[Shepard is nothing if not direct. She doesn't like coincidences, and she doesn't like bothering people when they're disoriented-- well, no, that's not true.
Still, just woke up and not enjoying it isn't the best of all times to make friends, if friendship could be called the goal.]
( damon hates the telepathic effect of the nest. he dislikes the reminder that these people can get inside his head whenever they want, and he has very little ability to keep them out. that annoyance bleeds through his response to shepard, coloring every syllable. she is not welcome in there, and he wants this conversation to be in person as soon as possible.
( elena has only actively chosen to use the mental link to communicate a handful of times since arriving. mostly it just makes her feel uncomfortable, if she's being totally honest, and she's never missed the simplicity of a phone call as much as she does now. she could track damon, the way he had with her, but she can't quite decide which feels weirder at the moment. is it more bizarre to follow someone's mental footprint through your hive of a space station home, or to literally speak to them in your head?
in the end the pseudo stalking wins out. she's not trying to mask her approach, but even if elena was making an effort she'd likely be all too obvious anyway. she's wary of the work being put into this particular skill now, conscious of the cost that could occur. lexa's warning is ever-present in the back of her mind now: Is that what you want?
there are a great many things that elena will sacrifice for the greater good, but she's not sure if she wants her entire sense of self to be one of them.
elena doesn't have to focus too much to be able to follow the distinct signature of damon, a shade different from everyone else around them. he's easily the person that she's had the most contact with since being here, bizarre as it still might feel he's the closest she's been with anyone. it's relatively easy to narrow it down once she's close enough, and by the time elena catches up with him they're in the rec room.
it's pretty immediately clear that she's here to talk serious. )
It's later.
( really, she thinks she's been very patient. there's so much eating her up about the kind of information that damon could be withholding, it's a wonder that she hasn't exploded. or that her brood haven't gone insane. she'll have to apologise for the turmoil she's causing the place one of these days, but for now at least her primary concern lies with what she still doesn't know. )
( when elena starts looking for him, damon can feel it. they spend most of their time together anyway, mostly because he prefers to have her as near to him as possible, so he doesn't try to mask his presence from her. on the contrary, he makes himself easier to find, reaching for her mind with his and leading her to him. it's difficult to decide how he feels about the link, when it comes to elena — he likes having her just a thought away, always in the back of his head, close enough that he can always tell if she's okay and what's happening with her, but having her in his head is dangerous. he knows so much that she doesn't, and his shielding lessons with sam have been effective, but he doesn't know that he'll always be able to keep her out the way he needs to.
part of him wants her to be in his head forever, the other wants her out as soon as possible. like most things about him, it's a contradiction he doesn't know what to do with, so he's ignoring it.
when she finds him, he's sitting in the rec room, a book on his lap, but his eyes are only on her. he smiles a little, when he sees her, but before she even says anything, he knows what she's going to say, and the smile fades. after a moment, he slides the book off his lap, and beckons her over. )
This is going to be harder to hear than the other stuff, ( he says — not to dissuade her from asking, but as a warning. it's not easy to hear you were adopted, that the uncle you've disliked your whole life is your real father, that your boyfriend dated your doppelganger a century and a half ago... she's not going to like any of it.
but he won't keep it from her. she's been so patient already, she deserves to know. )
[ He hadn't had to ask who was responsible for Ilde's injuries when he went to heal them any more than he'd had to when he saw the marks on Elena's wrist - though of course, the two bites were very, very different. Elena'd said she didn't think Damon would be a danger to the rest of the Nest, and honestly, Sam's inclined to agree with her - or at least, not any more of a danger than Ilde or the Darkling or Seviliia.
Still, he reaches out to brush against Damon's mind anyway. ]
if sam is looking for any trace of regret, he won't find it in damon. his anger has cooled after spending time with elena, but he still thinks ilde got exactly what she deserved. the people here don't fear him like they should, think that just because they aren't allowed to kill each other that he can't do anything truly terrible. if elena weren't here he'd prove them wrong just to be contrary.
If you're going to lecture me, save it. You'll be wasting your time and mine.)
he's a bit confused as to why beth would be asking, until he remembers — they're all interconnected, she knows he was stabbed, even if no one told her.
