taxonomites | now i rock a house party at the drop of a hat.

now i rock a house party at the drop of a hat.

It's around five o'clock in the morning when the citizens of Taxon find themselves inexplicably transported into rooms within the Sanctuary. Doors are left open and beds unmade, food abandoned and lights left on, still shining brightly for those who were awake and are no longer present. The Extras don't seem to notice the captive population's sudden disappearance, continuing on with their business as usual.

For those relocated, though, it's an entirely different story.

They find themselves in rooms with white, alabaster walls that gives them an almost too-clean feeling, as if the entire place was sanitized prior to their arrival. The room assignments are seemingly random, people placed on floors with those they don't know and don't like, people they would rather not be within twenty feet of. It matters not, for what's done is done and cannot be undone. For those who happen to have pets, they'll find them waiting for their owners in the rooms as if nothing is out of the ordinary.

The only thing the captives have managed to bring with them is the clothes on their back and the tablets. On them, they find the following message:

SORRY FOR THE INCONVENIENCE PLEASE ENJOY YOUR STAY WHILE WE ADDRESS CERTAIN TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES

Unfortunately for those who try to find a means of escape, they'll discover there is none. Leaving the Sanctuary will prove to be as difficult as leaving Taxon itself. However, if one heads down the right corridor and the right floor, they'll find something else entirely lurking in their midst...

( ooc | sorry for the delay in posting! your mods were otherwise occupied with things of the irl variety this morning. THIS BE A PARTY POST, Y'ALL. room assignments are here, and refer back to the sott post proper for any additional information. please contact us with any questions/concerns you may have in regards to this plot. ♥ )

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You, me, and everyone else.

[ yeah, guess who she ran into 8| ]

About the same as you. Where are you, anyway?

[ because she is hesitant to say anything over the tablets. ]

[ she can't yet, but oh, will she be angry when she finds out. ]

On the fifth floor, the one with the library. Do you want me to meet you on yours?

[ jenna just wants to hang out in her room for a while, but if elena's out there where katherine can get to her, jenna's going to worry. ]

Doesn't matter to me. Leaving my room seems to take a bit more effort than I'd like right now, but... I do need to make sure you're okay.

[ sob, her protectiveness is kicking in. ]

[ and now, elena's really getting worried. she locks the conversation and keeps her voice low, leaning in closer to the screen. ]

I'll come meet you. What floor are you on? And what room?

[ for good reason... ]

13-04. Just... be careful. It's a little strange out there, but I guess that's just Taxon's standards.

[ she nods, then turns to pick charlotte up. ]

I'll be right up. Need anything from the kitchens, while I'm out?

[ she resists the urge and shakes her head. ]

Nope. I think I'm good.

[ because right now she just needs to make sure elena's okay. and that katherine's long gone. she'll just be lying on her bed for now with the door closed, but elena's welcome to come right on in. ]

[ and about ten minutes later (or however long it takes for the elevator to get up to jenna's floor and for elena to navigate the said floor), elena arrives at jenna's door, kitten in tow (because she didn't want to leave her behind and jenna seemed like she'd want something comforting to snuggle while she told elena what was up). she knocks at the door three times. ]

Jenna? It's me.

[ a pause, and then she adds: ]

Elena.

[ it occurs to her that they should probably set code words in place, especially since katherine's been invited into the house. ]

[ jenna does hesitate for a moment as she tries to figure out the tone of the voice on the other side of the door. the fact that she knocked at all gives jenna the feeling that it's elena and the tone helps, but she still pauses for a second to be sure. slowly opening the door, she peers around it to check. hair is good and the necklace. and the kitten. her face breaking into a relieved smile, jenna pulls open the door to let her niece in. ]

Guess they did us the favor of letting the pets come with us.

Good thing, although I'm pretty sure there'll be a fight between the cats and dogs at some point.

[ elena slips inside, setting charlotte on the floor once the door is closed. the kitten sniffs at jenna's feet for a few moments before going off to explore the rest of the room. jenna might notice that elena's hair is a bit damp and that she's wearing different pajamas than the ones she went to bed in, but rather than explaining that, elena turns to her aunt, wearing an expression of concern. ]

Did something happen?

[ getting down to business. ]

That'll be fun.

[ she knows how well dogs and cats get along. watching the kitten seems to be enough of a distraction for her. she notices the wet hair, but she's not going to comment. if elena wants to take a shower, it's not her business to really care. being clean is good. she doesn't want to know more unless there's a chance that stefan is playing with her niece. then, there will be hell to pay.

eventually, she just nods and glances back up at elena. ]

Yeah, something happened. I met Katherine.

[ which was somehow much more frightening than she'd expected. ]

[ whatever elena's expecting to hear jenna say, it's not that. she freezes in place, her expression going hard and cold. and angry. ]

How? In the hallways? Is she on this floor?

