OPEN • take a whole or a part of me

[martyric]

CHARACTERS: elena gilbert + everyone and anyone!!
WHERE: utilities hangar / kitchen / beyond
WHEN: vague handflapping all the time
SUMMARY: come witness elena as she performs such remarkable feats as terribly attempting her own first aid, accidentally freezing her lunch, and other such tragic adventures | symbiote abilities & permissions for reference, closed and open options
WARNINGS: ehhhh probably nothing / mentions of vamp biting if that's a thing that troubles people???


( i ) TAKE A BITE OF MY HEART TONIGHT ( closed | sam )

( the thing is, she's not going to complain to Damon.

partly this is because of stubbornness, of course. there had been an insinuation that she couldn't handle this and there's nothing that can get Elena's hackles raised quite like that. it's not just her pride though, thankfully. regardless of her complicated feelings surrounding the man (vampire, whatever) she does genuinely believe that he has no vested interest in hurting her. if she comes whining and huffing about the bite wounds that are par for the course of being bitten, it's only a matter of time before he comes to the conclusion that she's not cut out for this. potentially leading to problems with feeding, potentially leading to random innocents being attacked, et cetera et cetera et cetera. so she's not just being obnoxious when she refuses to see Damon about the problem - she's being obnoxious with the good of the hive at heart or something.

the problem in question is her wrist. the bleeding had stemmed quite easily when bitten earlier, but clearly her movements or a knock or something has opened it up again. the wound is nothing dramatic or life threatening, of course. given enough time it would probably close up again of its own accord, but honestly Elena doesn't much feel like drip dripping her way around the station until then, and her clothing choices are far too limited to dedicate a shirt to stemming the flow. besides, there has to be a first aid kit around here somewhere, right?

after some consideration the utilities department seems like the best bet, and Elena is so thankful that she'd spent the first few days in the station painstakingly sticking her nose into every nook and cranny. it's not exactly easy to find, she's still fresh off the bot and navigating this place is still painful at best, but she manages it eventually. she's none too subtle when she starts digging through any and every box, shelf, drawer or cabinet she can find, but she's coming up incredibly empty handed.

if the behaviour seems in any way shady before, it becomes so much worse once she's caught in the act. although she doesn't exactly know if what she's doing is against any kind of unspoken rule, she still quickly slaps a hand over the two puncture wounds on her wrist and fakes a bright, totally innocent smile. even without a mental link, it's not exactly hard to see that Elena is hiding something. she's normally better at subterfuge than this, honestly. )

Hey- oh- I'm- ( she hasn't actually thought of an excuse to be rooting through what appears to be quite specialised equipment and it shows, but she's not a total idiot so it only lasts a moment. ) I was just looking around, I still don't really know where anything is. I thought I was heading to the kitchen...

( playing the newbie card, nailed it. )

( ii ) I'VE NEVER BEEN ANYWHERE AS COLD AS YOU ( closed | lexa & shiro )

( when she's not sneaking around trying to treat entirely non-dramatic wounds in overly dramatic fashions, Elena can be found in a number of places regularly. one of them is actually the kitchen - there's nothing that can make a person feel at home quite like sipping some imitation of a coffee, after all. this is her current goal, and she's messing around with various settings on things to get it as piping hot as she'd like. so long as nothing explodes there's no harm done, right?

sort of.

Elena hasn't actually come across the whole symbiote ability issue yet. it's been a whirlwind since her arrival, and the mental link has taken more than enough of her energy and focus, anything else that might have changed in her mind has gone unnoticed up until now. problem is, it's kind of hard to ignore an ability when it just sort of...happens.

the can of coffee between her hands is hot, maybe not as hot as she'd like it but there's definitely steam involved, and it's not enough to scald her hands but it's definitely uncomfortable. but strangely, her hands start getting hotter. and hotter, and hotter, and she looks down at the drink in her hands to see the surface starting to crystallise. with ice.

the container gets dropped onto the nearest flat surface abruptly, and Elena stares at her hands like they've just grown heads. they're still hot to touch, uncomfortably so, and she can't help but express her complete and utter confusion to the room at large. )

What the hell was that?

