unpopping Delirium from The Sandman

[wineandleather.livejournal.com]

The girl who appeared in the popcorn room is unusual, even by Hogwarts standards. It's hard to describe her, as her appearance shifts and changes - no two people are likely to see her the same way, although they might all agree afterwards on a few things. Her hair might float about her head, many-coloured, or be cropped short. Her clothes are mismatched and strangely fitting (and tend to involve fishnet stockings or gloves, for some reason). The only really consistent thing is her eyes, one green with silver flecks, one blue.

And, of course, right now she was drenched in butter.

Delirium looked about herself, wide eyed. "Ooooh. This is exactly not where I was planning to be. I think. But it's very interesting, don't you think, doggie? "

Nobody answered. She frowned, and looked down, to find herself alone apart from two or three tiny iridescent mice she'd created earlier and forgotten about. They ran up her skirt and disappeared again. "Doggie? Barnabas? "

Still calling, she wandered out into the corridor. "Hello? "

((Permission granted from Death-mun. If your character is or has been insane, on large amounts of drugs, or otherwise, well, delirious, feel free to recognise her ;). And let me know if you'd like her to recognise or know slightly too much about them - she can be very perceptive, but she's also forgetful and easily distracted, as you'd expect, really... ETA: Sandman is one of those 'all myths are true'-type canons, so any gods and goddesses or similar beings are also free to know her or know of her. Or not, if you prefer. Background info.))

Comments

[endlessgoth.livejournal.com]

The tickle of power that danced across her skin was unmistakable. Family had arrived at Hogwarts. This could either be very good, or it could be a disaster. Concerned, Death abandoned her latest cooking project, much to the relief of some aggrieved looking house elves, and tried to focus on the nature of the power.

She smiled broadly and a moment later, appeared in the same corridor as the bedraggled young woman. Death pratically bounced over to Delirium and hugged her. "Hey sweetie. Did you lose Barnabas?"

[wineandleather.livejournal.com]

"" Delirium grinned, hugging back tightly and getting butter everywhere. "" she went on, her expression growing solemn again. ""

[endlessgoth.livejournal.com]

"That's okay, kiddo. We'll find him, or he'll find his way here. A lot of people seem to do that. I was on my way to talk to Daniel and found myself in the same hallway covered in butter awhile back. It's weird. You're all the way in Scotland now, at a magic school."

[wineandleather.livejournal.com]

She nodded. "" She pulled back a little, tilting her head curiously. ""

[endlessgoth.livejournal.com]

"Yep, it's one of those Between places, so there are people from all sorts of realms and worlds. It's been fun."

Death shook her head, "No, honey. It's just us." It took a moment to sort out why her sister had asked that and she blushed. "Oh. Well, she was here for just a little bit. Long enough for him to visit me and someone else.. officially."

[i-am-an-hero.livejournal.com]

A couldn't recall meeting the newly-unpopped arrival, but something about her seemed familiar, and he gave her a gentle smile. "Do you know where you are?"

[wineandleather.livejournal.com]

Delirium smiled back, and nodded. So many people passed through her realm every day that she couldn't keep track of them all (keeping track of anything was hard, even things like where all her fingers went) but she could tell he'd been hers, and still was a little. ""

[i-am-an-hero.livejournal.com]

He thought about that, then nodded. "That, it, it's not usually how they describe it," he said. "But it fits. There are people here from all sorts of strange and different places."

[wineandleather.livejournal.com]

""

[i-am-an-hero.livejournal.com]

He frowned a little and shook his head. "I, I, I don't know any dogs."

[redunderwearman.livejournal.com]

Freakazoid was doing his usual 'patrol' around Hogwarts. And by 'patrol' I mean 'running around with his hands over his head making whooshing noises'. Until he came across Delirium.

"Oh, hey! Didn't I see you in Venice Beach?" She certainly looked familiar.

[wineandleather.livejournal.com]

She giggled a little at the whooshing. Definitely another of her people. "" It was slowly becoming obvious that Barnabas really wasn't here.

[redunderwearman.livejournal.com]

"A doggy? A cute little doggie? No, I haven't! Have you lost him?"

Cause he could go around the world real quick and find the doggie.

Not that that'd help Delirium, I think, but still.

[wineandleather.livejournal.com]

"" She stretched her hands out to demonstrate the size of a fairly large dog, rather like a fisherman describing a lost catch. ""

[redunderwearman.livejournal.com]

"That's normal. People show up here all the time! I don't think I know where your realm is, or I'd get him."

[calligraphywolf.livejournal.com]

A large white wolf had been sniffing around outside the Popcorn Room prior to Delirium's return, having likely been drawn there by the smell of delicious butter. Though the wolf bore unusual crimson markings, a flaming shield (http://pics.livejournal.com/calligraphywolf/gallery/000016sb) of sorts, and flora sprouted right from the stone floor wherever her paws touched, she was probably about the closest thing to a "doggie" at Hogwarts besides Wishbone — and she was, in truth, the sun goddess Amaterasu in an earthly incarnation.