[Being in the same brood as Damon is bad enough, what with his anger and his adoration for that girl. Things that Kavinsky can't connect to on the same level, but there they are, swimming into his skull and ricocheting around like bouncy balls spit out of a circus cannon. They bring up memories he's been stamping down, wrapping up in warning tape, pretending aren't even there until they're made to resurface and he has to begin the process all over again.
Whatever. Earth is a long ways away.
The last time he touched his mind this blatantly to Damon's, he'd ended up shoved against a wall and threatened. Pity that they're too far away for a redux.]
( damon has, for the most part, ignored kavinsky's existence. he's not like misato or sam, people whose minds call to damon's and whose company he enjoys, and he's not like ilde, someone damon would go out of his way to antagonize, now. kavinsky just kind of... is. he's there, he exists, he's annoying and juvenile. that's about as much as damon cares to think of this particular broodmate.
that kavinsky calls him things like sal only serves to make damon even more sure of his decision to ignore him.
Sal is absolutely not a thing that's happening.
that's the extent of damon's response, but he doesn't shut kavinsky out, either. whatever his proposition is, damon is willing to hear it, just never ever call him sal ever again. )
( sam is, along with elena, the only person outside of his brood he bothers to maintain a connection with when they're not actively talking. it's resulted in a pretty killer headache a couple times, but that's been happening less and getting less severe the longer he does it. he likes keeping tabs on his people, and sam is one of them, so there's always a corner of his mind dedicated to following sam around wherever he's gotten off to.
when sam opens the link between them to let through more than background noise, damon turns his focus to it immediately.
Yes. Is it a jacket? I already compelled myself five.)
[ There's a distinct lack of panic from her end, but she's high-strung, the anxiety she usually hides under a careless persona having come to the forefront. ]
( well, this certainly bodes poorly. damon's on high alert as soon as misato reaches out to him, her anxiety and the fact that she's talking to him at all making him more serious than he would usually be.
( it's a long waiting game. stefan and elena made it back to the ship long before there's any word on damon and his crew, and unsurprisingly all of that time is spent worrying. she tries to convince herself that she would know if anything had happened, that she'd feel it, but the minutes tick by and it gets harder and harder to believe that nothing has gone wrong.
elena has just turned to somewhat frantically scribbling a barebones, distracted update of what exactly happened on shril into the half used journal that she has claimed as her own when she realises that they're back. just like that she's up, journal and pen abandoned in the rec room as she rushes off to find the group, and her very obviously broadcasted relief announces her presence long before elena can actually be seen.
the place is practically a maze, but it's easy enough to navigate now, and it's only a matter of time before elena tracks damon down. there's no warning before she's launching herself at him, arms tight around his shoulders as she very bodily drags him in tight to her. he could, of course, resist. she's been working out but she's no vampire. still she's pretty determined to hold onto him at the moment, it'll take some effort to shake her off, and she exhales quickly before muttering against his ear. )
( the rescue is a (stupid, unnecessary, wasteful) long and drawn out affair, and damon makes his way through it with a characteristic lack of care. he hates that it needed to happen at all, that misato didn't listen to him like any sane person would have... but he's never once worried about whether they'll make it out. if they didn't, he wouldn't get to punch misato in the face, and that's just unacceptable.
they get through, make it back onto the station, and he's simmering in anger, nursing a couple rapidly-healing scrapes, when a wave of relief barrels into him so hard he actually steps back. elena actually physically barrels into him moments after, and damon — he doesn't know what to do. for a long moment, he doesn't do anything.
she's hugged him twice now, both times as comfort, as a salve against pain and loss. never because — why is she even hugging him now? because he's a friend and she was worried, because he left on a rescue mission into enemy territory and made sure she would be safe first. he'd expected an angry reunion, if anything, gilberts tend not to like being left out of danger, but. hug. the first time she's hugged him when he wasn't in the middle of a terrible emotional spiral, the first time she hasn't wanted to stave off something awful but instead just... wants to know that he's safe. in one piece.
slowly, he winds one arm around her waist, tucking his chin into the crook of her neck. )
I see Stefan learned how to take orders in those eight years we're missing, ( he says, because he doesn't know what else to say. )
[ There's a flurry of activity in the training wing going on, but Sam's mind is somewhere else as he focuses his attention on the connection between him and Damon. ]
(I think the Station is alive, and I want to try to talk to it. Whattya think, terrible idea?)
