deercountry | ( november event catch all )

( he doesn't really know why he's invited wanda over for a drink but — that's what's happening. he feels oddly like he needs to be around someone, like it'll make him feel better.

what's happening to him, huh? is he going soft?

but, he begins to doubt his choice when he starts hearing the echo of laughter in his ear. at first, he thinks he's left his window open but no, it's shut.

the laughter sounds like it's coming from inside his apartment and, after checking to make sure it wasn't his device, checks the television and a few other appliances.

but the coffee machine isn't going to laugh.

so, maybe he was just going out of his mind. that'd be perfect and probably well overdue. )

Do you hear that?

( he's been hearing unfamiliar laughter for...too long now. something that he recognizes as being from a child but not any child that he knows.

and he'd just let it go for awhile, thinking it something outside and not really his business. but he's been hearing it consistently and, with it being almost evening, he thinks it would have stopped eventually.

but no, he's still hearing it and — it grows louder and then goes away before coming back.

he frowns and glances at katherine. )

The laughter?

Are we really looking for a mushroom?

( yes, that's what they were doing. he knows that and he knows that it's not just a mushroom but still. he has a hard time wrapping his head around the fact that they're going to try and find some magic mushroom that's going to —

what?

they've managed to make a lot of progress because of their speed but they still haven't hit the woods where this mushroom is located and he knows that they're heading into dangerous territory. )

[ he's definitely going soft. what happened last month (where he got very hard and very robotic) most definitely wasn't his destined path.

wanda doesn't think much of amos inviting her over. she's very aware that this is amos opening up in his own way, letting someone in… being friendly. space people show their friendliness in different ways. and she's appreciative of the distraction. the last time wanda had heard laughter, her boys had come back to her and she had allowed herself to be submissive to a very lovely delusion.

so when she arrives at his, she knocks a very annoying tune into his door because she's wanda and she thrives on being both theatrical and annoying (and sometimes both). ]

( he wishes he were in a better mood but that damn laughter's been keeping him awake and he's over it. so, when he yanks the door open, he's scowling.

but, it goes away fairly quickly before he shakes his head and steps aside, letting her in. )

Are you hearing laughter or am I finally cracking up?

[ wanda opens her mouth and then leaves it open as she steps across the threshold and thinks. and listens, of course. inside of his place, she turns around and tilts her head to the side as if exposing her ear will mean she can hear better.

with a slow, deep inhale, wanda rights herself and reluctantly nods. ]

I thought it was maybe my boys again.

[ but if he's hearing it, then it mustn't be. ]

It's a girl.

( or at least it's been a girl for him. maybe it's been different for her. )

So, you've heard it?

[ a part of wanda wants to be adamant that it's a young male's voice. that it's two voices. but if she thinks hard about it, she knows that she's heard what she wanted to hear. hearing a little girl's laughter has given her the chance to supplement it for her boys'.

so, she nods, feeling a little despondent. ]

Yes. A little girl.

[ katherine shrugs. ] Why not?

[ of all the things she's experienced in her long life, hunting a mushroom for some weirdo hasn't ever made its way on her list. and katherine pierce likes to try new things (every once in a while). given that they have nothing to lose (she's wearing her best hiking-for-mushroom heels), they only have the experience to gain.

she keeps her gaze lowered as if they'll stumble upon the magic mushroom now. ]

You've done weirder things, Stef.

Hm?

[ katherine furrows her brows as she looks around, keeping her ears peeled for laughter. nothing. not even a bark from aleksander or scratching at the furniture vanilla.

she shakes her head as she looks at stefan, still with her brows furrowed. ]

No. Maybe it's one of the neighbours laughing at one of their stupid jokes again.

Does she sound familiar to you?

( he knows that people can see things here and that people from the past can show up. maybe it's someone she knows that's for some reason talking to him too?

he doesn't know. )

Someone you've heard before?

Yeah, but...a mushroom.

( he doesn't even know why he's questioning it because of course it's a mushroom. he shakes his head and stops his questions there. )

I've never been out this far. Have you?

The neighbors don't have a kid. This is a young girl's laughter, Katherine.

( and he's pretty sure that no one new's moved in. but the laughter's been going on for awhile now. )

And even if it was, why would someone be laughing for what sounds like hours? Nothing's that funny.

[ katherine shakes her head. ] Nope.

[ does she seem bothered? not at all. she's out with stefan further than she's travelled since being in the trench.

she looks at him and smiles teasingly. ]

If you're scared, I can hold your hand.

( stefan rolls his eyes. he's not scared, he's more just...he doesn't know. it's a mushroom. )

You can hold my hand but not because I'm scared.

( but he'll stop complaining about the mushroom now. )

You're not curious about this thing?

Edited 2022-11-13 23:55 (UTC)

[ katherine holds out her hand for her scared beloved to take. he's definitely terrified of a mushroom. it's all right; everyone needs a flaw. ]

I'm hunting down a mushroom, Stefan. I'm as curious as someone who isn't eating it can be.

[ she's not bored, per se, but with all the strange shit that happens in the trench, she figures looking for a mushroom is as easy and simple as it comes. ]

Yeah, hunting down a mushroom.

( just saying that makes him want to — well, he doesn't know. it just sounds like they're going on some wild goose chase.

he sighs. )

Thought about what this mushroom might do?

[ wanda takes a moment to think despite knowing her answer. no, she doesn't recall the sound. if it's a child from westview, she never gave herself (let alone the audience) a chance to get to know what each child sounded like.

she shakes her head. ] No. [ but she narrows her eyes thoughtfully. ] I don't think it's from another world. It's from here. The Trench. I've never heard that kind of laughter before.

Think it's a real person?

( or was this some kind of ghost thing that they were going to have to deal with? )

Or something else?

[ wanda listens intently for a moment before she shrugs. ]

I don't know.

[ her experiences with hearing voices without any bodies attached to them came from her children. and she had been so wrapped up in her need to hear them that she hadn't quite figured out whether or not it was real. ]

The laughter sounds... happy. [ she tilts her head to the side as she regards him curiously. ] Doesn't it?

It does.

( but here, that could mean so many different things and it makes him nervous that he can't figure out where it's coming from. )

Did you hear it before you came here?

[ she nods. ]

I did.

[ although, to her credit, she did want to ignore it. and when ignoring it became too difficult, wanda chose to hear what she wanted to hear—her boys. ]

I don't remember when it started. I just heard it and kept hearing it.

Okay, so it's not triggered by something here.

( he doesn't know why he's trying to puzzle anything out about this place since he'll never get it right. )

I wonder if it's just — fuck, I don't even know with this place.

[ it's a given that amos is a little tired of the trench messing him around. after transforming into a robot last month, wanda can hardly blame him for being tired. but she has to wonder if he's frustrated because the sound's familiar. ]

It doesn't sound like someone you know, does it?

Didn't know many kids.

( mei was about the only one and this wasn't her. )

So no, it doesn't sound like anyone I know.

( november event catch all )

( I SEE THE GHOSTS OF YESTERDAY )

( INVISIBLE BUT AROUND )

( QUEST BESTIES )

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