sometimes people leave you halfway through the wood

[madskilled]

Comments

[notwitty]

The vampire Elijah was with. She knew you. Or at least knew of you. I think her first name was Bela.

[That is the last player on the board, he doesn't know that Stefan Salvatore's going to be showing up.]

[matriarchate]

Talbot?

( She already knows. )

She... procures - or, procured rare items. Nobody's seen her in years. Most hunters thought she'd died. Bela, you're sure? British?

[notwitty]

Definitely British. But it was a phone call. All I saw was the caller ID.

[And all the caller ID said was "Bela."]

[matriarchate]

That's probably not a coincidence. They're not aligned with Monroe's hunters?

( The coincidences are stacking? )

[notwitty]

I heard a rumor about hunters with hearts removed from their chest and throats torn out, so I'm gonna say no.

[Also vampires are the last supernatural creature that Monroe's people would recruit, to say the least.]

This feels like a test run. They picked a small target and are working their way up to the biggest one.

[matriarchate]

It feels like it could've been a test run but that went awry. Not that people still didn't lose their lives.

Get some sleep, report back when you have more. And try to lock down William Queen.

[notwitty]

I'm on it. Be careful, Allison.

[Monroe might be coming for something nearby next.

And then, just before he passes out he sends a text to Bonnie she's free to wait on until after she gets her own sleep:]

Do you think you might be able to get me in a room with Bela and Elijah?

[It would be a favor, obviously, but Isaac isn't really one for subterfuge. It feels too much like using people, and he's been on the receiving end of that equation more often than he would like.]

[moralitypolice]

( "You too."

And, before Stefan pays a visit, but right after Bonnie picks up her phone to check the time, she types out a response. )

No guarantees, Bela usually prefers to set her own meets, but she's also going to come to Eliza's. You could just be here when she gets here. Happenstance.

[notwitty]

[He wakes when the text comes in, having kept his phone active just in case something worse happened and he was needed. It's not the best sleep he could have gotten either, but he'll deal.]

Works for me.

[He's nothing if not an opportunist. He does some mental math on the names he needs touch base with, but the vampire duo is likely to be more elusive. That should take priority.]

What time?

[moralitypolice]

Soon, actually. I don't know how long they'll be with officials. She said she'd be here after.

[notwitty]

[And with that he's getting out of bed. Guess William will have to wait until after.]

On my way. Any chance Eliza made breakfast?

[He hasn't eaten since before the attack and he's in desperate need of calories.]

[moralitypolice]

( William's sister is going to interrupt anyway, better that's not the more, the merrier, right? )

She's making it right now. I'll tell her to set a plate aside.

[notwitty]

[Probably yes. Give the siblings time to reacclimate.]

Thank you.

[And with that, he will briefly shower, throw on his best "meeting new people" clothes and swing his way over to Eliza's letting himself in the back door so he doesn't attract the attention of the witches on the street.]

Am I too late?

[moralitypolice]

( That's what we'll call it. )

( The funny thing is, Isaac's best meeting new people clothes are sometimes nicer than other people's meeting new people clothes. Even bloody and ruined

Bonnie is back inside, nods to the kitchen. )

Eliza made one for you. Danny took his in the room upstairs. I just finished. Unless you mean for Bela and Elijah. You didn't miss them either.

[notwitty]

Both, actually.

[But he places two to-go cups down on the counter, along with a paper bag of fixings before he goes to get his plate.]

I wasn't sure if you were a coffee person, but I figured better to err on the side of caution. Eliza usually has nothing but tea.

[He also doesn't know how you like it, hence all the sugar and cream.]

[moralitypolice]

Thanks.

( Despite Elena Gilbert's terrible black coffee choices, Bonnie does like cream and sugar. She really appreciates the pick me up. )

I don't know what she did to the eggs, but, they're out of this world.

[notwitty]

She does have a gift.

[And he'll dig in, trying his best to not look like the ravenous wolf he is.]

So how well do you know Bela and Elijah? Because when I spoke to my boss about her, she thought Bela was dead.

[moralitypolice]

She's a friend of a friend. Literally, I guess, now that Elijah's involved. In my network, Bela finds you.

( She's not sure she's supposed to say Bela's a vampire, especially to a werewolf. )

[notwitty]

[Isaac assumes she's a vampire, because she was who Bonnie called when she wanted to recruit vampires, but he'll leave it there for now.]

What about Elijah? I know he's an Original, but is he the kind of old vampire who you can persuade to help with a common good, or is he the kind that finds it really hard to care?

[He wants to know how much of an uphill battle he's facing.]

[moralitypolice]

He's the kind that -- values honor and doesn't want the world to burn. Outside of his family, it takes persuasion to get him to help. But, he does help friends.

( He's a question mark, but one she thinks could work. )

What do you need from them, anyway?

[notwitty]

My boss is actually trying to recruit some of his family. His sister, Freya - the witch. She thinks that if Elijah is already on her side, that might be easier.

[He, however, isn't so sure.]

Personally, I just need help. Because we underestimated Monroe's numbers once, and I think it can only get worse from here. This is the kind of situation where we can't really afford to play by species lines.

[moralitypolice]

She's not wrong.

( But, they're all paranoid and slow to trust, anyway. )

Do you usually? Stick by species?

[notwitty]

[He shakes his head.]

My pack is an assortment of humans, werewolves, werecoyotes, kitsune - Scott's a takes all comers kind of alpha. You can be on his team as long as you want to make things better.

[moralitypolice]

And you do, want to make things better. Beyond Tamara Monroe?

[notwitty]

I want to do the best I can.

[Which isn't exactly a yes but.]

Being helpful hasn't always come naturally. Scott's got high standards but he's also pretty forgiving. And he was there for me when no one else was.

[Basically, he will follow Scott McCall to the ends of the earth if he asked him to. Scott's earned that loyalty time and again.]