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And there's a whole big rabbit hole out there for you to explore.

[ her demeanour shifts as she straightens her back, her expression shifting into one that's more open and warm. it's not a face katherine wears much these days, but she can't say it doesn't feel nice to frame her features and make her look more approachable than normal. ]

[ she glances over her shoulder toward where her closet's hidden behind a wall. her eyes narrow as a light bulb appears above her head. voice slightly distant, ] And in that closet. [ she turns back to clementine, looking at her a little differently before. ] What have you asked the closet for? Curious minds would like to know.

[ curious katherines like to know, but it isn't for anything sinister. katherine may need some time to mull over the presence of zombies, but she can think quick on her feet when it comes to not having much, and never having an opportunity to have much. ]

Paint to paint my walls, but I used to like art stuff. Food. Weapons. I got a TV too, but the shows I used to watch, I'm not really into anymore.

[it doesn't help she was eight years old when the apocalypse started so her tastes were very childish, and now she's grown up too fast. she has grown up faster than she even knows how to deal with or what to hold on to and what not to.

she appreciates the way katherine asks, and it eases clementine into it like she's not expected to give right answers or even answers at all.]

I want to get back into reading. I used to love it.

[ clementine's list is enough to give her an idea of what she's trying to introduce into her wonderland life. paint to change the walls of her room, perhaps to give herself a makeover. food to feed herself, brought on by a possible distrust in the tea rooms and kitchen provided in the mansion. weapons are a given, even though katherine's beginning to learn they're never quite available in the circumstances of particular events. ]

[ there's a missing element covered by those television shows. clementine seems to be currently working out how to live without the need to watch her back, prepare for the worst, or reinvent herself. ]

[ playfully, katherine taps her chin with her index finger, expression shifting into thoughtfulness. she even hums, just to add to it. being playful isn't something she's used to being, not unless it's to dangle a carrot before a salvatore to get them to jump when she commands it. ]

[ hand dropping away, she purses her lips. ] What kind of books do you like?

Adventure books mostly. My mom used to read me Treasure Island before bed.

[she'd only been first learning to read at that point. she was a second grader, and some of the words in that book were still too big for her, but her mother helped her with them. she doesn't know if she can read that well anymore given she hasn't read in so long, but she wants to practice.

she wants to be good again. she can worry about more than survival now.

she smiles up at katherine]

I'm up for any suggestions if you have a favorite book.

[ katherine's life could be quite the adventure book. it'd be a little on the dark side with hope dwindling out pretty fast to never quite be found again for a few centuries. she has a plethora of stories beneath her fingertips to tell, but katherine's never been a storyteller. she's not stefan, writing in his diaries, keeping note of every little thing she does. ]

[ despite spending five hundred years running, she's spent a good portion of that time beginning to live. reading a book in a cafe in paris had let her blend into the scenery, after all. ]

[ after a moment of thinking it over, she looks at clementine and leans forward, arms resting on her thighs. ] You'll think it's unoriginal. But have you read the book on Alice in Wonderland? It's not a favourite, but it might help you here.

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