TEN,        Sly rabbit

ELENA WAS A prisoner in her home. She was stuck with her thoughts all day. There had been a lack of trust from all her friends and for good reason. She was on a 'suicide mission' or so they say. But it was much more than that, she just didn't want anyone to die because of her again. They didn't seem to understand. This feeling of guilt would hurt even more, it'd seep farther down into her skin and poison her. She couldn't live like that. Ever since her parents died she couldn't allow anyone else to die. Not for her.

Despite her protests, Stefan and Damon continued coming up with solutions on how to save her and that just frustrated Elena even more. They weren't listening.

She didn't want to be saved.

Everyone knew exactly how this ended for her so she didn't understand why they were trying to avoid the inevitable. It seemed pointless to have any sort of hope. She'd already accepted her death, why couldn't they?

Amid her futile attempts to escape her home throughout the day, the anticipation of seeing a certain person lingered. Himari. Elena still had so much she wanted to ask, uncertainties she needed to unravel. There was a part of her that didn't entirely believe Katherine was telling the truth, perhaps, it was caution from the previous times the vampire had lied to save herself.

Two things stood out to Elena when she spoke to Katherine. First, the mention of Himari's search for something other than the moonstone piqued her interest, a detail Damon hinted at during his encounter at Slater's with Rose. Secondly, Katherine's suggestion of handing Himari over to Klaus. It filled her with dread, Elena didn't want that. She couldn't bear the thought of anyone taking her place, especially someone who hadn't done anything wrong to her. Himari had done her part in saving Elena multiple times when she didn't need to, and for that, the doppelgänger felt in some way she was in debt to her.

The girl lay on her bed, resting her head on her arms as she mindlessly looked out the window. She'd been in that position for the past hour just overthinking about everything. She noticed there weren't many stars out tonight, it was a clear midnight sky and only the moon shined. Elena wished she could fall asleep like everyone else, but her thoughts kept her up. She couldn't shake this feeling of apprehension that something bad going to happen.

Ever since Katherine arrived, that feeling intensified. It seemed her days had shortened and her nights became longer.

In the depths of her tranquility, a knock at the front door jolted Elena from her reverie. Immediately, she was on high alert. It was late so nobody should be at her house. She knew if it was Stefan he would've just come through the window, but their relationship was still under construction. At that realization, her heart began to beat out of her chest, however, to her better judgment, she swiftly descended the stairs, her footsteps as quiet as a mouse. Standing in front of the door, she hesitated, a knot in her stomach formed thinking of the worst.

"Elena, I know you're there," The voice softly called out.

Recognizing the voice, her pulse quickened with confusion as she swung the door open, her eyes meeting Himari's in the dim moonlight. The sight of the Kitsune's unexpected presence at such a late hour caught her off guard.

"What are you doing here?" She inquired, a hint of uncertainty in her words.

"I told you I wanted to talk to you. Just us girls." Himari replied, a soft smile playing upon her lips.

"Right now?" Elena's skepticism was evident in her tone as she looked around, her gaze flickering to the jacket Himari held. She took a moment to analyze Himari, her hair was down in its natural messy state, and she was wearing a white tank top with sweats despite it being chilly outside. She looked... normal. Different from their first encounter.

"Join me for a walk," Himari suggested, extending the garment toward Elena. "Take it. I wouldn't want you catching a cold."

Elena, again, hesitates, torn between her curiosity and being cautious. Himari's gaze held a gentle reassurance, silently urging her to trust in the moment. Sensing the weight of the unspoken invitation, Elena finally relents, accepting the offered jacket with a grateful nod. 

Himari walked down the steps onto the sidewalk, and Elena followed suit.

"It's late you know," she remarked.

"I know that." The witch replied calmly, navigating them up the street.

"So why now?" Elena questioned.

"I heard you were trapped all day in your castle and decided to rescue you again," Himari teased, watching the doppelgänger's lips slightly part in realization.

Elena hadn't even thought about the spell, how it was no longer keeping her inside. She furrowed her eyebrows. "Did you lift the spell?" Her voice was barely a whisper.

