☁

I'm fascinated by the concept that Scott will never become better under Louis's influence, never be tamed or changed, but Louis's closeness awakens something in him that seemed long dead and buried along with such unnecessary things as empathy, compassion, the ability to grieve, and so on. Absolutely anything that would make Scott less of a monster.

Basically, Scott *needs* someone again after so many years, and it's Louis. It's not all about feelings, though, there's a lot about calculation.

Scott gives up some control of the coven to Louis and acknowledges him as an equal because it's fun, it makes his boredom go away a little.

And I believe there's one thing more important to Scott than power and control: fun.

And Louis is perfect for this eternity-long tug-of-war. He sincerely tries to balance things, to make the situation in the coven better for everyone (how he sees this "better"), never tries to take all the power from Scott, and hates the things that elder vampires usually do, like killing everyone or turning. He tries to negotiate with Scott and change his ways. But never succeeds. But watching him try and become more evil and violent in the process is fun!

An immovable object x an unstoppable force type of deal almoust.

And since Louis is such a unique elder vampire, wanting to make this coven something real, he's also perfect for covering Scott's ass and cleaning up his mess, basically providing damage control whenever Scott does anything that escalates situation. Which Scott always happily takes advantage of. Etc., etc.

Like I said, it's a lot about calculation.

But Scott also likes Louis for who he is. He genuinely can be good company, having been alive for so many years and truly experiencing eternal life with all its pros and cons. Having lost, if not many people, then many things he held dear, like having the Oakhurst town burned down where Louis was once mayor.

Louis understands the curse of endless loss that always hangs over a vampire.

And the soul-sucking loneliness that follows it.

And then there's the fact that it's unlikely that covens often have two elder vampires sharing power because it's so difficult to agree on who does what. That doesn't make the loneliness any easier.

So when Louis came into his life, he really got under Scott's skin and made him feel attached.

But he doesn't even realize his attachment to Louis. He simply doesn't understand it, it's such a forgotten feeling. But at the same time, he allows himself far more with Louis than he would with others. Like rest his head on his thighs, like sit at the dinner table so close that their knees touch, like allowing Louis into his chambers without knocking, etc. It almost feels like Scott trusts Louis, and to a certain extent, he does.

Because of everyone Scott could really get attached to, Louis has the highest chance. In my eyes, at least. Not Avid, not Pyro, not even Shelby. Because yes, as much as he loves her, it's the love he has for a pet. And for Avid, it's the love he has for a fun toy to play with. And for Pyro, it's a feeling of possessiveness, at best. But Scott's attachment specifically to Louis is a far more dangerous thing, because it's real. It's the kind of attachment to someone that can make you grief for a long time if they die, and I'm willing to bet that hasn't happened to Scott in hundreds of years and he's forgotten what it's like. And the funny thing is, he doesn't understand the nature of his feelings.