ic contact

[lifeskills]

This is the voice of doctor Victor Frankenstein. If you require me, I recommend other means of reaching me than these devices. You may leave a message at room 10-1. I will nevertheless try to keep apprised of communication by this method.

Comments

text;

[lifeskills]

<sub>[The last day or so has been devoted to cleaning out his rooms--both of them, his private room and his work space in the basement. There are things he doesn't care to keep, half-finished research and fragments of an old life he's outgrown, that go into boxes to be taken out with the trash or burned.

He's in the process of dismantling a piece of equipment when he gets the text, and he swaps a wrench for his phone.

The first line is composed of three simple words, but he has to reread it over again, anyway. Klaus. Klaus, the immortal product of witches, wolves, and vampires that had hounded Elena to her death with the same tenacity as Dracula. It must have cost her a good deal to compose a message like this.]</sub>

You spoke to him?

_{[That's more concerning than what Klaus does or doesn't remember about him.]}

text;

[interpersonal]

Yes.

[ elena is frustrated with herself for being caught so off guard by it. klaus cornered her in a public place, just like she expected him to, all toothy smiles and subtle reminders. the wound left behind by jenna's death is still fresh. (it isn't over until you choose to forgive them). ]

I don't need to tell you how important it is that he never know what we've discussed.

[ the less he knows about victor's own knowledge, the better. if he got hurt because of her, she would never forgive herself. ]

[lifeskills]

And that is all?

<sub>[Klaus hadn't physically threatened Victor when he'd known him--he hadn't needed to. His unapologetic confidence had made him seem a force to be reckoned without testing the waters. But after what Elena had confided to him, apparently Klaus hadn't been as shy about laying hands on her in the past, and if he could do so once, he could do so again.

He hasn't forgotten the oath of silence he'd taken regarding the truth about hybrids and doppelgangers and draining girls for their blood. Even if Elena's safety hadn't factored into it, he still wouldn't have designs to break that confidence.]</sub>

He will not find out what you shared through me.

[interpersonal]

[ elena gives herself a small moment of reprieve. a moment to feel relief. victor's words are always measured and careful. he would not say something he doesn't mean. he would not give her a promise he does not intend to keep. reassured by his answer, elena allows herself to focus on his question. ]

For now.

[ all they did was talk, though it felt more like a chess game. she doubts his motivations, but klaus is not veiled with his threats. the results were clear: she must be careful, for she is vulnerable, and he can strike at any moment, should he choose to. ]

According to him, I'm from the past. His goals may have ... shifted.

[lifeskills]

_{[It goes without saying that he doesn't like the sound of that, not in the slightest bit.]}

What did he say? If he has what he wants already, what more would he desire of you?

_{[Klaus has a child to occupy his attention--the most important thing to him, in his own words--so surely his desire to return to her trumps whatever leverage a human girl already once-killed can provide.]}

[interpersonal]

It's more about what he doesn't desire. [ elena sits at the foot of her bed, then, curling a leg underneath her before she does so. a hand braces itself against her knee, the other holding tight to her device. almost too tight. ]

To say there's bad blood between all of us is an understatement. I think he was warning me. Reminding me that retaliating for his past deeds would be unwise. [ unfortunately, klaus has the power and the megalomania to make his threats a reality. ]

[lifeskills]

<sub>[We are bound on a wheel of pain, thee and me.

No, Victor can't imagine there'd be anything other than bad blood between her and the monster that had irreparably changed the course of her life.]</sub>

Is that a possibility?

_{[Retaliation for past wrongs?]}

[interpersonal]

[ elena longs to give him a definitive yes. but then she'd be ignoring damon's volatility. what she's beginning to understand is bonnie shares his fire. their methods vary greatly, but their goals align. together, the two of them would be frightening, elena thinks. they're three different personalities: damon, bonnie, elena. if anything unites them, however, it's their ferocity in protecting their loved ones. is there a line they won't cross, when all is said and done?

