perpetual anticipation is good for the soul but it's bad for the heart

[maxxx]

Comments

[matriarchate]

Me neither. Dean joked about an underground pool room, and honestly, I don't know if he was talking about the game or an actual pool and I don't know which I want it to be.

( But, she offers, testing Elena's waters, so to speak. )

I could go for a swim right now?

[braveandstupid]

Sure.

[She doesn't think she packed a swimsuit when they were making their grand escape but what's a bit of underwear swimming when it's just girls hanging.]

I also play pool, should that option arise. It's pretty much a requirement when you're a teenager in Mystic Falls.

[matriarchate]

At the Falls?

( She's done her research. )

I guess we'll find out either way, then. I think this is the part where we'd change and meet back here but I'm remembering I was on the run and you were, too. Well, we'll cross the swimsuit bridge if we come to it. How does that sound.

[braveandstupid]

Sounds good to me. We still have to find the pool first anyway.

[And she will head over to the research books briefly, before grabbing a stack of post-its.]

If we're going exploring, we may need something to mark our path.

[matriarchate]

Yes. We will need to breadcrumb.

( This is already the best adventure. )

We should start one floor down. I think I've seen every floor of this room. Except for the... Dean Cave?

[braveandstupid]

The Dean Cave is nothing to write home about to anyone but Dean.

[Hence why it's the Dean Cave.]

You're not missing much. But yes, let's head down a level.

[matriarchate]

He let you in? No girls allowed, my ass.

( She's not jealous at all. (She really isn't, but it's fun being playful.)

They push through the heavy door to the stairwell and travel one floor downward. )

Can I ask. Dean. I'm happy for you, I am. Dean needs someone to level him off, but. What's the appeal? Besides the obvious.

[braveandstupid]

The obvious is pretty good.

[Look Elena can come off as the girl next door but she's never not enjoyed the physicality of her relationships. Dean's reputation is not an exaggeration, she was pleasantly surprised to find.]

And I'll be honest and admit that I haven't always had the best taste in men. I do mean it when I say that Dean is not the worst guy I've ever dated. But I think that when your life comes with a certain amount of darkness you need someone who's dark parts match yours. I've died, been a vampire, been a human sacrifice, spent three years under a Sleeping Beauty curse, went back to being human again and ... it's a lot. Dean doesn't even blink.

[And that's the kind of acceptance she needs at the end of the day.]

And before you accuse me of settling, I'm not. He is a ridiculous human being but he makes me laugh and he cares, even if that caring is a few layers deep. And he's a good guy, even if he can be kind of a dick.

[The two are not mutually exclusive. Elena would know.]

[matriarchate]

Why is it that every time we find someone we like, but not someone people believe we should like, we're settling?

( And )

Sleeping Beauty curse?

[braveandstupid]

Jealousy or projection. At least that's usually my experience.

[Oh yeah she should explain that.]

Have you heard of heretics?

[matriarchate]

( (16). Yes, she has stumbled upon research and her dad encountered one of them. )

Vampires who can wield magic.

[braveandstupid]

Me and my friend pissed off a bunch of them when I was in college. More specifically, they were targeting my best friend. So they cast a spell to tie the two of us together - basically, I would be caught in a magical sleep for as long as she was alive, and when she died I would wake up.

[Essentially severing their relationship for the rest of their lives.]

I think they thought that because the guy I was seeing at the time was known for his lack of impulse control that he would just kill Bonnie in order to get me back, but Bonnie was his best friend and he knew that if I woke up and found out he murdered my best friend, it wouldn't exactly be a way to keep the relationship. Plus, he was a vampire.

[So he was going to outlive Bonnie anyway.]

I knew Bonnie would figure it out before then though. Still, I wound up sleeping for three years.

[matriarchate]

( Throughout Elena's explanation, Allison peeks into every doorway, listening, but keeping on the hunt. )

I think I remember an episode of Charmed that went like that.

( A man and woman in love but cursed to never be human at the same time, this being every 24 hours at a time. )

That's a lot of pluses.

( She has a lot of darkness herself. )

And Bonnie is still alive, so, alls well that ends well. I can't imagine being asleep for three years. What I'd come back to... Was everything different?

[braveandstupid]

Yeah. They had all been through stuff that I hadn't and ...

[And Matt was dead. That's something that she hadn't been prepared for.]

Things got complicated. But I figured it out.

[matriarchate]

Jackpot.

( Opening the door wider, she steps aside. There is an underground pool lit by a few blinking fluorescents. The pool is covered, as it should be, the light reflecting along the plastic. )

[braveandstupid]

Nice.

[She follows Allison into the room, before looking for a mechanism that will help them retract the cover so they can swim.]

How long do you think it's been since this has been used?

[matriarchate]

Years?

( Allison drops a bag down and reflects Elena's movements on the other side of the pool. )

It can't have been taken care of. Sam mentioned they briefly had this housekeeper wood nymph, but that she went a little psychotic. I wonder if she filtered out the pool?

[braveandstupid]

Maybe? Guess we won't know until we open it up.

[Elena knows nothing about pool care but she's hoping that they're not opening up a giant pool of algae or something.]

[matriarchate]

( Allison gets a (9) to find the proper mechanism to pull the cover back, but a part of her is doubting whether or not they should. )

[braveandstupid]

[Elena isn't really going much better (12) but she does think enough to pull out her phone to try and search for the warning signs.]

Okay this says that if the water is cloudy or it looks like there's algae growing, don't swim in it.

[matriarchate]

Good tips.

( Allison's (4) has her almost stumbling over something metal (the mechanism?), but she catches herself and turns the light from her phone on. )

[braveandstupid]

[Elena catches the mechanism in the light of the Allison's phone (10). And she leans forward to try and work it.]

Wait, hold on. Maybe if we just ...

[This is clearly not an activity they should be trying after they were drinking.]

[matriarchate]

( Allison's fingers find the button, and drunkenly (and with a flourish) (nat 20), Allison taps into her gymnastics background, flips and holds herself above the pool, flicking the button, before gracefully returning to her feet.

Because ... (Nat 20 and she's drunk)

The cover comes to life and starts retreating! )

And there we have it.

[braveandstupid]

[Elena blinks at the gymnastics of it all and holds up a hand.]

You know what? That was amazing. I would give you a ten.

[matriarchate]

I will take your ten and raise you a night swim.

( Finally. She does take a moment to breathe it all in, this moment with Elena. )

After tonight, I won't have the luxury of these stupid, fun moments. When I leave here, I go back to being Allison Argent.