pineslog | This is the web, web that you weave

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This is the web, web that you weave

Who: Katherine Pierce + you; Damon Salvatore
Where: Her home, French's General Store, S&D Automotive, Britches and Hose, Weaver's Bar
When: March 14, all day
What: Guess who has their memories back?
Warnings: Some violence. Will update as needed, otherwise.

You were different from my last but now you got it mirrored
OPEN. Main Street. French's General Store.

[ The morning sun is shining over their just lovely backwater town as Katherine pads through the house. The one she shares with two souls who have mutually accepted along with her (maybe grudgingly), that there's so much more to who she is, to her story, than they've exposed. Because, she'll get her memories back. Sooner rather than later, as the days go on. Color her impatient with each passing day.

It happens as she's pulling a bloodbag out, the chilled item falling from her fingers and snugly back in with the others. There's a torrent of information that sweeps over her, fog lifting, reality settling in, and the ache of a life always on the run coating back over her mind. She wanted this back, her life, and now that she has it? She wants to tie the person who ever cut it off from her up by their ankles to watch them bleed out.

Okay. She needs to gather herself, her resolve. First things first: appearances. There's...nothing in the house, other than a few containers of makeup, that she wants. Needs. Slipping into an outfit she's acquired (denim, what the hell), including jeans with a snug fit and lower waistline than most of the atrocities she's seen lately. She snatches up the camisole that's she now remembers using to impersonate Elena, sliding it on and starting outside. Those ankle boots, also Elena-y, get put on too.

She strides down the street, a girl on a mission, the spaghetti straps out of place in winter weather but whatever. There are more important matters to attend to than a breezy walk, so she speeds up to vampire speed to make her way to the town center, stopping out of sight of anyone and casually walking out of an alley.

Popping into the general store, she searches for a beauty section. As if they'll -- oh, there actually is one. Maybe this town won't be as horrendous as it could be. She spies a human shopping in the area and compels them into buying the items she wants. As a gift for her: it is her birthday, after all (it's absolutely not), and the people in this town have wanted to be oh-so welcoming. A curling iron. Lipstick. Products for her hair. A manicure kit (are the people here barbarians, not providing someone with the basic necessities she needs?)

Items in tow, she stops by a clothing store. With the world's least appealing selection. She manages, compelling the shop-hand into thinking how well the outfit suits her, how it was meant for her closet. She heads back to the house in that. Where, the infamous Katherine Pierce comes together, best she can in Wayward Pines. ]

And as it all plays out I see it couldn't be clearer
For Damon. S&D Automotive.

[ There is no game she's intending to play with Damon as she steps into the garage. They both know that Stefan's her favorite to play games with, anyway. Damon, he's always been the more creative ally to have. Plus, there's a hurdle they need to get over here. She's sure his heart is oh-so shattered after mistaking her for Elena (looks like Elena finally made the switch that Katherine could see coming from a mile away; though, how long it'll last, that's another story...that won't play out there -- she hopes Elena Gilbert never actually shows up.) Her ego's getting in the way with how she's presenting herself, putting herself out there for him to be testy over. Again, might as well go in strong and take it as it comes. She doesn't actually need to do this: interrupt his work day. Yet, selfish.

Maybe he'll be relieved that she's back? No more weird Elena-ness. No more attempted soft touches to bridge a gap between them that she can't believe anyone ever made her forget. What's wrong with the people in charge around here? She's back to Katherine. If her being regarded as a psychotic bitch makes for better relations overall, that's a plus in her book. This way, they can stop pretending that Damon doesn't constantly want to rip out her jugular, too.

She's acquired black heels (not the best ones, but they'll do): a chunkier heel than stiletto, but not awful enough that she looks like a goth wannabe reject. They click across the cement floor, legs long and clad in black pants (the closest fit to her own style that the '90s clothing there allows), a dark purple crushed velvet sleeveless top on, generous with the cleavage. Her makeup is done to a tee, that obnoxious pink she came in with her makeup bag set aside for a red bought by their friendly neighborhood friend. Most importantly, her hair is curled, divinely. She thinks she's really outdone herself, toying with the daylight bracelet over her wrist when as she comes up to find Damon working on a car. ] So industrious. You always were, when you put your mind to it. [ There can't be any doubt that her memories are back, not with that confidence in her tone, throaty voice having fully returned. When he first meets her eyes, her brows pop and she adds -- ] Hey roomie. You'll never guess what happened while you were out. [ A smirk, a giggle.

Yep. She sure is back. ]

Now sing
OPEN. Main Street. Britches and Hose. Weaver's Bar.

