The Vampire Diaries: Seal It With A Bite

. . .

A bird. A black bird. Long beautiful feathers but dark somehow, dark beyond the fringe of beauty, bordering upon abyss, upon the fringe of evil – not quite sinister, perhaps the trapping off it – the feathers are a deception. The bird is a raven, the sign of a trickster, it is designed to mislead you…what is it hiding, what lies behind the bird's wing: what is being obscured. The wing lowers and reveals…darkness, a great tempest upon the horizon, the clouds are circling and menacing, and then lighting strikes across the sky.

Bonnie screamed as she was wrenched from sleep, sitting upright in bed and looking around her room – she hadn't left the Grimoire open…not to her knowledge anyway, but it was open. She gently slid of the bed and walked toward the desk, she went to touch the Grimoire but it shut, without her having even touched the cover of the book. She turned around and there it was again…like in her dream except this time she was conscious. Emily sat in the chair by her desk, dressed in the same bonnet and dress she always was, staring out of the window, past Bonnie toward the streetlamp lit street. Bonnie folded her arms to look at her ancestor, "Am I still dreaming or…is this a vision?"

Emily looked at her, her head was inclined at a strange angle on her neck and her eyes seemed wild, as though she was thinking a thousand possibilities all at once, as though she was pondering how best to play with Bonnie like a toy. Emily was clearly a superior Witch, she'd been crossing the barrier between the Spirit World and that of the humans for years now…such power intimidated Bonnie, even if she had absorbed the power of the Witches she was still inexperienced and relatively naïve for a witch, she still had much to learn, too much.

"Somewhere between the two," Emily said cryptically, standing up and crossing the room to stand next to Bonnie, "I am merely foreshadowing events." One of the candles on the desk flickered feebly into life and beside it appeared a single black feather, Emily lifted it from the desk and levitated it in mid-air, spinning it around slowly while she and Bonnie both focused upon it, Bonnie somehow felt like it was a trance. "Beware Bonnie Bennett, something is coming that is more powerful than you are I, something I daresay is more powerful than all the Bennett Witches put together."

The lighting cracked again and Bonnie was awake, her head on its side on the pillow – she shivered a little…what had that been? What did it mean? She rolled onto her back and scanned the room, propping herself up on her elbows…she was alone and the Grimoire was closed on the desk…like it had been before. She had seen Emily a few times, though that interaction had been longer than any of the others…though at first it had seemed as if Emily was haunting her Bonnie had gradually changed her view to believing that Emily was trying to warn her.

About what she didn't know, the image was always the same, a darkness on the horizon and the Raven – it was some kind of imagery, the Raven represented the trickster and represented someone trying to deceive her, the person would deceive her about the darkness that was coming…although she didn't know whether that darkness was a someone or a something or several something's…the details were still unclear. She assumed that the Raven coming closer was a sign that the trickster was approaching, that it was almost upon her or that it meant the Raven was someone close to her, someone within her circle. Maybe that was jumping to conclusions.

"You'd never think it would you?" Emily murmured sending Bonnie's heart racing. She approached Bonnie from beside the window and perched on the end of the bed, smiling unsettlingly at her descendant; she placed a pendant on the bed beside Bonnie and then edged it toward her. Bonnie looked at it, the jewel was amber and it was set in a silver casing, there were engravings too – reminiscent of wings or creatures or winged-creatures…the entire spectacle was surreal.

"My gift to you," Emily intimated, continuing her smile as she registered Bonnie's unease about trying on the unknown piece of jewellery, "why would I kill my only true descendant Bonnie? The Bennett Witches have a long proud history that I intend you to continue." Bonnie nervously reached out and touched it, there was a slight-tingle, she slipped it on over her head and could feel the warmth emanating outward from it, as though the pendant was bonding with her.

Bonnie frowned uncertainly.

"What wouldn't I ever think?" Bonnie probed.

Now Emily's mouth curled down at the edges, mirroring Bonnie's own expression.

"That he will be your undoing Bonnie," Emily murmured, standing up abruptly, "that it is the one you love that will betray you." The lightning flashed and thunder rumbled and Emily was gone. Bonnie leaned back and allowed the embrace of sleep to carry her away…she couldn't focus on what Emily had said…she was too tired and too stressed to focus upon that.

. . .

It was something that he'd learned from Jules, something about his senses…they'd become heightened, more heightened every time that he turned…but in a way his senses seemed…more than human. It was the animalistic side in him asserting itself, the wolf within…it sounded stupid but that was what it felt like, the pack mentality…he could sense things, sense people around him – smell them, define them by a scent. The musty odour of Vampires, the dulled down perfume of humans and then…wolf aroma…it was…pungent.

But it wasn't just the smell with Wolves, he could tell when one was nearby, when one was passing through Mystic Falls, he'd sensed two enter the town the other week, they lingered for a few days and then they'd passed out of town again…but they'd left a very particular fragrance behind them…something that had stayed over the town like they were trying to scent their territory, a warning to other Wolves…other supernaturals in general.

