coming at you fast, midnight

[cosmiccon]

Comments

[recrudesce]

I'll be here, whatever help they need.

( From Liv, from the Armory. He committed in his sophomore year and never looked back. Except for the near death experience at Damon Salvatore's hands, but siren, blah blah. He still blames Damon and he has a nasty scar to prove it.

Meanwhile, the caravan makes good time, Ryan driving for the group.

"Armory's down this road," he says from memory. The mansion-esque building looms before them as they make their approach. )

[beanchaointe]

[Lydia leans out to scan the tree-lined roads, thinking how quiet and peaceful this little store of supernatural information seems to be. If she hadn't just come from the bunker, she might have been more annoyed that these stores of information weren't around when she was first trying to figure out what being a banshee meant, but she can't change the past now.

If she could, there's a lot she would try and fix.]

So what does the Armory do exactly? Are they like the Men of Letters? Just collecting information?

[widenecked]

The armory collects and protects information, artifacts, and history.

( "And in one case, it locked away a Siren Damon let out a few years ago. It protects information, but it also protects the world." Or, it tries. )

They don't fall on one side or the other.

( "Except those it deems more powerful than it's own good." )

Like Sybil the siren.

[beanchaointe]

Is there a distinction between a siren and a banshee?

[She can't say she's ever met one or heard of them being real (12), but the world is a weird place, so she feels it's a question worth asking.]

[moralitypolice]

( Bonnie's travels and her work with the Armory has kept her informed as her (nat 20) makes it clear she knows the distinct differences. )

Sirens are selfish. They're damned. They were human, but their soul twisted. Sybil and her sister were isolated, forced to live their lives only with each other. ...Sirens enslave and rework a person's brain. They don't just strip away choice, they rewire you to the point that whomever they're trying to usurp is stripped away. They are powerful and immortal. Sybil and her sister were acolytes of a psychic demon named Cade. And they were malicious. They kidnapped the twins.

( To raise Cade. But, she's going to stop short of tapping him as the devil. He was the devil of his hell dimension. But, according to Elena? He wasn't the devil. That she's still wrapping her mind around. )

Banshees are - in the most basic of terms - harbingers of death, but they are not inherently one thing. They are not the twisted version of a human, like a siren or a fury. Banshees have innate - naturally born power. Their power derives from the Earth and from the magic within and around it. It's hereditary. Most likely, someone in your family was - or had a seed that could've grown into... being a banshee. And Banshees grow in power, never only the 'wailing woman' archetype. Some cultures believe banshees to be clairvoyant - and some believe they have the ability to control the dead, not just predict when it will occur. But, they rarely do their own killing.

( She pauses, having looked at Lydia the entire time. )

I'm not saying you might fall into an entirely different category since I now count three different types of vampire species, but if you ever need or want answers, I've done a lot of work with the Armory. And Tyler Lockwood knows even more than I do.

( If that's something Lydia is interested in, in finally delving deep into her power and her history. )

[beanchaointe]

... Actually getting a straight answer is so refreshing for once.

[She's been shrugged at so many times that she hadn't expected Bonnie to be able to come through, but she's grateful that she has. It's nice to know that what she is has clear lines and rules with limits she can measure.]

Apparently I'm so rare that most people don't know anything.

[moralitypolice]

I don't know who you've asked, but I know when it comes to this knowledge, people keep it to themselves. ( They never help, even if you know how much knowledge you need. Or, they take advantage. ) After my Grams died, I had to figure it out for myself. Even a distant cousin didn't explain anything to me, just told me we'd see each other again.

( Did they? )

[beanchaointe]

I was awakened by an alpha werewolf who intended to use me to bring himself back from the dead, but he wasn't exactly the most forthcoming with details, and he doesn't give anything for free.

[Thanks, Peter.]

And my grandmother was a banshee too, but she died in an insane asylum before I was old enough for her to tell me anything. Basically, I've been figuring it out as I go.

[moralitypolice]

All this time?

( She was awakened as a witch as a teen as well. Bonnie assumes it's been that long since their whole friend group originated in high school. )

What happened with the alpha werewolf?

[beanchaointe]

Oh, he's still around somewhere.

[Unfortunately.]

His daughter is one of my best friends, so unfortunately I have to see him more than I'd like, but Peter Hale is occasionally useful. Sometimes Malia can get him to do things for free.

["Emphasis on sometimes," Isaac sighs. "No one actually likes him, but Derek can't bring himself to kill him again, and it's been what? A decade since the last time he tried to kill Scott?"

