Cursed Blood and Bound Fates
Chapter 20
"I made myself clear, Damon, I want nothing to do with you," Elena declared with annoyance as she gathered her stuff from her table at the Grill. Renfri listened in as she waited at the bar for the waitress to bring her order out.
"Okay," Damon replied easily, "see you at Jenna's barbecue."
Elena stopped in her retreat and turned to face him suspiciously, "How do you know about Jenna's barbecue?"
Damon rolled his eyes as he munched on one of the fries in the basket Elena abandoned at the table, "It was my idea. Jenna went to high school with Mason Lockwood, so I figured a social gathering would be a good way to get to know the guy, so I asked Ric to tell Jenna."
Elena poked at him reproachfully, "And does Jenna know you're going to be there? Because she's not exactly a fan of yours."
At this moment, Renfri was handed her order and made her way over to the table. He heard her coming and said, "Well, Red did ask Jenna if she could bring me when she was invited, and I'm hoping this peach cobbler will help pave the way."
"And my homemade potato salad," Ren added, "Home cooking is always a plus compared to take out." Damon only shrugged in response and Elena raised her eyebrows at them both.
"What are you up to?"
Damon leaned got up and paused next to her as he told her quietly, "I'm gonna put some silver in Mason Lockwood and prove he's a werewolf."
"Ah, I've already told you that's a terrible idea," Renfri interrupted as Elena's mouth dropped open.
He raised an eyebrow at her too, "Would you rather I stick a silver knife in you?" When she pouted and looked away he said, "I thought so." He smirked and threw over his shoulder at Elena, "See you at the barbecue!"
He headed out of the Grill and Renfri followed after giving her friend a quick but helpless wave, "What if silver doesn't do anything? Then you've just pissed him off and he could target you the next time he turns. I mean, our senses are crazy strong as a wolf, especially smell, so he might be able to track you down since there are only a few vampires in town. During the full moon, I was obsessed with hunting you, something in your scent just triggered something in me and my wolf brain couldn't let it go."
His brow furrowed but then he just shrugged, "Well, who knows if he can actually track anyone, and even if he can, being dead before the next full moon kind of defeats the point of your argument."
She frowned at him, "Uncle Damon, he's the only other werewolf we know of, he could be useful to get information from. I want to know more about what I am if it can help with the transformations, so please don't kill him." Ash greeted them with a bark from the back seat when they approached the car.
Damon sighed dramatically as they got into his Camaro and he started the engine, "Fine, I won't kill him…at least not until after you've gotten a chance to ask him about your wolfy heritage," he held up a finger at her pointedly, "but after that, he's free game because he's potentially an unknown threat, especially if he makes himself a problem for me, got it?"
Renfri twisted her lips in annoyance, "Yeah, fine, but hold off on killing him unless he actually becomes a threat to you or Stefan, okay? You can't blame us just for being what we are, it's not reasonable to just eliminate people because they can be dangerous, only if they choose to act on it."
Damon groaned as they drove through town, "Ugh, you're sounding far too much like Stefan. Quit being such a goody-two-shoes, I thought you were my partner in crime!"
She rolled her eyes with a huff, "I may be morally gray in some people's eyes, but that doesn't make me okay with unprovoked murder. And quit your whining, you're supposed to be the adult here."
He laughed, "Where's the fun in that? I'm only your guardian on paper, I'm not exactly a role model."
She chuckled, "Well, I suppose I can't blame you since I already knew that much."
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They arrived to the Gilbert residence and Ren handed her uncle his peach cobbler olive branch, he would need it, and she got the covered serving dish from at her feet and Ash from the back. Jenna was decidedly cold towards Damon since seeing him kiss Elena (when in actuality it was Katherine, though he didn't know that at the time) and she predicted that Jenna might move to being outright rude if he sucked up too much. He would have to balance carefully his faux apologetic act because he was far from sincere and Jenna wouldn't be fooled so easily now that she'd seen his douchebaggery in person, kissing his brother's girl and all. They moved up the walkway and reached the porch steps, seeing Caroline on one of the wicker chairs.
"Thank god you're here," Caroline said as she quickly got to her feet and hugged her friend, ignoring the older Salvatore that passed them and went straight into the house.
Renfri laughed and returned the gesture, "It's good to see you too, Care, I'm glad to relieve you of eternal boredom at the hands of adults. Although, I think Jenna is capable of turning this into a good time."
Caroline sighed dejectedly, "Maybe, but it'd be much better if we could drink too."
Renfri laughed, "True. I've got to get this inside and make sure Jenna doesn't stake him." She swiftly caught up to the dark-haired vampire as he entered the kitchen, clearly dampening Jenna's cheerful mood with his appearance.
"Hey," he said a bit awkwardly.
"Damon," Jenna greeted with clear disappointment in her tone, despite him holding up the peach cobbler in offering.
Her eyes found his niece behind him and her expression immediately warmed, "Renfri, I'm glad you came, and you brought Ash!" She gave the dog a quick head rub, to which she received a tail wag, then pulled the girl into a hug which was quickly returned with a grin. Ren really did like Jenna.
"Sorry," she stage whispered by the woman's ear, "he needs socializing, so I thought this was good practice." Jenna snorted as she released her and Damon took the opening to tease her in kind.
He poked his finger into her forehead and pushed lightly in false reprimand, "You don't speak about me like that, young lady, I am your guardian."
She laughed and swatted his hand away, "Says the guy who earlier today admitted he was not a role model."
He gave an exaggerated sigh of exasperation and grabbed her cheeks with one hand, "Ugh, where did my sweet little cousin go? Why do you treat me so?" He didn't let her push his hand away immediately this time, squishing her cheeks under his grip and shaking her head teasingly.
She couldn't help but bark a laugh in his face as he released her and she pushed him back, "I was never that sweet and you know it."
He grinned and declared, "And that's why I like you," as he tapped her nose.
She rolled her eyes but smiled and turned to Jenna and Mason, "Like I said, he needs some socializing."
"We're doing shots, let me get you a shot glass, buddy," Alaric said but Jenna proceeded to throw her drink back then hand the glass to Damon.
"Here, use mine," she said pointedly then walked out of the kitchen and Alaric followed her quickly, likely to put out the fire.
"She doesn't like me very much," Damon said to the guest that poured another shot for himself then filled Damon's glass.
"We haven't met, Mason Lockwood."
"Oh, sure, hey, Damon Salvatore," the vampire replied and shook the offered hand.
"I know, I heard great things about you," the charming man replied.
The girl raised an eyebrow just as Damon looked surprised, "Really? That's weird, 'cause I'm a dick."
Renfri nodded sagely, "It's good to know that you're self aware, at least." Damon only preened like it was an accomplishment before taking his shot and sauntering towards the living room. She shook her head and they followed after him.
-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-
"Dress? Ballerina?"
"Puppy! Puppy with a tutu!" Caroline shouted eagerly, pointing at the easel with Damon's charades drawing on display, which Renfri thought was actually quite good considering she knew she wasn't very good at drawing herself.
"No!" Damon mumbled through the marker cap sticking out of his mouth and gestured in a circular motion at his masterpiece.
"Okay, dog? Hound dog? Oh, Ain't Nothing But A Hound Dog!" Jenna blurted excitedly, throwing her hands out, thinking she'd gotten it.
"Dances with Wolves."
They all turned to look at the guest on the couch beside Renfri as Damon smirked and declared, "Mason wins again."
He capped the marker and left it at the easel as he headed for the kitchen while Jenna called after him, "How is that a wolf!? It looks more like Ash than a wolf!"
Renfri shook her head in exasperation, knowing after the first round that her uncle wasn't going to be so subtle with the wolf references.
"I take offense on my dog's behalf, he's far more handsome than that sad drawing," Renfri announced. Jenna laughed before heading into the kitchen to help Elena set up for dessert.
