Mystic Falls shooting range

Caroline stood in the middle of a dozen targets. Caroline and her mother had come here during off-hours. A simple bit of hypnosis had cleared out the few people remaining.

"Are you sure about this, honey?" asked Sheriff Forbes, "what's the point in learning to get IN the way of bullets? Wouldn't practicing dodging them be more useful?"


"After what happened to Jeremy? I'm immortal, most of the people I care about aren't. Every bullet I take is another bullet Bonnie or Elena or Jeremy or Tyler or you doesn't take." replied Caroline.

"All right, "said Sheriff Forbes, though her pained tone and tensed lips suggested it was anything but alright to her.

Sheriff Forbes began randomly firing at different targets. Almost like the goalie in soccer or hockey, Caroline frantically dashed back and forth to block the bullets. But where goalies swatted the puck or ball away, Caroline took bloody holes in her body with every hit.

The first attempt was a horrible failure. Of the nine rounds Sheriff Forbes fired, Caroline only managed to block two. The black-and-white human-shaped targets were riddled with bullets. Had this been real-life, her human friends would be dead.

Caroline sighed. It was the pain that had stopped her. Although the bullets couldn't do her any real harm, they caused her just as much agony as a normal human. She'd been too paralyzed by pain to react to any bullet except the first and the ninth.

"Again" said Caroline.

"Are you sure, honey?" asked Sheriff Forbes.

Caroline swallowed hard, "again"

Sheriff Forbes put in another clip and began firing.

Caroline's body shuddered as another bullet hit her chest. Despite the pain, she was grinning grimly. She'd reached the point where she could block four out of nine shots. Still not nearly good enough for her tastes, but a marked improvement over her first try. She was so focused on the gun that she didn't notice Elena come in until she was already standing by Caroline's mom.

"Hey Elena!" she said with a smile as the bullets plopped out of her chest and the wounds healed.

"well," said Caroline, "I thought I should learn to take advantage of the whole 'being nearly immortal' thing. So I've been practicing jumping in front of bullets. It's harder than it looks when someone is aiming at someone other than yourself. Once I've got it down, I can act as a kind of undead walking shield for Bonnie, you, my mom, Jeremy, everyone who can't survive a bullet,"

she pointed at Katherine, her mom, and several imaginary people as she said this, almost doing a little excited dance,

"The biggest problem I found was the pain. It's hard to instantly take the pain of being shot and immediately jump in front of another bullet." she made a pained face and put her hands on her chest, "Hard, but not impossible, I'm getting better. It's all about honing pain-tolerance and reflexes." she grinned proudly and did something that wasn't quite hopping in place, and wasn't quite standing on her toes, but was both and neither and expressed a childlike giddyness and pride.

Sheriff Forbes looked worried but didn't answer immediately.

"I've thought of that," responded Caroline with a grin, "I've ordered a chainmail vest on Amazon.com. It'll fit under my clothes and should stop wood just fine. It won't stop regular metal bullets, but then I don't have to worry about regular bullets."

Caroline's expression suddenly became serious, "Besides..."she swallowed hard,"besides...I killed a man, y'know, before I got control over the thirst...if I die protecting my friends, maybe that'll make up for it, y'know, when I get to the other side?"

Wow. You can get one of those, whatever those are at amazon? Wow i need to get out more. "Wow, i should pick one up." I mumbled. Liz and Caroline both looked at me with mixed emotions. "For Damon...he's still recovering from the wolf bite. And you know that whole 'near death experience'." I lied [as Elena], "It would be for Stefan, but who knows where he is now..." Elena pointed out.

Hopefully i didn't just blow my cover. I thought. I was just thinking out loud. Elena would probably never get shot with anything silver bullety. No one would do that to Elena. Well, in Mystic Falls. Over the past few months who knows how many people were after this girl. That woman who works with Isabel, Rose, Trevor, and especially Klaus... Well anyways i fixed my analogy. The whole 'it would be for Stefan' really sounded all Elena like.

I let out another one of Elena's smile. Hoping i wouldn't get found out...

OOC: You should make Liz be all, "You ordered something without my permission again? I thought the..." idk like "600 boots with the rhinstones were enough!" Lol.

Caroline laughed, "well, you could, but humans get back-trouble if they wear something that heavy more than a few hours a day. Knights used to only put armor on just before going into battle. I learned that in Alaric's class."

