isn't the time or the the place for it. She shifts the fireplace poker behind her back and steps closer to the stairs, slowly moving toward them.]

It's a bit difficult to see down here.

[She's doing the best she can, for someone as wary as she should be right now.]

[ the voice isn't unfamiliar, but he can't quite place it, not when she's down in the basement and the house echoes, left empty. ]

Difficult to see up here, too.

[ he keeps his post by the door, just around the doorframe, not in the center of it. he knows better than that, of course, but he swears he sees movement somewhere below, his hackles up, waiting. ]

Doors will shut soon. We'll be stuck in here together. I... I won't hurt you. We can even stay on separate sides. It's pretty big, this one. No walls knocked down like the others. [ but he's still watching the stairs like a hawk -- he doesn't have much in the way of weaponry, and he'd much rather make peace than fight. ]

[It's his kindness that gives him away. The insistence that he won't hurt her, that he'll give Tink her own space. In spite of the situation, she smiles, though it can't be seen. It's just their luck to find each other like this, isn't it?

She breathes, posture more relaxed as she starts up the stairs.]

It's you, isn't it - Baelfire?

[She'll be careful with her weapon, then.]

[ he doesn't want to hurt anyone -- not that he actually could -- so he feels a strange relief when he hears his name. he knew that voice, yes. ]

...Tinker Bell?

[ he can't help but bound back to the stairs, trying to squint into the dimness but he can see her outline and he knows. perhaps once upon a time he'd been taught to be more careful, to watch his back and mind his corners, but now? he can't help it. ]

It really is you. It's -- yes, it's Baelfire. I thought... I didn't know that I'd find you.

[She's quicker but careful as she moves toward him, steps creaking underneath her until she reaches the top. When he was a grown man, she hadn't managed to greet him properly. Here, she gently reaches out for him.]

Oh, but I knew I'd find you eventually.

[It was either going to be her or Hook, wasn't it? They never would have given up on him.]

Are you alright, Bae?

[ and though she may remember the grown man, the boy gravitates toward her outstretched arms, hugging her without a second though. he doesn't let go right away, relieved to finally meet a person, to feel someone else's warmth, and to feel safe. ]

I knew I'd find you, too. I'm alright, just cold and tired. Walking in the snow can really wear you down. I... found more boots, though. Do you need some? [ his own boots are stuffed to the brim with paper towels to keep them on, but these new ones may fit better. ]

How are you? Are you okay? You're not hurt are you? I didn't mean to frighten you. I thought I was alone.

[Even as an adult, Tinker Bell can't bring herself to let go. She holds him tight, one hand placed gently against the back of his head, until it seems best to get a look at him in the darkness.] More boots? I found some socks, I thought you might like them.

[Saving up for a child she didn't know she would find? She's Tinker Bell, is there any other way?]

I'm fine, Baelfire. Cold and tired, but very glad to see you. [It's a little different, seeing him like this in person. Still, she's grateful to be with him. She wasn't much help to him before, maybe this time will be better.] What about Hook. You didn't run into him, did you?

[ he'd never thought he'd appreciate a hug like he does this one, even the hand on the back of his head. it's all so familiar, he practically sinks in against her. ]

Socks? For me? [ he draws back and smiles a little, though even the boy himself looks weary, weather worn. ] The boots I found are smaller, so they might fit me better. If you need some, you can have these? [ he gestures roughly to his feet where he has the paper-towel stuffed boots to keep him warm. ] They just don't fit well.

[ a sheepish shrug, but the moment she mentions Hook, his face turns sour, a frown creasing his lips. ] No. Talked to him, briefly, but that was it. He... well, he hasn't changed.

I have my boots, but I'll take a look at them.

[She'd like to get them settled, first. Steering him with an arm around his shoulders, she starts to gently guide the boy away from the basement. There's no warmth to be found down there.] If only I had my magic, I'd conjure you something nicer. [Though the coat is helpful, he should have more than that. He's only a child here.]

I know you won't want me to defend Hook when he's hurt you the way he has, but you're wrong, Baelfire. For us, a lot of time has passed since you were a boy in Neverland. Where we're from, you're not a boy anymore - and Hook's not as self-centered as he used to be.

[A pause is followed by a hesitant smirk.] I know that's hard to believe, but it's true.

[ he follows her without a second though, moving away from the basement. there wouldn't be much warmth in this house at all, but none of the ones he's stayed in so far have. ]

If you can't use magic here, then how did we get here? It seems like magic, doesn't it?

[ like a magic bean or a flying shadow. but then there's the topic of Hook and really, Bae isn't sure which is worse: being trapped here for the rest of his life, or being forced to see Hook again. he can't -- not yet. ]

I'm not a boy? What do you mean? I just... I just saw both of you not long ago. [ he knows that timelines do strange things here by now, but it doesn't change the fact that Tink knows his future, knows what is in store for him. ]

He left me. I had to stay on that island alone because of him. He turned me in, lied to me, used me. He just wanted me to get to my father. That's all he wanted. How could he have changed? He told me he couldn't. [ these are thoughts that have had weeks to stew and boil. he leans his head to her shoulder, however, when she smirks, he snorts in return. ]

I don't believe you one bit.

