Kamille: Thanks for your kind words and for your understanding! :) The cliffhangers don't even happen on purpose. lol.
Thanks also to MinakoTrickster and EvaMedina!
…
~ We need to get Bonnie back to Point Sterne. ~
Enzo stares ahead, running after Damon with that girl on his shoulders, still trying to comprehend what just happened. A squall - on land, in the middle of the dark side of town.
Guiseppe tried to wipe them all out… Forcing himself to focus on his conversation that has now turned inward, making it harder, he directs his mind toward his friend again.
~ And then what? ~
~ The cave… ~
He knows that cave. Deep underwater, right next to the trench. It's dangerous down there, secluded.
~ I thought the whole point of this was to keep her away from the sea. ~
~ Plans change, Lorenzo! Seems like my dear old man decided to kill her anyways, so might as well risk it all, don't you think? ~
It's not like this is an actual question, or Enzo gets a real say in the matter, so he makes a face, scoffing as he resigns himself to accepting it.
~ What about the other one? ~
Words still feel foreign in his mind when he's trying to communicate telepathically, it's like sand getting stirred up by the shorebreak, getting jumbled around in his head, coming together, diffusing again. But Damon hears him, and replies.
~ Her, too. ~
Enzo rolls his eyes, adjusting his grip on the shivering girl on his shoulders. Her staccato breaths are evening out, her attempts to fight him all but fizzled out after the surprise onslaught of water Guiseppe sent their way.
He feels bad for her, and yet…
~ She's human. We could just compel her and send her far away... ~
There's a hint of disbelief in Damon's next words.
~ Really, Enzo? ~
~ What. ~
~ Is this your own issues talking? ~
~ This has nothing to do with me. ~
Enzo clenches and unclenches his jaw, trying to keep his growing annoyance at bay, barely able to when he sees Damon roll his eyes.
~ Sure, my friend. Keep telling yourself that. - Well, don't worry, no one said anything about turning Blondie, okay? But she's not safe, either. Guiseppe'll track her down, no matter how 'far away' you want to send her. He'll interrogate her, then get rid of her. ~
~ Since when do you care about collateral damage? ~
~ I don't know, Enzo. ~ Damon's tone is suddenly testy.
~ Maybe since you managed to botch compelling her, and- ~
~ You're one to talk. ~
Damon's expression morphs into a genuine grin for a moment, and Enzo wags an eyebrow at him, their destination drawing closer almost as if of its own accord.
~ Come on, Lorenzo. You can't honestly want this poor girl dead. I know I don't…
And finally he understands, his face lighting up.
~ Ah, I see. Because she's Bonnie's friend, and Bonnie would never forgive you if you didn't save her. Is that it? - You falling for this girl, Damon? Already? ~
A wink is Damon's only reply, but Enzo knows it to be true. That man has been without a proper girlfriend for too long. And as usual, his infatuation with a pretty girl will probably get them all in trouble.
~ Anyways... - No one deserves to die just because my dear father might consider them a threat to his realm. And you'll have to agree that he will see her as such. ~
He can't argue, so he doesn't, instead coming to a halt right at the edge of the cliff. Shrugging the half compelled girl off his shoulders, he grips her slender waist with his hands to steady her, watching as her gaze wanders around the landscape, a little lost. She's so fragile…
Earlier, before they started running, he told her to stay calm - with his gaze firmly locked on hers so as not to mess it up again. Thus she's almost too still now, except for the shivers, except for that wide-eyed look that seems to pierce right through him.
Maybe Damon is right. His compulsion could use some work…
~ We done here, Lorenzo? Yeah? ~
He nods, reluctantly.
~ Then let's dive. The deep is waiting. ~
He peeks over the cliff, eyeing the dark underneath. This is bloody idiotic. And yet he's going to do it, isn't he?
~ You sure your father won't find us there? ~
Damon grins at him, the briefest of flickers going through his eyes.
~ Not a chance. Stef and I found that cave when we were little, I think I told you that story... - Walls made of basalt rather than limestone and sandstone, no way to penetrate it with telepathy. It's a little slice of paradise, my friend… ~
~ Sounds lovely… ~
Damon nods, grins, then - with a brief nod - he turns his thoughts away, and Enzo is left alone in his own mind again, knowing what will happen next, how the man he has called his friend for over a century will persuade Bonnie Bennett to follow him into the deep with ease - while Enzo will have to try to somehow get the blonde before him to do the same.
