genessia | [action]

Who: Jefferson and YOU!
Where: Genessia City, near the Bay
When: April 19th
What: The Hatter is here, and he's kind of mad about it.

--

He couldn't stop thinking about it.

Those first moments, seconds, minutes, that he had awoken in this place; they played in his head over and over, making less sense each time. It was as if his brain was stuck in a hopeless pattern like a broken record, reliving it all again and again as if somehow the 100th attempt at recollection would somehow bring meaning to the madness. But nothing did. How he had gotten here, why he had woken up in that strange contraption, what purpose the necklace served, what purpose this entire place served... he just didn't know. None of it registered as reality.

The only solid concept he could grasp was that he already hated Genessia.

Jefferson had so foolishly thought that he would finally get to live his life happily. To have his happy ending with his daughter who he had so long fought to have at his side again, but no. Of course a man like him could have no such ending. Not forever. Only long enough to trick him into thinking it would be.

He sat on the sidewalk outside the Bay for a very long time with his mind in that perpetual state of circular chaos, and he didn't care to pay much mind to what was going on around him. Occasionally he would lift his head and hope that he would see his little girl there, only to curse himself for daring to wish she was ripped from her home again just to be with him.

To anyone passing by, he likely looked a mess. He didn't have a clue as to how he would react to strangers at this point. In fact, there was only one damn thing he did know: again, he was trapped in a realm where he didn't belong, and it made him insane.

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At the mention of him, Belle had gone quiet. She knew it had been a while since they had seen one another, so she should have guessed he would have said something like that. A smile that she had before had slowly faded, trying to think of how to explain something.

"You would think that but... Well things didn't end well for us before I woke up here after I went to the Dream Docks. So actually you are more of a comfort, as odd as that might sound."

She had at least gotten over what happened for the most part and had been getting back with her life, but the mention of him sometimes still hurt. She figured that probably won't ever change.

She soon stopped herself the moment he did, turning his head slightly. She was waiting for him to finish speaking before speaking up again. "It's quite complicated. But I can at least show you for a second if you want."

"Wow." He was actually at a loss for words despite that moments ago he had been in a rambling state of shock. His expression showed a trace of regret which soon turned to empathy. "I'm really sorry. I didn't mean to...to bring up something so painful."

He knew vaguely about the dream docks, and that almost 100% solidified that he never wanted to go there. Jefferson had known Rumpelstiltskin for a very long time, and the man's ways weren't unfamiliar to him. He probably should have anticipated something going wrong. But Belle... poor sweet Belle. It had almost seemed like she could turn him on the right path. After their reunion, it was impossible not to notice the small differences in Gold's behavior, maybe even his intentions. Was he still technically a bad guy? Well, yeah. But Jefferson had thought Belle was more important than all of that. That they could get it to work. Weren't they supposed to be true love?

But maybe some people really couldn't come back from darkness, even if they wanted to.

"Show me?" He pushed his thoughts aside, staring at her with a noticeable uneasiness. Did he even want to see it?

"You said some people were... absent. Who?"

"It's fine. I've spent time thinking it over and I think it's okay to bring it up." She had to keep moving forward anyway. That was for the best, right?

But she figured why she had been so surprised when it seemed to be a running thing between the two. She wondered sometimes if love was simply the reason she kept going back. But after making him leave, she wondered if perhaps there would be no more chances.

"Okay, I'll show you. As for who, I've not seen Regina, Emma... basically those who you usually see around often. But for all I know they could be and I've just not ran into them."

He nodded his understanding, but when he swallowed it was a bit heavily. He would probably feel guilty about it for a while despite her assurance. Clearly he needed to get caught up on things before making any more assumptions. It was becoming very obvious that the timeline he came from was not the same as Belle's.

"Why wouldn't they be there?" He was thinking out loud more than asking her directly.

"I'm -- I'm not sure I should even go near it." Jefferson put his hand to his face as he began weighing all the pros and cons in his head. Just looking at the entrance couldn't hurt, could it? Maybe it could. He just... he just didn't want to lose control of his emotions. Not in front of Belle.

She couldn't help but give a small shrug. SHe couldn't think of a reason for some of them, the last thing she could remember was the fact they were still there when she got the update. The more she pondered about it, the more she simply could not figure it out.

"If you can't, I'll understand, don't force yourself to do something you are not comfortable with." She walked in front of him, stopping the walking for the moment. She figured he was nervous, so she wanted to make sure he was okay.

Right. Nervous. Just nervous. Not terrified or on the verge of a complete mental break. Just nervous. Ha.

He stood still as well, clearly still in the middle of contemplation. Her words were a small comfort at the very least.

"I think," he bit his lip while he considered what to say next, shifting his weight as he did so, "I'm not ready for that. I'm sorry."

He didn't know what the apology was for, but it fell out of his mouth regardless. Because he felt like a massive burden or an inconvenience, especially after begging her to tell him all of these things in the first place? This subarchway thing just felt wrong, though. It... sort of scared him even if he was hardly going to admit as much.

"No need to say sorry. It's understandable." She didn't know why she brought it here in the first place, but she always put it down to the fact that she probably missed it a tiny bit. But that was just her.

"It means though we can find you a nice place to stay at in Genessia." She was at least looking at the bright side here. She started by living there after all.

He simply nodded, but if she caught a glimpse of his eyes she'd see him trying to communicate a quiet thankfulness for her understanding. It was a bit hard for him to wrap his head around why she'd chosen to open the subarchway, but he could empathize with the feeling of missing one's home.

"I can afford a hotel for a while." He said it like he was sure of the fact, but he really wasn't. "I mean, probably. I don't know how the currency here works, but... what I mean to say is you don't have to trouble yourself with it."

"You know I have been here for a while, so I would know what's a good idea. Helping I guess just seems like the best idea in that way so you aren't so confused."

"For the hotel, it should be fine for t least a month and a half or something like that, but I didn't take long to find a place to really be sure."

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