deercountry | ( wow this sand is so quick!! )

( the hunter already looks weakened but stefan keeps a tight hold on him nonetheless. he doesn't want to be tricked into thinking he's fading when he's not.

at katherine's words, he looks up and frowns before he looks down at the hunter. )

Do you feel all right?

( she looks fine but he's not going to say anything until he knows for sure. )

[ if he listens to her heartbeat, she'll find that it's thumping hard. nothing too out of the ordinary—that's how her heart beats when she's taking a feed. ]

I feel fine.

[ she licks her lips, sweeping blood across her chin. ]

A little tangy, but... [ she shrugs. ]

Maybe we should just leave him.

( he's losing blood and that means they can probably get away. and while katherine says she's fine, stefan is a little unsure. )

Maybe we shouldn't waste too much time.

[ while that sounds like an excellent plan, it's not one that she likes. she's hungry, he's tasty, and he deserves to die a very slow death for not only triggering her back to a time when she had been powerless, but for hunting them down and getting mud on her heels. ]

I think he should be drained a little more...

[ just a little more. a smidge. ]

Katherine.

( stefan actually pulls the hunter back and then drops him on the ground, stepping in front of her. )

No more. Let's just go. Come on, he's drained enough.

( he wasn't even moving right now. )

[ she sighs heavily and peers down at the hunter forlornly. he was so delicious! it'd be so easy to charge forward, scoop down and grab him and run away.

katherine doesn't do that. she exhales roughly before glancing over her shoulder. she points in the direction she faces. ]

We might as well go that way.

He's not going to get up.

( little does stefan know... )

He's done. Come on, we gotta get out of here.

[ she waves down at the hunter. ]

Bye.

[ with one last glance at the hunter, katherine moves in the direction she had pointed towards and had suggested be their new path. given that they'd come from behind stefan, she imagines there's a higher possibility of them finding an exit in the direction from where they hadn't previously explored.

katherine walks and ignores the way her heels sink a little into the ground. she does wipe the back of her hand against her mouth and smears even more blood across her face. ]

Katherine.

( stefan tries to catch up to her, jogging until he's at her elbow and reaches for her. )

Katherine, you sure you're good? Everything feel okay?

[ she frowns. ]

Why wouldn't I be fine? He's on the floor.

[ she twists and gestures in the way that they've come. she smiles at him before she wipes her hand roughly against her wet mouth. the worst thing about drinking blood is that it makes an unnecessary mess. ]

Is my face a mess?

[ she's smeared blood all over herself; entertainingly, she's turned it into a perfect tangent. ]

Edited (you see nothing) 2022-03-15 09:40 (UTC)

Yes.

( yes, it is a mess and yes, he's still a little concerned about her after drinking that blood. )

Are you going to leave it like that to warn anyone else that comes upon us?

It's a thought...

[ she purses her lips and shrugs. but considering where they are and how many people they've stumbled across, she has a feeling she'll only be wearing the blood for no actual purpose. ]

I don't exactly have a mirror to use to clean myself up.

I bet we can find some water. Every jungle has water somewhere, right?

( stefan makes a face. )

Come on, let's see what we can find so you can clean up.

[ she mutters, ] Bug-infested water.

[ but water nonetheless.

katherine wipes at her face and feels blood smear against her skin, either lathering up or marring what used to be clean cheeks. while she's not one to be particularly shy about wearing blood, well... being in a jungle-like this should be a cause for concern when anything is out of the ordinary. ]

You're going to check that the water doesn't secretly eat skin, right?

Yeah, I can check it. Let it eat my skin before it eat yours. I'll sacrifice it for you.

( he rolls his eyes and shakes his head. stefan looks behind him but there's nothing there. )

You think he's gone for good?

[ she pats stefan's arm and smiles at him all too sweetly for it to be genuine. ]

Hero.

[ her soon-to-be ugly hero if the water eats skin? he's a charmer. definitely a keeper. katherine will need to invest in paper bags for him to put over his head.

she nods. ] Mhm. I think he won't be getting up for a long time. I took a nice chomp out of him.

( she had. if he hadn't stopped her, she'd have killed him but stefan still feels unease prickle at the back of his neck. )

Still doesn't feel right, though. You feel that?

( or was he just being overly paranoid? )

You're worrying too much.

[ she pats his arm again.

he does have a point—and seems to be fond of voicing what she wants to ignore for now. it feels too easy. everything feels a bit too easy in the trench. but she wants to believe that it's over now. this can be easy and this can be final and they can find their way out of here without any further delay. ]

It will be fine.

( that's about what he thought she'd say but he can't shake it. still, he shakes his head and starts moving again, looking for water. )

There's gotta be some kind of way out of here. I don't really wanna just walk and walk and walk around the jungle until whatever this is decides that it's done.

( he's never spent a long time in jungles but he does know they end. but they can be huge and expansive so...he doesn't know where he's going with that line of thinking. )

Hm.

[ he does have a point, but katherine's "hm" isn't as innocent as it could be. she has a solution for the problem he poses, even if it's not entirely the best solution that will see ruby slippers on their feet and their heels clicking. ]

Why don't you use your vampire senses? [ she cocks her brow and smiles small. she can listen in—and she will... but she doubts stefan has ever had to use his senses this way. ]

I am using my vampire senses, Katherine.

( that's why he feels uneasy about the hunter that they'd left behind. something keeps prickling at the back of his neck and he doesn't like it. )

I'm listening for water.

( he doesn't even know how he'd listen for an exit out of here. )

What sounds?

[ a little trickling river? a gushing waterfall? nymphs dancing naked in a pond?

if anything, there'd be feet wading through the water and fish swimming within it. ]

Water can be still and soundless.

Do you wanna do this, Katherine?

( he gestures at their surroundings if she wants to use her superior senses to get them some water or get them out of this. )

You're right, water can be like that but if it's some kind of river or creek, there's going to be a current. The water runs.

I want you to do it. You've never had to use your heightened senses like this before, Stefan. I have.

[ the unsaid thing: if they end up split up, she wants stefan to be able to trust himself in getting back to where he needs to go. there's no better time than the present to learn how to trust yourself.

katherine learned in the middle of running. thankfully, stefan's walking. ]

Where there's water, there's usually animals. [ she scrunches up her face in distaste. ] Assuming this place has some.

Why?

( he doesn't even know why she's pressing him o this. he keeps walking, shaking his head and stopping to look right and then left before he continues moving. )

And how do you know I haven't used my senses like that?

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