lydiascreams | [002. The Wail of the Banshee -- Part 1?]

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[002. The Wail of the Banshee -- Part 1?]

(OOC: Banshee scream below! It takes place on the Deck. Feel free to have your characters react to hearing it and let me know if you have any questions.)

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[Lydia has been working on this little by little every day since she got to the Barge. She's been hearing all of the deaths and taking notes on her phone of names, murderer and murdered as a way to keep track of who could hurt them as well as how they chose to hurt them. Some of them showed up several times and she knows she needs to warn Stiles and Scott of those, at least.

She knows she's reaching breaking point. After each flashback, it becomes harder to hold back the scream. And that's why she chooses to go up on the Deck today. Because she figures at least she will be the furthest away from the rooms if she can't hold back anymore.

Except she doesn't expect the deck to hit her as hard as it does.

Once she gets there, she feels like she's being slammed with memories. There are so many of them all over the place, she feels like her head is going to explode. There's someone being strangled. Skeletal animals torn someone else apart. Another man's soul is splintered apart. A boy about her age has his throat slit open by a girl. One dies after a fight with the same man who strangled the first and the man whose soul got splintered kills another with a back stab.

It's too much, she can barely make sense of it all. Her hands are covering her ears and it's loud. So loud.

Before she can help it, Lydia screams. It's a loud, agonizing scream that makes her entire body shake and it feels like it's going on forever. She's never screamed for so long before, with the pain of so many.

Once it's over, her knees give under her and she kneels on the floor, hands trembling as she rubs them over her face, trying to catch her breath.]

-------------------

[Delayed filters below]

[Stiles & Scott]
I'm so sorry, Scott. I'm okay. I just couldn't hold back.

[Wynter]
I want to start training. As soon as you're available.

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[No, absolutely not. She's not going to let that happen. They have all lost enough and even if the Barge does bring Scott, someone shooting him and hurting him like that isn't an option.

She throws a glance at Stiles then focuses on Scott again.] We will use mountain ash if we have to, but that's it, Scott. Stiles has kept you under control during full moons before, I know it's not exactly the same thing, but we can figure it out without needing to resort to that.

We will make sure you don't hurt anyone. I should be able to incapacitate you momentarily with a scream, right? [Because she's not going to scream for the death of one of them again.]

[Okay, admittedly...that's a bit worse. And it does make him think of Deucalion even before Scott mentions his name.

And he really doesn't want to think about the possibility of anyone hurting Scott. At all. He turns away from them and moves to sit down on the edge of his bed, resting his elbows on his knees as he leans forward. It makes him uneasy that there are wolfsbane bullets floating around when people might not be in their right minds even if Scott is. He watches them for a moment, silent. There's no part of him that's willing to intentionally hurt Scott, whether he's full of rage or darkness or whatever, or not. Mountain ash, though, might contain him temporarily.

But that's what they're there for. To come up with plans. And backup plans.]

Lydia can scream, and we can do a double ring of mountain ash around you. If we have to.

[He realizes with Lydia's reaction that he should have said it more carefully. He doesn't want them to hurt anymore than they already are, but if it comes down to them or him? Scott knows his answer. He always knows the answer to that question.]

Okay. Yeah. That'll probably work, but guys - if it doesn't--

[He looks down at his hands, clasped between his knees, and wets his lips. When he looks back up at them, he's a little resigned, but he's determined.]

I'd rather deal with the death toll than hurt anyone.

[He doesn't mention that the last time they were on that Barge, the death toll was breaking. Everything was breaking. He doesn't want them to worry more than they already are.]

This is just an in case, though. [He tries to lighten his expression, eyebrows up, mouth pulling at the corners.] The mountain ash will probably be fine. And I may not even be affected, you know?

[He's not a fatalist, he never could be. But he's not as naive as he used to be, either: faith in everything working out isn't enough.]

[Lydia isn't at all surprised that Scott is willing to sacrifice himself in order to keep them safe. It's the same thing all of them would do, have tried to do. She knows Stiles almost killed himself with that sword because he wanted to protect them, Allison went after her despite finding her warning because she wanted to save her, and even Lydia herself had accepted the idea of being trapped with the Nogitsune to protect Allison.

