[ voice | location: gilbert-sommers home / dodgy jammer ] I don't feel right when you're gone away

[auntjenna]

Jenna had looked high and low for her niece for the last few days, calling Elena, trying to be sure her suspicions were correct and that she wasn't just jumping to conclusions. But after almost a week and no sign of Elena at all, Jenna was forced to admit what she didn't want to face: Elena was gone. And she wasn't coming back

Comments

[ visual ] ...sorry for the tl;dr.

[whoneedsrules]

Katherine had been immersed in her own version of dealing with the disappearances for the past few days. She'd scoured every inch of the city map on her tablet looking for Stefan, but to no avail. Damon's signal had been nowhere to be found, either. Unwilling to lose hope, she'd taken a trip down to the Boarding house only to find the building gone, same as the Old Well's church - no big loss, that one. After that, Katherine had been unable to deny the truth. The brothers had been sent back home.

She misses Stefan. The longing mixes in with anguish and rage at the sheer unfairness of it all, to have found her way back into his arms and his heart only to have him taken away from her so soon afterward. Katherine wants nothing more than a chance to tear into those furry beasts governing the comings and goings in Taxon. As it was, she'd settled for demolishing her hotel room, breaking glass and splintering wood in her fury.

That was a few days ago. She's still angry; at the hamsters, at herself, just in general. Anger is always easier to deal with that anything else. Jenna's transmission only adds a layer of bitterness to Katherine's ire; Elena had been sent back, too, as if she and the brothers were some sort of package deal. There was a time when it used to be her, not Elena. In Taxon, it had been her, not Elena. Or so she believes.

At length, the vampire speaks up, her sullen tone belying her words. "Good for her."

[ visual ] i love your tl;dr :3 BRING IT

[auntjenna]

It takes Jenna a moment to realize her tablet's still on and she eyes the feed for a few, trying to decide if she should answer or not. By now she's started wondering if she should be trying to keep up the cover story, but she can hardly bring herself to care now that Elena's gone. Of course, the only things keeping her from telling Katherine off right away are self-preservation, the amount of alcohol she's already consumed, and the idea that she might screw Elena over later on if she does. So, she bypasses all of that and focuses her drunken mind on something she can wrap it around.

"You sound about as happy about all of this as I feel."

[ visual ] <3333!

[whoneedsrules]

The cover story is one of the last things on Katherine's mind in light of recent events. She just simply can't be bothered to care anymore. Especially if Elena is gone, she no longer sees the need to pretend being a twin sister to the teenager. Taxon already has public vampires, even if their numbers have decreased of late. What's a few more? That's one of the reasons why she doesn't bother locking this feed in case something will be slipped.

Jenna's statement causes her eyes to narrow, but she has to take a moment to ensure her tone remains steady before responding. "With good reason, as your niece is not the only one who's gone."

Her choice of words is intentional. Your niece. Not my sister.

[ visual ] ♥ forever!

[auntjenna]

Jenna notices, even through her drunken haze, but she doesn't comment. She can't control Katherine - she'd be an idiot to even think about it - so she won't even try. From the tone of Katherine's voice to the choice of words she gives out, Jenna can guess at who else is missing, which would explain why the vampire is so upset and why she isn't being kept far away from Jenna still.

"..Stefan."

It's a statement, not a question, and her voice is saturated with sympathy. Not pity, because Jenna's not sure she could ever pity someone like Katherine. But sympathy, because in spite of it all, Jenna knows what it's like to lose someone she loved like that. She's experienced it far too often.

"I'm sorry, Katherine."

And she is, even if she knew the real reason for Stefan choosing Katherine over Elena. She can't help it. Maybe it's the drinks, maybe it's the knowledge of how that feels. Her normal inhibitions are gone for now. For better or worse.

[ visual ]

[whoneedsrules]

It's not that Stefan's been sent home, exactly, that gets to her. She can muster up a minute amount of... something that might pass for joy, for him. It's the fact that everything they went through in Taxon is now null and void for him, as he will be unable to remember it. He'll pick up right where he left in Mystic Falls and every bit of the understanding they'd reached in the alien city would be gone; he'd go right back to hating her. The thought hurts. Katherine supposes it's good she won't remember any of it either if she ever gets sent back, herself.

She nods once. "Damon, too."

Jenna's sympathy makes Katherine gnash her teeth together. She doesn't want sympathy, she wants Stefan back. Juvenile, perhaps, not no less true - in some aspects, she'd always be seventeen. Scoffing, she shakes her head and glances away for a moment, brown curls swaying back and forth at the movement.

"So, planning on drinking yourself numb?" she asks somewhat sharply after a moment instead of acknowledging Jenna's sympathetic words. Deflection is a go. "That won't bring her back. All you get is a massive headache."

[ visual ]

[auntjenna]

So both of the brothers are gone. Figures. At least they'll be able to protect Elena together, along with Ric, from whatever Mystic Falls might drag up next. Jenna can at least be happy for that, even if she misses them. Even Damon, when he wasn't being a jackass.

The sudden change in Katherine's tone brings a frown to Jenna's face. Everyone was touchy lately, sure, but somehow this was Katherine's default. Jenna wonders vaguely why she'd been expecting anything else. Instead of letting the vampire's words cut her, she takes another pointed sip of her drink and turns the frown to Katherine.

"Are you this mean to everyone you meet or is Elena's family a special case?"

Apparently, Katherine's not the only one who's tossing the cover story now. Though, really, it could be woven in anyway, Jenna just can't bring herself to care.

"It sure beats dealing with everything for the first week."

[ visual ]

[whoneedsrules]

"Yes and yes," Katherine returns sarcastically, eyes narrowed.

