Somewhere in the Preserve | Thursday Afternoon
Yeah, yeah, Caroline hated hunting, but she'd made the mistake of calling Stefan earlier and he packed more guilt into a simple question than anyone she'd ever met.
This is what she got for deciding to share how she'd met another vampire this week. She'd only bothered calling because Caroline thought it was totally epic and maybe a sign that she should be more open with people about what she was and accepting it for herself, but no, Stefan was more interested in that foul-tasting bottled Tru Blood crap and how Caroline should really give it a try since she wasn't so great with catching her own bunny prey. Typical how he ignored her actual problem.
Ugh.
So now she had to practice giving in to her instincts out in the preserve where the mud from the last few damp days was totally going to ruin the stupid hiking boots she wore. Whatever, the ugly boots helped her wander the preserve as silently as she could manage, boring as the activity was. Of course, Caroline had to admit it wasn't like she had anything better to do when she was still sort of avoiding her own room even after seeing Nathan at the bar. There was a difference between hanging out in public and being trapped alone together in the room. For one, walking out meant she was a freaking coward (and oh God, the irony) rather than just leaving for the evening like a normal person. Second was that super uncomfortable issue of Caroline not knowing what was wrong with her. It wasn't normal to like two people at once, especially when they were both sort of jerks and one of them outright hated her and the other was her closest friend in town. But the feelings were there, if not necessarily hers, and okay, kicking tree roots in frustration as she walked along was really not going to help this hunt end anytime soon. Maybe Jake was right and she was the worst hunter ever. Regardless, she had a third point. What was it again? Oh right, as much as Nathan seemed to want her around, somehow Caroline wondered if she wanted herself around. Like if she spent all her free time in the room as usual, she'd convince herself that everything Nathan said about her was true and good and she could just ignore that she was a vampire (other than when she was gulping down blood) and reject a version of herself that had come to terms with what being a vampire had meant in the long run.
Wait, wait. Caroline paused in her aimless hunt and shook her head. Was she honestly thinking about the future? A week ago she hadn't given a damn about twenty days from now, let alone twenty years. She cursed Fandom just a little for this new need for thinking.
But all her internal monologue seemed to have been for some purpose, as a pair of young teal deer emerged from between the trees to her left. Frozen in place, Caroline tried to remember everything Stefan had told her about setting on prey. She let her instincts take over, going full-on vampire instantly. Her game face on, Caroline leapt for the deer - and was suddenly a whole hell of a lot shorter.
And furrier.
Oh shit. And apparently she whined like a freaking dog or something. Caroline would've thought more about how not funny this was, but those teal deer sure did look appetizing...
[OOC: And now Caroline is a baby coyote while I'm at a conference! Open sure, if anyone feels like running into an animal in the woods.]
This is what she got for deciding to share how she'd met another vampire this week. She'd only bothered calling because Caroline thought it was totally epic and maybe a sign that she should be more open with people about what she was and accepting it for herself, but no, Stefan was more interested in that foul-tasting bottled Tru Blood crap and how Caroline should really give it a try since she wasn't so great with catching her own bunny prey. Typical how he ignored her actual problem.
Ugh.
So now she had to practice giving in to her instincts out in the preserve where the mud from the last few damp days was totally going to ruin the stupid hiking boots she wore. Whatever, the ugly boots helped her wander the preserve as silently as she could manage, boring as the activity was. Of course, Caroline had to admit it wasn't like she had anything better to do when she was still sort of avoiding her own room even after seeing Nathan at the bar. There was a difference between hanging out in public and being trapped alone together in the room. For one, walking out meant she was a freaking coward (and oh God, the irony) rather than just leaving for the evening like a normal person. Second was that super uncomfortable issue of Caroline not knowing what was wrong with her. It wasn't normal to like two people at once, especially when they were both sort of jerks and one of them outright hated her and the other was her closest friend in town. But the feelings were there, if not necessarily hers, and okay, kicking tree roots in frustration as she walked along was really not going to help this hunt end anytime soon. Maybe Jake was right and she was the worst hunter ever. Regardless, she had a third point. What was it again? Oh right, as much as Nathan seemed to want her around, somehow Caroline wondered if she wanted herself around. Like if she spent all her free time in the room as usual, she'd convince herself that everything Nathan said about her was true and good and she could just ignore that she was a vampire (other than when she was gulping down blood) and reject a version of herself that had come to terms with what being a vampire had meant in the long run.
Wait, wait. Caroline paused in her aimless hunt and shook her head. Was she honestly thinking about the future? A week ago she hadn't given a damn about twenty days from now, let alone twenty years. She cursed Fandom just a little for this new need for thinking.
But all her internal monologue seemed to have been for some purpose, as a pair of young teal deer emerged from between the trees to her left. Frozen in place, Caroline tried to remember everything Stefan had told her about setting on prey. She let her instincts take over, going full-on vampire instantly. Her game face on, Caroline leapt for the deer - and was suddenly a whole hell of a lot shorter.
And furrier.
Oh shit. And apparently she whined like a freaking dog or something. Caroline would've thought more about how not funny this was, but those teal deer sure did look appetizing...
[OOC: And now Caroline is a baby coyote while I'm at a conference! Open sure, if anyone feels like running into an animal in the woods.]