open } { oh i could hide 'neath the wings of the bluebird as she sings

[crescents]

[ Things you need to know before you ever, ever tag Sophie Wilder, in very particular order:

1.) She has two overprotective supernatural hunter brothers that look like they're built out of stone, one of whom you may have already seen sulking around the boat, destroying one sandbag at a time.

2.) She has an equally protective and at times ornery guardian angel.

3.) She may or may not also be in possession of an psychotic extremely morally questionable vampire ex-boyfriend. You thought Damon Salvatore was trouble.

You have been warned.

Anyhoo, she's going to end up exploring every inch of the boat; at the very least, as much of it as she can. Sophie is in the process of opening doors, curious to see what's inside the countless rooms making up one of the hallways. Each and every room has a different theme. Are you already in this room when she stumbles on it? Or do you get swept into the room along with her? Do you want to choose what this room contains or do you want to risk Ella picking for you?

We just don't know yet. ]

Comments

[thine]

[that one particular brother who has been sulking around the boat is still here. james is frustrated by it, and it is not like he is someone that knows how to have any fun or how to relax at all. he is always tense, always training, always working out, which is why he is in the gym when sophie stumbles into that particular room.

he turns at the sound of the door opening in surprise when he sees who it is, standing there. his sister. the human parts of him come slamming forward through bits and pieces of the hollowness that always threatens to encase him completely.

(and damn, these two siblings are incredibly attractive. VERY GOOD GENES. /applauds ._.)]

...Sophie?

[yes, even on a magic cruise ship meant for relaxation/vacation, your brother is still training. >_>]

[crescents]

[ thankfully for james, sophie wilder has now arrived.

she is determined to fill his life with fun and relaxation, which should be very easy to achieve in a boat like this one where there are plenty of areas to have both. it doesn't surprise her in the least she's found her brother in the training room of all rooms. she's already explored enough to know there are dozens of rooms a lot more interesting than this one. and yet. ]

Seriously?

[ she puts a hand on her hip. ] There are thousands of rooms, one of which has every ice cream flavor imaginable, and this is the one you end up in? [ it's not surprising, really.

just shameful. ]

[thine]

[james has searched through as much of the ship that he can even if the rooms tend to change at times, which is disconcerting enough. if rooms can be lost and changed, what happens to the people in them? he hadn't really thought much about it before. he'd just been training because that is what he knows how to do, but now his sister is here

so everything changes.

he stares at her still in surprise as he shakes his head.] ...you're--

[/words. james sets down the sword that he'd had and makes his way over to her.]

How long have you been here?

[crescents]

[ sophie tilts her head thoughtfully. ]

Two hours, give or take?

[ one would think she's been here longer, with how she hasn't batted an eyelash and how many rooms she's explored, but that's sophie wilder for you. and okay, maybe she had a moment of panic or two, but with james here, she is officially unconcerned. her tone is as chipper as ever, and she extends her arms as far as they'll go as he makes his way over to her. she looks at him very expectantly, ftr. ]

Do I get a hug now or ...?

[ the correct answer is now. right this moment. preferably yesterday. ]

[thine]

[james knows his sister well enough to know that she enters any place without batting an eyelash. she is very capable of rolling with anything, and she is strong, brave though he is certain she was scared when she first got here. he... had had a moment of worry when he'd arrived to, thinking there wouldn't be a way back like so many rifts that are now in their world.

he'd worried about it.

he lifts his eyebrows at her when he sees the way she extends her arms like that, and there's a tiny, helpless smile that tugs on his face before he steps forward the rest of the way until there is no more distance between him and his sister.

james doesn't answer her in words. he just wraps his arms tightly around her, pulling her in against his chest protectively.]

Are you okay?

[crescents]

[ now that's more like it.

sophie smiles softly once she's wrapped up in her arms. james is very, very big, so her feet leave the ground immediately when he pulls her up against his chest. her arms lock around his neck in turn, and for a moment she says nothing, just holding him tightly. she loves him, even when they don't see eye to eye.

... even when they keep things from each other, and if she's going to be stuck in a creepy (but cool) cruise ship then she might as well be stuck with the one person she knows would never let anything bad happen to her if he can help it.

of course, that can be alarming in its own ways. james never worries after himself. ]

Never been better now. [ she beams at him a little. ] Wait. How long have you been here? [ if he was working out and stuff... ]

[thine]

[james tightens his hold on her very protectively, warmly as he keeps her up against his chest.

he sets her down slowly on the floor again, staring down at her as his hand rests against her shoulder like he is trying to see that she is in one piece, and she is. he loves her very much, and he has missed her over the years that she was away for her own safety. it was good when she came back to live in the mansion, good to see her now even as he worries. yes, he will always worry about her and wouldn't let anything bad happen to her.

