aterat | When the wolves wear the wool

Entry tags:

When the wolves wear the wool

Who; Illyana + Mono
What; A friendly display of demonic limbo.
Where; Grey building then perhaps elsewhere
When; Backdated to end of August
Warnings;None so far, will update if any are needed

There was no denying the fact that Illyana rarely thought things through. Well, that wasn't entirely true. Recent history had proven that she was more than capable of methodically planning out every detail that could bring about the end of personal tormenters. Perhaps it was more accurate to say she didn't always think through the consequences of the things she said. Or did. One could assume it was just because she didn't care about said consequences and they wouldn't be entirely wrong. One could also just assume that she said and did things for the amusement in the moment and didn't think beyond that. Those people wouldn't be wrong either.

Either or, it all lead to the same result: moments like these. Moments where she'd said something and now found herself feeling strange about it. Like, perhaps, she was questioning whether or not it was entirely appropriate to suggest she could show someone as young as Mono a hell dimension. He couldn't be much older than she had been when Belasco had taken her away to Limbo. Was it really right to expose him to the place? Then again it had seemed like he had seen more than his share of scary places. Plus Limbo was hers now. It was still a hell dimension filled with imps and other demons but they followed her and some places...some places were not as bad as others. It would never be as amazing as Storm's garden but it was something that had life in it. That was more than she had ever accomplished before.

Perhaps it was best to leave it as his choice. If he wished to see then she could show him. Choice was something she had never been given after all. It only seemed right to give a choice to another. She teleported to the common room of his build, the disc appearing first with the slight scent of brimstone before the rest of her body appeared starting with her black combat boots, moving up to her black and red dress, to the large silver ankh around her neck, and ending with her awkward smiling face. In her hand she had two cinnamon pretzels still in their wraps.

"I stopped for snacks." IT was an apology for being late. At least as much of an apology as she ever gave.

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She gave a nonchalant shrug. "There's no way to be certain I suppose. But, some have said they don't remember when they return." Her eyes took on a hint of sympathy as she looked down at him. "There's no reason to concern yourself with what we don't know." Was that a decent attempt at comfort? She wasn't entirely certain, but perhaps there's something to be said for trying?

"I see. Something with many eyes that's kind of gross? Perhaps your world has things like mine after all." It sounded a lot like what some of the elder gods she'd been tormented by looked like. With each thing he said she grew more curious about what precisely had happened in his world. "Interesting that your abilities appear to be connected to the TV as well." Curious indeed. "And the creature and the man in the hat are after you specifically?"

She tilted her head and then chuckled. "A helper in hell? I have plenty of demonic underlings." Now whether or not they were actually helpful, that was the question there. "Indeed I do already live up to it. There are none that can challenge me in my own domain. There are few that can really challenge me outside of it either anymore." She used to have harder set limitations when she wasn't in Limbo, but things had changed considerably with her deaths and resurrections. Perhaps there was a positive to all of those after all.

"Let's go then if you want to see it. But keep in mind I did warn you it's not much." The portals once again appeared around their feet and when they arrived in a new location this time it was a small garden. The sky was dark with swirls of red, but the garden was lit by some sort of unnatural white light. Illyana hadn't been kidding when she said it was small, the garden itself was no bigger than a living room in a house on the larger side. There were a few large oak trees that looked far more ancient than they probably should that created a canopy over the garden, blocking the view of Limbos more hell-like landscape. A pathway spiraled around them lined with bushes that held flowers that were bright red and yellow, though a few far off on the edges of the garden seem to be withering and touched with a strange blackness.

Mono at least could see the sense in what she said, and maybe understood it was meant to make him feel a little less bad about it all… He still did, of course, because the kid wanted to be ready for when he went back. He nodded a little, frown a little less severe as he finally responded a long moment later. “Yeah… I guess so…” And maybe he could figure out a way to remember things? Just because other people hadn’t, didn’t mean he couldn’t… Right?

