Another Lewis Carroll moment...

[deadwesley1.livejournal.com]

~So where is the bottle labeled "Drink me"? he ponders silently. He remains silent to his companions. He remembers back to when he was a puny child wishing he could grow like Alice and look down on all his enemies- childish enemies like brutish class mates, overbearring fathers; certainly not demons, not then.

He's been quiet since they met and joiined up with the boy and the princess. He doesn't want to admit it, but he likes Hal. He seems locked in a simpler, more innnocent, more polite time; Wesley wonders when the poor boy died. It doesn't seem he belongs in Hell and it pains Wesley that the boy is here.

Then there's Beauty. She certainly appears to be just what she claims: she's royally dressed in medieval attire (12th century, French, maybe?) and her poise and bearing are certainly majestic. She's very young and sweet and, worse than Hal, it tears his heart to see her here, because if she can be trapped in this hideous realm than...

He has to drive the image away by thrusting his fist into one of the swamp trees, the pain momentarily splintering all thought of Fred into unrecognizable shards. But then he catches Lilah staring at him- he's been avoiding those eyes since they came to their senses, post- caveman. He knows he's hurting her, but the shock of her in this place with him overwhelmed him. He'd hoped better for her, God knows why, but she had come to him, hadn't she, when she could have run off and saved herself? He's always wanted to think there was SOMETHING worth saving in her damned soul. He snows he can't help her anymore now than he helped her then, and in his opinion, she might do better tagging along after someone else. He knows he's going to have to speak to her sooner or later...

Instead, he opts to speak to the entire group;~ Snape and I are headed to the demon city Dis. It's a goal, if nothing else. We have our reasons, and you're welcome to come with us.

~He winces, presumably at the tearing pain they're all experiencing, but in truth it's something far worse to his mind: the hollowness of returning to the living world without Fred. But he owes it to the rest of them, doesn't he? If any of the others survived...? He hardens his features and moves on.~

Comments

[beautysleep4.livejournal.com]

*Beauty has been walking on Hal's arm singing to herself quietly in her native French. The music keeps her distracted from the frequent and very literal growing pains. She is trying hard not to focus on her ever increasing stature, it is neither feminine nor princessly.

She regards Wesley with growing curiosity quite akin to that of Alice herself, forgetting her wariness of him. Her face is a study in possibilities as she considers the reasons these two obviously distinguished men might have for wanting to go into Dis.*

Nothing good resides in Dis My Lords, *she ventures finally.* I can guide you through the maze once we are there but though I have been through it several times I have never crossed into Dis the same way twice and only found it when I was not looking for it at all.

*She pauses looking back toward Lilah as if expecting her to interrupt or correct her observations but she forges ahead anyway, she can certainly prepare them for what lies ahead whether they take her seriously or not.*

The daemons there are quite active and decidely-unpleasant. *She gives a small shiver and draws ever so slightly closer to Hal, her hand seeming to rest a bit more on his.* Whatever you seek in Dis My Lords, it will not be easily located nor yet acquired. Whatever you may expect, I fear you will be ill prepared.

[severus-snape1.livejournal.com]

*Snape has been quietly observing the dynamics of their new, budding group. He, like Wesley, cannot believe that Beauty deserved this punishment and, being a wizard, a magical explanation is to him the most likely, though he will not mention this, unsure of the possible repercussions of doing so. Unlike Wesley, however, he is not surprised by Hal. After all, he spent the greater part of his life to help destroy the darkness, and he found no salvation. Who knows what small and petty action may have condemned Hal to Level One?*

Princess, *Snape says with another respectful lowering of his head,* we are better prepared than many others, as we have some knowledge of certain demons we may encounter. Our studies in life were quite...unique.

[noshoesinhell8.livejournal.com]

*Lilah allows herself a derisive snort, probably not noticeable by the group. She's been lagging behind, straggling after them like the a petulant little sister. She's actually waiting to be certain where she stands with everyone, and just what Wes and the Matrix castoff think they're going to gain going into Dis.*

[beautysleep4.livejournal.com]

Are you a priest then sir? You have the reserve and dignity of the office. In my home, the clergy are well versed in the study of daemons. * She pauses to give Wesley a subtle yet decidely uncertain sidelong glance.* Those who are not tied to the Church who are knoweldgeable about such things are considered...*She finishes the thought in her native archaic french which only Wesley(unknown to her)can translate.* ...as dark as those they study and equally dangerous.

I hope you have studied more than books Lord Snape for you will need more to navigate the city of Dis. Lilah can atest that it was not what she expected to find I believe. *She turns to look back at Lilah who seems not at all herself and she cannot but help to feel some compassion for her.* Is she quite well?

[severus-snape1.livejournal.com]

*Her statement chills him; as he suspected, she would fear him if she knew he once was a wizard. That alone is probably enough to damn him in her eyes, though if she were to think about his level of origin, perhaps some of her fears could be quelled. However, he is not going to tempt fate.*

I have had some practical experience fighting the forces of darkness.