(and he'd do anything to keep bad things from happening to her. but of course, he doesn't worry about himself. he's the hollow man, the tin soldier.]

...months, I think. It's hard to keep track of time. Most people come and go fairly often. I left once, and then came back. I thought it... was a dream. [it didn't seem like it could have been real except now he's here again.]

idek it's been a long day

[zorro]

[ eh, if he dies he'll just be reborn again. it's a risk he'll take — though it seems he has no choice in the matter as it's she who pulls open the door to reveal a shirtless mamoru leaning over the sink in the bathroom of the cabin he shares with usagi, a toothbrush shoved in his mouth. good morning?? he thought that second door led to a closet!

this ship is quickly losing some of its novelty. ]

[crescents]

Whoops! [ sophie has the decently to look properly apologetic, if not still chipper. ] Sorry! Hi? I'm Sophie, I just got here so I decided to explore. I didn't mean to intrude on your tooth-brushing time. I take tooth-brushing time very seriously. [ she thinks the bathrooms could use at least a little bit of music, but what does she know? maybe it'll pop up now that she's thought of it. ]

[zorro]

[ mamoru finishes brushing, spits, and rinses out his mouth and his toothbrush before replying. talking with a mouthful of toothpaste and spit is just as rude as talking with it full of food. ]

Chiba Mamoru. [ he reaches for his shirt and pulls it back over his head. ] It's not your fault. The doors on this ship don't always do what they're supposed to — or stay in the same place, for that matter.

[crescents]

[ sophie twirls in place until her back is facing him, to give him some semblance of privacy. it's the only polite thing to do. ] That's good to know. I mean, creepy, but good to know. The more I learn about this place, the better. Have you been here long?

[zorro]

[ he shakes his head, running a hand through recently gelled hair to make sure the strands are still going in the directions he wants them to. ]

My girlfriend and I have been here about a month, which from what I hear, is a short time compared to some of the ship's other inhabitants.

[crescents]

[ sophie sighs. that's not exactly reassuring, but it's honest, and she could use honesty right about now. ]

That probably means I should find my own cabin and start getting comfy. [ she makes a face, though. 'cause she's not pleased by this turn of events, cool as the room exploring has been. ]

[all_thecavalry]

[Lois Lane is on a mission to collect all the Wilders. Not that she realizes she's on this mission, as she doesn't know that one other than James exists, but she's on a mission all the same.

Also, none of those points are deterrents. She's already met James, she's got an ornery guardian angel all her own, and she thinks it sounds like she and Sophie should go have a drink and dish about their bad taste in men.

(Lois, your ex-boyfriends were never that bad, please don't be ridiculous.)

Regardless, Lois is a door opener herself, and while she usually drags Maxwell with her when she does her dirty work, she tries to give him a break every once in awhile. Getting him off her case for a day or so (so long as she doesn't get herself hurt) usually is best for both of them.

She's reaching for the same door Sophie is when she realizes that someone else is also scouring this particular hallway, and she looks up with a surprised smile.]

Sorry! Didn't realize this door was taken.

[crescents]

[ Sophie thinks it's a noble and perfectly acceptable mission, Lois. Her brothers could use actual human interactions to remind them they're more than hunters. She laughs at the apology, and quickly shakes her head in reassurance. ]

I've always said the more the merrier.

[ She's not greedy about sharing when it comes to certain things. Maybe. ]

Besides, it was getting a little creepy doing the whole exploring thing on my own.

[all_thecavalry]

That's why I keep telling people we should employ the buddy system. Never go exploring without a friend. You never know where you could end up.

[That's a lesson she learned in Chicago the hard way.]

I'm Lois.

[crescents]

I'm Sophie.

[ the answer is chipper despite the circumstances. ] And that's a good system. Does this make you my new buddy? [ 'cause it sounded like volunteering to sophie. ]

[all_thecavalry]

[Lois grins back at her before nodding.]

Looks like. Ready to see what's behind door number two?

