"What's got you so glum?" Samantha turned to her sister as they drove, sad to see her so sad despite everything. Silent as a the grave, her sister had been driving as Samantha added another new spell, one of about fifteen she had personally crafted over the last few weeks, to her personal Grimoire. Her eyes were cold and tired, but not mean despite the coldness.

Elena sighed for a long moment. "I... he didn't tell me it was his birthday."

Simple though the words were, the pain was intense. Oddly in this moment, despite barely understanding her sister, she got it. "Sis...he is a hundred and sixty two. I've been his friend as long as you've been dating and even I didn't know. He doesn't hold his existence as something to celebrate. I know how much you value little stuff like that but he doesn't. It's okay to have your differences." She enjoyed her sister's beautiful smile and finally felt as if maybe she'd stop hating her. "But you have to understand that this is his day, his choices. If he doesn't want to celebrate or share that's okay. You've only been dating a few weeks. Your not going to know everything about him."

"I hate it when your right... but you are. Thanks, sissy..." They shared a smile as they drove down the line of Stefan's massive drive way, making their way to his massive house.

"These Salvatores goes big or nothing, you ever notice that."

"Oh all the time."

Laughter this time, beautiful laughter.

Parking and making their way up, close and bumping to annoy each other, they tore open the door as they always did and ran into someone they would never forget.

Beautiful, no other word could defined Lexi. Tall, standing a few inches taller then Elena, with beautiful straight blonde hair and wide lips. She was just this side of curvy, dressed in nothing but a towel. It was a hot sight and one hard to resist staring at.

Thankfully Lexi didn't seem to notice, eyes wide and staring at... Elena! Shock and disbelief and a hundred other things. "I'm sorry, who are you?"

"The door was, we were..." Naturally Elena was put off as seeing a sexy naked lady in Stefan's house.

Samantha was just a little jealous. "Elena and Samantha, we spoke over the phone. Your Lexi, right? I'm here for your daylight ring and to go hunting with Stefan?"

"Yeah, that..." Lexi managed to pull her eyes off of Elena to give a sexy one sided smirk to Samantha. " He said you were direct, Vicki had a lot more to say."

That made Samantha roll her eyes. " Not a surprise, she's always taking shit."

"I am not." At that sound, a loud Woosh followed and warm hands were wrapped around her waist. "Hi sexy." Vicki's warm breathe oozed into her ear as she held her firm against her body. " I never talk shit, just the truth."

"Lies and slander mostly. You seem happy." Turning, she caught her sorta girlfriend with a smile.

Vicki looked radiant, happier then she had ever been in life. She wore Vampirism well, none of the stress of human life seemed to hold on her. Free from relying on crappy standards and caring about the hypocrites of Mystic Falls, Vicki just seemed free in the most beautiful way. Her clothing showed as much, no longer trying to look sexy or slutty, happily wearing a lovely yellow sundress of all things, her beautiful curly hair let out in dramatic curls down either side of her shoulders.

She looked beautiful.

"I am happy and Lexi is awesome. She's a vampire, almost twice as old as Stefan and Damon. She pinned Damon against the wall earlier when he backed talked her, it was great. I took pictures!" And she really did, pulling out her phone to show said pictures eagerly.

"Wow... remind me not to piss you off." It was kind of amusing, watching a lady pinning big bad Damon to the wall, and not in a sexy way at that. "But good on you, that guys an ass. Sexy but stupid to piss of someone so much stronger."

Lexi actually snorted. "Bout time someone appreciated my skills, and I just love putting him in his place. You'd think after a century he's realize that I'm not one to piss off but he never learns." Sharing a smirk, Lexi shrugged for a moment before an uncomfortable look crossed her eyes. "Anyway, how do we do this reading thing?"

"Well, let's get dressed first and I'll get ready. Come to the Kitchen when your done." Satisfied, she led her sister and Vicki away as Lexi hurried to get dressed. "Alrighty, I need water, a knife andddddd some witch hazel, which I carried in my bag at all times with a few rose petals." Happily starting, she started to gather her ingredients, turning to Elena and Vicki with a smile. "Witch Hazel creates a connection between the spirit and the seeker, that would be me. She'll need to bleed into the water to create the connection. Since I lack the raw power to invoke this spell I need to channel a more direct connection. Bonnie could do this with just water if she wanted too and she'd get a much better image. I need to create a greater bridge between our minds."

"Hmm... what's the roses for?" This, to her surprise, was her sweet sister who looked at her with genuine curiosity. "Other then sage, you use it with a lot of your spells."

Knowing the answer, Vicki piped up. "Roses can mimic any other herbs, it's powerful and it allows it one to substitute for any other herb because of that."

"Wow... why? I mean why roses?"

"Not sure to be honest." This was Samantha. "Some herbs channel different aspects of magic, Roses aren't specialized for anything. Not even love potions, they just channel magic the best. Only sage really seems to be close, but I don't have a definitive knowledge of all herbs. Pity really."

"Pity."

