salvatore school } { of surprise visitors and big reveals

[braveandstupid]

Elena: [of course the day of the guest lecturer, Elena runs late. Normally, she's right in the front of the class, ready to take notes, but today is not that day. Still, she has time to get there before the lecture actually starts so she books it from the parking lot. Days like this are the moments where she misses having vampire speed. Still, she skids through the door just before the instructor goes to close it, and flashes him an apologetic smile] Sorry, Dr. Carver.

Marcus: [and he is standing up at the front, checking out the girls as they come in. He's waiting for one in particular, and when Elena enters, he just grins. It's been awhile, but when he got wind of her going to med school, he just had to see it for himself.]

Elena: [ after she apologetically works her way around her professor she glances to the front to see who it is and she lights up. She doesn't know what she was expecting, but she was not expecting Marcus. She's about to say something when -]

Dr. Carver: Take a seat, Ms. Gilbert.

Elena: [another apologetic look, before she moves into the seats to go find one for herself]

Marcus: [and well, he is here for a reason so he should probably give that lecture on genetic mutations and how to identify them in dna sampling and yadda yadda yadda medical stuff]

Elena: [and she will listen with rapt attention and even ask insightful questions as a result]

Marcus: [and he will answer them all with charm and intelligence. He can be a serious doctor on occasion.]

Elena: [and eventually the period ends, and the class filters out. Elena hangs back, waiting for most of her classmates to pass through, before making her way down. Dr. Carver is distracted chatting with another student so she makes her way over and smacks him on the shoulder] Why didn't you tell me you were coming!

Marcus: Ow! [and he rubs his arm] Well, a little birdy told me you left for med school and I was highly insulted you didn't come to Yale, so I decided to at least attempt to teach you something.

Elena: Oh-ho. I see how it is. [then she grins and reaches out to pull him into a hug] It's so good to see you.

Marcus: [and he hugs her back, taking a moment to take in the changes of her scent in case he needs to follow it] I'm glad you're back.

Elena: Me too. And we should have dinner. How many more of these do you have to do?

Marcus: Two more classes today, and four tomorrow including an online streamed one.

Elena: Well, I also have two more classes today. Can I meet you after my last one and we have a drink and catch up?

Marcus: I'm looking forward to it.

Elena: Good. I'll text you when I'm done. Same number you had before?

Marcus: Yeah. Matthew insists I keep the American phone the same.

Elena: Okay. Then I will see you later. [and with that, she will head off to suffer through classes for the rest of the day]

Marcus: [and he will "suffer" as well, both from lectures and from the ladies who want to have more private study sessions. Sadly, he has to turn them away--he already has a date for tonight]

Elena: [and eventually she will text him that she's free, and either give him a building to meet her by, or drop a pin for the bar in question, whichever he prefers]

Marcus: [he can follow a pin. He might be a few hundred years old, but he loves tech. When he gets there he will look around for her]

Elena: [and she will push up from her seat at a table when she sees him come in and wave him over. She already has the tequila.]

Marcus: [and he will grin as he sees that] You started without me?

Elena: I did not start. I merely was making sure that I was prepared for when you got here. [and she tips the bottle to pour the shots] Do you know how long it's been since I've had a vampire to drink with? It's almost like we in Mystic Falls have terrible drinking habits.

Marcus: You guys do have terrible drinking habits. I just happen to share them.

Elena: Which is why I'm glad you're here, because you won't judge me when I go a little too hard. [because ... she can sometimes. She's got a lot of demons to bury. but her habits are much better than when she was living in vampire central. She passes him a shot and holds it up to toast]

Marcus: You know, as a doctor I should warn you about the damage that excessive drinking can do to your liver and kidneys.

Elena: And as a medical student, I would agree with you. But as an ex vampire, Mystic Falls survivor, sometimes you just want to drink with your friends. And your friends can drink ... a lot.

Marcus: [picks up his shotglass] Especially when they are current vampires.

Elena: Indeed. [she clinks her glass against his, before knocking the first shot back] And I promise I will eat responsibly while drinking irresponsibly.

Marcus: By all means. Have some chicken wings for me.

Elena: So how have you been? I feel like I haven't talked to you since pre-magical coma.

Marcus: Well, because you haven't. I've been doing good. Taking a break from Oxford before Miriam and I rip each other apart. [knocks his drink back] Though in reality, she's wipe the floor with me.

Elena: Good. Has Oxford been good, aside from Miriam?

Marcus: Oh, it's great. London's fabulous. I think we had three days in a row without rain.

Elena: [laughs] I'm glad you've been enjoying the weather.

Marcus: Nah, you know me. Days in the lab surrounded by books and tissue samples, nights down in basement concert halls surrounded by life.

Elena: That does sound like you, now that I'm remembering. Find anything interesting in those tissue samples lately?