[ She's scoped out the lay of the land, its residents (both natural and those forcibly immigrated in), in the first two weeks. Yet, Katherine couldn't seek out the sorts of people, of information, that she finds herself drawn to. There was no allure brought out by her full personality, but with her memories back...she's on the hunt for interesting people.

Things go about as she expected them to a la Salvatores. Reality bites sometimes, what can she say? They're stuck there together though, and she knows that both of them simply must have allies around. She's not stalking after either brother that day (she's not stupid.) It's the first day she's reaching out to anyone that doesn't reside under the roof of where she calls home.

Daylight hours still, she finds herself in a lingerie store. Interesting. For all the sexually repressed soccer moms of the '90s, she wonders? She goes along the aisles, a presence about her that says why yes she's interested in speaking to you, if you're in there too. Holding out a black teddy, her head tilts, curls tumbling down over her shoulders as she hums -- does she want it? ...Maybe.

With the fall of night, she finds a bar, and there's only one thing to do at a bar: compel free drinks out of the bartender (who knows if she can, depending on who's working), get people to buy her drinks and/or flirt. All of the above sounds lovely to her, the infectious giggle she has carrying out when she gets her first drink. There is a 100% chance she'll approach you, fellow patron or staff member. Bars are great for meeting people, everyone knows that.

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Because we've always given you the warmest of welcomes.

[ Her tone infuriates him. She's infantilizing him, speaking to him like he's a child and not a vampire over a hundred years old. Ironically, someone she may have cared for (tough to say, really) was a Traveler but maybe he'll never say the name, Nadia. Then again, telling Katherine she found and lost a daughter would be a knife Damon could twist in the future.

He listens, not liking everything that is coming from her mouth. It's a wonder he has nothing else sharp with which to stab her. He did contaminate this poor dipstick's dip stick, though.

Once again, worth it.

He keeps up with her, that familiar disdain for Elena cropping up, but one thing stands out. ] Around town. You saw Elena around town. [ Because of Bonnie? What's happened back home that he doesn't know about? She must be worried. They all must be. Luckily, this time he and Stefan are in it together and Stefan's not off tearing his life apart. Yeah, he heard about Ivy.

His hands come to her shoulders now. ] Don't lie to me, Katherine. You saw Elena up and around, walking, talking, and not in a coffin? She's awake?

[ Making contact with her, it's a nonissue since Katherine is at the ready to slam him against the nearest wall if he tries to stab her with anything again. She scoffs, low and uncertainly. Slowly, cautious hold to her eyes, she lifts her hands and puts them over Damon's. Trying to move them away, gently. ] What's your deal, Damon? Yes. Walking, talking, probably laughing over lame texts from her gaggle of friends. I'm not lying. And since when has Elena been in a coffin? She may be a prize of Klaus' but last I knew, he wasn't keeping her locked up like the rest of the sad saps he carts around. [ It's easy enough to refer to Elijah in that breath, even though her heart isn't in it. Rebekah's out, and obnoxious, but the other Mikaelson boys may be out of commission for another, who knows how many centuries. ] I mean, I don't even know how he'd...keep her there without, you know. Killing her. But. Like I said, she's alive. Awake. Whatever. Same difference.

[ Which Damon knows about, Elena's state of being alive. Her stare holds upon him. A flash of ache, something like jealously, flits over her features. ] Last I could tell, you didn't seem very impressed with her -- or anyone else other than yourself, Damon. What changed? [ Uh, lots. ]

Edited 2017-03-14 20:52 (UTC)

Klaus? [ Why is she bringing up Klaus. Klaus is old news. He's in New Orleans. But, his siblings, carting them around, it's familiar territory but only because the life of a vampire is as long as you live it. There are things you never forget. And this all happened three years ago. Give or freaking take.

He furrows his brow, dropping his hands when she removes them. Nothing that she says tracks. Nothing. ] What's the last thing you remember?

[ She gives him a hard, long stare when he asks her to specify that. ] Why? [ Yet she's befuddled too, so the answer pours out. ] Driving with you down the highway away from hell town. [ A wry, cynical, forced smirking smile. ] To find Mikael. [ Impatience flares, because he should know this. ] Why? Are you... [ her eyes narrow, really looking at him ] is that not what you last remember?

[ Now that's she's considering it? Damon and Stefan do seem different than she last remembers them, at home. But what the hell that means, she doesn't know. ]

That can't be possible. [ Yet it apparently is? ]

With Jeremy Gilbert.

