(Untitled)

[of_highdegree]

Who: John Kenway and you.
When: Saturday, early evening.
Where: Just outside the Rice Building.
What: Smartphones are for pansies.
Warnings: None.

Comments

[veryemerson]

Now that the Rebekah and his existence in Arkham was known -- Elena probably went right back to Alaric and Damon with the information -- Stefan was taking the opportunity to explore. He hadn't done much of it, trying to keep a low profile and off of his brother and Alaric's radar, but now that he was on it again, it wouldn't hurt to look.

He paused in the middle of the quad, trying to get a sense of the place. He also would need to feed soon, but he was trying to keep that sense of rage in check. He couldn't draw that much attention to himself. After all, he knew that Alaric wasn't the only vampire hunter in town.

[of_highdegree]

"Really?" John asked, arching his eyebrows. While his tone of voice seemed purely innocent, however, the way he looked at him knowingly was not. "I thought I'd remembered hearing something about vampires ... "

[veryemerson]

Stefan could sense that in the look, and he raised an eyebrow. "Can you think of a better villain? Don't be alone at night, you could be attacked. Don't invite strangers into your home -- they could drink your blood."

[of_highdegree]

"I suppose not, no." He paused, eyebrows creeping higher as he studied him, and then casually, he added, "Though, not all vampires are the villains if recent television programming is to be believed."

Seeing a few of those ridiculous programmes -- or at least the adverts -- for them had been unfortunately unavoidable the few times he'd actually bothered with the television, but for as wrong as they ultimately were, there did seem to be some truth to them. He didn't consider himself to be the villain, after all. He wasn't out saving people on a road to a redemption he didn't feel he needed in the first place, but he wasn't senselessly murdering the masses, either.

[veryemerson]

"Or recent literature." Oh, John, you must not have discovered Twilight yet. Regardless, Stefan shrugged. "From what I understand, it's in their nature to be villains. There's some things you can't really escape from."

That's something Stefan's been struggling with himself lately. Right now, he's comfortable choosing the less popular side, but he isn't sure how long it will last.

[of_highdegree]

"It's in their nature to be predators," John corrected, forcing himself to look neutral despite the fact that he was still studying him. "There's a difference. People don't point fingers at the lion when it takes down the gazelle. It's a matter of survival."

He paused for a moment, his expression taking on a more thoughtful cast, and then continued. "They do, of course, have the choice to be the villain. Taking more than they need to survive -- killing senselessly. Then it's no longer a matter of nature and pecking order, and that sort of man gets put down, human, vampire or otherwise."

[veryemerson]

Stefan heard what he said, he thought it about himself many times, and right now, it's the way he felt about himself. He wanted to survive, to make it out of this place with a plan in place where he can take out Klaus, but he hadn't yet ruled out the fact that he would probably go down with him. That Stefan deserved to go down with him.

"You don't think that being forced into darkness, and forced to feed on people doesn't in turn create it's own villains?"

[of_highdegree]

"If you let it," he replied, rolling one shoulder in an idle shrug. "But as I said, one has a choice."

[veryemerson]

There was a small, noncommittal noise from Stefan in response to that, before he took a deep breath and nodded. "I suppose you're right."

[of_highdegree]

"I am," John assured him, making a small, sour face. "I've been around a long time, boy, and seen more than you can imagine. Not vampires, perhaps, but that changes nothing. We are who we chose to be, regardless of what we may think our fate is."

[veryemerson]

"Fate and choices can sometimes fall hand in hand," he said slowly. "Prophecies can fulfill themselves just by knowing they exist."

[of_highdegree]

"True," John replied, unable to argue that one. "And doing the exact opposite of what one would imagine would lead them down that path oftentimes gets one there faster, but believing you have no choice is no better."

[veryemerson]

"I'd like to think that change is possible," Stefan nodded. "But sometimes, I'm not so sure."

[of_highdegree]

John made a small, noncommittal noise at the back of his throat, suddenly bored with this argument. He knew that change was possible, that one didn't have to be a slave to one's nature, and that was all that mattered. Stefan would learn with time or he wouldn't and he'd be put down. It was that simple and, as much as he valued education, it was not his problem. Experience was a far better teacher in this case than he could ever be.

"And here we are," he said finally, once they'd reached the Staff Housing. "I appreciate your help in getting back here."

[veryemerson]

Stefan had more experience than you would think. But regardless of how much he had tried to change over time, he always managed to find himself back in the bottom of the same bottle -- or in his case, at the bottom of list of names of people who probably would have had happy lives if it weren't for him.

But he didn't say any of that. Instead, he gave him a small smile once they arrived at the building in question. "I was happy to do it. If you'd like another walking partner, I'm staying at the medical building. It would be good to get out, at least for a little while."

[of_highdegree]

"I may take you up on that," he said honestly. If they were truly stuck here, he imagined he'd spend a lot of time walking the campus in an effort to alleviate his cabin fever, and someone to walk with would be welcome. Even if he happened to be a vampire killer -- particularly if he happened to be a vampire. "The same goes for you. If you need to get out for a bit, wouldn't mind the company, and can live with taking things slow for my benefit ... "

He shrugged. "I'm in the Rice Building."