[video] un: eleven

[savingthrows]

[ The video clicks on to a young girl, perhaps 14 years. Her round eyes look a little unsure, brows drawn together in concentration as she figures out how to work this new tablet machine with the stupid name - it's not liquid. She's learned how to operate the application tools back in Beacon, so it's a transition rather than a completely new skill.

Eleven sits cross legged on her bed, half cast in the light of the strange lantern sitting right next to her. She sets the Fluid down on the nightstand, then briefly leans out of frame and picks something up that looks like a beak shaped, half plague doctor mask, distractedly scratching at her neck, where healed scars looks as though something once grabbed her by the neck. Finally, she stops fidgeting and looks at the camera. ]

Hi.

[ She speaks with a pattern that might strike as odd. Sometimes halting in odd places, or saying words slowly, as if she has to place them on her tongue very deliberately. ]

Is there an angel? Here? I need a... miracle. Or maybe. Someone old, with magic?

[ She glances down at the mask, worries her lower lip between her teeth, then adds: ]

There's something in here. It smells like... where I'm from. Home. It's fading. I lost my friend who did the... miracle. So it's fading. But it's important. [ She swallows, lips pursed. ] To me.

[ The things unsaid sit deep in her chest and ache - the home she lost months ago. The friends she lost along the way. A short, deep breath, she gathers herself, serious face relaxing into something softer, but still somber. ]

I can pay. With glitter pens. Or birds, if you have paper.

[Another small pause. She's about to reach out and shut the video off, when she remembers lessons learned. Right - manners. Or the attempt at them. ]

Thanks.

Comments

video; un: the breeze

[fayzedandconfused]

[ The girl in the video is about El's age, looking extremely pale and not very well right now, and also filming from a bed. It's. Actually right down the hall from Eleven's room, but... details. ]

You're Mike's friend, right?

[savingthrows]

[ Videochatting while existing in the same house - good on Brianna for welcoming this 80s child into the modern day and age.

Eleven squints at the screen slightly. ]

Yes... who are you?

video; un: fromtheashes

[cosmicfire]

Why do you need a miracle? Did something happen?

[ A beat. ]

Are you... ok?

[savingthrows]

For the magic.

[ She raises up the plague doctor mask. ]

It makes the scent stay. I'm ok.

[ A pause, Eleven looks puzzled. ]

Are you?

text; un: bosslady

[owllady]

i got magic, and i like glitter. what do you need?

[savingthrows]

[ This is promising. It's a lady who likes glitter, which makes Eleven feel she has good taste. And she also is a leader. ]

my friend made the scent in the mask last for a long time but its fading now

can you make it last again

video. un: jack

[progeny]

Hello.

[...yes, he does raise a hand in greeting to go with that]

Why do you need an angel?

[savingthrows]

[ Eleven looks into the camera a little doubtfully, then mirrors the gesture - exactly the way Jack does. ]

Hi.

[ She already said that, didn't she? ]

For the. Miracle.

[ She doesn't look as if she knows what a miracle is. ]

To make the smell last. It's almost... gone.

video || un: wheeler

[micycle]

[The camera shakes and jitters at first, showing a brick alleyway and a grey sky until Mike can get it focused on his face. Ever since he's learned to text, he's vastly preferred that to showing his face. He'll make an exception for friends, though, even if he is wearing his stupid Peter's Pizza shirt and cap.]

Is that, uh, from Beacon? [In regards to the mask. A stupid question, maybe, but he has nothing but questions about Beacon.] What's it for?

[savingthrows]

[ Eleven doesn't always like talking about Beacon - it's not because she doesn't want to tell Mike. She wants to tell him everything. But it hurts, for the things that happened in the dark, and for the people whom she loved and lost.

It's okay. She can hurt for Mike. ]

Yes. It's... It was for the dead body flowers. [ Corpse flowers, but sure thing, she makes it sound a lot more creepy on sheer accident. ] You wear it, and you don't smell the stink. Mine is. Forest. Cabin. Blankets. Fireplace. [ Hopper's cabin. Home. ] It's. Fading. [ There's an ache in her eyes that she can't quite hide, not when talking to Mike. Not when talking about home. Still, she smiles a little smile. It's fond. It's brave. ] Pizza?

un: klapbak | video (cw: k...ind of fourth walling here)

[clussy]

Keep praying for that miracle, chick-a-dee. You're in Maine which is a slightly worse version of Hell. The only God who gives a fuck here is Stephen King and he's short out of pity for kids. Trust me.

(That was.....just a lot, Eddie.)

There's the turtle too, I guess, but Maturin's probably dead now.

(....You just sound high, Eddie! Which to be fair, he's definitely completely not himself right now.)

What kind of magic exactly are you talking?

[savingthrows]

[ That small tangent only results in Eleven's face... somewhat scrunching up. She can't quite follow what he's talking about, too many concepts, names and turns of phrases that she's not familiar to her. ]

There's a king.

[ And he has no pity for children. That sounds about right - it matches what Eleven sees in adults with power so far. ]

Can I see? The turtle. The magic is... for the scent. To keep it.

video; un: shiro

[shiro2hero]

Hey.

[The words are strange, sure. They don't make a whole lot of sense off the bat, but - far be it from him to ignore a kid asking for assistance on the network.]

Can you tell us what's in the mask? Maybe that can help someone find what you're looking for.

[savingthrows]

[ At the question, Eleven looks down at the mask, worrying her lower lip between her teeth as she pulls a small satchel out of the 'beak' shape and holds it up. ]

Like this. It smells like... forest. Cabin. Blankets. Fireplace. A witch made it.

video; UN: p. parker

[quipsandthwips]

... I'm sorry, kiddo, but I'm no good at miracles and magic. [Yes, all children he meets are 'kiddo', you have to endure it. He looks pleasant, though! A bit tired in the eyes, but they're warm and friendly as ever. He sits at some diner booth as he talks, enjoying a cup of coffee.] I'm sure there's someone around here who could do it, though. Just keep an ear out.

... You ever wonder how smell works, though? I mean, what it's made out of. Do you ever stop and wonder what the heck's traveling from the flower to your nose, to give you that smell?

[Hey, he can't help, but he sure can chat.]

let me know if this is ok?

[savingthrows]

[ The camera shakes, as Eleven grabs it and shoots off the bed immediately, and those big, wide brown eyes flood with tears. Congratulations Peter, you've made the child cry - except that's not quite it.

For a moment she opens her mouth and nothing comes out, mind tripping over itself to put words on her tongue that she fought so hard to learn for, and for a moment she chokes on them, relief flooding her and washing through the ache she's buried in her chest since coming here.

She didn't see Peter in the flood, when she drowned. She didn't know if he stayed in Beacon, or if...

She thought she lost everyone. Again. ]

You're. Here.

[ The words come slow, with trembling lips and watery eyes, voice wobbling hesitantly. ]

... Peter...! Where are you?

video | un: nico

[obitus]

How do you make birds out of paper? [Clearly the important part of her message.]

[savingthrows]

[ Paper birds are very important. Eleven knows this, and is happy to impart the knowledge. ]

Folding. You have to be. Careful, to do it right.

video; un: harbinger

[bolstafir]

[Someone old, with magic, huh. He sure does...happen to know someone who fits that bill. Whether or not said old wizard would be willing to help is another matter, though. But it doesn't hurt to get some more information before testing those waters.]

What did you need, exactly? With the magic.

[savingthrows]

To make it so. The scent doesn't go away.

[ She thinks for a moment. ]

Doesn't fade. A friend... refreshed it, sometimes. He's... not here.

video; un: willthewise

[deadboywalking]

[Apparently the whole "video chat while you're in the same damn house" thing is common, because Will is literally downstairs. Then again, he's got a fuzzy friend sitting on his chest and preventing him from moving, so there's an excuse.]

