manipulative | deerington contact.

I want to help you, Stefan. [ that'd be the key moment to move toward him and wrap a tie around his eyes, wouldn't it? katherine doesn't move. she simply sits on his legs and watches him.

fiddling with the ties wrapped around her hands, she feels nervous. she doesn't know how to help anyone, let alone the one person who takes it upon himself to save everyone else. ]

Maybe we need to put you in a dark, small space. Not the safe, just somewhere blank... and see how you react to that. If you want to.

Uh.

( he immediately feels his heart thump a little louder, eyes flickering around the room to see where she might try and put him. )

I don't...have any places like that.

( the only thing he can think of is the closet and he doesn't think that'll work. )

That's fine.

[ she ensures to remain as calm as possible while his heart races in his chest. she wants to reach out and help calm him, but she suspects nothing she does will achieve that.

they are vampires with incredibly outrageous abilities, after all. ]

We don't need an actual room for it.

( stefan doesn't follow at first, giving his head a shake and looking at her in confusion. )

What do we need, then?

( he still doesn't know why she's got his ties in her hands. she can't have just wanted to feel the fabric beneath her hands. )

These to cover your eyes. [ she stretches out one of his ties between her hands. ] And you to open your mind to me.

[ she knows from experience that she can easily push her way into his head, but she doesn't want to force her way into his mind when he doesn't want her there. if he doesn't want to do this, she won't push. she's already made him relive the safe once before on dry land and she doesn't want to make it so he thinks being with her is unsafe. ]

Don't put me in a safe, Katherine. I can't — I can't do that.

( he's willing to let her try this but he can't go in a safe even without water. he can't, not so soon after he relived drowning and dying. )

Promise me. You won't put me in a safe.

( he's not letting her do this until he hears that promise. )

[ she frowns. ] I'm not going to put you in the safe.

[ she'd done it once and only once, and she never wants to do it again. desperation had dictated that choice, and it's one she'll never make again. stefan's trust in her is something she values incredibly highly. ]

I promise, there will be no safe.

Okay.

( he tries to relax a little but his heart still thumps and he can still feel his nerves buzzing. he hates that he doesn't know what to expect but he guesses that maybe that's good so he can't steel himself. )

Go ahead.

[ katherine doesn't immediately make him see complete darkness. she moves along his legs so that she's straddling his lap. she leans closer to him so that she can stretch out one of the ties in her hands and brings it to the back of his head. she makes sure that she brushes her fingers through his hair as she does so. ]

Close your eyes.

[ she's not going to make him see darkness in his mind or literally without him appearing as comfortable as he can make himself. ]

( stefan blinks a few times but listens, closing his eyes and keeping them closed. he tries to breathe normally even if his body wants to start taking deep, gulping breaths in preparation for water. )

Okay.

( his fingers move restlessly along his sheets, opening and closing involuntarily. )

[ she lets out a quiet exhale and gently ties the tie around his eyes. she drops her hands to his so that he has something a lot warmer and solid to hold onto if he wants it.

katherine doesn't know what she's doing and if it'll help, but she proceeds with it. it's better than doing nothing and it's far better than letting him leave her.

the sounds of his bedroom slowly start to fade away and it becomes dark. but he's not alone. she's lying on her back beside him, as calm as ever. just like they'd found themselves in the safe, they're in a dark place now. but there's no gushing of water or coldness to it—it's like she's put them in a black void. ]

So... how are you feeling right now?

Okay, I think.

( it's dark but he doesn't feel closed in. it just feels like a dark night where he's sitting outside and watching the sky except this sky lacks stars.

but he doesn't feel like there's a weight on his chest, threatening to crush him. )

I'm okay.

So, it's not the dark that triggers you. That's good.