[ Yes would be the answer to that question, probably, but that's not necessarily going to stop him. ]
london arrives wherever sam is before damon does, landing on sam's shoulder and beginning to preen his hair while they wait for damon. he makes his way to them about a minute later, eyebrow raised and arms crossed as he leans against the door. )
You could have just said you want to share a drink.
[ Misato's body is as much a tool as it is a component of her self, and she can regard with an impassive eye any offense done against it (endless shifts sans sleep mirroring endless days rocking inside a safety chute with red skies above, red seas about).
So when the torture begins, she is an observer as well as a victim, standing in the doctor's shoes as well as her own-- no, this isn't quite her lying on the cold table feeling the tap, tap, tap of the doctor's hand against her (no, not hers) belly, a deceivingly tender gesture compared with what's to come. Feel: a scalpel cleanly cutting through skin, flesh, gracing bones but it's all wrong, this, her scar extends over her sternum, up higher. When she sees the glint of a blade on its way into the socket of her (not her) eye, she thinks first of Asuka. When, so soon after, she feels the flesh beginning to stitch itself together, she thinks of Sam.
Only when she senses the unbearable hunger rise like bile in her throat does she finally place the nightmare's true owner. The language the doctor speaks rings clearer in her mind, the body being mutilated is that of a man, pale skinned. Damon.
She wakes with a start, never with a scream, no, she has willed that habit away a long time ago. Still it takes her a few moments to gather enough of herself to decide what to do.
This could be as easily done through the mental link, but to bridge physical distance is her way of offering a semblance of sympathy without the additional violence of invading his mind. She even affords a knock against the wall that leads to what amounts to his room. ]
( when damon dreams, he doesn't usually have nightmares. or didn't used to, anyway. when his humanit was off, he barely dreamt at all, and when he did... it was nothing like this. true dreams came back with his humanity, and dreams of this have come with sam reminding him that it happened at all. he's made no more effort to deal with the memories than he did before sam uncovered them, and so the dream is inescapable, all-consuming.
it's not a memory, exactly. it's just an amalgam of all the days he was under that scalpel, and truthfully, it's almost bland, in the face of all the further tortures he'd been through. the pain is not the point, though — he's learned to take pain with the best of them, and if it were just the pain he had to deal with he'd be fine. with the pain, however, comes the fear, the starvation, the idea that this would never end. that he would be stuck here, forced to endure this pain and forced to watch enzo endure it, for eternity. vampires don't die, and whitmore fed them just enough to keep them alive. there were no chances even to grab for wooden implements, no way to choose their own end. they would be stuck with this forever.
that idea scared him more than the pain ever could.
there's a passenger in the dream, but damon doesn't notice it until he's woken, shooting up to sitting as his heart races. for a moment he hopes that whoever went theough it with him won't realize whose dream it was... but misato shows up not long after he wakes, and he frowns. she's being uncharacteristically respectful, and he doesn't particularly want to see anyone. maybe she'd listen if he said to fuck off.
[ There is the sense of stumbling, of someone leaning on something familiar and expected that is suddenly no longer there and grasping hold of what is in order to steady themselves. Then he lets go, distancing himself once more. He doesn't say anything, but the impression of an apology is clear across the mental link - sorry, man, I'm backing off now - as well as an added note that Sam is still there, if there's anything Damon needs. ]
❰ it's been a... long night. damon couldn't sleep, though he didn't leave the bed — elena was asleep, and he wouldn't disrupt that, not after the day she'd had. besides, she was part of why he couldn't sleep. her safety's in jeopardy as long as the hunter is in the nest, and the pool of people who are willing to help him protect her drains by the day, apparently. there's only one person he knows he can count on... and he pissed sam off pretty bad last time they talked.
well, "talked".
it's time to swallow his pride — and some blood, god, it's been days. damon's gone longer without feeding properly, but that was in augustine, with at least the bare minimum provided for him. having no blood at all is already taking its toll, and he can't keep elena from falling apart if he can't do the same for himself. he needs to talk to sam. groveling isn't really something damon does, but he'll find a way if he has to.
in the morning, damon leaves elena and steps into one of the unoccupied private rooms, reaching for sam's mind with his own and tugging on his metaphorical coattails. come find him, sammy. ❱
[ There's a brush of wings over Damon's mind that's unmistakably Sam as he focuses a little more purposefully on their connection, instead of the absent background awareness he usually has. It's accompanied by - well, by barely restrained happiness with an equal amount of amusement, and an underlying sense of a bewildered sort of contentment.
