( january catch all )

[prescind]

Who: stefan salvatore (prescind) + katherine pierce (manipulative) + amos burton (rocinantes) + wanda maximoff (explosion)
What: new year's things, event things
When: january
Where: all around

Content Warnings: probably some language to start.

Comments

( new year's eve )

[prescind]

( there's probably a party out there somewhere but they've chosen to say in tonight and just — celebrate. there's wine, there's food (that stefan's cooked) and there's animals on the couch, refusing to move.

good thing they have a back porch. it's still cold and snow still blankets the ground but stefan can't help but go stand outside there a few minutes till midnight.

this place is dangerous and sometimes horrible but he doesn't even know if he could consider mystic falls home anymore. he feels like he's been here for so long that going back there would just feel like a visit.

and he knows that he couldn't go back to being the old stefan, not anymore. he's changed too much.

he shivers. probably should have brought a coat. )

[manipulative]

Are you trying to freeze your brooding lines in place?

[ it's a good thing that katherine has something for him. she steps behind him and wraps a blanket around his shoulders before standing beside him. another year in the trench and another year together. katherine may be a sentimental creature, but she's not necessarily one who makes a big show of it.

she leans against his arm and crosses her arms against her chest. ]

My flowers are going to be all dead when the snow's gone. [ she pouts. ]

[prescind]

Just means you have to replant them.

( he smiles at her when she brings the blanket over to him, pulling it around his shoulders and then holding it open to bring her inside the cocoon of warmth. )

Or maybe you'll get lucky and they'll survive.

[manipulative]

[ while katherine may step into his quiet invitation, she does so while looking at him unimpressed. her flowers are dead. she is the doppelgänger and the doppelgänger brings death wherever she goes, and her flowers are dead because the snow followed her here.

it's all utterly dramatic, but she likes it. ]

If I have to replant them, you're going to help me. You can hold my spade and massage my hands when they cramp.

[ she much likes that, actually. ]

[prescind]

Oh, is that what's going to happen?

( stefan wouldn't necessarily mind helping her but he's not going to just agree that easily. )

And what if I have other things to do?

[manipulative]

You cancel your plans.

[ duh!

she peers up at him with a playfully furrowed brow. ]

What other things could you possibly be doing that would be more important than helping me?

[prescind]

Good question.

( he taps his chin, looking thoughtful before laughing. )

You look so offended, Katherine.

( worst. patient. ever. )

[prescind]

( they'd gone to the party the night before, had a good time and now, they were home, changing out of their clothes and preparing to go to bed.

stefan doesn't really notice anything amiss, standing in the shower and letting the hot water sluice over him. he rubs his hands through his hair and sighs, listening to katherine move about outside the room.

he stops the water, reaches for his towel and then steps out. )

Katherine? You weren't going to join me?

[manipulative]

[ as horny and oftentimes annoying as katherine pierce is, she doesn't feel inclined to join stefan in the shower. nevermind it's stefan... in the shower. those two things go together to paint a rather lovely image—and one that katherine very much likes, if not prefers. she just doesn't feel... up for it.

she's still in her dress and sits on the edge of the bed, slowly working off her strappy heel. from the time stefan hopped into the shower to the time the water stopped, she'd managed to get one shoe off of her foot. ]

No. [ she wrinkles her nose. ] I thought I'd let you miss me a little.

[ it's all part of her flirting scheme. ]

[prescind]

( stepping out of the shower with a towel around his waist, he frowns when he notices that she's just managed to take one shoe off.

that's — unless she's being deliberately slow, she should be out of her dress by now. )

You enjoying the ambiance of the bedroom?

[manipulative]

[ katherine sniffs and nods. ] I am.

[ she looks up at him as she continues to fumble with her strap. even in the dark, she'd be able to unbuckle it and have her shoe off her foot within seconds. ]

Although, that reminds me that you need to buy a new light bulb. I may have used the last one.