Caroline suddenly frowned, "how is Alaric holding up?"

OOC: you really can buy chain-mail on Amazon for 137$, lol! And feel free to make Sheriff Forbes say whatever. She's an NPC, not my character.

Stupid bitch, I thought. "No Caroline, for Damon." Elena corrected her, but with a playful Elena smile. "I must of missed that class, running away from one of Klaus' henchman..."

Caroline had been smiling through that whole sentence. I would have been smiling too if I was feeling that good about myself. She can just walk into a room and people greet her warmly. Same with Elena, but when people anywhere but Mystic Falls see me I get random evil stares. Of course I dish them out in the first place...

Caroline showed me a frown. Compassion. "How's Alaric?" She asked. I suppose she meant that teacher whose apartment I was locked in for like a week. I remember that he and Ms. Jen-jen were in a relationship. "Well, as good as anyone who just lost their recently turned vampire girlfriend, killed by the man hunting his wife's daughter. It's very complicated." Elena rambled on.

"Oh my gosh what about Mark? Taylor?" Elena asked.

OOC: Yes, I know Matt and Tyler's names were spelled wrong but Katherine cares about no one but herself soooooo. [:

Caroline cocked her head to the side, a puzzled look on her face, "who?"

OOC: This post will be all short and sweet.

BIC:
"Err, you know. My ex, I just hate saying his name?" Oh, that sex god! I thought, how could i forget his name? Matt, I'm pretty certain. "And I said Tyler." Elena lied...

Caroline looked off into an imaginary distance, "I haven't seen Matt in a while," she said in a tone filled with complex emotions, sadness, resignation, peace.

Caroline looked back at Katherine, "Tyler seems to be doing better. He seems stronger, more together than I've seen him in a long time."

"Well, he has lost alot." Elena reminded her. "His dad, Mason and the werewolf chick. She kidnapped you one time right?" Elena asked. Really, I wasn't certain. I heard it through the 'grapevine' and wanted to confirm.

OOC: Short. Sorry. It's been like a month...

"Yeah, that sucked" said Caroline, "she verveined me right in the eyes. She's part of the reason I'm doing this. If I'd had a higher pain tolerance, it wouldn't have been so easy to take me down. Hey!" Caroline's eye lite up, "Could you help with with something?"

Caroline strolled over to a back-pack and came back with a large knife.

"Could you try to stab me in the heart with this? I need to practice something. Don't worry, it's just regular steel knife, it can't really kill me." Caroline stabbed at the air then put her hand over her heart as she said this, in that quasi-sign-language way she was unconsciously prone to.

Elena walks down the street near the shooting range and sees something she doesn't expect to see. Caroline smiling and talking to Katherine. Wait, Katherine? Elena hadn't seen Katherine in a while and was happy not seeing her. She is evil. Now Elena looks closer she saw that Caroline was covered in blood, other than that she seems fine. Sheriff Forbes, Caroline's mother, doesn't seems concerned. So she decides to confront them. As she approaches them they turn to face her.

OOC: Sorry if it's not that good I haven't roleplayed in a while.

Caroline gasped when she saw Elena enter. Her eyes went black, her teeth turning into fangs. In the blink of an eye she grabbed a chair, holding the chair and knife like a sword and shield. She lept in front of Katherine protectively and growled at Elena. "Katherine!" she roared at Elena, her voice full of rage.

"No, Caroline! I'm not Katherine, I'm Elena!" Elena tries to get Caroline to believe her. She looks at Katherine and then back at Caroline holidng the chair. "She's Katherine, I'm Elena." Elena touches Caroline's wrist showing that she could trust her.

Caroline gasped and switched from facing Elena to facing Katherine, "Mom! Elena! Get behind me!"

Caroline stepped in front of Elena.
"Caroline! If she was going to hurt us she would have already." She tries to reassure her and then moves from behind Caroline. Elena looks at Sheriff Forbes as if only just noticing she's there. She smiles sadly.

Sheriff Forbes face collapsed into hurt and despair as the memory of shooting Jeremy hit her.

Caroline let out a deep, rumbling growl that would have sounded more appropriate coming from a six-hundred-pound lion than a teenage girl.

"Stop it!" Elena shouted after hearing Caroline growling. She steps towards Katherine and says:
"At least when Liz shot Jeremy it was an accident and he lived. Unlike you."