etrayalogs | December Library Catch-All [ OPEN ]

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December Library Catch-All [ OPEN ]

WHO: John, Harold, and anyone who might find themselves at the Library
WHEN: December
WHERE: The Library!
WHAT: The Library is here and open to all! Come borrow books, find a comfy chair to relax in, or snoop around.
NOTES\WARNINGS: Will be added as they come up

The Library is a five-story neoclassical building of terra cotta, brick, and stone. And the inside is, in fact, a library! And rather clean and organized too. There's no dust, no muddy footprints (apart from your own), and all the shelves are organized by Dewey Decimal, subject, and author. All literature is something you might find in a 2010 New York City library: various forms of fiction, children's and teens' sections, history, science, cooking, gardening, the list goes on. There's even small sections of audiobooks on compact disks and of DVDs ranging from old classics to history shows. The first floor has a reading/study room, a comfortable space with deep armchairs and tables with chairs; the fifth floor has some smaller tables clustered under a skylight. Part of the second floor is abruptly closed off by a door with a biometric scanner that denies entry to anyone who isn't John Reese or Harold Finch; the walls surrounding this section are soundproofed, so even a keen listener won't hear anything from inside. Otherwise, it's a perfectly normal library!

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( it wasn't hard to follow what maria was saying and how things naturally ended up with james bring up heather. she had been there and really it seemed to be a thing most people here ended up finding themselves in.

so while heather felt there was still something maria wasn't telling her [after all, no one just 'knew' of silent hill], she wouldn't push for a further clarification. instead she decided to focus on how the situation made her feel.

it almost felt as if...she could have a confident among all of this. she could tell someone about everything that had happened to her and maybe they would understand or not use it against her? especially since it seemed maria wasn't a fan of vincent either. )

Yeah so I guess that cat's out of the bag. Vincent is from my world...but I only met him recently through a series of unfortunate events. I don't consider him a friend or anything but the religion he grew up in....is very brutal.

I feel sorry for him more than anything.

[Maria felt bad for lying to Heather. she really did. but she couldn't tell the truth. Silent Hill meant something different to James, to Heather, even to Vincent. Silent Hill was not just where she was from but the very essence of it had created her. nobody could know and she'd told Ivan thanks to the tea but he said he wouldn't share. James wouldn't either. she didn't think that Heather would share it but how didn't someone judge it? look at her differently? she'd made friends, something she never thought she could do. losing that seemed more painful than James saying he didn't need her.]

You had mentioned you did know a Vincent when we first met. You had said he wasn't a creep so I wasn't too worried until agetting to know him. [she didn't get the idea he was dangerous persay but it seemed possible he might be if the circumstances called for it. he had been very insistent on people having uses and what trust meant to him.

and he hadn't been happy when she'd mentioned religion at all.]

He won't hurt you, will he? Vincent got mad at me. It seems like he could have a temper. The kind you keep under wraps until you can't anymore. [it's her idea of him anyway.] We said we would be friends but I don't know, that was before I caught up with James. If you tell me he won't hurt you then I'll believe you. Probably work on getting a stun gun dedicated to him but still. I'll listen to you.

( although heather no longer possessed the powers she had when she was alessa [powers that led to the creation of the other world], the mood in the space they shared began to change. it was evident that what maria had said had finally gotten to heather. she hadn't quite thought much of vincent beyond him lying and being manipulative when she ran into him in silent hill but here-

she was seeing more and more of him. of his true temper, his annoyance towards others, his carelessness about things and how despite seeming to hate her, he also kept trying to protect her. unbeknownst to maria, the two had actually met in private prior to her coming here. awful memories were dug up and left heather confused.

the only thing she was certain of was he probably could hurt her if he was determined or saw it necessary. for example since her body could be a vessel for any god really, he may just be tempted to end her if needed. so with a heavy heart and a voice that nearly drew in memories of a past self, she finally spoke up. )

I can't say he wouldn't ever hurt me. For right now, I don't think he will but there may be a time where he could. Our history is complicated...I'm sure James told you I had been on the run with my father from a cult formed in Silent Hill.

He is a member of that cult.

James mentioned they'd been after you.

[but not much more. it had been enough, though, to make Maria worried. especially if Vincent was apart of that. and Vincent was here. as she thought about Silent Hill, the powers it did have, she wondered what ties to it Heather had. the cult but why did the cult want her? was it because her and her father had escaped it? things like that wanted to keep track of its people. so its secrets wouldn't leak. she didn't know if that was the case with Heather but she wasn't going to ask. after all, the cult wasn't here. it was just Vincent.]

Was Vincent after you as well? Was he chasing you down?

[Maria couldn't say if she thought Vincent would do any chasing. he seemed more like the type to casually walk along. but he would definitely help with the chasing. help anybody who was looking for something. if anybody asked Vincent to help them with something, she thought he might for how it would help him. he'd said as much.]

He talked to me about how people had value. Different levels of it but I'm guessing yours must be pretty high. [so how would Vincent want to use her?]

( if maria knew the entire history of her — of alessa and her ties to the cult, she may come to dislike her. although alessa had no hand in the creation of mary, the town drew from her anger, fear, and pain at that time to form the other world. the world that drew in james and drew from him his desires to create maria. it was all an intricate tapestry, woven and connecting them in strange and unique ways.

by now heather had set the book down and to the side. she adjusted herself a bit, taking a quick look to ensure no one else was around to hear them. by now her voice was lower, more serious. )

I can't speak for Vincent and his motivations, but it seemed like he frankly could care less about my father and I. The person truly after us was someone else in their cult, The Order. She....was the one who ordered my father to be murdered.

