three | wonder what it's like to touch and feel something (open)

[blacksky]

WHO: Elektra Natchios
WHERE: open prompts: around the village, Dojo, and Inn. closed prompts: Elektra's house, Hawke's place.
WHEN: closed prompts backdated to directly post-oms, open prompt: Feb. 9 onward.
OPEN TO: ALL, closed prompts to: Matt Murdock and Hawke
WARNINGS: mentions of enslavement and death

---

open | off-colors plot

It is one of those things that simply happens first thing in the morning. Her wristwatch beeps and suddenly goes haywire. There's an awful second where she has to wonder if this thing will blow up and take her hand with it. The device stabilizes with only to shift color from red to teal. With it, Elektra feels changed. It's like someone came along and cleansed away all the pain from the reveals at that shrine. All that's left is sobering take on the world as it is now. She feels freer than ever.

Not much changes really. Elektra works on cutting wood outside her home so she can keep that cellar fire going to bathe. She heads to the Inn for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. In between these meals she goes to the Dojo to train. She travels around the village, gathering information, and taking in the state of things. She goes to the woods to see what's lurking about. She does it without all the usual charm and playfulness. Her mouth is set in a hard line. She behaves more like a ghost haunting the village than a person engaged it. It's better this way, isn't it? She can't be sad that Danny Rand, an ally, is gone. She doesn't have to hurt over the thought that if he knew the truth, he'd try to kill her as others have in the past. She doesn't have to be upset over what she's seen or how people have reacted to it. It's just her getting ready for the inevitable fight. There's nothing special about that.

post-oms | closed to: Hawke

She's put herself back together again as best she can. That doesn't mean she is alright. It doesn't make everything more bearable. Elektra is no longer shouting at people at a supposed holy place. Small favors? She can feel it itching under her skin; she's disgusted with what she is and what is to come. She doesn't know how to bear the overwhelming self-hatred. It's choking the life out of her. She can't talk to the only people who might understand it. Rand will kill her if he knows the truth. Matthew considers the matter over and done despite the fact it isn't for Elektra. Francis tries, but everything she says comes out as gibberish to him. She needs someone outside of this. She needs Hawke. "We need to talk." That's what she leads with when she tracks the woman down at her home. Elektra doesn't really look like herself. She seems tired, desperate, and painfully on edge. "Please."

post-oms | closed to: Matt Murdock

She doesn't let him back in the house once they're back. Her excuse is the place isn't habitable. It's very true. The house has gone without anyone tending to it for almost a week in the terrible cold. She'll need to look the whole place over with Francis to ensure they can still live in it. Once that job is done there is the harder job of getting it habitable again. There's wood to cut, a cellar fire to get going, etc. It's a big job. She knows he can't help her with it. It's better to send him off until the place is safe to live in again. Matthew hasn't lived the easiest life, but she's used to this kind of hard living from spending all her formative years with Stick. Better to let her fix this problem than let him suffer with her until it's done. Any arguments or discussions they may have can wait.

It takes less than two days to finish everything with Francis' help. She texts him once it's officially done to let him know the house is ready for him again and waits with a cup of coffee. She doesn't know what to expect. His rant at the shrine made it very clear he had a lot of feelings about her death that he hasn't addressed until now. Maybe that was the end of it or he has more to say. All she can do is wait and see what he does.

Comments

Off Colour

[womanofvalue]

Something odd is going on, though Peggy only has suspicions about what, precisely, it is. People have been acting funny, but at the same time, that could be for any number of reasons. It could simply be as easy to explain as people going straight to the bottle in the morning, but that would presume that people are alcoholics.

So, she doubts that's it, but she's still puzzling out the what of it. She's just finishing up with making breakfast when she sees the woman, and though she's only seen her around, anyone is a new source of information. It's rude to interrogate anyone, but inviting them to tea? Well, that's simply polite.

Setting her plate down, she gives the woman a warm greeting smile. "Hungry?" she asks, gesturing to the plate and the space across from her. "I always make too much, I'm not very good at cooking, but even I can manage breakfast, even if I never judge the amount right."

[blacksky]

It's never good when anyone offers you anything. Elektra cannot see the harm in accepting it. No one here has any reason to poison her. If there's one thing they seem to love is having company. She takes the offer and the seat across from Peggy. "I can always eat." She picks at it immediately. "Breakfast is the only thing you need to be good at it." The most important meal and best food tbh.