“Yeah, I think… It wouldn’t look too weird in Limbo. But maybe not in the castle…” It was big, really big. All the books would end up covered in the thing if it ended up in the library, he was sure. That’d be a shame, losing all the books and stuff to that thing. Her next question gets a little hum and a nod. “It seems like it? Um… Before he grabbed my friend, I kept thinking something was calling me on the TV? She kept trying to stop me, but I still fell for their trap I guess.” It hadn’t been something he could easily ignore, of course. It was almost like a painful, sharp signal reacting to his head. It drew him in… But he still felt responsible, because he still lost his friend. Now the man in the hat was still after him, and he needed to figure out how to get her back.

“But are they good at helping you with the stuff you need help with?” He asked, thinking about the little imps again… They seemed to be pretty bad at doing stuff Illyana asked them to do from what he’d seen… He’d never had an underling before, so he guessed he didn’t know the first thing about that. Maybe they were good at some stuff, just not stuff outside limbo?

At the warning, he offered one of his tilted little attempts at a smile. “Of course! I promise to remember that, but I still think it’ll be nice.” He responded with a little nod, before he waited as the portals opened under his feet to whisk them away to this location she’d been working on making nicer. The child still gaped a little at the sight that met them. Sure, it was small! But… Small wasn’t bad. Small was cozy, and less daunting… Big places were usually full of scary things, after all. “Wow… You made it all pretty like this?” He edged closer to the yellow flowers curiously. Yellow was his favourite colour… He hadn’t noticed the withering edge in the distance to the garden. Everything was quite pretty here immediately in front of him, after all.

"Anything that wouldn't look too weird in Limbo is probably something one should stay far away from," she said with a quirk of her lips that almost resembled a smile. It was a joke but at the same time there was a disturbing amount of truth to it. Nothing in Limbo was kind or gentle, almost everything was out for power or death. Most often a mix of both. Except perhaps the imps...they were a confusing little group.

"You should be more careful for traps," she shook her head, both at him and at her own comment. He was a child and there was no reason for him to not fall for those at times. How often had she fallen for things when she had first arrived in Limbo? Too often. Far too often. "You will learn. The more difficult the lesson, the more strength you can take from it." That would be the only inspirational speech anyone would ever get from her and it wasn't even that good, was it?

"Who? The imps?" She shrugged. "Certain tasks are well suited for them. Verbal torture of uninvited guests is their specialty. Though I suspect sometimes they use those skills on me." Having to listen to them ask to help with things was pretty much verbal torture. "I have plenty of other underlings that do their jobs without mistakes." Mostly because they were intelligent enough to know she'd just kill them if they failed, but she didn't need to tell Mono that particular tidbit.

"I..." she trailed off as a wave of sadness hit her thinking about the person who had originally made the garden. It'd been so large then, so much more than this shade of a thing she'd managed to create. "I did. Though it was more difficult than I would like to discuss. White magic is...not my specialty. I have ben struggling to recreate the garden of a dear..." friend, the word she was looking for was friend, but she chose something else. "mentor for a very long time. Do you like those flowers?" She almost sounded a bit...hopeful that perhaps she'd done well despite the taint on her soul.

“Yeah, I think that makes sense.” He responded with a little nod. Stuff like that thing was really creepy… Especially since the eyes had always been fixed on him, following his movements from one point to the next as he used the televisions to travel. Though, Mono was pretty sure most stuff in his world wouldn’t look very out of place in Limbo. He wasn’t really sure what to do with that thought… So he tucked it aside for later.

“Yeah, I know… It was really stupid.” He responded with a little shake of his head, though he did tilt his head back up at her… Almost inspiring speech? “I guess you’re right. I let it happen twice, but I know better now!” Which meant he could be more prepared if there was an attempt to lure him in again… Right? “I’m gonna try to get better at stuff, and I’m gonna try to fix my mistake when I go back. I gotta make it up to my friend, and get her back.” added with a serious conviction in his smaller tone.

“Oh, so you got more helpers than the imps?” Well, that made sense considering how confused they seemed to be about doing stuff she asked them. It would be pretty hard to keep a place like this going with help like that… “That’s good, I wouldn’t wanna have to watch over a whole place like this alone if I were you.” There was a weird nagging at the back of his mind when he commented, and he shook his head a little.

