self_inflictedexhile | tvd / nysm } { the salvatore school for the young and gifted

tvd / nysm } { the salvatore school for the young and gifted

Nestled just on the outskirts of the tiny town of Mystic Falls, Virginia is the Salvatore School for the Young and Gifted. As far as most of the town is concerned, the school is exactly how it's marketed - a boarding school for rich and gifted students - but a few are aware of it's real origins.

A school for young supernatural students, so that they can grow up somewhere where they didn't have to hide.

The headmaster is actually much older than she looks, having not aged a day since she was seventeen, but she's learned to dress herself up to fit the part. Her long hair is swept up into an elegant twist, her pant suit is perfect and polished, and her makeup is appropriately adult. Still, there's not a lot that can hide the youthfulness of her features no matter how hard she tries.

She's standing at the front of the school, watching as the car pulls up in front before flashing the man who arrives a bright smile and wave. Once he emerges from the car, she waves and makes her way closer to shake his hand.

"Mr. Rhodes. Welcome to the Salvatore School."

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"It was genetic in my case, too," Dylan tells her, almost absently. "My old man was a werewolf."

And what a clusterfuck his childhood had been, as a result -- especially considering the fact that, while he wasn't exactly an orphan, his father died before he could explain things to him, and his mother had no idea what to do with him, beyond stay away on nights of the full moon. She'd known what Lionel was, yes, but she'd been human, herself. He would have killed for someone to help him through this shit when he was a kid; again, he wants to be that someone, for these kids, now.

"But yeah, my bite passes the curse along," he finishes.

A pause follows, as they reach the gym and he takes a moment to look over the kids. When his eyes fall on the one student sitting by himself, he nods to him, asks, "What's his story?"

No matter what the circumstances, no supernatural creature seems to have things easy. Even witches, that can be mostly family oriented, struggle with situations where parents are killed, or in the case of the French Quarter witches, can give too easily into tradition. They've all had to work together to make their lives better, and she never wants a child to feel as alone as she or Tyler did when they first turned, or like Bonnie, who felt like they had the weight of the world on her shoulders, and no one to help teach her how to carry it.

Still, she lets the particulars of werewolf genetics fall to the side for a moment when Dylan addresses a specific student in the room. "That's Rafael Waithe. He's new, both to the school and to being a werewolf. He had his first full moon just last month. He was also in the foster care before this, so we anticipated he would be a little slow to warm up, but he's making good progress so far." The true adjustment had been being separated from his best friend, but they're adjusting to the compromises there, slowly but surely.

Rafael looks up at the sound of his name, supernatural hearing and whatnot, and he turns towards where Caroline is speaking. She gives him a small wave, which he returns, but he doesn't move from his spot on the bleachers, just eyeing the unknown adult next to her and listening to where the conversation goes from there.

If the other wolves notice Dylan, they don't seem to care, too engrossed in their game.

For a moment, Dylan gives all of his attention to Rafael, one corner of his mouth ticking upwards into a tentative smile as he makes eye contact. A nod follows, then he turns back to Caroline, the smile fading as something sympathetic creeps in behind his eyes.

"I got ... five kids, at home." He uses the term 'kids' loosely, includes both Merritt and Fuller in that number, despite the fact that they're grown men. They're also new to being werewolves and they're his, even if they're not his, so they count. "One of 'em was in the system, too. Two of the others ... " Probably should have been, given how abusive Daniel's parents were and how neglectful Henley's were.

He shakes his head faintly before he continues, "I know how rough it can be." A beat. "And I know, personally, how much it sucks, losing your friends." Considering his mother cut him off from all of his father's friends, from other werewolves. He wonders how much different his life would have been, if he'd had them to help. "But, at the risk of sounding like one've those self-help motivational posters, it gets better."

He'll find his family, his pack. Dylan did.

If any of that actually reaches the kid on the bleachers, he does his best to keep it from showing. At best, all Dylan gets is a brief acquiescence of "maybe not a completely out of touch asshole," but it's more than most teachers are getting these days. With that, he goes back to his homework, tuning out for now and letting Caroline continue with the tour.

"It does. We just want to be able to help them through the worst of this part." These are the complicated times where they could really hurt someone if they weren't careful. And all Caroline wants to do is save them from the mistakes she herself has made.

And since Rafael has diverted his interest, Caroline turns to continue with the tour. "At least for most students, they only have one aspect of the supernatural to contend with. That isn't the case for all of them however."

Before she can continue, another student rounds the corner to collide with their path. She glances between the two of them, lingering on Dylan for a moment before directing her attention to Caroline. "You actually found a werewolf to teach here?" The girl herself is a werewolf, that much is certain from the distance between them, but there's also the scent of magic that gives her away as a witch, followed by the barest trace of what might just be vampire.

"Case in point," Caroline sighs. "Hope, this is Dylan Rhodes. Dylan, this is Hope Mikaelson."

