"So, what do you want to talk about?" I asked, taking in her form. She looked conflicted.
"I want to apologize for what happened before. I guess I just got overwhelmed." She admitted, causing me to raise a brow.
"Overwhelmed by what exactly?" I asked, though I could easily guess the answer.
"You… this… all of this! Witches draw power from nature. There's a limit to how much power a witch can channel but here you are using that limit as a jump rope." She ranted off, a bit of frustration entering her features. "Grams says you're some kind of anomaly, a phenomenon that defies the laws of nature. You can do things that the rest of us can only dream of doing."
"You're kind of losing me here…" I pointed out but she wasn't done.
"That's the thing. You don't think like the rest of us. When nature pushes, you push back twice as hard but the rest of us? I know you said I should open my mind and all that but it isn't that simple. The rest of us aren't like you!" She finished, taking a breath after that.
A small smile graced my lips. "You're right, you aren't like me." I said, seeing the brief flash of hurt in her eyes before I continued. "That doesn't mean you have to be."
That got her visible confusion from her.
"You can't be the best of yourself if you try to copy someone else. Your compassion for others is one thing that makes you who you are but it's also what holds you back." I slowly explained.
"What? How?"
"You care a lot about others, sometimes over yourself. I'm not telling you to go all cartoonishly evil, no. What I'm saying is that you should focus on yourself more often. Find out who Bonnie Bennett is, not Bonnie the town witch, but Bonnie Bennett the girl. Or soon-to-be-woman, you haven't told me your birthday yet." I added the last part, making her giggle despite the situation.
I could see my words sinking in and taking root.
"The point is that when you figure out who you are, your outlook will change and your eyes will open. And if you need any help, you know where to find me." Finishing up my impromptu speech, I gave her a gentle rub on the arm as I went further into the house, leaving my words marinating in her head.
No mind control or mental nudging. If I'm going to turn her into a badass witch, I want it to be authentic.
I made a quick stop at my trophy room to drop off the Gilbert ring. The hoarder in me begs for me to grab the second one from Alaric but I push it down, for now at least. I can easily make another one but it's the historical value that counts.
-[Stefan]-
The trip to New Orleans was rather enlightening. Due to Damon's paranoia, Stefan and Alaric had made their way to the big city to see what they could find.
They went looking for dirt but they found a lot more than that. It turns out there's a whole community of Vampires residing in New Orleans who pretty much rule the French Quarter.
They mumbled something about following rules but they were more…friendly than he expected so long as he didn't make a ruckus or bring any trouble with him.
Starting unnecessary fights wasn't something he or Alaric found themselves enjoying so they obliged, finding what they needed and heading on back to Mystic Falls.
"What do you think Damon's going to say? I mean it's not like we found some juicy backstory." Alaric asked as Stefan parked the car in front of the boarding house.
They didn't find anything incriminating. If anything, he kind of felt bad for the kid. Absent/Alcoholic mother and an unknown father wasn't a good way to grow up.
"I think Damon's going to somehow find some way to back up his theory that Nathan is the root of all evil." Stefan admitted truthfully, getting a sigh from Alaric.
"My only interaction with him is in history class and he doesn't seem like a bad kid. He's among the top scorers on tests and homework." Alaric said, not believing Damon's obsessive theory.
As they made their way into the house, he couldn't help but think about the irony of how Damon was the one constantly making an enemy of Nathan and was also the one crying foul after the kid retaliated.
"Yeah well, tell that to Damon." He said, pausing as they reached the living room.
Littered on the floor were a number of items that shouldn't be there. He counted six flair guns, three gas tanks, a tank of what appeared to be nitroglycerin and a flamethrower. Amidst of all that was Damon who was trying to tape some fireworks together.
"What the hell is going on here?" Stefan asked, causing Damon to perk up.
"Finally you're back. Hand me some more duct tape, I need to make sure this is sturdy enough." Damon said, holding his hand out for his request item.
"Sturdy enough for what? It's barely been a few days since we left and you look like you're preparing for a war." Stefan shot back, not understanding the scenario.
Damon smirked in his typical manner as he laid his contraption to the side, standing to his feet. "Oh but this is war, Stefan. You remember those tomb vampires, the one that attacked a while back?"
At his nod, Damon continued. "Turns out Mr magic is in cahoots with Pearl. He's protecting her and Anna with some kind of spell around her house that makes it very hard to burn to the ground."
"Do you realize how insane you sound?" Stefan ground out, taking a deliberate breath as he now stood directly in front of his brother. "He stopped them before they could kill us and Elena. If it wasn't for him, we'd all be dead."
"I still don't trust either of them." Damon said, not backing down.
"I'm not asking you to. I'm asking you to stop and think before you get us both killed. You've watched him take down multiple vampires stronger than we are, what chance do we have?" He argued.
"We just have to catch him off guard." Damon said, causing him to grab his arm as the older Salvatore tried to walk away.
"And if that doesn't work? You're looking for a reason to make him into some mastermind? How about the fact that you killed his friend and left her body on his doorstep? What makes you think he won't decide to go after Elena just to get back at you?" His words caused Damon to frown, his eyes narrowed.
Damon may not want to admit it but he had a soft spot for Elena. Whether it's because of her resemblance to Katherine or something else, he didn't know but bringing out that part of Damon was something he'd been trying to do for a century.
Damon wouldn't want her dead, hopefully. Picking a fight they couldn't win would only bring trouble. He couldn't help but shiver when he remembered what Nathan did to Damon.
It was bone chilling.
-[John Gilbert]-
With his ring gone, so was his protection against supernatural deaths. If he died, it would be permanent, leaving him no choice but to forgo his initial plans to confront Damon as well as hunt for the tomb vampires.
He couldn't go out there but he couldn't risk letting them roam free, not with Elena in Mystic Falls. He needed the missing piece of the Gilbert device so he had no choice but to call in some help for an alternate plan to get it.
The ringing of the doorbell of the apartment he was temporarily staying in got him hurrying to it. A glance through the peephole was all he needed before opening the door to receive his visitor.
Dark hair, pale skin and beautiful face. She was as beautiful as ever.
"Are you going to keep staring or are you going to invite me in?" She said, the annoyance lacing her unfeeling tone causing him to cough for a moment before stepping to the side.
"You can come in, Isobel." He said, allowing the vampire and mother of his child into his home.