[ He's remembering. No wonder she came in friendly, white flag waving away so to speak. Because last she remembered they were chummy and Damon was feeling like getting out of town. ]

It's not. It's your memory. [ Maybe that's it. ] You've just remembered halfway. [ Maybe? ] Someone doesn't want you or us to know how you being here at all is possible. [ And with that, he's pacing away and back. ]

[ She frowns instinctively at that. Takes in the rest of what he has to say as she tries to process what's happening.

Foot tapping once, her head shakes. ] I can remember everything, Damon. Every part of my life. Things you wouldn't believe happened no matter how elaborately I painted the picture. [ You may have been obsessed with her, Damon, but there's a lot she's never talked about with anyone. A girl needs to have her secrets, to guard her heart. ] You think that I could be thinking this clearly, about everything I remember, but still only be remembering halfway? This isn't how it felt earlier. Yesterday. There isn't that...weight of the unknown.

[ Her head nods to the side. ] You didn't know Jeremy was in trunk yet. I know you didn't. [ A beat. ] Did you or Stefan's memories come back like this? In big chunks? [ Can she ignore that you mentioned that she gets killed? ]

No, they came all at once. One after the other. Stefan's happened right here with Bucky. [ Who, he's happy isn't here. He brings a hand up, indicating, trying to keep the ensuing headache at bay. ] Katherine, that happened a long time ago. Years ago. Little Gilbert channeled Rose and we found Mikael. Been there, brother-napped that.

[ Her brows lift high and hold, giving him a 'told you so' expression, lips pressing together. ] Not for me. Obviously. [ Then her brows furrow. ] Damon...if that wasn't what was actually happening for me, right before these psychos brought me here? Why would I have had Elena's necklace show up in my stuff? Why would the clothes I was wearing when I was pretending to be her? [ He may be able to find logic, some form of it, and she's probably not winning any favor by continuing to bring up Elena. ]

[ Any desire to threaten her if she's keeping back information disappears once she makes that point. ] You were more high school Elena than -- [ He leans against the hood, everything sinking in. She wasn't Vampire Elena. Or, newly human Elena. ]

So, you and I hit the road with Jeremy Gilbert in the trunk to find Mikael. [ He chews on that for a second. ] What I remember doesn't matter. It probably won't even mean anything to you. Unless you've heard of the Phoenix Stone, or Rayna Cruz. Or, I could try Gemini siphons on for size. Any of that sound like something you've come across in your five hundred year run?

[ Katherine sighs. ] This -- is a mess. [ Once her memories sprung back up, she should've realized the differences in both brothers, that neither of them have been acting like they should be. None of them would have any reason to believe they didn't all come from the same point in time though: abduction to weird towns is one thing, time travel or whatever one could call it being quite another.

She listens, nodding once when he repeats what is the obvious to her. At least he remembers it. Although, then he's spouting of details she's unfamiliar with. Lips pursing down in a frown, she answers. ] No. They don't. [ A long beat as she slightly sucks her cheeks in, soft pop sound when her lips open again. ] Was all of that before or after I was apparently killed. [ It's a question, but now she's bitter. So, so very bitter. It's a subject she needs to go back to, all the same. ]

Welcome to the last month. Not happy to have you here. [ He'll retrieve the dip stick now, by the way, and the rag, wiping it down and setting it back where it should be. Changing the oil can wait. And the hood comes down with a snap. ]

After. All after. [ Is he secretly pleased she's bitter? Is the sky blue today? ]

[ A glance away, her eyes loll up, another sigh passing her lips, guttural and purposeful. If she were a lesser person, she'd call you what you are, Damon: a dick. No verbal response, and she pretends like she isn't attentive to his every move. Her eyes flick back over when metal bangs down against metal.

Jaw tight, lips starting to go thin before she tries to fight it off, to gather her emotions and resolve, and she peers down. Swallows. Looks back up to Damon's face. She wants to know why. ] Something I did to your precious Elena? Because if so, she must've done something to me first. I've never planned on trying to kill her, Damon. She would've been dead already if I'd wanted to. But. I didn't. I'm not stupid. [ Oh, Kat. Dig your grave, why don't ya? ]

[ He could feel bad for Katherine, for anyone learning eventually they die, but in dredging up the sequence of events, Katherine did bring it on herself. ]

What do you want to hear, Katherine? That, in your quest to always be ten steps ahead, you succumbed to the very maguffin you stole. Elena shoved the cure down your mouth during a fight in the school. And, yes, she attacked you, but in her defense, you killed the very brother you once kidnapped. Not to mention unleashing Silas. Who, in finally wanting to die himself had to drink your blood to do it. You were human, Katherine.

