deercountry | ( CLOSED ) THEY'LL NEVER TAKE MY POWER.

[ stefan's hands have grown unnaturally damp as of late. katherine's made a few comments here and there (usually lightly, like it's a joke), but she's started to find it a little alarming. it'd been easy to write it off as if stefan had just finished washing his hands and hadn't dried them properly or at all. but as it grew more common… katherine was running out of excuses.

so when she goes to gather aleksander's leash so they can take him for a walk, she stops as she returns to stefan and finds that there's something a little strange on his face. she furrows her brows as she regards him, waiting for it to disappear as if it's a trick of the light.

and when it doesn't… ]

You have something on your face. [ she lifts her hand to touch her temple. her tone's light, a little confused. ] There.

[ of course, when the waves come, wanda ensures to spell her home so it can weather any storm. afterwards, she ensures to ask amos (a few times) if he wants any help. she doesn't necessarily invite herself over, but… wanda does invite herself over after he complains of the water seeping close and flooding the ground he likes to walk on.

it's for the best, maybe. wanda needs to protect those she cares about. she needs to make sure that no one else will go—no one else will die, no one else will disappear into pixels, no one else will be torn away because she was silly and uneducated in building her spells.

when she arrives and he's opened the door, she tugs her boots off and leaves them outside. they're muddied thanks to the water, and wanda does have some respect for other people's properties. ]

Do you have floaties?

[ looking at amos' arms… well, are there floaties that would fit him? ]

What?

( stefan makes a face, reaching up and finding a patch of rough skin there. he frowns because that's unusual and he scratches at it. it flakes off and he rubs his fingers together before looking at them. )

Better?

Floaties?

( what the hell kind of word was that, wanda? he frowns at her, rubbing the side of his head. does he have floaties? )

I don't know what those are.

[ katherine scrunches up her face in disgust as she looks at stefan. it's not an expression she's fond of wearing when she looks at him. whatever's on his face is stuck there like glue.

she shakes her head. ] No.

[ she lifts her hand and beckons him to come to her. ]

Things for your arms. They help you swim.

[ wanda holds her hands up and makes a shape that's large and round. his arms. it's very clear what they are.

she dismisses it without a second thought. wanda looks around and shakes her head. ]

Has the water been bothering you?

It's still there?

( frowning, stefan does come closer to her and rubs at his cheek again. )

Can you see what it is?

Not...that I've noticed.

( he frowns. )

Has it been bothering you?

Hm.

[ standing on the tips of her toes, katherine gently bats his hand away so she can have a closer look. she brushes her fingers against his cheek and tilts her head as she studies him. ]

You didn't paint something earlier, did you?

No.

( stefan frowns and reaches up to rub at his face, shaking his head. )

No, I didn't. We haven't needed to paint so why would I paint something? What is it? What's on me?

I don't know.

[ stepping closer to him, katherine rubs the pad of her finger against his cheek hard. and then she starts to pick at it as gently as she can with her nail. ]

It's not coming off. [ she frowns. ] What is this?

Ow.

( he let's her pick and rub at her but when it starts to sting, he nudges it away and reaches his own hand up. )

I don't know what it is, Katherine. I didn't even realize I had it on me.

This is what happens when you don't preen in the mirror, Stefan.

[ she shakes her head to accompany her light teasing, but despite no longer picking at his face, she keeps eyeing him. it doesn't look right. it looks... ]

It's like it's fused to your skin. It doesn't hurt?

No.

( but he has a feeling that's not going to last. he rubs at his cheek and then moves quickly into the bathroom to look at it.

when he sees it, he frowns. )

Where...did that even come from?

[ katherine leans against the doorframe as she watches him. she eyes the back of his neck for a moment. ]

Not the pillowcase.

[ she thinks that if it was on the pillow, she'd be wearing some weird off-grey on her face, too. ]

See if you can wash it off. Maybe it doesn't like warm water.

Fine.

( he turns the water on, let's it warm up and reaches for a rag on the vanity. he wets it and then starts scrubbing at his face.

the spot doesn't go away.

he frowns. )

Very Lady Macbeth.

[ katherine pushes off the doorframe and steps into the bathroom. taking the rag from his hands, she turns the hot water on hard and wiggles her fingers beneath the spray until it's steaming. after she wets the rag, she applies it to his face again. ]

Let's get rid of it.

Ow, Katherine! I know I'm going to heal but that's hot!

( it still hurts and he'd rather avoid just letting her torture him to get a spot off his face. he pushes the rag away. )

Maybe it'll go away with time. That happens all the time here.

[ she looks at him pointedly. ]

Here. This place. Temporary?

[ are you listening to yourself right now, stefan? ]

If we're lucky, this spot thing will turn you human and only human.

Fine, do you want to try and cut it off?

( he doesn't really want to let her do that but — )

See if taking a chunk out of my cheek gets rid of it?

Ew.

[ she scrunches up her face as she considers that. despite being a big fan of gore herself, katherine doesn't want to shop off some part of his face. she likes his face! ]

Maybe we just... [ she bends down to open a drawer and rummages through it loudly. ] A bandaid. Let's bandaid it.

You want to put a bandaid over it?

( stefan shakes his head and makes a face. no, they weren't doing that. )

No, that's what kids do when they have pimples.

[ finding a bandaid, she holds it up to him with a proud smile. ]

Come on, Stef. I'll kiss it better and the bandaid will heal this temporary... thing on your face.

[ no, katherine has no idea how bandaids work. considering she's never had to use one... ]

No, I'm not putting a bandaid on it. It's not going to do anything.

( it's just going to cover it up. )

If it's not healing or going away, there's something else going on here.

[ katherine leans close toward his face and narrows her eyes as she takes a good, hard look at what's on his face. she even scratches at it gently again and finds that, to no avail, does it actually come off. ]

I think it's time you wear a bag over your head. [ she sucks on her teeth and tuts. ] A disappointing day for me.

( CLOSED ) THEY'LL NEVER TAKE MY POWER.

[ SCALES MAKE A SALVATORE ]

[ MAXIMOFF MADNESS ]

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