Brave (Damon Salvatore x OC)

Learning

In the library of the boarding house Stefan is examining the carving on the hunters wooden stake as Damon enters the room with several boxes on his shoulder.

"What's all that?" Stefan asks.

"Some personal items that I snaked from the vampire hunter's RV. May he rest in peace. I'm searching for a supernatural handbook." Damon explains.

"And you know for a fact that he was supernatural?" Stefan looks doubtful.

Damon nods. "Definitely wasn't natural. The guy magically appeared just as someone blows up the entire Founders Council. He's covered in a tattoo that only Jeremy Gilbert... of all people in the world... seems to be able to see. Klaus mentioned something about him being one of The Five. Then he kamikazes himself with explosives. Sound natural to you?"

"What's The Five?" Stefan asks.

"That's what I'm hoping is in the first chapter of the handbook." Damon explains His phone rings and he picks up the call from Sheriff Forbes. "Liz Forbes, my favorite sheriff." He listens for a moment then looks worried. "What? That's... concerning. Keep me posted." He hangs up.

"What? You're not gonna tell me?" Stefan raises a eyebrow.

"Can't tell you. Private. We're in a fight." Damon starts

You're in a fight. I'm not in a fight, I'm over it, I've been over it.:

"Not still mad at me about Elena?" Damon asks.

"You didn't tell me she was starving. I'm always gonna be mad at you but we're not 'in a fight'." Stefan air quotes.

"OK then. They didn't find any remains at the explosion site." Damon informs him.

"So Connor's still out there." Stefan nods.

"Apparently so. I'm gonna need you to get on this today. I have to take the girls to college."

Stefan looks surprised. "I'm sorry, you have to do what, exactly?" He demands.

"Ember is gonna do some research on the five and I'm teaching Elena how to feed. She needs to learn snatch, eat, erase now more than ever." Stefan is about to say something, but Damon stops him."Ah, ah, we're not in a fight, remember?"

Damon heads into the parlor where Ember is pouring over grimoires and making notes on any reference to The Five.

"Any leads?" Damon asks her and Ember frowns and flips to another page.

"Some vague scribbles in some of the older grimoires that look like those carvings. But mostly foot notes... no real explanation." She shows him one.

"Have you called Bonnie or her grams to ask?" He wonders and presses a kiss to the side of her neck.

"No, Grams still isn't feeling well. I don't want to bother her." Ember tells him and hums softly and arches her neck to give him better access to spread kisses up her throat to behind her ear.

"Your sister and Bonnie are waiting for us to pick them up." He lets her know.

"Okay." She grabs her bag. "You gotta here this one. Matt texted me, apparently Rebekah bought him a new truck."

"Why? Your the one she almost perma killed and Elena is the one flirting with losing control and going all ahhhhhh!" He mocks biting someone and Ember smacks at his shoulder.

"Who knows why Rebekah does anything she does. She has centuries of damage I doubt any of us will ever understand. But that's not the most interesting thing." Damon looks at her expectantly. "Klaus is still hanging around."