consequence | at leaving messages ] [ for ophi

[She wants to ask him what he remembers, what the last thing he knows about home is, but she's also worried that it'll be the same thing that she experienced with Klaus. The distrust over her telling him what had happened didn't make her feelings of loss any easier to deal with.]

Can we meet? I'm not sure how much I trust these things.

Of course.

[ He would like nothing more, in fact, than to see her face. ]

Only, I'm not entirely certain where I am right now.

[It would be odd for her to say that she could find him, that her new hybrid senses made her an even better tracker, wouldn't it?]

Tell me what's near you and I'll come to you.

[ He scans his surroundings a moment, frowning. ]

I can see what appears to be a pyramid in the distance.

[The distance part doesn't actually help her too much, but she'll use it anyway.]

I'll find you.

[And with that she leaves her little makeshift lodgings (such as they are) and moves through the people until she can pick up on him. Once she gets closer, she slows down and soon enough she's found him. She can't help the way she gets nervous, that moment of wondering when he's from being the most important. Hayley stops a few feet from him. The fact that she's not pregnant anymore is a clear sign of when she's from, but how he reacts is where her mind is.

She closes the gap between them slowly, smiling at him once she gets close.]

I found you.

[ Elijah can't help the way his whole face lights up when he sees her; it's been a difficult day to say the least but all of that melts away in an instant. ]

So it would seem.

[ His gaze does rake over her and he isn't particularly subtle about it, trying to assess her current state. The distinct lack of a pregnant stomach is noted but that's no surprise to him. ]

[She stands there for the moment, waiting for him to respond, but when he doesn't seem alarmed that she's not pregnant she feels that weight lifted off of her. Of course, once that weight is lifted it doesn't give her any excuses for having to put on the brave face. Her smile falters briefly, but she glances to him once more.]

I'm glad to see you. [Every small phrase she says seems like some small stepping stone toward what she really wants to say.]

It's been really hard. [Her hand goes through her hair, pushing it aside as she exhales.] Klaus and Rebekah are from earlier and I keep holding it together, but they don't really understand and if you don't know -- I'm not sure that I can explain it all again.

[ He knows what she means by 'earlier,' following his discussions with Rebekah and Caroline. It's a bit hard to wrap his head around still, but when you've lived 1,000 years and experienced the kinds of things that he has, there is little that feels truly impossible anymore.

In any case, he's already spent the better part of a day in the company of a woman who is supposedly dead as far as everyone (but her) remembers. If that's not proof enough there's something strange afoot here...

Elijah hesitates a short moment, uncertain as to whether it's 'safe' to talk. He leans forward instead, deeply inhaling the scent of her. It appears to confirm what he already knows, because he pulls back -- nodding. ]

One of the last things that I can recall before waking up here is that you were turned.

[Her eyes shut as he leans forward, trying to still keep that collected feeling strong within her. Hayley nods as he mentions her being turned. It's a weird word to hear in regards to herself. After eight years of trying to find herself within her werewolf lineage, now she has an entirely new aspect to learn about and a new family to consider her own.]

Do you know what we had to do? [Her eyes lift to look at him, searching his features for some sort of acknowledgement that she doesn't have to say it -- not out loud.] What we had to say?

[ Elijah's lips purse closed a moment. A ripple of despair travels down his spine. Perhaps it had been foolish to think that the child could ever live and be safe in his family's care. Not with as many bitter enemies Niklaus has managed to accrue over the years. ]

I do.

[ There's a definite note of anguish in his tone. ]

[The breath she draws in is shaky at best, her mouth drawing into a tight line as she steps in closer to him.]

Klaus didn't believe me. [She knows that he was simply lashing out, that his own anger and frustration had come to a boiling point and that hearing of his failure had only worsened it, but having to convince someone else that she had given up the child she had sworn to protect, that she vowed wouldn't be put through the same childhood that she had -- it hadn't been a simple moment of telling him something.]

I wouldn't have lied. [Her head shakes, the upset starting to press to the surface.] I barely got to know her and I had to let her go and now I'm here -- all the promises I made to her, all the things that I swore... how am I supposed to do that if I'm here?