Sam has the feeling both of their love lives went somewhere unexpected. ]
❰ damon is always aware of sam, in much the same way he's always aware of elena — he keeps tabs on them, a small portion of his head always dedicated to following the two of them through the link. this means damon is more or less always aware of their emotional states, and while he has noticed that sam is pretty happy right now, he never made particular note of it the way he might if sam was upset.
when sam turns his attention more fully to damon and damon feels that happiness in full force, sam gets the sensation of a raised eyebrow back, at the forefront of a settled sense of peace that has never been part of damon's mental landscape before.
I might have said "better than yours" a second ago, but now I'm not sure. ❱
[ Elena's been doing some hard thinking after Lakshmi's public broadcast about the private space in the sauna. Just days earlier, she'd lingered longingly outside the sauna tent that had been set up, wishing desperately that she could go inside and soak up the heat, pretend for a little while that it was a southern summer day and she was outside without her costume. That hadn't happened though, and now... She's uncertain, but tempted.
There's a slight nudge at Damon's mind, a brush of playful affection with just a hint of that uncertainty lingering like an aftertaste. ]
( damon hadn't paid much attention to the broadcast — anything lakshmi's doing, he wants as little part in as possible, unless it's mission-related — but he got the gist. private sauna time, so that the hosts can enjoy the baths without worrying about giving away their alien nature. it's not a bad idea, in theory... except lakshmi's in charge, and damon knows at the very least he wouldn't be welcome.
when elena brushes at his mind, damon smiles, turning his attention — and, unconsciously, his body — toward her.
I think I don't trust Lakshmi as far as I could throw her, and I could throw her pretty far. Whatever she wants to do, I'm probably not welcome.
[ Sam is - exhausted. He knows he's exhausted, knows he's past the point where he's really even capable of being much use to anyone - knows exactly what happens to you when you don't sleep for days on end, that's why he's so damn determined to get people in the Nest to sleep properly - but he can't help it.
He can't sleep. He has to look after Bucky, make sure they don't try to come take him back to the Station, and if he sleeps - if he sleeps he leaves his mind unguarded. If he sleeps he might not be able to stop himself from slipping under.
Sam's been focusing on the connections of the people he's closest to, here and there, trying not to be too much for any one person, reaching out to hold on just for a little while. His mind's brushed over Damon's before now, just wanting to reaffirm that he's there, that at least Sam still has him -
But now it's less of a brush and more of a startled grab. He'd caught himself almost falling asleep, and there's the feeling of a jolt as Sam's mental presence suddenly floods their connection. It's brief, and then Sam pulls back a little, but he still lingers. ]
(I'm gonna ask you a question, Damon. You answer it right... We'll see where this goes.)
[If he doesn't? No further questions, of course. But the calm, businesslike demeanor is only the mask to a sort of dark pleasure living in Shepard; she's up to something.]
(I don't know about patience, but I consider myself to be a fairly reasonable person. So are you as tired of the whole cloak-and-dagger pace around here as I am?)
[ Sam listens to the option presented to them by those that've been on this mission the longest, listens to everyone's questions and responses, and then reaches out to those closest to him.
He knows what he wants to do, but he also knows that being back on the Station with Damon and Elena planetside would be... difficult, to say the least. The way Sam cares about Damon might be unspoken - aside from the time that Sam told him he knows what it feels like to love Damon, and Damon was gracious enough not to bring it back up - but it's still there.
There's no world where Sam isn't gonna check in on where Damon wants to do. ]
❰ I'm thinking it's about fucking time we get off this rock.
to say that damon hasn't been best pleased about their extended stay on hyrypia would be an understatement. he's not a spy, much as he is probably one of the people in the nest best suited to it — compulsion gets rid of a lot of problems that being a good infiltrator just can't do anything about — and he's fucking sick of the costumes. he doesn't give a shit about any of this, and he doesn't quite get why they can't just kill everyone and get it over with. this is the best news he's heard since they landed here.
and yet...
