i'm leaving you my last curse

[bravebartender]

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[founderscouncil]

( Grayson's hand finds Miranda's in her lap. It doesn't help knowing how Jenna is gone. She's just gone. And it could've been Caroline, the vampire, staying with them. )

Stop saying sorry. You didn't ask to be born. You weren't lied to. You didn't kill your best friend or your aunt. ( He pauses, the frustrating tone dissipating. ) If you want us to meet you halfway, then you have to give us more than half. And understand that whatever you tell us, we will need the time. We can't do this overnight. I accept Caroline is Caroline. She's been nothing but polite since coming here. I don't know Ryan, he could say more. ( But other than that. ) We get it. You don't want to shock us or overwhelm us. But, Elena, our heads are going to spin like a top no matter if you sit us down once a week and hold a class or just put everything out in the open. And, personally, I just want you to. It's hard enough navigating everything not working from a full deck, no offense.

( Dean gestures, shrugs, not sure what offense should be taken, but hey, if the guy's gotta monologue. )

We know you're doing everything you can. ( Dean nods, got it.

"We have someone who's bringing you back to life. So-to-speak." Dean says.

It's Grayson's turn to gesture. Great. )

We can't undo where we came from. But, if you tell us more and you stop keeping us in the dark maybe we won't accidentally offend your friend. Whom, we like. The sooner you get everything out in the open, the sooner we can process. And, Elena. We want to process.

[braveandstupid]

I know. But with this, I wasn't sure if it was my secret to tell. Because while Sheriff Forbes did warm up to it, her dad didn't take it well at all. I wanted to give Caroline the chance to tell you in her own time.

[Because that's what felt like the right thing to do.]

I didn't expect there to be a crisis before dinner, though maybe I should know better.

[founderscouncil]

If you think this is a crisis, I'd hate to see your shifts in the ER.

( He tries to keep things a bit lighthearted. He sighs, turning to his wife, assessing if they even will -- do what he's about to offer. )

I'll apologize. And, maybe not today, or tomorrow, but, we need to know everything.

( They need to be able to defend themselves, to have their thoughts, to work from all the facts. )

I know high school was brutal. And I'm sorry we weren't there for it. ( It sounds like they might've just died. ...Dark thought. ) Oh, but, if Ezra the stalking witch thinks he has the moral high ground with us, we'd like to opt out of any further opinions from his camp.

[braveandstupid]

[She nods because yes, eventually they'll have to move on to Elena's own stint as a vampire, as well as college and the sleeping beauty curse, but that will wait until ... after Elena comes back from Battlecreek.

Sorry.

That being said, she hears the sound of the door and nods.]

I don't think it will happen again. Also, Ryan's general laconic-ness is a feature, not a bug, so I wouldn't expect him saying more as a general rule. We've grown to love and accept it about him.

[founderscouncil]

( Her life is so dramatic. )

A feature, not a bug?

( To that he turns to his wife, whatever that means.

Elena's phone rings! )

[braveandstupid]

[And she will excuse herself to go answer it, as Caroline and Ryan return with the ice and they will come back to that later.]

Hello?

[moralitypolice]

Elena.

( It's Bonnie! )

Isaac found us and two other slayers who were outside. We're making our way back to the castle now. Apparently, the vampires are members of the Ivory Tower, some vampire organization Scarlett is familiar with. And this all goes back to the Inner Circle. And the Gauntlet.

[braveandstupid]

[Of course it all comes back to the Inner Circle. That's her second thought after another wave of relief that Bonnie is still okay.]

Okay, I'll tell Ezra. Has there been any sign of Stefan? Caroline tried to call him but he didn't answer.

[moralitypolice]

Not yet, but I'll tell you when there is. Elena, I'm sure he's fine.

( Dawn, she doesn't know. )

I'll call you when I know more?

[braveandstupid]

Yeah, okay. Be safe.

[It's a small update, but she knows she can't tie up Bonnie's time for long. She also assumes that if there was news about Dawn, Bonnie would have shared it.

So she hangs up and glances back to the rest of the group.]

They've recovered some more people, but no sign of Stefan or Dawn yet. She's going to call again when she knows more.

[She pauses before pointing to the kitchen.]

I have to go talk to Ezra.

[But she glances back to Caroline to see if she wants her to go slash she's okay to be alone with her parents. Caroline nods with a small smile, and Elena goes to move past, giving her hand a squeeze as she goes.]

1/2

[cholesterol]

( Dean eyes her parents like they've just had a stern warning and then follows Elena into the kitchen.

"Don't tell me. I stuck my nose where it didn't belong," Ezra says, now at the sink taking care of dishes. Irina has an Ipad and stands by his right leg. Isn't she adorable?! )

[braveandstupid]

No, that's not what this is about.