Ren got up to help Caroline put away the game materials as Alaric and Mason chatted idly and sipped their beers. After a minute or so they were called to the table for peach cobbler. Elena went to the living room to join Caroline in cleaning up a little, opting out of dessert and probably avoiding Damon.
"Mason," Damon said with a smile, bringing the dessert tin to the table and placing it in front of him, a fancy knife resting in it, "why don't you start us off?"
Mason looked down at it then back at the dark haired man leaning on the tabletop towards him.
"Sure," he answered and then proceeded to turn the pie tin so the knife faced away from him then scooped a hunk out onto his plate with his hands, sucking a stray piece off of his thumb. They all stared at him as he looked up and gave an awkward laugh.
"Ah, sorry guys, I'm an animal," he said with an apologetic grin, making eye contact with Damon.
"So Mason, uh, you and Jenna never dated?" Alaric asked, quickly changing the subject.
Mason chuckled at that as Jenna came over with more plates and began serving slices to the rest of them, "She was always lost in Logan Fell land."
She smiled somewhat nostalgically, "Oh, my first mistake. Mason was a catch, he had girls lining up."
"Really?" Damon said with such surprise and turned to the man, "I pegged you for a lone wolf."
He sipped his beer, looking smug, when Mason regarded him as well and said, "Oh, I'm sure I wasn't half the lady killer you were."
Damon somewhat covered his surprise, but Renfri's eyebrows went up immediately.
So Mason was aware of vampires, and that Damon was one…though her uncle wasn't being even close to subtle with all the wolf comments, so it wouldn't be hard to guess if he was aware of them.
Her phone dinged and she checked it to see a text from Elena then heard the front door open and close as she read it. Caroline was going to drive Elena to the boarding house to check on Stefan since she hadn't heard from him since this morning and was worried. Renfri quickly replied asking what she thought was wrong and Elena responded with a vague answer, unsure of what it could be but something felt off to her. Renfri frowned but left her to it. Right as she was going to stuff her phone back in her pocket, it buzzed again and this time Tyler's name popped up.
Hey, you free right now?
She typed quickly then hit send, glancing up at the adults around the table who were chatting while they ate the sweet treat.
Sorry, I'm at Jenna's barbecue. Your uncle and I are bonding over charades and peach cobbler :)
Nothing for a minute then another buzz of the phone.
That's fine, catch you later. Just be careful with M.
Ren furrowed her brow at this.
Why? Anything I should know?
His final response only made her more unsure.
Don't stress over it. Talk to you later.
The redhead frowned before tucking the device away and finishing off her slice of cobbler. She got up and took Mason's plate with hers since he was the only other one done and headed into the kitchen. She started making up take away containers for her, Mason, and Alaric to take home with the leftover food, as Jenna had told them they would earlier.
Ren began unwrapping the potato salad and pulled back the foil covering the burgers on the counter when Mason came in with Ash trailing after him to sit at her feet while she worked, hoping for a handout.
The man grabbed another beer and twisted off the cap, "So, when did you trigger the gene?"
Renfri froze in place for a few seconds before slowly looking up at the man standing casually beside her.
She eyed him skeptically before replying stiffly, "What do you mean?"
He leaned forward with his forearms on the island, placing his beer on the counter, "Oh, come on, there's no need to pretend. You know what I am, Damon hasn't exactly been subtle about it, and I know you're the same. You must have turned on the most recent full moon. I can smell the change in you and you weren't like this when we first met. So when did it happen?"
She stared at him uncertainly at first, hesitant despite having told Damon that she wanted to ask him questions but not sure how much she should trust him with; she didn't know him at all.
She glanced over her shoulder at the others, knowing Damon was probably listening in, then murmured, "Not long, it was a couple weeks ago…you're a werewolf too?"
He nodded but tilted his head, "So, what happened?" She raised an eyebrow silently in question as she continued her task of separating the food into containers and he clarified, "What happened that triggered the curse? You don't start turning the first moon after you're born, you have to activate it."
She stared blankly at her hands as they moved before she whispered, "I killed my friend, a vampire compelled me to do it without me knowing. I don't even remember it."
He nodded sympathetically, "That's rough, but that'll do it. I'm sorry you have to live with that, I know what some of that's like."
She looked up at him curiously, "What parts?"
He shifted his weight to his other foot, "I accidentally killed my friend. We were drunk at a bar in Florida and he came after me, thinking I was sleeping with his girlfriend even though I wasn't. We fought and he hit his head on the asphalt and died. I didn't mean for it to happen, but it did, and now I change every month."
She nodded solemnly and began putting the covers on the containers, "How do you deal with it? It was fucking torturous. It took hours for me to even fully change and even then I was completely out of control. I barely remember half of what happened, some of it is a blur, just colors and feelings, and other parts are crystal clear."
He reached out and patted her shoulder comfortingly, "You got through the worst of it, the first time is the hardest. The more time goes on the less time it will take to shift forms. I'm not gonna lie, the pain never lessens, you just move through it faster."
She sighed and closed her eyes, resting her hands on the counter and dropping her head, "Well, fuck."
At that moment, Damon came in with the rest of the plates, assuming Jenna shoved them on him to make him useful.
"You okay, Red?" he asked, putting the plates in the sink and crossing his arms over his chest to lean against the island on her other side. She nodded and straightened, giving him a forced smile as Ash nosed her leg. She gave him a quick pat on the head to reassure him.
"Yeah, just not hearing what I wanted to," she said quietly and he glanced at the other man leaning on the island.
Mason took another swig of his beer and attempted to change the subject, "Sounds like Jenna's breaking out Guitar Hero, it might be time to mutiny."
Damon grabbed a glass and a bottle of vodka before finding some orange juice int he fridge and answered, "Well, I just happen to like Guitar Hero, so you, my friend, are barking up the wrong tree." He proceeded to pour a shot of vodka into the cup then fill the rest with OJ.
"Okay, enough with the innuendos. You win, you're hilarious," Mason finally snapped.
Damon only smiled smugly, "Thank you," then slid the glass over to Renfri so smiled in thanks.
Mason shook his head at the vampire, "You don't think I know what this barbecue's about?" He glanced at the teenager as well.
Damon faced him fully as Ren stepped to the side, her back to the island as she sipped her screwdriver, and watched the men square off.
The vampire narrowed his eyes and demanded, "How do you know about me? Your brother was completely clueless." Renfri sighed, knowing the arrogant and accusing attitude wasn't going to help.
"It doesn't matter," Mason replied immediately, "I'm not your enemy, Damon."
Damon was clearly not convinced and said, "You tried to kill my brother," he tilted his head, clearly implying that made him an enemy in Damon's eyes.
"That was a mistake," Mason told him.
Damon's eyebrows went up disbelievingly, "Really?"
"I couldn't chain myself up in time, I have no control once I shift."
"Oh, what? No obedience school?" the vampire snarked.
Ren sighed in annoyance this time, "Damon, enough, you know that part's true. You saw how I was, I couldn't control it either."
It was Mason's turn to raise his eyebrows, "You saw her change? You were with her? How are you not dead?"
He glanced at the teenager and she shrugged, "He's fast, crafty," she smirked at Damon, "and he sure could scramble up a tree as good as a squirrel."
He rolled his eyes at her, "Another reason not to play tag with you once a month, besides the chance of dying."
Ren wrinkled her nose, "You know, I noticed you smelled different after I changed," she looked to Mason, "Is that normal?"
The werewolf nodded, "Vampires have something distinct in their scent that we can detect, sense of smell of a wolf and all."
She nodded as it seemed to make sense, "Yeah, it's like there's this added hint of something metallic and…earthy, it's like I can smell blood and death."
"Are you telling me I stink?" Damon asked indignantly and she laughed.
