lina_musebox | ;rey&poe

She was mad. She got mad last time, too. Finn's not sure if Poe remembers it as vividly as he does.

He let her go once the door disappeared, backing away a step with his hands raised. She was theirs. The proof just kept piling up.

"Just listen to what we have to say. We can answer any questions you have. And if you still want... to leave-" He paused to glance back at Poe, knowing the other wouldn't like this promise. "If you want to leave when we're done talking, we'll let you go. We'll bring you anywhere you want."

That'll probably erupt in an argument later. It wasn't like Finn found it easy to say, though.

“Trust you?!” Did Poe understand how insane that sounded? Trust them after they kidnapped her and threw her into....into a dungeon?! She was not going to die here. No, no, she survived a system that failed her as a child, she wouldn’t not in some dark, underground basement! Never mind the fact they were all speaking a dialect that was thousands of years old.

“What? Is this the part where you tell me I’m the descendant of Jesus and the Illuminati are after me?” Ridiculous, all of it, but she was too stubborn to follow them down the stairs. She was standing her ground and refused to be moved further.

God what kind of mess did she get herself into?!

“This is all insane and you want me to trust you?!” And ow, why did that hurt to say it like that?!

Poe gave Finn a very hard look. The other man could say whatever he liked, but Poe knew how hard losing Rey again would hit him. Poe (or so he thought) could weather the rejection, but Finn would be miserable for the next thousand years. And Poe was not about to do that to him, promises of freedom or no.

This was where Rey belonged. Once she knew that, once she believed that, then they could all go back up topside and enjoy the world outside of Under. But until then, she wasn’t going anywhere.

He took another few steps down, having to tilt his chin up to see her, eyes narrowing.

“Jesus isn’t one of ours. And the Illuminati? Really?” He turned around, his dark mood deepening, glowering down into the darkness. “If you don’t start walking, I’m going to crumble the stairs beneath you,” he warned, and then he started to descend.

To Finn: “I’m calling the dog. She’s got to at least remember the dog.”

Edited (Sorry phone typing ) 2019-09-01 16:46 (UTC)

Finn didn't want to lose her again, but this time was clearly not like the last. She could find out everything, she could remember everything, yet not want to be here. Finn would never want her to be unhappy, not like they had been for so long. He couldn't do that to her.

"We're not going to hurt you," he repeated quietly after Poe's veiled threat. "He might try to scare you, but- Listen, you don't have to trust us, but there's not really anywhere else to go, anyway. I know you want answers."

He held his hand out to her, hoping that kindness would be the way forward and not Poe's cold desperation. "You're not a descendant of someone. You are someone. Please, Rey. Give us a chance."

Jesus wasn’t one of theirs? That didn’t make sense to her! Nothing has made sense and she really, honestly, hated it. Rey hates being left I. The dark with things but she couldn’t very trust either of them. If anything, she was thinking how she could escape. The strap of her satchel could be used to choke one of them. Her pen could be used for stabbing, a girl had to have her options for self defense—

Wait Poe was going to make the stairs crumble?! What the hell?! She let out a frustrated sigh, but at least Finn was trying a kinder tactic. Her brown eyes looked down at the offered hand...and despite her anger and hesitation, she reached out for it. Her hand easily slipping into his and that familiar spark cane back.

“I’m a student. Nothing more,” she murmured, following Finn down the stairs, unsure how they were illuminated since there didn’t seem to be a light source.

“But how do you know my name?” It wasn’t very common but still.

“Beebee!” Poe yelled down the stairs, his voice echoing far further than it should. Just how deep did this staircase lead? And why was it getting warmer the further they went?

“I know your name like I know my own heartbeat,” Poe muttered, loud enough to be heard in the dead silence of the staircase but not much louder. “The humans had other names for you, but we knew the true one. They get Finn and I completely confused. Most of them thought we were just one person, which- I mean, he’s handsome as hell so I don’t mind but we aren’t the same.”

