networkinthenight | [text] @helsing; I've always liked to play with fire [open]

Nope. I'll be there in a few.

[ I mean. Did we really expect Scarlett to straight-up invite Elena to her room?

As promised, several minutes later there's a tapping on Elena's door. Scarlett waiting on the other side, though not looking quite as lethal as she usually does. The Katana and knife she usually wears strapped to her back are surprisingly absent. Still, she's in all black and it doesn't take much to realize that she's still very much armed.

Perhaps most noticable to Elena with her heightened senses will be the scent of blood - both old and fresh. Beneath that is the fading notes of what she might suspect was an infection - though more like it's something that has recently cleared up yet still clings to her clothes. ]

[ The offer still has to be made. Some might have preferred it to walking into a vampire's lair. Or, in this case, her tiny medieval-looking apartment, which doesn't exactly look very lived-in considering she's been here for a month now. A few books on the table, clothes hanging in the wardrobe with a slightly open door, a closed notebook beside the bed. Little signs of someone existing there but not quite living. Not yet.

Opening the door at that tapping, Elena is honestly surprised to see that the woman standing on the other side isn't armed to the teeth. She's still dangerous, those signs are quite clear, but there's not a knife or crossbow in her face. It's a start. And that scent of blood is definitely noticed, the wisp of it tugging at her senses and the hunger that is always there, but she breathes through it and steps back to offer the other woman entry. ]

Thanks for coming.

[ And she is grateful. If they can learn something about how this place may have messed with her abilities, then it's more information than she had before. And if she ends up dead from this... well, she'll know who not to trust if she comes back. But hopefully it won't come to that. Hopefully, she looks enough like a normal girl in her jeans and sweater to take the edge off, no bit of her vampire side showing through. ]

[ From the look on her face, it's obvious that Scarlett's not convinced that coming was the right call. For all the things she could learn, for all the things that Elena appeared to be? There was no getting past the fact that she was still a Vampire and there was still a voice in Scarlett's mind, screaming at her to take her out and be done with it. She could dispose of her lantern, ensure there was no coming back. She was even pretty sure she could do it all without anyone pinning it on her. She'd probably thought about how she could do it, more than was strictly healthy and yet? Here she stood, ready to stab a Vampire without the intent to kill them. Charles Harker would be rolling in his grave. ]

No problem.

[ Her tone even, lacking much in the way of inflection as she moves into the room.

Scarlett makes no secret of running her gaze over everything, from the clothes hanging up to the notebook beside the bed. An eyebrow arched, not because she's seen anything unusual but perhaps because the room was much like hers; lacking in that lived-in feel, like somebody wasn't inclined to put down roots. In Scarlett's case? She was out of practice, seeing every place she went to as temporary. She couldn't glean the why from Elena yet, but she was still curious. ]

Getting those volunteers I take it? [ She'd seen Vampires starved to the point of Feral and Elena wasn't even close to that. ]

[ There was a small part of Elena that almost wished Scarlett would try to kill her. Whether that was from a need to do something, to have some sort of action for the mere adrenaline-fueled thrill of it, or from a need to just have it all finally be over... well, it's hard to say. She's not sure she really wants to know that answer herself.

There are a great many things Elena Gilbert avoids thinking about these days. ]

Every few days. It's hard, I'm always hungry, but it's better than risking anyone's health.

[ The details probably aren't necessary but there they are anyway. It's in Elena's nature to be open, to share things with people and make connections, but it still feels strange. It's the same way this room feels strange, though. She should put down roots, add those little decorative touches that would make these rooms feel like home, and yet the grief and depression within her argues about what the point of it all is. If there even is one. ]

[ Her eyes narrow, Scarlett doing nothing to conceal her skepticism. The 'Tinman's' words rolling through her head and wanting to tease her into being a believer but she wasn't quite ready to get on board. Elena might come off as sincere but it was hard to erase the last three years. Harder still to erase a lifetime of being taught that all Vampires are bad. ]

Right. [ Her weight shifts from one foot to another, her discomfort ratcheting up a notch now she acknowledges she's standing in the space of a Vampire. ] Well you're probably going to want to line somebody up. Unless you want to lose your shit and kill a bunch of people.

[ After this, she means.

She lets out a huff of air, trying to shake thoughts of murder sprees from her mind as she looks around to try and spot the entry to the bathroom. ]

Have you tried testing it yourself at all?

