it's always something

GRADUATION IS AT THREE P.M. Judging by the sight of the sun slowly starting to shine through the windows, casting shadows at odd angles, Athena had to guess that it was nearing five in the morning.

Athena hadn't moved from Caroline's side all night.

She hadn't heard back from Klaus. Nor Josh, or Alex, or anyone. She refused to accept any sort of outcome where they wouldn't get back on time. Athena's stubbornness had yet to fail them, after all. And it wasn't stubbornness so much as it was her denial, her downright refusal to live in a world that Caroline Forbes did not exist in.

It was incomprehensible to her.

She watches the sun move higher and higher in the sky, bringing day along with it. She holds Caroline's hand in hers, watching when sweat starts to bead up on her chest and face, watching when she starts to whimper in fear, stuck in a constant nightmare, unable to fight back or wake up.

Eventually, it's Damon that comes in, and he barely looks at Caroline. She knows he couldn't fathom the thought of losing her, either, as much as he can't voice it.

"You need to start getting ready," He tells her, eyes soft as he approaches where she sits by the side of the bed.

"I don't want to go," Athena's voice is hoarse from disuse, and she swallows roughly when she realizes how dry her throat is.

"I know," Damon answers her in a whisper, laying a hand on her shoulder and squeezing it reassuringly. "But you have to. She would want you to, no matter what."

Athena is quiet for a moment, watching her best friend's face twist in pain. "The show must go on,"

Damon nods.

Heaving a world-weary sigh, Athena finally lets go of Caroline's hand and stands, turning to face Damon with tired eyes. She stiffens her lips as her face heats, tears building behind her eyes. Taking in a shaky breath, she shakes her head. "I don't want to do it without her,"

Damon's eyes are full of sympathy, and she embraces the comfort he offers her with a simple look. "I know, Athena. But listen to me. You are the strongest person I know, okay? And this is far from the worst thing you've ever faced, you and I both know that. Do you want to know why I'm not worried about her?"

Athena nods.

"Because you always win," He smirks lightly, and she mirrors it, feeling a lightness in her for the first time all night. "So you're going to go to graduation and give the best speech those idiots have ever heard, and then you're going to come home and find a way to save Caroline because it's the only option."

She nods again, reassuring herself with his words of confidence.

"You're Athena Hunt," He shakes his head, saying her name firmly like she'd forgotten it. "You don't lose."

"I don't lose," She repeats, nodding as she straightens her shoulders out. "I don't lose."

Damon slaps a hand down on her shoulder, shaking her slightly. "You don't lose. So go out there and show those people what it looks like when you win."

──────

A sea of red caps and gowns swarms them. Athena clenches Stefan's hand where it's intertwined with hers. Rebekah and Bonnie are standing before her, looking as upbeat as they can for her sake. Damon's pep talk had afforded her the confidence she needed to get there, but standing around in their suits and dresses, with their caps on, it felt so utterly wrong for Caroline to not be here that she could hardly stomach it.

But she refuses to lose. She won't lose in the face of adversity, she won't lose in front of all of these people. She won't. She's stubborn enough and powerful enough to ensure that, at the least.

It doesn't take long for everyone to gather, and Athena sits in the front row next to the salutatorian, with Stefan, Bonnie, and Rebekah in the row behind her.

Principal Weber takes the stage, coming to stand behind the podium with that genial smile on his face as he looks out at the graduating class seated before him.

"It's an absolute honor to be up here today, looking out at this great group of students. I think I say this every year, but I am proud to call myself the principal of such fine kids, and I send these ones out into the world with full confidence that they'll be just fine,"

The older man adjusts, clearing his throat slightly. "Of course, there are those that we have lost that don't get to walk across this stage with the rest of you today, and we mourn the loss of them greatly. But I know every one of you has a piece of those kids in your heart, and that if you're not doing it for anyone else, you're doing it for them, and for that, I applaud you."

A small round of applause follows his words and he waits for it to quiet before speaking again. "With that being said, it is my honor to introduce this year's salutatorian, Troy Jenkins," Another round of applause follows as the boy beside Athena raises his hand in a wave. "And our valedictorian Athena Hunt."