Mono glanced up from the flowers at her tone. She sounded so sad… Maybe feelings were weird, but he could at least understand that one. It was hard to think of people who were important to you that were gone. “It’s really amazing that you made it all so nice if white magic isn’t your specialty. Doing something you aren’t good at and having it turn out good is impressive!” The kid added, giving her one of his slightly tilted little attempts at a proper smile. “I bet your mentor would think so too.” Because that’s what mentors were supposed to do… Right? Be proud of you for accomplishing something that was hard.

Looking back at the yellow blooms, his smile was a little more fixed. “Do I? Yeah! They’re really pretty, and bright, and kinda sunny…” Sunny was a happy shade, in his opinion, because… “They make you feel kinda happy to look at, right?”

"Perhaps not stupid..." she put a hand on his shoulder and looked down. "Just the actions of someone young." Young and naïve. There was almost a pat of her that could actually remember how that must have been for herself. But that was another life and perhaps even another her. "With determination like that I believe in you." And that was no lie.

"I rule this entire place," she said with a little quirk of her head. "They all answer to me." As long as she was here that is. The longer she spent away...well, things got a bit more problematic then. Though his comment did manage to stir something inside of her. "They don't help me watch over Limbo. They answer to me." There was a difference. It ultimately meant that she ruled alone. It wasn't as though she had a council to discuss the matters of Limbo with.

"Limbo is shaped by the emotions and desires of it's ruler and yet at the same time it can warp people." The sadness in her tone lingered as she explained. "Creating things like this requires...positivity." Something she wasn't exactly great at. It also required a source of said positivity and she wasn't quite sure where those feelings were even coming from. Her eyes widened at his comment about her mentor though and she looked almost...eager. "Do you think so? Ororo was a difficult teacher. After what I did..." she shook her head and chose to not continue that sentiment.

"Sometimes they do. That was the intention behind them. Happiness is not found in Limbo." Nor did she often experience it.

Mono glanced up at her when she put a hand on his shoulder, maybe a little surprised by it. But… Well, her honestly kind words did make him feel a little better. Because with Illyana… Well, she had always told him things with a particular honesty. Even the less nice stuff, so it made it feel far more genuine than the kind words of some other adults here. “Thanks, Illayana…”

Her explanation of how things worked in Limbo did make him realize he had imagined the whole thing a little differently than it was. “Oh… So they don’t help, but they gotta do what you say?” That was kind of sad, and again the idea of ruling a whole… strange place like this? It was a bit scary, and perhaps made him feel a little sad. Even if he couldn’t really explain why.

“So it’s kinda like a struggle to change it before it changes you?” He asked at the idea that the place was shaped by its ruler. It sounded very complicated… It was hard to linger on that though, as she turned her attention to him with a more eager tone and expression than he’d expected. Had he really said something unexpected? “Yeah? Even if you didn’t do it perfect, or if something happens… Managing to do something you aren’t good at seems better than nothing at all, right? I never really had a real teacher before I got here, because my world is all weird… But since I got here, I guess I learned it’s more normal for them to try to encourage you than to be upset if it’s not perfect.”

Looking back at the flowers again, he carefully reached out to touch the petals. “Well, even if it’s not found here… These definitely make me feel happy to look at. So that’s kinda like a good start, right?”

For some reason him saying thank you just made her feel increasingly awkward and so she decided to just say nothing at all. Why was she so utterly terrible at things like this?

"They help by doing what I say." But did they do it of their own free will? "Some choose to out of respect." Many out of fear and others just because they had no other choice at all. She paused for a moment at his question and looked out at the garden with a strangely sad expression on her fast.

"Yes, exactly like that," she responded with an emotionless tone. It was exactly like that and the struggle got so very tiresome after so many years of doing it. "That's a very...optimistic view of things." As he seemed to usually have. Though, she couldn't really blame him for trying to see things in a brighter way. "Every teacher has their own way of teaching. There were times where my teachers were discouraging and upset," particularly when she had first touched a flower and her corruption had spread to it. "But they meant to make me strong to survive this place."