[ jenna sees that look and she reaches out to elena's arm to give it a reassuring squeeze. don't go off and do anything about this, elena. ]

She decided to pay me a visit earlier. I think she was looking for Stefan, but she's not here anymore.

[ and jenna's necklace is still securely around her neck and there are no bite marks, so it can't have gone too badly. ]

It was just surreal, meeting someone who looks and sounds exactly like you but is the complete opposite.

[ elena may not do anything herself, but she will definitely be informing stefan and possibly damon about this. from the way she understands it, katherine had promised stefan she would leave jenna and caroline alone, and elena had made it very clear to him that she didn't want katherine coming anywhere near her aunt. jenna's saying she's not hurt, but elena gives her a quick once over anyway before reaching out and hugging her as tightly as she can. ]

What did she say to you? What did she do?

[ as far as jenna sees it, nothing terrible happened... they just had a very tense conversation. she's a little surprised at the hug, but she takes it quite willingly, holding elena close to be sure her niece is really okay. ]

Nothing really. We had a very nice aunt and niece conversation...

[ pause. ]

-that was laced with tension you could've cut with a knife. And by the way, these rooms don't operate under the invitation system.

How did she find that out?

Toed the threshold. Nothing else.

[ elena still really doesn't like this and it shows. her lips are pressed together, her arms are crossed tightly over her chest, and she's started to pace back and forth. even if katherine didn't technically do anything threatening, she doesn't like her implying that she can, and that's exactly what toeing the threshold of the room sounds like to her. ]

Do you want to switch rooms, maybe? Move in with me, or see if we can find a single?

[ jenna's starting to wonder if she should've just not said anything. she's worrying about elena's state now and she reaches up to try to assure elena through a touch to her arm that things are okay. really. ]

I don't think she's going to do anything, Elena. In a place like this, with everyone so close together, I don't think she's stupid enough to try anything.

[ no, katherine had come off as particularly cunning. she wouldn't press her luck in this situation. but if elena's really going to worry about things, she'll go along with it. ]

No, but that's not - Stefan told me she promised to leave you and Caroline alone. She's already hurt Caroline, I'm not letting that happen to you.

[ it's a good thing elena doesn't know about katherine having compelled jenna to stab herself in the stomach back at home, otherwise she wouldn't have even bothered telling stefan about it before she went looking for katherine with a makeshift stake.

jenna reaches out to touch her arm, and elena sighs, wiping harshly at her eyes. ]

I'm sorry. I'm sorry, I just...You're the only family I have here, Jenna. You're one of the only parts of it I have left.

I'm not going anywhere. If you think it's important, I'll move.

[ now it's elena's turn to need a hug. jenna will just pull her niece closer. it's her job to keep elena safe, to comfort her when she needs it. ]

Has she hurt Caroline here?

Not here, not that I know of. But back at home...she was the one who turned her.

[ elena curls into the hug as she begins to cry. she still feels awful about this, still wishes something could have been done to prevent it. ]

Caroline was in an accident, and Damon gave her his blood to heal her. Katherine found out about it and she...she killed her. So she'd go into transition.

[ jenna just holds onto elena, rubbing her back just a little bit. she doesn't like the tears, doesn't like knowing there's nothing she can do about it, but at least elena's here with her. at least she can do this much. ]

So that's what happened...

[ she was a little curious about what had happened and it's a little frightening that katherine would do something like that. ]

But that's another vampire on your side. Our side. [ the bright side's a little dim, yes, but it's still there. ] If you're that worried about me, I'll stick close by until we can get back to the house, okay?

[ elena just lets herself cry for a while, letting herself be comforted by jenna's touch and words. for a moment or two, she's taken back to the time right after her parents died, when she was told that she was the only survivor of the wreck. jenna had had to comfort her like this when she'd woken up in the hospital and been informed of what had happened. ]

Okay.

[ a year ago, being the sole support for a teenager she'd barely even known had been strange for her, but now... she knows elena far better and jenna's fallen into her new role much easier than she had at first. it's becoming more natural this way and jenna's starting to like it. as long as elena needs her, she'll be there. ]

It's gonna be okay.

[ katherine won't mess things up for any of them. jenna will do anything she can to make sure of that. ]

Do you want to go find a room now?

[ once elena's calmed down anyway. jenna will just hold on tight until elena wants to move. ]

Edited 2011-06-13 14:43 (UTC)

it's over before it has begun;

adeadringer.livejournal.com - 2011-06-13 20:02 (UTC) - Expand

it's over before it has begun;

secretshame - 2011-06-14 00:44 (UTC) - Expand

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now i rock a house party at the drop of a hat.

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