[ no matter how lonely it could be, only having stefan from home, and him being half-ripper, elena hadn't ever really wanted anyone else from home to show up here. it's hard enough trying to navigate the cdc for herself and stefan, and stefan's actively doing his best to keep them safe -- trying to figure their way around more than just the two of them would be more work than elena is sure she's capable of.
that doesn't change the fact that when caroline had showed up, she'd been glad, just for a second. after that she remembered where they were and what it meant, of course, but that doesn't change the fact that for just that one second, she was happy to see her. it's something she feels guilty about now -- it's not good that caroline is here, not by a long shot -- but she's trying her best to make up for it by being the most informative she can possibly be about all this. ]
Okay, so you're on green team. That means you're helping to keep the recruits safe -- which means that we're basically meat shields. We take care of the people who would try to kill everyone else. Last planet it was a non-sentient race called the shai, but on Macha it might be different, we don't know yet. Do you know how to shoot a gun?
[ as far as elena knows caroline has no experience with guns -- why would she need any? vampires are far more deadly than any gun -- but she might be wrong. who knows what she's missed back home, if she's missed anything where caroline is concerned -- she's not sure what time it is exactly that caroline is from yet.
it's easier to think about these things than to actually let herself process that caroline Is here, and eventually she'll have to help destroy macha just like elena had to help destroy ajna. it's alarming how having someone new here can throw into such stark relief what elena has managed to adjust to in the months she's been with the cdc -- destroying ajna had seemed to be not so bad, at the end, but now... now she thinks caroline might judge her for acquiescing so readily. it's not as though elena had really liked it, she'd just... accepted that there was nothing she could do to stop it, and she'd decided that following armada and protecting the rest of the recruits was more important than her personal reservations about destroying the planet. she didn't enjoy it, of course she didn't, but she had a job, and it was one that she was determined to do well. but who knows what caroline will think of it? she's managed to hold onto her moral center through everything that happened to them in mystic falls, while elena's has gotten a bit more... fluid. there's only so much you can loose before you decide that loosing any more is unacceptable, no matter the cost. elena's no longer willing to lose anything or anyone else, and it makes her more dangerous than she used to be. she knows that.
she also knows that caroline has never looked favorably on that, and she doesn't know what that will translate to when it comes to the cdc. there's no room for failure here, but she can't tell if caroline will accept that. ]
REUNITED AND IT FEELS SO GOOD
that doesn't change the fact that when caroline had showed up, she'd been glad, just for a second. after that she remembered where they were and what it meant, of course, but that doesn't change the fact that for just that one second, she was happy to see her. it's something she feels guilty about now -- it's not good that caroline is here, not by a long shot -- but she's trying her best to make up for it by being the most informative she can possibly be about all this. ]
Okay, so you're on green team. That means you're helping to keep the recruits safe -- which means that we're basically meat shields. We take care of the people who would try to kill everyone else. Last planet it was a non-sentient race called the shai, but on Macha it might be different, we don't know yet. Do you know how to shoot a gun?
[ as far as elena knows caroline has no experience with guns -- why would she need any? vampires are far more deadly than any gun -- but she might be wrong. who knows what she's missed back home, if she's missed anything where caroline is concerned -- she's not sure what time it is exactly that caroline is from yet.
it's easier to think about these things than to actually let herself process that caroline Is here, and eventually she'll have to help destroy macha just like elena had to help destroy ajna. it's alarming how having someone new here can throw into such stark relief what elena has managed to adjust to in the months she's been with the cdc -- destroying ajna had seemed to be not so bad, at the end, but now... now she thinks caroline might judge her for acquiescing so readily. it's not as though elena had really liked it, she'd just... accepted that there was nothing she could do to stop it, and she'd decided that following armada and protecting the rest of the recruits was more important than her personal reservations about destroying the planet. she didn't enjoy it, of course she didn't, but she had a job, and it was one that she was determined to do well. but who knows what caroline will think of it? she's managed to hold onto her moral center through everything that happened to them in mystic falls, while elena's has gotten a bit more... fluid. there's only so much you can loose before you decide that loosing any more is unacceptable, no matter the cost. elena's no longer willing to lose anything or anyone else, and it makes her more dangerous than she used to be. she knows that.
she also knows that caroline has never looked favorably on that, and she doesn't know what that will translate to when it comes to the cdc. there's no room for failure here, but she can't tell if caroline will accept that. ]