[And she's already told you you did nothing wrong, so take her at her world, Ezra! That being said, her face is going to turn more serious.]

We got another update from Bonnie. Apparently vampires from something called the Ivory Tower are involved, and it's tied back to the Inner Circle?

[praevaricatio]

( "Ice," Ryan says, Dean pointing where to put it, the conversation continuing.

Ezra stops what he's doing, let's the dish clatter against the sink, which startles Irina and he's quick to turn and crouch, making sure she's alright. Looking up at Elena, he gives an explanation. )

Wallace and Corsair and the Ivory Tower have always scratched each other's backs, though this is the first I've heard of a suicide mission. Because that's what it would've been. A castle of slayers. Bonnie Bennett. I'm guessing, the Salvatore's. It's a hell of an opening statement.

( He shakes his head.

"Hell," she repeats.

Whoops. )

Heck. ( A sigh. ) It's confirmed? The Ivory Tower?

[braveandstupid]

Scarlett O'Hara was also one of the guests. Apparently she's familiar enough with the Ivory Tower that she can call them out by name.

[And she doesn't know a lot about the Tower, but she does trust Scarlett to, if nothing else, know her enemy.]

[praevaricatio]

Can you?

( He asks, standing up to give Elena a little Irina time as he retrieves his phone from the kitchen table.

His and his husband's exchanges have been few and far between and only by text.

Wallace and Corsair used the Ivory Tower to attack the slayers in Scotland. )

[maleficum]

[Elena will happily take over with Irina for a bit, and they will have a lovely conversation about pancakes.

David, on the other hand, takes a minute to text back:]

Sounds like them but are you sure?

[praevaricatio]

Elena is sure. Bonnie Bennett called her. Scarlett O'Hara confirms.

I can't see why else the Ivory Tower would even be involved. Can you?

[maleficum]

They have a relationship going back a long time. Wallace and Corsairs have always been our ambassadors to the Tower. If they got people riled up enough, they could probably make them do anything.

[founderscouncil]

( Grayson looks at his wife, at Elena and Dean moving away, Ryan who stands - two bags of ice in his arms. And then Caroline. He gets up, leaving his wife there - still spurned from the conversation before. He can smooth that over. He will. But, for now. This.

He scratches behind his ear as he tries not to do this sheepishly. And sincerely. )

We owe you an apology. Right now, apologies are going to be coming fast because we are behind the times. And we were told in no uncertain terms that we don't know what we're talking about. And while, thirty-some odd years of conditioning won't disappear overnight. We listen. And, we see you. Miranda and I caught a glimpse of your super-human speed and we jumped to conclusions about both of you. When we were growing up, you were the villains in our stories. But villains don't bring pie or support their friends during a rough time.

( He sees that. )

We see that. Even if it had to be pointed out to us.

[vampireboulevard]

[She takes in the apology and the tension in her shoulders lessens some. As much as she knows it's not going to be fixed over night - it wasn't with her parents, and it wasn't with Carol either - she appreciates that they're willing to apologize.]

It's okay. And to be honest, this isn't the worst coming out party that I've had. I should have let Elena tell you in the first place. We shouldn't have let it catch you by surprise.

[founderscouncil]

Our reactions don't make it anyone else's secret to tell.

( And while he means most of what he says, he does feel a lot like a scolded teenager.

Ryan accepts the apology, too, with a nod.

"Ice melts," he says, moving past him to go into the kitchen in search of where the ice goes. )

[vampireboulevard]

[Caroline nods and crosses her arms in front of her.]

Well, it's all out in the open now. And I can answer any questions you have, about what its like or how we got here? I'm actually really good at Vampire 101. I have to do it a lot for parents of the kids at school.

[A beat.]

Did Elena tell you about the school?

[founderscouncil]

( He looks back at his wife and then gestures to the table as he returns to it to take a stiff sip of coffee. )

She didn't say it was a school for vampires.

[vampireboulevard]

Well, not only vampires. Mostly we're dealing with the big three - witches, vampires and werewolves - but lately we've been expanding to other supernatural kids. Giving them a place to feel normal, but also to learn how to be what they are with people who can help them do that safely.

[And they've done so with minimal local villager casualties. She's very proud of it.]

Most of these kids don't want to hurt people, and didn't even ask to be what they are in the first place, and no one was there to either protect them or help them. So we do our best to help them now.

[Miranda blinks because witches and vampires she knew but: "Werewolves?"]

Yeah. Werewolves. The ones we deal with mostly are ones that are products of the werewolf curse, so they often don't have families or safe families to return to. So we give them a safe place to go.

[founderscouncil]

Like the X-Men.

( That's his only frame of reference. )

Werewolf curse. Is that anything like the sun and moon curse?