But this hardly mattered when someone was calling for a doggie and smelling like butter. Maybe she had treats?

Amaterasu raised her head and padded closer to sniff at the colourful girl, making a chuffing sound both in greeting and as a way to ask permission to lick. She did have manners, after all. Sometimes.

[wineandleather.livejournal.com]

Gods and goddesses belonged to her brother Dream's domain, but Delirium knew one when she saw her. "" She offered her hand for Amaterasu to lick, being careful not to let too much of her essential nature leak into the butter. It might make Amaterasu feel slightly giddy, or it might not. She'd learned to be careful about that when giving treats to Barnabas. ""

[calligraphywolf.livejournal.com]

And lick she did, with all the enthusiasm of a wolf with a hankering for fresh butter. It wasn't often that she could get such a treat — the house elves usually shooed her away from the kitchen whenever she came too near, as though she were a common mongrel. But she was used to it, so it was okay. Not everyone could sense her divinity.

This girl seemed to be able to, though. It was always nice to be recognized, and especially complimented. Hard to say whether it was the recognition (which literally helped amplify her strength on the earthly plane) or the hint of eau-de-Delirium that made the butter taste especially good, but soon Amaterasu couldn't resist wagging her tail as she continued the tongue bath, even leaning up to "clean" Delirium's face for her.

[wineandleather.livejournal.com]

This was fun. Delirium started to giggle, and the laughter came out at the ends of her hair as well, in little streams of rainbow bubbles. She sat down on the floor so Amaterasu could reach her face better.

It did take her slightly too long to remember how to stop laughing again, but eventually she managed to ask a question. ""

[unluckiest-star.livejournal.com]

Starman was lazily flying loop-de-loops around the castle.

"Wow. Your voice is really pretty," he said to the new arrival. "Don't I know you from somewhere? Sunshine Sanitarium, maybepossiblyperhaps?"

((schizophrenia in the hiz-zay!))

[wineandleather.livejournal.com]

She beamed at the compliment. ""

Say, didn't we meet in Ravenscar?

[dangeroushabits.livejournal.com]

It wasn't accurate to say that John was just wandering by the popcorn room at that moment, minding his own business. It also wasn't strictly true that he had come here intentionally, intending to investigate.

Say he'd had an uneasy feeling, one that he'd long since learned to ignore at his peril, and it had led him more or less in this direction.

He stopped and stared when he caught sight of Delirium, his face going the color of ash. "Oh, bloody buggering fuck." It was safe to say that whatever he was seeing, it wasn't a pretty little slip of a girl in fishnet stockings.

Something more in keeping with blood and filth, beatings, straps, electroshock therapy and indescribable eldritch horrors, more than likely. With a liberal dose of the worst kinds of bad trips, the odd possession, and enough alcohol to drown several whales thrown in for flavor.

In all the years he'd been dealing with strange and disturbing entities and phenomena of every description, and all the inspired and lunatic ways he'd found of dealing with them, there was one thing John Constantine had never done, but he was bloody well going to do it now.

He turned on his heel and walked back the way he'd come, shoulders defensively hunched, without looking back.

[She's free to call or come after him, of course. He'll talk to her if she engages him first.]

[wineandleather.livejournal.com]

...oh.

She'd been trying to be nice. Really. She'd been having a really good day. But there were all the bad things too, vicious little worms and beetles and spiny ants that would nibble at the inside of your skin, and it only took one person or one something looking that way to see them...

It made her angry sometimes, but today, luckily for John, it mostly just made her sad. She huddled into herself, the butter shining on her arms turned sickly, looking somehow infected. ""

[dangeroushabits.livejournal.com]

He stopped short, wondering whether he was hearing things for just coming close to it. It was looking for its dog?

Something tickled in the back of his brain, but it took a few seconds for A plus B to equal C. Oh hell. It wasn't an it, it was one of her sisters. And he'd been getting on pretty well with Death lately and really didn't want to hack her off.

Anyway, it'd take a nastier sort than John to be unaffected by Delirium's forlorn question. He scrubbed at his face for a second, and reluctantly looked over his shoulder, trying to see if he could spot a little girl underneath the layers of assorted nastiness that had struck him at first.

Not all the trips had been bad. It was a little bit like one of those optical illusions that were one thing if you focused your eyes a certain way and something else if you looked again differently. It took a bit of work to force his perspective to stay the way he wanted it to, but he could just about manage.

"I haven't seen any dogs today, kid. Sorry." He turned around and came back a few steps, looking her up and down cautiously. "You'd be one of Herself's family, yeah? The Sandman's little sister?" He hesitated. "I didn't mean to hurt your feelings. You caught me by surprise, is all."

[wineandleather.livejournal.com]

"" Delirium told him. ""

She scratched at her arm, gazing down at the floor near his feet (a few of the stones wouldn't quite lie straight, afterwards). ""