Almost immediately, the girl's eyes are on Dylan again, though it's unclear if she's waiting for recognition or backlash. Mikaelson, after all, is one of the more famous names in the supernatural community, given the way that the Mikaelson family - her infamous hybrid of a father in particular - had cut a bloody swath through the world, but its hard to tell what a person will do with the idea of a younger, seventeen year-old Mikaelson who's still trying to find her place in the world in the wake of her father's death.

Dylan looks briefly satisfied by Rafael's reaction, as minute as it was, that monologue more for his benefit than Caroline's. It fades into something more neutral again, as they continue on, and persists, even when Hope's name is dropped into the conversation, though at that point, it's more poker face than anything else. Yes, he knows who the Mikaelsons are, and -- well, like everything else, he's of two minds on the subject.

On one hand, she's a fucking Mikaelson. On the other, children shall not be put to death because of their father's and all that. Hope's just a kid, and being here, being socialized away from her family, she might not end up as batshit insane as her father was. She might end up being a real force for good, in what's, yes, a confusing time for her and her peers, so he's trying to reserve judgement. For now.

That in mind, he tells her, "Yeah, she found a werewolf to teach here." And a witch, too, maybe, considering he smells like magic, too. It's faint, strange somehow, the Eye only having managed to reclaim a fraction of their talent beyond the curse, but it's there. He, too, had more than one aspect of the supernatural to deal with, growing up.

Regardless, after a beat, he sticks out a hand. "Nice to meet you."

Yeah, that is curious. Very curious. But that's not what Hope was looking for an adult for, so she just finishes regarding the new guy, before turning to Caroline.

"I think I'm going to go for a run."

Caroline nods. "I'll make sure the students stay out of the back woods. Let me know when you're back."

Hope nods, and off she goes, heading towards one of the side exits that lead into the woods.

Dylan isn't particularly thrilled by how dismissive she was of him, by how she refused to respond to anything he said or, hell, even address him at all. It doesn't nothing to strengthen his opinion of her or her bloodline, and once she's out of earshot, he lets his practiced neutrality dissolve into something much more sour, and grumbles, "Sweet kid."

She could have at least shaken his damn hand.

"Yeah, Hope's ... actually one of the kids I'm hoping you might be able to help with."

Which she knows probably isn't the thing he wants to hear giving that glowing introduction but she also knows that Hope is a good kid, not just deep down but in the day to day. Her struggle isn't doing the right thing so much as connecting with people. She'll save the day, but she doesn't have a lot of friends.

"She's a good kid, she's just ... lost a lot. And people have been trying to kill her to get to Klaus since before she was born. Trust for her is ... hard." She pauses before gesturing for him to follow her. "Which I know is no excuse for terrible manners but when you're dealing with often times traumatized teenagers there's only so much you can do in that department."

Moving to follow her, Dylan lets her get through the whole of the explanation before he blows out a breath, deflating a little. He's still not thrilled by Hope's treatment of him, or lack thereof, but, "One of the kids I got a home? Danny? He's -- well, I'm pretty sure no one's outright tried to kill him, but his home life, growing up, wasn't great."

Daniel's father might not have tried to kill him, but he sure wasn't far off, either. He doesn't envy Daniel that; he wishes he could have gotten to him sooner. He wishes he could have gotten to them all sooner, for all that their experiences pre-Horsemen sucked.

"He's kinda got the same thing going on," Dylan finishes. "Slow to trust, kind of a dick until you get to know him, that kinda thing." Hell, Daniel still wears his fast-talking brand of sarcasm as a kind of armor around them, even if he trusts them, even if they can all see past the bullshit, at this point. "So, yeah. I get it."

And he'll try and reserve judgement, even if his knee-jerk reaction is to bristle. Blame the fact that she's a Mikaelson -- or that, even with werewolf in the mix, she still smells so strongly of vampire.

Edited 2019-12-08 19:51 (UTC)

"She's a good kid. She cast the spell to help us find a lot of the students we do have, and she goes out and helps pull in a lot of kids who don't have anywhere else to go." Caroline rubs her arm as she walks keeping her attention on the hallway in front of them. "But adults have a tendency to shuffle in and out of her life."

Things have been steadier in recent years, with Freya, Vincent, and the rest of the pack in New Orleans, but losing her mom had been a heavy blow. Add her father and uncle on top of that, and it only makes things even harder.

"Her father's trust issues are genetic, apparently."

"Either that, or it's hard to learn how to trust people when they don't stick around long enough for you to be able to," he says by way of agreement. Again, yeah, he gets it. He'll try and be less bristly about the whole thing until he actually gets to know her, and depending that might not take too long, even if she doesn't warm up to him all that quickly. Daniel, for all his bullshit, has always been an exceptionally easy read, after all, and he's still dangerously good at reading people, even when they're not.

"She good with magic, though?" he asks after a beat, on a breath out and regardless of whether or not he thinks he already knows the answer to that one. It's as good a way as any to change the subject so they don't keep talking circles around Hope while not really changing the subject.

