worship the ashes

Diego nodded his head in understanding, humming under his breath. "Really? Where are you from?" He asked, a little curious. If she had grown up in the states, she would have engaged in Halloween activities, right? "Yeah.. Everyone but you, it seems." He chuckled, giving her a friendly smile. "Maybe you should loosen up a bit. Try to have a little fun."

🥀 — "Hellas, originally. I've been.. a little all over." It was a question she didn't know how to exactly answer. She had been around so long and seen so little. "This is the first time.. um, in a while that I've stopped to enjoy something like this." Was she enjoying it, she asked herself. She was at first, but as the night went on, it seemed the reality of it all slowly began to return.. fears rearing their head.

oh, she's funny. her subtle little reactions are already like crack to him, actually—fascinating in a way he doesn't expect, seeing as she's an unfamiliar soul in a deliciously familiar body. a chronic contrast. "i figure you already know the rules to hide and seek, right? i'll give you some time to hide, anywhere you want ... then i'll seek." a tilt of his head. he lifts his knife—the same one he's held hidden beneath the long black sleeve of his costume this entire time—and waves it, gently, meaningfully. "ready?"

🥀 — the knife wasn't even necessary by the time he flashed its blade. everything about him was ringing alarm bells in her head. if it wasn't for fear of frustrating him, she would have run immediately. so she nodded instead, slow and jagged. breath not quite filling her lungs. as soon as she felt the opportunity arise, she sprinted past him and into the nearest crowd. the halo that adorned her head was ripped off, discarded, and the wings quickly followed them; left behind her to be trampled by the confused yet apathetic partygoers.

🏹 → "why are they chasing you?" it was the most important question, the rest could follow later, especially while he was still trying to process the fact there were more lookalikes to his daughter out in the world. "the last one i knew around here died but... i know someone who might be."

🥀 — "you wouldn't believe me if i told you." what was a slight against qetisyah's very existence, the very reason that forced the witch to tear through the natural order of life and death just to get back at her? "i betrayed her, and i don't know what she's planning to do with me." amara paused. "i've suffered enough." with a brief nod, she took the little news as better than nothing. "i'd love to meet them." it didn't matter if they refused to help; and chance was worth taking.

🩸 → "until my brother dies i don't think i'll get a moments peace, but i'll try." stefan admitted with a shrug. "maybe you'll have better odds."

🥀 — better odds. that was something she couldn't bring herself to even wish for at this point. she was just, ready for it to be over. "thank you," she said soft, quietly.

not even klaus can quite mask the way his eyes light up over her revelation. "and this anchor herself has not only conveniently found her way into mystic falls, but to my very door?" the wheels in his mind are certainly turning. if it's true. "how interesting. you'll have to explain how it all works; the specifics, the uses." as if he doesn't already have a few ideas, should her potential truly pan out the way she claims. "and what is it you think i'd want with all those forgotten souls? host myself a quick little seance whenever i'm feeling lonely? a touch of q&a with bitter phantoms in my down time?"

🥀 — "i don't believe in fate," she stated, flatly. it was less of a gab at him and more clearing the air. "i.. will have to ask them." of course he couldn't possibly imagine what he life was like, what this connection had done to her. seeing these ghosts, being haunted by them, it drove her to madness more times than she could count. "if i may reiterate, i am not a witch. nor do i understand what sort of advantage you'd be searching for..." she explained further, trying not to stare at him skeptically for too long. "but, i know the value. any number of covens would jump at this opportunity." the travelers were already livid, she imagined, about her absence. "i can call them. the spirits. and they answer." lonely séance or whatever, it was up to him.

he can tell purely by the way she holds herself (also her choice in costume; kat's not that ironic) that she isn't katherine—note to self, remember to ask her how many clones she has, because this is getting a little ridiculous—but he's all too happy to approach anyway. to step into her personal space. to tower over her, look into those tender brown eyes for a solid handful of too-tense seconds. finally murmurs from beneath the delightful anonymity of his mask, "hi, angel. want to play a game with me?"

🥀 — she didn't recognize his voice. that narrowed down her suspicions, at least a notch. enough to gather up what amount of courage (and confidence) she had. whatever character this man was portraying to her, she figured she'd play—as long as it was by her own rules. "how do you play?" she finally said, eyes boldly meeting the hollow shapes of his mask.

"You've never been to a Halloween festival before?" Diego frowned slightly, a little confused by her question. He'd assumed that anyone her age, even younger or older, had been to at least one Halloween centric event in their life. "Yeah, it's pretty normal.. I've been several in my lifetime. They can get a bit overdone and boring sometimes, but this one seems to be better than most I've been to."

🥀 — "Nothing like this," she admitted, smiling sheepishly at him. It did help, though, knowing that this was uncharacteristically more than what he was even used to. Amara nodded. "Everyone seems to be having fun."

🔮 → "that was all i ever wanted." originally she had pictured a long and happy life with silas at her side as her dream existence, that was until amara had been brought into the fold. love was not divided, it only grew and flourished, and her heart grew even more full. the immortality spell in theory had been meant for two, but she'd pushed herself to make enough for three. it was meant to be a private celebration, an invitation to the third that made them whole, and in the end instead she was left out in the cold. "believe it or not... i never wanted this existence for any of us."

🥀 — instinctively, amara sought comfort—reaching for one of the witch's hands and gripping tight. it was different this time; she was awake, and given the false sense of control over her situation. she had seen them over qetsiyah's shoulder, right before she spoke of her want.. or lack thereof. "please," the girl begged in a strained whisper. "make him go away." it wasn't the wolf's fault. he was doing the only thing he could, and like her, would be trapped in this new state of being. forever.

🩸 → "and all it got me for an eternity of misery." the vampire listens to the immortal as she offers her wisdom - though his skepticism reigns supreme. "may the odds be in your favor - sounds like you need all the luck you can get."

🥀 — "and i hope you get your freedom." because if there was one thing she understood, it was feeling trapped by your heart, and the choices it made.

"did you, now?" his tone is too sweet, rings falsely sympathetic even to his own ears. "and so she's out for revenge. what a pity that must be." he clasps his hands behind his back, shifts just slightly backward to grant her a few more centimeters of personal space, as though she's passed some test she wasn't informed she'd be taking to begin with. "and what have you come to trade, then, love? in exchange for sanctuary, for my protection?"

🥀 — a breath she didn't know she was holding rushed in, and amara nodded with that same trained confidence. meeting his eyes. "i am not a witch," she explained, as if that was a normal failing of hers, "but i can be of use. i'm the anchor to the other side." she doesn't wait too long before elaborating: "any creature—witch, wolf, vampire, that's ever died has come through me, and through me, you can access these souls." for whatever purpose, she couldn't even begin to fathom, but she knew what powerful people wanted. more power.