Himari nodded solemnly, her expression unreadable as she met Elena's gaze. "Your friends care about you. That's good."

"They're trying to save me," Elena looked down at the pavement, shoving her hands in her pockets.

"You say it like it's a bad thing. Why is that?"

"Because they're getting in the way of what Klaus wants and that's me. Katherine told me he killed her entire family because she ran and doubled-crossed him. If I can avoid that from happening by turning myself in then that's what I'll do." The doppelgänger explained, unable to shake the memory of Katherine's warning.

"You can avoid it and still live," Himari countered gently, pausing for a moment, glancing at the girl briefly as they continued walking. "And please, do not take anything Katherine says for the truth."

"So she was lying? About turning you in instead or about how Klaus also killed your entire coven? Tell me she was lying." Elena tested the waters, she was going to push as much as she could.

Himari raised her eyebrows slightly at the doppelgänger's boldness to bring up such a topic and mention Katherine as the one who spilled details of their past.

It was Himari's turn to look away now. "She's trying to put fear in your heart. You cannot let her words affect you."

"How I am supposed to act when the lives of the people I care about are being threatened?" Elena pressed, her gaze fixated on Himari's profile.

"You act by not sacrificing yourself. You fight instead. Don't make it easier for him." The witch said, stopping in her tracks and turning to face the doppelgänger. "Don't you see how hard everyone is fighting to save you?"

Elena wasn't ready for the sudden eye contact. "I do," she managed to utter in frustration, her voice sounding quiet.

"So why aren't you fighting for your own life?" Himari asked, the weight of her question hanging in the air.

She watched Elena stare at her with those doe eyes, lost in her thoughts and trying to come up with a sensible answer. Being this close to her despite the uncanny resemblance she shared with Katherine, there was an unmistakable distinction in Elena's essence— a purity, a warmth radiating from her soul. She was a breath of fresh air.

Elena cleared her throat, averting her eyes. "It's not about me."

The witch blinked, her cursed senses picking up the rapid rhythm of Elena's heartbeat. "Everything is about you."

"No— I mean, I don't care if I live. I just want my friends to be okay."

"You should care," Himari told her.

"Well, I don't." The doppelgänger shrugged, continuing to walk and leaving Himari to stand alone for a moment.

"Liar, liar," Himari murmured, her voice low and filled with a hint of amusement.

"I'm not lying." She protested, halting as she turned to face Himari, her words catching in her throat as she met Himari's intense gaze. There was something magnetic about the way the witch looked at her as if she could see straight through to Elena like glass.

Himari slowly walked up to her, closing the gap between them. "Alright. Let's pretend for a second that you aren't. Maybe you do want to die for some odd reason. In that case, Maybe I should take you away from here, from your friends and family, and we can count down the days until Klaus' arrival together to save your friends the time and resources because it seems their efforts are pointless."

Elena's breath hitched, her heart pounding in her chest. "You wouldn't do that."

Himari's lips quirked into a faint smile, one that sent a shiver down Elena's spine. "Wouldn't I?" She teased, a hint of mischief dancing in her eyes.

"You said you would never hurt me."

"And yet, here you are doubting me. Are you scared that I would?"

Elena shook her head. "No, because if you did, it would defeat the whole purpose of your existence. That's what you said— what does that mean?"

Himari hummed, amused by the way the doppelgänger remembered such a small detail from their previous short encounter. If it were anyone else, she would've been annoyed, but she was impressed by her keen perception. "Are you familiar with Japanese folklore?"

Elena furrowed her eyebrows. "Um, no."

"Well, Kitsune's are guardian spirits. They protect the common folk against the evil— in other words, Klaus." The witch explained simply.

"I thought all the folklore stuff was inaccurate most of the time."

"Mostly," Himari agreed, taking a step back from Elena and resumed walking. "But there's truth buried in some of it."

Elena found herself missing the invasion of her personal space, the scene of sweet berries, she gulped and shook away the strange feeling. She noticed Himari looking up ahead toward the entrance of a forest at the end of the street— which was marked by a 'dead-end' sign. The doppelgänger wondered how much further they were going to stray away from her house. She could it see fading away in the distance. She should have turned around and headed back but she couldn't.

