of the lowlands } { do they know it's christmas at all
[MERRY CHRISTMAS wayitcomes! Set in of_thelowlands. Everyone mentioned in here is a member of that verse.]
When you are stuck somewhere without a clock or calendar, it makes it a little hard to figure out how long you’ve been there. The days blend together, weeks blend into months, and you’re not entirely sure how long it’s been since you were home. You just know that it feels like it’s been forever and you’re not entirely sure how much more you can take of this. The days don’t change-it’s the same thing, one after the other, and eventually the monotony gets to you.
The village gets bigger every day. That’s the only thing that changes. There are new people every day, and they have to tell them all the same story-that they have no answers. They are never going to have the answers they’re looking for. It’s depressing, but at the same time, there is only so much they can do. Eventually the village is going to have to expand and they’re going to have to start fending for themselves a little more. But for now, they just need to try and find the way to count the days.
She knows Alaric does. She’s seen the line of tiny marks on the wall of his bedroom-well, now his and Buffy’s bedroom-small rows of seven across, four down, ever since he arrived in the village. Now there are six blocks of twenty eight lines-not quite an accurate calendar, but a calendar nonetheless. She doesn’t know what brings her to the bedroom that day-probably to put something away, but something draws her to stop and look at it. Six blocks. Six months.
God, had it been six months already?
Six months of no Katherine. Six months of her and Stefan only getting closer and stronger. But six months of no one else-no Jeremy, no Jenna. She had left all of her family behind, and she had no way to get back to them. That is the part that hurts more than anything else. She feels like she has no family here but Stefan and Alaric-and that’s the part that needs to change.
“Are you looking for something?”
She jumps three feet in the air when she hears Buffy talking behind her. The blond laughs a bit, holding up her hands, before moving to sit next to her.
“Sorry-didn’t meant to scare you.”
“It’s not your fault,” Elena sighs softly. “I was just-thinking.”
“I think it’s the room. Alaric seems to have the broody thing down to a science. And I’ve known some brooders in my time.”
“Yeah, I guess.” There is a beat of silence as Elena continues to stare at the wall, before glancing back to Buffy again. “Do you know when he started counting the days?”
“Exactly when? No. I mean, the bedroom wasn’t exactly somewhere where I sauntered on an afternoon walk, but … it was a few days after we got here, maybe. Once it became clear that this wasn’t a dream and we weren’t going home.”
“When we first got here, you said we arrived a few weeks after you did.”
“Right. He marked it.” Buffy gets up and points to the first block of marks. Elena follows her, peering closer until she could see what the distinction is. “The star. The star is when you guys arrived.”
“It just makes it so hard to tell sometimes. There’s nothing to do really.”
“Maybe we need to make something to do,” Buffy says with a shrug. “I mean, that’s how most jobs are formed-people need something, and someone steps up to fill in the blank.”
Elena falls silent after that, trying to put her finger on exactly what it is that the village needs, more than anything else, and her answer isn’t exactly conventional. “I think we need Christmas.”
Buffy blinks at her at first, surprised, before looking back up at the wall again. “I think you might be right.”
***
Now, when she says Christmas, she doesn’t exactly mean Christmas, the holiday with the presents and baby Jesus and enough Founders events and traditions to make Elena’s head spin. She just means the feeling of the holiday itself. The way it brings people together and makes them just enjoy each other’s company for a little while. It is that sense of family that Elena feels like she’s missing, and since there doesn’t seem to be any sign of how they’re going to get home again, she decides she’s going to build that need for community, even if she has to die trying.
And here, that could be taken rather literally.
But she does have help. When she mentions the idea and actually gets it fully formulated, she’s surprised how many people come out to lend a hand. Stefan is a given, but Blaine is more than happy to throw his hat into the ring, and with him, surprisingly, comes Dean. Elena isn’t entirely sure what to make of the other man a lot of the time, but when it comes to this, he seems to know just want to do. There’s a dinner, and talking and laughing, and even with all the confusion, for that small moment in time-it feels like home.
They celebrate for a week, just being with each other and enjoying the moment.
On the morning after the last day-what normally would be New Year’s Day, if this were actually Christmas-she wakes up to look at the blank wall of her and Stefan’s bedroom. It’s just a blank wooden wall, really. Nothing special.
Quietly, she slips out of bed, and reaching for one of the makeshift pencils they made, grabs a chair and moves up to the top corner of the wall, starting as high as she can. She quietly etches ‘January’ into one of the spaces there, and then leaves a small mark under it.
As she steps down to admire her work, she hears Stefan stir behind her, and looks at her with a half-sleepy, half-bemused look.
“What are you doing?”
