[ William's experience with his telepathy is that it's always there, always active, and he can hear the murmuring of voices as one might hear a crowded hallway. Conversations picked up in snatches or if he concentrates, but only those that are loud are usually clearest. "Loud" usually means emotionally sensitive in some way and so this is an unfamiliar sensation. ]
[ The feeling of something - of emptiness - skirts in some part of the castle. He doesn't notice it at first in the same way someone might hear a passing conversation. He can't describe it as getting louder, but it gets more intense in the way that same loudness might. He doesn't often actively try to use his telepathy - a fact he's aware he probably should now or Agatha might get onto him for - but he tries now reaching out mentally to the inky space that should be a mind but isn't. ]
[ And then everything goes black. It's enough to cause a moment of panic in its wild equal familiarity and unfamiliarity - because he can't help but think of that nothingness that came from the end of Westview. Except here it's quiet and there's no sense of the whirling sound of a world collapsing on itself. ]
[ It's quiet, empty, and dark - and he gets the sense he's not alone. His mental voice is quiet and confused, too, as it reaches: ]
Hello?
[ The feeling of something - of emptiness - skirts in some part of the castle. He doesn't notice it at first in the same way someone might hear a passing conversation. He can't describe it as getting louder, but it gets more intense in the way that same loudness might. He doesn't often actively try to use his telepathy - a fact he's aware he probably should now or Agatha might get onto him for - but he tries now reaching out mentally to the inky space that should be a mind but isn't. ]
[ And then everything goes black. It's enough to cause a moment of panic in its wild equal familiarity and unfamiliarity - because he can't help but think of that nothingness that came from the end of Westview. Except here it's quiet and there's no sense of the whirling sound of a world collapsing on itself. ]
[ It's quiet, empty, and dark - and he gets the sense he's not alone. His mental voice is quiet and confused, too, as it reaches: ]
Hello?
[ His voice echoes slightly throughout the vast, quiet darkness. It is still in the place, though every step he takes creates a ripple underfoot, like he's walking on black, still waters. The darkness is vast and all-encompassing. And it is oh... so....
Quiet.
Still.
Until, after a moment, something answers him. ]
Hi.
[ A voice behind him. Small, soft. When he turns around, a girl stands there, like she'd always been there, even when he was alone just a moment ago. She frowns up at him with her wide brown eyes, surprisingly serious for a little girl who cannot be older than 13 or so. ]
I was. Not looking for you.
Quiet.
Still.
Until, after a moment, something answers him. ]
Hi.
[ A voice behind him. Small, soft. When he turns around, a girl stands there, like she'd always been there, even when he was alone just a moment ago. She frowns up at him with her wide brown eyes, surprisingly serious for a little girl who cannot be older than 13 or so. ]
I was. Not looking for you.
[ The quiet is unnerving. ]
[ The quiet is nice. ]
[ And then there's a voice. ]
[ He doesn't think about how it feels like he has some conscious form when he turns - it feels natural enough, as so much of his own magick does. His head tilting slightly at the younger teenager's greeting. He's still himself, stillness comes easy. ]
[ But he almost smiles at the comment. ]
Neither was I.
[ Looking for her he means. ] You're quiet.
[ a beat ] Or create quiet? On the inside, I mean.
I'm William.
[ The quiet is nice. ]
[ And then there's a voice. ]
[ He doesn't think about how it feels like he has some conscious form when he turns - it feels natural enough, as so much of his own magick does. His head tilting slightly at the younger teenager's greeting. He's still himself, stillness comes easy. ]
[ But he almost smiles at the comment. ]
Neither was I.
[ Looking for her he means. ] You're quiet.
[ a beat ] Or create quiet? On the inside, I mean.
I'm William.
[ She regards him for another long moment. ]
I'm Eleven.
[ Eleven. Because El is for friends, and she does not know him, and because she tried on Jane, and it never ended up feeling like it fits. Just another costume, like Nancy's pink dress and Hopper's flannel shirts, and Kali's clothes.
These thoughts skitter across her mind like spiders.
She does not like that he is here. ]
This is mine. I didn't invite you.
[ It frightens her, that he reached in. Charles didn't, not without permission. She took Charles into the void, and he could have barged in. The last thing that slipped into the darkness of her mind unbidden was a thing of growling, wet flesh and a head that opened like a flower and was full of teeth.
