log 1 ;; what happened in mirrorAsgard [closed]

[partinglass]

Who: Beth Greene (partinglass) & Will Graham (infomodder).
What: Following this conversation, Will visits Beth for a little chat about Mitchell.
When: Day 365, afternoon.
Where: Beth's bedroom in Sigyn House.
Format: Action because I suck at prose for pace.
Rating: PG-13 and a broken heart.

[After contacting Will, Beth goes back to bed to wait for his arrival. She feels miserable, she is miserable, having not left her room in the past few days.

Not since she came back from that awful version of Asgard with Mitchell. Well... With the thing that calls itself Mitchell.

Please Will, hurry up ! She really needs someone to talk to.]

Comments

[infomodder]

[Will has absolutely no idea what happened, but that's not unusual when it comes to him and teenage girls. At least this one isn't going to remind him that he killed her father. So there's that.

He was messing around with a particularly complicated lure when the request came, and all he had to do before making his way to her room was throw on something appropriate. Then it was straight up the stairs he went, no dog in tow with him this time. She needed to talk, not have something to be distracted by and never say a word about what was eating at her because there was something more tangible at hand.

Part of him thinks he should knock, but part of him also thinks that if she's expecting him, she's left the door unlocked for him. She might not even want to get up to come and greet him, so what's the point of standing there like an idiot just calling out if he can put those two together?

But he's slow when he opens the door, clearing his throat to make sure she knows he's there. That done, he finally moves to come in, eyes seeking her out without aiming to get a good glimpse of her face. For once, his lack of desire to look people in the eyes might go over well.]

You wanted to talk?

[Things Will Graham is not good at: talking to teenage girls. Things Will Graham is going to suck up and deal with and do his best with anyway: talking to teenage girls.]

[partinglass]

[She peeks from under her blankets when she hears him and sits in her bed. She's quite disheveled and looks as sad as she did on the video, just a bit earlier. Beth quickly ties her hair in a ponytail and pats the bed beside her. Unless he prefers to sit at her desk.]

Thanks for coming, Will... I didn't know who else to call...

[She might be sad but she still smiles at him. Seeing him, unchanged, after all what happened, is quite a relief.

But she soon looks down playing with the hem of her shirt.] So... Hum... That other Asgard thing... It revealed the true nature of people, giving them back their native powers, the ones they lost when arriving here.

[She sniffs and fresh tears roll down her cheeks. How to give such horrible news ?]

Mitchell, he... He's not what he seems to be...

[infomodder]

[She thanks him for coming, and he nods in acknowledgement. There's no need to say anything else about it. She called, he's here, they can move on. Getting caught up in "you shouldn't have come I'm so sorry to take up your time" is useless, and the more he can do to discourage it, the better.

He shuts the door quietly, watching her hand pat the bed. Perhaps she's thinking he's the kind of guy to hug and pet hair in comfort, but he finds it inappropriate. Like an ill-fitting suit. For the moment, at least, she'll have to deal with him choosing to sit in her desk chair after angling towards her. It's a respectable distance away, and Will is all about keeping his distance.

Even if she's going to cry.

He stays quiet as she talks, brow knit together as he tries to parse her words through the tears. Having been in his line of work, he's gotten pretty used to it. It might make him seem a little cold, not rushing to her side and pulling her close, but he can't really afford it. He can afford to lean forward, hands clasped in front of him as he focuses on her.]

Everyone wears a mask at one point or another. [And boy, he knows all about that.] What was behind his that's got you so frightened, Beth? He didn't try to hurt you, did he?

[There's nothing in his tone that suggests Will is going to do anything even if she was hurt, nothing that could be taken as a threat to Mitchell. Of course, the words might come across that way whether he likes it or not, but remaining as calm and neutral as he can seems to be the best option.]

Pfftt... Never do tags when you are tired. ;;

[partinglass]

[She doesn't mind him keeping his distances, she's even not really surprised. They met several times since his arrival in Asgard but there never was any touch, any direct look into each other's eyes. It seemed strange to her, at first, especially after spending months getting closer to people, in her own world and in Asgard. But he must have his reasons and she respects that.


She peeks at him from behind the hair strands that covers her face, from behind the tears.] I know that but... I really though he was since, you know at which point he is nice.

