deercountry | ( CLOSED ) MY LONELINESS IS KILLING ME.

[ if this happened to be any other circumstance, katherine wouldn't be beside him waiting for him to come to. her impatience would get the better of her for the first time in her long life and she'd be with them, gently wrestling them into the ground and cuddling them on the dirt. but as the children are behaving strangely, she remains in place. ]

I don't think so.

[ she doesn't know what to do. she doesn't tear her gaze away from luca or nadia's backs. ]

I think we should go to them.

[ except she's not putting one foot in front of the other just yet. ]

Okay.

( he waits a minute before he gets himself moving, keeping a hold of her hand so she'll come along with him. his steps are slow, quiet, because he doesn't want to startle the kids. )

Come on, we're almost there.

( and then they can see if this works or if it's a lost cause for the moment. )

[ katherine has been afraid of many things in her long life, but she has never been so terrified she wasn't able to properly think and find a solution out of it. until now.

she lets stefan lead her, the distance closing between her and the kids. she would rather turn around and run away—it's the one thing she knows how to do best—but she moves forward, unable to really pivot on her foot and flee.

ignoring all of her uncertainties, she stands a little taller and watches the backs of the kids' heads. they remain unnaturally still.

she barely moves her lips when she quietly says, ] They're not moving.

Don't panic.

( they're not moving but he wants to think that there's a reason. he swallows and brings her around to stand in front of them. they...look alive but unnaturally still like she'd noticed. )

Luca.

( he waves a hand in front of his son's face. )

You should touch him.

[ despite being utterly brave and fearless in the face of the world's most dangerous hybrid, katherine finds herself heavy with fear. she shouldn't allow herself to show it, but katherine stares at luca's face and finds herself completely unnerved. she doesn't want to move. ]

I don't think waving will work.

Okay.

( he swallows and crouches down, reaching out to gently take luca's hand. )

Luca? Hey buddy, you there?

[ while katherine wants to be brave like stefan, she remains standing behind him. she stares at the back of his head before shifting her gaze to luca. he seems so still. he doesn't even seem to recognise either of them being present.

but she thinks she sees nadia's nose twitch a little. ]

How does he feel?

He's not cold.

( he doesn't react but he's not cold and that means stefan's going to keep up the touch, rubbing briskly at his biceps and then taking his hand. )

Luca, come on, come back. Come on, it's us. Mom and Dad. Wake up, we want to see you.

[ although katherine wants to remain where she is, safely tucked away from them both, she comes to stand behind stefan. resting her hand on his shoulder, she lowers to her knees and remains beside him.

of all the dream manipulations she's captained, none have ever turned out like this. granted, she's never tried manipulating three people at once. ]

Do you think I messed up the dream?

No, I don't think this is you, Katherine.

(it's the kids, it's whatever's happening with them. he frowns, shaking his head. )

Touch him with me. Maybe the both of us can do it.

[ she hesitates. katherine doesn't want to make anything worse. she's half-convinced that she's to blame for this. if she'd done the manipulation better, in some other way... maybe luca would be responsive.

glancing at stefan from the corner of her eye, she inhales deeply and steels her shoulders. she tugs her hand from stefan and reaches out to very tentatively touch luca's wrist.

quietly, ] He didn't fall apart at my touch.

He didn't.

( luca's blinking a few times, a little quicker now though he doesn't move more than that. stefan glances at nadia. )

Come on, buddy. Come on. You're safe here. This is us.

[ she still feels hesitant to do anything, worried that if she does, something will finally break. all of this is reliant on her, and katherine doesn't want to ruin it like she's ruined much of her life. ]

"This is us", your dad says. But it's not all of us.

[ katherine shakes her head and tsks quietly. what stefan has said is perfectly fine, but it's not in true katherine fashion to go along with everything. it's helping her come back to herself—and prompts her to reach across stefan and take nadia's hand. she then takes luca's in her other hand. ]

Put your hand on ours, Stefan.

Okay.

( he really hopes this works. he doesn't want to leave this dreamscape without seeing the kids get some life breathed in them.

so, he does as katherine says, reaching out and putting his hands on top of theirs to connect them all. )

Come on, guys.

[ it feels a little cliched to be connected like this, with everyone holding hands. but katherine knows from studying witchcraft and from what she learned of traveller culture that connection is one of the most significant ways to break through something.

she closes her eyes and inhales deeply, trying to slow her racing heart. she wants to be grounded. ]

Stop pushing it, Stefan. [ she murmurs. ] Open your mind. If you stop being afraid, maybe they will.

I'm not pushing it.

( he doesn't think he is, at least. he's just...trying. he wants so badly for this to work but he tries to do as katherine asks.

he closes his eyes and relaxes, opening his mind to the both of them. )

Okay, okay. I'm good.

Are you?

[ katherine cocks her brow. she can feel him tense right beside her. she knows he can't help it. this is a strange situation to be in, an even stranger one to hope dissipates. katherine wants it as much as he does, but she does her best to try and remain relaxed.

it's hard.

nadia giggles softly. ]

( he's about to throw back a response at katherine when he hears that giggle. that's not katherine's laugh and his eyes fly open, landing on nadia. )

Did you just giggle?

( he knows that's what he heard. he knows it. )

No.

[ with furrowed brows, she realises he's not asking her. eyeing him for a moment, she turns to look at nadia. she remains still. ]

Maybe you're hearing what you want to hear, Stef.

[ she wouldn't be surprised, given the circumstances. but she knows she's not chomping at the bit to hear a sniffle from luca. ]

No, I don't think I am.

( he knows he'd heard something and it wasn't his imagination. he looks over at nadia, frowning. )

Can you do that again?

[ katherine's focused on trying to hold the dream together. it's what she can control, and so she leans heavily on that. it makes her feel a little more grounded, especially in the wake of their kids not reacting.

the dream hasn't started to burn her out yet, but she does her best to try and concentrate on it in case she's the reason why the children are so stunted. she hopes she's not. she doesn't want to harm them.

but nadia's staring at the ground unblinkingly, and then she looks up at stefan and smiles. ]

She's smiling, Katherine. Look!

( he is not seeing things, he is not imagining them. that's a smile. )

Katherine, look!

Stefan…

[ she sighs heavily, ready to inform him that he's seeing things. but only his word manages to pass through her lips.

her brows lift and her lips part. he's not wrong. nadia's no longer staring through either of them. she's smiling, her eyes a little more lively.

katherine reaches out to tentatively brush the back of her fingers against nadia's cheek. her daughter fills it with air and laughs quietly, lips still pressed together. ]

Hello, my baby. You're cheeky.

I told you, Katherine. I told you.

( he smiles in nadia's direction before he looks over at luca, trying to see if he was coming around too. he seems to blinking a little quicker and his color seems better but that could just be stefan. )

Luca, come on. Can you laugh too?

[ rolling her eyes, she doesn't take her gaze off nadia. she waves her hand dismissively at stefan, her idea of a yeah, yeah. her fingers brush against his shoulder. ]

You need to try and be funny, Stefan. [ she says it kindly, smiling at nadia. ] Difficult for you, I know.

[ nadia jerkily lifts her hand to her mouth to try and hide her smile. she elbows luca, though, the bony bit of her elbow brushes against his arm as she misses. ]

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