(klaus wounded them too deeply.) ]

I'll make sure it doesn't come to that. If Klaus has an enemy in Wonderland, it's more likely to be the queen. [ better the enemy he knows, is what she hopes. ]

[lifeskills]

_{[Make sure how? That tells Victor she might be concerned about interference from other corners.]}

It may take time for him to realize there is more at stake than any one's individual interests. You would do well not to put yourself in the middle.

_{[This has been Elena's personal battle for far longer than it's been Victor's cursory interest back when he'd first heard of the Mikaelsons and their unusual existences, but he can't help but dispense advice, unasked for or not. She's human and therefore fragile by nature.]}

[interpersonal]

I understand your concern, but trust me. I know what I'm doing, and I can take care of myself.

[ monsters are always hungry, and only a step behind her. that will always be true. ]

I've been meaning to give you something, now more than ever. [ with klaus here, that is. ] I left it at your door, in case you were working. [ it's a small pouch, and within the pouch is a bracelet. he might notice the smell of herbs caught in its tangles. ]

[lifeskills]

_{[Unsurprising that the girl who had fought off mutated zombies would say that.]}

You have already paid a price once. I would rather you not tempt fate in the form of an immortal creature.

_{[It must be said... even if it's an incredibly dad-like thing to say. He composes the first half of the message but there's a bit of a delay before he sends the text in its entirety as he goes to investigate just what this mystery gift is.]}

I have it. What is it?

[interpersonal]

[ it does sound kind of dad-like. it would make elena smile, if he weren't making entirely too much sense. elena wants to listen, but at the end of the day, she'll take the risks she needs to if it means protecting her own. protecting herself. katherine is more open about ensuring her own survival and willing to take down anyone to do so, but elena's never wanted to die if there was another way. ] It's a bracelet. There's vervain inside of it.

[ she tried to find jewelry that would be simple and elegant. nothing gaudy or showy. it wouldn't feel like victor. ]

Vervain is an herb that'll protect you from vampires. The ones from my world. [ there's no telling if it will protect him from other vampires. in fact, she should probably ask angel about it one of these days... ]

[lifeskills]

<sub>[He doesn't miss the way she avoids the issue of her physical safety, but for now he lets it go with the full intention of circling back around to it before this conversation is through.

Right this second, he's holding onto an item that sounds by its description like something Vanessa would have had knowledge of from her daywalker studies. Some kind of herbal remedy?]</sub>

How might an herb protect against tooth and claw?

_{[Because that's what Victor thinks of when he thinks of vampires--the violence, the blood. When they kill, the human-looking ones from Elena's home likely don't do it with words or stern looks, either. What danger does a bracelet protect against?]}

[interpersonal]

[ a totally legit question. ]

Vampires are weakened by it. Touching it alone will burn them.

[ she'll never forget how stefan looked when she pulled him out of that well; it might as well have been a vat of poison. ] Vervain also keeps them from influencing you. As long as you're wearing that bracelet, your choices are yours.

[ victor can't be compelled. ]

[lifeskills]

_{[A physical repellent, he understands, but "influence"? He'd experienced compulsion of a kind around Rebekah, but it had been instigated by Wonderland, not by one of the vampires. Compulsion is a vampiric ability he'd been lucky to avoid encountering.]}

Influencing how?

[interpersonal]

Vampires from my world are able to compel people to do what they ask, if they aren't protected by vervain. [ sometimes, the orders can be innocuous: leave me alone, be quiet, go over there, forget this conversation ever happened.

sometimes, they can be a lot more insidious: stay still. don't scream. ]

[lifeskills]

_{[Put that way, the concept isn't unfamiliar to him, but Elena's text still makes him frown.]}

Some manner of mental influence? How does that work, if not through a bite or the sharing of blood?

