taxonomites | 1 | [ holo / location: sanctuary ]

Three days in this dank, godforsaken tomb. It was three days too long without blood, as far as Katherine was concerned. There wasn’t even a single rat in sight; she was so hungry she’d probably lower herself to eating vermin by now. With a quiet exhalation, the vampire slouched against the clammy rock of the tomb’s wall, losing her balance as the solid rock behind her back disappeared abruptly and the darkness was replaced with artificial light.

"What the—!" Katherine hissed and braced one hand against the floor, bowing her head to shield her eyes from the sudden brightness. Slowly, Katherine raised her chin and blinked at the chamber amidst her hair, bewildered. This was a far cry from the musty tomb she’d occupied just a moment ago. How? A moment of sheer, wide-eyed panic gripped at her as she immediately considered the Originals, but a few deep breaths returned her ability to think straight. It couldn’t be. Damon had imprisoned her in that damn tomb, sealed by the Bennett witches’ spell; no vampire could get out once they stepped inside. It had to be someone else, and Katherine was willing to bet they couldn’t be worse than Klaus.

Despite her blood-starved body protesting at every move, Katherine straightened from her slouch and cast a critical eye down at herself. She was a mess; still wearing the wrinkled, knee-length black dress, dirt smudging her skin that had taken on a slightly sickly, ashen pallor – she could only imagine the dark circles bound to sit under her eyes. Her straightened hair hung down her shoulders, a curtain of limp frizz instead of the mass of curls she normally sported. She scoffed at the state of her and cursed Damon all over again. Caroline and that backstabber Lucy, too, while she was at it.

But she had a more immediate objective now, such as getting out and feeding. Oh, and a shower.

"Very well. I’ll bite," Katherine finally drawled wryly, smirking at her pun as she glanced about. "Hello? Anybody home?"

Preferably someone filled with nice, juicy veins full of thick, warm blood. Humming a soft sound of amusement at the thought, Katherine wet her dry lips and addressed the empty room again, her attitude remarkably lackadaisical for such an evidently unwell person in an uncertain situation.

"Nobody obviously taught you people manners. It’s rude to keep a lady waiting."

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ damon would really, really rather have stayed the hell away from katherine until he can pretend to be unaffected a little better. but thanks to the hamsters, he has a voicemail of stefan drinking human blood. with her. jealousy aside-- and oh, there's jealousy; she came back for stefan, wants stefan, he's the first one she'll see in and taxon, and stefan break his ban for her-- the memories of his brother locked in the basement are too fresh to ignore this.

it doesn't take long to haul ass over to the sanctuary. it takes a moment longer to smooth down his shirt and hair and paste on an uncaring expression, but it never does pay to show up to battle without your armor. ]

Having a reunion without inviting me? Bad form, you two. I'm hurt.

[A good two and half bottles of soccer mom in her belly (thanks for sharing, Damon), Katherine finally feels fully back to old herself again - if still in dire need of a long, hot shower. Her lips curl into a smile before Damon is anywhere near them, eying him up and down when he does draw closer. She was not expecting Damon to show up, but it's not an unwelcome surprise.

Turning the full bottle Stefan tossed her up and down in her hands, she gives Damon a small pout.]

You're the one who didn't sound too pleased to hear from me earlier. If anyone's got a grievance around here, it's me. But here we all are now, just like in the good old days.

[ thank god he's not still holding that bottle, stefan thinks, but unknown to him, damon already knows. and he'll smell it on his breath, regardless. shit, stefan is in it no matter what. and it's odd, for while he's got well over a century and a half's years behind him, he feels more like the seventeen year old who's about to get scolded by his older brother for being stupid and feels the urge to run in the other direction because of it. he doesn't, though, and instead bites the bullet and moves closer to damon. ]

Che ci fai qui?

[ katherine would be able to hear the most hushed of whispers between them, so italian it is. ]

( translation | "what are you doing here?" )

Edited 2010-12-09 13:54 (UTC)

[ damon throws a careless arm over stefan's shoulders, tugging him close, his hand digging harshly into the muscle of his brother's shoulder. ]

Ti impedisce di fare qualsiasi mossa più stupida.

[ arm still keeping stefan close-- an anchor, a chain, a dam-- damon turns them to face katherine, careful to keep his face lazily amused. this is their battle line; stefan and damon on this side, katherine on the other. ]

Well, isn't this cosy.

( translation | 'keeping you from making any more stupid moves.' )

[Although not fluent in Italian, Katherine is able to use her knowledge of Spanish to surmise a word here and another there, to make out the gist and conclude the rest from context. Damon is obviously not happy with Stefan and this intrigues Katherine, her scrutinizing gaze jumping back and forth between the brothers.

The symbolism of their stance isn't lost on Katherine, a smirk tugging the corner of her lips upward. She'd broken that line once before; why couldn't it be broken again?]

Isn't it? I'm surprised to see you here, Damon. You're looking good. Came to protect your brother from my evil influence?

Non ho bisogno del vostro aiuto, fratello. L'ho avuto sotto controllo e stava facendo bene.

[ though despite that, stefan is grateful. his senses are going mad in response to the human blood in his belly and this conversation with katherine was spiraling out of control with katherine - whether she meant to or not - once again getting stefan to do things he otherwise wouldn't. that, of course, was also largely stefan's poor judgment and impulsiveness. it's just easier for him to blame it on katherine.

stefan flicks damon's back for how hard he's digging his fingers into his shoulder (owe, that hurts), but puts that arm around his brother's waist to add emphasis to that stance damon and picked for them against katherine. united. katherine had pulled them apart once, but as rocky as his relationship with damon was now, he'll be damned before he lets katherine come between them again. he meant what he said to damon before. he picks his brother. ]

Ho scelto te.

( translation | "i don't need your help. i had it under control and was doing just fine." / "i choose you." )

Edited 2010-12-12 04:05 (UTC)

Oh, sì. Stai andando alla grande. Davvero, Stef? Davvero? Zitto e noi provvederemo a gestire questo e quindi ottenere il all'inferno lontano da lei.

[ damon digs his fingers in harder at the flick, grin going tight. he's on human blood, the complete idiot. because what everyone needed right now was stefan doing his best whitney: the bobby brown years.

but regardless of stefan taking a detour into territory usually covered by damon himself, he can't just leave it alone. ]

Come toccante. Penso che potrei piangere, aspetta. [ damon sighs as stefan's body stiffens a little, hurt. ] Bene, bene, ho scelto te troppo. Possiamo andare?

( translation | 'oh, yeah. you're doing great. really, stef? really? shut up and we'll handle this and then get the hell away from her.' | 'how touching. i think i might cry, hold on.' | 'fine, fine, i choose you too. can we go?' )

1 | [ holo / location: sanctuary ]

and everything you love will burn up in the light;

and everything you love will burn up in the light;

and everything you love will burn up in the light;

and everything you love will burn up in the light;

and everything you love will burn up in the light;

and everything you love will burn up in the light;

and everything you love will burn up in the light;