It wasn't just that he could sense though, it was something else…something more spiritual entirely. At first he'd just thought it was a dream, his dreams were generally either ones about girls or nightmares about the process of turning at the full moon but this dream had been different, he'd seen his dad and at first his dad had just looked at him, looked him up and down and then smiled kindly, as though he was glad to see his son. But then the dream had lengthened to more than just a greeting between the two, his dad had come up close to him and patted him on the back and then hugged him…and it had been almost real, as though he could real feel his dad's hand on his shoulder. It had seemed so real and then he'd been dragged back to reality, his Mom had called out his name, telling him that it was breakfast time and that his pancakes were on the table. It had been a few weeks and each time the dream developed, first a few words, then a few sentences, now they had a whole conversation, each time they got further and further, until Tyler asked the real burning question, why his dad never told him he was a Werewolf and that if he killed anyone he'd trigger the curse – maybe he knew that Mason would come along and tell him one day but Tyler just, just wished that his dad might have told him, at least then he'd have known that he cared.

He rolled awake – maybe it had been the thunder rumbling in the distance, though he wasn't a light sleeper so that was unusual, the first few droplets of rain were spitting at the window, dribbling down, casting jagged shadows across the room as lightning cracked – but it was something else, there was wolf stench, Tyler opened his eyes lazily – it was the middle of the night – and then froze, his father was in the bedroom, dressed in the same suit he'd worn the night he died, looking out the window toward the storm.

"Hello son," he greeted simply, "big storm, it'll be hanging over Mystic Fall for a few days."

Tyler's faced creased in confusion.

"You'll learn how to forecast weather soon, Wolves can sense the change in weather, it's why they head to caves before a rain-storm or build a snug when they know cold weather's on the way," his father clued-up, "can't you feel it in your bones son? The electricity at the base of your spine, gradually rising as the thunder gets closer." It rumbled again, ominously in the distance, illuminating the room again as lighting crackled across the sky.

"What are you doing here?" Tyler demanded, he wasn't sure whether it was the dream again or some kind of spirit but he wasn't interested in what it had to say, in life as in death his father was the same man, fundamentally uninterested in his son and too concerned with hunting Vampires…the irony being that it was the Vampires that were actually helping Tyler grow into the person he was meant to be. The irony being that Stefan and Damon probably had more paternal qualities than his father had ever had, it was even more ironic considering that it was the things his father had despised the most in life that offered Tyler the most comfort…of course he was thinking of Caroline in that respect rather than the Salvatore brothers.

"Bringing a warning," he said, still looking out at the storm ignoring his son – as always, "something is coming to this town Tyler, something that I don't want you to be here for when it arrives, you're special, like I was – what's coming likes special things, likes to play with them, and then it likes to kill them – be wary son, of even your friends." The lightning cracked and his father was gone, Tyler felt a shiver go down his spine, he was scared of what his father has sad but even more frightened to accept it, he didn't want to have to deal with that news. He wouldn't.

. . .

School was possibly the most mundane part of her life – not that she loved being hunted by Vampire-Werewolf hybrids or being the plaything of Katherine and the original Mystic Falls Vampires – she wouldn't have taken the past two years of her life again no matter how much you offered her – except falling in love with Stefan, that part she had loved. Some people had been caught in the crossfire – Matt and Caroline notably but she had looked past that, for all the bad that happened since Stefan had come into her life he had brought her so much joy that she didn't care what anyone said about their relationship anymore, he was right for her and she was right for him. And the century or so age difference didn't matter to her either.

In some way however she quite enjoyed the ordinariness of School, especially History Class with Alaric – not that she liked it because she was Teacher's Pet but she liked it because she could lose herself in History, she could actually get passionate about Schoolwork. But despite how engaging Ric could be, especially when he was teaching about a subject that he truly cared about or was interested in like the French Revolution or Ancient Egypt, no amount of energetic teaching would interest her in First Period. She couldn't help yawning despite having a steaming mug of coffee before she left the House and a follow up take-away cup on the way to school with Caroline.

Caroline however was brought out of her own dull slumber, as was Bonnie and any other female member of the room except Elena when he walked into the room. He was a god sent from heaven, tall, perfectly built with wide-shoulders and just the right amount of muscle, and the effortlessly styled blonde hair and gorgeous blue eyes that would make any girl in Mystic Falls High fall off their chair – they didn't really have that many hot guys to look for so when one came into their lives you knew about it. Alaric approached him and had the new student conversation before turning to face the class.

"Class this is Adrian…so…just make him feel at home." Ric said slightly awkwardly for him, maybe Ric hadn't had his morning coffee Elena presumed she looked to her left and realized that he was going to take the empty desk next to her…perfect…she had to had the guy everyone was lusting after next to her and she wasn't interested: not that she didn't find him attractive. He was beautiful in the same way that Stefan was…he just wasn't her type, he was too clean-cut for her liking…too perfect, she liked a little roughness around the edges and this guy didn't have that. He walked along the desk and slumped into the seat, he was wearing combat boots, skinny jeans, a simple aqua-green tee and leather jacket, he slung his tan satchel onto the floor beside his desk and got out his notebook and pens. He flashed a perfect smile at Elena; he had one of those smiles that always made you want to punch someone in the face so you could ruin that smile, the pearly white smile that always made you feel so inferior when you stood next to someone for a photo.