I'm also thinking Elena will have Opinions about where we go. You know how she is.
namely, if she thinks she's needed, she'll stick around no matter what he says, and damon will stay with her no matter how much he hates it. ❱
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
no subject
[Shepard is nothing if not direct. She doesn't like coincidences, and she doesn't like bothering people when they're disoriented-- well, no, that's not true.
Still, just woke up and not enjoying it isn't the best of all times to make friends, if friendship could be called the goal.]
( You got a minute to talk? )
no subject
Rec room. )
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
day 019 » all of these times i've tried to make you forget me
in the end the pseudo stalking wins out. she's not trying to mask her approach, but even if elena was making an effort she'd likely be all too obvious anyway. she's wary of the work being put into this particular skill now, conscious of the cost that could occur. lexa's warning is ever-present in the back of her mind now: Is that what you want?
there are a great many things that elena will sacrifice for the greater good, but she's not sure if she wants her entire sense of self to be one of them.
elena doesn't have to focus too much to be able to follow the distinct signature of damon, a shade different from everyone else around them. he's easily the person that she's had the most contact with since being here, bizarre as it still might feel he's the closest she's been with anyone. it's relatively easy to narrow it down once she's close enough, and by the time elena catches up with him they're in the rec room.
it's pretty immediately clear that she's here to talk serious. )
It's later.
( really, she thinks she's been very patient. there's so much eating her up about the kind of information that damon could be withholding, it's a wonder that she hasn't exploded. or that her brood haven't gone insane. she'll have to apologise for the turmoil she's causing the place one of these days, but for now at least her primary concern lies with what she still doesn't know. )
no subject
part of him wants her to be in his head forever, the other wants her out as soon as possible. like most things about him, it's a contradiction he doesn't know what to do with, so he's ignoring it.
when she finds him, he's sitting in the rec room, a book on his lap, but his eyes are only on her. he smiles a little, when he sees her, but before she even says anything, he knows what she's going to say, and the smile fades. after a moment, he slides the book off his lap, and beckons her over. )
This is going to be harder to hear than the other stuff, ( he says — not to dissuade her from asking, but as a warning. it's not easy to hear you were adopted, that the uncle you've disliked your whole life is your real father, that your boyfriend dated your doppelganger a century and a half ago... she's not going to like any of it.
but he won't keep it from her. she's been so patient already, she deserves to know. )
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
after his fight with Ilde
Still, he reaches out to brush against Damon's mind anyway. ]
( Did she throw things at you, too? )
no subject
if sam is looking for any trace of regret, he won't find it in damon. his anger has cooled after spending time with elena, but he still thinks ilde got exactly what she deserved. the people here don't fear him like they should, think that just because they aren't allowed to kill each other that he can't do anything truly terrible. if elena weren't here he'd prove them wrong just to be contrary.
If you're going to lecture me, save it. You'll be wasting your time and mine. )
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
day 22 or smth
( How are you feeling? )
[You been gettin' into trouble, son.]
beth you beautiful tropical fish
he's a bit confused as to why beth would be asking, until he remembers — they're all interconnected, she knows he was stabbed, even if no one told her.
My hand's healed already. )
(ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
no subject
Whatever. Earth is a long ways away.
The last time he touched his mind this blatantly to Damon's, he'd ended up shoved against a wall and threatened. Pity that they're too far away for a redux.]
( Hey, Sal. I've got a proposition for you. )
no subject
that kavinsky calls him things like sal only serves to make damon even more sure of his decision to ignore him.
Sal is absolutely not a thing that's happening.
that's the extent of damon's response, but he doesn't shut kavinsky out, either. whatever his proposition is, damon is willing to hear it, just never ever call him sal ever again. )
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
day 32-33ish idk
Knock knock. ]
( You at the hotel? I found something that reminds me of you. )
no subject
when sam opens the link between them to let through more than background noise, damon turns his focus to it immediately.