She looked down at him and gave him a sad little smile. "I suppose it is a good start."

“That must be really hard…” He responded with a small frown and a quieter tone. Mono did not like the sound of that in the least, and it just… hit a certain note that he couldn’t place. He wished he could offer some kind of advice… but what did a kid know, really? Not much, he was sure. He barely understood how the tower’s signal changed and corrupted his world, let alone how Limbo worked. It was… a lot to figure out.

He had to shrug a little, glancing up at Illyana again at her comment. “I dunno if it’s optimistic. It’s just what I noticed since I left my world and people offered to teach me stuff. They all seem pretty nice about things by comparison, and I’m still trying to figure out what’s… normal?” So it was hard to not start to feel a little optimistic about things since leaving his world.

Everyone had made it seem abnormal and strange, so it was a little sad to think maybe it was just… This world and it’s people that were nice teachers, instead of all world’s aside from his. “Guess I still got a lot to learn about how teachers are too.” He added as Illyana explained how some could be discouraging or get upset… She was really strong though, or seemed like it. Meaning for a student to survive was perhaps a big difference from those who might want the opposite.

At her sad smile, Mono nodded quickly. “Yeah, and starts mean more stuff will happen eventually. Do you know what you want to do next?”

"Life is hard." It was a cold statement, much colder than anything else she had said to him recently. Yet it was the truth, at least it was her truth. Life was hard and it required sacrifice and struggle. Those were the two biggest things she never seemed to be able to escape from in her life and it left her so terribly tired. Not that she would outwardly admit to that overall feeling of exhaustion. To admit that would be to admit weakness and Limbo had taught her to never show weakness.

"Ah...that..." she trailed off and shifted from one foot to another in an almost awkward way. "That is something I understand. I am still trying to figure out what is normal myself. How to be a real girl I suppose you could say." That was what Pixie had called it and it was fitting enough. After all prior to regaining the pieces of her soul she wasn't really the real version of herself. Sometimes she still wondered if she was or if she had any right to even think about that after all she'd done. How strange it was to find a common ground like this with such a young boy. "It can be difficult, can't it? Especially when everyone around seems to make it look so easy." As if normal just came naturally to them. It could almost make someone feel a bit resentful.

She took a pause to look out at the small garden and then shook her head. "No. I wanted to recreate what it looked like so long ago but...I can't quite remember anymore." Which was quite the sad thought to have for her. "What would you do?"

“Yeah…” A cold statement… But Mono knew it was true, even if things were a lot easier since leaving his world. One day he’d go back and it certainly would be as it was when he left it… So it was… Sad to know someone else saw things like that, and that Illyana had been there… But part of why he felt comfortable around her was that she understood things and did not sugar coat them just because he was a child. Enough adults told him how things should be. They never liked to consider how it actually was.

Listening to her continue, he nodded along. If she was still having trouble figuring it out now… Well, he wondered how long it would take him? He tried to listen, to adapt to those around them… But it always felt a little off, and perhaps a bit fake… He didn’t want to be fake… It reminded him of the porcelain bullies. Always trying to mimic the behavior of real children (albeit misbehaving ones), but always… seeming not quite right. Not that they had anyone ‘normal’ to interact with, either. “It can be! And… It kinda makes you feel weird when they make it seem easy, but you can’t figure it out? At least… I can’t. I just try to not say weird stuff. If I see them react to something I say or do like it’s weird or sad, I just try not to again?”

Mono tapped his little chin thoughtfully to the question, “Maybe that’s ‘cause you gotta make it your own? Even if you recreate it, you should make it full of stuff that’s nice that you like. Otherwise it’s just a copy.” He wasn’t sure what he’d do though… Was there a wrong answer? “I dunno though, I guess I’d make more flowers in happy colours…? Oh! And maybe some more nice trees, they’re good for climbing or sitting under… Places to sit and relax to admire what pretty stuff there is seems kinda important in gardens I saw when I got here.” He looked up at Ilyana expectantly, possibly wondering if he’d answered well.

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When the wolves wear the wool

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