[ She's never going to agree that she brought any of it on herself, since she hasn't experienced it. Conceding to the facts however, that she can do.

Her features shift, morphing back to the same guard that Katherine generally maintains. Eyes pained, and she knows Damon will be able to see that, but at least she doesn't look like she might turn weepy.

Instead, confusion (at 'the cure') followed by a lift of her brows over Elena indeed having attacked her first; a sigh at killing Jeremy. Whoops. Faintly she shakes her head at whoever the hell Silas is. Finally ending with parted lips, a blank stare that goes on several seconds long enough so she appears catatonic. Until she blinks, swallowing. ] Human. [ Disbelief and disdain. ] That's impossible. There's no cure. If there had been, you know who would have found it centuries ago. [ How stubborn she is, swallowing again and looking down to the floor. ] Sweet little Elena? [ Back up to Damon. ] How? Who helped her? [ The very human Elena. ]

Rebekah. [ He does say her name. ] Also in the race for the cure. And Stefan and I wanted Elena to take it. But, you won out, Kitty-Kat. [ He smiles, accompanying it with a nose scrunch, always obnoxious when he feels it's warranted. ]

I think that answers who didn't have to help her. Elena transitioned. Courtesy of Rebekah.

[ She was lumping all the Mikaelsons into one as to who would've found this cure, not necessarily getting the double meaning of why Damon brought up the Original sister. Then he goes on, her countenance faltering back to a frustrated one over tossing out the nickname in conjunction with a fate they both know she'd never want. She can't deny that he's serious about all of this, that he's not lying, and she hates it.

Then. That. She stares for a moment before outright laughing, pointing over at Damon, head canting. ] A fate Elena never wanted, but that you always did, no? But, you're in love with her now. Are you delusional, Damon? Should I ask Stefan for the rundown?

[ Bitterness, thy name is Katherine Pierce. The deflection is obvious and pissing Damon off probably isn't in her best interests. Yet, she's hurting. Thus, she tries to hurt him too. ]

Ask him, ask me, the rundown won't be any different. [ But nice try, Katherine. A lot's changed. Oh, you bring this out in him, Katherine. ] When Silas took a bite, it caused you to start aging. Rapidly. The consequences of being a walking cure. Cut to months later, you on your death bed and Elena forgives you.

[ She laughs, chuckles, eyes giving a quick roll. ] Oh please, now you're just being ridiculous. She may be little miss perfect to some, but I know the truth. Elena would never forgive me for, oh, everything I've done to her. [ Her lips purse down expressively. ] Including a storm of other...sins. [ She smiles, moving so her back is to Damon, stepping across the garage floor. ] Why lie about it? [ A breathy sigh, walking in a small curve so she's facing him again, stopping and standing farther away. ] To preserve her reputation? [ Arms cross over her chest. ] Or are you actually playing storyteller, all for my benefit?

[ She starts moving back to him, coming in closer than before, looking into his eyes before backing off, running her hand along the side of the car. ] You've changed, Damon. [ Don't you want her analysis of you? ] I can't decide if I like that or not.

[ Before he can answer, she approaches and passes him. He turns, always keeping his eye on her. ]

I'd go with not. You always liked when I was a lit fuse. [ He's less so now. Ish. He's grown, for sure, but he's also backslid incredibly before coming here. And he was about to make the most selfish decision he's ever made in his life. But, he's here and he'd never tell her that. ] You wanted to know the circumstances around your death. There are many. One domino tumbles into another, into another, leaving you in one of the many bedrooms of the boarding house. Elena did forgive you, because that's just who she is and you repaid her by hijacking her body. You used a Traveler spell you learned. Funny you find them so vile, you didn't hesitate to use their means to your own ends.

[ The rest? She hears and makes note of, but Katherine latches right onto that last part. Unable to hide the surprise, her forehead just creases as she turns away from him again, taking a step parallel to the car every few seconds, hand still running along it. ] My father was a Traveler. [ Chest tightening, emotion that she knew would rise when saying so flashing through her eyes, gone and allowing her to turn back around, leaning a shoulder against the car. ] He wasn't a very good father, and I never wanted anything to do with his magic. It's genetic though -- you know how that works.

[ A sigh, brows rising high as she glances to the side for a second. ] You're leaving something about. I don't know Traveler spells, Damon. But that's why you hate me, so much more, now? Because I took a vacay in Elena's body. To survive? I did it when I was dying? [ A light scoff. ] Would you have expected anything else, Damon? Don't you get it by now: I do anything to survive.