"No, it's not strong, just…part of your scent now, and easy to pick out if I pay attention to it." She turned back to Mason, "Are there any other perks to it beyond the heightened senses and strength? I already broke a few things at home because I'm not used to it."
He shrugged, "Well, you just have to adjust to that, especially when touching other people, don't want to be too rough with humans since they break easier. Also, you can't be compelled anymore."
Both Salvatore's eyes widened and the younger shrieked, "What?!"
He just nodded, "Yeah, I'm not too sure why, but once you trigger the gene you can't be compelled. Maybe it's because you're no longer human?"
"Well, damn, that's useful," Ren decided. "At least I don't have to rely on vervain anymore."
Mason chuckled, then sobered again, looking at Damon, "Look, let's not spark some age-old feud that doesn't apply to us."
Damon stared at him distrustfully, "What, you expect me to believe that you're in Mystic Falls planting peace trees?"
"I lost my brother," Mason answered solemnly, "my nephew lost his father, I'm here for my family." While Renfri thought he seemed sincere, she couldn't help but silently wonder if that was the only reason, he hadn't bothered to visit for seven years before.
"Let's be above this," the older werewolf stated.
Damon stared at the man with scrutinizing eyes as Mason held out a hand, then took it in a firm handshake. They both nodded and let go. Renfri put the containers in the fridge before following the other werewolf out with the Dutch Shepherd trailing behind her, hoping Jenna and Ric wouldn't notice it wasn't just orange juice in the glass.
-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-
Renfri was lightly buzzed after having a couple more of her fruity spiked beverages that Damon kept sneaking her. She was grateful for the distraction from the awkwardness in the air between him and Jenna. She had played Guitar Hero with the adults for a little while, then watched the last few rounds while sitting on the floor with her back against the couch next to Damon's legs and Ash lying between her own. He had stretched out and taken advantage of the attention, demanding belly rubs and ear scratches. He wiggled and nipped playfully when she stopped, making her laugh as he snagged her shirtsleeve and pulled her hand back.
The afternoon wound down and turned into evening, and they were finishing up after it was already dark outside. Renfri handed out the take out containers and shoved her own into her bag before grabbing Ash's leash.
"No takers for more drinks at the Grill?" Mason asked cheerfully as they gathered at the front door. When they shrugged reluctantly he declared, "It's like I'm with a bunch of adults here!"
"I prefer the term 'role model,'" Jenna corrected playfully.
Mason smiled and pulled her into a hug, "Okay, well, thanks for having me, it was awesome." He then shook Ric's hand, "Alaric, let's catch that game next week, yeah?"
The teacher nodded with a brief smile, "I look forward to it."
Damon finally emerged from the kitchen after replacing the array of half empty bottles of alcohol, "Hey, you know, we should probably head out too."
"I'm way ahead of you," Renfri said and went to give Jenna a hug goodbye. She returned it easily and gave Ash an adoring scratch under his chin before Damon approached.
"Jenna," the dark haired man caught her attention, causing her smile to drop. He reached for her hand and pulled it up, kissing it, "You're a wonderful host."
"And you are a terrible artist," she retorted as she pulled her hand back quickly.
"Is that the only thing that makes me terrible?" he asked after a quick pause.
Jenna eyed him critically, "Still deciding."
He threw up his hands, "That's good enough for me," then followed Ren out the door but peaked back in to say, "Alaric, let's not catch that game next week." Renfri rolled her eyes but went ahead and loaded Ash and herself into the Camaro.
She had nodded off once the car started moving, dozing a bit thanks to the alcohol and food in her stomach, but when it stopped she blinked her eyes open and frowned in confusion.
"Why are we here?" she asked, turning to question her uncle in the driver's seat.
"Just making a quick stop," he replied simply, "you can stay in the car, Red, keep napping." She frowned at him and watched as he got out and walked around the corner of the Grill, past the doors. She wanted to just close her eyes again, but something was niggling in the back of her mind, telling her something was off. She sighed in resignation and decided to follow her gut, pushing open her door to follow him. Just as she rounded the corner, she saw the glint of metal in her uncle's hand.
"Damon, no!" she shouted, but she was too late. Mason fell to his knees with a grunt as the fancy silver knife sunk into his chest. Renfri ran forward as her uncle ignored her and sauntered over to the truck, opening the trunk to dig around. Her panic was unnecessary, she learned, when the older werewolf yanked the knife out and threw it to the ground, standing up after taking a deep breath, seeming fine. She stared at him in shock and relief and he returned the look with a guarded one of his own. She could only look apologetic and shake her head, indicating that she hadn't had a part in it. He just sighed and turned to face the vampire.
"You know," he said, making Damon turn around as Mason walked back to his truck, "I think it was werewolves who started the whole silver myth…probably for moments like these." Damon stepped aside, making sure he stayed facing the man, as Mason closed his trunk firmly.
"Duly noted," Damon said, though the annoyance was clear in his eyes that it hadn't worked. Renfri huffed at his underhandedness, she might have condoned it if Mason had actually done anything to them, but now he had just made it a bigger problem than it had to be.
Mason dabbed at his now bloody shirt, "I was really looking forward to last call." He stepped up to Damon, who now had a wary look in his eyes, "Now you've made an enemy." Damon only forced a smile, maintaining his mask of arrogance, and Mason turned to head back to his truck. Damon turned away, allowing the frustration on his face to show now, but Renfri called after the werewolf.
"I'm sorry," she said and pressed her lips together tightly before adding, "I didn't know he was still going to do it."
"Still?" he repeated, "But you were okay with it in the first place?"
She shook her head quickly, "Of course I wasn't, but he wasn't keen on the idea of testing it on me, so," she threw up her hands before dropping them, "what can I do?"
Mason just gave a dry laugh, "More than that."
She grit her teeth in frustration as he got back in his truck and sped away. What did he expect her to do? She can't make Damon do anything, she can't control him. She could only make her case and attempt to convince him to take her side, but he's pretty damn stubborn too. Mason's an idiot if he thinks she could force a vampire to do as she wants if they don't want to, no matter their relation.
She practically stomped back to the car, pissed at both men now, and slammed the door closed after getting in.
"Easy on the car," he chastised immediately.
"Shut up," she snapped, "if you had just let him be this wouldn't be a problem now."
"Hey, I took an opportunity when I saw it, it just happened to not work out. At least now we know silver doesn't do anything to werewolves."
She just shook her head and ignored him as he took them home. He dropped her and Ash off then drove away again, likely heading back to the Grill to drink in solitude.
After she'd showered and gotten ready for bed, she was lounging on her bed and reading when her phone buzzed. She tucked a bookmark into the novel and closed it, reaching for the device to check her texts.
Stef spent the day interrogating Katherine and she was considerate enough to spill some info about werewolves, but now the happy couple is fighting in the Grill and talking about taking a break. Any of this sound fishy to you?
Renfri furrowed her brows, surprised at the new information summarized by Damon which he had apparently gotten just from eavesdropping from the bar. She thought for a minute then texted back.
IDK, I'd believe that Katherine can cause some tension, but enough for that? Doesn't seem right. They wouldn't pull that shit in public either, they're both too private to do that. Something's up and they're not including us.
She got a reply within seconds.
My thoughts exactly…almost, I chalked it up to their naive belief in love conquering all suddenly changing being odd, but you make a good point. Keep an eye out, Red, they're up to something and I don't like to be blindsided.
She sent a quick confirmation then set her phone on her nightstand. They were dealing with Katherine and her unknown agenda, the newly revealed Mason Lockwood's werewolf status (and potential enemy status now, thanks to Damon), and now the golden couple suddenly fighting in public. Renfri drifted off to sleep, not realizing that she had forgotten to call the younger Lockwood to chat.
