(1) The Phoenix (D. Salvatore)

Chapter Seven

Damon, Daphne, Elena and Alaric are running through the trees, trying to outrun the threat behind them. The threat that they know is out there somewhere, probably stalking them, getting ready to pounce. Elena trips over an exposed tree branch. Daphne, Alaric and Damon stop and look back at her but freeze where they are. Daphne slowly reaches for her wand in her sleeve. Elena shifts to get up. This was a big mistake. Coming out here was a big mistake. This is no ordinary werewolf. Daphne has spells for a werewolf but whatever this is, isn't one. There is something more to it. Something far more dangerous.

"Don't move" Damon stops her. Elena raises her head. She's face to face with a werewolf. Daphne pulls out her wand and points it at the wolf.

"Flipendo" Daphne casts and the wolf goes flying back, hitting the dirt. But it is quick to its feet as Daphne pulls Elena up to her feet. "Pick up your feet, I'm not doing all the work for you" Elena does as she is told and gets her own legs moving, the shock wearing off.

"Here, doggie, doggie" Damon distracts the wolf and then runs away. The wolf runs after him.

"Come on. Let's keep moving" Alaric tells the girls.

"We can't leave Damon" Elena argues a little.

"He can handle himself. Let's move" Alaric counters and motions with his hand to get the two of them to move.

"No. If he gets bit, he'll be dead. I'm the reason he's out here"

"I am the reason he's out here" Daphne argues. "I brought him...so...." She nods a little. "Let's go. Elena, now!" She clicks her fingers and motions down the mountain.

.......

Damon is walking warily around, having lost the wolf, but not relaxing just yet, when he hears a sound. The hybrid rushes toward him in human form and they struggle and fight. Stefan appears behind the man and rips his heart out through his back. Damon pushes himself up to his feet and looks at his brother. He honestly thought this would end up being a dead-end, like all the others.

"Fancy meeting you here" Damon comments.

"What part of 'don't follow me anymore' got lost in translation, Damon?" Stefan asks him.

"Might want to take it up with your girlfriend. You don't want her chasing you, I'd stop with the late-night phone calls" Damon points out.

"I didn't call her."

"Sure you did. She's not gonna give up on you"

"She has to. Because I'm never coming back. Why don't you get her home? See if you could keep her there this time" Stefan then walks away. Damon clenches his jaw a little. So close. This is as closest they've been. It should have been easy. Persuade Stefan to come back, get Elena off his back. All is well in the world again.

..............

Daphne knows that if she lingers close to Elena then her sister is going to want to ask questions about what she's seen. Daphne isn't ready. She needs to go through it in her mind. To word it just right. To admit to her sister that she's not....her sister. The witch thing Elena will deal with, Bonnie is one and she took that fine. It's the adoption thing that might just get her. If only she knew, she might have a more agreeable feeling about this. But there are still things that Jeremy left out, that he felt might be better coming from Elena. Daphne lets out a breath, spinning her wand between her fingers as she looks up at the sky, watching the clouds moving and changing. One of her favourite past times from school. Getting high and watching the clouds move. Damon emerges from the trees and makes his way towards the car. Whatever happened in those trees, something's changed. Daphne can read it on him. His mood has shifted. His vibe. He's giving off something a little more hopeful now. Elena almost instantly climbs out of the car and moves towards him.

"Are you okay? Did you...?" She asks.

"Fine, bite-free. Get back in the car, please" Damon argues.

"Can you just give me a minute to appreciate that you're not dead?

"I'll give you 10 seconds. 9, 8..." Damon grabs Elena by the shoulders and marches her toward the car. "Hey, Ric, did you happen to see where I parked my car?"

"Damon, stop being such a caveman" Elena complains as Damon closes the door on the car, Alaric climbing into the driver's side. Damon lets out a breath and glances at Daphne as she moves to his side.

"You could go with them" Damon offers, Daphne shakes her head.

"Yeah, well, I left something in your car" She admits and shrugs a little. He frowns at her.

"What?" He asks, she gives him a look and then smirks a little. "What did you put in my car?" He asks her as she walks away.

.......

Damon closes the driver's side door as Daphne whistles a little, looking around the car for whatever it was that she left in here. Damon glances at her as he sets his key into the ignition. He's a little curious about this. About whatever it is. About this girl. Pad climbs into her lap and she scratches at his head. Damon raises an eyebrow at the creature.

"This is Pad" Daphne offers, smiling down at the animal. Damon's never seen anything like that before. Ever.

"And he's a what?" He asks as he starts the car.

"A niffler" She answers as she glances at him. "They like to steal shiny things" She grabs Pad by the foot and tips him upside down, giving him a shake. Earrings and bangles fall from his pouch into her lap, those she knows about, she lets him take her jewellery because she knows she'll get it back. A watch then follows.

"My watch!" Damon points out, Daphne smirks and picks up the watch, handing it back to him. "I thought I lost it" He admits as he slides it onto his wrist.

"Must have been in the car somewhere" She offers as she gives Pad another shake, just to be safe. She finds some muggle currency. Probably Damon's too. "He's not very good with muggle money, thinks a nickel is big currency" She offers and holds out the 5 cent coin to Pad who takes it from her and slides it back into his pouch. She pulls a galleon coin from her pocket and twirls it around in front of Pad who sort of goes all glazed eyed watching it. "He prefers galleons" She teases and chuckles when Pad takes it from her.

"So you witches, you just have your own currency?" Damon asks her. She hums and nods.

"Yep" She answers. "And government and laws and...how do you not know all this?" She asks him back. He's a vampire. He's part of this world, her world.

"I'm not a witch" He argues, points back out. She frowns at him. No one's ever taught him. Told him. Informed him whatever about his part in the wizarding world.

"Your sire must have screwed up something fierce in teaching you about our world" She comments as Pad curls up in her lap, her fingers stroking over his back.

"Yeah, you could say that" He agrees and shakes his head. It's not something he wants to talk about with her. She practically a stranger. But part of him believes he can trust her. Like instinct. Katherine is just a tough part of history and another part of him doesn't want to explain what bitch to this girl. At the moment, she is free of that influence. And everyone is better without Katherine in their lives.