He can tell, perhaps, that she is not really here, and neither is he. He's still where he was before, and she is somewhere else entirely in the fae realm as well. And yet here they are, sharing space in the void. ]
I'm Eleven.
[ Eleven. Because El is for friends, and she does not know him, and because she tried on Jane, and it never ended up feeling like it fits. Just another costume, like Nancy's pink dress and Hopper's flannel shirts, and Kali's clothes.
These thoughts skitter across her mind like spiders.
She does not like that he is here. ]
This is mine. I didn't invite you.
[ It frightens her, that he reached in. Charles didn't, not without permission. She took Charles into the void, and he could have barged in. The last thing that slipped into the darkness of her mind unbidden was a thing of growling, wet flesh and a head that opened like a flower and was full of teeth.
He can tell, perhaps, that she is not really here, and neither is he. He's still where he was before, and she is somewhere else entirely in the fae realm as well. And yet here they are, sharing space in the void. ]
[ Eleven. El is for friends. It's probably a good thing that she doesn't consider someone in her mind a potential friend - He can't blame her. Going by "Billy," would be a personal closeness he hasn't quite reached with most people yet. He's barely come to terms with it himself. ]
[ He doesn't move - at least - and save for what is clearly an initial invasion he tries not to go further. He's his own still vacuum, but the younger teenager's worries and thoughts come in trembling waves. He can feel the fear in the statement. Does not ask who Charles is. ]
I didn't mean to visit - Not exactly?
[ He starts and amends the truth, slightly apologetic. ]
I hear thoughts - people - all the time. It doesn't turn off and you were particularly -
[ A beat as he tries to think about how to express it. Loud isn't the word, he knows it's not the word. Empty sounds cruel. And so he settles on the word he said first and foremost. ]
Intensely quiet. The more intense people are the louder it is for me. So whatever you're doing - [ He shrugs. ] Spoke to me? I can try to leave.
[ He cannot promise he can. ]
[ He doesn't move - at least - and save for what is clearly an initial invasion he tries not to go further. He's his own still vacuum, but the younger teenager's worries and thoughts come in trembling waves. He can feel the fear in the statement. Does not ask who Charles is. ]
I didn't mean to visit - Not exactly?
[ He starts and amends the truth, slightly apologetic. ]
I hear thoughts - people - all the time. It doesn't turn off and you were particularly -
[ A beat as he tries to think about how to express it. Loud isn't the word, he knows it's not the word. Empty sounds cruel. And so he settles on the word he said first and foremost. ]
Intensely quiet. The more intense people are the louder it is for me. So whatever you're doing - [ He shrugs. ] Spoke to me? I can try to leave.
[ He cannot promise he can. ]
[ Her mouth opens in a little "oh". Understanding blossoms in her mind, rippling deeper. Her mind is a strange thing - malnourished and hungry, it wants to understand and learn, but it can also make her skittish and wary like a starving animal. ]
You're.. like Charles.
[ The image flits through her mind then, of Charles Xavier in his wheelchair, in his room here in the castle. And a memory, too - an image of how Charles sees the world, the way he showed her:
The castle and the town beyond and the forest beyond that, a map shaped not by the locations themselves but by the overlay of every mind within them. An ocean of flickering fireflies, and each of those fireflies humming with their own life and feelings and memories. There is an enormous noise only barely held at bay, a thousand voices speaking at once.
It flickers through her thoughts briefly, and she watches the older boy with wary curiosity, seeing if like Charles, he could see that, feel that. ]
William.
[ She doesn't pronounce it quite right. More like Wil-Liam. The emphasis not quite where it should be. And for a moment she thinks of Will, too, of the small boy who was swallowed up by the gate she opened. She wonders if this boy is a Will, too.
She looks around, briefly, as if looking at the darkness for the first time. Eleven believes she could push him out, if she wanted to - this is a thought that might be entirely untrue, but she believes it, at least. ]
Do you like the quiet?
You're.. like Charles.
[ The image flits through her mind then, of Charles Xavier in his wheelchair, in his room here in the castle. And a memory, too - an image of how Charles sees the world, the way he showed her:
The castle and the town beyond and the forest beyond that, a map shaped not by the locations themselves but by the overlay of every mind within them. An ocean of flickering fireflies, and each of those fireflies humming with their own life and feelings and memories. There is an enormous noise only barely held at bay, a thousand voices speaking at once.