*It's not even a lie, he thinks to himself. If you spend well over a decade spying on and thwarting the plans of the Dark Lord and his followers, that has to count. He looks behind him at Lilah, who is clearly pouting. That, he figures, is because of whatever relationship is...or was...between her and Wesley.*

Would you like some company? *the Matrix castoff asks Lilah.*

[noshoesinhell8.livejournal.com]

Not worried about your social life taking a dive after being seen in the presence of Hell's apparant pariah? I think I must have leprosy or something... again.

[severus-snape1.livejournal.com]

If I were worried, I wouldn't have offered.

[noshoesinhell8.livejournal.com]

Whatever you want, your social funeral. What's the matter, Mr. VanHelsing cast you off for the flavor of the level? *indicating Hal with a nod*

[severus-snape1.livejournal.com]

I am not, I repeat, concerned about my social life. However, if all you are going to do is make personal attacks, then I'm not interested.

*Snape turns away from her and looks back at Beauty.*

Perhaps you would like to carry on a civilized conversation?

[beautysleep4.livejournal.com]

*Beauty gives him a cautious but gentle smile.*

I would be pleased to engage in dialouge with you Lord Snape. Is there a topic you wish to discuss? Art, music, philosophy or perhaps you will tell me about your homeland.

*She does not leave Hal's arm but adjusts her pace to put them up on a level with Snape, allowing for Hal to join the conversation. He is after all an educated knight and must find this place as monotonous as she.*

[severus-snape1.livejournal.com]

*He chooses the safest topic--his "homeland" is technically England, in the general sense, and he feels he is not lying if he omits any discussion of Hogwarts.*

My house was in a poor and dying town in England. It had been prosperous at one time but businesses began to leave for larger cities where the trade was better, and most of the buildings and houses began to fall into disrepair.

*He finds it easy enough to talk about his house; Spinner's End was next to nothing to him really. The more important places in his life brought pain, but in a way, Spinner's End almost seemed to belong to someone else.*

[beautysleep4.livejournal.com]

And was there no Count or Duke or Prince to see to such things? It is the responsibility of the regent to ensure the prosperity of all his subjects. The kingdom thrives or dies with the welfare of its people.

[severus-snape1.livejournal.com]

The local magistrate was not very honest, and pocketed much of the town's money.

*He decides to keep this in terms she will likely understand, rather than explain the complexities of modern politics.*

Unfortunately, the Queen is so far away and so busy with world politics that she cannot possibly look to each and every little town's welfare. And world politics has become a large priority.

[deadwesley1.livejournal.com]

*Wesley's long(er than usual even) legs have carried him further ahead from the group; caught up as he is in his own revery, he has not noticed the gap. He turns around a rather dense copse of swamp trees which grab at him wickedly as he passes, and disappears from sight.*

[halleyscomet1.livejournal.com]

*Hal has been quiet and almost unaware of the conversation, though he keeps his protective arm linked with Beauty's. He's been brooding upon what he actually did to end up here, because he's rather sure he was a good Christian. He indulges himself in a small 'poor me' moment, but is careful to keep it hidden from the others. He wouldn't want to look like a sissy around these older men. Eventually he comes back to the conversation and catches up with what they're saying.*

To be honest, I don't know much about the Queen. *He's guessing that Snape is from modern times, but modern to him is the 1950s so he's a little off in his assumption.* Actually, there's an embarrassing hole in what I know about England at all.

[severus-snape1.livejournal.com]

Perfectly understandable. I imagine you're....

*Snape doesn't finish; he's suddenly on high alert, wondering where Wesley is. He holds out an arm in front of Beauty.*

Where is Pryce?

[halleyscomet1.livejournal.com]

*He's slightly panicked by Snape's demeanor even before he asks the question, and protectively tightens his hold on Beauty.*

He was here a second ago, I swear he was right in front of us.

*He snaps into getting-things-done mode.*

[noshoesinhell8.livejournal.com]

Look at that: from Clark Kent to Superman.

*But Lilah's visibly nervous.*

How do you lose Supersize Wesley? It's not like he can be hiding just anywhere...?

[severus-snape1.livejournal.com]

*Snape is standing still, not daring to move until he's thought this through.*

We didn't see any demons bigger than us, so I would think he wasn't attacked. If he'd been attacked by something too much smaller, I doubt it could take him down that quickly. And if it did, it would easily have been able to do it with us as well. *He pauses, collecting his thoughts.* Something to do with the landscape...?

*He turns slowly on the spot, looking around and trying to keep his feet more or less where they had been, in case of unseen pitfalls. The thought reminds him of the quicksand issue when they were cavemen....*

Quicksand is a possibility; we are much heavier now and I should think that would speed up the process....

