ONE - THE HUNTER

A man, tall and mighty, sauntered out of a hospital room. Eyes fell upon him as the door closed softly. The man stood proudly, his black button-up snug against strong muscles. He lifted his hand to the light, inspecting a small bottle. A yellowish-amber liquid sparkled inside the bottle, the venom of a werewolf.

A blonde girl turned around the corner, smirking at the cinnamon-colored skinned man. He was quick to play it cool, the venom finding its way into jean pockets. A sinister smile creeped its way upon the girl's lips as she glanced from the man's pocketed hand to his eyes. Even a man of the hunter's calibre backed away from a smile like hers, one that screamed danger.

"You plan to complete the mark with wolf's venom." Maia wasn't looking at him any longer, but her eyes inspected french-tipped nails. "Clever-" she nodded, her mischievous eyes darting toward him. The once raised hand lowered at the girl's side as she pointed out, "But isn't that cheating?" He grumbled, reaching for the mini stake in his other pocket. Angry eyes never looked away from the blonde as she laughed, "Please, be my guest." Maia tapped one finger to her heart, watching him with a smirk. He daringly stepped foreword, watching cautiously to see if the girl would back down or make a move to attack. When she didn't, he lunged at her, aiming the small, pointed wood at her heart. The hunter stumbled, his footing lost as she evaporated into thin air.

"Not a vampire," a female voice sing-singed behind him, causing the hunter to turn on his tail-bone quickly. There she stood, hands resting on her hips and a grin on pink lips. The hunter's mouth had dropped open, eyes widening in shock. He'd never even seen a witch do such a thing. "Try and complete your mark quickly," she tutted, the words etching into the side of his brain and staying there as if they'd been graffiti on a train. She dissipated once again.

~

Maia laughed, throwing her head back as she walked toward the brunet fixing his shiny, black motorcycle. He turned, spooked by the sudden noise, and slung a dirty rag over one shoulder. Back straightened and poised, the vampire let his green eyes cautiously flicker around and then at the girl. They widened, realizing where he'd seen her before. Analyzing him, Maia felt a scream well in the back of her throat. All she could see was her brother. Pain surged through her veins, the blood pumping in her heart stinging like a thousand needles. Maia shifted her weight and shook off the feeling.

"Your brother-" she smirked at the spot the azure-eyed man once stood "-I like him." Mischievous eyes glanced back at the brunet just as his green orbs stopped rolling in annoyance.

"Penelope?" the vampire stepped foreword, concern flashing through the green hues in his eyes. He ignored her comment as if the rag that hung on his shoulder was rubbed over her words and cleaned the 'Damon' topic away.

The green in his eyes had reminded Maia of the trees that surrounded the pair and the man's abnormally large home, leaves of all different greens that wiggled with the branches as birds hopped from one to another. A small, almost unnoticeable, smile formed on her lips as she thought of Silas and the wreath of olive leaves he'd made to pose as an Olympian.

"No, Stefan-" she shook her head, an amused, unforced grin appearing. Remembering Silas- remembering their human days- had made Maia's uncaring demeanor crumble into ruins, ruins like the ones of her old home. "-Penelope Salvatore was simply a doppelgänger of mine. Shame what happened to her, really. So much youth pouring from her."

Stefan's eyebrows furrowed as his feet reached slowly behind, creating a further distance between the two. A million things ran through the vampire's mind- things about doppelgängers, his life, Katherine, Elena, the blonde's relation to them- but all he could think to ask was:"You killed your doppelgänger? That's...melancholic."

The girl in front of him simply chuckled, holding her hand out toward his. She greeted, a sly smile across her lips, "I'm Maia Pisano." Stefan let go of the breath he'd been holding, sighing in relief. No relation to Katherine, he took note, that was close. The vampire grasped her hand and gave it a firm shake.

