Kai Parker

♊ ― “what good is a little brother if he’s not hyping up the crowd for me.” he is unfazed by the sight of joey. they were dead, after all. right where they both belonged. “am i supposed to do all the work myself?” he sipped his stolen drink. “is that a request?  i can go back up there.” for anyone unaccustomed to that brand of torture, that would’ve come off as a threat. “it was the perfect song.” 

♊ ― “Mm.” Agreeing with her. He sipped the stolen drink again, sizing up the demon in heels. “How’d ruling hell go?  Y’know, after I was out of the picture.”

♊ ― After he was booed off the stage, Kai stepped down and back to the bar, unfazed. “Tough crowd tonight,” he mused aloud, as if he hadn’t purposefully performed in any such a way that would cause a spectacle. “Thank you.” He said to the patron as he swiped their drink for himself ― flashing them a devilish, yet goofy, grin as he took the first sip.

♊ ― “i’ve watched a lot of movies too much.” even before he was trapped in prison worlds for more than half his living life. “i appreciate that.” a chance to behave, though he made no promises. “or do you tell all your past flings that?” his funny way to describe all the previous villains in jeremy and his friends have dealt with. “a lot of not so friendly faces have been popping up. don’t you feel outnumbered?” 

♊ ― “But when you do it, it’s vengeance?” His intent wasn’t to convince her, heaven’s no. He wasn’t searching for an apology or anything of the sort; not even regret. Her guilt, or lack thereof, didn’t change the way he felt about what she did to him. It wouldn’t. “I’ll take that into consideration,” he lied. “I admit, serving as the singular source of food and entertainment for a band of sadistic Heretics left me... bitter.” The twinkle in his eye wasn’t threatening, though it could easily come off as such. Recollection of those days long since behind them. “Who knows?  I could have managed my anger a little better. Maybe taken a different approach,” he added. Not necessarily a morally good one, but different, with potentially more success.

♊ ― Kai shook his head and propped himself off the tree with one arm. “In my defense, I was testing a theory.” He looked at the other man. There is no suspicion in the way his eyes squint; just exaggerated intrigue. “So what are you doing out in the woods at three AM?” 

♊ ― he couldn’t tell if she was playing dumb, or if she truly was clueless about what she was. “magic, obviously,” he answered ― ripping that bandaid right off. “right, right. they don’t exactly make it easy. i learned a direct approach works best.” though he was the clear example in the moment, it was the time he had spent eavesdropping on damon and bonnie. information straight from the source. “i’m not kidding about the vervain though. shit works. oh!  and werewolf venom. now that’s got a bite.” 

♊ ― “As it turns out, my gay panic had very little to do with our merge.” 

♊ ― “I saw that going differently in my mind.” 

♊ ― “the young padawan has all but growed up.” he knew of jeremy’s hunter status, but only vaguely. it wasn’t useful information at the time. “what a poor, dumb sap.” he didn’t actually care. in fact, he smiled at the story. “aren’t i dangerous?”

♊ ― he nodded thoughtfully, a silent true, true in the way his brow rose. “what you really should’ve done is fried my hand off. or popped a few blood vessels.” he tapped his temple. “a classic!” but she looked confused, more so than anyone who knew what they were doing would. “not enough books, then. vervain ― it’s like acid to vampires. makes your blood not so smooth going down.” 

♊ ― “What?  Oh, no.” He almost appeared amused, a laugh lacing his tone. “Luke and Liv were Mom and Dad’s karma. I was referring to the twins.” The joy faded into what looked like a calm, but knowing Kai, it was misleading. “But, I did that, didn’t I?” he asked, then took a step toward her. “I was leader of my coven. A third of my immediate family was still alive and, well, I was the one to tell Jo she was pregnant. I even wished her my best.” 

♊ ― “Between all the international parties, right?” He knew she’d have to comment. The thought of his blood tie to the girls holding any weight would simply infuriate anyone who was Team Twins. “Yes, I have a temper.. and have made some choice decisions. You know you’re just as responsible for my actions as I am.” 

♊ ― considering the magic coursing through her veins, he wasn’t surprised she clocked him as a vampire. was curious that he was ‘another’ vampire, though. “hm.” he let his fingers slowly unfurl, releasing her wrist. watching her carefully... then he cocked his head at her, squinting in thought. “why are you just standing there?” stepping back or trying to create distance from him didn’t count. “let me guess. you’re taking vervain.” he wasn’t going to fall for the old poison apple trick.

♊ ― “Way ahead of you.” Wendy was no stranger to the fact Kai had years on her and her little Salvatore gang in prison world shenanigans. It certainly shifted the dynamic, though, with their involvement. Changed the game, as one might say. “Dying is lackluster, yes ― but Hell at least left an impression.”