Sun rises, night falls, sometimes the sky calls...

[demonicbeauty]

Who: Ariadne and various (hit me up if you want a starter!)
What: Ariadne keeping busy and being bad at processing her feelings
When: Throughout January
Where: Various, but mostly Serenity Garden

Content Warnings: Backstory trauma likely to come up, discussion of Jedi/Sith violence, will update as needed.

Comments

[demonicbeauty]

[She smells him before she sees him, which is a good thing to her mind. It gives her time to start preparing. The last thing Ariadne is going to do is let Anakin Skywalker hurt someone else. So the second she picks up his scent, she quietly moves around the room, a light hand on the shoulders of strangers, quietly encouraging them to leave, to find another room. A safer place.

So the crowd has thinned by the time Ariadne actually sees Anakin. And feels a small flicker of rage.

When she first learned what he did to Dean, she wanted to hurt him. A sensation she never felt before and immediately hated. Maybe regretted, hard to say. She didn't act on it, which is a small consolation. But seeing him again brings back the memory of that anger.

A server passes by, carrying the remains of a drink--which she learned is called a margarita--on a tray. She reaches for his elbow with one hand, taking the tray from him. "Run. It's not safe here." A whisper softly in his ear. And her earnest expression seems to convince him, because he lets go of his tray and immediately turns, leaving the room.

Ariadne continues forward, flipping the tray on her forearm like a shield, clutching the stem of the margarita glass in the other hand.]

[facultative]

[Unbeknownst to her those precautions are unnecessary. The temptation of the dark side won't leave him so easily, but it's not something he wants to reach for.

He tilts his head in confusion as he watches her hold the tray oddly.]

You're supposed to put your cup on it.

[demonicbeauty]

[And he's not supposed to kill her friends. So they're all doing things wrong.

Ariadne rarely feels the urge to lash out, but that urge is trying to worm its way up her throat right now. Her fingertips tingle, claws almost itching to come out. She can't do that though. She can't just hurt someone for hurting someone. It's wrong and foolish and accomplishes nothing.

But she's just so...angry.

Which is probably why she thrusts the lipstick-stained glass out, sending the remains of the margarita at Anakin's face.]

[facultative]

[He closes his eyes as it hits his face and stands there. A moment passes and then another until he can feel it dripping down his neck and collar. Then he reaches up and starts wiping it out of his eyes.

There's no annoyance or anger, only a calmness as the Snake Den's influence keeps him placated.]

That's a waste.

[demonicbeauty]

[She immediately looks guilty. Quickly, she presses both hands to her mouth, as her eyes widen.]

I'm so sorry. Shouldn't have done that.

[And she actually means it. That's the thing about Ariadne and anger. It never lasts.

Awkwardly, she reaches to one of the empty tables, grabbing a napkin. She doesn't move forward though. Just holds it out for Anakin. She's in reach. Kind of.]

Sorry.

[facultative]

[He continues to wipe his face with his sleeve at first. Then the napkin is floated over to him so he can rub it through his hair. Being a little bit dirty isn't a deal breaker for him.]

Do you feel better now?

[demonicbeauty]

I don't know.

[Which is an entirely honest answer. Perhaps outside of the Snake Den, she wouldn't. But there is something nice and...final about it. Anakin hurt her. She's expressed her anger. Which is something she was never able to do before.

She sighs softly.]

Sorry. I just...

Please don't hurt him again. Please.

[facultative]

[Anakin stares at her for a bit.]

Who?

[She's going to have to be specific here.]

[demonicbeauty]

[That question is a bit troubling. But she decides to stick to her intentions for now.]

Dean. Dean Winchester. He's...

[How does she even say it?]

He's family. The only one I have.

[facultative]

[His confusion only grows.]

Why? He wanted to hurt you.

[demonicbeauty]

[And now she looks confused.]

Dean would never hurt me. He's saved my life. Twice.

Is this about the sex? Because Dean was literally just explaining it to me. He has no interest in pursuing a sexual relationship with me. He's in love with someone.

[Alastrians take love very seriously. It's sort of the ultimate goal of their existence, in some ways.]

[facultative]

[Flatly:] Yeah. Padmé.

He couldn't have her so he was going to force himself on you.

[demonicbeauty]

Padmé? But she's not...

[She stops herself from pointing out to Anakin that his wife isn't actually here.

And shakes her head.]

Dean is...in a relationship with someone named Castiel.

And he would never force himself on anyone.

[facultative]

[That makes it even worse. How could he be in a relationship with someone else while lusting after another?]

That's not what I heard.

[demonicbeauty]

[She slumps against the edge of a nearby table, still littered with half-finished drinks and treats. There had been a lovely couple there. Ariadne told them to run, when she spotted Anakin.

Suddenly, she just looks exhausted.]

What did he tell you?

[facultative]

He's her friend, someone she trusted with her secrets. And he was pretending to care the whole time because he wanted her.

[There's a distinct possibility that Dean has said none of this and he's making a lot of assumptions here.]

He was going to try and claim you when I stopped him.

[Maybe he went too far in doing so, but he doesn't regret stepping in.]

[demonicbeauty]

Anakin. None of that is true.

[The anger's subsided. She's speaking from a dull, matter-of-fact place.]

He's never met her. None of the Winchesters have. You were set up.

[Which is not an excuse for his behavior. But he ought to know all the same. If only to learn from this experience.]

I don't know why, but you were.

[facultative]

He knew we were married. No one else knows about that.

[It doesn't add up otherwise. He knew too much.]

[demonicbeauty]

Sam knew.

[She presses her lips together, clutching the edge of the table until her knuckles turn white.

Her feelings about Sam are complicated right now. A little too messy. But she can't shy away from talking about him. Even if he is...gone.]

He mentioned it to me once or twice.

[facultative]

Who's Sam?

[They weren't in a position for any introductions the one time they met as Anakin was a little busy killing his brother.]

[demonicbeauty]

Dean's younger brother. He...

[How do explain this story?]

He was hurt, somewhere between Deerington and Trench. And when he arrived here, he arrived without his soul. No conscience, no self-control. He's been doing terrible things for no reason at all.

Lying to a lot of people.

[facultative]

[Slowly:] You're saying he was doing those things and pretending it was Dean's fault?

[demonicbeauty]

[She hesitates. She can hardly say that Sam was ever going to "claim" her, but there were a couple of uncomfortable incidents. Including on the network when he did something...well. Kind of unseemly.

But Ariadne knows it's more complicated than that. She just doesn't know how.]

Dean believes that Sam was using him as bait for something. But he doesn't know what.

And it certainly wasn't me.

[facultative]

[He's upset now in a way that isn't so easily soothed over by the environment and that makes him dangerous. He hates the thought that he's been manipulated all this time and that he'd been pushed and prodded until he'd snapped.]

Where is he now?

[demonicbeauty]

Returned to the ocean.

[Which is a little hard to accept, given everything that she and Dean and the others did to restore his soul.

She didn't even get to say goodbye. That really burns. But then again, when has she ever truly had the chance to say goodbye?

Sighing, she shakes her head.]

There's no excusing his behavior. But you can rest assured it won't happen again.

[Not from him. But Ariadne gives Anakin a curious look. The real question now is if he'll overreact again. And that's really not up to her or any promises she can make.]