He was calming down a little, at least, now that she was walking. He didn’t have to look behind him to feel Finn’s hands in hers. He could feel the echo of it in his own palm and it made his heart ache.

“You might know us by our joined titles. Lord of the underworld. Pluto. Hades. But we aren’t complete without you.”

Finn was mostly trying to concentrate on not squeezing Rey's hand. He held it gently like she could break if he squeezed any harder. Mostly, he didn't want to frighten her more. She felt safe enough to reach for him - she reached out for him - and he wasn't going to ruin that with idle thought and aching impulses.

Though, he had enough mind to wonder if Poe was telling her too much at once. With Poe apparently calming down, he wasn't going to argue the matter.

"We-... We knew you a long time ago. A long time ago. Something happened to you, and we've been alone ever since. But now you've come back and-" Well, not really back to them or even to their temple. He had meant back to life.

"Have you heard of reincarnation?" Finn's still a bit behind on the progress of mortal's stories. Is that still a thing most of them believe in? Does he sound crazy?

Wait, so the two of them were what? Gods? Greek myth experts? More information that didn’t make sense in the logical space. It was like she was in the Twilight Zone. Reincarnation? It was talked about sure, but nothing that could be plausible. She is trying to keep an open mind, but hard to do when the people around her were speaking crazy things.

“Yes, I’ve heard of it but doesn’t mean it’s real.” Because there was no scientific fact behind it. And people with psychic connections were a crock of shit.

As they walked down the stairs, the air around them felt warmer and she could hear....the sound of paws scraping against the floor? Okay so maybe they were in a dungeon that had animals? What the hell?

“But you two as Lords of the Underworld? That....that’s ridiculous.” Cause if they were “waiting” for her then that would make her Persephone...ha. Like she was a goddess. Fuck, what of kind of shit was she in? Crap, was this a cult?

Sorry, Finn. They were long past gentle introductions. All Poe could really do was push her into the deep end and hope she could swim.

Poe let out a little scoff at “something happened”, but he didn’t interrupt Finn. Oh, something happened alright. A murder happened. And even though she’d killed Kylo back didn’t mean that Poe didn’t wish daily that his soul had ended up here. He would have spent the last several millennia ensuring that Kylo knew just what he’d done.

“Look, I could go all fire and brimstone on you if I wanted, but I spent a long time on this body and I like it the way that it is. And I’m not sure you’re in a position to tell what’s real or not. Since when could a mortal even speak this dialect? Or have you been brushing up on Olympian Greek during your studies?”

He paused on the stairs, the sound of paws scraping stone getting louder and louder and louder.

Suddenly Poe’s whole demeanour changed and a grin split his face and he started running down the stairs, two or three in a step.

“Buddy!” He cried, exhuberant, and suddenly out of the darkness bounded a massive dog. Easily half again Poe’s height, it barrelled into him and knocked him down onto the steps, licking at his face. It seemed to be getting smaller as it did, though, until the excited white and orange dog fit comfortably in Poe’s lap. Or, he would, if he wasn’t sprawled over Poe’s chest.

It paused, suddenly, tilting its head up to look at Finn and Rey, and for a second it almost looked like it had three heads instead of one. Then, just as suddenly, it let out a joyous bark and bounded towards them.

They had little physical evidence. Her dresses and other things had all been kept untouched but those could belong to anyone. Their best proof was what she was already beginning to feel. He wasn't entirely confident she'd remember Beebee but she did remember something.

Finn smiled when the dog rapidly approached, stepping forward but not releasing her hand. However, the dog ran right by him. At least he couldn't blame the poor thing.

"Easy, easy, easy-!" He squeezed her hand tighter, ready to make a catch if she fell.

“What are you—!!” A body? He crafted a body? Again, not making sense and all logic seemed to have gone out the window when she saw a big dog tackle Poe. It’s coloring changing to orange and white—and Rey felt her heart sunk into her chest. That dog was so familiar—like one of the dogs she saw as a child but couldn’t have.