[womanofvalue]

"Unfortunately, I've burned too many dinners to believe that, though back home at least I always had the option of eating out." Here, she doesn't have that and she's had to choke back the taste of her own ashy cooking far too many times.

Reaching a hand over her plate, she offers an easy smile. "Peggy," she introduces herself. "A breakfast aficionado, then?" she guesses, though it doesn't seem that difficult to take a stab at.

[blacksky]

"You can eat out if you know the right people." Frank is always good for bumming meals off of. She loves him for it. Elektra takes the plate and true to form wastes no time digging in. It's actually not too bad. Certainly worth the price of company. "Elektra Natchios. Breakfast expert." She announces blithely. Normally this would be the part where she smiles and turns on the charm. She can't find the energy for it so this is what Peggy gets.

post-oms

[blindninja]

He's pretty sure it's something he said. He'd said a great many things while they were on that mountain. Most of them had been unkind, unpleasant, uncalled for. Tensions had been high while they were stranded and while it was definitely a case of wrong place, wrong time, wrong everything, it wasn't as if letting it all out made him feel any better.

Matt's been staying at the inn while she toiled away at their house. Whatever 'they' are supposed to be. He wants to help, wants to be useful, wants to be anything other than a burden. But sitting alone in a bed cooped up in the inn while a few minor cuts and bruises - souvenirs from the hike back, no cause for concern - he just feels like a liability. Bad debt below some cutoff line on a spreadsheet that he used to fight for fairness for in court.

It takes him some time to slink back to her with his tail between his legs. Not because he can't find his way - thanks to Foggy he's cut down the time it takes for him to get between the inn and their place - but he's filled with apprehension and uncertainty when he's standing on the porch with his hand on the ice-cold doorknob.

Why did he think they could ever make it work?

Taking a deep breath, Matt breathes out a sigh as he twists the doorknob and steps inside quietly. He looks too tired to argue, but you can't put the desire to argue past Matt. It's probably the only thing he's still good at out here.

[blacksky]

It's almost as much about everything he didn't say or do. He didn't endear himself to anyone with the rest though. Elektra isn't about to lead with that. She gets up to make a cup of coffee the way he likes it because maybe they can do as Francis suggests and grow the fuck up. She wants to at least try to talk to him after essentially having a trial run with Francis while they worked on the house.

"I'm in the kitchen." She announces as she works. He'll join her or he won't. She has no interest in chasing him at the moment.

[blindninja]

No he's probably nuked a few bridges with napalm in his caustic little meltdown, but he's so stupidly, stubbornly independent that he always seemed to fair better on his own back in New York anyway. Maybe it won't be too different here, blind though he might be. He's already getting his confidence back, navigating the house without too much trouble to get to the kitchen where she is.

He lingers around the entrance to the kitchen, running his fingertips down the doorframe. They might have had their ups and downs but they haven't rehearsed for this sideways part of their relationship.

"Elektra, I--" he starts, but then he thinks that him starting and not stopping is what led to this, so. He reconsiders what he was going to say, takes a deep breath and swallows the coldness of her shoulder with a dollop of much needed humility.

"I'm sorry."

[blacksky]

Those simple words get her to both pause and soften. That's all she really needed right now. Elektra turns to face him. They are in unfamiliar territory. Neither of them were quite prepared for moments like these. Elektra can only follow her instincts. They scream at her to go him. She crosses over to him in a few steps, taking his face into her hands gently as she starts. "I know you're hurt. You have been for a while." That explosion was probably a long time coming. She wonders if he ever really talked about what happened to anyone. She's never been one to unburden her soul, but Matthew isn't her. It must have been difficult for him.

"And I.... I'm scared, Matthew. I'm terrified." Her fingers dig into his skin as her eyes water tellingly. It's difficult for her to live with what she is and what could happen to her. Neither are alone in their pain. "But, I love you. You know that, don't you? Even when we're screaming at each other like fools at a shrine." She chuckles a little because God that was stupid even for them.

[clouded_heart]

Foggy doesn't exactly want to speak to Elektra.