A sharp whistle echoes from the crowd over the clapping and Athena smiles to herself, knowing it was Damon making such a ruckus.

"Please welcome Ms. Hunt to the stage, so she can say a few words for her class,"

Athena stands with an award-winning smile plastered on her face, ignoring the way her hand shakes as she raises it in a wave, making her way up the few stairs to the podium. She shakes Principal Weber's hand before he takes his seat behind her on the stage, and clears her throat before she steps up to the microphone.

She squints through the blinding sun as she looks out at the familiar faces, most of whom she'd been with since her very first day at school.

Ducking her head, she shakes it in slight disbelief before she looks back out to the crowd, a new confidence stringing along her spine. "When Principal Weber told me that I'd be the valedictorian, I knew I'd have to prepare a speech. But if I'm being honest, I am totally winging it," She starts, hands wrapping around the edges of the podium as a few students laugh at her opening.

She looks around at the guests all seated on the bleachers, parents and siblings watching with pride, family members gathered to watch a defining moment. "Most of you who know me probably know that I'm very competitive, and something of a perfectionist, so I really did want to have the perfect speech written for all of you by the time today rolled around. But something crazy happened before I could ever get around to it, and here I am, hoping for the best,"

She licks her lips, wetting them as her eyes briefly drop to the line of cameras photographing her in front of the stage, likely for the newspapers. She doesn't know why she's suddenly trying to take in every little detail. She didn't think today would have her feeling so much, but she thinks she's got other things to blame for it.

"See, what happened was life," She nods like she's telling herself that for the first time. In a way, she supposes she is. "Life happened, and it was a really crazy thing to experience. Love, loss, and everything in between. It's been such a long and crazy year, but standing here now, looking out at all of you, I'm realizing that it was worth it. Because what's the point if we don't just live our lives, you know? What's the point if we don't get that tattoo we might regret in a few years? Why not love who we wanna love, and do what we wanna do? That's what life is for– that's what the world was made for!"

She lets out a breathless sigh, eyes drifting past her graduating class as a group of people walk towards the ceremony, one in the shiny red gown and cap. Her breath stalls in her chest at the sight of the grinning blonde trying to covertly make her way to the second row of seats, and Athena finds herself suddenly biting back tears.

She sees the shock register on Stefan, Bonnie, and Rebekah's faces as Caroline wriggles her way in between them all to her seat, and she feels a grin spreading wide on her face as her brother and the rest of them take their seats beside Damon in the crowd.

Leaning back in towards the microphone, Athena can't stop the utter joy in her voice as she speaks. "A wise man I know told me that I don't lose. Now, I'm only going to admit this one time because his ego is big enough to take the stage, but this man is probably the person I trust the most, and he's done so much more for me than he'll ever know, so that's why I believed him when he said 'Your name is Athena Hunt, and you don't lose'," She emphasized the words pointedly, eyes drifting to Damon for a moment.

"And even though the rest of you aren't Athena Hunt, it doesn't mean that you aren't winners, too. Because we made it here. Through all of the hard times, through all of the good times, we're still here. The world is our oyster, people. We have our whole lives ahead of us. So what's stopping all of us from going out into the world and becoming people that just don't lose?"

Athena straightens her spine, unclenching her hands from the podium as she leans back, letting out a heavy, relieved breath. "I've still got a lot to learn from life. We all do. But that's the beauty of it. We have the rest of our lives to do it, and they start right now,"

She shrugs, shaking her head as she bites back the sentimental tears bubbling in her eyes. "So, without further ado, it's my honor to introduce to you, the Mystic Falls High School graduating class of 2011,"

A thunderous applause follows her words, and Athena throws her cap up into the air along with the rest of her class, feeling a few stray tears make their way down her face.

She turns to shake Principal Weber's hand one more time before grabbing her cap and leaving the stage, and she hurries back to her seat as the rest of the students disperse to celebrate with each other. She throws herself at Caroline, making the blonde grunt in shock, but she quickly squeezes her back with as much force as she can humanly display.