He tried to hurt me but something made him stop, I think he recognized me...

[New tears fall down and she looks at her hands in defeat. Ok, you can laugh now, Will.] H-he's a.... Mitchell is a vampire....

[infomodder]

[It's good that that aspect of Will is respected, because it's not changing anytime soon. At all. He keeps his distance for good reasons. If anyone went about trying too hard to force that to change...it wouldn't go over well.

He watches her try to form the right words, sympathetic and ready to give her all the time she needs. So he did try to hurt her, that wasn't what Will wanted to hear. He's used to hearing what he doesn't want, though, so there's only a moment of discomfort as he shifts in the chair, and then she goes on and—]

A vampire. [Two words, and yet they sound like the oddest thing Will has ever said. Forget all the talk of how people kill, how people died, the kinds of things an attacker thinks when going through the motions, none of that compares to a vampire. They're in a place of gods, though. Nothing is impossible anymore.] Are you upset that he tried to hurt you, or are you upset that he kept a secret like that from you? Or is it both?

[Will's no psychiatrist. No psychologist. He can, however, ask questions with an end in mind. He just prefers not to.]

[partinglass]

[Beth just hopes that, someday, Will will open up to her. She wants him to know that he can trust him as much as she trusts him right at that moment. She won't force anything but she wants him to know that she is there for him if he ever needs help. Like on that day when they first me.

She didn't really expect his question but it is, after all, a very legitimate one. The answer, however, is not that easy. Beth wipes her eyes and looks up at Will, just for a few seconds.] That he kept the secret from me, mostly... I guess... I guess that his violence would have been more... acceptable if I had known.

[Like you can ever accept violence.]

I feel like... Like he doesn't trust me and it truly hurts... Because, you know, I-I love him.

[infomodder]

[Will Graham and trust were at odds before, but after the past year of his life, after seeing Abigail's ear in his sink and her blood on the floor of a kitchen she should have never seen again, it's even worse. Trust won't come easy for anyone, no matter how kind or gentle or deserving of it they are. Not any profound sort of trust—trusting them to look after a dog or hand him a plate, sure. But real, deep trust? It's possible it won't ever happen again as long as Will lives, in Asgard or anywhere else.

He can accept that. What he can't really accept is violence, not towards the living. Towards the dead? It's over and done with. There's nothing he can do about it other than find the ones who hurt them. It happens. Will doesn't want it to, but it does. Still, it's not his place to speak to Mitchell, not unless he comes around and they meet properly, and even then? Only if the topic veers that way. He's not about to meet him and immediately tell him off.

Not just because it's not his business, but if he's a vampire...seems an even worse idea than just pissing off a stranger because of things he's been told.]

Beth. [He finally slides off that chair, settling on the bed near her but not too close, there in case she feels the urge to lean forward and have a physical connection, a hug, something to keep herself ground.] You shouldn't ever, ever accept violence. I don't know anything about vampires [other than they're apparently real] or how they function, and I don't know a thing about Mitchell other than what you've told me. He hasn't been violent to you that you've told me, but he was. No one has a right to be violent to you. Ever. If he can still be a vampire and treat you with the respect you deserve, then I'm sure you can work something out. If he can't contain himself, if he has to be violent—that's not love, Beth. That's the opposite.

[He's a little worried, because if she talks to him and...]

You should still talk to him about it. If you don't feel safe with him alone, take someone with you. They don't have to sit in on the conversation, just be nearby in case something happens. That's. That's my advice.

omg, I am so sorry ! /sobs

[partinglass]

[Beth could understand that. She knows very well that you can't give your trust to anyone so easily. She learnt that the kindest looking persons can hide the devil. But here in Asgard, they all need to learn to trust others. It's a question of survival.

She won't ask him to face Mitchell, not if it's not absolutely necessary. Not if it could put Will's life in danger.

She looks up at him the quickly down again as he sits on the bed.]

I know... I think I was too surprised and upset to fight back. [And Mitchell is so strong.] He is so nice usually, he never tried to hurt me before. I guess it's true that Asgard can ripe people off of their world's abilities.

[Beth nods as his words and offers him a soft, little smile. If she asked you, would you go with her, Will ?]

Yes, I'll talk to him. Maybe I should tell him what I feel, it could help.