open } burn the land and boil the sea

[unhand]

♬ I'm On a Boat - The Lonely Island

WHO || Hook and anyone who wants to visit him
WHAT || Catch-all post for Jolly Roger interactions.
WHERE || The Jolly Roger, docked in the Thames
WHEN || ~whenever works~
HOW || idk go with your heart

[Hook's pretty much abandoned his room at the castle now that his home is put back together. He's at the Jolly Roger nearly every day, cleaning, doing minor repairs, or sailing her around just for fun.

If asked nicely, he might give a tour.]

Comments

[uncurse]

Why not? I told you mine. That's how this works, right? [ emma's fairly new to this mothering thing and just about equally new to the friend thing, and right now she's trying both. so she figures she'll open herself up to constructive criticism on that. ]

[bittersweeter]

Did I tell you about the different kinds of work? [ she shakes her head quickly, because it doesn't really matter. ] Dream work, emotion work, blah blah blah. There is a really rare kind called transformation work and it basically does what it says on the package. So Cassel, the boyfriend, happened to be a transformation worker. He had, um, a couple brothers, Barron and Philip, older than him. Philip was best friends with my cousin Anton.

[ she swallows, licking her lips, and shifts slightly so her fingers can press against her upper arms. ] He was older than me and before I was born he was supposed to take over for my dad, even after I guess he just assumed. Because I'm not a man. [ her mouth twists into a scowl. ] But Daddy, I was his baby girl, and a Zacharov, so I became the heiress. It was unheard of, even the idea of a female run family was just ridiculous. Anton hated it. [ the scowl turns into the barest hint of a smile. ]

So he tried to kill me. I was fourteen, Cassel and I were watching tv in his basement. Anton and Philip had known about Cassel for a while now, they just wiped his memory so he wouldn't know. They had Cassel do it, my best friend. I remember him holding me down, his hands around my wrist so tight. He was so much heavier than me I couldn't move. And then he leaned down and whispered "run" in my ear. Run where? [ the story breaks off in a brittle laugh. ] And then suddenly everything was bigger and I was smaller, and nothing worked right. He turned me into a cat.

[ her fingers tighten against her arms. ] I tried to run, but I was so small and weak, I didn't get far before Barron caught me. And then I spent the next three years in a cage. Except, Barron is a memory worker. Their blowback kind of... destroys theirs. I tried to escape at first, but then Anton got me a shock collar, so. Three years. Stuck in a cage. With a memory worker who forgot to do really basic things like, feed me, or clean my cage, or acknowledge my existence, that I used to be a girl, a girl he dated. And I would cry and cry and cry for attention, but it never... [ she shakes her head again. ]

[uncurse]

Hey. [ emma's back on her feet in an instant, water bottle dropped to the floor, hands reaching up to touch lila's shoulders. she doesn't go for the full hug, because the girl's already claustrophobic and not good with emotions and emma's not about to make either of those worse, so she's keeping her distance, but she's got to reach out for her somehow. so, she rubs her shoulders. ]

Hey, we don't have to do this. Only as long as it helps.

[ because that's emma's interest here - helping lila. that's the long and short of it. and she'd shoot this anton guy where he stood if she had the chance, not even think twice. torturing his ex-girlfriend and starving her out in some cage is right up there with asshole of the year candidates. worse than any of the guys emma's seen, and she's seen some bad ones. ]

[bittersweeter]

[ the deep breath she takes is shaky, but emma's closeness steadies her. she's a glutton for physical affection, but she doesn't trust most people enough to actually let herself receive it. ]

It's fine. [ she looks up to meet emma's eyes. ] I had Anton killed. In front of my dad, so he would know what his scumbag nephew did for three years while I was "missing". Philip's dead, too. It was kind of theraputic.

[uncurse]

Killing them doesn't take away what they did to you. [ be nice if it did, but it doesn't. it's just more death - and emma doesn't judge her for it, not for a second. but it's not a good solution, either. ] But, I guess if claustrophobia's the worst thing you're carrying around from all of that, you're doing better than most would in your position.

[bittersweeter]

[ it's far from the worst, but lila manages to keep most of her scars hidden. professional liar. ] I'm astoundingly resilient. Always land on my feet.

[uncurse]

Funny. [ she's not laughing, but her brow eases up a little bit at least as she nods. ]

[bittersweeter]

No, I mean. [ she laughs a little, because sometimes her life is just. ] It's true. I have weird, freaky cat balance.

[uncurse]

... Seriously? Like some creepy holdover even after you turned back?

[bittersweeter]

Yes, and thank you for calling it creepy. [ she makes a face, but she doesn't... actually mind. might even be smiling a little, as she digs her hand into her pocket, pulling out a thin chain with a tiny, tiny stone on the end. it's looks almost exactly like the one lila always wears but with a single rock instead of five. ] I meant to give this to you before we left.

[uncurse]

[ presents??? what are those?? emma stares at it for a moment before reaching a hand up to catch the stone, considering it. ] What's this for?

[bittersweeter]

It's a curse amulet, it stops dream work. [ aka it will stop lila from working her. and possibly other weird mind control magic, but in order to explain that, she would have to explain zero and she won't, so she leaves it at dream work. ] I made it. For you.

[uncurse]

[ emma's silent for a while at that, considering the implications of the gesture. someone she trusts enough to render herself inert against, as well as someone she cares about enough to want to protect from the like of what's happened to her. she gives a weary smile and takes it, nodding. ] Thank you.

[bittersweeter]

[ she shrugs like whatever, it's no big deal, she didn't spend an hour cursing the tiny rock and screaming through the blowback. things she will never let emma see: that. ] It's a one time use thing, if a dream worker tries to work you it'll break so, you know. That's how you'll know.

[uncurse]

Well, let's hope it doesn't break. [ she gives a bleak sort of smile, moving a hand to touch the necklaces around her neck. she pauses, then chooses to just add the stone to the collection growing around her neck rather than replacing either. ]

[bittersweeter]

Yeah. Well, I'm gonna go back up, so. Later. [ run away! ]