She didn't want to.

She'd be stupid to leave now when she has a chance to get to know Himari and hopefully, debunk all of Katherine's lies.

"Where are we going?" Elena decided to speak, breaking the brief silence.

Himari quietly laughed. "You ask me that now? That should've been your first question. Instead, you blindly followed me because deep down you know I'm not a threat."

Elena huffed, knowing she was right she said saying nothing.

"But to answer your question, I want to you show something."

"Something?"

"Yes, and after I show you then maybe you could learn to trust me a little more." The witch looked down at her necklace briefly.

"Why me?" Elena didn't understand why gaining her trust was so important to Himari.

"Why... you?"

"Yes. Why me? Why bring me out here? Why does my trust matter so much to you?"

"Well, for one, I fear Damon no longer trusts me after revealing my alliance with Elijah, and I've heard he's not one to forgive easily, not that I care. What I do care about is you. Your trust, your word, because it's the only that matters to me." Himari confessed.

"But you made a deal with Stefan that you'd protect me, why not come to me first if my word was so important?" Elena questioned, trying to ignore the warmth flooding to her cheeks.

"Yes, I should've. That was a bad move on my part. I believed Stefan was the right approach to keep you safe. Now I know that to be a mistake. He doesn't listen, neither does Damon. Or any of your friends for that matter. And you don't listen which is a problem if you haven't noticed. All of you seem to be pretty eager to die and it will mean nothing in the end." Himari sighed, looking down momentarily.

Elena could sense her frustration. It wasn't just aimed at her friends but also herself. "Look, I'm sorry—"

"Don't do that. You have nothing to apologize for. I just want you to understand that you're running around aimlessly and acting out of fear, which is fine because you're scared and that's okay, I won't fault you for that. Sacrificing yourself is very brave of you and not many can do that. But it is something that I will not allow when I have the power to save you."

Elena gulped. "What if I don't want you to save me?"

"Then that'd be silly of you," Himari says, stopping at the entrance of the forest, and then turning around to face the doppelgänger. "I don't believe you when you say you don't want to be saved because you're here with me. That means you're curious about whatever I have to offer. You want a way out of this. Or... perhaps you followed me out here to spend time with me?" Himari said in a playful tone, watching the doppelgänger become flustered at her words. She decided to get close again, tilting her head.

Elena did mouth went dry, "What's your offer?"

"First, I need you to stop trying to sacrifice yourself. I need your friend's only goal to be to keep you safe without dying. You need to talk to them, make them listen, and tell them to stop looking where their noses don't belong. Tell them you're going to be okay— that you made a deal with me to ensure you'll come out alive in the end."

Elena raised an eyebrow, picking up on the emphasis. "Just me?"

"Last I checked you're the only one Klaus is after."

"Who's to say he won't go after everyone else?" She pointed out. "Who's to say he won't go after you too?"

"I'm hunting him. Not the other way around." Himari's gaze turned cold, every bit of playfulness disappearing. Elena felt herself shiver.

"Aren't you scared? Even a little bit?" Elena ran her fingers through her hair in a stressed manner. She couldn't understand how Himari was so calm. So sure that everything would be fine.

"I have no room for fear." The witch says, extending her hand out for Elena to shake. "But if I did, if I were you, I would accept the help being offered to me."

"Why do you do that?"

Himari frowned, letting her hand fall to her side. "Do what?"

"Pretend like everything's going to be fine just because you say so." Elena sighed.

"Because it is," Himari stated, "Do you truly believe I've spent the last five hundred years preparing so I could... lose?"

Elena didn't know what it was about Himari that made her believe her but she did. Perhaps, it was the amount of certainty and confidence emitting from the witch.

"If I'm going to trust you, I need to know how exactly you're going to protect me."

Hope filled Himari's chest, a ghost of a smile tugging at the corners of her lips. "I'm not going to keep you locked away in your house if that's what you're worried about," she reassured Elena.

Elena's expression softened seeing the warmth return to Himari's face.