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Renfri arrived at the Historical Society Volunteer Day feeling tired and annoyed, not having slept well the night before and having gotten a text from Tyler in the morning, reminding her that she had forgotten to get back to him. He had asked her to hang out today and she agreed if she had extra time after volunteering since she had signed up already. She'd hauled herself out of bed reluctantly and gotten into simple jeans, a t-shirt, and her black lace-up boots. She fed Ash, letting him into the yard right after, before heading out with Damon. Stefan had already disappeared before she had gotten downstairs but she figured they'd see him at the site of the new public park.
"Why did I sign up for this again?" she groaned as she followed her uncle across the green lawn towards the picnic tables.
"Now, now, no complaining," Damon chastised teasingly, "You know we have a public image to keep up. The council can't be suspicious of us so we have to participate in local activities and events, it's just unfortunate for us that this town is all about community engagement."
She pouted but paused when she caught sight of Stefan approaching a familiar man unloading boxes from a truck bed.
"What is he planning on doing with Mason? You already burned that bridge, doesn't he know that?" she asked.
Damon nodded, "I did fill him in this morning on yesterday's investigation, not sure what he and his hero hair thinks they can do." They both tuned in to the exchange happening across the lawn, waiting by the cars to avoid being seen by the two men.
"Stefan, right?" Mason greeted casually, "The other Salvatore."
Stefan gave a mild smile, "The nice one, the one offering an apology."
Mason immediately shook his head as he leaned against the tailgate, "Not interested."
Stefan continued to try to appeal with his charming, good-brother act, "Look, my brother acted impulsively—"
"You think?"
Stefan smiled appeasingly again before saying, "If you and Damon keep at each other's throats, somebody innocent is gonna get hurt and I don't want that. I can't imagine you'd want that either." Mason watched him stoically as he continued, "So what do you say we just, uh, quit the whole alpha male fighting thing and just call it a truce?"
Renfri huffed and shook her head, knowing that wouldn't go over well.
Mason proved her right when he retorted, "I made that same offer to your brother, he turned me down…with a knife."
"He made a mistake," Stefan countered, "and I'm here to make sure that neither one of you makes another one."
Mason shook his head back and forth, "And what about Renfri, your cousin…or is she your grandkid or something? She knew he was going to try something even if she had thought he wouldn't anymore, she didn't try to stop it in the first place."
Stefan raised his eyebrows at this, "Renfri is our distant niece, but you can't blame her for what Damon did. They get along well, but she can't control him, she was only human until recently and, even as a werewolf, do you think she can make Damon do what she wants him to? He's a vampire and she's not, and Ren's not about to fight the only family she has left over this." Renfri glanced at Damon, noticing the older Salvatore wasn't super happy that his brother was trying to apologize on his behalf but she appreciated Stefan defending her, even if it was pointless.
Mason just frowned, clearly not convinced, and grabbed a box before trying to pass him, "Tell your brother to watch his back."
A hand with an iron grip stopped him and pulled him back, "I know you have a healing ability and I only really have to worry about you during a full moon. Otherwise, the rest of the time you're not as strong, am I right?" Mason watched him carefully as Stefan continued to attempt to intimidate him, "You want to kill Damon now? There's one of you and three of us. I think you're the one that needs to watch his back."
The werewolf seemed to clench his jaw then release it and lean forward, "If he comes at me—"
Stefan shook his head, maintaining eye contact, "He won't." He held out his hand and waited a few seconds until Mason shook it reluctantly then walked away.
Damon flashed over and silently moved up behind his brother, Ren following behind quickly, and asked, "What are you doing?"
Stefan didn't even turn as he watched Mason walk off, "Negotiating peace on your behalf.
"But I don't want peace!" Damon whined.
"Well, consider it Opposite Day," Stefan replied easily.
"Wow, are you guys five or what?" Ren asked dryly as she came up on Stefan's other side.
They ignored her comment and Damon stepped in front of his brother, grabbing his shoulders to get his attention, "Stef, you don't actually think it only takes a handshake to solve that problem?"
"The one you made?" Ren muttered and Stefan glanced at her sympathetically before turning an accusing gaze back to his brother.
"No, actually. I think the first chance Mason Lockwood gets, he's gonna drive a stake through your heart, and then through mine, all because you took it upon yourself to try to kill him. So, thank you," he clapped a hand on his brother's neck and gave him a shake, "because we don't have enough problems already."
He promptly walked away and Damon watched as Renfri said, "You know he's not wrong. I still blame you for this, he could have been an ally or a source of information, but you made him an enemy. Mason seems confident, despite knowing about vampires, that he can take you out if need be, so he must have a move he can make." She glanced at him, "Be careful."
She made her way over to her friends while Damon just shrugged and moved in the other direction. She found Caroline and Elena painting the pavilion and grabbed a brush for herself.
"Hey guys, I heard there's been trouble in paradise. What's up with you and Stefan?"
Elena gave her a confused look, "How did you know?"
Caroline gave her a look, "Seriously, Elena? She's close with Damon, who else would phrase it like that?"
Renfri just shrugged, "He didn't, exactly, but it was in the same vein. Nevermind that, what's got you two out of sync?"
Elena gave a big sigh and continued swiping the paintbrush on a post morosely, "He thinks we should do as Katherine wants so that nobody gets hurt. I don't want anyone to get hurt either, but why should we give Katherine what she wants? She wants Stefan to herself and she'll do anything to have him, not to mention whatever it is that she's here for. We can't let her."
Renfri raised her eyebrows, "Well, he has a point, isn't it better to put things on pause while we deal with Katherine? She already made me kill Caroline, we're lucky we still have her. What if next time it's more permanent?"
Caroline nodded solemnly, "She's right, if Katherine could do that to us, she could do worse to others. You guys should consider taking a break, not just for yourselves, but for the people Katherine can hurt."
Elena shook her head in frustration, "I don't want to talk about it anymore right now." Caroline and Renfri looked at each other over Elena's crouched form but kept working, and Caroline turned the conversation to something more mundane.
-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-
The girls hadn't been painting for long when Stefan had moved over to a work table at the next pavilion and kept glancing their way. When Elena looked up and they held eye contact, Caroline couldn't resist commenting.
"Uh oh, longing looks are being exchanged."
Elena looked at her then back at her boyfriend, "I'm gonna go talk to him." She put down her paintbrush and stood up.
"No, Elena, I think it's a bad idea!" Caroline tried but was promptly ignored. Renfri looked on curiously, noting that Elena had been somewhat cold in her interactions with the blonde girl, but it had been subtle, small things, so she wasn't sure if it was just the issues with Stefan making her snippy.
Damon popped up between the two girls as they watched Elena head straight for Stefan, "What's your problem?"
Caroline continued to watch her friend, "Don't worry about it."
He turned to face her directly and bluntly asked, "Why are you being such a bitch to your mom?"
Renfri raised a brow at this in question, looking at the blonde who glanced at her then Damon.
"Don't worry about it," she just repeated in annoyance. She walked back over to the post she was painting and tucked her hair behind her ear. Ren knew she was going to listen in, so she did as well as she continued to smooth brown paint over wood. They weren't that far and it was within her more limited but still enhanced hearing range.
"Do you still care about Katherine?" Elena asked immediately.
"Damn, diving right in, huh?" Ren muttered and Damon shushed her, so she elbowed him.
Stefan looked at her like she was crazy then stood up straight and pleaded, "Don't do this, please don't turn this into something it's not."
Elena gave an exaggerated pause and look of confusion, "So it's not up for discussion? That's what you're saying?"
He leaned in meaningfully, "No, it's not up for discussion right now because we have ears on us." They both turned towards the other three, making Damon and Caroline promptly look away, in the same direction, while Ren just smiled at the couple before continuing to drag her brush across the post.
Elena relented, "Okay, when?"
Stefan shrugged, "I don't know."
Elena blanched at this for some reason, "I saw her, Stefan. It's like we're the same person! How could you hate her and be in love with me?"