It flickers through her thoughts briefly, and she watches the older boy with wary curiosity, seeing if like Charles, he could see that, feel that. ]
William.
[ She doesn't pronounce it quite right. More like Wil-Liam. The emphasis not quite where it should be. And for a moment she thinks of Will, too, of the small boy who was swallowed up by the gate she opened. She wonders if this boy is a Will, too.
She looks around, briefly, as if looking at the darkness for the first time. Eleven believes she could push him out, if she wanted to - this is a thought that might be entirely untrue, but she believes it, at least. ]
Do you like the quiet?
[ Charles, she says again and he tilts his head a touch in question. She seems to categorize things into what she knows - He can't blame her. He must have done something similar in the early days of the amnesia. He'd made so many neat little boxes in his head of who William was and in what ways, important interested and dislikes.
It's different, but similar. ]
[ This close the thought bridges over like it's nothing. He doesn't have to seek out a memory she actively gives and he takes a shaky breath. Closes his eyes a moment. ]
... It's a lot like that, yeah. I think the differences are in the intensities and where.
[ But he can't know from an image shared with another. ]
[ It's strange yet to think there might be someone else in this castle who has such a similar experience. The thought alone makes his stomach scrunch up like a spring pressed together. Wanda was always an almost certainly but - ]
[ She says his name. Not quite correctly, but he nods anyway. It's close enough it doesn't matter, even if the name doesn't quite fit right anymore. Has never quite fit right, but same as her it's become a name that's much like dress-up clothes than anything else. ]
[ Do you like the quiet? His own eyes glance over the void as if he might see something. It remains still. There is no noise. In truth, perhaps this particular part unsettles him a little, if only because of that distant memory. Of feeling like he's in a space where he doesn't exist again. ]
[ He swallows it back, because that's a different part - neither here nor there. And, more importantly, he thinks that a rejection of it is a rejection of her. He gets the feeling he doesn't need more of that. ]
... I do.
[ After a moment and quietly said. His smile is a little more easy, if a touch more shy. ]
Weird too, in a way? Because I never really get quiet. Ever. So it feels strange -
but it's nice.
[ A beat. ]
Do you like the quiet? ... or were you just looking?
[ He's not sure what that means for her. Maybe, she too, can seek out minds and it's how she does it if their speaking now is anything to show for it. ]
It's different, but similar. ]
[ This close the thought bridges over like it's nothing. He doesn't have to seek out a memory she actively gives and he takes a shaky breath. Closes his eyes a moment. ]
... It's a lot like that, yeah. I think the differences are in the intensities and where.
[ But he can't know from an image shared with another. ]
[ It's strange yet to think there might be someone else in this castle who has such a similar experience. The thought alone makes his stomach scrunch up like a spring pressed together. Wanda was always an almost certainly but - ]
[ She says his name. Not quite correctly, but he nods anyway. It's close enough it doesn't matter, even if the name doesn't quite fit right anymore. Has never quite fit right, but same as her it's become a name that's much like dress-up clothes than anything else. ]
[ Do you like the quiet? His own eyes glance over the void as if he might see something. It remains still. There is no noise. In truth, perhaps this particular part unsettles him a little, if only because of that distant memory. Of feeling like he's in a space where he doesn't exist again. ]
[ He swallows it back, because that's a different part - neither here nor there. And, more importantly, he thinks that a rejection of it is a rejection of her. He gets the feeling he doesn't need more of that. ]
... I do.
[ After a moment and quietly said. His smile is a little more easy, if a touch more shy. ]
Weird too, in a way? Because I never really get quiet. Ever. So it feels strange -
but it's nice.
[ A beat. ]
Do you like the quiet? ... or were you just looking?
[ He's not sure what that means for her. Maybe, she too, can seek out minds and it's how she does it if their speaking now is anything to show for it. ]
[ Her eyes stay trained on him. Ever curious. ]
I was watching my friends.
[ She shrugs a little. Eleven has no concept of how or why that might not be okay - she has a power, and she uses it to watch over her friends, make sure they're okay, make sure they're accounted for.