It was bounding for her and rather than try to pull away, Rey knelt down and caught him. Without thinking, a smile came over her face as she started to pet and scratch and love on him. She was laughing, giggling—a complete 180 from earlier.

“BeeBee!!” She cries, letting go of Finn’s hand to give the cute pet all the pets it wanted, not minding that he and his other two heads were licking her face. It was a magical moment where they were all together again....

But all good things didn’t last for long. After several minutes of puppy kisses, Rey came out of her stupor and held the dog to her....and looked up at both men.

“...this doesn’t make any sense.” This REALLy didn’t make sense and now she was starting to pull away from the poor pup.

With Rey fully distracted by the Dog, Poe finally let himself turn around and look back at her. For a few seconds - Beebee in he arms, Finn standing next to her, it was like Poe’s entire universe had shifted back into space. He drew in a shuddering breath, his heart aching for them, and it took everything he had not to draw them both into his arms and hold them tight for the next couple centuries.

Instead, his joy cracked as she stood up, trying to separate from the scene, as if she hadn’t just poured love all over a creature who’s name she shouldn’t even know.

“I knew you’d remember him,” he murmured, lowly. Even as the dog let out a low, sorrowful, questioning sound, and oushed his head against her leg.

“This is your home, Rey,” he continued, his voice far softer than it was before. “Part of you knows it. Part of you feels it. Part of you knows we’re telling the truth. You used to live down below, with us. All of us. Together.”

Finn missed her hand like burning but didn't bring any attention to it. Especially not when he was given this gift. The image of her lavishing her affections on a creature she shouldn't know was near to breaking his heart... in a good way. Though it had been so long, he was immortal and thought his memories were still fresh. Yet, this- The small details, the sight of her smile, the sound of her laugh-

He felt a heat behind his eyes but blinked hard as soon as it had appeared. By the time he composed himself, her spell had been broken.

"We were a family," he agreed quietly. And they were, of sorts. They were together and one and separate. He wasn't sure how else to explain it to her with just a mortal's understanding. "It doesn't make much sense now but it will. You'll understand. Just, please, give us a little time."

“No..that’s...not true. I..” her mind was spinning trying to process what was going on. How she knew a creature that she never met before and how right it felt to hold them, pet them. How these two knew her, or even spoke the same language long forgotten by history.

“I’m no one, I have no family.” She grew up alone. A young woman who had no one to turn to. Someone her parents didn’t want. Someone who was broken in so many places and easily disposable. Her worth only boiling down to what she could do. What used she had, and how she had to fight for her own education.

Tears started to prick at the corners of her eyes but she forced them dow. She forced those feelings down because none of this was real. It was a ploy to get her down here and....and do something. What that was, she wasn’t sure.

“You have the wrong person. This....this isn’t for me.”

A darkness fell over Poe's face again and his fingers curled tight at his side. He hadn't really been prepared for this, and gods but it hurt to hear here reject them out of hand.

He bit his tongue before he said something he would really regret, and then patted the side of his leg, Beebee immediately trotting over to join him.

"You're the farthest thing from 'no one' that there is," was all he replied, stubbornly, before looking at Finn.

"There's no point trying to convince her on the stairs. We'll take her down to the garden." And he turned, giving Beebee's head - heads? - head a gently scrub as he continued into the dark.

Finn watched Poe start moving again, sharing in some of his darkness. But where Poe was angry, Finn was terribly saddened. Rey thinking that little of herself, thinking she was no one, broke his heart just a little more.

"You had a family," he offered quietly, trying and failing to hide the anguish he felt. "You still do if you'll have us."

But he was beginning to doubt. Why would she at this rate? Why believe them at all? Why trust them? It was too much.

Finn didn't reach for her hand again, instead stepping away to follow Poe. "C'mon, you used to love the gardens. They're yours, after all."