Athena pulls back, letting out a wet laugh. "You're okay,"

Caroline nods, her blue eyes glassy with tears. "I'm okay."

Athena gives her one last firm squeeze before letting go, turning to Bonnie and Rebekah to hug them just as fiercely. The girls quickly depart from the embrace to do the same to Caroline, though, and Athena lets Stefan intertwine their fingers together as they begin to migrate away from the groups of their now former classmates and towards the dispersing crowd all looking for their respective graduates.

It's easy to find their mismatched family and Athena gets wrapped up in a hug from her brother before anyone else.

She laughs as he squeezes her tightly, lifting her off her feet slightly before putting her back down. She looks at Josh, and then at Iris and Alex with a happy smile. "I'm so happy you made it,"

Iris shakes her head, a fond, proud smile pulling at her lips. "We wouldn't have missed it for the world,"

"I am sorry we cut it a bit close," The accented voice comes from beside her and Athena turns to look at Klaus, already shaking her head.

"You made it here just in time and that's all that matters," She reassures him, earning a nod before the man shifts his attention elsewhere, and Athena turns to look at Damon, who's watching her with a small smirk.

"So, can you repeat what you said on stage? I didn't hear it very well,"

"Oh, you didn't hear what I said into the microphone connected to giant speakers throughout the entire football field?"

Damon shrugs, shaking his head mournfully. "My hearing is starting to go in my old age, it's not my fault,"

Athena scoffs, lurching forward to slap his arm. "Shut up, loser,"

"Nope, you can't call me names," His smirk widens into something more genuine. "You like me."

"God help me, I do," She rolls her eyes but lets him bring her into a hug, closing her eyes as the day truly settles into her mind.

"Alright, enough emotions," Damon pulls away from her, eyes suspiciously wet, and she does him the favor of ignoring it and letting him off to go hound Caroline, most likely with some backhanded compliment about how he's glad she didn't die.

Finally by themselves, Athena turns to look at Stefan, who instantly smiles when she sets her sights on him.

She kicks her feet up behind her as he wraps his arms around her waist, hoisting her up against his chest as he spins her around. She laughs, eyes squeezing shut as he stops them. When she opens them again, he's grinning up at her like she's the sun itself. Like she's the only thing he ever wants to look at.

It makes her breath hitch, and she lays her palms flat against his chest, smiling questioningly down at him. "What?"

"Marry me,"

Her smile drops as her stomach does. "What?"

"Marry me," He repeats himself without hesitation, and her hands twitch where they lay against his chest. "Really. Marry me, Athena."

Heart pounding in her ears, she looks at him with big brown eyes that make him realize why men fought in wars over women. "You want to marry me? Like, forever?"

He nods, laughing at her shocked questions. "Really. Forever," He shrugs, lowering her back down to her feet as he does. "Maybe even a little bit longer."

They're silent for a moment before Stefan's hands squeeze at her waist, bringing her out of her shock. "So, what do you say?"

Athena finds herself nodding so furiously she's almost dizzy. "Yes– yeah. Yes. I'll marry you."

Stefan's grin suddenly splits his face so wide it's almost painful. "Yeah?'

She nods, echoing his words. "Let's get married, Stefan,"

Stefan doesn't waste another moment before kissing her, stealing her breath with it as he does. It doesn't last long, though, because their smiles are too wide for it to be anything real.

Leaning back, Athena touches trembling fingers to her lips, feeling the unwavering smile pulling at them. Her eyes drift past his shoulder to where the rest of their friends are standing, talking amongst each other, and she pulls out of his hold suddenly, eyes wide.

"Oh, my god," She breathes out. "Caroline!"

She runs past Stefan, who laughs at her exclamation, automatically following after her.

"Caroline!" Athena runs to the blonde whose face is full of confusion at her friend's sudden glee. Athena jumps up and down on her heels, eyes pinched shut with how hard she's smiling.

"What? What is it? What's happening, why are we excited?" Caroline holds her hands out, grabbing onto Athena's wrists to still her.

"Stefan just asked me to marry him,"

Caroline's eyes go comically wide and her grip on Athena goes lax before she's suddenly tightening it. "Are you serious?"