“Nothing,” she says softly, before turning to face him, leaning in to kiss him. “Happy New Year.”
1023 words
When you are stuck somewhere without a clock or calendar, it makes it a little hard to figure out how long you’ve been there. The days blend together, weeks blend into months, and you’re not entirely sure how long it’s been since you were home. You just know that it feels like it’s been forever and you’re not entirely sure how much more you can take of this. The days don’t change-it’s the same thing, one after the other, and eventually the monotony gets to you.
The village gets bigger every day. That’s the only thing that changes. There are new people every day, and they have to tell them all the same story-that they have no answers. They are never going to have the answers they’re looking for. It’s depressing, but at the same time, there is only so much they can do. Eventually the village is going to have to expand and they’re going to have to start fending for themselves a little more. But for now, they just need to try and find the way to count the days.
She knows Alaric does. She’s seen the line of tiny marks on the wall of his bedroom-well, now his and Buffy’s bedroom-small rows of seven across, four down, ever since he arrived in the village. Now there are six blocks of twenty eight lines-not quite an accurate calendar, but a calendar nonetheless. She doesn’t know what brings her to the bedroom that day-probably to put something away, but something draws her to stop and look at it. Six blocks. Six months.
God, had it been six months already?
Six months of no Katherine. Six months of her and Stefan only getting closer and stronger. But six months of no one else-no Jeremy, no Jenna. She had left all of her family behind, and she had no way to get back to them. That is the part that hurts more than anything else. She feels like she has no family here but Stefan and Alaric-and that’s the part that needs to change.
“Are you looking for something?”
She jumps three feet in the air when she hears Buffy talking behind her. The blond laughs a bit, holding up her hands, before moving to sit next to her.
“Sorry-didn’t meant to scare you.”
“It’s not your fault,” Elena sighs softly. “I was just-thinking.”
“I think it’s the room. Alaric seems to have the broody thing down to a science. And I’ve known some brooders in my time.”
“Yeah, I guess.” There is a beat of silence as Elena continues to stare at the wall, before glancing back to Buffy again. “Do you know when he started counting the days?”
“Exactly when? No. I mean, the bedroom wasn’t exactly somewhere where I sauntered on an afternoon walk, but … it was a few days after we got here, maybe. Once it became clear that this wasn’t a dream and we weren’t going home.”
“When we first got here, you said we arrived a few weeks after you did.”
“Right. He marked it.” Buffy gets up and points to the first block of marks. Elena follows her, peering closer until she could see what the distinction is. “The star. The star is when you guys arrived.”
“It just makes it so hard to tell sometimes. There’s nothing to do really.”
“Maybe we need to make something to do,” Buffy says with a shrug. “I mean, that’s how most jobs are formed-people need something, and someone steps up to fill in the blank.”
Elena falls silent after that, trying to put her finger on exactly what it is that the village needs, more than anything else, and her answer isn’t exactly conventional. “I think we need Christmas.”
Buffy blinks at her at first, surprised, before looking back up at the wall again. “I think you might be right.”
***
Now, when she says Christmas, she doesn’t exactly mean Christmas, the holiday with the presents and baby Jesus and enough Founders events and traditions to make Elena’s head spin. She just means the feeling of the holiday itself. The way it brings people together and makes them just enjoy each other’s company for a little while. It is that sense of family that Elena feels like she’s missing, and since there doesn’t seem to be any sign of how they’re going to get home again, she decides she’s going to build that need for community, even if she has to die trying.
And here, that could be taken rather literally.
But she does have help. When she mentions the idea and actually gets it fully formulated, she’s surprised how many people come out to lend a hand. Stefan is a given, but Blaine is more than happy to throw his hat into the ring, and with him, surprisingly, comes Dean. Elena isn’t entirely sure what to make of the other man a lot of the time, but when it comes to this, he seems to know just want to do. There’s a dinner, and talking and laughing, and even with all the confusion, for that small moment in time-it feels like home.
They celebrate for a week, just being with each other and enjoying the moment.
On the morning after the last day-what normally would be New Year’s Day, if this were actually Christmas-she wakes up to look at the blank wall of her and Stefan’s bedroom. It’s just a blank wooden wall, really. Nothing special.
Quietly, she slips out of bed, and reaching for one of the makeshift pencils they made, grabs a chair and moves up to the top corner of the wall, starting as high as she can. She quietly etches ‘January’ into one of the spaces there, and then leaves a small mark under it.
As she steps down to admire her work, she hears Stefan stir behind her, and looks at her with a half-sleepy, half-bemused look.
“What are you doing?”
“Nothing,” she says softly, before turning to face him, leaning in to kiss him. “Happy New Year.”
1023 words