Poe’s demeanor shifted again, dark and angry. For Finn, his was sadness and maybe doubt? It was easy for Rey to see but, she was so confused and it was becoming overwhelming. She had grown up with nothing and kindness was a rare thing. Even rarer when it came with no conditions.

“....I lived in foster care when I was five until I was eighteen..” she murmured softly, forcing herself to keep walking, thinking her words would make them understand why she viewed herself in such a state. Her words were true, she had no family to speak of so to be told she did have a family—-it had to be some cruel joke.

Rey took in a deep breath, continuing down the stairs down to where they wanted to take her. The gardens? Persephone loved flowers, she was the Goddess of Spring, more or less but again, that’s not who Rey was. That was someone else. Someone she didn’t know, but she also didn’t know Poe or Finn but they seemed to think otherwise.

Rey remained quiet as they continued to walk, holding back her emotions and her confusion. Maybe this was all some weird dream and she’d wake up soon enough.

He heard her, but it didn't give him a greater context. He couldn't remember being a child, let along having a childhood. But the fact that anything or anyone would make Rey feel lesser infuriated him.

He led them down into the dark, into the warmth, she stairs slowly beginning to wind in a spiral, the walls becoming rough and rugged. There was the sound of dripping water, somewhere, and the crackle of flame, but nothing visible. Eventually, he slowed, and the stairs came to a stop, opening up into a great cavern. It looked dark, at first. But when he stepped out further into the space, and trained his eyes upward, he was met with what looked like an entire galaxy, spread across the high cieling of the cavern. Tiny glowing lights, flickering and purple. Slowly, as the three of them entered, the lights began to glow brighter, until the giant cavern was illuminated as clearly as on a full moon's night.

Finn didn't know what to make of her words. For mortals, that's a lifetime, he knew. She must have been small and vulnerable during this time, too. He hated the mere thought.

When no other words were forthcoming, he stepped off of the stairs and watched light dance on the ceiling before turning back to her. "This is our home." Our. Hers, too, even if she didn't want it. "If you ever need somewhere to go, this place is always open to you."

Clearly, he still seemed to be under the assumption that she would be free to go. That was a bridge to cross later, though.

"Back then, you thought a garden would make it a little more lively. Couldn't really blame you at the time." The lack of sunlight even got to Finn every now and then, even if there was a time after her death that he couldn't stand to feel it on his skin. "Not bad so far, right?"

Rey didn't know what to expect when she stepped off the staircase, her feet on solid ground once more. She was at a loss for words, and trying to figure out what her next steps needed to be. If she could still run, if she could find a way out...or be confused and received more answers that didn't make any sense, and would only hurt the pair more. She still didn't believe this was for her-that she was whatever Goddess or person they thought she was. Rey had grown up living in a crappy home, with a guardian who didn't give a shit about her, and spent more nights hungry than she'd care to admit.

This? This seemed like some fairytale, but those weren't true. Just as myths and legends weren't true.

However, she would have to reevaluate all of that upon looking up to see a vast galaxy on the ceiling. Twinkling lights like stars, and planets, and constellations that were breath taking. It was as if they had the whole night sky to themselves. Faint images raced through her mind of three people spending hours and even days here, enjoying the light of the full moon and relaxing...coming to get away when something weighed heavy on them.

"It's beautiful...." But it wasn't an actual garden? There were no plants, only a galaxy--which was impressive in and of itself, but once she looked down and away from it...she saw a lush garden with various flowers, trees, and more in front of them. Fields of flowers of different hues and shapes. Trees that offered shade, or long branches to climb....

Even slabs of stone for benches and small fountains. Romantic--whimsical even. And utterly familiar. Wait, a moment. She had seen this place before, in her dreams. on nights where she felt so lonely, she dreamed of this place, waiting for someone to find her--or someone's.

"It's not bad, but....I've dreamed of this place before. I thought it wasn't real."

