(no subject)

[tooprettytodie]

It was time to stop hiding. That didn't mean she was going to fully integrate herself into island society again. She still wasn't going to go to her dance classes, especially not with Percy there, but she had decided to go ahead and live in her own place again. As grateful as she was to Charlie and Edmund for letting her crash at their place, she wanted to be back home.

She had left notes in the mailboxes of everyone that had gone home with everyone. They simply said I'm sorry. -Valkyrie

She wasn't sure what could be said beyond that. She hated herself for what she had done to them, even if becoming Darquesse had been to save them. In the end, she hadn't been strong enough to save her friends, not from herself. Not only that, but each time she became Darquesse, it was harder and harder to find her way back. If it hadn't been for the ending of the dream, she wasn't sure if she would have come back from that.

Then there was the fact that all of her closest friends now knew her secret. It wouldn't have been so bad except that her secret was that she had the potential to become some sort of crazy-powerful nut job without any conscience. Go her.

Sighing, Valkyrie curled up on her couch and hugged her knees to her chest. She'd just sit here for a while and try not to obsess over what happened. Later, much, much later tonight she would head to the ring and take out some anger on one of the bags and maybe go for a run along the beach.

[This can be set for any time between the 1st of June and now.]

Comments

[percy_jackson]

Valkyrie was very good at hiding. After I'd woken up, I'd tried to rush over to her place to talk to her. It was only because my body betrayed me, telling me in no uncertain terms I needed food and, almost as importantly, a shower, that I didn't do just that. By the time I got to her hut, she was gone, and my attempts to find her proved fruitless.

By then, it was clear that she didn't want to be found, and while that hurt, I understood. So, I gave her her space. I went to Coraline's birthday party. I went to dance class one week, and left when Valkyrie didn't show up. It was the hardest couple of weeks in my life. The pain from the injuries sustained in my dream stayed with me, though there was no reason for them to be there whatsoever. Probably psychosomatic, I thought, grimly.

When Valkyrie's note appeared in my mailbox, I thought again about going to her hut. I didn't. Maybe it was because the note was so short. She had nothing to say -- and what could she say? And what could I say in return? So I stayed in my bedroom, moping, before Mrs. O'Leary rousted me in no uncertain terms and demanded her walk.

I patted Mrs. O'Leary's side as we headed out for a walk along the beach. Apparently, she'd sat outside my hut, not moving, while I was in my dream trip. I was afraid I'd neglected her in the weeks that followed. She deserved better, so I gave her a long walk. A good choice, too, as the sound of the surf soothed me.

But then Mrs. O'Leary looked ahead, and let out a soft "WOOF!".

I looked ahead, and saw a shadow against the twilight that I recognized instantly. My heart leapt, but I smiled. I patted Mrs. O'Leary and nodded at the forest. "Go have some fun, girl," I said. Mrs. O'Leary bounded into the woods.

I cut across the beach, and stood by the water, my hands in my pockets, waiting as Valkyrie approached.

[swan_diver]

It took Bella a day or two to recover from being immobile for so long, to eat and get her strength back, to calm a very stressed boyfriend who'd watched after her while she slept, to try and sleep around a new round of nightmares. Thankfully, as ever, his arms were there before the screams came so they never got as bad as they probably could have been.

When she found the note in her mailbox, it was the first time she'd felt back to her normal self, so she'd gone in search of her friend and it was only by accident (spotting her through a window as she passed) that Bella found her.

She didn't go closer than sight range before she called out. "Val?"

[notaparker]

There's two main feelings I get off the note, once I get it. The first is relief. It's signed Valkyrie, and it may only be two words long but they're two words that my least favorite Mr Hyde reboot is extremely unlikely to have penned. Which meant that Valkyrie woke up as Valkyrie. I was worried that might not be the case.

So there's relief, and there's the feeling bad about having to receive the note in the first place, because all of that happened. And I didn't stop it. I didn't make it not necessary for her to bring the other side of herself out, I didn't find a way to bring her back to normal. Good job earning that sense of relief, hero.

That might be part of why I don't immediately go and find her, although I think that the reason of giving her some space is also valid. It seems reasonable, if she's leaving notes, she doesn't want to deal with anyone immediately. And that works, for a bit, but then it's partway through the month and I start to wonder if actually I'm not delaying because of my own issues and maybe I should check in, and should have earlier.

Yeah, this month has been a real great showing from yours- and there I go again. Not about me. About her, and about the frankly sort-of-terrifying other her. Let's see if she actually wants or needs a conversation about... whatever that is.

"Avon calling," I say, knocking.

Ergh. Weak. So weak. Just... so obvious.

[teambatgirl]

Steph gives it a few days; she's from Gotham and she's a Bat, so she can appreciate the importance of a good brood. There are things that a person has to work through, and some people need to do it on their own.

But after getting that note, Steph marched her butt right to Valkyrie's door and knocked smartly. There is a time when one has to get down from the gargoyle.

"You don't have to open the door," Steph calls. "But if you don't I will begin to serenade you with the best of '90s R&B and I won't stop until I get to Beyonce going solo."

[kinesicist]

Her fingers twitched, palm opening and extending as she wiggled her fingers, a quiet wave of greeting to Valkyrie as she lurked in the shadows of a nearby tree. She had been following her now for more than a mile, quiet and lurking as she watched her. Her face was a blanket of calm as she approached Valkyrie. Other people would have been angry at her but Cass? Cass understood.

The creature, woman, who attacked her was not Valkyrie. The creature who took away her choice, her conscience and turned her against everything she believed in? Was not Valkyrie. And yet Valkyrie was still not present, she felt... guilty perhaps? Nervous. Hn, she would find out. She would talk and Cassandra hated talking.