Starting right now I'll be strong...

[otrazhenie]

Who: Elena (Gilbert) Salvatore
Where: Around Town, especially Between the sPines
When: Month of May
What: Catch-all for the month as she gets her memories back and deals with Pines life, including suddenly being the owner of a bookstore.
Warnings: Mentions of death in some prompts.
[Open and Closed]

[Open and closed starters in the comments. Elena's Pines info. Want something specific? Let me know at taintedcrimson or via PM.]

Comments

May 12th

[comic_relief]

The telltale sound of the door opening preceded Jack gingerly stepping into the store like he suspected stepping too heavily might activate a landmine.

He hadn't set foot inside the bookstore in the two months since he woke up in this slice of idyllic suburbia, and entering new places in Wayward Pines always ran the risk of startling awake old memories, something he spent his days hoping to avoid. Landmines indeed.

No psychological lightning bolts struck him during the first few moments he stood there looking around, which he took as a good sign. "Um, anyone in?" he called.

There were other reasons he hadn't looked into this place before now, too. Recreational reading just wasn't his scene, for one thing. It was a part of his persona in Rubrum, not being an avid reader of anything other than comic books. Time was precious and he'd made the call to polish his sword and his smile, not book smarts, but he knew the other Jack, the one raised by Nyx who grew up here, was different. He liked reading. He liked learning. It wouldn't surprise him to remember coming here on occasion--or to find out people remembered him coming here, a disconcerting thought all on its own. People getting a certain image of him he hadn't pre-packaged for their consumption was annoying.

If Elena recognized either version of him, it would probably be on account of his signature coiffed hair, which he was currently dragging his fingers through as he took in the store. It was a far cry from the Crystarium, but still. There were a lot of books in here.

[otrazhenie]

By the third day of working in the store that she owned (still something she was getting used to), Elena was up to her ears in things remembered from a life she hadn't led. It seemed like every new person who entered the store now was dredging up some degree of familiarity, from the casual customer to the childhood friend. It was getting to be a bit exhausting, but she still plastered the polite smile to her face and cheerfully greeted each townsperson who walked through the door.

Jack was the exception.

His voice started it, a spark of recognition as she worked in one of the back corners. It was curiosity more than anything that had her moving through the aisle to step into view of the front door. The sight of him standing there brought back a few fond memories of the boy Nyx had taken in as family, but more than that -- it brought back the feeling of Jack being family. He was someone Elena cared about simply for that fact alone. That she actually liked Jack just made that affection stronger.

"Jack, hi," she greeted him with a bright smile, trying her best to fight off the urge to hug this young man she'd only just met. She would if he let her, though, and it's clear by the way she steps toward him and then stops, a hand still partially outstretched, that's what she wants to do.

[comic_relief]

At the sound of someone approaching, Jack paused mid-motion and turned toward it. Out from the cavernous depths of the bookshelves stepped one of the prettiest brunettes he'd probably ever seen, a vision in small town couture.

That thumbs up in the part of his brain that appreciated the opposite sex lasted about as long as it took for his frontal lobe to catch up, and for two things to become readily apparent:

1. He remembered with crystal clarity Elena putting her arms around the man she was crazy for on her wedding day.

2. They were related. Not in vague terms like Class Zero, but legally. Biologically.

Way to ruin it, Wayward Pines.

Blinking back the dizzying aftershock of another memory-mine detonating in his face, he focused back in on the brunette who'd managed, in just a few seconds, to completely reorder his mental family tree. Even as he smiled at her, resentment was a swift axe falling on that feeling. He didn't have family. He didn't have family. Not the warm and cuddly kind this town brought to mind, anyway.

Eleven brothers and sisters, and not once had he ever hugged one. The cluelessness with which he looked at her hand was unfeigned and awkwardly glaring, and he inwardly kicked himself for the lapse. This was a normal social cue. This was... doable. Right? After a delay of a second, Jack forced himself to step into it and bend like he thought he was supposed to for someone to reach over his shoulder, moving in the way of someone who'd seen something done without having often done it.

"Hi. Hey. You look, um. Good?" Off to a smooth start.