Poe both loved and hated this garden. There were a few centuries where he'd refused to even step foot in it - the memory of Rey being so viciously potent and the grief at her loss so consuming that he was afraid in his rage he'd just burn it all down.

Other times, all he wanted was to be here and never leave.

He couldn't tell how he felt, right now. His chest was a whirling vortex of conflicting emotions. Happy to have her here, happy to see her, but so, so very angry at the fact that she'd somehow been taken from them even more than before.

To be right here, so close and yet out of reach--

"It's yours," Poe rumbled, an echo to Finn, even though he couldn't look at her. He crouched down and focused on Beebee instead, rubbing him down thoroughly. "Finn and I, we... This place looked very different, before you. You brought life here, to a lifeless place."

Finn himself felt much like a vortex, too. He wished that Poe hadn't acted so quickly, regretting they didn't have that spare moment to step back and think through all of this. Now everything has happening, and they had to just roll with the punches.

Yet, where Poe could hardly glance at her, Finn found it difficult to look away. She was here, standing before them, and he was almost convinced it was a dream. However, it seemed that dreams were more real than he thought. He smiled at her, wide and almost tearful, when she recognized her home.

"It's very real. You spent so long creating every little detail and then you'd hardly leave." She often dragged them both there, whether they were busy or not. All three of them laying in the grass and watching their stars. Their own perfect world.

He held a hand out to her and nodded back towards a gigantic willow glittering in starlight several feet away. "One of your favorite spots was by that tree. Maybe you'll remember more if we walked around a little?"

There was a slow nod of her head, tearing her gaze away from the garden to slip her hand in Finn’s. She didn’t know what to think. It was all so overheated but things were coming to her but it was in spurts? And they weren’t full memories. Just images and feelings. Nothing concrete.

“I’m still confused by all of this. It shouldn’t make any sense...”

He almost didn't follow them. He considered it, for a few seconds. Finn was handling this a hell of a lot better than he was, and he was worried that if he kept up with them that he'd lose his temper again and drive her away. So even as they walked, he stayed with Beebee, the hound making a low questioning sound.

"I know, buddy," He murmured softly to the dog. "I don't know what to do, either."

He'd been happy, often, to watch his lovers - his wife, his husband, his other halves - be together. Not be part of it, necessarily, not all the time, just to watch the two of them enjoy each other's company. Finn had a special smile, just for Rey, and Rey had a special smile, just for Finn, and he had often liked to bask in it. In how much they loved each other. In how much they loved him. But now, as he turned his head to watch them walk away, all he saw was Rey's hesitancy and confusion, and Finn's worry.

It gave him nothing but pain, to stay back and watch them now.

So he finally got up, following after them and thrusting his hands into his pockets, little dark clouds of something like dust or smoke trailing after his feet.

"Mortals make everything more complicated than it is," He murmured. "It's not that science isn't real, or doesn't work. It just doesn't apply to us. Think about it like... another plane of existence. We share their world, sometimes, but we also exist somewhere else. Right now? You're somewhere else. A mortal could dig down from the exact spot I made the stairs and never find this place. It won't make sense if you keep trying to fit it into the physical world you know."

Mmm, maybe telling her that she wasn't on the mortal plane of existence anymore wasn't a good call. Again, Finn rolls with it. He has to.

Besides, there were more important things. Her hand was in his again. She reached for him again. He could burst with joy if he wasn't terrified of the disappointment he knew would come. She was scared and confused, but... this was still progress.

Instead of letting her realize and focus on the fact that she was trapped here - a fact that even Finn was now ready to fight - he tried to emphasize Poe's point. "Think of it like a- a... far away land. Something out of stories. It's real but it doesn't have to make sense. It just is.

"You made this garden, remember? You did it with the same abilities we have. With enough time, you could do it all again."

He directed her beneath the willow tree that they had napped under countless times in the distant past. It felt so strange to bring her back here now. He could scarcely believe this was happening.

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject