hold back the river

open starters // allison ( founder’s day reenactment )

     she’s helped pitch a tent and is now sitting under an awning, close to a fire pit (which is nice and toasty but, given that it’s california, probably unnecessary). the wooden chair isn’t the most comfortable, but she’s found a good way to make use of her time. she’s making arrows, specifically, wooden arrows. it’s a bold move given the number of vampires in town, but she was going to have to make some at some point and right now seems like the best option. the added chance to dress up is just a little bit of fun. 

“whatcha got there?”  jeremy asked, dropping by unceremoniously, ever playing the part of the annoying little brother.  it was in his blood, he couldn’t help it.  “oh, sorry.”  he cleared his throat and took on a ridiculous voice.  “what haveth you gotteth there, milady?”  he ended with a flourish, bowing like he’d seen in the movies.  “forgive me, i’m a little rusty on the rules of the reenactment.  we’re in the 1400s, right?”  

stiles made a face at jeremy as he not only confirmed stiles’ suspicions that it would not only be desperate but that the only person that might even look at buying him was great grandma fell. “ thanks, jer, you’re always a ray of sunshine, ” he huffed softly and threw his head back. “ what exactly is it about me that’s so unappealing? ” it’s a genuine question and it comes with the puppy eyes to prove it.

jeremy gritted his teeth, realizing that probably didn’t go over as well as he thought it might.  “i’m not saying she’s the only one that’s gonna bid on you!  just — well, she’s probably gonna outbid anyone within your age range.  you know how she gets when she’s been drinking.”  jeremy shuddered, but it quickly broke out into a smirk.  “oh, stiles.  that’s not a question you want to invite people into answering.”

at first the petrova didn’t know who was making his way across the room towards her, but she didn’t much care. he was attractive, and seemingly familiar but she couldn’t quite put her finger on it until he spoke. her eyes dragged over him, sizing him up with a soft smirk dripping in malice decorating her features in the gentle party lighting. “–and you must be the brother… why is everyone in this town super fucking hot? like you should all move around the country a little more to make things fair for other states.”

jeremy made little effort to hide his disgust.  what the fuck?  “first off, that’s fucking weird.”  he took a step back, just in case.  “second, answer my damn question.  who the hell are you?”  with that, he looked her up and down, more closely this time.  definitely looked and sounded like elena, but that was clearly where the similarities ended.  his head was spinning a little, and it had nothing to do with the free champagne.  “why do you look like my sister?”

Henrik appreciated that Jeremy was trying to play off his confusion, but even the confused teen could hear it in his voice. “Uh, well, my family doesn’t just know about the vikings… we were part of the culture. Over a thousand years ago.” Henrik began, struggling to keep his accent in check and his words English. “My family was part of a village that shared the land with a neighboring tribe. We called these men, ‘beast men’ for their ability to change into wolves.”

“During a full moon, I asked my brother Niklaus to take me to watch the wolves transform. I was only thirteen; and that night was the last time I saw my family. The wolves… tore me apart…” Henrik paused, a hand going to his chest as flashes of the memories rushed through his mind. “I wasn’t just sent away… I died.”

“Next thing I know, I’m waking up five years ago.. I met some people who helped try to get me adjusted to this time – but there’s just so much to take in and a thousand years can’t be crammed into five. It’s overwhelming…” The teen quickly shook his head.”My family are the world’s first vampires… vampires, werewolves. It’s all real. And I—” He held a hand up in front of him, a small paper weight soaring from the desk into his palm. “–am a witch, on my Mother’s side…” 

Even in rambling, however, he knew not to bring up the Druids and the Order. They worked best on a need-to-know basis, like the Watchers that looked after the Slayers. He also knew, however, that he’d literally just broken any sort of understanding he had with his brother Kol about their family and their notoriety. It wasn’t exactly the best idea to rattle off the Mikaelson life story to some random boy. He had panicked though. Training or no training; Henrik hadn’t been ready to be thrust into active duty on his own.

“So, I haven’t just been away for five years… I was gone for over a thousand…and I was in here missa vitið – losing my mind, at all the people in this crowded place.” He finished with a pant. That was probably the most he’d spoken since coming back from the grave.

he simply listened as henrik divulged his entire history.  what else was jeremy supposed to do?  this was incredibly valuable information.  a lot of it he’d heard, in bits and pieces, or with an air of skepticism, but here he was — getting it all straight from the horse’s mouth.  he almost felt bad, because the kid clearly trusted him for some reason, but it wasn’t like jeremy had set out to deceive him.  right now it was just best if he played along so as not to raise suspicion.  

“wow,”  he finally replied, dumbly.  this would all be so much easier to play off if henrik hadn’t proven that he was a witch.  he could’ve at least acted like he hadn’t seen anything out of the ordinary, but that was out the window.  “that’s all . . .  uh . . .  a lot to take in.  i mean.  witches?  and werewolves, and vampires?  those are just — fiction, and fairy tales.  but i mean . . . wow.”  not too far off from his same reaction when his father explained the supernatural to him.  deep in the back of his mind, jeremy wondered how grayson would feel about all of this.  would he be proud that jeremy was getting intel?  disappointed that he had stupidly gotten himself mixed up with the kid brother of the most notorious family of supernatural bad guys to ever exist.  guess i’ll never know,  jeremy thought bitterly. 

“honestly, i — i don’t really know how to respond to that.  just — wow.  you’ve, uh, really been through a lot, haven’t you?”  he tried to sound as sympathetic as possible, but truthfully, jeremy was wondering why this boy had gotten a second chance at life and his parents didn’t.  where the fuck was the fairness in that?

“Yeah,it’s….complicated.” Henrik said defeatedly. God, this would be easier if he had felt something supernatural in the male when he took his hand. His face twisted into a slight look of discontent as he looked over Jeremy, but he simply sighed and looked away again; gazing around the room. What was the worst that could happen if he just laid everything out on the table right now? The first thing that came to mind was Jeremy would think he was clinically insane or try to contact someone with more authority than them and that would just complicate matters. Yet, he didn’t know how people did this – how the supernaturals acted as if everything was normal when it was far from it. He wasn’t like everyone else. 

“Can I… tell you something, even if I’m going to sound like a complete lunatic?” He finally blurted out as he moved to pace the room. “And no, not the ‘Ég ætla að drepa þig’ – uh, sorry, the ‘I will kill you type’… the are you sure your brain is okay type?” He spoke quickly, words barely having enough break to not jumble together.

jeremy watched as henrik paced around the room.  he really had no idea what his next move should be.  should he call someone?  jo or ellen?  were they even here tonight?  probably not.  what was he even supposed to do?  henrik was clearly not just a normal teenager, but jeremy didn’t know exactly what he was.  and being the “shoot first, ask questions later” type lasted for about three hours before his conscience got the better of him.  “yeah, i guess.  sure.”  he was just . . .  trying to play along, as best as he knew how.  he was in this deep, might as well try to get something out of it.  he had his gilbert ring, which was supposed to bring him back if something killed him.  he’d had it since his dad died, and it hadn’t saved him.  and his vervain bracelet, in case henrik turned out to be like his siblings.  “can’t be any crazier than finding out vikings never wore the horned helmets, though.  right?”  jeremy still wasn’t entirely confident on what to do, though.  and his last remark didn’t exactly sound convincing.

“I…” Henrik wasn’t sure how he was supposed to answer that question. He had to silently laugh though. Technically it had been rebellion that caught him killed in the first place, so Jeremy wasn’t too far off. The male was nice, but would he really understand ‘oh I died and came back to life a thousand years later; and that was five years ago’? He didn’t think anyone would. “I’m eighteen.” He started with; feeling some natural instinct to argue being called young. 

“I… didn’t listen to my Father and got into some trouble. So, I had to go away for a little while. This will be the first time I’m seeing my family since then.” He explained slowly, just to make sure it made sense to himself and to Jeremy. “So, a little rebellious.” He grinned.

“yeah?  so am i.  so i speak with authority when i say eighteen’s a little young.  especially when it comes to — what, getting sent away?  for five years?”  that sounded awful, but jeremy had to remind himself that he couldn’t really trust what was being said.  not if he was actually a mikaelson, like he had said.  so, what?  henrik was just like his siblings?  maybe he’d just kept a lower profile over the years?  the possibilities were endless right now.  “five years is some grounding.  wow.”  his father — mikael?  like, the big bad vampire slayer?  now that really sounded like the stuff of legend, but . . .  he’d heard about it enough up at the roadhouse to believe it.  “i’d hate to think about what got you in lock-up for five whole years.”

“Uh, I guess so.” Henrik laughed slightly. “I mean, my sister’s name is spelled ‘R-E-B-E-K-A-H’ instead of the spellings I’ve seen; but, yeah, I guess I got the weird name.” He stated with a smile. When Jeremy asked if he and his siblings got along, there was a sigh that escaped him. “We did when I was growing up. I was always tagging along with someone; doing that annoying baby brother thing everyone talks about.” He explained. The conversation was doing wonders for keeping him distracted from the party situation. 

“I haven’t seen them in…. five years, though.” He said with a slight pause. He was at least alert enough to not mention it had been five years, plus a thousand or so. “I honestly don’t know how we’ll get along now.” He shrugged some and looked at the male.

jeremy nodded.  he was playing his part as best he could.  if he ducked out now, it would look suspicious, so the best he could do was try and gain whatever intel he could and . . .  use it to keep himself safe?  he didn’t really know how to handle this right now.  jer had his vervain bracelet on, on the off-chance this kid was a vampire like his siblings.  “five years?  you’re so young, though.  what, did you, like, run away when you were little?  they ship you off to military school?  you totally strike me as the rebellious type,”  he said, smirking to let henrik know he was teasing.

open starter // stiles ( founders’ day )

     “ is it really desperate to nominate yourself for the bachelor auction? or is it helping a charitable cause? ” he’s been pondering this for a while, it’s easy to see, because the pen lid between his lips has been chewed beyond recognition and the paper in front of him is blank. 

“a little bit of both?”  jeremy replied, maybe too honestly.  “i thought about it, but then i decided that an actual spotlight is the last thing i need tonight.”  he gave stiles a pat on the back.  “if you wanna be a bachelor and have great grandma fell buy you for the night — go for it, man.  i don’t think anyone here is gonna stand in your way.”

Henrik smiled softly as his listened to Jeremy speak. Maybe it was the words he spoke, or just the tone of his voice, but it was pleasing to just listen to for a moment. “Well that’s neat, I guess, that I’ve met your sister.” He commented with a half-chuckle. The realization that Beacon Hills was the same village he had lived and died in had shaken him. For a moment, he forgot his brother Kol had said his family wasn’t that well liked anymore.

“Uh, yeah, my brothers Finn, Elijah, Niklaus, and Kol; and my sister Rebekah. There was another child but I think she died long before I was ever thought of. Mother didn’t talk about her very much. I’m the baby of the family.” He explained. “Mikaelson.” He answered with another small smile.

“so you’re the one that got stuck with the different name, then.”  jeremy said, faking a laugh.  on the inside?  he was freaking the fuck out.  mikaelson. klaus, elijah.  he remembered his father explaining the original vampires to him a little bit.  god, that felt like a lifeitme ago.  he’d heard other hunters talking about them at the roadhouse.  legends, mostly.  or tales they’d heard from a friend of a friend.  stories — that were clearly based in some amount of truth, because a mikaelson was was standing right in front of him.  and he seemed . . .  well, a lot of the things that seemed off were sure making a lot more sense now.  but he seemed harmless.  maybe that was part of the act?  there was no way to be certain, at least not right now.  henrik wasn’t a name that had ever come up before, he would have to ask around about that.  “that’s a bunch of siblings you’ve got.  do you guys all get along?”  jeremy was impressing himself with his ability to stay cool and collected.  so if henrik was a mikaelson — he was like, a thousand years old, right?  jeremy internally facepalmed.  of course he couldn’t just meet a normal guy and have a nice evening with him.  that’d be too unrealistic, wouldn’t it?

the smile on her lips was basically permanent at the moment, jeremy knew just what to say to cheer her up. “oh that is definitely a very me thing to do.” she said with a soft nod. “yeah, lifes been pretty hectic these past few months.”