Renfri's suspicion that those two were up to something was solidified by the 'argument' happening in front of her. The direction of the conversation wasn't even linear and their reactions to things were different from what she knew, especially given that she knew they had already aired out that shit about Elena being different from Katherine, it was unlike Elena to talk like this and Stefan was being weird too. It was like watching a crappy B rated rom-com where the couple hits a bump in the road, only the actors are shit.
Stefan's reply kind of pissed her off too, "You're reaching, I'm not Damon."
"How about we not bring Damon into this right now," Elena insisted.
Stefan closed his eyes for a long moment before looking at her, "I can't…I can't do this anymore."
Elena gaped at him before closing her mouth and nodding, "Okay, fine." She looked at him intently, "Whatever, Stefan," then walked away. Renfri openly stared at the two in confusion, the way Elena had said that last bit was weird, it was with the completely wrong tone than you would normally say it with if she was pissed or annoyed or frustrated. Instead, it sounded more meaningful than a bitter dismissal and held no actual bite.
As Elena strode away from all of them Damon tutted, "Relationships are about communication." Caroline just looked at him in annoyance before following after her friend with concern pulling the corners of her lips down.
Once she was far enough away, Ren turned to her uncle and muttered, "You aren't buying this garbage acting, are you? It's like it's amateur hour at the local theatre."
He glanced at her with a quirked eyebrow, "Picked up on it, did you?" He shook his head without waiting for an answer, "Yeah, I figured out they're putting on some kind of show, though I'm not sure what for."
Renfri shrugged as she dipped her brush in the can again, "My guess would be that they're trying to appease Katherine by appearing to be fighting, but it's not like Katherine is everywhere all at once, so how would she know about these fights if she's not always here?"
Damon considered it momentarily, "Hire a henchman? Or threaten someone into doing your dirty work, or just compel them if they're human."
Ren huffed, "Well, that doesn't give us much to go on." She paused, looking thoughtful, "Wouldn't the best spy be someone close to your targets? They'd get the most reliable information. Jeremy's too stupidly stubborn to listen if Katherine threatened him and he has vervain. Bonnie is too defiant as well and I doubt Katherine would approach her because it's a risk. One of the only other options is—"
"Caroline," Damon finished, nodding, "It makes sense. Threaten to kill her mom or her boyfriend and she'll probably cave easily."
Renfri frowned at him, "It doesn't mean she's weak, it just means she cares about the people she loves. If she's just feeding Katherine information about Stefan and Elena's relationship and not asking her to seriously hurt anyone, I honestly don't blame her for doing it. Katherine could have asked worse of her."
Damon shrugged, "Whatever, that only matters if it actually is Blondie, Katherine could still have compelled a human that can blend well, like the quarterback."
Renfri nodded, "I suppose, but a vampire has a better chance of listening in on conversations from a distance in public. It'd be hard for a human to get close and not be obvious about it, at least some of the time."
Damon just tipped his head in acknowledgement before suddenly moving off towards the other pavilion. She looked up to see what had caught his attention and pursed her lips in annoyance when she saw him heading for Mason at the lemonade table. She dropped her paint brush and quickly trailed after him in hopes of preventing another confrontation. She focused on the two as she made her way across the grass.
"Hello Mason, working hard?" Damon greeted sarcastically.
The werewolf ignored the bait and just said, "I'm doing my part."
Damon crossed his arms, "I heard you talked to Stefan."
Mason nodded, "Nice guy." That was clearly a lie if Ren ever heard one. Stefan might have been smiling but his tone had been subtly threatening the whole time.
Damon chuckled, "Yeah, a lot nicer than me."
"Nice is overrated," Mason told him, seemingly being civil due to the public nature of the conversation.
"That's what I think!" Damon quipped and patted the guy's shoulder in false comradery.
As Ren approached the two Mason glanced at her then took another sip of his lemonade, "You have a good day, Damon." He walked away and ignored Renfri as she passed him with an inquisitive stare.
Stefan came up behind Damon just as she reached him as well, "Please tell me that you were just bonding."
"Thankfully he managed to dial back on his typical douchebag behavior, probably because we're in public with two little girls less than five feet away," Ren answered for him.
"What's up with the faux drama in your relationship?" Damon shot back at his brother, choosing to ignore the previous statements.
Stefan immediately played dumb, "What are you talking about?"
"Oh, come on, Stefan. You and Elena don't fight, especially not over me," the older brother retorted.
"Drop it," Stefan told him, refusing to address it.
"And why should we?" Ren asked pointedly, "You guys are shit actors. You might have Caroline fooled, and that's great if you're thinking she's Katherine's spy, but that's not a reason to exclude us from knowing. At least we could play into it and not potentially do something to make it worse unintentionally because we're uninformed."
Stefan just closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration with a sigh.
"Ooo, I think you hit the nail on the head," Damon said conspiratorially and turned towards the table with cups behind him.
A little blonde girl politely asked, "Would you like some lemonade?"
Damon gave her a wide, plastic smile, "Thank you, sweetie." He accepted a cup as Renfri turned to grab one herself. Before she could bring the cup to her own lips, Damon suddenly choked then spat the lemonade out in a spray, coughing dryly as if he had just swallowed battery acid.
"What's wrong with you?" Stefan asked in surprise and helped him sit on the nearby picnic bench as he hunched over to clear out the liquid from his throat.
"Vervain," the blue eyed vampire managed to wheeze between coughs.
Renfri sniffed her cup and tasted it then did the same with the remnants of the one he had dropped, "It's in mine too, was the whole pitcher spiked?" She looked around and saw a case of bottled water under a table nearby, so she ripped the plastic and got one out to hand to Damon, "Here, this might help." He snatched the bottle from her as Stefan looked around the picnic grounds, trying to determine if anyone had been watching. Ren kept a hand on Damon's shoulder as she scanned their surroundings quickly but didn't catch sight of anything that stood out. He got up after coughing some more, moving to the edge of concrete and leaned over the back of the bench to gargle the water and spit it out onto the grass.
Damon immediately slammed the bottle onto the bench then turned and declared, "I'm gonna kill him."
Stefan immediately pushed him back, "No, no, no, no, listen to me! Sit, sit!" He shoved him back and forced him to sit on the bench. Damon tried to push him off but Ren put a firm hand on his shoulder as well.
"Calm down, don't make even more of a scene," she insisted quietly, her eyes looking around warily at the people nearby.
"I'm not listening to any more of your 'give peace a chance' crap, he's dead!" Damon snarled.
Stefan relented though he kept his hands firmly on Damon's shoulders, "Okay, okay, I don't like it, he's making threats, he could expose us. We need to put him down."
Damon paused, as if not believing his brother had agreed with him, "All right, let's do it."
Renfri looked at the two with her eyebrows raised, "You two are serious? I mean, yeah, we need to deal with Mason, but you want to do this here? Now?"
Damon just nodded firmly, "Yes, he's on trash duty in the woods, we'll take care of him out of the public eye. We'll be quick, don't worry about it." He got up and Stefan followed him as he headed for the far treeline.
"Shit," Ren muttered as she hurried after them, not happy to be an accomplice in the murder of a fairly well known local, but she wasn't about to leave it to her two hair-trigger uncles without supervision.
-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-
Stefan tried to tell her to go back but Renfri refused adamantly, so he gave up and she followed them into the trees, moving as quietly as she could. They found Mason quickly and as soon as he stood up from piling more branches up he found Damon and Stefan on either side of him.
"Oh, don't look so surprised, you knew this was inevitable" the dark haired vampire told him, then Renfri stepped out behind him as well.
"You couldn't let it go, could you?" she said, shaking her head slowly. "I'll be the first to admit, he started it," she jabbed a thumb to the vengeful uncle beside her, "but you could have ended it before it went too far, but now we have to…permanently."
"Is that so?" Mason said calmly, and Renfri furrowed her brows suspiciously.
