taxonomites | 1 † [ SANCTUARY : HOLO ] and all of these hard times have faded 'round the bend

Something is wrong.

Caroline tries to wrap her arm underneath her pillow, expecting to kick Bonnie’s leg and knee Elena in the back, but she feels nothing on either side of her or underneath her head. “Bonnie? Elena?” she says it sleepily, expecting to get an elbow in the back for talking. “Where’s m’pillow?” She frowns, her eyes still closed, and begins to realise that she’s no longer wrapped in the warm sheets of her bed but lying on a cool, hard surface in her pyjamas.

She bolts straight up, rubbing a hand furiously over her face to wipe the sleep from her eyes and from her limbs, and takes in the room she’s woken up in. Her heart hammers inside her chest. This wasn’t like the cage the werewolves had stuck her in—what with the lack of bars and Brady sitting outside her little cell, pointing a gun in her direction and firing without blinking—as it was expanse, bare, and circular.

That still didn’t mean there weren’t any werewolves.

Caroline tries to stand up straight, bracing herself for the bullets or vervain. She takes in deep breaths, trying to see something within the room that will give someone away—or give her something to fight back with—when she looks down and notices the bracelet on her wrist. Her attention now on the bracelet, she frowns and tries to pry it off, only to have her fingers slip over it. “What the hell is this thing?” Exasperated. What kind of sick joke was this? Hadn’t she been taunted enough?

Her fingers were still trying to pry the bracelet off her wrist as she looked around. “Stefan? Elena?” Surely Stefan would know, right? He was the walking encyclopedia of fangs. Inhaling deeply, she looks around the room once more, looking for anything when she notices a pedestal a few feet away from the platform she’s currently standing on. Biting her lip, she takes a few tentative steps towards the stairs, looking for any oncoming bullets or surprises that may be sent her way.

Nothing came.

Feeling a touch bolder, she speeds up her pace by a second, hesitantly approaching the pedestal and frowning at the tablet sitting upon it. She didn’t dare touch it, her fingers slipping over her bracelet as she tried to peel it off during her walk towards it. “What is this thing?” She isn’t sure what she is referring to, exactly, but with another second frowning at the tablet, Caroline turns her back and takes a few steps back towards the platform. There has to be a way out. She continues to glance around the room, fingers eventually coming to a halt with fiddling with the bracelet.

Taking in a deep breath, Caroline let go of her other wrist and tried to calm down. “Okay, Caroline, this isn’t as bad as it can be. It’s just a rabbit hole I’ve fallen down. Not one I’ve been put into by a pack of fur who have nothing else to do during the month.” That was a touch comforting, at least.

Despite that, her heart still hammers wildly in her chest. Some rabbit hole this is.

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[ brb sobbing. ]

[ Caroline makes a face. Zoo? What. The. Fuck. ] What are you talking about? [ And instantly regrets it. Asking any type of question, especially to Katherine, is stupid. And dangerous. And whatever she's going to walk into, whether it be minutes from now or days, Caroline's going to have herself to blame.

And Katherine, of course. It was always Katherine's fault. ]

[ ffff why so judgy, caroline? you're not a witch.

katherine rolls her eyes in her end. this is why she doesn't do the welcome wagon thing, too many damned questions. ]

You've been kidnapped by aliens into a city you can't leave. The city has a zoo. Zoo has animals in it. The unicorn is one such example. [ she pauses, and the smirk is audible in her tone when she speaks up again. ] Did you understand, or should I repeat more slowly?

[ She's in the I Hate Katherine club. The criteria is to be awfully judgy.

Caroline narrows her eyes at her. ] No. I got it. [ Though the aliens thing ... not going to really understand that for a while.