Marcus: We've been working on charting the different bloodlines of species back to find the origins of the witch, vampire, daemon triangle. Matthew's been seeing a trend that he's not liking.

Elena: He tends to see lots of trends he doesn't like. What's interesting about this one?

Marcus: [pours them another shot] Well, it seems that further down a family line is from the first a witch, vampire, or daemon is, they lose a bit of their power. You don't notice it from one generation to another, but if you track back centuries, you can see it.

Elena: Well, that makes sense. It's like genetics. Things get diluted the more things you mix with it.

Marcus: Well, it's a bit more than that. I've told you about the Covenant, right?

Elena: It would have been pre-coma so refresh my memory?

Marcus: It's this rule that the council created over a century ago. It's the thing that says creatures shouldn't mix, especially when coming to procreation. Over the years the sentiment morphed into a hatred between the species.

Elena: Don't you "procreate" every time you turn another human?

Marcus: I'm talking more in the biblical sense. [smirks and downs his shot]

Elena: [her brow furrows] And here I thought only Klaus Mikaelson could do that when it came to vampires. [a beat] Also doesn't Hope sort of throw all those theories out the window? She's one of the most powerful witches I've ever seen and she's got vampire, werewolf and witch leanings.

Marcus: The Mikaelsons aren't the same type of vampire I come from. They originate from a magical spell that created them, and they've never been good at keeping their existence secret, so our type let them be the spotlight while we faded into the populace. But Hope, she's actually one of the leads Matthew has been using to uncover why she is more powerful than the generation before her. She's an anomaly, in more than one way.

Elena: Well, you'll want to talk to Freya Mikaelson then. If anyone is able to unravel all the magical loopholes in that family it's her. She knows her mother's magic better than anyone else.

Marcus: He could, but he'd be breaking the covenant reaching out to her.

Elena: You and Klaus were technically friends, right? Would you be breaking it if you happened to visit the sister of an old friend?

Marcus: Yes. But, if said sister happened to stop by while I was visiting him, I'd have no control over that.

Elena: Mmmm. [well that'd be difficult. Last she checked, Klaus had to be on a completely different continent than his sister to protect his daughter] Klaus hasn't been in New Orleans for a while, and probably isn't come back anytime soon, but that doesn't mean there aren't vampire options. You could talk to his protegee, Marcel, or Hayley, the hybrid baby mama. [ neither of them are technically 100% vampire anymore, but close enough]

Marcus: I'll keep it in mind, but since her vampire heritage isn't like the ones we're studying, it's more proof that creatures do have the ability to create offspring from two different species bloodlines

Elena: [she nods] It's so strange that you can't even talk to each other. How is it possible to get anything done, supernaturally speaking?

Marcus: I know, right? But what do I know, I'm the rebellious American. [smirks, because he is]

Elena: Ahh, that explains it. Well, if I can facilitate any illicit communications, let me know. Hope goes to Caroline's school, so I'm pretty sure I could get in front of Freya if I asked nicely enough.

Marcus: Yeah, I heard about the school. I hope she knows what she's getting into.

Elena: Caroline Forbes has yet to meet a problem she hasn't been able to conquer.

Marcus: True.

Elena: I'm sure she'll find a way to persevere.

Marcus: I'm sure. So, what are you doing in Indiana?

Elena: Going to medical school. [she shrugs] This is the one that seemed like it wouldn't ask too many questions about the six year gap in my education.

Marcus: Has it really been six years?

Elena: I could hardly believe it myself. Then again, I thought it was going to be a lot longer.

Marcus: So how'd Damon handle it all? I didn't hear about any mass casualty events at a prom.

Elena: I don't really know. [a beat] He was dead when I woke up, so we didn't really talk about it.

Marcus: Wait? Damon Salvatore is dead?

Elena: [and all of the sudden, Elena is horrified] You didn't know? [oh no] You knew I moved to Indiana, but no one told you .... [her head tips back] Crap.

Marcus: I've been in Oxford. I only knew you started here because your professor and I are friends and he mentioned his class, and sent me a rooster. Saw your name and had to come see for myself.

Elena: [runs a hand through her hair and she takes a deep breath] I'm sorry. You shouldn't have found out like that.

Marcus: No, it's fine. I'll process it later. [but he's going to pour them more tequila]

Elena: [he will and she'll feel even more terrible, but she'll reach out and place her hand on his because if he doesn't know about Damon, he also doesn't know ...] Stefan is, too.

Marcus: They do tend to do most things together.

Elena: [she nods, taking a deep breath] Yeah, they do. I should have called or something, but I ... [she was not in a good place. at all]

Marcus: Was in a coma.

Elena: And then kind of a mess. For obvious reasons.

Marcus: I'm sorry. They did care about you... in their own special ways

Elena: Yeah, I know they did. And I miss them a lot. But if they did it to save the world, so ... I can't really be too mad at them now can I?