But she doesn't look... right. Matt's in the Inn, and he's not talking, and Elektra's strangely withdrawn, all the polished mask of the Natchios heir gone and Foggy has no idea what happened, but he can take a guess.

He approaches her at the Inn one meal, bringing over a bowl for her as well as himself and offering it out. "I know we're not really friends, but... you look like you need someone to talk to? By which I mean, you haven't seemed yourself and I'm willing to listen if you want someone to talk to."

[blacksky]

Matthew did take being in the Inn hard even if it was for practical reasons. No one needs to see him wipe out because a pipe burst in their home. It definitely didn't help they were both very emotionally raw at the time. What they saw or heard in Matt's case was definitely disturbing enough to put anyone on edge. Things have improved by now as they tend to even with drama queens like them. It's actually something else entirely that's bothering her now.

Elektra honestly wasn't sure if it was in her head until now. Something must be wrong if Foggy is nice to her... or maybe he's nice in general. They both have to a lot to learn about the other yet. She accepts the bowl, lips turning down as she considers his offer. There is no reason to say no. Maybe he can help her work out what's different. "I don't feel anything." Her brows furrow because clearly that's not the norm for her. Most people would correctly label her as passionate even when she wasn't being her authentic self. Some things still shine through the mask as it were. Now it's like everything has been turned down to one. It leaves her bereft.

[clouded_heart]

Matt being in the Inn made total sense to Foggy. Frankly, he thought it would be better for Matt to live there with Elektra, but he got why they lived elsewhere.

He sits down slowly, folding his hands on the tabletop. "That... doesn't really sound right. Do you think it's a reaction to whatever happened to you up on the mountain? And no, I don't know what that was, I just know how badly it messed up some other people. If your life has been anything like Matt's, there's probably a lot of trauma lurking that you've not reconciled with."

[blacksky]

She gives it some consideration. Elektra never applied those standards to herself. She'd been taught to endure endlessly for as long as she could remember. Breaking isn't part of being a soldier for the Chaste. She did take a serious blow up there, didn't she? He might be onto something, Elektra thinks.

"It could be. I always pulled myself through everything without complaint for the sake of the war. Now that I know what I know it does seem like a waste of time." She takes a few bites before realization hits her that he might have no clue what she is talking about. Elektra looks up at him, brows furrowing as she swallows. If they're going to talk, he is going to need to be on the same page as her. "What do you know about that? I know you lived to the end of it, but do you even know what the fighting was about?" Honest question. It was purposely kept under wraps because no one believes in near immortal beings unless they're wielding hammers or shields.

Dojo

[skyward_eyes]

He's seen her every now and then, moving through the dojo while he was working on things there. For a few days Nida lets her do her own thing, not really approaching her. There were people here who looked too pained to approach, but this one... this one made Nida hesitate. Maybe not pained, maybe not sad, but clearly a touch lost. Enough so that Nida considers her for a few days before he makes his move.

Which in this case is approaching her on the mats, offering her a brief nod.

"So, if you could have any weapon to practice with, what would it be?" he asks, arms folded across his chest, white wristband visible from his device. He thinks he's finally come up with a way to help.

[blacksky]

She doesn't mind that he looks. It's basically what everyone does back home. Considering he seems to be in charge now, it makes sense. The owner ought to know who uses their dojo. The question takes her by surprise when she finishes her set. Elektra wastes no time offering an answer. "Sai." She always had a soft spot for those.

[skyward_eyes]

Well now Nida's definitely smiling. That's a great choice, especially if you're dealing with swords of some sort. There is absolutely approval in his eyes. And a touch of frustration.

"Great weapon, non-standard at that. Unfortunately not something I can manage with wood. Wish I could, the principle of sword-breaking techniques have always fascinated me."

[blacksky]

She nods, mirroring his approval. Elektra wouldn't have survived as long as she had without thinking to master them. She fought a lot of men with swords, after all. She finds it underappreciated given the fact they never bothered to change weapons to counter her.

"If wood is all we have to work with, I could also use tonfas." She does prefer wielding two weapons overall. It is something she can share with Matthew when things inevitably go south.