The witch continued, "Instead, I'm going to link your life to mine. I'm immortal therefore if anything happens to you, you'll just come back."

Himari watched the doppelgänger consider her words carefully. It was no secret she was skeptical. Himari could only imagine how many times Elena's gift of trusting people had been used against her plenty of times. The witch was not here to manipulate or cause doubt. Those were far from her intentions.

There was turmoil building in Elena's face, her doe eyes looked up at Himari with hesitation.

"Is that not good enough?" The Kitsune asked, unsure as to why there was reluctance.

"Do you know what's needed for the ritual?"

"I do. Why?"

"Then you know Katherine turned Caroline and was planning to use Tyler for the ritual, don't you?" Elena questioned, a hint of anger in her voice. "I need to know my friends are going to be okay as well, not just me."

Himari licked her teeth, looking down briefly. She couldn't believe she was letting someone negotiate. "That is where Elijah will come in. He will make sure your friends are okay if trouble calls. Is there anything else you would like to add to our deal?"

"Elijah? Why not you?" Elena's confusion was evident. She thought for a moment, she wondered how an original vampire found himself entwined in a partnership with a witch. An immortal witch, no less. Himari seemed like the more formidable out of the duo. It didn't make sense; vampires and witches were known to be adversaries. There had to be more to the story. And it seemed unlikely that Himari was being coerced into helping him.

"He's just as determined as I am to kill Klaus." Himari gave a simple explanation. "Besides, I can only save so many lives. I've got my hands full with you and Bonnie."

The witch entered the forest without warning, Elena hesitated for a moment, her eyes flickering back in the direction of her house before following her. The doppelgänger couldn't help but notice how Himari navigated her way around these woods with ease like she had explored every part already. Like it was second nature to her.

"How do you know Elijah anyway?" Elena asked suddenly, her curiosity getting the best of her.

"He... helped me." The witch answered, knowing it wasn't exactly the whole truth.

Elena took note of her hesitancy and decided to pry more. "How long have you known him? You two seem pretty close."

Himari hummed at the hint of sarcasm dripping from her words. "Three decades, and we're not that close."

The doppelgänger's expression slowly turned into a frown. "...And there's no friendship between the two of you?"

"No. It's simply an alliance."

"Got it." She nodded, unconvinced.

There was a brief pause.

"How old are you?" Elena spoke again.

"Depends. I died when I was twenty-one but I've... existed for five hundred years." Himari replied, calmly.

Elena was surprised at how relaxed Himari appeared as she guided them to wherever they were going. She assumed by the quick mood change earlier that Himari had a temper and that her questions would get annoying at some point, however, it seemed as though it had faded away as they walked closer and closer to their destination.

"You never answered my question from earlier," Elena recalled.

"You've asked a lot, which I don't mind, but you're going to have to be more specific on which one you're talking about."

"Well, it was about Katherine. If she was lying about your—" Her sentence got cut off as she bumped into Himari's frame. Elena regained her balance and looked up at the back of the witch's head.

Himari stood there, unsure if she even wanted to dive into such memories that only brought pain and nothing more. A part of her believed that if she wanted Elena's trust, it'd be worth it to reveal her past. The other part detested the idea of exposing something so vulnerable.

The witch turned around. "My coven was killed."

"By Klaus?" Elena wanted confirmation.

"Yes," Himari nodded, "On the day of the ritual for me to become the vessel of the Kitsune. Katherine had arrived earlier that day, or rather my... brother and I found her in the woods and we decided to help her. I had already sniffed out that she was a vampire and not trustworthy, but we took her back to our village nonetheless."

Brother? Elena decided not to comment on it.

Himari hadn't spoken of Junpei in so long, that she didn't even realize the mention, or rather slip up of him.

"Katherine said she heard rumors about how strong your coven was. That's why she was there." Elena recalled. "Why did you take her to your village if you felt she was untrustworthy?"

"She said her name was Katerina Petrova. That was a rare name, a name tied to some of the most powerful spells because the blood of a doppelgänger is sacred. It's what the ritual needed, what I needed to make me stronger. I couldn't dismiss her even if I wanted to, even if I knew the trouble she was bringing with her. I knew she was running from someone, she never said who, but it wasn't hard to figure out." Himari felt her stomach grow weak thinking back to that day. "My coven didn't have enough time to prepare so everything was rushed including my death."