_{[His natural skepticism has him immediately questioning the effectiveness of a simple herb carried on one's person. That said, he trusts Elena's knowledge must come from somewhere. She's the one with the experience in regards to this new type of vampire.]}

[interpersonal]

Yes, it's mind compulsion. All that's needed is eye contact. Usually it comes with some form of verbal command, but not always. [ if they were talking about anything else, victor's skepticism would make her smile. he finds himself in wonderland, after all. ]

[lifeskills]

I was not aware they possessed a power of that nature. They all have this ability, even the newly turned?

<sub>[In some ways, that makes them even more insidious than the variety he'd studied in London, closer to the predatory seduction described by Bram Stoker.

He remembers vividly the acute dread that had washed over him when Vanessa had--no, the thing inside Vanessa--and pried into his mind and used her mouth to speak his thoughts. It hadn't been something he'd wanted to re-experience, and it still isn't now.]</sub>

Thank you for the thought. I will make use of it.

[interpersonal]

You're welcome, Victor.

[ it gives her peace of mind. she would be sorrowful to learn he's already experienced something similar to compulsion. ] They're all able to use compulsion, but the older a vampire is, the stronger their ability. That goes for most of what they're capable of doing.

[ in this respect, like many others, age does matter. ]

[lifeskills]

_{[Anything that keeps the supernatural out of his head is worth trying.]}

I would ask if you are worried Klaus may act out in some way, but this says enough.

Has his hybridity altered the nature of his abilities or does he still retain the same weaknesses as vampires?

_{[The Mikaelsons had always claimed they were Originals. If age means increased ability, that by far makes them the biggest concern.]}

[interpersonal]

[ he really is smart, isn't he? ]

As a cross-breed, Klaus maintains all the strengths a werewolf and a vampire may have, but only some of the weaknesses. He doesn't have to shift on a full moon, for example. But they're still affected by vervain and wolfsbane. I wouldn't be able to tell you much, Klaus ... basically created a new species.

[ he wants his hybrid army. at least, he does in elena's timeline. ]

[lifeskills]

What do you know about werewolves? They are not as well known to me.

<sub>[What does he know about werewolves, really? If she'd asked him just over a week ago, he would've said nothing. But now... now he remembers Sembene's mutilated body. He remembers the prophecy involving lupus dei, the wolf destined to fulfill God's will and stand against the fallen angels.

He remembers Ethan, fulfilling that very promise.

What does he know about werewolves? Still next to nothing. He hadn't had a chance to ask before Wonderland had brought him back.]</sub>

I presume his dual nature is due to the witchcraft that supposedly created him.

[interpersonal]

[ she thinks of tyler.

of how helpless and scared he'd looked when she tucked him into her arms. he didn't understand what he was becoming, just that he didn't want to become it: the bursts of anger, the flash of golden eyes followed promptly by a snarl, and always, always being bound to the moon.

well. not always. now he's bound to klaus. ]

I know lycanthrope is inherited. You need the werewolf gene to trigger the curse, and the curse is only triggered once a person with that gene has taken a human life, accidentally or otherwise. I know, at least in my world, they're nearly extinct. Vampires hunted them a long time ago; a werewolf bite is lethal to them. [ a pause. ] You're taking this a lot better than I thought.

[ he was so skeptical and almost derisive the first time they ever talked about the supernatural. ]

[lifeskills]

The curse of _{[It takes him a few seconds to finish the sentence.]} shifting into a wolf?

<sub>[He remembers the murders in the paper--forever ago now, it seems. Bodies savaged. He'd been looking up at the sky a lot during that time while wistfully dreaming, and he remembers the full moons hanging in the sky like fat sand dollars.

And Ethan, his agitation, his throwing the paper in the fire. In hindsight, Victor had been ignorant of a lot and Elena had met him in the height of that ignorance.]</sub>

A great deal happened in the week I was away. The vampires were the first, but other supernatural threats joined them eventually. A mention of wolves emerged in research, although I know very little about their mythology.

_{[Said "research" had been a prophecy told by the Devil himself, actually, but that's another can of worms.]}