[ Elena wouldn't be the least bit surprised at anyone's skepticism. Honestly, she'd be skeptical herself over a vampire trying extreme moderation if she hadn't seen examples of ot before. She also acknowledges that she's not Caroline with supernatural levels of control over practically every aspect of her vampirism, but she's going to try. ]

Tried testing my healing?

[ Gesturing toward the second partial room, she leads the way into the bedroom that's a half-wall separation from the kitchen and living area, with the bathroom connected. ]

No, there wasn't any reason to. I just assumed it would still work like usual.

[ She starts moving towards what she assumes is the bathroom, but notably hangs back. Scarlett not about to walk in their first and have a Vampire between her and the exit. ]

Might want to work our way up to stabbing. [ All said as if this is a very reasonable thing they're doing. ]

Begin with a shallow cut and increase the injury from there.

[ Because sure. This doesn't sound like torture or anything... ]

[ Elena gets the picture pretty quickly and goes into the bathroom first, a pile of towels waiting on the counter. Considering Scarlett's suggestions, because this is absolutely a totally reasonable thing they're doing, she nods her approval. ]

Sure, that sounds like a good approach. Where are you...?

[ She gestures at her arm and torso, trying to indicate the question of where said stabbing will be taking place. ]

[ Scarlett surprises herself with the laugh that spills over as Elena gestures from arm to torso. Everything about this situation utterly ridiculous even if you ignore the stupidity of stabbing somebody for science. ]

Vampires don't generally invite me to stab them in the chest. [ Scarlett blowing her bangs from her face and moving closer to tap the outside of Elena's upper arm. ]

Avoids muscle and arteries. Should minimize bleeding and reduce the chance of long term damage.

[ Reduce. This is fine. ]

[ The laugh is unexpected but not unwelcome, and it does get Elena to smile just a little bit in wry amusement. ]

No one has ever accused me of being a typical vampire. [ She's always tried her hardest to hold on to her humanity, the compassion for others that has driven her entire life. It's never easy, though. ]

Okay, let's get started then. [ Hopping up to sit on the counter, she grabs a towel to drape over her lap. Her clothes are black, so that should minimize any visible bloodstains, but she'd rather not have to clean up too much later. ]

[ She doesn't have a good comeback for that one because honestly, everything about Elena is throwing her for a loop. She'd half expected her to look like Axel had: Halfway to feral, barely clinging to his humanity, but no. She looks like she's about to pledge a damn Sorority or something.

Instead, Scarlett folds her arms across her chest, watching as Elena arranges herself. Little emotion showing in her features as she manages to quietly - though Scarlett would never admit as much - impress the woman by how calmly she's approaching this.

Once ready she pulls a knife from its place on her belt. Sharp and effective but blessedly not so large that she could use it for a little limb removal. ]

Alright, so. How do you wanna do this? [ Moving closer and inspecting her arm for a moment. ] Count of three or -

[ She doesn't need to finish that sentence, however. Her movements are fast, bordering on inhuman and without so much as a flicker of change in her features, she's already run the blade across the outside of Elena's arm. ]

[ Perhaps one day they can have a discussion of just how much Elena has subverted Scarlett's expectations and it can come up that she used to be a cheerleader back in high school. She still remembers all those routines, including the ones from when she'd been without her humanity...

A hiss of surprised pain nearly fills the room as that knife easily cuts through her skin, a hot stream of blood slowly trickling down her arm and onto the white towel, staining it a bright red. Closing her eyes for a moment, she stays perfectly still and breathes through the pain, remembering the warning the other woman had given her. When she opens her eyes again, it's to glare at Scarlett in irritation. ]

I should have known you'd do that.

[ And then she looks at the cut, which should have already been healing but... isn't. It's just bleeding, albeit slowly. ]

Well, shit.

[ If she's looking for an apology from Scarlett, she's clearly come to the wrong place. The woman simply lifting her shoulder in a shrug, as if to say 'yeah you really should have'. ]

Would you prefer I counted to three and then did it?

[ She was an ass, yes, but in a warped way she'd tried to show Elena a kindness. Don't ask her to think on that for too long. ]

Well, how about that... [ There's a flicker of surprise in her eyes and it's fairly obvious she wasn't expecting that to happen. Her hed tilting to the side as she examined the blood spilling from the wound with a look of interest rather than concern. ]

Looks like you got shafted. [ All very matter of fact. ]

[text] @helsing; I've always liked to play with fire [open]

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