( CLOSED ) THEY'LL NEVER TAKE MY POWER.

[manipulative]

Who: Stefan and Katherine + Amos and Wanda.
What: Getting into shit in August.
When: August.
Where: Everywhere.

Content Warnings: Scales on skin. Magic; reality manipulation; mind control; paranoia.

Comments

[prescind]

( it's easier to think of it as an allergy because the other options are...not good. he swallows and looks down at his pants.

god, he wishes those words were in a better situation. but, he does pull his belt loose so he can start shoving his pants down. )

Well, you didn't know this place existed before we got here. So, maybe it's an allergy specific to this place.

[manipulative]

And you're the one who has it between the two of us.

[ katherine patiently waits for him to tug his pants down. looking at his lower back, she notes that there isn't anything out of the ordinary there. just a firm, strong back.

to her credit, she does try to lighten the mood. ]

I told you. You should stop reading. It's not good for your brain.

[prescind]

Reading's never done this to me before.

( he makes a face and kicks his pants off. )

Maybe it's the blood thing. The different blood types.

[manipulative]

Hm.

[ he does make a good point there. katherine wonders if her being a vileblood has kept those little things off of her face.

while she thinks, she looks at stefan's legs and quickly steps into him as she brushes her fingers against his inner thigh. ]

You might have... [ she bends down to have a closer look. ] Yep.

[prescind]

There's nothing down there.

( he's just going to...not even think about some mark being down there. he shakes his head. )

Don't even tell me if there is. I don't wanna know. They'll go away.

[manipulative]

Stefan.

[ she chuckles lightly and doesn't step away from him. she gives his inner thigh a little tap. who knew an almost two hundred-year-old could be so grumpy? ]

If your face hasn't fallen off by now, I doubt anything else will. It's probably like a pigmentation.

[prescind]

That I've never had before.

( stefan makes a face but brushes her hands away from him. he wants to put his clothes back on. )

All right, now that I've been examined, can we get on with our day?

[manipulative]

Nope.

[ katherine steps into him and presses her chest to his back. wrapping her arms around him, she smiles as she rests her chin against the back of his shoulder and hugs him tightly. ]

We can now.

[prescind]

Does that mean you're not worried?

( he doesn't want to fight with katherine about going to the hospital here. )

I feel okay.

[manipulative]

[ oh, katherine's worried. but katherine has learned over the years—and especially over the last two here—that it's best to pretend that she's not. if she shows it, she ends up feeding stefan's anxiety. ]

Not really.

[ she keeps herself plastered to his back as she runs her hands up his chest. ]

Still feel very like yourself to me.

[prescind]

Did you think I wouldn't? That these...whatever they are would make me feel weird?

( trick question: he'd been the one to think that was going to happen. )

[manipulative]

I never know what to expect here, Stefan. [ she says it on a sigh.

still, she clings to him like a barnacle. given that he's surprised her with being mortal—and he's surprised her by not finding a home permanently six feet under—katherine's learned quickly to embrace the unpredictability of the trench. it is, after all, what she thrives in. unpredictability. ]

Do you feel weird?

[prescind]

Not...really.

( he doesn't think he does, at least. he rubs at his cheek though and makes a face. )

I'm not human, if that's what you're thinking of. And I know you might be.

[manipulative]

Pfft.

[ katherine pulls a face, but that prompts her to pull back from him temporarily. she pinches his hip hard, just to double check. although his skin definitely reddens... at least it doesn't break and stay red. ]

Just checking.

[prescind]

Did you just test me?

( stefan laughs and looks down. )

Trying to see if you leave a mark behind?

[manipulative]

Wouldn't you do the same if it was me looking all scaly?

[ she laughs, cocking her brow. she's certain he'd be pinching and scratching and furrowing his brow and adding more to his frown lines. at least katherine didn't pinch him too hard.

but she does pinch the other hip for good measure. evening things out is good! ]

[prescind]

I wouldn't.

( because he'd be trying to drag her to the hospital for a checkup. he doesn't say that though. )

I'd trust you to know something was wrong.

[manipulative]

[ she arches her brow higher as she regards him with amusement. that sounds like the biggest crock of shit she's ever heard in her life. ]

You'd trust me when I have scales all up and down my body? [ she chuckles slightly. ] We're still talking about you, right?

[prescind]

I don't have scales all up and down my body.

( there were just a few of them. it wasn't like he was some alligator man. )

It's not that many. They'll be gone tomorrow.

( he hopes. )

[manipulative]

Hm.

[ katherine trails her nail down his side to his hip where she pinches him again—a little sharper this time. ]

I'd still like you even if you were made of scales.

[prescind]

You wouldn't have me made into a pocketbook? Ow!

( stop that. she might not have any scale but he still pinches her in retaliation. )

[manipulative]

Hey!

[ she laughs and bats his hand away. ]

I'd have you made into a nice pair of pants, thank you.

[ a pocketbook. really? does she seem like the pocketbook type? ]

[prescind]

Pants?

( stefan makes a face. )

Pants out of scaly material? That sounds uncomfortable.

[manipulative]

At least you'd be on my ass.

[ katherine scrunches up her face as she laughs at that one.

with a deep sigh, she looks down at his hips and shakes her head. all joking aside, she peers up at him and cocks her brow pointedly. ]

You'll have to tell me if it starts to hurt.

[prescind]

It's going to be okay.

( he hopes. )

Maybe I'm just —

( no, no more excuses. )

I'll be fine.