"Do you want to learn about witchcraft? I mean you can't practice but maybe you can learn the basics, even if you never channel your powers." She meant it, and from the look of her sister's face, though hesitant, she was looking forward to it as well. "It's actually not that hard. Most witches after a year can go blow for blow to any vampire and even without active magic you can actually mess with all sorts of people with herbs and other things. If we ever fight a witch you could probably figure out how to overcome or at least understand their spellwork so you can see why you are possible screwed."

She wanted her sister to say yes, Vicki was already learning a lot and probably understood magic better then some new witches, anything to keep her alive and improve her chances of surviving.

She needed her to say yes... she was tired of the gap between them.

"Alright... alright, how do we start?"

"Huh, I was about to say that." Lexi, before Samantha could tackle her sister in a loving hug, walked into the room with a comfortable vest over a black shirt with cute pants and dangly earrings. "So, how do we start this."

"Well, it shouldn't be too hard."

"Shouldn't be... you haven't cast this?"

"No, I have cast about a dozen spells but I know roughly fifty and have another twenty in my grimoire that I've made. Mostly by tweaking known spells... kind of easy to do actually."

"Hmm..." Oddly Lexi didn't question it, not even when a very sweet Stefan came down and attached himself to a very happy and receptive Elena.

After kissing him softly, she turned to Samantha and hesitantly asked. " How do you modify a spell?"

"Well, that's actually an easy thing to do." She smiled at her sister, beaming happily at the idea that she was actually willing to learn. "Spells are a mix of indgrediants, so if you can figure out why and what each piece does you can reverse it so it does what you need. For this spell, for example, I would normally use water to create a connection to read the mind of others. It's actually inspired, apparently, by a vampire power to read minds through touch."

Lexi made a happy sound as she sat down at the dinning room table. " I can do that actually, it's hard to learn but I can see memories and get into dreams. Taught Stefan how to do the latter actually."

They all turned to her, amazed, especially Samantha. " That's usually something people take almost six hundred years to learn, good on you! Can you create illusions too, and warp a vampires mind?"

"Yup, even Vervain can't stop that little trick!"

"Wow... anyway, this spell won't work for me even with my divining skills. I simply lack the power to get past your innate mental barriers. Bonnie could do it I think, but she's epically strong for her age and not cursed like me. I needed to increase the connection, so I added witch hazel for connection and some of your blood to augament that. Speaking off, three drops in this bowl of water if you please." With that she handed her said bowl, filled with water. " Rose petals not only mimic other magics, but can aguament my magic. These petals were actually brought to life by my magic, so that actually increases their effectivenss. I add a spell to it, with words and grammar perfect for the spell so that it creates a perfect connection and clearly states my intent. Technically English would work just fine but the mystery of using other languages helps with inspiration which is a big part of magic. Inspiring and believing in what your doing... so it's like making cake. Mess with the pieces when you know why and you can make it vegan or substitute eggs or all sorts of things."

Happy, she turned to see her sister nodding with very clear eyes. " That actually makes a lot of sense... so why so much augmentation, it is your weaker magic?"

"That and my lack of a place to draw from. I mean technically I could do this my just channeling Lexi, but my body isn't used to higher magics so it could over load me. More then that I plan to make a sacrificial knife and my magic has to be pure for that. I will be cleansing myself afterward to make sure it is." Smiling, she turned back to Lexi and the bowl, filled with those three drops. " Perfect... now give me a second. I need to chant, then I will be putting my fingers in the bowl, then on your hands. Let your barriers down, like you would if you were letting Stefan give you a dream or something, kay?"

"Not a problem. Anything for a daylight ring... oh... and can I ask a favor, two?"

That stopped her, worried. " What?"

"I have a boyfriend, Lee... he's... I just turned him. If he's good enough for you... would you?" Samantha nodded. " Thank you... also can you keep what you see private. I'm not perfect but I try."

"As long as it's not a threat, it should be fine... now... relax." Taking several deep breathes, Samantha ignored everyone and wafted her hands over the bowl. "Link ak vyolasyon, nwayo sa a vanpir nan je enteryè mwen. Link ak vyolasyon, nwayo sa a vanpir nan je enteryè mwen. Link ak vyolasyon, nwayo sa a vanpir nan je enteryè mwen." Taking a much deeper breathe, trying to mask her quivering center, she dipped her fingers in the now warm bowl. The magic from her talisman, firm against her breasts, naturally poured a sliver of power in her. She no longer needed to touch it constantly, and so she was able to breathe in it's magic. "Link ak vyolasyon, nwayo sa a vanpir nan je enteryè mwen." Taking her hands away from the pool she reached and grabbed Lexi's hands.

It was hard for Vicki not to rip Samantha's hands from Lexi's the moment she touched her, the flinch and discomfort in Samantha's features was almost painful to watch but still she knew better. "I wonder what's she seeing." She whispered, just enough that Stefan was able to hear here.