[ and didn't put it on the shopping list. oops. ]

[prescind]

Uh, okay.

( he frowns at her, noticing the fumble. maybe she's just tired? )

You need me to get you some water?

[manipulative]

[ she scoffs. ] No, I'm fine. Perfectly hydrated.

[ or, well, in a fantasy world she is perfectly hydrated. katherine keeps her gaze down on her foot and slowly works at her buckle. ]

This shoe is defunct.

( new year's eve )

[rocinantes]

( amos has been around long enough to know what new year's eve is for. time moved somewhat differently in space and while there were some things they stopped to mark, holidays were just kind of there.

but he's been in this place for awhile now, been here long enough to even like new year's eve.

mostly because there was a lot of alcohol and sometimes he got to kiss someone that he didn't really hate.

he's had a few drinks but he's not drunk and he's moving through the crowd as the time ticks closer. he turns around, ready to grin and smirk at the person he feels standing there.

except he recognizes her. )

Hey.

[explosion]

[ wanda fakes a gasp and completes it with her hand pressed against her chest. ]

Amos Burton, out in the wild world of parties? I never thought I'd live to see the day.

[ to wanda, he exists in the shadows, being grouchy and antisocial. it was a nice surprise to see him here, even though she had a sense that some of the people she knew were here. it helps to be a telepath.

she's dressed up in a simple scarlet dress (what other colour would she be wearing?) with a drink in hand. she's ten times soberer than he is. ]

[rocinantes]

I like to drink.

( he makes a face at her exclamation though because he's not that bad. he just doesn't like many people. )

It's not that out of the ordinary.

[explosion]

You can get a drink anywhere else.

[ ooo, her face brightens as an idea comes to her. ]

A literal hole in the wall. [ which seems more his speed. ] I've seen them serve drinks from there.

[rocinantes]

Are you really trying to argue the reasons why I shouldn't be here?

( he arches an eyebrow at her. )

Because I can leave if it's that much of an issue.

[explosion]

[ wanda smiles and shakes her head. ] No. I'm just giving you reasons why you are here.

[ she gestures vaguely with her hand and shrugs as she nonchalantly delivers, ] The hole in the wall was closed.

[ see? she's saving your hide from having to admit you willingly chose to be here. ]

( road trip )

[rocinantes]

( he doesn't really know how long they've been walking but he knows that it's been a fucking long time. amos can't really remember how she'd convinced him to go along with this.

maybe he wanted something different, a change but they've been traveling for a long damn time and he's about to just sit down and stop when he finally hears something.

there's a low hum, almost uncomfortable sounding, and he stops in his tracks. )

You hear that?

[explosion]

[ wanda stops a moment after amos does. she'd been busy admiring the buildings and trying to determine what was different and what wasn't. new york was a city she knew well, even if she was often kept in her room and had only the luxury of studying it by googling it.

she looks at amos with a furrowed brow as she remains quiet and listens. after a moment, she shakes her head. ]

I only hear humming. I've been hearing it since we got here.

[ she's not worried, although, he's making her wonder if she should be. ]

[rocinantes]

Yeah, that humming wasn't there a few miles back.

( there had been noises, sure, but this is a consistent thing. it sets him on edge. )

That's not typical.

[explosion]

Trench-typical?

[ there's really no other "typical" to mark it against these days, is there? wanda looks away from him for a moment as she tries to listen to the humming herself. ]

Hm. [ she turns her gaze in the other direction as she looks. ] I wonder where it's coming from.

[rocinantes]

Does it sound human to you?

( because that, again, could be a question that needs to be answered.

especially here. )

Or like...something else?

[explosion]

[ wanda doesn't answer him immediately as she listens intently. her idea of listening is to hear the humming but to see if she can feel an undercurrent that's different to the humming of her radio and other pieces of technology.

but where she focuses on the humming, she hears words uttered more clearly in sokovian. she frowns instantly. ]

What did you say?