"Stefan Salvatore... as you know." He hesitantly looked around, taking his hand back and letting it clap to his side. "There's a party later tonight-" a forced, uneasy smile made it halfway up his lips "-Rebekah's house, can't miss it." Stefan felt that he could only figure this vampire out- even trust her- if they were in each other's company and one could observe how she acts.

"Signs point to us meeting again, Stefan."

~

"Chug-Jugs, cheap beer, and crop tops," Maia pointed out, stepping up next to the male vampire as he observed the party crowd, his arms crossed. "Doesn't seem to be your kind of scene. No, you look more of a scotch, suits, and cigars kind. The fancy house caters to both occasions seamlessly, though." Stefan said nothing, only giving a short sideways glance to- what he thought was- the vampire. Instead, he listened to a conversation happening elsewhere. It finished abruptly, causing a frown to spread over his face.

After a moment, he said, "Excuse me." Maia watched his retreating back make it's way into an empty hall. Sighing, the immortal faded back into the crowd. A cold hand quickly grasped her arm and Maia felt her body forcefully turn one hundred and eighty degrees. Met face to face with an angered blonde, Maia scowled. The two seemed like a mirror, matching facial expressions of annoyance and confusion.

"Did I invite you?" A thick European-like accent slithered off the vampire's tongue. Her words sounded like a snake just before it bites.

Maia smiled sardonically, snatching her arm back with ease. "Stefan did."

The blonde cocked her head, an unsure look appearing. "And who are you?"

"You seem to be Rebekah," Maia realized, pointing toward the vampire. "Nice party attempt. Practice makes perfect." The vampire quickly became enraged, her blonde eyebrows pinching together and a scowl scrunching up on her face. The immortal turned away, only to have her shoulder gripped tightly. She snapped her body back around.

"Never touch me again, vampire," Maia sneered, grabbing the blonde's hand from her shoulder and squeezing it until she felt a crunching sensation under her fingers. Dropping the broken hand, Maia  smiled as the vampire hissed and held her hand in pain. A moment later, it was good as new. Rebekah obliged to the demand without a second thought, almost out of character for the original. Not often did the vampire simply obey without fighting back, but Maia had somehow made Rebekah unable to even think about laying a hand on her again.

Boredom set in and compelled Maia to leave the party before it became worse. At first, entertainment was everywhere, the immortal forcing people to be reckless and jump from banister to couch in hopes that they'd get injured. After some time, she had decided to check in on Stefan's brother and see how he handled the hunter, or... maybe the other way around.

~

"Yeah, truth be told, I'm as evil as it gets," the European accent announced boastfully as Maia sauntered into the blindingly white hospital room. The hunter's eyes shifted, widening as the girl waved with her open hand. In her right hand, was a bag full of crimson red. Two different sets of blue orbs turned to glare at the girl, who smirked widely at them.

"Are you sure?" Maia wondered, her eyes falling on the sandy blonde guy. Putting a small, clear tube to her mouth and drinking slowly, she smiled. Stopping for only a second, the girl questions, "Who are you?"

"I'm the original hybrid," the European one growled, stepping forward into a warrior's stance.

"Ease up, Heracles." Swiftly, the blood bag was chucked at the original, who caught it with ease. "You're not you when you're hungry."

"Excu-"

"Don't pretend to be a soldier when you're simply too entitled," she warned, watching as the hybrid scoffed and stepped back.

"Who the hell are you and why should we care?" Stefan's brother asked, stepping up to the plate and adjusting his leather jacket tighter over muscle-y shoulders. He raised one angry brow and attempted to pierce through the girl with a glare.

She chuckled and nodded her head at him, saying, "And you! You're Odysseus. Too prideful, hoping for everyone's safety, but making every mistake that says otherwise." Damon stepped back, blinking a few times to the insult.

"I'm sorry who-"

"Carry on, keep the hunter alive, and forget I was here," she tutted, waving her hand dismissively. The two turned around toward the hunter, forgetting any interruption as the tied up man watched the blonde girl disappear.

~

a/n
dundunnduuuuun! how was that? sorry it's so short