"I'm Adrian," he said, leaning over to talk to her with a pronounced British accent, "is your History Teacher always so…distant?"

Elena laughed, she'd never heard Ric described as distant before, she'd heard people say a lot of things about them, most of them weren't nice but that was Mystic Falls – it was a small town so people were very two-faced and very rude and condescending, especially people who weren't from the Founding Families, and even then internal insults were often worse than those actually passed around in the town at large.

"No, he just hasn't had his morning coffee," she said, she smiled back at him realizing that he was waiting for some kind of warmth from her, "I'm Elena – and if you think Ric's distant then you're gonna have a hard time at Mystic Falls, he's about the most-switched on Teacher here."

Adrian nodded with comprehension, "Have we met before – I have a touch of déjà vu?"

"I think I'd remember, it isn't every day that a British guy comes into a room and a whole room of girls stops what they're doing and stares at him," he sniggered at that comment, "then again the girls here would probably start swooning at anything…"

"Good to know," he said, turning back to the blackboard to pay attention to Ric as he began speaking, "although they weren't all looking at me."

Elena didn't reply focusing on the lesson but she kept her peripheral vision focused upon him as the lesson went on, every so often she caught him looking at her – the comment about them not all looking at him had to be aimed at her, but, maybe he would just get the idea that she wasn't interested because she had a boyfriend and she wasn't looking for someone…or maybe he'd need a clear-cut message. Regardless she didn't need him paying her so much attention, it was unnecessary and she didn't need it, especially because if she asked her boyfriend to have a quiet word with him he'd end up dead with fang-marks in his neck.

. . .

"That guy was beyond weird." Elena said definitely as she took a bite out of her homemade sandwich, she though back to warm memories of Jenna being incapable of making a packed lunch and asking Elena to always do it, and then her mind slipped back to Adrian and she felt a shiver travel down to the base of her spine, the rest of the class might have been completely enamoured with him but he just gave her the creeps.

"He was totally checking you out though," enthused Caroline – she took a sip from her water, not that she actually needed to drink it but she needed to keep up human appearances, "and he was kinda quite I guess, if that's what your into…personally I don't see the attraction though, tall, blonde and muscular – where's the hot guy in that?"

Elena couldn't help but laugh a little at Caroline's joke, she was probably just using it to mask her feelings about Matt but at least she could laugh at it, that meant the pain was subsiding a little bit – only a little bit but, it was a good sign that she was moving on, "I swear that you woke up just like everyone else did in that room when he walked in."

"It was something different to the routine," Caroline mused, "besides just 'cause I don't think he's hot doesn't mean I don't like having some guy-candy to look at." She winked at Elena and then frowned a little, Elena turned her head and realized Caroline had made eye-contact with Matt, they had broken the line of sight as soon as they'd seen one another but they'd done it a fraction of a second too slowly. "Why do boys have to be so much hard work – you've got the new guy lusting after you and you don't even like him!" Caroline's frown deepened and Elena gave her a quizzical expression and then turned to the right to intercept the incoming kiss on her lips, Stefan grinned at her and then cast his head around as though he were expecting the new guy to just appear out of thin air, "Well…not exactly lusting…"

"What I'm not in School and suddenly you're moving on? I'm deeply offended." Stefan mocked, pecking Elena on the lips again, Caroline made a gagging noise however and the two broke apart and Caroline smiled, pleased that her mission to stop the very public display of affection had been a successful one.

"It's just a guy, he had this whole effect on everyone but me…" Elena said but found herself trailing off as she focused on the opposite side of the parking lot. Bonnie had been walking towards them a few minutes ago smiling but now she had stopped dead, and then she made a loud piercing scream. This was matched by a much lower yell on the opposite side of the Parking Lot, spinning around Elena recognized the yell as coming from Tyler, both of them dropped to the ground clutching their heads and yelling loudly, and then began rolling around wildly as though they were being set upon by invisible creatures, and then as quickly as it had happened it was over and they were both getting up, looking decidedly dazed. Not that the Parking Lot noticed, after a moment of interest they Mystic Falls students ignored what they had seen and blocked it out – in a town where so much strange stuff happened, strange stuff that was irrational, most people in the town developed the inbuilt ability to block out anything that was illogical. Bonnie and Tyler both crossed the Parking Lot, making a beeline for the picnic table and settled down, Tyler next to Elena and Bonnie next to Caroline.

"What just happened?" Caroline enquired.

. . .

Hope you enjoyed my first chapter,

I had to change my idea a little bit from the first time I posted this but it's much more developed now so hopefully I won't run into issues,

Reviews welcome,

Acrobat

X