The blonde looks past Athena to where Damon is bringing Stefan into a hug, clapping him on the back with a proud grin on his face.

"Oh, my god," Caroline looks back at Athena. "Oh, my god, it's happening. Did you say yes?"

Athena's face twists. "Wh– of course I said yes!"

"I'm just making sure!"

Athena is quiet for a second before a loud laugh bursts from her lips, and Caroline finds herself laughing, too, even as she squeezes the girl into a hug.

Athena pulls back suddenly, laughter halting as she looks into Caroline's wide eyes. "Will you be my maid of honor?"

Caroline gasps, eyes immediately filling with tears. "Really?"

"Obviously," Athena shakes her head, holding Caroline's hands. "We always said that if we didn't marry each other, we'd be each other's maid of honor."

"I–" Caroline shakes her head, shock rendering her semi-speechless for once. "I– of course, I'll be your maid of honor. Of course, Athena. Oh, my god, I have to start planning everything right now! Oh, my god, you have to have a bachelorette party! Oh, there's so much to do!"

Caroline runs off, yelling for Rebekah, and Athena laughs to herself as she watches her go.

She turns on her heel, meeting Stefan's eyes from across the small distance between them. The pounding of her heart feels exhilarating in a way Athena doesn't think she'll ever get to feel again.

It feels good. It feels like no matter what may happen, she has this. She'll always have this, now.

──────

Music blared through the boarding house, bass vibrating through the floors as people milled about, dancing and laughing and celebrating their freedom from high school. Even though the majority of them were going to college in the fall, they had their freedom for the next four months, and they knew that anything would be better than high school.

Stefan and Athena were amongst the crowd, swaying with the music as they drank out of plastic cups, reveling in their little slice of heaven. Athena swore she hadn't stopped smiling since graduation, even though it was well into the night.

She could hardly hear her thoughts over the noise, but it didn't matter. She was overcome with happiness, and it had been so long since she could genuinely say that and mean it.

That, of course, is why it went wrong.

There was a sudden cheer from one part of the house and applause followed it, and Athena turned to look as confetti rained down on all of them, puffs of smoke following it. Athena's brows furrowed and she looked back at Stefan curiously. "Which one of us got confetti?"

Stefan shook his head, sharing a matching look of confusion. "I don't know. Probably Caroline, or your brother,"

Athena hummed, reaching out to grab a piece. She flicked the piece of paper between her fingers, and Stefan reached out for it, instantly hissing in pain when it singed his fingertips. The puffs of smoke descend on them quickly and Stefan ducks his head as it burns his skin, sizzling skin that heals almost as fast as it's injured.

He drops the confetti from his grasp, jerking back in pain, and Athena grabs his arms, looking around worriedly. "What the hell is that? What's happening?"

"Vervain. It's vervain," Stefan breathes out, nearly bent in half to shield his face from the pain.

Athena looked around in shock, immediately searching for the other vampires. "The hunter that attacked Rebekah and Caroline," She looked back at Stefan. "He's here."

"We don't even know what he looks like,"

Athena huffed, pulling his wrist as she dragged them out of the crowd, ignoring his occasional grunts of pain as he was submerged in the vervain, intermittently healing. "You need to find everyone and get them upstairs, make sure they're out of sight. We can't risk something happening again,"

Stefan knew she was right, but it didn't make it any easier to leave her to handle him on her own.

As if sensing his train of thought, she gave him a reassuring smile. "Don't worry, I have Bonnie still. We'll be fine. I'll catch this guy, and we can get some answers as to what he's here for. Now, go find the rest of them. And try to avoid the confetti, or at least don't make it obvious it's hurting you. The less reaction he sees, the better."

Stefan gives her a chaste kiss before he leaves, pushing through the house to go look for everybody.

Turning on her heel, Athena narrows her eyes. She walks over to a chair pushed up against the wall and drags it into the middle of the floor, pushing people out of her way as she steps onto it, looking out over the crowd.

She searches each familiar face, not willing to rule anyone out even if she has gone to school with them her whole life.

