( CLOSED ) BITE MY TONGUE.

[manipulative]

Who: Katherine + Stefan + Wanda + Amos
What: June stuff.
When: June.
Where: All around the twist.

Content Warnings: Parental abuse; mind control/reality warping; dark magic; PTSD.

Comments

[prescind]

Why did you leave your stray shoes down there in the first place?

( he rolls his eyes but sighs and starts heading downstairs to get the dog and the shoes. )

Shouldn't be so lazy, Katherine.

[manipulative]

But if I wasn't so lazy, I wouldn't get to watch you walk away.

[ she doesn't yell it; his hearing's sharp enough that he can hear it as if she's standing right beside him.

instead, she's tucking herself into bed and preparing his side of it by drawing his pillows down the way he likes it. she even leans over his side to grab one of the books he shoves his nose in and disappears into. the thinnest novel seems more suitable for tonight. ]

[prescind]

Yeah, yeah.

( stefan waves a hand over his shoulder and starts to move downstairs. he can hear the heartbeats of the two animals but something feels strange.

it's cold and he rubs at his arms, frowning. the rooms are dark since they're upstairs but it feels unnaturally dark. )

Hello?

( he doesn't hear anything at first besides a scraping against the kitchen door. )

[manipulative]

[ katherine remains in bed as she listens to stefan's footsteps as if he's right outside the hallway. the dog is bound to leap up the stairs and vasilka will most likely mysteriously appear on stefan's pillow in no time.

and vasilka does, at least. purring, she drops down on stefan's pillow and rolls onto her back to show that this is her territory. ]

[prescind]

( stefan frowns and manages to locate aleksander. he gives the dog a few pets and then tells him to go upstairs. aleksander barks but he bounds upstairs and runs into their room.

stefan stays downstairs, still feeling like he was missing something. he could hear something scrape against the floor in the kitchen and he follows it. both animals are upstairs. there's something else going on here.

he keeps walking and when he appears in the doorway, he finds a shadow that isn't his there. )

Who are you?

[manipulative]

[ when aleksander bounds up the stairs and leaps onto the bed to only jump off of it at the sight of vasilka, katherine waits for stefan to follow. at aleksander's lack of reply when katherine asks where stefan is, she waits for him a few moments longer. when he doesn't appear, she tears the bedsheets away and makes her way down the stairs with each of her footsteps thudding hard. (katherine's never been one for lightness when she can help it.)

swinging into the kitchen, ] Stefan, what are you—

[ she stops and frowns. there's hardly any light down here to throw a shadow at that particular angle. ]

[prescind]

There's someone here.

( and he doesn't know why but he thinks that he knows who it is. he wants to be wrong, though. he really wants to be wrong.

he swallows.

the shadow steps closer, takes on a more recognizable form and stefan's heart sinks. he steps in front of katherine almost instinctively. )

Stay back.

[manipulative]

I'm a lot stronger than—

[ you.

standing so close to stefan's back she can feel the heat of his body press against hers, she stares over his shoulder a little dumbfounded. she can't help her aggrieved sigh. it's always this bastard. always.

while she does loosely wrap her fingers around one of his wrists, she mutters, ] Not this again.

[prescind]

( yeah, his thoughts exactly. katherine is absolutely stronger than he is but when stefan's father emerges from that shadow to stand in front of the two of them, he can't help but put her behind him. )

Stay back.

( is he talking to katherine? to his father? probably both of them, if he's honest. )