"Go ahead, run," Damon taunted, "I'll give you a head start."
Suddenly, Mason ducked and a shot pierced through the air.
BANG!
They all jumped and Damon's shoulder jolted back. The three Salvatores all looked behind Stefan, and as he turned last several more shots rang out and dark spots bloomed on the brothers' chests.
BANG, BANG! BANG, BANG, BANG, BANG!
Renfri wasn't spared either, a bullet lodging itself in her right shoulder, the left side of her abdomen, and her right thigh.
The two vampires dropped with a groan and the werewolf collapsed, crying out in pain and surprise. Ren lay on her back and clutched at her side where the bullet had passed through and was now steadily leaking blood that seeped through her blue shirt. Her shoulder throbbed and she felt something shifting inside it as she moved to press her right hand to her abdomen. Her thigh was bleeding as well where the bullet had passed through and she attempted to roll onto her side to curl up and more firmly press her hand to the mangled hole. As soon as she moved she felt a sharp jab in her left shoulder that disappeared quickly.
"Thank you," she heard a woman's voice say as she continued to grimace and clutch at her wounds as tears fell from her eyes at the pain.
"Nnnngghh," she groaned through gritted teeth as the pain rolled through her with every movement, but she couldn't help her repeated efforts to curl in on herself, instinctually trying to curl into a ball and hold herself together as she bled.
"She's still conscious?" someone stated, clearly surprised at the fact.
"Oh my god, is she not a vampire?!" came the woman's voice again, a little more shrill this time. Renfri groaned and let out a sob as someone kneeled beside her and pulled her hands from her wounds, though they struggled significantly, and only succeeded in doing so with the arm that had the wounded shoulder and got a look at her thigh.
"Jesus, she's strong. Are you sure? Look, this wound has almost stopped bleeding already, that's not normal for a human," a strange man's voice pointed out.
"Mason, what the hell is this, you said the Salvatores were vampires! The vervain isn't even affecting her!"
Renfri finally tugged her wrist out of the man's grip and pressed it against her thigh again with a whimper from putting pressure on the wound again.
"I wasn't sure if she was a vampire, but she's definitely something, you saw how she's already starting healing!"
The bleeding werewolf growled out, "You're one to talk! Ugh…"
"What was that?" One of the men, who turned out to be deputies when Ren got a glimpse at their uniforms, asked uncertainly.
Mason deflected it quickly, "Don't listen to her, she's desperate, you saw how she's healing already. She's with the vampires!"
A sigh broke the tension then the woman, who Ren had identified as the Sheriff, decided, "Fine, bring her with the others, but be careful."
She whimpered again when one of the deputies picked her up and slung her over their shoulder, "Stop…you can't do this…"
They ignored her and the ground swayed below her as they carried her and her unconscious uncles further into the woods. Mason led them to a set of stairs leading underground and explained it was the old slave quarters of the Lockwood property that they could use to 'take care of business.'
He had helped to carry Stefan there and left him at the top of the stairs while Damon and Renfri were brought inside the cellar. Renfri shifted on the deputy's shoulder and groaned when it caused his collarbone to dig into her wounded side, but kept squirming. The deputy quickly dumped her onto the stone floor and against a wall. She knocked into some old shackles on the wall and it seemed to give the man an idea. As the other uniformed man brought Stefan down with the sheriff following behind, he put her wrists in his handcuffs and he looped the cuffs into the chains on the wall to keep her hands suspended above her head.
"Thank you, Mason, I appreciate all you've done. We've got it from here," Liz Forbes told the man.
"Hey, you're gonna kill them, right?" Mason asked, and Renfri squinted through the pain at the man as anger burned in her chest. This asshole had taken this to a whole other level. If they got out of there alive, fellow werewolf or not, he was dead.
The blonde woman nodded, "That's why you should go. This is the council, not the law, you can't be a party to this…for your own protection."
"Please, I don't care—"
"But I do," she interrupted quickly, and Ren just rolled her eyes, "and I'm not asking. Goodbye, Mason." While the two stared at each other intensely, Ren glanced at her uncles that had been layed on their backs in front of her, still knocked out by the vervain. She was able to nudge Stefan with her boot, but he didn't respond. Mason muttered a warning for them not to take any chances before he hurried out. One of the deputies saw the movement she'd made and leveled his gun at her chest.
"Don't move," he warned her.
She glared at him as she breathed harshly through the pain, though she could feel her thigh and side finally starting to stitch themselves together again, then turned to the sheriff.
"We haven't done anything, you can't do this!"
Liz ignored her, "What are you?"
Ren decided the best route was to play dumb, "I don't know what the hell you're talking about! What is wrong with you people!"
Renfri's shoulder felt like she had a hunk of jagged gravel shifting around under her skin. She kept trying to yank at the chains above her but it was impossible to break them when she was so injured, and she wasn't as strong as on the full moon. She groaned again when it just continued to agitate the wound and make it weep more blood, soaking her shirt.
The sheriff pointed her gun down at Damon now and used her foot to roughly nudge his leg, causing him to lethargically open his eyes. The next second, a shot rang out as Liz sent a bullet through his leg, forcing a shout from the vampire.
Ren lunged forward as much as she could despite the chains, "Hey! What the fu—"
The deputy took a step closer with his gun still animed at her warningly, so Ren settled back with a scowl.
"Here's how this is going to work," the sheriff stated lowly, "answer me and you won't get shot." Damon was still recovering from the vervain and the most recent bullet now lodged in his leg, so he just rolled his head to the side to look at his motionless brother, then his niece chained to the wall and blood soaking her shirt and jeans with her shoulder still weeping the red liquid slowly.
"How many of you are there?" Sheriff Forbes demanded.
Damon turned his head back to her and looked up at her pleadingly, "Liz, please…"
Another bullet tore through his other leg and he shouted through clenched teeth.
"Stop!" Ren cried out, her chest tightening as she watched her uncle toss his head back and forth as he endured the pain. She was ignored.
"How did you fool us? How do you walk in the sun?"
Damon didn't respond, still writhing from the bullets lodged in the torn muscles of his calf and thigh. This time she shot Stefan in the chest, but he didn't even flinch and his eyes stayed closed.
Damon stared at his little brother with open concern, "Stefan?"
Liz shook her head slowly, "I will drag this out painfully."
He looked up at her pitifully, "But you're my friend…"
Ren saw Liz purse her lips, "Our friendship was a lie. Answer me and I'll kill you fast."
Ren had begun to panic, seeing that the sheriff was gearing up for either for more torture or just straight up murder, but she was more focused on her other uncle that still hadn't woken up. She leaned forward and nudged Stefan's leg with her boot again, harder than before, "Stefan? Oh god, Stefan, come on!"
BANG!
She screamed after the deputy's wooden bullet had ripped through her previously uninjured left thigh and the chains clanked as she pulled on them.
"I told you not to move!" the uniformed man yelled, his muscles tense and sweat gathering on his brow.
Damon's wide blue eyes went to her and he forced his voice out a little louder, "No, stop—"
"Then tell us. How do you walk in the sun? What is she? 'Cause she's not a vampire."
Renfri's chest heaved from her ragged breaths and tears streamed down her face as she looked up to glare at the sheriff, her eyes glowing yellow. Liz gasped and the deputy stumbled back a step instinctively before raising his gun to her head quickly. She began yanking on the handcuffs attached to the chains, and managed to bend the metal of the cuffs a bit, but her position was preventing her from using her full force.
The deputy jumped and the sheriff hurriedly said, "Whatever she is, she's dangerous, and he's not going to tell us anything. Kill them all, a stake to the heart for those two and a bullet to the head and heart for her, just to be safe. Then we'll burn the bodies."
Renfri began frantically jerking against the handcuffs after she heard that and looked at her uncles in terror. Before the deputy in front of her could pull the trigger, they heard the creak of metal from the top of the entrance and everyone froze to listen.
