coming at you fast, midnight

[cosmiccon]

Comments

[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. )

[vampireboulevard]

[She smirks, before leaning over and dropping her voice a bit.]

Hate to tell you, but if you haven't murdered anyone yet, you're technically still passing.

[No one gets through vampirism clean, but unless he's hiding a body she hasn't told him about, he's miles ahead of most Mystic Falls vamps.]

[phonetically]

That's your bar?

( Has he been excelling all this time? )

Can I share something with you?

[vampireboulevard]

In your first few months, yes. Making it through the day without committing murder is the bar.

[But she nods as the waitress comes over, and Caroline orders herself a drink before leaning back and glancing back to him.]

Share away.

[phonetically]

( Not wanting to become his father, Stiles has taken to coffee, but once a day he makes it Irish. His once hasn't happened yet. )

When I skipped town, it wasn't -- ( He sighs. ) I said it was about control and about putting everyone in danger, but, I was vulnerable and I'd gotten close to someone I didn't think I'd have a chance with -- and instead of let myself try, I...

( Fill in the blanks. )

[vampireboulevard]

Ah. The old having feelings for someone as a human was hard enough but now being a vampire makes everything worse so I'm just going to run away instead of dealing with it routine.

[Caroline nods, because hoo-boy has she been there.]

You are not the first to fall into this trap, you will not be the last.

[phonetically]

Yeah. And then all my friends were doxxed and everyone is in the wind.

( And in touch, but he's now permanently out of touch. )

You sound like you have experience.

[vampireboulevard]

Oooh. Okay.

[She takes a sip of her arrived drink as they dig back into the wayback machine of Caroline Forbes' relationships.]

In high school, before I got turned, I was dating a guy named Matt. We'd known each other since we were like, five, and he had always had eyes for Elena, but he and Elena broke up and she started seeing Stefan and Matt and I got ... closer.

[Awkwardly, with a lot of starts and stops.]

But then I got turned and everything changed. I had all these magnified emotions and a blood lust that I was struggling to handle. And I was not the fully evolved adult you see before you. I was a seventeen year-old girl with seventeen year-old jealousy issues, and a lot of teenage girls unfortunately got compelled because I thought they were hitting on my boyfriend. It was not my best look.

[To say the least.]

Matt and I had ups and downs where we would get back together and then break up again and I was lying to him the whole time because he didn't know about vampires and then him lying to me because he and my mom found out and were not dealing with it well so ... it was a big mess. And I started kind of having feelings for his best friend. And as I say it now, this is not the most reassuring story.

[Especially since it ends with her and Matt deciding that ending their relationship was what was best for them.]

But I will say that once Matt got used to the whole vampire and werewolf thing and ... over the me wanting to kiss Tyler thing, we got back to being friends again. We figured things out. And the upside to your particular situation is that she already knows about vampires. And knows that you're a vampire. So all you have to do is the much scarier part of actually sharing your feelings.

[phonetically]

What if I don't know what my feelings are. I'm dating my work, basically. Every summer I interned at the FBI and when I graduated from college, I went right to Quantico. When our paths crossed we hadn't seen each other since I was in high school.

( Forget stops or starts. )

I kissed her once in an ambulance.