I do. Now. [ Not then.

It's funny he thinks of mentioning Nadia, and Katherine beats him to it. He wasn't planning on mentioning her long lost daughter. Even Damon had his limits of torture. And telling her that the baby stripped from her arms upon being born was not only alive, but a vampire Traveler? It borders on cruel. And while Damon can very much be cruel, he is no longer needlessly so. ]

I get it. I got it. Nobody was surprised you did it. [ It's what she did with it. And after. ] Despite what you might think, I do want to spare you undue pain. But, if you really want to know, I'll tell you.

[ She got out what she needed to say about her priority of surviving above all else, so that's that.

Gaze turning analyzing, her chin juts to the side with Damon's reply. ] You have changed. [ A beat. ] Don't forget, Damon. I knew you. Before the shame. The guilt. Losing all you held dear. You had a tender heart. Why couldn't that resurface? [ Did Elena bring this out in him: if so, ugh. She shrugs, sighing, as if she isn't speaking sincerely, as if these aren't raw compliments to what she knows of his past human character. ] I don't not believe you. Believe it or not. But, it's a set up, even an unintentional one. How can I not ask what it is, now that I know there's something more to know?

[ A step back toward him, expression turning wry, trying to fight off threatening vulnerability. ] How much do you think this could hurt, Damon? Me. Of all people. The psychotic bitch everyone loves to hate.

[ He shudders, knowing she's right, knowing she's seen him at his most vulnerable. Most foolish. But, he's no longer that boy. He's come a long way from being the Civil War deserter. ]

You know you do that to yourself. Your running, your loose ends, stalking us from afar and then coming to claim us, but not liking what you find and making our lives a living hell because of it. [ And Stefan's. He's definitely talking about Stefan's. ] You had a daughter. Her name was Nadia. She was a Traveler. She became a vampire to find you. She found you, ironically, when you were human. She taught you the spell. She died in a bid to get Elena's body back. [ He knew she would ask. Because of tenses. ] Ask me before now I may be the one arguing you don't feel a damn thing, but I think you feel more than all of us. [ And he wanted to spare her this pain. But, again, she asked. ]

[ She gives him a brief look of agreement. Yes, she knows she's the architect of her own design. After her life was ruptured by Klaus.

The information he has to share? It's unbelievable. How does a girl without a heart feel hers breaking? Katherine knows that Damon wouldn't have spun this tale on his own. Too many factors, too convoluted. It's not a trick, a trap, a way to purposefully hurt her. For the first time in her life, she wishes it was all three. He tacks on that last part, and it makes her heart ache all the more. Because he's correct.

No hiding the pain: he already knows she's feeling it. It's not the first he's witnessed her in agony, though never anything that cut this emotionally deep. Silent for a long while, her lips working together, she swallows down the ache, several times over.

If the circumstances were different, she might run away from this. She's pulled to not, to stay, to react. What other choice does she have? They're stuck there together. ] I went back. For her. When I thought it would be...safe, to try. But, I couldn't find her. I looked -- everywhere. Every...village. Each home. I thought she'd been killed too. [ She doesn't care if Damon doesn't want to hear any of this. To process, she needs to say it.

There's no true compartmentalization of learning this news, and she averts her face from him when she feels her eyes start to well. ] You met her? [ If kindness exists in the universe, this is when Katherine needs it the most. ] Did she hate me too? [ For she knows how quickly people who loathe her come to mutually realizing it, how bonds against her are effortlessly forged.

She asks, working to picture what her daughter, Nadia, looked like. No eye contact with Damon. She just, can't. ]

[ A pang of sympathy hits, followed by an inkling of wanting to wrap her arms around her, because nobody, not even Katherine deserves to learn that she and her daughter reunited and died, or that she died at all. ]

She hadn't. I don't know where she ended up, but Matt Donovan crossed paths with her in Europe. Also with Rebekah. [ Which is so far out of what this is about, but she keeps coming up. ] She helped you. She maintained. She erased Elena completely when she kept emerging. For you. [ He's not even saying this with disdain. He's saying it with compassion.

If he were more compassionate he'd offer what he'd offered Kathlena, and if she asked him, asked to go into her head, to bring what he remembers of Nadia out, he would. She asked the worst question she could ask, but he knew she'd hound him until he answered. ] I didn't know her well. And we didn't know she existed until after you were in Elena. [ But, what he can do. What he suspects. ] She loved you, Katherine.

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