( which to an innocent bystander might well just look like Elena is incredibly distressed by iced coffee, but y'know. she's not much thinking about clarity right now. )

( iii ) PUT YOUR PINKY RINGS UP TO THE MOON ( open )

( when she's not being horrified by powers or griping about war wounds, Elena quite likes to spend time in the rec room. it's the closest to feeling normal that she's managed to find here, and that's quite appealing on a space station, honestly. most of the time she can be found fussing with cards or flicking through the books left lying around in the library, but today she's come across a journal.

it feels like it's been years since she wrote in her own.

if she knew how to find her own she of course would have, but there doesn't seem to be a request system around here. and if she hadn't found some kind of pen lying around she definitely wouldn't have considered the thought. it worked out too well though, a half-empty journal and pen practically falling into her lap all in the same day?

in a display of her classic remarkable sneaking skills, Elena glances around a few times before she opens the book to a blank page and smooths it out. there's more glancing when she touches the pen to paper, but since she's apparently satisfied that no one is watching her semi-shady documentation project, she starts writing:

Dear diary,...

no one ever said that Elena was original. )

( iiii ) WE'LL ALL FLOAT ON ANYWAY( open )

( a generic misc. option for anyone who has a specific idea in mind! feel free to buzz me via PM/plurk @ sharknado if you want a special tailored starter, otherwise anyone is welcome to run into elena around and about the station because quite frankly she is a nosy busybody sometimes. party hard, brethren. )

Comments

let's get down to business to defeat the Huns!

[wille]

[ Misato is beginning to think she should charge for lessons.

It would be a stretch to say she enjoys nurturing budding talent, when her brand of teaching comes down to pushing them off the deep end of the pool and seeing how long it takes for them to drown. It's not at all about learning to swim, but about finding the ones who would struggle to stay afloat long after hope has left them. Those are the ones she favors. But there comes a time when she must work with what she's given. Fourteen-year-old boys and girls, depressed and traumatized and volatile, or a too-sweet teenage girl who happens to the center of her broodmate's universe. Needs, must.

She has set up a makeshift punching bag out of an upright pole padded with cloths and material found around the station, hardly as soft as it should be. But human jaws are hard, bones are denser than concrete and the girl might as well learn to deal with the pain sooner rather than later. Her only instruction, after a merciless round of warmups, is only to beat the shit out of the pole. ]

Are you punching that thing or fucking caressing it?

[ Spoken like a true field marshal. Her arms crossed in front of her, the faint look of disapproval on her face. ]

[martyric]

( Training the symbiotic ability is a complicated situation, one that Elena hasn't fully decided on where she stands yet, but it isn’t the only way a person can train. Until she makes a decision one way or the other - regardless of the decision, honestly, this is important knowledge to have - physical training is going to take the priority, and so she grudgingly agrees with Damon’s ‘suggestion’ to find someone to help her. Running just won’t cut it any more. Misato is also Damon’s suggestion ( this one she actually got a choice in ) and the girl had been kind enough to Elena on her arrival that it seems like a perfect match.

She’s regretting that decision a little now.

It’s not that Elena is unfit. She’s been cheerleading for years, and even if she’s had a few months off of the routines she’s still in great condition. She is fit, she’s healthy, athletic even, but one thing Elena isn’t is strong. She just doesn’t have the muscle mass to do any real damage, and it isn’t until she’s punching a padded pole that she realises this. )

Just…give me a second. ( She’s going to have bruises tomorrow, it doesn’t take a genius to figure that out, and she huffs out a sharp breath of air as she flexes her fingers out and shakes her hand as if this will somehow stop it from hurting. ) I feel like my fingers are going to break.

( It’s one of the weakest things Elena’s ever said, and she’s embarrassed even as the words come out of her mouth….but in her defence it might actually be true. )

[wille]

[ Weak, it's true. Misato gives her a look that says just as much. To mistake her for anything along the lines of warm, kind and motherly would be falling for her most rudimentary of masks, the one she wears because she's a woman and believes those are attributes she must learn to master and exude. It's the same reason she flaunts her body, dons too-short skirts and tight-fitting shirts because that's how it should be, right?