She supposes it comes with being part of a pack, the instinct to protect the others above anything else. Even if it doesn't always work out.]

Hopefully you won't be affected.

[She doesn't want to ask the question in front of Stiles, considering everything he's just been through, but that's why they are there, right? And better safe and all that...]

We have a plan for you, if you do, though. What if it happens to one of us?

[Of course Scott is willing to sacrifice himself to save them. To save everyone. He's Scott. Stiles isn't surprised either, even if it makes him feel sort of sick. More than sort of. He's pretty sure he's not sleeping tonight. He knows what he'll end up dreaming about if he does. So, no, but he'll pass on that.

He hopes Scott isn't affected either. Or Lydia. Or him. Because if he is affected, they may very well end up dealing with Void 2.0 on a Barge full of people who are literally trapped in close proximity with him. He draws in a breath and looks up at them.]

We might want to find some silver just in case. [His voice is devoid -- and there's a joke there somewhere, he's sure -- of any emotion. He can't afford, nor does he want any emotion involved.]

[Scott's eyes shoot from Lydia to Stiles, and his chest constricts at that detachment in Stiles' voice. This isn't right, none of this is. He's been glad to have them here since they showed, but now he finds himself wishing they never came.

They can only plan for so much, and they have no idea what will be coming at them. Maybe another version of Stiles embraced the Nogitsune. Maybe another version of Lydia abuses her power. Maybe a thousand things, and Scott can only guess at them.

He finds himself nodding, scrubbing at his face.]

Dean might have some. I'll ask him. Guys--

[He exhales, looks down before meeting their eyes in turn. He doesn't know how to be a leader. He's still working it out .]

Whatever happens, it'll only be for a few days. Then it'll be over, and we'll be back here.

[She wants to smack both of them for just easily suggesting this, after everything. But she doesn't have a better solution in Stiles' case, so she just crosses her arms over her chest and remains quiet for the time being.]

If something happens to me, make sure you cover my mouth so I can't scream. I don't know how else I'd be able to hurt anyone.

[She pauses for a second. Because she knows herself and she's guessing she'd use her only other ability, which would be to manipulate people into doing what she wants.]

Just lock me up somewhere and don't listen to anything I try to tell you.

[He feels Scott's eyes on him at his words and he avoids his gaze. And Lydia's too, for that matter. It's not like he's thrilled about the prospect of any of them going evil, either. He's basically the opposite of thrilled.

But at her words, he does glance up, nodding, despite how heavy he feels about all of it. He knows they all feel it. How can they not?]

Maybe we should have codewords. As a check in that we're really ourselves. It should be something different for all three of us.

That's a good idea.

[He hates this. Preparing for the worst, because it could really happen any day - he hates it. And he doesn't think he has it in him to hurt either of them. It's too much, and when he thinks that, he makes himself sit up straighter.

It can't be too much. He has to deal with this, or he's going to crumble, and he won't do that with both of them here, with all of them relying on each other.]

Something we can drop into a conversation without sounding weird over there. Maybe Beacon Hills, or something about lacrosse.

[At least Stiles' suggestion isn't one that makes her want to scream, so she nods her agreement.]

Maybe a general subject. I can talk about Prada.

[If this is a different version of her, she might not have Prada at all. Lydia didn't get him until her parents got divorced since her dad never liked dogs.]

Maybe the jeep for you, Stiles?

Edited 2014-05-02 20:18 (UTC)

[Stiles hates it too. But this is what they do. It's what they have to do, because they have no other choice, really. It's either prepare as best they can or be completely caught off guard when the worst happens. And he doubts that's what any of them wants. Not that what they want really matters.

So he focuses on their conversation, nodding slightly at Lydia's mention of her little dog.]

Yeah, that's a good idea. The jeep's name is Roscoe. [He glances over at Scott, chewing his lower lip.] What about you, man?