[ There was a time not even too long ago where he wouldn't have dared to be so forward. But things are different now -- her apparent death had snapped something inside of him. He doesn't hesitate to close that last little bit of distance between them, drawing her forward against his sturdy chest, arms wrapping tightly around her. ]

Rebekah says that time is frozen here.

[ Which is discomforting for its own reasons. But at least he doesn't have to worry about Hope with Rebekah being here. (Of course, he'll still worry in his own way; it won't make missing her any easier to bear). ]

That we aren't gone from home, not truly.

[ He pulls back just a small amount, so that he can brush her hair from off her face, warm palm lingering there against her cheek. ]

We'll find a way to survive this just as we have everything else. I promise you, Hayley. If there is a way to leave, I will find it.

[The hug is nearly enough to break her resolve, to allow her that moment where she could cry over the thought that the distance between her and her daughter is now greater than they had ever planned for. There is no reassurances allowed here, no way of knowing what is going on - even if their time here is set apart from the time home. Her hands stay at his back, feeling the strength in his form, the comfort that it provides her is something she's grateful for.

His touch is comforting against her cheek, the look he gives her is one of truth and honesty and she trusts the words that he says. It's not as though she knows that he'll succeed, because she's sure someone would've tried something by ow, but it's that he's making a promise to her. She knows that he has made them in the past and even if this one seems impossible, it still means something to her.

She nods, still keeping his gaze as her hand moves to settle against the back of his hand as it rests to her cheek.]

I trust you, Elijah. [She says the words and means them, perhaps for more reasons than just the manner in which he made that promise. Her head turns toward his palm, brushing the lightest kiss there before she moves toward him again and rests her head to his chest.]

[ Niklaus has been here for some time already, it seems -- and Rebekah even longer than that. Whether they are indeed gods or not, their captors must still possess a significant amount of power to keep them contained the way they have. Otherwise, Elijah is certain that his brother and sister would have escaped at the first possible opportunity to do so.

Thus the realization that they may be well and truly trapped here is one that weighs heavily upon his conscience. It is why he cannot promise Hayley any more than he does in the moment. But what he can promise is to try -- to search, tirelessly, however long it takes.

Her lips graze over his open palm then and Elijah's breath catches audibly in his throat. The reaffirmation of her trust is not insignificant. It gives him strength here in this place where he feels so weak and impotent. She rests her head back against his chest and his thumb continues to idly stroke her cheek for a moment before his arm lowers once more to encircle her. ]

[Standing there in his embrace is enough to center her. To make her remember that all they've done thus far is survive. She's had countless enemies thrown upon her and she's still standing. This place is not nearly as dire as the French Quarter on a bad day and even more importantly is that she knows her daughter is safe. Above all else, even if this world crumbles, she knows that is as an absolute. Nothing can touch that.

Elijah's hand is warm at her back and every so often she can feel the weight of it shift against her spine. She could be content to rest here, like this, for a while. Her breathing steadies and the concerns she had over Klaus and his violent response to her answers slip away. The worry she has over the strained relationship between Klaus and Rebekah moves to the distance.

Hayley isn't sure how long they stand there in that embrace. Maybe those that pass by have a curiosity as to why or who they are, but she's not concerned with them. As she pulls away, her hand moves from his back to along his jaw. It's a soft touch, one with compassion and honesty, because he told her once that she always had a choice.]

I hadn't realized how much I missed you, until you were right here.

[It's her choice as she leans up and kisses him. Her fingers brushing along his jawline until she can feel the softness of his hair at the nape of his neck. If she's only had the chance to kiss him twice before, she wants to make sure that it matters as much as it had those other times.]

[ In time, perhaps he will find it peaceful enough in its own strange way. This place, despite its countless other faults and shortcomings, is at least somewhere they can all be together -- seemingly without the constant threat of their enemies conspiring to ruin them. If nothing else, they can survive here. (It is the Mikaelson way).

