second history lesson ◈ [ text ]

[surrogates]

jenna sommers and elena gilbert are- they're dead.

i- i know more people knew jenna than elena but they're both dead. near the oxygen garden. so i just- everyone needed to know and now you do.

[ it's short and to the point, if only because ric doesn't entirely trust himself to say much else. it's the same reason he choose text over voice or video. this proclamation is hard enough to get out right now and speaking coherently is a bit beyond his reach. ]

[ mystic falls filter, encrypted 90% ]

how many of you are actually breathing right now?

Comments

[ video | mystic falls | 90% ]

[disparage]

It's not your fault. None of it is your fault. And you blaming yourself isn't what either of them would want. Nor would they want you going after Klaus. Even if you have your ring with nine lives, they wouldn't want you to do that.

[ god, alaric saltzman was one stubborn vampire slayer. 8|

she's not just referring to this particular event, either. jenna dying was never his fault. it was all of theirs, as a collective, but she knows that alaric lets it eat at him. all of them could've stopped many things, but they didn't. she hates herself for the people they've lost and the damage they've done. but she knows that she can't change it, not until she's in possession of a delorean.

she's silent for a moment, a noticeable pause between that and this. what would klaus do? if she ignores the fact he had originally had her for the sacrifice, or had tyler bite her, then he hasn't really done anything besides try to woo her rather pathetically. she doesn't really want to tell alaric that he has a stalker boner for her. so, she sighs. ]

He'll draw me another picture.

[ voice | mystic falls | 90% ]

[surrogates]

If they're dead, what the want doesn't exactly matter. [ there's a small pause though. ] I'm not- I won't go after him. I want to- but as soon as I do, I'm dead and then all of you will be dead and somehow I will feel guilty about that after I'm dead. Don't go alone for crying out loud.

[ it's what got him killed the first time, caroline. it's a problem. 8(

the thing about the guilt eating at him is that it doesn't stop. even on the ship there's always a nagging feeling that this was his fault. that he's living on borrowed time because he was the idiot who didn't try harder to stop everything. maybe they would have all had a chance if things were different. he knows he can't change it but that's what bothers him the most.

alaric stares at his device and tries not to think of anything else but what caroline is saying before he answers. ]

...Did you just say he'll draw you a picture?

[ video | mystic falls | 90% ]

[disparage]

Yes!

[ she says it a bit more heatedly than she'd like, but it's something that she keeps quiet. tyler found out by accident, damon knows probably because of the ball, and now it's something that they all exploit in order to take from klaus. it's a bit embarrassing, too. the attention is something she's not used to. and the implications of her statements are something she doesn't really want to think about, either. ]

So, either he's going to paper cut me to death or draw me to death. He won't kill me. So I'm going to go deal with him, since I'm kind of the only person from our town who has that going for me.

[ there's stefan, but there's only so many times you can compel him to be your friend until it gets old. and considering everyone seems to be from the past, caroline feels like she's the only one who can get this out of klaus. since apparently he fancies her.

talking about this to alaric is weird, since he's the only one who never really exploited it. he's not a dick like damon. he's smart, wouldn't make her be the bait because, hello, original freaking vampire, and even though he doesn't have to give a shit about her right now, he's pulling the caring card despite them not being the best of buds. disappointing him is really something she doesn't like to do. ... except for going out alone. that doesn't count as a potential disappointment. she's allowed one stupid act for being new on a dumb spaceship. ]