Whittle: carve into an object by repeatedly cutting small slices from it. So the Oxford Dictionary says. Damon feels like that what Elena's been doing to him ever since he met her and he's had just about enough of it. So he's taking his frustration out on this stick, whittling it down into a point, making it exactly what he wants it to be so it will suit his purpose. In a way it's soothing. It's a timely distraction from that idiot he's being forced to babysit. Sitting here at night by the light of a campfire just whittling gives Damon some much needed time to himself. Room to breathe and a chance to drop his mask for a while. The monotonous action of shaping wooden bullets allows him turn his churning thoughts off, for the time being at least. But his peace is broken by quiet footsteps. Footsteps which announce Klaus' unwelcome arrival.

"If you're here for payback go for it. Cause you'll be stuck babysitting the little hunter that could." Damn, the point on this bullet, like the rest, just isn't quite right.

"You know," Klaus says, irritatingly helping himself to seat next to Damon. "If you adjust your angle a little bit you'll find a sharper edge." Klaus knows how to whittle? Interesting. Maybe Damon will try that but he won't give Klaus the satisfaction of openly accepting his advice; Klaus is being a know-it-all, and that's enough to piss anybody off.

"I know how to whittle, thanks," Damon tells Klaus, subtly adjusting the angle of his blade, hoping the annoying prick won't notice. Maddeningly Klaus is right; the edge is sharper with this adjustment. "Now I know why those hybrids hated you; you are annoying."

"Actually, I'm just perplexed as to why Jeremy hasn't killed any vampires." Maybe it's because all these bullets Damon's whittled are crap, he thinks in frustration. Or, more likely, it's because Damon just doesn't give a shit about finding the cure. Whatever the case, Damon throws Klaus the expected line, unwilling to give his thoughts away.

"Darwinism, Klaus. He needs to be able to protect himself before we hunt down his first vampire nest."

"And here was I thinking you were the fun brother." Damon hasn't forgotten that Klaus hung out with Stefan when he was the ripper...so that's quite a complement. "Let's play a little game shall we? Jeremy needs more victims and there's a whole tonne of people down the road just waiting to be turned into vampires for the slaughter." Klaus is right, the exact same thought crossed Damon's mind. But Elena wouldn't like it so Damon held back. It bugs Damon that anyone would assume he's too dumb or too soft to come up with a plan like that and his pride gets the better of him.

"You don't think that occurred to me Klaus?" Damon asks, needing Klaus to know that he wasn't the only one smart enough or cold enough to come up with this plan.

"The tragedy is Damon," Klaus says, leaning in close, "it did occur to you and you chose to ignore it. My guess is you did it to impress Elena." Well fuck, when Klaus puts it like that Damon just sounds pathetic; and he hates being so easy to read. Or maybe Klaus is just that perceptive? "Somehow, to honour her, you'll find a way to spare innocent lives and walk Jeremy down the moral high road." Fuck, hearing it put in such simple terms makes Damon realise how stupid he's been. He's a vampire, a good one, and by good he means bad. He's never baulked at killing since he accepted that's what vampire are; killers. Stefan taught him that. It hits Damon how soft he's become. It's disgusting, and he's ashamed of himself for letting a human do this to him. "That's why I've already made the necessary corrections." Damn it's refreshing to be around someone who doesn't give a fuck about right and wrong. Damon eyes wander to Klaus' mouth and his heart rate increases.

"What'd you do?" Damon asks in anticipation. It's as though Klaus has just cleared a haze he's been living in since he discovered Katherine wasn't in the tomb. The possibilities of connecting with someone who shares his disregard of morality flood his mind. Klaus' lips curl into a smile. His expression combined with the flickering shadows and glow of the fire light falling across his face make Klaus look like maybe he did just crawl out of hell. And that does all kinds of things for Damon.

"Bring Jeremy to the tavern down the road and I'll show you," Klaus all but purrs, hooking his finger under Damon's chin to make sure Damon is paying attention. Damon swallows nervously, as if he could pull away now. Klaus regards him consideringly and apparently is satisfied by what he sees. Klaus gets up and walks away, leaving Damon in a daze. What the hell was that?