She also keeps an eye on something in the basement, but she tries not to think about it too much.
The boy though... William.
Eleven remembers making her first friend, less than a year ago. Being offered shelter. Being treated like a person for the first time in her small, isolated little life. ]
Do you want to come here? When it's too loud. Or when you're sad.
[ She took Clint here, when he cried about Natasha. A sad man on the verge of panic in a crowd, and she'd made everything quiet for him for a while. She let Charles in because he asked to see how she sees things in the void. It's her space, and she has no defenses here - but she can make room in the darkness of her mind for others, even just a little bit. ]
I was watching my friends.
[ She shrugs a little. Eleven has no concept of how or why that might not be okay - she has a power, and she uses it to watch over her friends, make sure they're okay, make sure they're accounted for.
She also keeps an eye on something in the basement, but she tries not to think about it too much.
The boy though... William.
Eleven remembers making her first friend, less than a year ago. Being offered shelter. Being treated like a person for the first time in her small, isolated little life. ]
Do you want to come here? When it's too loud. Or when you're sad.
[ She took Clint here, when he cried about Natasha. A sad man on the verge of panic in a crowd, and she'd made everything quiet for him for a while. She let Charles in because he asked to see how she sees things in the void. It's her space, and she has no defenses here - but she can make room in the darkness of her mind for others, even just a little bit. ]
[ The boy nods - a short, simple motion. ]
[ He's not going to question what that might mean. Maybe some people take comfort in using their own power to see what they can't. If he had a way to find Tommy he would - or maybe his parents. He doesn't vocalize that. ]
[ The girl goes quiet and his attention turns back to her, brows furrowing a little over gray-blue eyes. After a moment, she asks a question, and he has to swallow something back. He can feel the tender, tentativeness. The vulnerability in the air, but the desire to help. ]
[ This time he shakes his head. ]
Thank you, but no.
[ He says it sincerely. ]
It's not that I don't appreciate it, but this is your space. I wasn't meant to find it.
[ The light part is an attempt at some light-heartedness. ] The loud is just something I have to get used to.
[ He's not going to question what that might mean. Maybe some people take comfort in using their own power to see what they can't. If he had a way to find Tommy he would - or maybe his parents. He doesn't vocalize that. ]
[ The girl goes quiet and his attention turns back to her, brows furrowing a little over gray-blue eyes. After a moment, she asks a question, and he has to swallow something back. He can feel the tender, tentativeness. The vulnerability in the air, but the desire to help. ]
[ This time he shakes his head. ]
Thank you, but no.
[ He says it sincerely. ]
It's not that I don't appreciate it, but this is your space. I wasn't meant to find it.
[ The light part is an attempt at some light-heartedness. ] The loud is just something I have to get used to.
Heeyyy, a little magnetic birdie told me you uh- Saw home.
[ A beat. ] Call me back when you can, kid. Got a couple questions.
[ A beat. ] Call me back when you can, kid. Got a couple questions.
[ A small huff. ]
There are no. Magnet birds....
[ Why must he always confuse her? She'll allow it. Because of the waffle iron.
And after a moment: ]
Yes. I wanted to see my friends. So... I looked.
There are no. Magnet birds....
[ Why must he always confuse her? She'll allow it. Because of the waffle iron.
And after a moment: ]
Yes. I wanted to see my friends. So... I looked.
Edited 2025-06-26 19:54 (UTC)
I- [ That takes him off guard for a moment. ] I meant Erik. Laura's father.
[ Any way! ] And you... Did? You saw them?
[ Any way! ] And you... Did? You saw them?
I genuinely thought i had responded to this I'm so sorry
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
savingthrows
2025-07-12 03:22 am (UTC)(link)
[ Can you hear her brain rattling on that for a moment, Tony? Because it rattles. Possibly gets stuck a few times. Finally just gives up. Files this under 'Tony is just Like That' and leaves it alone. ]
I like Erik.
[ After a moment. ]
Yes. I saw them. They are. They are very happy.
I like Erik.
[ After a moment. ]
Yes. I saw them. They are. They are very happy.
[ Yeah, Tony liked Erik too. Nice guy. Kinda has terrifying powers, but, well. Bruce. ]
Oh. [ He's not... Sure how to take that. ] Well that's... [ Good? Bad? Tony decides to let El decide that one. ] ...At least a sign we might have a way back.