Yes. Is it a jacket? I already compelled myself five. )
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
DAY :037
( Damon. I need you to do something for me. )
no subject
Name it. )
(no subject)
» :039 | i wanted to run away with you, and i will bring all my dreams and fears
elena has just turned to somewhat frantically scribbling a barebones, distracted update of what exactly happened on shril into the half used journal that she has claimed as her own when she realises that they're back. just like that she's up, journal and pen abandoned in the rec room as she rushes off to find the group, and her very obviously broadcasted relief announces her presence long before elena can actually be seen.
the place is practically a maze, but it's easy enough to navigate now, and it's only a matter of time before elena tracks damon down. there's no warning before she's launching herself at him, arms tight around his shoulders as she very bodily drags him in tight to her. he could, of course, resist. she's been working out but she's no vampire. still she's pretty determined to hold onto him at the moment, it'll take some effort to shake her off, and she exhales quickly before muttering against his ear. )
Damon, Jesus, you worried me.
no subject
they get through, make it back onto the station, and he's simmering in anger, nursing a couple rapidly-healing scrapes, when a wave of relief barrels into him so hard he actually steps back. elena actually physically barrels into him moments after, and damon — he doesn't know what to do. for a long moment, he doesn't do anything.
she's hugged him twice now, both times as comfort, as a salve against pain and loss. never because — why is she even hugging him now? because he's a friend and she was worried, because he left on a rescue mission into enemy territory and made sure she would be safe first. he'd expected an angry reunion, if anything, gilberts tend not to like being left out of danger, but. hug. the first time she's hugged him when he wasn't in the middle of a terrible emotional spiral, the first time she hasn't wanted to stave off something awful but instead just... wants to know that he's safe. in one piece.
slowly, he winds one arm around her waist, tucking his chin into the crook of her neck. )
I see Stefan learned how to take orders in those eight years we're missing, ( he says, because he doesn't know what else to say. )
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
DAY 44
( I think the Station is alive, and I want to try to talk to it. Whattya think, terrible idea? )
[ Yes would be the answer to that question, probably, but that's not necessarily going to stop him. ]
no subject
there is an implied moron at the end of that sentence, and the sense of an eyebrow raised in disbelief. what even, sam? )
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
late day 47
Hi, Damon. ]
no subject
london arrives wherever sam is before damon does, landing on sam's shoulder and beginning to preen his hair while they wait for damon. he makes his way to them about a minute later, eyebrow raised and arms crossed as he leans against the door. )
You could have just said you want to share a drink.
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
DAY :049 | cw: torture
So when the torture begins, she is an observer as well as a victim, standing in the doctor's shoes as well as her own-- no, this isn't quite her lying on the cold table feeling the tap, tap, tap of the doctor's hand against her (no, not hers) belly, a deceivingly tender gesture compared with what's to come. Feel: a scalpel cleanly cutting through skin, flesh, gracing bones but it's all wrong, this, her scar extends over her sternum, up higher. When she sees the glint of a blade on its way into the socket of her (not her) eye, she thinks first of Asuka. When, so soon after, she feels the flesh beginning to stitch itself together, she thinks of Sam.
Only when she senses the unbearable hunger rise like bile in her throat does she finally place the nightmare's true owner. The language the doctor speaks rings clearer in her mind, the body being mutilated is that of a man, pale skinned. Damon.
She wakes with a start, never with a scream, no, she has willed that habit away a long time ago. Still it takes her a few moments to gather enough of herself to decide what to do.
This could be as easily done through the mental link, but to bridge physical distance is her way of offering a semblance of sympathy without the additional violence of invading his mind. She even affords a knock against the wall that leads to what amounts to his room. ]
Hey. I'm stepping in, okay?
no subject
it's not a memory, exactly. it's just an amalgam of all the days he was under that scalpel, and truthfully, it's almost bland, in the face of all the further tortures he'd been through. the pain is not the point, though — he's learned to take pain with the best of them, and if it were just the pain he had to deal with he'd be fine. with the pain, however, comes the fear, the starvation, the idea that this would never end. that he would be stuck here, forced to endure this pain and forced to watch enzo endure it, for eternity. vampires don't die, and whitmore fed them just enough to keep them alive. there were no chances even to grab for wooden implements, no way to choose their own end. they would be stuck with this forever.
that idea scared him more than the pain ever could.
there's a passenger in the dream, but damon doesn't notice it until he's woken, shooting up to sitting as his heart races. for a moment he hopes that whoever went theough it with him won't realize whose dream it was... but misato shows up not long after he wakes, and he frowns. she's being uncharacteristically respectful, and he doesn't particularly want to see anyone. maybe she'd listen if he said to fuck off.
yeah, right. )
As if you'd listen if I said no.