[ it was kind of obvious, but she's not prepared to write anything off until it's been proven.

she turns her head to the side to look at him. what she does next is close the space slightly—it still feels spacious, but it's very obvious now that it's not an endless void like lying on a rooftop or the front yard of the boarding house at the darkest part of night. it's not a tight fit like the safe, not by far. ]

( stefan inhales when she moves closer but he doesn't panic. he has a quick flash of when she'd been close to him in the safe before, when she was human and opening herself up to him just to try and help him.

he could have killed her but he'd trusted him enough to let him be close to her when he was obviously not in control. )

I can deal with the dark.

( he's been in the dark a lot, both figuratively and literally. it's not the dark. )

What about the feeling of the walls surrounding you?

[ the small space only grows tighter. it's still not as tight as the safe, but it should feel like he's trapped in a closet where he can still move about. the air feels a little stuffier.

she watches his face and listens to his heartbeat so she knows when to stop this. the last thing she wants to do is have him shove her away when she's finally gotten close to him, literally, figuratively and emotionally. ]

How do you feel now?

Okay.

( he's not panicking but his heart does pick up its pace and he starts moving, squirming just a bit to make sure he can still move his arms and legs. he reaches to stretch his arms, expecting to hit something that stops him. even when he doesn't, he still keeps his arms up like that might stop the walls from closing in. )

It's...it's fine. I'm still fine.

[ if he lifts his hand up just a touch higher, he'll hit an invisible wall. it's like one of bonnie's boundary spells has been inflicted here—call the witch's appearance inspiring. his feet won't hit anything, but his long arms will. there's still quite a lot of distance between him and the boundary.

she turns so she can lie on her side and prop her head up by her elbow and watches him studiously. the quickening of his heart isn't lost on her. ]

Is this too much?

I just want to make sure I can still move around.

( there's still space and while he doesn't exactly like this, it's not as bad as the safe was. there's no water that makes it cold and dark and terrifying either. )

I'm okay.

( he takes a few deep breaths to try and calm himself down. )

[ katherine doesn't make the area they lie in grow any smaller. she can hear his heart race in his chest and his attempts at calming himself aren't lost on her. she thinks this is enough for now—either this evening or for this very minute. pushing him is what will ultimately trigger his fight and flight response, and as much as she wants to find out what it is that sets off his panic, she doesn't want to push too much too fast. ]

It's okay if you're not. [ she reaches out to brush her fingers against his cheek. ]

I just need to be able to move.

( if he can move, he can get out and if he can get out, he's not going to drown. and though he doesn't know where she's got them, he can still move enough to feel okay. )

I'm fine.

( he let's his hands settle back and stares up into the darkness. )

[ she watches him for a moment, trying to gauge his true reaction. it's a little hard to when he's so good at putting up a front, but katherine can only hope she's starting to read between the lines with him. ]

So you don't feel anything being trapped in here as we are? I want you to be honest.

[ maybe she needs to tighten the space, but she doesn't want to. ]

I don't know. I don't...like it but I can deal with it. I can deal with it.

( maybe that was better than 'i'm fine.' he doesn't really want to be trapped anywhere but this isn't so bad. he's not panicking and he can focus and tell himself there's space. )

I'm good, I promise.

[ that's comforting, right?

katherine licks her lips and wonders if that's her cue to bring it in. she doesn't want to go hard all too soon... but she doesn't want to not help him, either. ]

Should I... make it feel smaller? Or is this enough for now?

[ whatever he chooses to do will be fine by her. she doubts this will be a one time thing. she hopes it isn't—she really enjoys having his trust.

she ensures to brush her fingers against his cheek and smile softly at him. ] You're doing well, Stefan.

Not right now.

( he's okay right now but he doesn't want to chance it. he thinks if he'd gone without choking her tonight, he might have been better able to handle it but he needs more time. )

This is enough. I don't...want anymore.

( it's hard to admit because he wants to be able to handle everything but he knows he can't. )

Okay.

[ katherine honours that choice and doesn't make the invisible walls come any closer to him. she has a feeling his insistence of being fine is more for himself than for her. she would imagine this would make him feel panicked in some way. ]

We'll just stay like this for a little while. [ she shuffles closer to him and lies down on her back, letting her arm brush against his. ]

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