[crescents]

Of course I am! A Wilder is always ready. [ she says this with a hint of pride, because it's true. she and her siblings are wildly different as night and day, but if they have something in common - beyond the piercing blue of their eyes - it's how daring they are. ]

/sets it after the ball announcement :')

[enfolded]

[guess who is also on the cruise ship, sophie?

the absolute last person ever that you would want to be here especially with your brothers also around.

but life is just that cruel, isn't it?

he is already aware that james wilder is here, and he was smart enough (and less reckless for once) to keep his distance, but he'd hoped she'd show up here too.

johnny is leaning against a wall of the room that she has just entered. he is smoking a cigarette in one hand as he looks into the room after her with that tiny smirk on his face that tugs a bit wider (he knows her reaction to him will not be a positive one, but it doesn't stop that it is really fucking good for him to see her again, always).]

...so you going to the ball, Sophie Wilder?

s c r e a m

[crescents]

[ johnny is a problem.

these days, johnny is almost always a problem. or maybe it's her lack of willpower that's ultimately the problem. even when she decides she is going to be strong, she finds herself caving into him each and every time. but not anymore. she is turning over a new leaf. she is becoming a new woman.

hear her roar -

ugh, he looks so attractive though.

sophie's hand tightens on the door knob, barely acknowledging the room behind her now that he is here. she knows he's asking out of feigned formality. johnny knows her too well to have to ask whether she would really skip something like a masquerade ball. she backs away a little until she's all but flattened against the door behind her. ] When did you get here?

[ that question is more important. extremely more important. because james. and danny. and james and danny. ]

u love meeeeeee ;)

[enfolded]

[johnny doesn't think that her lack of willpower is a problem at all. he leans against the wall as he looks at her, noticing the way her hand tightens on the door knob out of the corner of his eye. the tiny smirk on his face widens a bit as he drinks in the sight of her. she is as gorgeous as she always has been with her blond hair, that look on her face.

he misses her, aches for her, needs her, loves her (the kind of love that can drown a person). can't stop thinking about her. johnny knows exactly where she'll be. at that masquerade ball. he doesn't have to ask but he asks anyway, because he is not planning on staying away from that ball even though he is certain her brothers will be there too.

johnny wouldn't miss out on the chance to see her in one of those gorgeous gowns she wears.

his hand rests against the wall as he turns to her with that little smirk still in place.]

Months ago.

[he pushes himself off the wall, saunters over in her direction with that focused look in his gaze.] Was wondering when you'd show up.

asdfja of course i do :')

[crescents]

[ sophie remains still, watching as he pushes himself off the wall and makes his way over to her.

she's seen that look on johnny's face before; she has seen him wearing it around her and because of her. once upon a time it had been all she ever wanted. to mean the world to him. to mean anything to someone. she didn't understand how terrifying it could be, how quickly it could go to hell in a hand basket.

she loves him and she doesn't want to; she would readily tear him out of her heart if it was that simple to do. that's not romantic, whatever fairy tales try to tell you. it's been killing her, he has been killing her, and distance away from him helps.

this is not distance. ]

James is here.

[ if he's been here for months like he says, that means he must know james is here, too. sophie doesn't say it as an admission. she says it as a reminder. he needs to stay away, even if these close quarters will make that more difficult to achieve. ]

jkrlae; dang straight :')

[enfolded]

[johnny is really only focused like this, with this amount of intensity when it comes to sophie wilder.

he misses her every single second of every single fucking day. he saunters over to her until he is standing in front of her, looking down at her when he gets close enough that their chests are nearly brushing against each other.

he could make her drown in it, in how much he needs and wants and misses her, how much he loves her. johnny swallows as he stops in front of her, looking down at her face, at the softness of her lips, the intense blue of her eyes, how her hair spills over her shoulders as her jaw remains locked like she wants to tear him away from her.]

I know. [and he knows why she says it. his fingertips slide up to the very tips of the strands of her hair.] I don't care.

[nothing could keep him away from her, certainly not the threat of her brothers. all he wants in the world is to be near her, that's all he wants anymore (the only person who ever loved him, the only person he has ever loved).]

[crescents]

Yes, I know.

[ and if there's a hint of bitterness in her voice, sophie makes no effort to mask it. ] If you've made anything perfectly clear, it's that you don't care about my family. [ the whole reason he decided to get close to her in the first place was to sell her brothers out, and if he thinks she is forgetting that for a moment, then he has got another thing coming.

the problem is she's never fully unmoved by him, even when she wants to be. it's not as easy as just saying you want to get over someone to really get over them, and a part of her wonders if she will ever be completely successful.

sophie steps away the moment his fingertips curl around the tips of her hair, looking off to the side. she wishes she could hold on to her anger more. and it's not that she isn't angry with him, hasn't been angry with him this whole time. it's that it's nowhere near the strongest emotion. there's hurt and disappointment and regret, because this could've all been a lot different and he decided for the both of them it wasn't going to be. ]