The two deputies glanced at Liz and she nodded to the one in front of Ren, "Check it out."
They all backed up to maintain a decent distance and the sheriff followed the deputy to point her gun at the door. When the man opened it, he was met with a blow to the face that sent him to the ground, making Renfri pause in her escape attempts to look. A figure ran into the room and revealed itself but stopped when seeing the sheriff's gun pointed at them.
"Elena, what are you doing here!?" Liz asked in bewilderment.
"You can't kill them, I'm not gonna let you," the teenager told her desperately. The deputy she had hit came up behind her and shoved her further into the room then pointed his gun at her as well, looking angry. Suddenly, there was a woosh and the wooden door swung shut behind the man. Their heads whipped around the dark room in confusion.
"What was that?" the deputy asked nervously.
The sheriff looked at Elena, "Who else is with you?"
Another woosh and a blur passed behind the other deputy, making the one by the door jump.
"What's that!?" he asked in a panic, the barrel of his gun swinging back and forth, trying to find a target. A blonde figure sped quickly past Renfri, causing her to grin and take a breath in relief. THe next second, the armed man by Elena was grabbed from behind and his gun hand forced down before his neck was torn into.
As the man screamed, a shot rang out and the figure ducked behind its victim, using him as a shield as the second deputy unloaded several bullets into his colleague. The figure let him drop then rushed at the shooter, slapping the gun aside and striking his head before throwing him to the ground. Liz swung around to face them in shock and fear as the vampire breathed in harsh, rasping gasps while backing up against the stone wall, struggling to regain control over its instincts. Once it was more calm, the vampire stepped forward from the wall and into what little sunlight broke through the broken Earth overhead to reveal the sheriff's daughter with blood covering her mouth, veins under her blood red eyes, and fangs bared. As the vampiric features faded away leaving only the innocent face of Caroline Forbes, she looked nervously at her mother who stared back in horror.
"Hi Mom."
The sheriff's hands shook and the grip on her gun loosened as Caroline stepped closer and reached for the weapon. Liz's eyes gained a wet sheen and she barely reacted when her daughter turned vampire gently took the gun from her hands. The threat now gone, Elena immediately rushed over to Stefan, who was still unmoving and unconscious.
"Caroline," Ren called, "Get me out of these, please!"
The blonde quickly crouched in front of her friend and ripped the chain holding the cuffs to the wall and then snapped the cuffs themselves off of her wrists that were now red and chaffed but healing slowly. Renfri looked over to see her uncle had managed to roll himself over and crawl to one of the dead deputies and bite into his neck. Next to him, Elena had made a small cut on her hand from a rock and smeared a bit of her blood onto Stefan's lip, which had woken him up and caused veins to surge under his eyes.
"Elena, don't!" Ren called panickedly, thinking she would send him into a ripper spiral again.
"It's okay," the girl replied, "I won't give him any more."
Caroline crouched in front of her wounded friend with outstretched but hesitant hands, "You're hurt, what can I do? Do you need some blood?"
Renfri shook her head tiredly, "No, I'm healing, just slowly. I lost a lot of blood though, so I'm exhausted and a bit dizzy." She huffed and grimaced, "Can you get this bullet out of my shoulder? It can't heal because of it and it hurts like a bitch." The blonde nodded quickly and Ren braced herself as her friend dug her fingers into the wound, unable to stop herself from crying out when it was wrenched from her flesh. Damon had drunk his fill and managed to stand, although a bit shakily, and tilted his head towards his niece when she shouted. Liz's eyes kept moving between him, Caroline, and Renfri, the nervous tension in her body clear. Stefan had sat up and was groaning, giving another purpose to Ren's sigh of relief once the bullet was out.
"Thank fuck, Uncle Stefan, I was worried you wouldn't wake up." He glanced at her and gave a weak smile then grimaced as he pulled another bullet from his abdomen while hunched over.
"Well, I'm glad I did," he replied breathlessly and squeezed Elena's hand.
Damon interrupted by clapping a hand on his brother's shoulder, "You need to drink some deputy blood, you can barely sit up."
Stefan immediately shook his head at the same time as Renfri did, "No, I'll be fine, it'll just take a little bit longer to heal."
"But Damon's right," Caroline countered, "if there's ever a time to break your diet, it's now."
"He said he doesn't want it," Elena insisted, placing a reassuring hand on her boyfriend's shoulder.
Renfri pushed herself onto her feet with Caroline's help, "No, definitely not. He's alive, that's enough for now. Trust me, Care, you don't want to see Stefan on human blood." She patted her friend on the shoulder and while Stefan ducked his head. Whether it was in shame or due to the lingering pain, Ren wasn't sure, "If you want to help him, how about you go catch him a rabbit or something, huh?"
"Please do, Blondie, so we can clean up this mess and get out of here," Damon said as he yanked the last bullet from his leg and flicked it away. He straightened and turned in the sheriff's direction, who looked flummoxed at the turn their conversation had turned.
"This is a most unfortunate situation," Damon intoned, "Two deputies dead, and you. What am I going to do with you?" His eyes took on a sharpness that clearly made the baby vampire nervous, so she stepped away from Ren and towards her mother, her mouth still covered in red that was drying and flaking by then.
"You won't tell anyone, will you?" the girl asked her mother meekly. The woman briefly glanced in her direction before looking away again, as if in pain. Renfri's eyes softened as she looked between the two, realizing this would not end the way that Caroline would want. Her mother was afraid of her.
"Mom? Mom, please! Look, I know we don't always get along and that you hate me, but…I'm your daughter, and you'll do this for me, right?"
"Care," Ren called quietly, "I don't think this can go the way you want. Her watching you kill two of her deputies was not the best way for her to find out that you're a vampire…not exactly persuasive when it comes to convincing her that you're not the soulless monster she believes vampires to be."
Caroline's face crumpled a bit and she looked to her mother. When all she got was silence she begged again and her voice cracked a bit, "Mom, please! He will kill you." Damon nodded, reinforcing the statement.
Liz finally looked up at Damon, her lips pressed tightly together and her eyes tearing up, "Then kill me."
Caroline's eyes widened, "What? No!"
"Please, I can't take this. Kill me, now!"
Damon approached her and bent over slowly to get on eye level with the woman sitting on the stone, "But you were going to drag it out so painfully." He suddenly grabbed Liz and pulled her up, causing everyone to burst out in protest.
"No, no, no, no, no, no, no!" Caroline begged frantically.
"Damon, don't!" Stefan ordered from the ground as Renfri stepped forward hesitantly, still keeping one hand to the wall to steady herself but watching her uncle's face. Something told her Damon didn't want to kill Liz Forbes, that he was just angry at the situation. She was proven right when Damon looked over his shoulder after Elena shouted at him as well.
"Relax, guys, no one's killing anybody," he turned to look back at the shaking woman with kinder eyes, "You're my friend."
Ren gave a dry bark of a laugh, "Hah! I, uh, don't think she wants to be friends with the guy she just watched feed from her dead employees."
Damon just shrugged, "Let's get this cleaned up and bring her back home with us. We'll let the vervain leave her system then compel her."
Renfri sighed but nodded, it seemed like the best solution at the moment, "Care, can you go get Stefan that bunny now? He needs to make himself useful and help move these bodies and I'm pretty much useless at the moment, so he's gonna have to pull my share of the weight until I'm healed."