You brought magic things? From, uh -- the other place? [He didn't get a ton of details, there were dinosaurs and whatnot.] I'm sure someone can help. [A beat.] Just -- ask me or Mike if they're one of the good guys first. Okay? A lot of people here are, but some aren't.

[His grim tone is interrupted by the little dog creeping it's way into the frame and licking his nose, getting a loud, startled sputter.]

[savingthrows]

[ The first part of Will's message has Eleven tilting the Fluid, trying to catch sight of the dog. There are pets here, and it intrigues here - no animals were alive in Beacon, and she's only ever killed animals, not befriended them.

Maybe Will will let see the dog.

When Will sputters, Eleven laughs, a small but light sound. ]

Who are the bad guys here?

un: eudaimonikos; text

[eudaimonikos]

I'm old, and I have magic.
Can't promise to help - it's a little iffy these days.
But what do you need?

[savingthrows]

[ She spends a while just staring at the user name.

What. ]

are you old like angels

what is eudaimonikos did you just tap random buttons

i want the mask to keep smelling like home

video | un: P.Graham

[possessum]

[ There are many strange things about the young girl on the screen — the lantern that isn't like anything Peter's ever seen before, the.... mask, which sends an odd shudder down his spine.

But his fright takes second seat to his concern. Because there's the markings at her neck. There's her eyes — round, doelike, uncertain.

There's the offbeat way she speaks and moves, and it's familiar in a way that hurts, and his heart beats painfully against his ribcage. He thinks of his little sister, hears Charlie's voice overlapping the other's for a moment. There's an innocence, and something strange mingled up in the words all at once, and it could be Charlie saying something like that. I can pay. With glitter pens. Or birds

Peter swallows, turning on his own feed. He's a morose-looking young man, a few years older than her, eyes rimmed in dark circles. But there's a softness to him, his voice nervous and gentle. ]

Hello. Is the 'something' you smell.... dangerous?

[ That's the immediate concern, for her safety. ]

[savingthrows]

[ He reminds her of Jonathan, strangely. That morose look on his face, the dark circles. there's a thrum of fondness in her chest at the gentle, nervous tone, too. She's met boys like him in Beacon, too. Soft boys with sad darkness in their eyes.

Eleven waves. ]

Hi. It's not... dangerous. The mask was to help with. The dead body flowers. [ Corpse flowers. But she doesn't know the name for them. ] It smells like forest. Pine. A cabin? The scent... was fading. A friend made it last, but... it's fading again. I want to keep the scent.

voice, un: hino

[incandescentfaith]

[This...this is a familiar face. Rei blinks at the camera for a moment.]

I know about magic, though I don't know if twenty three makes me old.

And...I haven't seen you in a while, Eleven.

[savingthrows]

It's... a little bit old.

[ What? It is. It makes her an adult. Adults are old, some more so than others. ]

I... don't see you.

[ Which... is true, but missing the mark. ]

video, un: lev

[bowliever]

There are people here with magic. I'm sure someone will be able to help. Is the mask magic?

[A beat. And then-]

How do you make birds from paper?

[savingthrows]

[ Eleven tugs on her hair a little, thinking. ]

No... I don't think so. But... [ She pulls a small satchel from the beak, and holds it up to the camera. She doesn't know that it contains mostly things, just enchanted to last longer in scent than they would otherwise. ] This is. I think.

[ A beat, similar to Lev's. ]

Folding. I can show you.

video | un: castiel

[heraldingangel]

[ Prayers are lost to him in his current state, so to find one on the network comes as a welcome surprise. Listening to the end leaves him with no more idea of what she's asking for than when she first mentioned an angel. Still, he answers.

The camera captures a portrait view. He's outside, behind him a tree blocks the midday light casting him in shadows that move with the wind shaking the leaves. ]

What miracle?

[savingthrows]

[ She raises her hand at the camera, palm outwards. The gesture is copied from Jack. On her palm, Deerington's tattoo sits, a deer skull with flowers and vines growing out of it and along the antlers. ]

Hi. I want... [ She holds up the mask. ] I want it to keep smelling like it does. Not fade.