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
at the beginning of the mission, when Steve falls into a coma
morning day :004
well, "talked".
it's time to swallow his pride — and some blood, god, it's been days. damon's gone longer without feeding properly, but that was in augustine, with at least the bare minimum provided for him. having no blood at all is already taking its toll, and he can't keep elena from falling apart if he can't do the same for himself. he needs to talk to sam. groveling isn't really something damon does, but he'll find a way if he has to.
in the morning, damon leaves elena and steps into one of the unoccupied private rooms, reaching for sam's mind with his own and tugging on his metaphorical coattails. come find him, sammy. ❱
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
no subject
( Vampire. )
no subject
Buttercup. ❱
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
before the funeral, after damn and elena's relationship talk
Sam has the feeling both of their love lives went somewhere unexpected. ]
( How was your day, kitten? )
pretend this isn't the latest thing in the world
when sam turns his attention more fully to damon and damon feels that happiness in full force, sam gets the sensation of a raised eyebrow back, at the forefront of a settled sense of peace that has never been part of damon's mental landscape before.
I might have said "better than yours" a second ago, but now I'm not sure. ❱
pretend this isn't also late
hyrypia >> day :022
There's a slight nudge at Damon's mind, a brush of playful affection with just a hint of that uncertainty lingering like an aftertaste. ]
( So what do you think about this sauna business? )
no subject
when elena brushes at his mind, damon smiles, turning his attention — and, unconsciously, his body — toward her.
I think I don't trust Lakshmi as far as I could throw her, and I could throw her pretty far. Whatever she wants to do, I'm probably not welcome.
Joke's on her, vampires hate water. )
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
day 25, late
He can't sleep. He has to look after Bucky, make sure they don't try to come take him back to the Station, and if he sleeps - if he sleeps he leaves his mind unguarded. If he sleeps he might not be able to stop himself from slipping under.
Sam's been focusing on the connections of the people he's closest to, here and there, trying not to be too much for any one person, reaching out to hold on just for a little while. His mind's brushed over Damon's before now, just wanting to reaffirm that he's there, that at least Sam still has him -
But now it's less of a brush and more of a startled grab. He'd caught himself almost falling asleep, and there's the feeling of a jolt as Sam's mental presence suddenly floods their connection. It's brief, and then Sam pulls back a little, but he still lingers. ]
( Sorry, man. You, uh. You awake? )
no subject
[If he doesn't? No further questions, of course. But the calm, businesslike demeanor is only the mask to a sort of dark pleasure living in Shepard; she's up to something.]
( I don't know about patience, but I consider myself to be a fairly reasonable person. So are you as tired of the whole cloak-and-dagger pace around here as I am? )
no subject
please give him something to do, shepard. anything. let him kill someone, or compel them, or something. ❱
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
no subject
He knows what he wants to do, but he also knows that being back on the Station with Damon and Elena planetside would be... difficult, to say the least. The way Sam cares about Damon might be unspoken - aside from the time that Sam told him he knows what it feels like to love Damon, and Damon was gracious enough not to bring it back up - but it's still there.
There's no world where Sam isn't gonna check in on where Damon wants to do. ]
( What're you thinking with all this? )
no subject
to say that damon hasn't been best pleased about their extended stay on hyrypia would be an understatement. he's not a spy, much as he is probably one of the people in the nest best suited to it — compulsion gets rid of a lot of problems that being a good infiltrator just can't do anything about — and he's fucking sick of the costumes. he doesn't give a shit about any of this, and he doesn't quite get why they can't just kill everyone and get it over with. this is the best news he's heard since they landed here.
and yet...
I'm also thinking Elena will have Opinions about where we go. You know how she is.
namely, if she thinks she's needed, she'll stick around no matter what he says, and damon will stay with her no matter how much he hates it. ❱
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)