Fantastic.
Focusing on her, he tries to smooth out the creases in his face, putting his best impression of a mild smile on his face, not too overly happy, but devoid of the darkness that's encroaching on his thoughts. He doesn't like this - any of it.
At least the lady is a looker.
"Alright, gorgeous," he says, cupping her chin as her pupils widen, her arms reaching up to grab him, potentially to push him away. "See your friend over there? She and Damon are going to take a little dip in the ocean."
"They… what?"
He decides to be blunt, and brief. There's no use or time for empty words and long explanations.
"They'll swim to an underwater cave so his insane father won't kill her."
"Are you crazy? What the hell are you on about? - Bon-"
He places a hand over her mouth before she can yell out for her friend, and the anger flickering in her eyes makes his lips curve upwards more. She's a feisty one. Slapping at his arm, she wiggles, but his grip on her is strong. He shakes his head.
"I'm sorry, gorgeous. We can do it this way or I can compel you again - which I'd really rather not.
"Compel me? What's that supposed to mean?" She stares up at him like he's off his rocker, a hint of disbelief and accusation making her look… cute. Her thoughts are clearly awhirl in her pretty head, and when she shakes it, trying to pull her arms loose, he has to smile despite himself. "Oh my gosh, you guys really are crazy, aren't you? Bonnie…"
Sighing, he decides to cut this whole thing a bit short before the girl can work herself up even more.
"We need to go now, Damon," he hollers over to the other two, and Caroline falls silent as she glares at him. Then she turns to look for her friend, her body tensing, shivers stopping so abruptly that it startles Enzo a bit.
There is Damon, doing some kind of ridiculous bow, before he pulls on Bonnie's hand and they both take a leap - just like that, no warning - Bonnie gasping in disbelief as she does.
"She jumped." Caroline's mouth stands slightly open, her gaze wandering from the cliff to Enzo and back again. "She just… jumped. Bonnie! Oh gosh!… - This is not happening."
Sighing, he grits his teeth, his fingers digging into her arms as she tries to break free. Pulling her closer to him with one arm, he tugs at her chin to make her look at him, his gaze locking on hers.
She has beautiful eyes, so open, so clear...
He shakes his head before he gets lost.
"I'm afraid it is," he mutters, "And if you want to live, you'll have to come with me now."
The wind around them is picking up, the smell and taste of salt growing stronger. He can feel the world shift around him, around them. Guiseppe is onto them, sending the gods of water after them again. Not a second later, harsh pebbles of rain and hail are beginning to pelt down, Caroline shaking harder now.
"You coming?" he asks her, and he can see her struggle as she stares up at him.
"Down there?!" She snorts. "In case you didn't know this, normal people can't breathe underwater. I don't know what the hell made Bonnie jump." She breaks free with one arm and pokes a finger into his chest. "But I'm sure it was that awful creepy friend of yours. And I can tell you this: I'm not going! - Besides, it's freaking cold! I'll die either way!" Her features grow softer, less angry, more scared as she continues with a small voice, "Oh gosh, I'll die, won't I?"
"I won't let you. I'll breathe for you. I'll keep you warm."
"But…"
He fights the urge to roll his eyes.
"You worry too much, gorgeous," he tells her, debating briefly whether to explain about the cave and that there'll be air to breathe down there, and warmth. Then he decides against it. "You'll be just fine."
"I w-"
The words get ripped from her throat as he simply pulls her with him without another warning - he guesses not unlike what Damon probably did with Bonnie - and already they're in the air, floating for just a second before gravity pulls them down, and then… with a loud and harsh splash, the water envelopes them in cold darkness.
…
There are bubbles all around them, small, prickly, wafting up, and Caroline stares after them, strangely mesmerized, before the protest of her lungs jolts her out of her strange reverie and she begins to thrash and kick, trying to get up, up, and back above the water so she can breathe.
What the hell has gotten into her? And him - that awful stranger that's pulling her down with him, into a wet cold grave. She's going to die down here, she knows it. Already her mouth wants to open of its own accord, her lungs screaming for oxygen, no longer caring that there's none to be had in the murky gray around her.
This can't be happening, this…
Panicking, she flails her arms, tries to shake his hand off, kicking him - not even on purpose - as she fights to get back up. She needs to get out!
But just as her brain grows too fuzzy, the urge to just inhale pure salty water too strong, she can feel his lips on hers, can see his eyes - so clear down here, and green like the sea - feel his hands against her face, and as he breathes into her deprived lungs, her chest extends wide, welcoming the air, and she can feel herself calming again, slowly.