Lydia snorts.]

Something like that. I'm sure if things continue to get weird he'll swan in to be cryptic in our direction.

[moralitypolice]

He's tried to kill Scott? And he's you best friend's father?

( "We're here," Ryan says, putting the car into park. He was actively not trying to eavesdrop. But he's fascinated nonetheless. It's no architecture school. )

[beanchaointe]

It's ... much more long and complicated than it needs to be.

[But that is the entwined nature of things in Beacon Hills. But since they're here: "I'll fill you in later," Isaac says, giving Bonnie's hand a squeeze. "It's a doozy."]

[widenecked]

( "For all of us, apparently," Bonnie says.

Everyone climbs out of the car and traverses the stone drive, ascending the steps. )

Are we meeting Tyler?

[vampireboulevard]

We are meeting Tyler.

[Caroline confirms as she comes up next to him, and before she can knock, the door is thrown open revealing another blond.]

And Liv. Hi, Liv.

[Liv's thin smile matches Caroline's and she nods. "Caroline. Ryan." Because she pays attention when Tyler talks. She glances back behind them and there's a more genuine smile for Bonnie. "Bonnie. Bonnie's friends. Welcome to the Armory."]

[recrudesce]

( Hi's all around as the group is brought past the lobby and into the Armory's main stronghold we've seen in canon before. An assistant unloads a cart of books brought for them for this very trip as Tyler stands to greet everyone.

Bonnie, his childhood friend, Ryan, Caroline's -- yeah -- he's year past his and Caroline's relationship falling apart, and a redhead he's never met. )

She did say she was bringing an Entourage.

[beanchaointe]

A lot of needs were converging at once.

[And since they're the only ones who haven't been properly introduced, she holds up a finger to indicate herself.]

Lydia.

[Then she points to the werewolf standing next to her.]

Isaac.

[Isaac waves, with his familiar smartass smirk. "Sup."]

[recrudesce]

Tyler. Liv. ( and then he nods. ) Ryan.

( "Tyler." No animosity. Just brief, gruff trading of masculine energy that heterosexual men do in front of their current/ex-girlfriend. Someone should break this up. )

[vampireboulevard]

Right. So Bonnie is here to look at some Grimmoires to find out some stuff about something called the Gauntlet?

[Because that is the witch ask to all of this.]

While I am going to go check on my vampire mentee and make sure he's okay. And we all meet in Mystic Falls at the Grille when we're done?

[recrudesce]

The Bennett case is over here.

( "Case?" Bonnie asks, as Tyler draws her, Lydia, and Isaac further into the armory.

Ryan stays put.

"You're meeting Stiles?" )

[vampireboulevard]

[Caroline nods.]

And as much as I enjoy your company, I think this needs to be a one-on-one conversation.

[But she doesn't want to just abandon Ryan to her friends, so:]

Are you going to be okay here while I'm gone?

[widenecked]

As much as I enjoy your company I think I'll be able to entertain myself.

( Caroline's concern is cute, but he does well on his own. He'll wander. )

[vampireboulevard]

Okay.

[She smiles, before leaning in to kiss him gently.]

I'll see you at the Grille.

[And with that, she'll duck out of the Armory to go meet Stiles.

And Ryan is free to return to the rest of the group where Isaac is settling into the seat next to Bonnie so they can gossip and over research. Because that's what everyone should do over research.

"So. Have you met Derek?"]

[phonetically]

( Meanwhile, in Mystic Falls, Stiles parks the Jeep he had shipped across the country on the street. He crosses, exhaling. Readying himself, he lets himself into the Grille and slides into the booth the group had their summit in back when their lives involved local real estate.

He's dressed as a civilian but his look has elevated since he was a teenager, and since he was turned. He knows things change once someone is turned. Maybe his change will be for the better. )

[vampireboulevard]

[Caroline strides into the Grille like she's supposed to be there. No matter where you go, Mystic Falls always welcomes you home - at least, that's what Stefan and Damon have taught her. She knows there's going to be a time when it's just her and Lizzie making this trip home, long after all her human friends are gone and even with only the Salvatores there to greet her, Mystic Falls will still be Mystic Falls.

She glances over to Stiles with a smile, before sliding into the booth across from him.]

Hey. You look good.

[phonetically]

Thanks. Do you tell that to all the vampires that failed your 101?

( Confidence may travel. )