On the other side of the main room where everyone's gathered, she sees a man that's taller than most of the people here, and she can't place him from anywhere. He's looking around the room but hasn't spotted her yet, and she sees him scanning the crowd just like she is. Hunting. Looking for prey.

She clenches her fists at her side and hops over the side of the chair, immediately pushing her way through the crowd, ignoring the indignant noises that echo after her actions. She breaks through the main part of the party where everyone's packed tight like sardines, and spots the man as soon as she does.

He's taller up close, bald with dark eyebrows, and a severe look on his face that Athena thinks is a little bit of overkill. He's here on a mission, though. That much is obvious.

"Hey!" Athena calls out over the music, immediately catching his attention. His eyes widen at her brashness, and she watches him observe her threat level, undoubtedly underestimating it. "Who the hell are you? This is a graduation party, we don't allow senior citizens!"

The man glares at her, and she can tell he's feeling caught out but knows he can't do something about it in such a populated area. Athena holds no such reservations, and she stalks forward, grabbing the man's wrist.

She twists it roughly, face furrowing in confusion when a trail of black ink appears beneath her touch, trailing up his arm beneath the sleeve of his shirt. When she looks up at the man's face, she sees a similar look of confusion and shock at her ability to see the tattoo, and he tries to rip his arm from her grasp when he realizes it.

Athena doesn't let him go, though, instead yanking harder and wrapping a hand around the back of his neck. "Don't be a party crasher, dude. It's so not cool,"

She grunts as she slams his head into the wall, stepping back as he crumples at her feet, making people gasp in shock and move away from the scene. They all give Athena a wide berth, and she shrugs, flicking her hair out of her face.

"What? He was a total creep,"

The few girls watching her seem to nod in agreement and everyone quickly goes back to their celebration, not paying any more attention to her.

Athena rolls her eyes and leans down to grab his wrists, pulling him into the mostly empty hallway off the room. "I can't have one day, can I?"

──────

"Are we sure we want to do this right now? I mean, we have a house full of people upstairs. Humans, at that."

"They can't hear us, Caroline," Athena huffs, standing in the doorway of one of the cells in the basement of the boarding house, eyeing where Damon and Stefan had strung the hunter up by his wrists. "You guys should go back up there, anyway. I don't want anyone to come looking for us."

Caroline looks unhappy at the idea, but nods, leading the majority of them back up the stairs into the main house.

"I'm going to leave you two to it," Stefan eyes his brother and Athena, stepping back from them as they step into the cell, matching looks of determination and anticipation on their faces. "I know this is your favorite part."

Athena glances over her shoulder at him as he turns to leave, giving him a small smile. "I promise I won't make too much of a mess."

Stefan just shakes his head, already walking up the stairs. "It's none of my business,"

She huffs a laugh as she turns back around, facing the unconscious hunter. "Alright," She sighs, putting her hands on her hips. "Time for him to wake up."

Damon steps forward and slams his fist into the man's stomach, immediately waking him as he struggles to get a breath in. The vampire smirks, eyes flashing dangerously. "It's been too long since we got to do this,"

Athena nods, looking for the tattoo that appeared under her touch. "Far too long. I was getting bored,"

Damon hums lowly in agreement, watching as the man regains his equilibrium and realizes the situation he's in. He struggles against the chains holding him to the ceiling, grunting as his muscles strain.

"Not that it's not entertaining watching you struggle," Athena starts, taking a small step towards him as his dark eyes snap to hers. "But I have questions, and you're going to answer me, or I'm going to start taking parts off of you one by one."

"I'm not telling you anything. I don't work with vampires,"

"Well, it's a good thing I'm not a vampire, then," Athena grins sweetly, tilting her head. "What's with the tattoo?"

"What tattoo?" Damon asks from behind her, arms crossed over his chest threateningly.

Athena gestures to the arm she'd seen it on earlier. "It showed up when I touched him. Some weird disappearing ink thing, I guess. Obviously supernatural, which is why I want to know what the hell it means, and why the hell you're trying to kill vampires if you're not human, either."