[Scott runs a hand across his jaw, staring at the floor between them all. He can smell how afraid they all are, how agitated Lydia is with the path their thoughts are traveling, and he's trying so hard to push it away.]

Lacrosse, I guess? I got the feeling he only bothered when there were...inmates to use for target practice.

[He grimaces, but it's a step in the right direction: he's completely detached himself from the other him. He just doesn't want more memories of it.]

Prada, Roscoe, lacrosse. We can test each other, and if one or two of us don't recognize it, then...whoever's unaffected needs to stay safe.

[He says it knowing it's not likely to happen. They all care too much.]

[As much as Lydia still hates this whole thing, she feels mildly better about the fact that they have an actual plan now. She doesn't know if their plan will actually do any good of it it will blow up in their faces as usual, but it's a start.]

Okay so, if things start getting weird, we approach each other carefully and go from there.

[She can only hope that in case one of them gets affected, that it will be just one and not two, or worse, all three of them. But hoping is usually pointless, anyway, so she purses her lips and clasps her hands together as she tries to think of something more tangible.]

Do you know any signs we could look for other than the obvious personality changes, Scott?

Lacrosse makes sense. [He can tell that Scott's trying as hard as he is to be detached from the situation. That Lydia's upset. It's all hitting a little too close to home for all three of them. But at Scott's whoever's unaffected needs to stay safe, he can't help but give his best friend a yeah right look. Because they all know each other way too well to believe any of them will just hide out if things go south with one of them.

He shifts, sitting up a little more from his slouched position as something else occurs to him.]

Were the cabins secure? When the mirror barge happened? If people who aren't affected stay in their rooms, will they maybe be safe there? [Because there are people on the ship who have no real fighting abilities. People who might be unaffected by what's coming and maybe that's another backup plan.]

[Scott lifts his shoulders in a helpless shrug at Stiles' look: he's holding out hope, even if he doubts they'll do it.

Drawing in a deep breath, Scott lets it go slowly; this part is going to be rough. If it wasn't likely they were going into this, Scott wouldn't tell them. But he won't let them walk in unprepared.]

Yeah, there are other signs. That Barge was kind of...falling apart. The Admiral was out of commission - wasn't talking to anyone, wasn't letting anyone leave or bringing on new people. Only a few wardens were allowed to leave when he made port, and we had to rely on them for food and stuff. And there was this...door, on deck. Not attached to anything, totally locked, just hanging out in the middle of the deck. And the death toll was...off. People were coming back way too slowly, or coming back not healed, or - it was looking bad. And at the end of the flood, the door opened. I don't remember much after that. I think it ended after a few people went through.

[He turns to Stiles, nods and then shrugs.] I think cabins were safe, but I didn't really try to break them down. It depended on who lived there, and their wardens, I think. A lot of wardens didn't care if other people roughed up their inmates.

[Yeah, that sounds absolutely terrifying. Worse than she expected. Especially about the death toll, because now she was actually scared. Even if death hurt here, at least they knew for sure they could come back. But there is something else she needs to know.

Lydia twists her fingers together and takes a step forward.]

When you say the death toll was off... was there anyone who died there that didn't make it back on the regular barge when the flood ended?

[She's fairly sure he can hear her heart speeding up.]

Because if there is, then-- we just lock ourselves into a cabin now, together and we don't come out until it's over. If we need to knock one of us out, we will do it, but at least we will know we'll all be alive by the end of it.

[So basically it was about as worst case scenario as things could get. He understands now, why people were suggesting putting together individual med kits and food and water just in case this is what they're headed for. Yeah. He'll be starting on that first thing in the morning.

He grimaces at the mention of the uncaring wardens and the death toll and shakes his head a little, gaze traveling to Lydia as he notices the fear on her face. He's been so afraid for so long now that this possibility hardly even registers on his own radar. Not when it comes to his own life, anyway. As long as the two of them are okay...

Stiles falls silent, wishing he had answers because he has a feeling Scott is approaching the end of his own answers for their questions. He does, however, know that there's no way that Scott will lock himself in a cabin if there's chaos and people are in trouble. He seriously doubts that Lydia will either, when it comes down to it. His friends are heroes, even if they started out being so rather reluctantly.]