-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-
Caroline and Renfri were in the den after the blonde had brought a suitcase of her mother's things downstairs then rushed back up faster than expected. Liz hadn't wanted to even look at her daughter, because she no longer believed that's who she was. Renfri was laid out on the couch after having showered and changed, feeling better after getting some time to heal more and the wounds were almost fully closed, so she'd slapped some bandages on them and called it a day. She wasn't used to healing like this after seventeen years of being just human, but she'd decided it was a good thing, otherwise she would have been dead from the gunshots and blood loss. Ash had stuck close to her ever since she had gotten home, he'd made these high pitched whines as soon as she'd come in and had nosed the bloody patches on her clothes until she had pushed him back a bit and cooed at him in reassurance. He stayed by her side as she'd gone upstairs to strip the filthy clothes off, wincing as the dried blood stuck to her skin, and the dog had even laid in the bathroom where as he usually waited in her bedroom when she showered. He was still glued to her side in the den, laying by her feet with his head on her legs, when Caroline came in with teary eyes.
Renfri raised her eyebrows in silent question and Caroline just whispered, "She doesn't want to see me, she doesn't think I'm her daughter anymore." Renfri sighed and silently held out a hand, so Caroline sat on the edge of the couch beside Ren and clutched it tightly as she struggled not to cry. Moments later, they both froze when their sensitive ears picked up on a raised voice from the basement.
"He can hear us wherever we are, because he drinks this! This–this is the only thing that can help me!"
Stefan's outburst quieted down quickly and Renfri tuned the conversation out, not wanting to invade on their privacy but she couldn't help but become concerned that Stefan would lose control again if he started drinking human blood on his own. She believed that if he decided to try, he needed to be strictly monitored in how much he had and how often. She didn't want him to lose control again, the idea terrified her and she still had the occasional nightmare featuring Ripper Stefan's iron grip and teeth tearing through the skin of her throat as she screamed, though she would never tell him that.
Elena's hurried footsteps were heard on the stairs and hallway before she appeared in the den, looking upset and a bit angry.
She saw Caroline was still there and sighed before asking, "Can I take you home?"
Caroline pressed her lips together and shook her head tearfully, "I can't go home."
Renfri turned her head to look at the blonde questioningly, "Why not? Do you not want to be alone?"
Another shake of the head, "It's not that," she sniffed, "it's because I'm scared."
Elena shifted from upset to concerned and came to sit on the coffee table in front of them, "Why are you scared? Caroline, you can talk to us."
The blonde looked nervous to tell them but finally said, "Katherine's going to be there and she's gonna want me to tell her everything that happened today." Elena's face had fallen and regained its previous anger while Ren just nodded, her earlier theory confirmed.
"She told me I had to spy on you and report back to her," she added.
Elena's face was like stone, "I know." Caroline's eyes widened and she glanced at Ren who just gave a little shrug.
"I suspected something like this was happening, but it was mostly the happy couple's bad acting that gave it away."
Elena looked at her with raised eyebrows and Ren just gave another shrug, "You guys suck at acting, and your fights were too obviously about stuff that I knew you had already talked out. You didn't fool Damon either, but we just decided to wait and see who Katherine had gotten to."
The brunette nodded and looked back at her other friend, "I've been so mad at you. But then, I tried to put myself in your position so that I could understand why you would do this to me, and to Stefan, because he's been such a friend to you."
Renfri sat up a little and looked at Elena knowingly, "When you take a second to think about it, the answer is obvious."
Elena nodded and moved to sit directly next to Caroline, "Who did she threaten?"
Caroline's face crumpled, "Matt, she threatened Matt." Empathy was painted across Elena's face and Ren rested a comforting hand on Caroline shoulder as she burst out, "And I'm so scared of her, you guys, I am so scared of her—"
"And you should be," Elena interrupted, "Caroline, we all should be."
Renfri sighed, "Yeah, she's hella old and strong, not to mention devious, and clearly has some kind of goal that we don't understand yet."
"Why is she doing this? What does she want?" Caroline whispered after another sniffle.
The two other girls shook their heads as Elena replied, "That's the million dollar question."
"She's been trying to get between Elena and Stefan, but we don't know what she's really doing here," Ren added as she scratched behind Ash's ears. Caroline pressed her lips together and Elena pulled her into a hug while Renfri cuddled her furry companion, contemplating what Katherine had in store for them.
As her friends comforted each other, Renfri pulled out her phone and sent a text to Tyler.
Hey, sorry I never got back to you. I meant to find you after volunteering but some unexpected family drama unfolded and I had to deal with it. Still want to talk?
She only had to wait a few minutes before her phone buzzed.
No problem, and I'm good. I don't want to talk about it anymore, just forget about it. I ended up hanging out with Sarah, Amy, and Jeremy. I know, weird. See you at school.
She furrowed her brow in confusion, it had seemed kind of important but she supposed it wasn't anymore.
Alright, I'm here if you ever change your mind, Ty. And I thought you hated Jeremy, but I'm glad you're at least getting along, I suppose. See you at school.
Renfri let her head roll to the side and rest against the back of the couch after lying back again. She turned inward and coaxed Ash closer before she wrapped her arms around him and let her eyes shut, the rhythm of his breathing rocking her to sleep even as Elena and Caroline shifted off the couch.
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A soft weight being dragged over her brought Renfri out of her sleep and she peaked an eye open as she flexed her hand that was still resting on Ash's scruff. Elena was already turning away after having laid the blanket over Ren and after glancing at the opposite couch now holding an unconscious Caroline and another blanket, she shut her eyes again, ready to continue resting. They stayed closed even when she heard a second pair of footsteps meet Elena's in the front foyer.
"Caroline and Ren are sleeping on the couches," the brunette whispered.
"I heard," Damon's voice whispered back, "and you?"
There was a brief pause, "I'm going home." Elena must have passed him as her footsteps moved further away then stopped.
"What you did for Caroline's mom," Elena added in a hushed tone, "that's the Damon who is my friend." She seemed to pause before opening the front door with a quiet creak of the hinges.
Damon's voice stopped her again, "Hey, Stefan didn't drink the people blood, in case you were curious. But he needs to, and deep down you know that."
Renfri frowned at this but stayed still and listened. Damon walked away as Elena stayed still for a few moments, then shut the door and turned back into the house, presumably off to find Stefan. Renfri waited a bit, holding her breath to listen carefully, before she sighed and opened her eyes, only to jump and startle Ash awake. The Dutch Shepherd lifted its head briefly before huffing and resting it on Ren's hip, watching the vampire leaning on the back of the couch above her.
Damon smirked after hearing her heart pound a bit faster for a few seconds before she calmed it again, "That's what you get for eavesdropping, Red."
She glanced over her shoulder at the still sleeping Caroline and snorted at him, "Kind of hard not to hear you both when I was already awake and have supernatural hearing. Not my fault." She rolled her eyes and tilted her chin up at him, "Why'd you say he should have human blood? Do you really trust him enough to try it again…after what happened last time?"
Damon's smirk fell and his blue eyes became serious, "He needs to eventually get used to it, Red, otherwise what happened before will keep happening. Or worse, he'll go full ripper again. It's been years, but it can happen." He crossed his arms on the back of the couch and shrugged casually, despite the seriousness of the conversation, "If he starts small, he can do it…with help."
Ren eyed him then nodded reluctantly, "I suppose it makes sense, but he definitely can't do it alone. You need to make sure he starts small and gradually increases the amount. I don't trust him to resist if he is the only one to control how much he has. He'll hurt someone again if he's not monitored. Maybe we should have him call Lexi."
He nodded, "Don't you worry, I'm sure Elena will support him now so he doesn't need his bestie, and I'll watch him so he doesn't go off the rails. I'll make sure he doesn't hurt you again, you don't have to worry about that, Red." He reached down to pat her head but she was too tired and comfortable to protest or move away. And secretly, she enjoyed the comfort of a teasing yet familial touch. Damon wasn't very affectionate in general, so she enjoyed any little gesture that showed how close they had gotten and that he cared.
"Get some rest," he murmured fondly before walking out of the room. She decided to do as she was told this time and shut her eyes again, running her fingers through Ash's silver brindle fur to soothe the both of them back to sleep.
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