*He painfully crouches for a closer look; this is certainly harder on his joints at this size than his usual size.*

[halleyscomet1.livejournal.com]

*Hal moves carefully around the area, walking as tentatively as he can with his new dimensions and trying his best to ignore the awful cramps he's still experiencing. He left Beauty beside Snape, not wanting to be the one to drag her through sinking sand.*

But would it have happened that quickly? I'm sure we would have heard something.

*He keeps his voice a little lower, very much on edge now.*

[severus-snape1.livejournal.com]

You would think that, but at our size....We were talking as well--not paying much mind to our surroundings.

*Snape eyes the trees cautiously. The branches were thick and close, and obscured who knew what.*

It may be possible that he went in there.

[halleyscomet1.livejournal.com]

*He looks over the trees with a cautious logic.*

Are there any paths through? The trees can't have closed back up behind him.

*He walks over, very worried about being snatched up by a plant-demon or something along those lines.*

[severus-snape1.livejournal.com]

I wouldn't be so certain of that.

*But he, like Hal, does approach them cautiously, being careful to stay out of what he judges to be branch-length.*

[noshoesinhell8.livejournal.com]

Oh, I've seen THIS movie before. Whatever it was is gonna pick us off, one by one, and you are the moron who's gonna walk right into it. Look, we've lost Wes the demon expert; doncha' think we should try to stick close so we don't lose the other valuable people?

[beautysleep4.livejournal.com]

There is a certain amount of safety in keeping together. *Beauty is trying to stay close to Hal without hampering his investigations. She seems tensed as though she expects something to materialize at any moment and she keeps clutching at the slime draped trees as they walk by for support. The taller she becomes the more the slightest breeze seems to affect her. Willowy by nature at her normal height, now she seems to sway like a sapling who has shot up beyond reason.*

You assume the worst. Perhaps he saw something and went ahead to make certain it was safe for the rest of the party. That is the charge of a champion.

[halleyscomet1.livejournal.com]

*He makes sure that Beauty is always in the corner of his eye; he'd probably die of guilt if she was hurt when his back was turned.*

It... doesn't seem like him to just disappear. *He sounds doubtful, aware that he hardly knows the man. But he likes to think that he's a good judge of character.*

*His height and abused limbs make movement clumsy and awkward, not to mention painful, but he's starting to get used to being in a constant state of harm. He can grit his teeth and bare it, so long as nothing unspeakably awful is going on.*

[severus-snape1.livejournal.com]

*Snape looks back at Lilah.*

Perhaps we're not walking right into it; what if it's circling around to pick up the straggler?

*He turns back to Hal.*

You're right; it's not like him. He would have let us known, with a caution to stay where we were, no doubt, so that he'd know we were waiting for him to come back. So now the question becomes, "Do we assume he went through the trees and go after him, or do we wait here?"

[noshoesinhell8.livejournal.com]

Decisive lot, aren't you?

*Lilah, with apparent need to prove she's not intimidated, or perhaps just the need to move forward, brushes past the others and takes a step into the slimy, dripping bracken and branches. She has to stoop, because she's grown too tall not to, and she stifles a cry at her body's wrenching protestations.*

See, no monsters, *she bites off, peering anxiously ahead. Where IS Wesley? He's not one to abandon her for his own needs, maybe for Angel's, but Angel's not here...*

[halleyscomet1.livejournal.com]

*Hal keeps breezy despite the slight blows to his masculinity that Lilah keeps inflicting upon him.*

It's good to see that someone's brave enough to go in there. Can you see anything?

*He wants follows after her, to push on ahead, but he feels that his duty now lies in making sure Beauty is kept safe. He lags back to stay with her.*

[severus-snape1.livejournal.com]

*It is Snape, then, who goes after Lilah. Ever since they reverted to normal after their cavemen experience, he has felt a little bad for her. She isn't exactly amiable company, but he suspects part of that is Wesley's own reaction to her.*

This is really the only place he could have gone, but I can't imagine he would have gone too far ahead without us.

[noshoesinhell8.livejournal.com]

*Lilah is creeping as much as someone her current size is able. It is obvious she is unnerved and a little disgusted by the surroundings, but then, who could blame her?*

I don't see him. I can't see much of anything, actually. It's really dark.

[severus-snape1.livejournal.com]

*Snape follows, committed to providing her protection, though if something was powerful enough to take out Wesley without a sound, he has very little hope of defending either of them against it, and he knows it. As he gathers his courage, he thinks, well, he's died before....*

Here, take my hand; let's not get separated as he did.

[beautysleep4.livejournal.com]

Perhaps we should follow. If we are separated now we might never find each other again.

*She looks to Hal, it is obvious to him that his opinion will carry weight with her-perhaps even make up her mind. She seems anxious but restless and it is impossible for Hal to tell if this is due to her growing unease over Wesley's dissapearance or simply the discomfort that her ever growing bones are causing as the stretching puts more strain on them.*

What does your champion's heart tell you then...Hal?

*She uses the name hesitantly the lack of comfort with its informality is obvious but so is the gesture to show her trust in him as well as a fondness.*