It's not over yet, however, her descent still in full progress, and Enzo isn't slowing down. Grappling with his shirt, she can feel those buttons again, soft and round, her fingers grazing them as she tries to process what's going on. She's so cold - until she isn't, a surge of warmth enveloping her so quickly that it startles her. Then, before she can quite comprehend, his face appears right before her again, and he presses his lips on hers, once more filling her lungs with much needed air, his eyes locking on hers, his stare too intense, and she wants to look away, tries to, but it's all dark and so deep, the bubbles still rising around them while they're descending further and further, until…
…
Is this the right decision? Damon isn't sure. Well, not entirely. He thinks it's the only way, he really does, and yet he can't help but worry for this girl in his arms as she glides down into the depth beside him.
There's a chance this could make her turn, he knows it, and in some dark corner he may even welcome that possibility, crave it to become true, but he doesn't understand why, he simply doesn't, and it makes his heart skitter around in his chest like a frightened bird.
This Bonnie Bennett, she's doing things to him, and he can't quite explain it. Watching her intently as he dives down deeper with her, leg muscles pumping, his gaze finds hers, holds it.
She is born for this, sea dweller or not. He can see it in the deep green of her eyes, the sheen behind a facade of fear and incomprehension, like her body knows what it's doing, even if she does not.
Pulling her closer, he smiles at her, swiping hair out of her face before he raises his chin, leaning in, forward, then pressing his mouth onto hers, shaking his head and stilling her movements when she tries to fight him off.
~ I'm trying to help you, Bonnie. ~
Does he hear her voice in his head? Does he feel it? He can't be sure.
A transition is never a quick thing. The water might baptize her, might claim her, or not. But if it does…
He blinks, trying to focus on the way down.
There's the first taste of warmth beginning to waft around them from where one of the thermal vents deep in the trench pushes its heat out into the cold of the ocean, millions of tiny organisms living their lives close to it, and he and Bonnie… they're just two more.
He's trying to breathe for her, and clearly she needs it, nothing happening to her yet, no gasping intake of ocean water, no sudden lithe fishlike movements.
Maybe she really did wake up before his blood entered her system. Maybe it happened at the exact same moment, just a split-second in which her fate got decided - and it decided to keep her… human.
They're close to the entrance of the cave now, the smallest sliver of light touching the waters just below them. It's a few more feet perhaps, not much, but all he can see is her pupils narrowing, the green looking almost impenetrable down here now, almost black, and then, when he's pushed her down with him almost all the way, and the light grows stronger around them, he suddenly sees it - and backs away, letting go of her as if she just stung him.
There's something inside of her, he can see it. But it's not the ocean - at least not just that. Her eyes…
She's looking at him, wide-eyed and panicked, arms and legs thrashing as she tries to swim upward, tries to grab him, too, tries to… survive. She's screaming, a storm of bubbles coming out of her mouth. Soon, soon she'll have to take a breath, an involuntary reflex that she won't be able to stop, and then, then she will drown - or live - down here, with him.
Her eyes are so wide, her pupils large like marbles and just as beautiful, an odd band of brightest blue and brown now shining somewhere in there.
But then he blinks, shocked, and it is gone. The sheen is gone and only this beautiful fighting girl left, still thrashing about, trying to come up to breathe, even though she must know she's too far down. Her eyes are bulging a bit now, the panic taking over, and she isn't doing it, she can't. She can't breathe…
It takes him another half second, possibly less, it's hard to tell down here, before he manages to jolt himself out of it, and with determined motions, he grabs her arms to pull her close, placing his mouth right on hers once more so he can finally, finally help her breathe.
The way she looks at him, betrayal and shock battling each other, gives him a weird pang, but she does allow him to lead her further, to take over again - though probably just because she knows she doesn't have much of a choice. The thought is sobering and all too real, and he doesn't like it.
~ I'm sorry ~
He thinks it, knowing now that she won't be able to hear him, because she's most certainly not one of them or she would have already taken her first underwater breath, because that is the law of the sea and it has always been. Those who can breathe water like air, belong to the sea, and those you can't...
~ You almost let me drown! ~
~ I'm sorry BonBon, I… ~
Wait.
Tilting his head, he squints at her, confusion washing over him.
She's not of the sea. Yet he can hear her, feel her in his mind.
What then, is she?