This is good. Barbs, taunts, sharp words, borderline insults - those she can do and deal with. She can turn her sorrow into anger and take it out on others in hopes of making herself feel better. She doesn't need anyone's pity or kindness. The only person whose good regard she'd ever cared to earn has been sent back home. As far as Katherine's concerned presently, nothing else matters much.

"Just stating facts, that's all. But hey, by all means," she remarks flippantly, lifting her chin a little. "Fake it 'til you make it. I suppose that approach is somewhat familiar to you."

[ visual ]

[auntjenna]

Jenna just rolls her eyes at Katherine's return, past the point of caring about whatever the vampire bitch had to say to her. She's too far gone in her drinking night to really care one way or the other. Besides, Katherine doesn't have much leverage on her at all. For all that she can apparently mimic being Elena very well, she doesn't know the people in Elena's life, so she can't get under Jenna's skin. At least not right now.

"Oh sure," she answers with another sip of her drink. "Like you know anything about anyone other than yourself." Some slight piece of self-preservation holds her back from adding other things to that, so she deviates slightly from her intended path. Pissing Katherine off was all well and good as long as she doesn't stray far enough to put a deathmark on herself.

"If you're trying to upset me, it's not working."

Protip: it is, but she's in denial and ignoring it.

[ visual ]

[whoneedsrules]

The vampire casts Jenna a freezing look - not quite a glare, just an unblinking, cold stare. That remark about only caring about herself toes the line of being too much so soon after Stefan's disappearance. Perhaps she's purposefully baiting Jenna, unconsciously wanting to be pushed into doing something bad and dangerous.

However, it's not quite enough to break her self-control. The icy expression morphs into a small, predatory grin that is no less chilly.

"Oh? Perhaps I should try harder, in that case."

[ visual ]

[auntjenna]

For better or worse, Jenna doesn't even blink at Katherine's stare. She doesn't particularly care how far her sense of self-preservation extends right now; she's got better things to worry about than Katherine. Oddly enough.

"It's not gonna work."

Yes, Jenna, that's right; keep baiting the most dangerous vampire in existence here.

[ visual ]

[whoneedsrules]

The predatory grin is gone, replaced by an amused smirk. Katherine laughs a little; she's always loved challenges and dares. Adopting a look of indifference, the vampire purses her lips and shrugs one shoulder.

"You know, I'm not so sure it was better for Elena, that she was sent back to Mystic Falls," she muses slowly, as if to herself. "I mean, at least here, she didn't have to constantly look after you. Oh, the things you were in the dark about! So many close calls and mishaps. Everything was going on right under your nose and you were none the wiser."

She pauses, chuckling. If there's one thing Katherine is good at, it's adding just enough truth in her lies and manipulations to make the impact that much profound.

"And you're supposed to be her legal guardian? Now, that's irony for you."

[ visual ]

[auntjenna]

Jenna tries hard to ignore what Katherine's saying, but it's probably obvious by the way her hands tighten on the glass of wine and the twitch in her jaw that she's listening and it's working. Katherine's easily hitting every single nerve Jenna has. And even though she's trying her hardest not to let the bitch get to her... it's still working. Some things can't be glossed over.

"It was her choice, Katherine," Jenna answers angrily, failing at keeping everything out of her voice. "She was trying to keep me safe."

The guardian quip gets another twitch of her jaw and a pointed glare. "Yeah. I've got things working fine. And she's got Stefan there. She'll be fine, too."

Poke at her wounds, she'll just poke right back.

[ visual ]

[whoneedsrules]

"Right, by exposing you to more danger. You wouldn't have even had the slightest chance of surviving, say, a vampire attack when you didn't even know ones exist, let alone known how to be cautious of ones. Almost as if she thought you wouldn't be capable of taking care of yourself, hm? I guess that opinion is shared by everyone else, too - the Salvatores, Bonnie, Caroline, Mr Saltzman - seeing as you're probably the only one kept in the dark in that circle," she smirks, tilting her head and regarding Jenna with an amused half-smile. "Didn't you ever wonder about those sudden silences and awkward topic changes when you walked in the room?"

Katherine is purely testing the waters with that last one. But she's willing to bet she's not far off with her guess. The pointed remark about Stefan does hit its mark and cause Katherine's eyes narrow, the slight smile turning nastier, meaner.

"For the time being."

Whether that meant Elena had Stefan for the time being or that she'd be fine for the time being is up in the air.

[ visual ]

[auntjenna]

That hurts. As much as Jenna wishes she could ignore it, those words hurt. She's asked herself that so many times over the last few months, so many times she's wondered how it would be different if Miranda and Grayson were still alive, if they were involved instead of her.

And because those words hurt so much, and because she's so far gone, Jenna can't hold back the extra tears, valiantly though she tries.

"Do you enjoy beating everyone down?" she finally manages to choke out, turning the tablet so it's not facing her anymore. "Do you get some sort of sick pleasure from being like this?"

[ visual ]

[whoneedsrules]

Jenna's pain would be blatantly obvious even without the tears. It's exactly what Katherine wanted, to make the other woman hurt like she's hurting even in the smallest measure, and yet... yet, Katherine realizes she's not getting much satisfaction out of this. How annoying.

"Truth hurts," she says tonelessly after a moment, ignoring the questions. For a moment she's tempted to carry on, to see if there's still something she could taunt Jenna with, but decides at the last moment to reach out and disconnect the feed. Anything further would probably just be a waste of time, anyway.

[ visual ]

[auntjenna]

"Yeah, well, so does being alone," Jenna shoots back. Whether she gets it in before Katherine cuts the feed or not, she doesn't know, but it hardly matters. Burying her head in her arms, she leans on the bar and just sobs out her troubles. Note to self: never talk to Katherine again.