driftfleet | 01 | action + video

Entry tags:

01 | action + video

Who: Stefan Salvatore and YOU!
Broadcast: Fleetwide
Action: SS Paisley
When: Following the shuffle!

[action]

[Instant teleportation sucks. Especially when it's too quick for him to process - and then bam! He's... somewhere. Somewhere that's throwing confetti into his face and playing loud, welcoming music?

He nearly stumbles back into the wall, instead regaining his bearings in time to take a look around the ship. Stefan's step is hesitant as he grips his messenger bag tight and explores various places. While he's not exactly stealthy, he's not trying to intrude on anyone either.

In the end, he's settled down in the med lab, inspecting the equipment and trying to discern what's different from the hospitals and labs he's worked in back home - it's not what he's expected, but he could get used to it.]

[video]

[Stefan had held off on announcing his presence via communicator - partially because it wasn't the Network, and partially because they're recording him 24/7 anyways. Does he really need to give the NSA (or whatever this universe's version of the NSA) more fuel for their potentially Islamophobic fire?

Once he's holed himself up in the med lab, he fiddles with the communicator until he's found the video function--]

The longer I'm here, the more I wonder about people's - various species? - taste in television. [He smiles, though it's thin.] Or our showrunners' definition of "informed consent." Doesn't seem like anyone here remembers signing those NDA's.

I... well, this is kind of a weird question, but does anyone know what direction the sun's in? Or how I'd find out what direction the sun's in? It's pretty important. [More than important - it's necessary for his prayers, though he knows better than to voice that out loud.]

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[His sense of humor isn't lame, it's--who's he kidding, it's terrible.]

Sure. [He nods, following her to the lab. The ship's slightly different from his (for one thing, their hallways are larger), but he's not focusing on their surroundings.

Whatever he and Elena were, that was all in the past - and so they've still got a lot to work through. He's not going to complicate that with memories of Alesci's life, even if he's yearning to tell her about his siblings and the parts of his life he remembered so much more clearly. Once they're inside the lab, he allows himself to relax as he sets his bag down somewhere.]

So... I'm sorry I didn't call. Or text. Or well, anything that summer. I didn't mean to worry you. [He's fishing for details here, even if he's trying hard to not seem like it:] Were Caroline and Jeremy okay before you came here?

[Though honestly, he's struggling to remember why Jeremy would've been devastated. Something Bonnie-related, he's sure.]

[Elena shakes her head a little at his apology.]

It was your brother, Stefan. I know I didn't like Damon, but he was still your brother. I get it. Besides, [she says, glancing down briefly. There's always going to be a small pang of guilt that pushes its way out in her chest whenever she reflects back on that brief period in her life.] I think you handled losing your brother a lot better than I did mine. I don't exactly have a lot of room to complain.

[As for Caroline and Jeremy?]

I think Caroline would probably want to hear the apology out of you more than me. [Elena draws a long and deep breath that leaves in another that sounds quite close to an exasperated sigh.] She wants to get back to Mystic Falls, she wants to be able to go home. I think she's frustrated that none of the rest of us are trying as hard as she is. [After a slight beat of silence, she adds with an apologetic tone because it's not her perspective, it's Caroline's.] You least of all.

[She loves Caroline, but Caroline processes grief in a very different way than the rest of them. She digs herself in, buries herself in activity so she doesn't have to think. And when people aren't keeping up, she gets harsh and critical. Not that Elena doesn't get the desire to run away from feeling that way as much as possible, but it's still unfair of Caroline when it happens.]

And Jeremy? [Elena exhales sharply. She folds her arms, looking down at her feet and shaking her head.] He won't talk to me. He won't talk to anyone.

[She looks back up at Stefan, her eyes honest in their worry over her brother.]

I don't know what to do. It seems like everything I try just pushes him further away. And since I can't get back to Mystic Falls...

[He just uses that as his ticket to do whatever the hell he wants. Most of it self-destructive.]

[Wait, Jeremy died? For real? Stefan definitely didn't Echo that back - and for a second, guilt flashes across his face. Mystic Falls' track record was worse than he remembered. Way worse. Still, he remembers Jeremy coming back to life, so maybe the record got reset somewhere along the way.

He winces at the accusation, even if it's from Caroline's perspective.] I can't blame her. If I hadn't gotten so wrapped up in searching for a way to bring Damon back, I... [Stefan's guessing at what his Other had felt, to abandon Mystic Falls, but he's not sure he agrees with that sentiment. After all, he had defended his hometown from invaders - other-Stefan would've (should've) done the same.

He takes a breath.] I know. Once we get back, I'll talk to her. For real this time.

[Granted, he's not sure how he'll accomplish that, but the promise is a start.

