#pethrova

skeptical eyes fixated on the other immortal , raising his head slightly from the grimoire he'd had his nose buried in. was he really that transparent ? he'd had 200 years to figure out a way to die , to break his curse , or even resurrect his witch , but nothing seemed to stick. she was gone & he was broken. the only thing he had left was trying to find answers ; mystic falls seemed as good a place as any. pretending to be highborn had it's challenges , there were too many prying eyes , too many little things he had to focus on to keep up appearances. opting to be a stablehand seemed easier , especially considering his attendance in this town was a temporary one.

          ❛             i can't fathom what you're implying , miss pierce.            ❜           still , the smile he tossed her was teasing , kicking his legs up to cross them at the ankles & snap the leather bound book shut , stretching it back out toward her with a contritely inclined head. he'd stolen it the day prior , with every intention of returning it to katherine's friend , but the ball the salvatore family hosted had gone too late in the night for him to sneak back in.          ❛             pass emily my sincere apologies. i'd only wanted to read it - it didn't have what i was looking for , regardless.            ❜          

the sun beat down against the back of his neck as he slumped comfortably into the hay bale behind him , arms folding across his stomach as he studied her , a friendly grin toying at the edges of his dimpled maw.          ❛             you look lovely this morning. which salvatore has the honor of basking in your presence today ?            ❜          

"Good for you." The response was clipped, there was a strain in her voice that indicated how much she didn't care, paying more attention to her finger nails, rather than the words spewing out of Katherine's mouth. The blonde was already bored of this conversation. "But no one likes a bragger."

damon smiles, tight and humourless. in another life, he would have crawled over broken glass to lie prostrate at her feet. in days where katherine was an idol. the smallest kindness was divine rapture. she could've asked him anything, no platitudes, no pleas, and he would've done it — would've done anything.

how times change.

he used to look into katherine's eyes and see the universe. tiny fragments of light in an endless dark. he used to see love, passion. empathy. now, he sees a wolf. a monster from a parable, hunting in the shadowy places where the sun can't reach. she's by no means the worst of what lives there, but she is the first wound. the girl he followed blindly across the river. the girl he died for.

          ❛             katerina .. it has been an age , hasn't it ?            ❜          greedy fingers sought hers , skin to skin , bringing her knuckles to his lips to offer an affectionate kiss of welcome. the last he'd heard of her escapades had been in 1864 , where the volturi had lingered just on the edge of mystic falls while it practically tore itself apart. klaus's faithful had invaded shortly after the chaos , but it had been aro that had cleaned up the rest of the mess. the unfortunate few managed to slip through his grasp , however , so the knowledge of vampires still thrived amidst their current leaders , something he kicked himself for daily.

as fond as he was of katherine , he didn't forget that she'd been the figurehead of all those vampires back then. too much attention , too much growth. the mikaelson breed were always so loud , weren't they ?

aro released her hand & straightened with a pleasant grin , though dark eyes flickered across her features carefully before gesturing an arm toward the volterra throne room , which was blessedly empty as he sauntered in beside her , hands clasped behind his back as he exhaled a soft chuckle.          ❛             your timing is impeccable as always. i'd just begun planning to visit an old stomping ground of yours ; there are vampires causing havoc in mystic falls again , can you believe ?            ❜          obsidian hues gleamed , collapsing in one of the luxurious throw couches framing the walls , retrieving his half empty glass of red wine before snapping the lid of his laptop shut.

first meeting sentence starters. - always accepting.

Indeed he was and he almost didn't want to move. To have a beautiful woman before him and the doorway the only thing stopping the two of them. "And you're being a buzz kill," he replied with a tilt of his head, "Plan on just walking out of here without even letting me know your name at least?"