Oh. [ He's not... Sure how to take that. ] Well that's... [ Good? Bad? Tony decides to let El decide that one. ] ...At least a sign we might have a way back.
[ Eleven likes the terrifying powers. Makes her feel like she belongs with these people, truth be told.
She's quiet for a moment, picks at the fabric of her clothes. Then, a little petulant: ]
The fairies said. They're dead. But they're happy. Happy... without me. [ A beat. ] I think I'm... angry.
She's quiet for a moment, picks at the fabric of her clothes. Then, a little petulant: ]
The fairies said. They're dead. But they're happy. Happy... without me. [ A beat. ] I think I'm... angry.
I think I'd be angry too. [ Tony says honestly. He was lucky, he supposed, that all (most) of his friends were here. ]
You wanna... Talk about it?
You wanna... Talk about it?
[ She's quiet for a while, ruminating on it. Then, with a borderline venomous edge to her voice: ]
It's not fair.
It's not fair.
No, it's not fair. [ He says nice and slow and measured.
Tony almost wants to ask about his own life; if everyone was better off now that he was d- Gone. He decides against it. ]
Do you think there's a chance the head honchos here are lying, somehow? [ A beat. ] That what you're seeing might be an illusion?
Tony almost wants to ask about his own life; if everyone was better off now that he was d- Gone. He decides against it. ]
Do you think there's a chance the head honchos here are lying, somehow? [ A beat. ] That what you're seeing might be an illusion?
You think. They lie? To my powers?
[ No, she had not considered. Eleven rarely considers that anyone could overpower her - the pittrap of being the most powerful person around where she's from. ]
How... do I know?
[ No, she had not considered. Eleven rarely considers that anyone could overpower her - the pittrap of being the most powerful person around where she's from. ]
How... do I know?
[ The possibility reminded him a bit of what happened with Wanda when she first, uh... Encountered the team. ]
Do you really think it's at all possible your friends don't miss you? [ It didn't sound right to Tony's ears, but he also doesn't know much about Eleven's home life minus the absolutely horrifying lab rat shit. ] Because- If it seems massively out of character for them? Then I think this place is lying to your powers.
Do you really think it's at all possible your friends don't miss you? [ It didn't sound right to Tony's ears, but he also doesn't know much about Eleven's home life minus the absolutely horrifying lab rat shit. ] Because- If it seems massively out of character for them? Then I think this place is lying to your powers.
When... Hopper was hiding me. Mike... counted. Every day. How long we were apart.
[ Her voice wobbles on the name Mike. ]
353 days.
[ The number sits heavy in her chest. She's been counting days here, too. ]
He was... sad. Every day.
[ Her voice wobbles on the name Mike. ]
353 days.
[ The number sits heavy in her chest. She's been counting days here, too. ]
He was... sad. Every day.
Then somethin' tells me [ He starts nice and slow, measured, calm. ] Mike's not gonna just stop being sad. No matter how many years it's been between then and now.
[ A beat. ] Fairies are known for illusions, tricks. [ C'mon El, you're smart. ] What if they're blocking you from seeing your real home?
[ A beat. ] Fairies are known for illusions, tricks. [ C'mon El, you're smart. ] What if they're blocking you from seeing your real home?
Mike... is sad without me. [ Which means... ] The fairies lie. Friends don't lie. They are not friends.
[ A truth. A rule. A conclusion, based on that. If the fairies lie, but friends do not lie, then the fairies are not friends.
She bites her lip. ]
The fairies are bad men.
[ A truth. A rule. A conclusion, based on that. If the fairies lie, but friends do not lie, then the fairies are not friends.
She bites her lip. ]
The fairies are bad men.
The fairies are very bad men. [ A beat. ] And- Women. [ Sure, Sunna seemed nice enough, but the other three... ]
See, kid? They're trying to trick you, make you wanna stay here. [ A beat. ] And it's a trap.
See, kid? They're trying to trick you, make you wanna stay here. [ A beat. ] And it's a trap.
We can kill them.
[ 0 to 100, no hesitation, no passing go to collect money. ]
I like my friends here. But... I want to go home.
[ 0 to 100, no hesitation, no passing go to collect money. ]
I like my friends here. But... I want to go home.
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