taxonomites | oo1 ˪holo || @sanctuary˥

Caroline set the flat iron down on her sink, shaping one of her blonde curls with her finger. She was frazzled from the night before and the fact that Matt still hadn't answered her messages (it was official - he -was- avoiding her), but that didn't mean she was going to go out looking like a wreck. When she was satisfied with her hair, she turned off her flat iron and unplugged it from the wall. What she had expected was to walk through the door leading into her hallway and to be, well, in her hallway.

That was not how things actually went. Instead, she found herself in an unfamiliar room (if it could be called that at all) on some sort of platform... thingy. Were she less out of her comfort zone, she would have tried to describe it with something less general, but right now 'thingy' would have to do. It described most of what she saw -- especially the weird device above her.

There was something unfamiliar on her arm and looking down revealed it to be a silver bracelet. "Ew, what's this? It's incredibly tacky." Removing it was apparently a no-go, because the bracelet didn't budge. "Is this -stuck- on me? Okay, I don't know what's going on here, but," she fiddled with the bracelet, disgusted that apparently seemed -fused- onto her, "this is definitely not cool." Caroline was aware that she had inevitably bigger problems, but this one seemed manageable and like a good place to start. "How do I get this thing off?"

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That was a relief to hear (or at least for it was for the most part). "New arrivals? How long have you been here? ... are we stuck?" Being abducted by aliens would imply that, she thought, but the idea of leaving behind everything back home wasn't settling well with Caroline. Not with things how they were, not while she was fighting with Matt.

People come and go at random, and yes, we're stuck until the hamsters deem it fit to send us back home. Some stay here longer, some a shorter period of time. Some are lucky enough return after they've been sent back home once, usually without any memories of their previous stay. It's all very arbitrary. I've been here for about five months now.

Five months here sounded like a lifetime. "That doesn't even make sense," Caroline protested, shaking her head. "You haven't been gone five months." The last she knew, Katherine had been sealed away in the tomb (she had yet to be aware of Katherine's escape). "The Masquerade Ball wasn't that long ago."

Come to think of it, Katherine would most likely be angry at Caroline for aiding in her capture, wouldn't she? She was counting her blessings that she hadn't run into Katherine on the ... did this place have streets?

To err on the side of caution, Katherine locks the feed. They were keeping their true natures a secret from the rest of Taxon's population, and she wasn't about to risk their covers being blown by Caroline's big mouth. She also switches the feed from voice to visual, so Caroline is now treated to the full brunt of Katherine's unhappy glower.

"Time doesn't function normally here. People get pulled into this place from different points in time. I don't know the specifics, but it seems as if regardless of your arrival into Taxon, you don't actually physically go missing back home. Otherwise Stefan, Elena and Damon would've long since gone poof on you in Mystic Falls since they all arrived here from points of time before the Masquerade Ball."

Katherine doesn't know from what point Caroline has been pulled into Taxon, but clearly it's past or close to her own if she remembers the Masquerade. The thought causes Katherine's glower to intensify.

"Speaking of the Masquerade, thanks for the part you played with that. Don't think for one moment I've forgotten," she says, rather ominously.

With the glower in full view, Caroline quickly found that she preferred audio feed to anything else with Katherine. It was easier to feel safe when she couldn't see her; she could almost pretend Katherine was still trapped in a tomb where she couldn't get to Caroline even if she wanted to.

"Before the Ball?" Caroline repeated, trying to keep her calm. She had to remind herself that she had fooled Katherine (and ignore that it was what had her angry now).

The calm definitely doesn't last and Caroline wavered, "Look, I'm sorry. I had to. It wasn't like I could tell everybody 'no, do it yourself', and you were going to kill Matt." Matt. Who now was as repulsed by Caroline as Caroline was by Katherine.

"That's what I said, wasn't it?" There was definitely a certain amount of satisfaction to be had, watching Caroline's feeble confidence crumble under the fear and apprehension that was practically emanating off the girl in waves even across the feed. Katherine smothered a smirk; at least Caroline seemed to know her place.

Lifting her chin, Katherine regarded Caroline silently for a moment, all imperious annoyance. "I'm willing to overlook your bad decision this once. Consider this your first and only warning, however. I could rip your arms out of their sockets faster than you can blink an eye - you'd better not give me a reason to. Are we clear?"

Even Caroline, who was doing her best to appear like she was strong now and not scared of Katherine in the least, knew that her facade was transparent. This was the woman who had killed her and then manipulated her into turning against one of her best friends. It made the tricky timelines seem irrelevant.

She gave a defeated nod, and knowing that just the gesture alone probably wouldn't satisfy Katherine added a weak, "We're clear," onto it. All she could hope was that somehow she didn't run into Katherine for however long she was here. She'd feel infinitely safer once she was with Elena and Stefan. Right now, she was practically a sitting duck.

Caroline's capitulation changes Katherine's entire countenance. The dangerous intensity is gone, replaced by an amiable smile that would fool anybody who did not know her better.

"Good. Then we should have no problems whatsoever," she states pleasantly, before adding with a tiny smirk, "Who knows, we could even become friends."

Edited 2011-04-25 21:33 (UTC)

Unfortunately for Caroline, she did know Katherine better and the charming smile did nothing to soothe her uneasiness. She had to bite back her own biting reply, fighting every instinct she had to speak before thinking, because she knew the only thing it would bring her way was Katherine's wrath.

"Maybe," Caroline replied, giving a smile of her own, though unlike Katherine's, it was obviously fake, wry and unwilling.

Edited 2011-04-26 17:50 (UTC)

"You're lying," Katherine responds airily, her smile turning into a wily smirk. "That's okay, so was I. Friends is perhaps pushing it a little - or a lot. But, I can promise to leave you be long as you don't give me any trouble. Give a little, get a little."

Of course, Katherine's promises were mercurial at best and lies at worst, applying only for so long. If she wanted or needed something from Caroline, she wouldn't hesitate to get it by any means necessary.

"You caught me," Caroline replied, but she didn't sound the least bit ashamed. There would never be truly friendly terms between the two of them. "But whatever. Trust me, if I can, I'll stay as far away from you as possible."

She wouldn't want any of Katherine's 'bitchiness' rubbing off on her, after all.

Katherine chuckled, amused. She was actually glad Caroline had arrived into Taxon. One more poor soul for her to tease.

"In that case, welcome to Taxon, Caroline. You remember to keep out of trouble, now," she quipped, mock concerned, before she switched off the connection.

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