"Oh, she's one of our most promising students in that regard. Her aunt taught her a lot before she even got here, and she takes to it like a fish to water." She pauses with a small smile. "While they're known for being vampires, it turns out that witchcraft was their real selling feature."

Which is saying something, considering what the Mikaelsons really get up to. "She could probably do with some challenges, if you think you could come up with any."

"I might be able to come up with something," Dylan drawls, already thinking about it. His magic will never be as strong or as broad as Hope's, he thinks, for all that werewolves shouldn't even have magic and how hard-won the fight to steal their talents back was, but -- well, puzzles and tricks are kind of their thing, his thing. He'll come up with something to grab her attention and provide a challenge. He might even do it without it being obvious it's from him, like he did the Horsemen, so she doesn't immediately turn her nose up at it.

"Gimme some time with it," he finishes after a beat.

"Good." She nods again, before they reach the back end of the building, and she turns to face him again. "And this concludes our tour. Is there anything else you want to check on while you have me?"

Taking a moment to consider that, Dylan shakes his head. He can't think of anything else he wants her to show him personally, and he really doesn't have any questions -- or, well, not specifically about the school, anyway. After wetting his lips with his tongue, he does start, "I think I'm on board, but ... you mind if I take a walk around on my own, first?"

He wants to see if there's any places he shouldn't be sticking his nose, and what happens when he does go there. He wants to see if there's something sinister here that he's not seeing and she's obviously not showing. He wants to talk to the rest of the faculty. He wants to eavesdrop on the kids a little more. Take your pick. He's still a cop, a Fed on top of being a werewolf. So sue him if he wants to clear a scene before he walks right on in.

"Of course. Feel free to browse as you see fit. You have my number if you need anything, or just swing by the administration office."

Caroline's not really concerned because she also knows that the kids are nosy enough that if he gets into anything he shouldn't, he'll have a cluster of students on him fast enough to keep him from doing anything too crazy.

"I'll let you know," Dylan promises, nodding. "And I'll swing by, when I'm headed out, too." To give her his final decision on whether or not he's sold (though, like he said, he pretty much is), and to let her know he's leaving, so she doesn't wonder where he's gone or what he's getting up to, out of sight.

Either way, after a beat, he adds, "Thanks for the tour." And then he's turning away, heading at first aimlessly, then more purposefully back towards the classrooms. Maybe he'll talk to some of the other teachers here, see how much of the Kool-Aid they're drinking. That seems like a good place to start, he thinks.

Well, there are a few teacher options he can choose from. There's the the headmaster, human, who teamed up with Caroline to start this school along with her daughters. There's the librarian, also human, who seems to be more skeptical of Alaric and Caroline's grand dreams for the world they want to create, but still clearly cares for the kids, and then there's the guidance counselor, a witch, who is rather friendly and charming, but mostly works one-on-one with students.

There are other various teachers, on various spectrums of the supernatural world, but these are the ones that the show has told me about so these are the options Dylan can choose from.

As luck (or the narration rolling dice behind the scenes) would have it, Dylan finds himself in the library. He pauses, just inside the doors, taking it in, comparing it to the archive the Eye keeps in London, and then continues on, keeping an eye out for signs of life. And just so he doesn't creep up on someone and scare the shit out of them, he calls, "Hello? Anybody home?"

It takes a moment, but eventually a head emerges from his office, glancing around for the sound of the voice, before nodding with a small smile.

"Hi. Can I help you find something?"

"I was wondering more if I could ask you a couple of questions," Dylan answers, shaking his head. A pause follows and then he adds, "I'm one of the guys the headmaster called in for a job interview." And not just some random guy, sticking his nose where it doesn't belong. Mostly.

"Oh, yeah. Rhodes, right?" He shifts, before holding out a hand to shake the other man's. "Dorian Williams. Nice to meet you."

Dylan doesn't bother correcting him with his first name, like he did with Caroline, just Rhodes a little less formal and a little more familiar, considering his day job, than it would be with the title before it. He goes for the shake instead, that in mind, and as he pulls back, offers, "Yeah, you, too."

A beat.

"So, you liking it here, so far?" He did mention having questions, right?

"I've been here with Caroline and Ric since the beginning. I'll admit that there are days when Ric and I don't see eye to eye, but these are all good kids." And the kids make it worth it, at least in his mind.

"You get into it over what direction the school should be going in? Or ... ?" The kids are important, yes, and if he tells him the reason they don't always get along is because Ric thinks they need to be pushing the kids to be harder, faster, better, whatever, that's going to raise some red flags for him. He thinks the kids should understand what they are and what they're capable of, and know how to defend themselves, sure, but there's a difference between that and being a monster.

Did he mention he's still a little paranoid this is somehow going to bite him in the ass, hence him sniffing around a little? How about the part where, if this does turn out to be some kind of trap, he's going to get all of the werewolf kids out, even if he has to go down with the ship to do it?

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