Marcus: You can be a little mad. But not a lot.

Elena: [she laughs] A manageable level of anger.

Marcus: Exactly. [holds up his shotglass] To the Salvatores

Elena: [nods as she taps her glass against his] To the Salvatores.

Marcus: [and down it goes and he shakes his head] I always hated tequila

Elena: [laughs] Sorry. If you wanted to pick the shots, you should have gotten here first.

Marcus: I'll wash the taste out with whiskey later.

Elena: Yeah, the one downside to tending to drink the Salvatores' alcohol is that all they had was bourbon. I'm pretty much done with whiskeys.

Marcus: Most of what I get is wine. Old, good wine, but wine

Elena: I do like wine. Once you learn to pair wine with the right food, you can never go back.

Marcus: Next time I'll see if I can sneak a bottle out of grandmere's cellar.

Elena: Oooh. Sounds good. I'll order the food. [not cook. never cook. but she knows some good restaurants]

Marcus: You know where you want to do your residency yet?

Elena: Well, I'm heading back to Mystic Falls eventually, so I figured it would probably be there.

Marcus: If you want a change, I know most of the directors at hospitals in New England.

Elena: I will keep that in mind. But I do want to go home and work there. Those kids are going to need a doctor that they don't have to hide from.

Marcus: If they need one.

Elena: Two thirds of them will need one. The kids aren't all vampires. There's werewolves and witches in there too.

Marcus: I forgot about the werewolves.

Elena: Most people do.

Marcus: To be fair, we don't have a lot in London.

Elena: Really? They have their own song and everything.

Marcus: [and he doesn't get the reference]

Elena: [squints as she sees that before singing part of the refrain] ... Awooooo - werewolves in London ... [then she squints even more] No? Nothing?

Marcus: I thought it was werewolves in Paris.

Elena: No that's the sequel to the horror film An American Werewolf in London. There's only one song though.

Marcus: I must have been sleeping in that decade. [smirks]

Elena: [she laughs] Maybe. From what I've been told by my werewolf friends, the movies are highly inaccurate.

Marcus: Remind me to tell you about how 15th century Europeans thought that Matthew was a werewolf.

Elena: Really? Huh. Was he particularly feral at the time? Only striking on full moons?

Marcus: pretty sure a combination along with how tall and lanky he is.

Elena: Is that better or worse than actually knowing he's a vampire?

Marcus: Well, they didn't know it was him. Someone saw him in the shadows moving fast and made assumptions.

Elena: Ahh. Gotcha.

Marcus: I've never asked, but I think Matt knew Elijah at one point. They're very similar in their old manners and sensibilities.

Elena: [she nods] I wouldn't be surprised. Elijah got around.

Marcus: I didn't meet him until the twenties. It was me, Klaus, Kol, and Becca that raised hell in New Orleans.

Elena: I thought he was in Chicago in the twenties. [and that Kol was daggered, but maybe he meant the tens. She knows how years can blend together with older vampires]

Marcus: No, the four of us were back in 1801. Elijah was in 1920.

Elena: Oh. [she shakes her head] I have a hard time keeping it all straight sometimes. Who knew who when and where.

Marcus: It's easier to handle when you think of what name you went by then. Though with the internet, changes like that are going to be difficult.

Elena: [she nods] Kind of glad I don't have to worry about it anymore, to be honest.

Marcus: I don't blame you. You'll get to live one, good life and when it's over, you can rest with God. Meanwhile, I just keep acting like the revolutionary for every generation.

Elena: Apparently every generation we tend to need one. You'll never be out of work.

Marcus: Isn't it funny? We keep trying to fight for a better future for the next generation, but the goalposts are always being moved, usually by and old white republican?

Elena: Progress comes in baby steps. I think that's part of why Caroline and Ric started their school.

Marcus: Maybe by the time those kids become adults, the Convocation will realize that their rules are ancient and need to be changed

Elena: Maybe. I think the super old vamps might be a lost cause but between what Hayley and Vincent are doing in New Orleans and the school, they might have case studies that show it can work. That you all are stronger together than you are apart.

Marcus: I think that's what they fear. If there's power in unification, they would lose the ability to control us.

Elena: I think they overestimate how much control they have to begin with. [she's just saying]

Marcus: They believe American creatures are a lost cause.

Elena: Then that's their first mistake.

Marcus: Oh, I say the same thing.

Elena: They really are republicans, aren't they?

Marcus: That or Colonists.

Elena: That makes a lot of sense. [she nods] You know, at some point you should chuck your proverbial tea in the river and come hang out with us.

Marcus: Maybe, once Matthew decides to let me take a break on this project of his.

Elena: Well, when that time comes, you are always welcome at Casa Gilbert. Wherever that may happen to be.