Grace // Klaus Mikaelson

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May 30th 2010

It took him three days to find him, three days of following the body trail - torn carcasses of campers and wildlife alike - the red blurred into one, one long bloody stain across the woods of Georgia. It was a massacre reminiscent of days long gone by. It almost made his tempered stomach churn. Almost. He was sure it was him - the area was crawling with vampires and other supernatural curses but only he could inflict such damage, such blood lust was a product of a genetic combination that flew in the face of nature itself. A hybrid. Elijah had to find his brother so he could in turn find the rest of his family - the family that Niklaus had stolen from him long ago. Breaking the curse seemed like the only way, the blood shed would be worth it in the end. It was the reasoning of a desperate man but that was how far he had fallen, or more accurately it was how far he had been pushed.

Ahead there lay tents strewn carelessly among a clearing but there were no bloodies, no blood, only tyre tracks, somehow they had managed to get away. Slowly Elijah made his approached, every other campsite had been a massacre, why not this one too? At this point he wasn't even sure this was the work of his brother but then all doubt sailed away, he couldn't believe he hadn't seen it before - there in the middle of camp was the hulking mass of a wolf, not a timber wolf or even a were wolf - this was bigger, much bigger. Elijah had only seen such a wolf once before, the first time Niklaus shifted almost a millennia ago - the wolf's torso and ligaments were rippling with muscle, even asleep it looked formidable.

Circling cautiously Elijah moved so he was facing the belly of the beast but instead of a fleshy stomach there was a figure blocking his view - a girl. Racing forward he stopped a foot away careful to make no noise but on closer inspection the girl had sustained no injuries instead she lay content curled up next to Niklaus' wolf. It was a sight to behold, she was still breathing and her heartbeat reflected her state - quite and drowsy but still there, still alive.

Reaching out cautiously he tapped her shoulder gently to wake her or at least move her from harms way but instead she jerked awake - her eyes locked with Elijah's and then turned to the beast beside her but instead of running in fear away from the wolf and toward him she re-collided further, her arms shooting out to latch on the the wolves front legs. With a growl the beast was awake, Elijah prepared for the attack but it never came. Instead his wolf form curled tighter together howling as though it were in pain.

"Nik," A voice screamed. Suddenly all went silent and the wolf receded leaving behind a man albeit it a man without clothes. "Nik." She called again but he didn't answer, instead his head rose with fury in his eyes.

"Brother." He scowled. "What did you do?"

"Nothing , not this time." Elijah pondered but before he continued his though he turned to the tents and the bags beside them. Pulling clothes out the nearest on he threw that at his brother. "Now Niklaus, preserve the young girl's modesty - it seems as well that it was her that woke you up."

"No it was something else," He said slipping into the borrowed clothes. "I could hear Grace and I could hear you, what woke me was magic. "

"Magic?" The girl inquired, choosing to remain sat on the floor while Niklaus joined his brother standing, both adopting an arms crossed stance. "Was it Bonnie again - she's probably tracking you."

"It wasn't Bonnie's magic - I remember that. No this was different."

"Who then?" Elijah asked, prompting the girl to look at him again. This time Niklaus was awake to watch, like everyone that comes across Grace they find themselves trapped in her eyes - as though they were the only magic that really mattered in the world. The Mikaelson brothers had come across beauty in all its wonderful variety in their time but no ones eyes quite matched hers.

"I'm not sure. Yet." Niklaus hissed, his face then smoothed back to what Grace knew as normal but Elijah - knowing him for far longer - knew this was a state of calm rarely seen. "Grace love, I don't believe the two of you have been introduced."

"No I don't think we have met before." Now she stood, pulling her self up to try and stand as tall as she could she put her right hand forward. "Verde, Grace Verde."

"Elijah." He said taking her hand. "Elijah Mikalaeson."

"So you are brothers?" She said turning to Niklaus, dropping Elijah's hand in the process. "Which one is he?"

"почтен" Nik replied, she was referring to the names that they had given his siblings - as a way of her remembering them, they were linked to what Nik and Catherine had discerned as their most distinguishable traits.

"Forgive me, my slavic is not what it once was." Elijah said with smile.

"почтен" Grace said, "It means honorable one."

"Quite fitting don't you think brother?"  Nik chuckled.

"Quite."  Elijah replied. "No I think it is time we returned this one."

"Yes I agree, she's probably quite tired."

"She is still right here."  Grace complained half-heatedly.

"Yes and she needs to enlighten me as to how she ended up in the woods when I explicitly told Katrina not to let you loose."  

Grace smiled dropping her eyes to the floor.  She would't be getting off as easily as she had planned.