The man grits his teeth, a defensiveness to his voice. "I am a human. I'm more human than any of you. I was born to hunt down monsters, and put an end to their evil."

Damon whistles lowly. "Wow, that was poetic. I'm a little honored that you think so highly of me. Not a lot of people like me,"

"He's got one of those personalities you really have to get used to, you know," Athena taunts, smirking as Damon rolls his eyes behind her. She steps closer to the hunter and grabs his jaw in her hand, squeezing it just on the side of painfully tight. "Now, I can already tell you're going to make this difficult, so I'm not even going to give you an option, I'm just going to tell you what's gonna happen."

The hunter glares at her, unable to speak through the grip she has on his jaw, the bones creaking beneath her strength. "Damon and I are going to hurt you really, really badly. We're gonna dangle you over the edge of death and ask you a bunch of questions, and you're going to answer them honestly or I'll kill you. Okay?"

She lets go of him and he readjusts his jaw from the stiffening ache in it. "You're going to kill me anyway. Might as well get it over with, otherwise you're just wasting your time."

"Nice try," Athena pushes her bottom lip out in a mocking pout, tilting her head. "What do you say, Damon? You want to start us off?"

"No, you deserve it. You graduated high school and got engaged," He pats her back, smirking as the man's eyes dart in between them, observing their playful demeanor even in the face of the threat he had posed to them. "It's a big day."

Athena smiled at the reminder, looking back at the man. "It's true. I'm getting married to his brother, who– get this– is also a vampire. He's a vampire that you were going to try and kill, actually. And you almost killed two of my best friends at our last school dance ever last night,"

She twists her wrist slightly, summoning a small knife into her palm. The man's eyes drop down to the weapon, and she can see the confusion in his face at her apparent abilities.

"So, you're right. I am going to kill you no matter what," She nods, laying the tip of the blade against the back of his hand, pressing it against the skin, watching the tattoo appear beneath her touch yet again. "But I'm willing to give you one last chance to tell me everything you know before I make it hurt."

The man clenches his jaw and glares down at the girl. "I don't negotiate with monsters."

Her eyes light up like it's exactly what she wanted to hear. She lines up the blade with the edge of the tattoo, drawing up a bead of blood. "Then I guess I'll just have to carve it out of you."

──────

Athena's brows were furrowed tightly on her forehead as she dragged the pencil along the piece of paper, her hand starting to cramp with how much she'd drawn in the past hour alone. She knew that trying to describe the tattoo would be useless, so she left Damon to torture the man as she went off to start drawing it as well as she could based on what she could see from between the cuts she'd made on him.

It didn't make much sense, overall. All of the words were in Latin, and she could translate Latin if she heard it by ear, but she'd never been able to read it that well. Along with the nonsensical words, there were faces and bodies, people intertwined by thick black ribbons of ink up to his chest, and not a single one of them was someone recognizable.

In other words, it was useless.

Athena dropped the pencil with a groan, shoving the pile of papers she'd scrawled the tattoo across, trying to connect it in any way. The party went on downstairs, and Athena was once again having to accept the fact that they could never have a party or a dance without something going wrong. She didn't even want to imagine what kind of disaster her wedding reception would be. She's only been engaged for six hours– she needed to reel it in a little.

"Any luck?"

Athena turns, glancing over her shoulder as Klaus, Rebekah, and Bonnie enter the study, approaching her at the desk. "No, just absolute nonsense Latin and faces I've never seen before. Is Damon getting anything?"

Bonnie shook her head, and Athena sighed disappointedly.

"I don't know how we're supposed to torture information out of a man who has obviously been taught that he needs to die before giving into anything," Athena mutters, pinching the bridge of her nose. "And, honestly, I'd rather just kill him at this point."

Klaus hummed in agreement, dragging the paper she'd been scribbling on and spreading them out over the desk. In a split second, the nonchalant look on his face was replaced with one of shock, and he clenched his jaw.

"What?" Athena leaned forward, narrowing her eyes at the reaction. "Do you know what it means?"