[pampa]

[ he's been looking for her, and unlike usually where if he might not run into her for a day or two he'd just move on - with this shiny new black wristband he finds himself driven to find her - dauntlessly, as it were. his last check is the dojo, and that ends up being where he locates her. they haven't spoken seriously since their time on the mountain and a part of him is relieved just to see her in one piece, no matter how impractical that may be. miller hangs back, watching her finish her set before announcing his presence. she seems... more intense than usual, and that observation leads him to notice the teal band around her wrist. interesting. ]

Getting tired, Rich Girl? [ miller calls out to her in place of a greeting. he wants to know if she's winding down so they can talk, but the question serves a dual purpose: he'd like to test out his new powers if she's amiable. ]

[blacksky]

[She's trying to see if pushing herself hard enough will spark something. Elektra knows logically none of this is a problem per say. Everything feels focused. It should be a good thing. She's aware it isn't really her. She has to try to fix so here she is pushing hard to no avail.

The first sign something is wrong? Elektra acknowledge she can get tired.] Yes. [She manages between breaths.] Why?

[The robotic tone likely isn't helping either.]

[pampa]

[ it isn't how he's used to her reacting, but... he doesn't feel wholly himself either. he raises his wrist in explanation, the black band of his smartwatch self-explanatory to some degree. ]

Game for another experiment?

[championofsnark]

Hawke has been lost in though since the event for her own reasons, but it hasn't really changed her behavior in the village. She's very good at seeming like nothing's changed, even when the worst has happened. She turns to look at Elektra when she hears her, and there's immediate concern flickering in her eyes and face. Her heart twists, and whatever is going on with her takes a kick down into Not Important territory because her friend looks terrible.

"Of course," she says reassuringly. She immediately puts an arm around Elektra protectively, leading her into the house. Reyes isn't there, but they have new electricity now and it's warm inside. She's getting used to having it so readily available in their space. Hawke tries to draw Elektra down to sit on the couch. "My housemate won't be back for hours, it's private here." She has a feeling she'll need that. "What's going on, darling?"

[blacksky]

Elektra tellingly leans against her. There's something about Hawke that makes her feel vulnerable. She wants to fall apart around her and confess everything. She's frazzled by the time they actually manage to sit down. "Everything!" Elektra announces loudly. It's not out of anger, just pain and fear. She's terrified of herself. Now that she knows it's just them she can get this off her chest. "I.... What would you do if you found out you were something very bad? Maybe the baddest thing there is. What would you do?"

[championofsnark]

She's concerned, seeing Elektra like this, specifically how afraid she is. Who harmed her? Hawke's instinct is to protect her from whatever she fears, but it seems like it may be impossible to do that. The two of them are very much alike; both so good at putting on laid back faces until something sets them off and it's a spiral. So Hawke has an idea or two about how to help, but first she focuses on listening, on taking this seriously.

"I would remind myself that I am not bad, I am me. Whatever's inside of me, I'm still who I've always been." She reaches out to take Elektra's hand, squeezing it. "Dearest, what happened?"

I DO WHAT I WANT

[oorah]

Frank has gotten into the habit of bringing coffee down to the Inn for anyone who might want some around sunrise. But this morning he's a little late, maybe 9 am. He also just seems, overall, less concerned than ever before. The three dogs are with him as always, he doesn't seem to love them any less, but he's just... chilling, honestly. Drinking coffee and smiling blandly at anyone who happens by the kitchen nook. He'll even give a little wave or a tip of his cup instead of his usual awkward thing. So when he spots Elektra walking in, he waves her over straightaway. Bruno is quick on her heels too, like he's trying to corral her towards Frank. "Hey, El. Here for breakfast?" The red communicator is a dead giveaway on his wrist, as is the smile that still doesn't reach his eyes even as he chugs down an impressive gulp of coffee.

gasp rebel!!!

[blacksky]

Elektra is back to normal at this point. It's why she can appreciate the change in her normally very :| friend. She goes to meet him halfway with only a brief glare at Bruno. She knows what he's doing!!! "I am, Francis." The flash of red is a dead giveaway. She decides it doesn't matter. May as well ride this out. She lifts a brow suggestively. "Are you here to join me?"

[oorah]

"I didn't know it til you showed up, but yeah. Yeah, I guess I am." He hasn't seen her since their impromptu sleepover so it's not too weird if he pulls her in for a hug, right???? No, it's super weird, he just doesn't care atm.