Knocking me unconscious probably wouldn't cut it. [His voice is quiet and he doesn't look at them again. If he's nogitsune-possessed again, it definitely won't. Pretending otherwise is pointless and dangerous.]

No, everyone came back. We didn't lose anyone.

[He banishes whatever uncertainty he feels, because if nothing else, as the one with the most experience here, he feels responsible for them. Stiles's quietness pulls at him, and he stands, reaching out to put a hand on his friend's shoulder and squeezing.]

Look - it's going to be bad. It's going to be ugly. But we've seen bad and ugly before.

[This is Lydia, he remembers saying. I'm here to save my best friend. It didn't work then. He's not going to let anything happen to them now.]

We'll have mountain ash, I'll try to get silver if it's really necessary, but we're going to be okay. No matter who's affected, no matter what's happening on the other Barge. The Admiral's gonna bring us back.

[She can breathe again when Scott confirms that everyone got back. Normally she wouldn't care much about what happens to her as long as the two of them were okay, but she knows none of them can handle losing anyone else. Besides, she needs to be okay so she can finish up her deal and fix things back home.

It's not until Scott approaches Stiles that she fully realizes that she needs to pull herself together. That they both do, for his sake. Because he's still the most fragile and he is the one who will be the most dangerous if something happens to him.

Lydia takes a step forward, closer to the two of them and nods.]

We'll all be back here and okay, then . It will be just be a bumpy period. We've dealt with those before. It doesn't matter what happens, it will be over and we'll be back to normal eventually.

While we're there, we'll just do our best to protect each other but the most important thing will be to keep that in mind. That it will be over. [That it's just a trick.]

[And he wishes that he found that more assuring than he does, but he doesn't. Not really. He looks up and blinks a couple of times when Scott's hand rests on his shoulder and he holds his breath for a minute. They have seen bad and ugly before. A lot. Most recently they've seen about as bad and ugly as things can possibly get.

He grimaces before he can suppress it even as he nods. It'll be like bardo all over again -- yet another trick even if he doesn't remember that it was a trick. Scott told him it was. What a wonderful reminder, really.]

How long did it last, Scott? Last time? [Because he's definitely going to need a point of reference for this if he's miraculously unaffected.]

[Just like bardo. Except this time, if anything happens - if anyone dies - it will pass. It will pass. Scott swallows past the tightness in his throat, and nods at Lydia.]

A week, maybe. Probably less, like five days. We just have to get through five days, man.

[He doesn't let go of Stiles' shoulder, doesn't want to remove the tangible proof that he's here, that they're all here. They can get through this together, like they always have.]

[Lydia reaches out and wraps a hand around Stiles' and another around Scott's both because she wants to comfort them and because she wants the comfort herself. She doesn't know if it's because they are pack, if it's because of all they've lost or if it's just because she's always been a tactile person, but it helps.]

We'll be okay.

[They have to be. So they can come back here. So they can finish up their deals and go home. So they can save Allison.]

[Five days. Regardless of what happens, they can get through five days. He hopes. He looks up at Lydia when she takes his hand and looks between her and Scott. Then he nods slightly.]

We can do this.

[Scott's hand closes on hers, and for a minute, he finally feels like it won't be so bad this time. They'll handle it together. For a moment he's silent, just nodding. They'll be fine. Then he squeezes both points of contact, and lets go.]

Okay. We need to get mountain ash. The Admiral should be able to get you some, if you don't have any. And I'll talk to Dean about - anything else.

[His voice is steady, and confident. He's not thinking about the people they've lost. He won't let himself right now.]

[She assumes it must be a pack thing, because she feels like all three of them seem to be standing straighter and Scott's confidence certainly helps, too.]

We will both keep some on us and once we get there, we will check in with each other. And whatever happens, it's just five days. [She has to repeat that. To remind everyone, just in case.]

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[002. The Wail of the Banshee -- Part 1?]

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