( if maria pried further, she may just reveal why she or rather her body, was such a valuable vessel. )

[with the shock that shows on her face, it's obvious this was not what she was expecting to hear. which is often what happens with her and Heather. for being so young, Heather knew too much. had obviously been through too much.

what else had she gone through, she couldn't help but wonder.]

I'm sorry. They really just murdered him? For what reason?

[it felt awful to ask and she shakes her head.] You don't have to tell me, Heather. You don't have to say anything you don't want to.

No it's not that I don't want to-

( it's just that she felt guilty sharing all of this with maria. while technically she was a stranger, an outsider to all of this, she said she knew of silent hill. in a way that connected all of them to the order whether they knew it or not. however heather was just unsure if she could really share all of this, to relive the pain... )

I just....when I think about it, it all sounds too crazy to be real. Their reasons, why Vincent wanted to stop it despite being a part of the cult. It's too much to tell a person in one sitting. I don't want to upset you.

[she places a hand on Heather's hand and smiles.]

Trust me, I've seen some stuff. [and she is really starting to believe that maybe Heather saw some of it as well. that maybe there are some things that are similar.]

It won't upset me and that's the last thing I want you worried about. I just don't want you to share anything you don't feel ready to share. Or want to. But I guess I'd like it if you knew I wanted to support you.

( her head immediately turned downwards to watch as the other placed her hand on her own. it had been a long time since she had gotten this level of affection from another woman-

the women in her life had failed her, and while she held no resentment, this level of kindness was only given to her by lisa garland. a woman she was helpless to help, lost to addiction and the town that held onto anyone it deemed worth of, physically or spiritually. )

If you know about Silent Hill, I can only imagine.

( while she technically hadn't been drawn into the town, she knew james had seen monsters there like she had. only their experiences were quite different it seemed. )

I want to....but not now. It's too painful for me to share all of it. Just know I don't...well maybe I do blame him, but I know Vincent at the very least was a victim of that woman too in the end. He got his I guess.

[somebody else, who didn't actually know about Silent Hill, would ask what Heather meant by that. people did live there and not everybody was drawn into the horrors it could produce. someone innocent wouldn't know of anything at all and would ask what Heather meant.

but Maria knew if they got into talking about it, she would mess up. she would let on she knew more than she should and Heather was rightfully scared about people. Maria was from her same world and so that was a point against her already. another chance to be one of the people who would want her though Maria didn't know what for. her mind went to various options, the kinds of stuff cults usually wanted from young women. that was possible but it was also Silent Hill. for all Maria knew, it could be worse.

she wouldn't push Heather to talk about it and part of Maria was scared to know. it felt like the more Maria knew, it was less likely she wouldn't be able to keep up the lies she kept telling.]

Don't worry, like I said, I won't pry. I just wanted you to know I'm here for you. [she gives her hand a squeeze and then gives her back her personal space.]

It makes sense to blame Vincent. You know, stages of grief and all that. Even just for normal things. It's easier to be angry and find someone to blame. [she sighs because that is close to her own situation. too close.] Not that I'm telling you stop. Honestly, blame Vincent all you want.

[maybe not the healthiest advice but she doesn't care. she's not really the one you go to for that.]

( there was something about the way maria spoke and behaved that drew suspicion from heather but not quite in the way other people associated with the cult and the town had. it seemed more like she was hiding something from her, but something that wasn't meant to harm heather. she just wasn't sure what and much like maria herself, she wouldn't pry either. it wasn't in her place to do so, especially when she liked maria and wanted to be her friend.

so with a soft smile, as their hands released, heather shifted a bit to give her the full attention she deserved. )

I wonder what he would think of that, me blaming him for my father's death....not that I fully do, of course it was the fault of that mad woman. Still, I just don't understand why he would even tell me that if he could stop it, he would.

He could have just done that really...

( there were other reasons for his visit aside from that, and he even told her that he didn't hate her. whatever good that did. )

[and really, he could have just done that. she thinks about how Vincent had tried to make that joke about Walter Sullivan and yet...

there was a lot she didn't understand about Vincent. or his role in very many things. something about him unnerved Maria and yet it seemed like he was better to get along with than not. at least Heather didn't seem entirely ready to hate him completely. which was truly more grace than Maria could probably ever manage.]

If he heard you? Probably would have a lot to say about forgiveness. Made a big show of how big he was forgiving me for not telling him I was from Ashfield. So if you blamed him, he'd probably talk your ear off for ten minutes about how there is peace and intelligence in forgiving another.

( it was strange how the two pulled and pushed each other with every encounter. he could be mean to heather, even taunting her for her vulnerability, and yet there was a strange sense of care he seemed to have over her.

was it possible it was him trying to 'spread' the love of his religion onto heather, to manipulate her? or was he slowly starting to become less surly and menacing due to their circumstances? whatever heather thought of him, or what the answer to that question could be, she felt she would never really know.

unfortunately for them both, this conversation only made her feel more confused and exhausted by the whole thing. she wanted to tell maria more about herself, about why vincent and her had such a bond despite being at odds. yet she had no energy for it, and no desire to ruminate nor wallow in her sadness further. with a soft smile, she turned to maria before nodding at her words. )

We....well I kinda figured you were from my world. He seemed intrigued by the possibility, but it doesn't matter in the end. James said there was no her or The Order's God roaming about Silent Hill. So clearly our world isn't completely at doom.

( with a soft sigh, she stood up and looked down at maria before holding her hand out to help her out. )

I have a lot of thinking to do, Vincent kinda did just dump a lot of me recently. I think I'm going to head to my home here, if that's okay?

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December Library Catch-All [ OPEN ]

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cw: death mentions

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gonna start wrapping this one up ♥