"Rebekah, darling," Klaus beckoned his sister over with a flick of his fingers, earning a confused look from the blonde even as she walked over to him. Though, just as quickly as Klaus's had, Rebekah's face falls, eyes widening in shock.

The siblings shared a look, wide-eyed and Rebekah looking somewhat frightened, and Athena felt that swirl of anticipation build in her stomach, the power in her veins already surging at the thought of a bigger threat.

"Hey," Athena waved a hand, snapping her fingers at them. "What the fuck? Obviously you two know something– what does this mean?"

"It's called The Brotherhood of the Five," Klaus says, eyeing the tattoo drawn across several pages with a deepening frown. "They're a group of hunters made by witches a very long time ago, created to put an end to all vampires. Several hundred years ago, my hopeless romantic of a sister was in love with one of them, and it nearly got all of us killed."

Rebekah looks sheepish for a moment, but she knows that Klaus isn't wrong. "I was engaged to be wed to him," She informs the two girls, earning surprised looks from them both. "We were going to run away together. But the night before we were going to leave, he put a stake in my heart and went after my brothers. If we weren't Originals, we would've been completely wiped out right then and there."

"So, what, they have some sort of cosmic duty to kill vampires?" Athena's face twists in confusion and she shakes her head. "I mean, sure, whatever, but– how did this one find us? And what the hell does this tattoo mean?"

Klaus sighs, shaking his head slightly. "Everyone knows that Mystic Falls is infested with vampires and the like," He shrugs. "As for the tattoo– it's a map. This one, though, isn't completed. I assume that is why he tried to kill Rebekah and Caroline. For every vampire he kills, that's another mark added."

Athena takes one of the drawings she'd done, looking at the loose rendition of the woman on his forearm. "So, all of these people are vampires he's killed?"

Rebekah and Klaus nod.

Athena looks at Bonnie, who's sporting a wide-eyed look of concern. "I'm going back downstairs," The witch says, already heading for the door. "Damon shouldn't be alone with him."

Athena nods, watching her go silently before she turns back to the siblings. "What's it a map to? What's so important for him to find that he's killing dozens of vampires for it?"

"The cure," Klaus says lowly. "It leads to the cure for vampirism. It is the only way to find it."

Athena throws the piece of paper down onto the desk with a groan. "This stupid cure. Every single thing I've heard about it has been more dangerous than the last. I don't want anything to do with it!"

"Yes, well, we agree on that. It's not worth all of the destruction it brings," Rebekah says, perching on the edge of the desk with a slightly haunted look in her eyes. She looks up at her brother suddenly, eyes widening again. "The sword, Nik,"

"The sword?" Athena echoes. "What sword?"

"Alexander, the hunter that I was engaged to," Rebekah starts. "The Five are given swords, and they hold the key to translating the maps. After Klaus killed them all, I took Alexander's sword and hid it away so that no one could ever find it, whether it be a vampire or another hunter. Anything regarding the Five and the cure is a recipe for disaster."

"Yeah, I'm starting to realize that," Athena sits back in her chair, pursing her lips in thought. "Where is this sword buried? Do you remember?"

"It's in Europe, buried beneath a church."

"Specific, but that's great," Athena pushes up to her feet, laying her palms flat on the desk as a determined look takes over her face. "I'm going to go kill him and get back to my party."

Athena stalks out of the room, a fiery determination in her stride as the Originals hurry to follow her, the hybrid calling her name as she pushes through the crowd that seems to be slowly thinning out, and back to the basement stairs.

"Athena, wait," Klaus says, frustration building in his tone the longer she ignores him. "You can't kill him yet."

Athena stops just as she steps into the cell that the hunter is still chained up in, significantly more bruised and bloodied than he was a few hours ago. "Why the hell not? He's trying to kill us,"

"His tattoo is the only way to find the cure," Klaus stresses, earning an imploring nod from Athena as Damon and Bonnie watch on with vague confusion and concern. "It's not been completed yet, so the map isn't finished. There's no point in going to get the key if we don't have the rest of the map."

Athena throws her head back with a frustrated sigh, putting her hands on her hips as she turns to look at the hunter glaring at the group of them. "I don't suppose you've changed your stance on negotiating with vampires?"