It's a luxury that he's not yet entirely acclimated to, to allow himself this incredible degree of closeness with her. But it's one that he relishes presently all the same, content in the moment to hold and to be held by her in return. He inhales the scent of her more deeply this time, letting its comfortable familiarity wash over him. With just the one little touch, she pulls out some of the stress that's been gradually building up over the course of the day. His posture grows less tense by degrees and the line of his jaw relaxes some.

Her words are like the sweetest music to his ears, to think that she relies upon him still for comfort even when he is not perhaps her best option. But he doesn't have the chance to respond before she's closing that last bit of distance and oh -- she's kissing him. So warm and sweet and sure. Things have never been more complicated for them but he doesn't deny her his reciprocation, lips molding to hers with tender care. ]

[This is simple. This is something that has kept her grounded through cravings and bloodlust that she hasn't really admitted to anyone. The thought of connection, of being able to lose herself in someone else. It's a baser instinct, but it's one that she's content relying on.

Hayley wants the kiss to continue, she wants to let it build and fill up all the empty places that she still feels, but right now she knows that it's not exactly the ideal situation and suddenly rushing this, even if it's being reciprocated, might not be the wisest thing. There's a slight bit of hesitation, but Hayley still pulls away from the kiss. Her forehead rests lightly to Elijah's eyes still closed as she exhales softly.]

I really did miss you.

[ Everything is still so tentative and new between them as it is -- and then having also just had a run-in with Katerina certainly provides him with a whole slew of complicated feelings even though he realizes quite clearly now that he doesn't care for her in the same manner as he once did. And so, it's for the best that they don't get carried away, even if that's what their environment seems to call for.

Truly, this is almost as good... Freely indulging in the kind of emotional intimacy that he has long been denying himself with her. ]

Loathe though I am that you are here... I am selfishly glad for it nonetheless.

[Her hand remains against the nape of his neck, fingertips brushing lightly there. She wants to stay like this, close to him, for as long as possible because there have been very few chances for her to have this any other time. It's always been something sudden and out of the fear of loss. While it's true that they might get taken from here, brought back home, but it still feels isolated enough that she can just hum softly at his words and smile at him.]

Loathe though I am... [Her tone teases lightly.] I'm sure you say that to all the girls.

[ He smiles wryly. ]

I suppose now would be a terrible time to say who I ran into down in the caves. [ At least he seems to have learned his lesson about keeping things from her unnecessarily. Surely at some future point he'll find a way to justify it happening again if need be -- he always does -- but for the moment, he elects to just be forthright with her about ~~his dirty past~~ a potential awkwardness in their midst. ]

[Oh, Elijah, killing the mood already. Hayley pulls away to look at him more fully. The only person she's concerned about being here is ... well, okay the list is long, but top of her mind is Genevieve or one of the Harvest girls.]

Definitely a terrible time, but tell me anyway.

Katerina Petrova. Or, as you may know her, Katherine Pierce. [ The most uncomfortable pause. ] We have -- a history, her and I. [ That's putting it a little mildly of course but best not to slap her with the cray all at once. ] So I just thought you should be aware of that, that you should hear it from me first, considering our-- [ Their what? ]

[That is a name she hadn't even considered in a while and the thought of Elijah having history with her... it's probably something she read in his journals when she was snooping.]

She tried to have me killed. [Just sayin'.] It's why I was with Klaus in the first place. Trading information for protection. [There's a light frown, because she's not sure what Katherine's presence means.]

Do you know when she's from? [Because, Hayley is a hybrid now... she can handle herself if she needs to.]

I did not grill her like maybe I should have. But, judging from the fact that she is still a vampire with no apparent memory of what awaits her, at least a year behind us now.

However, she seemed -- surprised to see me, beyond even what you might expect given the circumstances. So I would hazard to guess she comes from a time even earlier than that.

[Hayley nods. She knows that this can't be easy on Elijah if he had the sort of history that she assumes he had with her, snooping not withstanding.]

Are you alright? [Hayley's hand moves to take one of his, holding onto it and giving him a reassuring squeeze.]

at leaving messages ] [ for ophi

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