From his smile, she could tell he was amused and happy. "A lot of good." He whispered back, eyes proud and happy. "Lexi's the best person I know, my closest and oldest friend. She made me who I am."

That was enough for Vicki, it made her twice as nervous. 'I don't know if that's a good thing.' She knew, from spending time with the Salvatores, that Stefan was not the good brother... he was judgmental in a way that bordered on cruel. She felt his scrutiny whenever she made the slightest mistake. He was like Elena and all she hated about her, how easily he made himself the center of everyone's struggles as if he had to be at fault instead of letting them grow. Like Elena, he was tiring to be around.

"I hope so." Was all she replied with, just in time for her almost girl friend to rip her hands from Lexi and turn away.

"She's good, just... a lot of baggage. I can't believe Damon did that." She was shaking, eyes filled with tears. "Sorry, didn't mean to say that but... wow... that's..." She shivered. " I will make your daylight ring right now. It takes like no effort to make."

Vicki quivered, wondering what the hell could have shaken her so badly.

It was impossible not to freeze as he heard those words. "I can't believe Damon did that." Guilt overwhelmed his soul and he actually ran away, appearing in Stefan's room. The urge to destroy everything was potent and his urge to kill Lexi, to mask his guilt was beyond that feeling.

"She knows, now she'll hate me and never help me and...'

The destructive thoughts ran miles and miles a minute, and finally he found what he needed to do and destroy. Stefan's tea, hidden away in a cooler in his room, each teabag sitting there just waiting to be messed with.

This would make him feel better, this would ease his guilt, having Saint Stefan the badguy…

"Hello there."

"So this is where you usually hunt?" Samantha, with a twist of sage wafting over her quivering body, looked around the forest. Vicki, Lexi and Stefan were all watching as he vanished into the sunlight. Elena, who he was afraid of scaring, was stuck back at the Salvatore Manor. He ignored them as he allowed his senses to over take him. Beautiful blood vessels covered his face even as he shot into the woods.

Lexi, personally, wasn't watching anything as she was drinking in the sunlight around her. "This... thank you." Her words were almost whispered, pained even as she let the beauty of sunlight to dance across her skin. She looked wonderful in the light, like the goddess she was.

Samantha couldn't help but drink in the sight, the wonderful happiness Lexi was just oozing. "Not a problem, now be quiet. I have to focus."With quick hands he grabbed her massive bag of salt and started to cast a circle around her. "Lexi, light these candles and place them at the five points." Quickly, Samantha started to pour the salt in her personal sigil, the one sign that seemed to fit her.

It was a large M with a K sticking out of the side and a dot under the first down slide of the M. It meant nothing to anyone else really it held no power at all but would count her as her personal sigil and would channel her powers best now that she was claiming it. The power behind that was intense, it shook her. There was no going back with this, if she cast this spell then she became a sacrificial witch permanently Dark magic would run through her and her magic would no longer be considered pure by any standard.

She needed it. If she was to help her friends and be useful in creating enchanted objects, tracking people or casting spells of any note then she had to do this. Breaking the Tomb spell would end it as a source of power. If she did this then she would forever have a source of power to use. Yes she would still never be a major threat on her own, but with preparation she would be able to support and protect her friends and that is what mattered.

When Stefan returned in a great woosh, he had three dying squirrels, all in his hands. " Where do I?"

"In the center, the get out. I need to concentrate." Without hesitating he did as she asked.

The spell was on the moment they touched down, their dying spark of life called to her. Her magic quivered, asking if it was for them... it was and it knew it.

Raising her blade skyward, she plunged it down, bronze flying through the air until finally it landed, killing the first squirrel through the heart. It's death and life ran through her, twitchy power and energy became her in an instant.

Words crossed her lips and she grabbed the next squirrel, cutting it neck to groin.

"Aksepte ofrann sa a. Se pou l 'merite, navèt nan ponya sa a pouvwa a aksepte ak kanal ki sa ki ap vini yo. " Cold hands pulled out the entrails, letting the lingering blood drip across the sigil. It sizzled and with each drop more and more power crossed through her. "Fè pi ak li, ak apèl nwa mwen an. Aksepte ofrann sa a epi kite l 'merite sa."

The final beast was lifted and it's throat slit. It, it's blood dripping across the sigil and then the blade glew a bright orange.

And she knew, at that moment, she was now a Dark Witch. Not just a Traveler, not just a lower witch but a true Dark witch capable of Dark and now more useful and powerful spell...

But at a cost, always a terrible cost.

And with that knowledge she wept, the price of her actions clear.

"Bring me a bird." She whispered... and knew it was time to find that damned Grimoire.

Chapter end, tell me what you think in the reviews.

Yes she is a dark witch now and with that with prep she is more useful but she won't always have prep!

Link and breach, the core of this vampire to my inner eye.

Accept this offering. Let it be worthy, craft into this dagger the power to accept and channel what is to come. Be Pure with it, and my dark call. Accept this offering and let it be worthy.

This is fun and dark and twisted and I love it!

Love, your Ninja Overlord,

Mika.