And she is not going to ask 'where the hell am I?' because it's Katherine and she's not that dumb. ] Is everyone from home here? [ Possibly not the safest question, but it's safer than the alternatives. ]

[ but does this club have badges, is the important question.

while katherine can actually be mildly helpful at times, and by all means could give caroline the straight answer to her question... she just chooses not to. she'd dealt with caroline enough before getting pulled into taxon to have gained a good insight into what made her tick, and katherine resists temptation rather poorly. ]

If that's your roundabout way of asking whether or not Matt is here, I'm afraid you're out of luck.

[ that is almost a pity, really. he did have those pretty blue eyes, after all. ]

Edited 2011-08-16 20:00 (UTC)

[ Yes. But they're super ugly badges.

Caroline frowns, heart racing just a touch, and then tries to mask her reaction. A part of her is disappointed that Matt isn't here, and another part is grateful. This place is strange and quite possibly dangerous, and the last thing she wants is to put Matt in even more danger. ]

It wasn't. I just wanted to know who else was trapped here with you.

[ Why is she even asking Katherine anything? ] You said 'us'. Who's 'us'?

Mmhmm, sure. It is a pity, I admit. I find I'm quite missing our dear, sweet Matt, too.

[ katherine's drawl is followed by a low chuckle, giving caroline an inkling as to why exactly the older vampire might miss the boy. ]

Any particular reason you believe I'll indulge your curiosity? You didn't even ask nicely and say please.

[ JASKDLA RAGE. STOP IT, KATHERINE. SHE. WILL. NOT. RISE. TO. THE. BAIT.

But it's oh so tempting. ]

I was kind of hoping this city had wished you up a heart. I guess you're too far gone even in the aliens' opinion to be given one.

You showed me not to say please. I didn't ask to become a vampire.

Yes, I'm sure I'll cry myself to sleep tonight over that.

[ insert the eyeroll of all eyerolls here, although caroline can't see it. but she can hear the amusement in katherine's tone as she goes on. ]

Haven't you ever heard of respecting your elders - or those stronger than yourself?

[ Hmm. Foreign concept to Vampire Barbie. She frowns, getting angry, and she says rather heatedly: ] Not when they don't return it. [ D u h. ]

I'm just following your example. Do you disrespect everyone you come across?

I find very few people inspire respect in me. Besides, intimidation is a lot faster way to go about things than respect. I'm sure you remember that.

[ because she knows you're afraid of her, caroline. also, katherine doesn't play by the rules, not even her own ones. :/ ]

Intimidation has an expiry date. Respect lasts longer.

[ That's her way of saying her being intimidated by you is running out.

Sort of slowly. ]

And I'm not afraid of you.

[ Lie. Sort of. She's freaking scared of these aliens more than Katherine. At least with Katherine, she's familiar. These aliens are literally out of this world. ]

[ for a while, there is silence. but when katherine speaks up again, caroline might be able to envision the slow, delightfully predatory grin on the older vampire's lips. it's pretty damn evident in the slow drawl of her voice. ]

Oh, really? Little blonde finally grew a backbone, hm? Well, I think I'll be interested to see that with my own eyes one of these days.

[ caroline hopes the hamsters zap you the hell out of this place. and not back to mystic falls. ]

Things change. I've changed. I'm not the lamb always walking to the slaughter anymore.

[ Which was sort of a lie, but it wasn't one devised by Caroline. If only Elena and Stefan kept her in the loop more. If only she was informed of every little thing. Then maybe half of what has happened wouldn't have happened to her. Maybe Katherine would never have had the opportunity to turn her into a vampire if someone had just told her they existed. She wouldn't have been afraid that night, for starters. ]

1 † [ SANCTUARY : HOLO ] and all of these hard times have faded 'round the bend

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[ holo ] vampire icon since i am lacking in all icons rn :(

[ voice ] aww, but it's a fitting icon considering the recipient.

[ holo ] an icon of an explosion would be fitting! :P

[ voice ] sob so mean, lol.

[ holo ] jsyk this is not years late!

[ voice ] i see no lateness if you don't! <333

[ holo ] ♥♥♥