One's mind and one's body are rarely ever a perfect fit, appearances belie the person within.

But she's never needlessly cruel. The outcome dictates the methods, but the result --making Elena stronger, more resilient, less likely to die in any given circumstance-- is all. Forcing her to break her fingers would hardly help them along toward that goal. She steps closer and reaches to take both of the girl's hands to examine, her touch firm but gentle. ]

Why don't you try to hit me instead.

[ It's not a question. Misato steps back, holding up both palms in the air, a slow smile spreading on her lips. ]

But I'm gonna hit you back.

[martyric]

( Honestly Elena was hoping for a break, not an escalation. Still, she's determined if nothing else, and once her hands are returned to her Elena gives them another shake before drawing up a little taller. Her full height isn't anything impressive, she has maybe two inches on Misato at best, but it's as much about the feeling of pulling herself back up as anything else.

She's not naturally inclined to be okay with hurting people, so this new development is likely more difficult than beating up a pole, but honestly she suspects that the likelihood of her landing a punch is slim to none. Clearly Misato is more experienced with physical combat than her - it would be hard to be less experienced, after all.

Her expression grits into one closer to determination, and with a quick exhale she nods in agreement. She's a good student, at least, focused and motivated, even if her physical capacities are lacking. )

Alright, deal.

( Her hands come up again, ball into fists, and she only contemplates it for a moment before she throws a swing in Misato's direction. )

[wille]

[ Katsuragi-sensei knows no breaks!!!1 

But if there's one thing Misato wants all her students to learn, it's the idea of unpredictability. Murphy's law: anything that can go wrong, will go wrong. What you least expect will happen. And really, it doesn't matter whether or not the girl can land the perfect dropkick or execute flawless right hooks because their enemy might turn out to be incorporeal. It's about finding ways to fight back when all avenues have been blocked, about making your own way. There are no rules. You either win or you die. 

She catches Elena's fist and promptly pulls her in to tip her off balance, using the momentum to aim a kick to the side of the girl's thigh at the same time as she lets her go. ]

I don't want you to just hit me.

[ The blow would smart if it makes contact, but she's holding back from causing anything more than a bruise or two. Physically, at least, she has no qualms against turning Elena's ego all black and purple. ]

I want you to beat the shit out of me. Got it? Now come on, stop wasting my time.

[martyric]

( She's definitely going to be bruised by the end of this, she knows it the moment the kick lands on her thigh, and she winces as much from the quick sting of pain as the utter blow to her ego. She'd never thought of herself as much of a fighter, but there had always been a part of her that believed that if it ever came down to it she could at least hold her own.

Elena is very rapidly learning that this is not the case.

She quickly rubs at the spot on her leg before squaring back up again, and a frown crosses her face as she looks at Misato. Truth be told she's just not good at this, she's not good at needlessly hurting people, even when it's going to benefit her in the long run. She's right though, Elena's wasting her time right now, and if she can't take it seriously she might as well not bother at all.

When she comes for Misato this time she drops her weight down lower, waiting until the last minute to duck down and take aim at her torso instead. It's not exactly elegant, it still needs a lot of work, but it's at least smarter than openly swinging for her face than before. )

[wille]

[ That is a smart move. Pleased that the girl is starting to get a hang of it, Misato lets the blow land, contracting her core muscles just before the punch hits her stomach and exhaling quickly after to minimize the damage -- which is minimal. Smart moves can only get the girl so far without fury driving her attacks. Her disappointment manifests in a scowl, clear for all to see, and with Elena still in close proximity, she aims an open palm at the girl's face, a most undignified slap, meant to embarrass her, enrage her.

With it, she feeds across the link a sense of desperate madness birthed from finding oneself battered and broken, alone in the world, with the face of a behemoth breathing down upon her, the very thing that took away everything she ever loved. Fight it. You have no weapons but your two puny fists. No help is coming. There's no chance of winning. Death is certain, but by god, she will go out clawing for life and her screams will be the nightmare that haunts that monster forevermore.

Her command is a low growl. ]

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