The man didn't say anything, glare remaining in place, and Athena nodded knowingly as she turned back to Klaus.

"He's obviously not one of the hunters you killed back then, so that means there's always more out there, right?"

Klaus and Rebekah both nod, the blonde hurrying to elaborate. "They're called Potentials. Most don't even know that vampires exist before they're chosen. But the mark will appear on them, and the urge to harm vampires will suddenly overwhelm them. It's like a disease."

The man raises his lip in a snarl at Rebekah and Klaus steps in front of her, shielding her from his threatening gaze with one of his own.

"That means there's a Potential out there somewhere, then," Athena supplies. "And we just have to find them."

"Yes, but we won't know if there's a Potential unless this one is dead,"

"That's not going to be a problem," Athena reaches for the man, clasping her hands around his face and twisting sharply. His neck snaps audibly and she drops his now-limp body, letting him hang from the chains. "Now we just have to find the next hunter and get him to work with us before he goes insane."

Klaus looks at her with wide eyes, taking a step towards her. "Athena,"

She raises a brow at his odd look. "What?"

"Killing one of the Five doesn't come without consequence," He shakes his head. "If you kill a hunter before they've completed their mission, you will complete it yourself."

"I really don't think I'm going to start killing you guys, so don't worry,"

"I was cursed for 52 years, 4 months, and 9 days after I killed those hunters," Klaus says, his words finally registering with them all. "If I was not an Original, I would have taken my own life. God knows I tried anyway. It drives you mad,"

Athena bites the tip of her tongue, a flash of worry burrowing in her stomach. "I'm a god, Klaus," She swallows, plastering a smile on her face for them to see. "I'm not worried about a curse."

"Athena," Damon says her name softly and she snaps her gaze to him, giving him a warning look.

"Don't," She cuts him off, shaking her head sharply. "And don't– don't say anything to Stefan yet. It might not even affect me, okay? So we just have to wait and see. And if I am cursed," She lets out a sigh. "Then I guess you'll have to find the new hunter without me."

──────

Athena slept restlessly, but not because she was suddenly cursed. Long after the party had ended and everyone had gotten politely kicked out of the boarding house, Athena and Stefan had finally gone to bed along with everyone else.

Athena had barely slept a wink, though, thinking about what she would do if she was cursed. She had yet to hallucinate, and she felt fine, spare for the growing ball of anxiety carving a home in her chest, but nothing Klaus had described had happened yet, so she had hope. She didn't know what she, or any of them, would do if she was cursed for fifty years.

As soon as the sun was far enough in the sky that it couldn't be considered dawn anymore, Athena was up and out of bed, downstairs cleaning up the mess. The rest of the house was still asleep, and she was more than content to clean in silence, carrying around trash bags that were filling up faster than she expected.

When she was finishing up the main living room, a knock echoed from the front door and she sighed, setting the stuffed-full trash bag down against the wall as she went to answer it.

She swung the door open, her face immediately furrowing in confusion. "Nick? What are you doing here?"

"Uh, well," The boy scratches at his jaw absently. "I have a weird question, and I needed to ask you in person just to make sure I'm not going crazy,"

Athena huffs a laugh, leaning against the doorway. "Okay, but I might not be the best gauge of sanity out there,"

Nick's eyes widen and he nods immediately, muttering under his breath. "No, I definitely know that. But– uh, did someone at the party last night have a tattoo gun?"

Athena's dark brows furrow deeper on her forward. "Uh, no? What kind of question is that?"

"See, that's what I was afraid you'd say," Nick sighs, reaching for the sleeve of his jacket that had been pulled down over his hand. "Because I woke up with this."

Athena takes his wrist in her hand quickly, eyes widening as the dark ink suddenly appears on his skin, matching the mark that had been on the hunter's hand. "Oh, fuck."

──────

author's note; now that I finally edited this book and don't hate it with all of my body I actually am starting to like writing for it again, so here's this long chapter for you guys. consider it a holiday gift for all of those that celebrate.

#freepalestine

edited and published; 12.21.23.

- liz