At home, in Stefan's room, he was packing up stuff for a camping trip in the woods.
Damon and I were in the room with him.
"You're making a big mistake," Damon told him.
"No, I'm not," Stefan told us. "If I can get Elena used to animal blood right out the gate."
"You're reaching," I told him.
"Maybe she'll be able to bypass all the things that we went through," Stefan told us.
"Delusional!" I told him.
"Maybe she actually has a shot at this," Stefan told us.
"Wrong," Damon told him. "You're just wrong, Stefan."
"She won't be able to handle it if she hurts someone," Stefan told us. "Her compassion is her Achilles heel and everything is magnified right now."
I tilted my head. "Then you better hope she's not a fan of Bambi."
****
Damon stabbed a knife into the table. "She needs human blood, Stefan, from the vein."
"Oh, come on, you know what happens," Stefan told us. "One of you name me a vampire who didn't kill at least one person when they were new."
I stood. "You name me one who went on a bunny diet and didn't kill dozens."
****
"If she kills someone, she will crumble," Stefan told us. "How much pain do you think she could take before she shuts off her humanity switch?"
"It happens to the best of us at least once," I told him. "We get over it, Stefan. A hundred years or so."
****
"No, I think I'd like her to skip that part," Stefan told us.
Damon started unpacking the bags that Stefan was packing for the trip in the woods. "She can't learn to control the bloodlust, if she's never actually experienced the bloodlust."
"What are you doing?" Stefan asked. "Knock it off."
Damon continued to unpack the bag. "It's a cheat. It's like giving a kid a calculator before they know math."
"I said stop it," Stefan told him, grabbing Damon's arm.
Damon pushed Stefan's arm away.
Stefan and Damon stared each other down.
****
I pulled the two apart, standing between them. "All right, boys, play nice."
Elena walked in. "Whoa, what's going on?"
"We're just having a little disagreement about process," I answered.
Elena looked at Damon and me. "You're still not on board with the animal plan."
"Honestly, I don't give a damn which way you go," I told her. "That's your choice to royally screw up like all of your other choices."
Stefan gave me a look, packing things in his bag.
"I say rip off the proverbial band-aid and let it bleed," Damon told her. "You're a vampire, Elena, be a vampire."
Stefan finished packing and walked over toward Elena. "Ready to go?"
Elena nodded. They both started to leave.
"Vampires eat people!" Damon told them. They stopped in the doorway, looking at us. "It's part of the natural food pyramid. Trust me, you're going to be miserable." Stefan walked out of the room. Elena stood there for a second, then followed Stefan. Damon looked at me. "'Honestly, I don't give a damn which way you go, that's your choice to royally screw up like all of your other choices'?"
