entranceway | 007 Audio (Backdated to Monday, May 18)

[Bigby could smell her blood the moment it happened. He had been holding up in an area of the facility, far away from people. It was safer - for him and for them. But the moment the first droplet of Snow's blood was spilled, the scent hit him in the face like a punch. His own safety be damned, he followed her trail, hoping against hope that it had only been a small wound. When he discovered her beaten and broken body in a pool of blood, however, it had taken every inch of his self control to keep from losing his mind.

It was straight out of a nightmare, one he'd been having recently now that Snow had arrived here. Still, he had to let the others know. The paranoia they felt was fucking real and he had the proof.

The sound is incredibly grainy, as though someone is speaking through an old walkie-talkie. Some of the words are difficult to make out as the person speaking is finding it hard to formulate words. It sounds more like a growl than human speech, but certain words can be heard.]

I've found.....[static] She's dead. Whoever....[more static, garbled text]...ind you and.....kill you. Run.

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[ She revives with an enormous breath. Dressed as she'd been before her untimely death, Snow raises a hand to her chest, then to her head, prodding gently at her temples.

She feels fine. Enough, for a person who'd been killed.

Snow winces at the memory, a little headache starting off to the side. When she glances around, she realizes she's in Bigby's room, draped over his only chair. Where the man himself is is another story.

Oh no. She glances around, but doesn't see her own device to try and call him, to talk him out of whatever violence he's surely plotting. She knows there isn't any point to it, since the man who'd attacked her had been just as addled as she, but...

Snow shifts, trying not to push herself too much, working to get out of the chair. ]

[It had been an incredibly long vigil. Every moment he watched Snow's lifeless body felt like an eternity. He was numb, the same numbness he'd felt when he discovered her decapitated head on the steps of the Woodlands. But slowly that emptiness filled with anguish and rage. The only thing that kept him back was the knowledge that this was Wonderland. He'd seen others die and come back. Why would it be different for Snow?

He had begun to drift off, the lack of sleep suddenly catching up to him. He'd gone to the small kitchen in his room to make up some coffee when he heard the first sharp breath. His heart squeezed and he turned, moving towards the entrance of the kitchen to see Snow in his chair, awake and very much alive.

He wanted to rush over to her, to wrap his arms around her and prove to himself that she was alive. But he held himself back, clinging to the frame of the kitchen to stop himself. He cleared his throat, pulling back the thickness of emotion that made it difficult to talk.]

Do you want some coffee?

[ Still dazed, death clinging to her mind like dew, Snow frowns across the room at Bigby, who's just appeared. ]

... Coffee? No.

[ She shakes her head, looking confused. Internally, she's relieved that he's here, glad to see him both after the last event and its paranoia and her belief that he'd been out killing the man who'd taken her life. Hopefully he doesn't know. ]

Water. [ She speaks up again, meeting his eyes. ] Please.

[The way she looked at him made his heart squeeze. So many emotions were held in that gaze that Bigby couldn't sift through them all. There was something left unsaid that hung between them like a curtain. To be truthful, Bigby was afraid to discover what it that something was.]

I'll be right back.

[He turned and filled a mug with water, returning after a few short moments. He handed her the cup and took a deep breath before he asked the big question.]

Are you going to tell me what happened or is it something you'd rather I find out for myself?

[ She takes the water and, despite herself, slips her hand in his. It isn't easy keeping herself from her husband, even if he doesn't know it, even if she'd promised herself that she wouldn't give in to it. That she'd let him go on unknowing in peace.

For now, she'll allow herself the slip. ]

I can't and you know exactly why. [ She sighs, taking her hand from his again to cup the mug and take a sip. ] And it doesn't matter; it wasn't personal and I'm fine. Please let this be.

[Her hand in his causes him to pause. It's such a personal gesture, one he isn't used to, but the moment ends before he can even process it. He looks back at her, his body tensing as she speaks.]

It was personal to me. It's the second time I've found you dead, Snow. I can't just let it be.

It isn't the second time. [ Again, she sighs. It's strange, talking about her death, considering Fables' tendency to... well, not die when they're meant to. This time, she had. For the first time, she'd been killed.

Wonderland's power is starting to worry her more than ever before. ]

I'm sorry. I know how you must have worried, but I can't let you go running off to kill someone. I'm safe. Isn't that enough?

I can't get the sight of your head lying on the steps of the Woodlands. I know it wasn't you but for a few hours... it was you. And this time...

[Bigby tightens his fists and turns away from her, beginning to pace.]

For how long are you safe? How long will I have to wait until you disappear again? It's too much.

Bigby-- [ Despite the post-death aches, Snow rises to her feet, reaching out to take his arm. She squeezes it gently, looking at the back of his head with a silent plea for understanding. ]

We're never really safe; you know that. How many times have both of us been in danger these past centuries? We'll get through this. I'm not going anywhere.

[ She can't promise it and she knows that he knows, but she tries to calm him the best way she knows how. Pausing briefly, she curls both hands around his arm, almost anchoring him to the spot. ]

You need to trust me.

Of course I trust you.

[Bigby turns and wraps his arms around Snow's shoulders, pulling her to his chest. He leans his head down and breathes deeply, letting her scent soothe him.]

But that doesn't mean I don't worry about you. You're always on my mind.

You can worry; this is a dangerous place. [ She feels suddenly as if she's speaking to one of her--their--children, assuaging their fears, and a pang of sadness shoots through her heart. ] ... But you can't kill people, and you definitely can't do it out of revenge.

[ She pulls back slightly, looking him sternly in the face. ]

Promise me that you won't.

Who is dead?

[He'd been unable to understand that part of the audio.]

[There's a long pause before Bigby speaks again.]

Snow White. She's dead.

[Michael didn't know her and he idly wondered if she was of the fairy tale variety.]

Did you know her?

[Such a simple question with a complicated answer.]

Yes. She's my... [Boss? Friend? True love? The only person in the world who could turn a monster into a man?]

Snow. She's important to me.

And someone killed her.

Do you know if it had something to do with Wonderland's latest, or was it personal?

[Michael's not sure how to comfort, knows some words might not help, so he settles on trying to work this out.]

I don't know. All I do know is she's dead.

... do you know something about this?

007 Audio (Backdated to Monday, May 18)

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