Its intimate, cosy and so very homey. The whole family is snowed into the cabin in Aspen, and even though they are vampires and could leave at anytime, this was kind of nice. It almost feels normal for them to be burrowed under fluffy blankets on the seats in the living room, idly talking about nothing. Somehow, it makes sense for the crackle of the chips Katherine chews on to be the background noise to the story Kol is telling of the trip he and Rebekah took to Madagascar. The fire burns quietly in the fireplace, slowly dying but every time it threatens to, Bonnie whispers a Latin word and it lights up with gusto. They've been basking in each other's company for a few hours now, long enough for Caroline to have taken a nap and stirred back to consciousness nestled in Klaus' chest. Elijah had tried to read Dear Ijeawele in the first few hours of their captivity but had long since given up and placed the book on the coffee table, marking his page with a well-worn bookmark, instead choosing to join the lazy conversation and steal crisps from Katherine's lap. Marcel hummed the tune to Stand By Me absently, wrapping a curl of Rebekah's hair around his forefinger and watching it unfurl and fall back to her head on his knee. Said blonde sighs in content, pulling her duvet up to her chin.
This is true peace, Klaus thinks to himself. His own significant other moves to throw her funny socked-feet in his lap and stretch her cramped muscles out on the couch behind her. He can tell she's on the verge of another nap but she fights it off in a futile attempt to hear Marcel's rendition of her favourite sixties song. The winter rages outside, turning the sky into a bleary gray and the ground to a perfect coat of white. Kol finishes his story, fond smile on his youthful face when he glances over to his slumbering sister. Bonnie feels rather than hears his chuckle at Elijah's comment about how Rebekah's human talent to fall asleep quickly and soundly and just about anywhere followed her into vampirism. Soon enough, only Bonnie, Klaus, Elijah and Katherine are awake. They play poker on the coffee table between them, but Bonnie has to hand Klaus her cards to put down because Kol's heavy form has taken residence on her legs and she cannot move very far. Elijah wins, predictably, because he wins every game they play, even monopoly. He's an extraordinary strategist.
Fast forward a few hours and Klaus has joined the ever-growing group of sleeping supernaturals in the group. Elijah too, so that leaves Bonnie and Katherine. The latter is sprawled on the carpeted floor, twiddling the strings at the waist of her sweatpants and the former is running her hands through Kol's hair, messing it up as much as she can and as gently as possible before smoothing it back into place.
"Bon?" Katherine calls lowly.
"Hm?" The witch responds automatically.
"Do the pillow thing please?"
At that request, Bonnie lets a small smile tug at her lips. Even at her age, Katherine was still enamored by the simpler things in life and that made her feel a sudden burst of fondness for the doppelganger. Bonnie reached for a nearby throw pillow and slit it open, spreading the feathers beside her. She didn't even have to lift her hands, just focused her emerald eyes on them and they floated in the air. Katherine reached up to catch one but when she released its soft tendrils it drifted back up, weightless. Amused by the look of wonder in her chocolate eyes, Bonnie ripped another pillow so the feathers filled a good amount of the space above them and twirled a finger so they collected above Katherine's torso and spun in a white tornado before her. The girl on the floor giggled and Bonnie opened her palm so the feathers went back to floating in no particular order around the room.
"Thank you," Katherine voiced, the trace of a laugh still coloring her voice. She sometimes had trouble sleeping- the consequence of half a millennium spent on the run- and it was during those times when she couldn't bring herself to drift off when she was most vulnerable, most like the girl who ran among fields of lilies and swam in waterfalls in 1400s Bulgaria. Elijah was usually very patient with her, and held her in his protective arms until she fell asleep because it made her feel safe, but he had blacked out on the sofa, unknowingly occupying most of it, and he looked so adorable with his coiffed hair mussed and his stern features peaceful and boyish that she didn't wake him up. She also thought he deserved a break from playing her therapist for a night. So she lay there, twisting her drawstrings and watching the snowy feathers dance above her, happy to have the company of the witch she was beginning to see as family.
"Kat?" Bonnie inquired, noticing the sleepy blink of her friend's eyes. She knew all about Katherine's problem but rarely ever asked after it, knowing she hated to talk about what she perceived as her weaknesses.
"I'm fine. One night of insomnia won't kill me," she mused with a hint of melancholy.
"Dormitabis," Bonnie replied, blowing a slow gust of air upwards. The feathers began to descend almost imperceptibly but the lower they came, the sleepier Katherine got. She felt the lull of rest pull her in, but it wasn't scary like it used to be. It was calm and soothing, like a nap in the afternoon sun after a swim. The darkness pulled her in steadily and by the time the last feather hit the floor beside her feet, she was the perfect image of a sleeping beauty. Bonnie sighed in content, spelling two mink blankets over her friend and tugging gently on Kol's shoulder for him to get up. He sat up groggily, blinking at her blearily and she tried to tame the pace of her heart because she knew he could hear it. She maneuvered her body fully onto the couch they shared and waited for him to do the same behind her and tuck them in before drifting off to sleep herself, the last thought on her mind that maybe the snow days she detested as a child weren't so bad after all.