Oh Jeremy... Stefan's stomach sinks upon seeing Elena's worry. He knows that feeling now - he's an older brother too. If their roles were reversed, and Olette was the one throwing her life away, Stefan wasn't sure he could reconnect with her. He'd just put his foot in his mouth, rather than trying to guide her back to the straight path.]

I'm not sure I'd know, either. [Stefan runs a hand through his hair. Jeremy's a self-destructive, but ultimately good, kid. It's not like Stefan can recite Qur'anic verse and expect the kid to listen. How'd he get Danny to move in with him, again?] But deep down, he knows you want the best for him - he just may not be ready to move on.

Matt's watching over him, right? Maybe he needs that space. Let him talk to Ric and Matt on his own time - and when we get back, I'll see if I can knock some sense into him. [He pauses, amending:] Verbally, I mean.

[It would be nice to have Stefan back, Elena thinks, the more he talks about actually coming back home. While it's true that Stefan hadn't lived in Mystic Falls for most of Elena's life, it still seems strange to think of the town being without him. She's not sure if that's just because it's just always going to be Stefan's home no matter how long he lives or because he remains important in a different way. Whichever the case may be, she has the beginning of a smile on her face.]

Yeah, I guess you're right, [she admits with a small sigh and nod.]

[He's saying the exact things she's been trying to tell herself to make things seem alright, but it's not easy. Especially when Jeremy can always hide in Mystic Falls since Elena can't cross the city line. The physical distance just exacerbates that emotional one.]

Although with the way he's acting, he might try to make it a little less verbal.

Wouldn't be the first time. ["Wouldn't be the first time a teenager's tried to lash out and punch me," he means. He wouldn't retaliate - that's not Stefan's style. Plus, he gets why Jeremy would lash out. Losing Bonnie (again) and most of his friends to that barrier would do a number of anyone's psyche, let alone Jeremy's already fragile one.

Still, there's no use dwelling on something he can't change (and may not ever be able to). If they haven't reached the lab already, Stefan's expression softens at the sight of it - and how similar it is to the one back on his ship. Figures the Fleet would even standardize the med bays.

It's the equipment for experimentation that he's especially interested in. Before he gives himself away by rushing towards them, he figures he should probably change the subject somehow.] So... did you ever figure out what you were going to major in?

Yeah, I did, [Elena says with a small smile.] Pre-med.

I don't want to follow exactly in my father's footsteps, but I don't know. [She gives a slow shrug of a shoulder.] It just felt right, you know?

[Certainly more right than being a writer like she had wanted to be for so long. Which doesn't, of course, mean that she's entirely lost that passion. It's just not her path anymore. She used to think that was because the girl she used to be died, but she's slowly come to realize that's not the case at all. She's just changed and grown up. Elena's learned to let go. In some ways, actually, she's still learning how to let go. Impermanence doesn't scare her like it used to anymore, anyway.]

[If she was following in her dad's footsteps, Stefan's now guilty of the same - Alesci's parents were surgeons, and his grandparents had worked extensively in the medical field in Jordan. Medicine's become his legacy too: he even graduated with a degree in biology.

Still, he perks up at her admission, fighting the grin tugging on his face. Medicine suits her perfectly, even if he hadn't imagined it before now.] Yeah, I think I do. You'll help a lot of people that way - back home and on the Fleet.

[She doesn't need him to watch over her anymore. It feels weird but almost freeing - maybe he can keep this up, this grand lie that nothing's changed since they were last together. Stefan finally caves into his temptation and gestures towards the lab equipment.] One of my degrees was in Biology, actually. "Ecology and Evolutionary Biology," if we're gonna be specific.

[Thank you, Princeton, for drilling that into his head for years.] Wasn't exactly planning to put it to use, but... that's how these things usually go.

[She can't help the smile at Stefan's compliment. It's a proud one, glad to know that he thinks that way of her, but she also looks sheepish as she glances down at the floor momentarily as she brushes some of her hair back out of her face. No matter their history, Elena still values Stefan's opinion of her a lot.]

Well then, it's a good thing you came prepared, [she says looking over at the lab equipment for a moment before looking at Stefan,] because I definitely don't really know where to start.

[Of course he would: in nearly every memory he has of her, she's one of the most compassionate, caring souls he had ever encountered. Their relationship may have ended, but he would still do everything in his power to help her - just as her friend this time, not her boyfriend.]

Mm... you'll get it, though, one step at a time. [His voice's light as he folds his arms.] Plus, I said I'd help you get in extra practice.

By the end of this season, I promise you'll be a full-fledged graduate of the Salvatore [well, actually, Alesci] system.

Is that so, Professor Salvatore? [she teases with a wide grin.]

Of course, Ms. Gilbert. [He's teasing in return, resisting the temptation to flick her nose or - or well, just being affectionate in general.]

If you're not healing them the human way after all's said and done, then I've officially failed.

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01 | action + video

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