“yeah, you don’t say.”  he wasn’t really sure how to broach the subject.  sorry i missed your life, my parents died and i couldn’t be bothered?  fat chance.  he couldn’t really bring it up without inevitably being asked how he was doing, which was a question jeremy was pretty sure he never wanted to hear again.  “what, uh . . .  what’s been going on?  to pull you away from your miss beacon hills vision board, i mean.”

“you think i was going to take you down? gringo, there are other ways i can teach you a lesson, ones that will hurt that pretty little ego of yours more than your face.” the older lockwood said as he watched the kid step towards him. “i suggest you walk away now, before you say something you’ll regret.”

“oh, well in that case — please enlighten me on how a nobody like you is going to teach me a lesson.  hurt my pretty little ego.”  jeremy scoffed and stood his ground.  he merely shrugged.  “go for it.  i’m not afraid of you, lockwood.  you don’t scare me.”

“Huh…?” Henrik said softly, brought back out of his momentary slip from reality. “Oh, no I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have brought them up…” He said quietly. He frowned for a moment, looking Jeremy over. “Do you have a sister?” He asked suddenly. “I’ve been talking to this sweet woman, she sort helped me get used to the town layout right after I moved here. She mentioned her parents had passed recently…” He explained so he didn’t sound like a total creep.

He shook his head a few times and furrowed his brow. “I honestly don’t know how they got over here. That happened way before I was ever born…” He responded bluntly. 

“it’s alright.  it’s — i guess i’m getting used to it.  as much as anyone can, y’know.  everyone wants to tell us how great they were.  like, i know.  they were my parents, after all.”  jeremy shook his head.  he knew he needed to stop holding grudges against the world, some part of him knew that.  “yeah.  that definitely sounds like elena.”  the internal panic was wearing off.  if this guy was something supernatural, he was also really good at acting like some lost kid.  jeremy still felt a little suspicious, but in the meantime his fears were quelled.  “she’s . . . been really strong, through all of this. it’s kind of incredible.”  still, there was something nagging at him.  one more question, and then he’d give it up.  maybe.  “so — henrik.  that’s an interesting name.  not like it’s super common or anything.  what about your siblings?  is it like a family thing?  like a tradition for — well, i guess i didn’t catch your last name?” 

katherine // open starter // founders day ball

being at an event like this seemed like something that had died a long time ago. while she knew that she’d be seen as a different person to elena, katherine didn’t much care at this point, she’d play it up for as long as she could before potentially killing whoever she needed to make her life easier. stepping into the lockwood mansion (after being informally invited in by the ball signage out the front which welcomed all into the family home) katherine looked around the extravagant home, taking in what she could of it, sheer black dress catching the light as she moved. 

“– who does a girl have to kill to get a drink around here?” she muttered.

jeremy’s head perked up when he heard elena’s voice — a welcome reprieve from the elderly founding family matriarch he was currently trapped in a seemingly endless conversation with.  he politely excused himself and made a beeline for the girl, realizing along the way that things were not as they initially appeared.  “you’re — not elena,”  he said bluntly.  he’d seen elena not that long ago in a different dress.  the hair, the makeup, the way she carried herself, even her manner of speaking were different from his sister.  he lowered his voice, acutely aware of their surroundings. “so who the hell are you?”

Bonnie smiled softly as she saw Jeremy. “Hey Jer,” She could tell he wasn’t faking a smile but she didn’t want to push. “Thank you. You don’t look so abd yourself. Enjoying the party” She asked him.

“thanks.  i feel absolutely ridiculous, but i appreciate the vote of confidence.”  jeremy gave a big shrug.  he didn’t wanna lie and say this was a great event, but he also wasn’t gonna start complaining about how much it all sucked and how unfairly the universe was treating him.  not to bonnie.  besides, she was up for the crown, and he didn’t wanna spoil that.  “it’s founder’s day.  you know how that is.  i was always the asshole founder’s kid running around, hopped up on too much sugar.”  he gave a once over to his glass of free champagne.  “guess not too much has changed.”