as we pass through arrangements of shadows

[shreds]

Comments

[braveandstupid]

Yeah, I know.

[When she sees there's no news, she scrubs a hand over her face and gets up.]

Let me just splash some water on my face and brush my teeth.

[somanyadjectives]

Don't most dates in Mystic Falls?

[Sorry, Damon, but he knows how dates back home go.]

I take it things aren't working out?

[beanchaointe]

[She tips her head to the side as she considers.]

Be polite and follow Sam's lead. I think he'll let you know how casual or formal you have to be.

[tornadoinheels]

[She wrinkles her nose, at the mention of it being an "acquired taste" but they'll figure it out.]

It'd still be good to have coffee or tea as a backup. Just in case the clasp breaks or something.

[A beat.]

How long does it last if you imbibe it?

[tearhiseyesout]

That's a shame. Do you know who's picking up his food for him?

[Because that could give them a lead too. Follow the delivery man back to the source.]

[shreds]

( You do that, Elena. As Katherine sits on the edge of her bed, she zips up one boot, Elena's phone coming to life between the beds. She looks back at the bathroom door before leaning over and reaching for her phone, taking it off the charger.

In her best Elena voice: (12) )

Dr. Elena Gilbert.

( "Elena, Hayes. I did more research into your friend's sister." )

... Thank you.

[unforgivably]

I haven't heard from her since and now we're all doxxed, real estate ventures and all.

( He's not disappointed, though. )

And I think I have had -- one or two dates that did not end in murder. That I remember. You know how the murders just tend to pile up with us.

[matriarchate]

I've never been good at being formal. Even at formal.

( High school. Shudder. )

But, I can do that. Take Sam's lead. I missed you, Lydia.

[cowman]

24 hours. It is an ongoing endeavor.

( A 'for the rest of your life because this is your life' endeavor. )

There are also spells. Rebekah's mother was one of the more powerful witches in history and she has access to her mother's grimoire. If it came to it, she could mask your location from any other prying eyes.

[tramplemain]

That guy.

( The redhead dicking around on his phone, holding one of those insulated bags. )

[pumping]

It doesn't mean anything, it's just - been... six months? And between London and Prague you had - no contact. Just saying. You work fast.

( How much have they talked, really?

And he didn't see it coming. Not even his side of things (though it snuck up on him, too) but the Cooper he knows and hunted with. )

You were the love em and leave em type. Well, do em and leave em.

[slavophile]

( Like old times, but taller and maybe wiser, William gives Mia the room for the family group hug they did as kids. )

Well, one of us was an MIA tabloid memory.

[uniquelyvulnerable]

I believe that is our plan. We're high profile now. Sticking together is in our best interests.

( Together and local. It's not unlike their time in New Orleans, except there is no bayou or graveyard to escape to. )

What better city to get lost in a crowd.

[tramplemain]

( Scott will take the backseat to give Jackson and his long legs the front. Also to separate Jackson and Kol and Jackson and Kieran. He can see the tension.

Well, older or not, whomever or whatever is holding her brother is faltering spell-wise, because she can sense him. The connection is weak, and it flickers in and out, but it's there. He is alive. But, she can't lock on where he is. Broken pendant or not, his blood can lead her somewhere. )

[transientem]

[She swallows over the disappointment of not having a direct place to go, but she will take comfort in the fact that for now, he's still alive. At least there's something there to fight for.]

He's alive, but I can't tell where.

[That's mostly for only Kol to hear, but she's in the car with two other people with super hearing, so that probably doesn't stay between them.]

[likeaweapon]

Indeed.

[She smiles.]

But good. It'll be good to have some family around.

[supertardiness]

[Mia rolls her eyes at that comment but does come in for the hug, because Uncle Barry has always been really good at hugs. He hasn't lost any of his golden retriever tendencies in his old age.]

Well, it could have been worse. I'm pretty sure your dad was missing for five years and presumed dead once upon a time. You haven't beaten his record yet.

[positiveinfluence]

It's not by desire so much as necessity. It's not like I tend to stick around anywhere long.

[He's never been opposed to romance. He just is aware of the limitations of his life.]

Besides, it's always easier when you don't have to ... introduce them to the real world.

[braveandstupid]

[Elena hears that, and sticks her head out of the bathroom, mouth full of toothpaste so she can't really speak. But she will raise both her eyebrows like "What are you doing?"]

[somanyadjectives]

I apologize to those two dates then.

[But he's not serious about it. He glances over at his brother with a frown.]

I don't remember you having a problem with casual.

[His way of trying to poke at what's bothering Damon about this particular casual relationship.]

[beanchaointe]

I missed you too.

[It's nice, the two of them being together again. Even if everything else is on fire, at least it's the kind of on fire where she gets quality best friend time.]

And I've got your back, no matter what Mary Winchester throws your way.

[tornadoinheels]

If we find it, we should buy in bulk then.

[She makes a note.]

I'm going to assume that garlic is also not a deterrent?

[That's only halfway a joke.]

[tearhiseyesout]

Got it. Thanks a bunch.

[She smiles, and takes the menus to make her way over to her partners.]

Turns out the missing reserved table decided to order out instead. Carrottop over there is our delivery boy.

[shreds]

( Katherine, the caught kitten, turns her head giving a 'who, me?' look before rolling her eyes, bringing her phone down, and switching the connection to speaker.

"So there's no record of Natalie Morris having a sister, but she was adopted. An only child from the Northeast, she lost her parents young. Like, college young. It's actually pretty gruesome. She came home from college and found her parents butchered." Dark and gruesome, Katherine thinks, looking at Elena. )

And my friend thinks this is her sister.

( "That's the plate you had me ran," he says. "Anyway, there's not much more about her. She flunked out shortly after and changed zip codes. Now she belongs to the NRA and files taxes in Texas. Her credit card charges are made out of all 50 states at some point. She's on the move a lot," he shares. "The last charge is at the Econo Lodge in West Virginia." )

Where I am. That's Natalie's car. And - no mention of a Nadia?

( "I could do even more digging, but we're talking cell records. Do you need me to?"

Katherine's eyebrows ask Elena, well? And then they fall as she realizes they probably aren't getting out of here in the next hour. )

[unforgivably]

Casual is one thing. This was something between. Like, maybe there could have been something past casual.

( And that leaves him some niggling doubt. )

Besides, even my casual dalliances end in murder.

( Rose. Let's not talk about Andie. )