I didn't think you would. But you know I'd never lie to you, don't you? Especially not for him.

[After all, he left her too. She might not have been as close to him as Bae was, but she was still disappointed to see his ship sailing off, him and his men taking their freedom without a word to anyone else. Would it have been difficult for him to sneak anyone else out with him? Yes, but he hadn't even tried.]

He's made plenty of mistakes, but I think leaving you might be the one he regrets the most. Hook is going to try very hard to make things right with you someday. [She can't tell him details. He's just a boy, he shouldn't know his future.] Even if you won't forgive him, he'll keep an eye on the people you care about. [He'll help rescue Henry when he believes Neal isn't around to do it himself.

She gives his shoulder a gentle squeeze, keeping him close.]

I believe he can change because I've seen it. You believe the worst because that's all you know of him right now. That makes sense, doesn't it?

I know you wouldn't. I trust you, Tinker Bell. You're my friend.

[ she was the only steady thing he had in Neverland once Hook had gone, left to the wilderness with the lost boys and a fairy. strange, how things in his life always turn out. but he's grateful for her -- more than she will ever know. ]

It makes sense. [ he concedes, leaning in close to her even as he walks, thankful for the company. he's been traveling alone in the cold for so long it's nice to be speaking to someone in person. ]

I will try. I promise I'll try to... to see things differently. I don't want to fight with anyone. I just want to belong somewhere, even if it's this horrible place. I don't want to be a lost boy everywhere I go. So, I'll try, I just... I can't erase those memories. I wish I could.

[ Hooks dark smile, the barbed words meant to hurt him, meant to shatter any semblance of a relationship they may have had. those bonds snapped so quickly that Baelfire felt the sting of betrayal even now. ]

He just told me he couldn't change. And I believed him. It's... it's just hard to forget that. I can still hear it, as if he were with us here right now.

He believed it too. From what I know of Hook, he sees the worst in himself more easily than you do.

[That should say something, to a boy who has been hurt by him. It's one of the thing she always had in common with Hook. She hated herself as much as he hated himself. It was only when they got to Storybrooke that things started to turn around; both of them connected to others, new ties strengthening them, old ones restored. They won't have that here.]

I won't force you to accept him, but you can't carry that disappointment forever. It'll only hurt you more.

[Not being able to forgive, or to let go. He carries the pain of the moment when Hook betrayed him, and that doesn't help anyone. She knows he'd like to protect himself, but Tink fears he's doing the opposite. He's making himself vulnerable by refusing the help of someone who would keep him safe here.]

You are my first concern, you have my word on that.

[It's not much, but it's a start. She smiles, even in the darkness.]

We should settle in for the night, shouldn't we?

[ she's right, and the longer he harbors such dark feelings, the more likely he is to become embittered by it. he turns then to reach and hug her again, arms practically clinging, fingers and hands trembling with fear and cold, both. ]

I'll try. Just please don't leave.

[ he's not sure what he'd do if it was just Hook and he, after all, when and if they found the pirate. No less, he's not sure what he'd do if he was stuck alone, either. he's been alone so much of his life now, even when he was surrounded by people. his father, caught up in fury and power, Hook, tempted by Pan's magic and revenge -- but Tinker Bell is safe. a prisoner, in some ways, like himself. the island had them both captive, didn't it?

before he knows it, his eyes are stinging, tears are sliding down his cheeks, and he's very glad he's hugged her now, trying to hide them in the dark, even if his hitching breaths give it away. ]

Oh, Bae.

[ She doesn't know how anyone could make a child feel like this. Just witnessing his sadness makes her heart heavy with regret, wishing she could take back what she said in an effort to bring them together. Tink may trust Hook, may be confident he's on their side and wish for them to be together, but it's not worth it if causes him such pain.]

I'm not going anywhere.

[It can't be easy for him. He was abandoned by his mother first, then his father, then Hook. Now it's another unknown world, without villain they can see and recognize and hide from. Tinker Bell holds him tight, tighter than she's ever hugged anyone, because no one has ever needed this kind of comfort from her. Her feelings always catch her by surprise, and this time is no different. She feels fiercely protective of this boy, even if she's seen that he can take care of himself.

He's still a child, he shouldn't have to.]

We'll stick together, no matter what.

O-okay.

[ he calms under her touch, and after a few moments draws back and shrugs, wiping at his face. ] As long as we can stay together. I'm sure we'll find our way out if we work together.

[ he's tired beyond belief, and just knowing there's someone else in this house with him makes a world of difference, really. he sniffles, trying to look less like he's just cried like a baby and more like a normal boy. ]

So you know my future, right? [ he grins a bit, knowing she can't tell, but teasing all the same. ] I bet I'm rich, aren't I?

Is that what you're after? More money than you'd know what to do with?

[She laughs, giving him a gentle squeeze. As far as she knows, he isn't rich. He's loved, though, and that's more important. His father was the one with riches and power. Bae, Neal - whoever he is someday, he'll have something better than riches.]

You might end up with something you'd like better.

[Family, friends, people worth fighting for. Isn't that a better future?]

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[log] we meet again [closed]

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