Elena watched Himari mindlessly place a hand on her stomach. It was as if she was reliving the moment they died, the moment she died. The doppelgänger was reminded of Katherine's selfishness. What it has cost Himari and what it's going to cost her soon too.

"Back then there was nothing I could do to save them. Now I have a chance to save you and your friends. It's my responsibility and I can't fail." Feeling her eyes begin to sting, the witch quickly straightened her posture and turned around away from Elena.

Elena's heart ached listening to Himari speak about her past. She could see the pain it was causing her to relive those memories all so that she would trust her. Himari was putting herself in a vulnerable position and Elena thought it was brave of her to do so.

It wasn't long before they stopped at a small clearing, bathed in the moonlight that shined through the canopy.

Elena looked up, lips slightly parted. "Why are we here?"

"I told you. I wanted to show you something." Himari says, watching her admire the scenery.

"Is this it?"

"...Not quite." Himari waited for Elena to meet her gaze and then continued. "I need you to do one more thing for me. When I told you I was going to link your life to mine— that needs to stay a secret between us."

Elena took a step forward. "Why?"

"It's one of the only advantages I have. If something goes wrong and you do die, then I need Klaus to believe you're dead to keep you safe until the ritual is over." The witch explained.

"Okay, I won't say anything. I promise." Elena gave her a look of reassurance.

Himari smiled at her. "Stay here."

Before Elena could say anything, she watched her disappear into the woods again. A part of her wanted to chase after Himari instead of waiting for her to come back out of fear that the witch wouldn't return. But the other part, deep down, knew she wouldn't be alone for long. Their entire conversation would be pointless if Himari didn't want to help. Elena assumed that Himari would've been more forceful or meaner than she appeared to be considering the way she acted towards Damon. She still felt nervous in the presence of the witch, she couldn't help that, but it wasn't instilled in fear. It was something else. It tingled at the corners of her consciousness.

The moon comforted her as she waited patiently for Himari. A sense of calmness washed over her.

The crunching of leaves causes the doppelgänger to snap her head in that direction. Her eyebrows furrowed at the noise, taking a step forward as her heart pounded.

"Himari?" She called out softly.

Nothing.

Elena bit the inside of her cheek, unsure if she should follow the noise. Himari wouldn't have left her here by herself, right?

Another leaf crunched, but this time something could be seen.

It took a moment for Elena to adjust to the darkness and register what she was seeing. She found herself staring at a creature unlike any she had ever seen before. The first thing that caught her eye was the pristine white fur of the animal, the tips of its ears and paws had an orange color that blended in perfectly with the surrounding foliage. Its eyes were a memorizing shade of fiery amber. Its serpentine pupils fixated on Elena with an intensity that sent shivers down her spine.

It was a fox. It was Himari.

Elena was at a loss for words. She assumed this was why Himari was considered different from the rest of the witches.

Himari approached her slowly and came to a halt only a few inches away from her. The fox looked up at her as if it were looking for a response or seeking reassurance, slightly pleading for Elena's trust.

Elena crouched down to be at the fox's level. "I'm guessing this stays between us too?" She murmured.

In response, the fox drew closer. Elena held her breath, uncertain of what to expect until the creature nuzzled against her, the action reminded her of a cat. It was Himari's way of communicating.

The doppelgänger stroked the fox, her touch was gentle. "I'm trusting you with my life, don't make me regret it."

The creature gave Elena a slow blink in understanding before it started to walk in the direction they entered. She guessed Himari was taking her home now. A feeling of disappointment grew within Elena at the thought of saying goodbye to Himari so soon. Granted she knew it wouldn't last forever, but still, the next time they'd see each other would no doubt be at times where she or her friends would need help. There were still a million questions Elena had and so much she wanted to know about Himari.

A small whine jolted Elena from her thoughts, prompting her to rise. She noticed the sound emanating from the fox, urging her to follow, and follow she did.