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. ]

[ 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.

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. ]

[ 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. ]

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. ]

[ 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... ]

[ 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. ]

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. ]

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. ]

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. ]

[ 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. ]

[ 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. ]

Edited 2016-08-14 06:28 pm (UTC)

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.]}