The bonds of family

20

Arkyn took Caitlyn to the compound, where he found Cami pacing up and down in front of Klaus.
"Cait!" Cami sighed, walking forward, giving her sister a hug. "Oh thank god."
"I'm fine. Ark saved me."
"Where were you?" Caitlyn glanced at Arkyn, and he took over.
"Mikael took her."
"Are you okay?" Cami started checking over her sister and Caitlyn pushed her off.
"I'm fine. Stop fussing."
"When did Mikael take you?"
"An hour ago." Caitlyn said. "Off the corner of Royal and Dumaine." She frowned at Arkyn, pointedly. "That was your dad?"
"Yeah."
"Who was the other dude?"
"Finn. My brother. He's kind of possessing some guy right now."
"Ark.." Cami said pointedly.
"I already know, Cami. About vampires and witches, right? Supernaturals roaming the city? Give me some credit, I am an O'Connell."
"Cait, it's not-"
"Don't patronise me."
"How did you find out?"
"It's New Orleans and I've been here for months." She said.
"Nik, why don't we go to Kol? Tell him the locator spell isn't necessary anymore."
"Don't you go anywhere-" Cami pointed at him, glaring harshly.
"I thought you might like some space with your sister."
"Why would your father take my sister to lure you out?"
"Because she's innocent and he's a psychopath."
"He does have a point. We're talking about the man who mercilessly hunted us down for centuries." Klaus added.
"Well, this is fun, but I'm tired, so I'm gonna go home and take a nap." Caitlyn turned to walk out but Cami gripped her hand.
"Cait-"
"I'm fine Cami." She said softly. She looked up at Arkyn. "Or, you know, Ark can take me home if you're so worried." Cami looked at Ark who suddenly found himself curious by the compound decor.
"Fine." Cami said, her sister refusing to give up. Klaus pat his brother's shoulder.
"Was it absolutely necessary to snap my neck?"
"No, I'm sure asking politely would have worked just as well." Klaus rolled his eyes and Caitlyn walked out. Cami started at Arkyn until he followed after her and was out of view.
"What the hell happened between your brother and my sister?"

"You know, I think your sister hates me." Ark frowned as he and Caitlyn walked together. They were far from earshot.
"She doesn't even know you."
"Yeah, well you telling her you and I slept together doesn't exactly help my case."
"I didn't tell her that." Caitlyn smiled sheepishly. "I might have implied it..."
"Why not tell her the truth? She's your sister, and she loves you."
"I know." Caitlyn looked straight ahead, one hand twirling a strand of hair.
"So where are you staying?" He changed the subject.
"Not with Cami. Uh, I'm actually staying with a friend. It's a bit of a walk."
"I'm a vampire. I don't get tired."
"I do. You might have to carry me." She teased, and he managed a small smile. "Okay, why do you always look like a puppy that's been kicked?"
"What?"
"You barely smile."
"I smile." She raised a brow, unconvinced and he shrugged. "There was a girl." He finally gave in after a few moments of silence.
"What happened to her?"
"It's complicated."
"Do you love her?"
"I do."
"So what's holding you back?"
"Well, aside from the fact that she died, I guess it wasn't meant to be. It's a long story."
"Guess being an original comes with a lot of 'long story's." He looked at her. "I started remembering, then I saw him on the news, and I remembered you telling him to go turn himself in. I knew it was you. And I remembered you moving faster than I could see. I genuinely thought I imagined that, until I dug deeper. Met a witch who told me about the kind of things lurking under the cover of the night. About witches, werewolves, vampires... originals. Heard a lot about your brother, nothing about you."
"I've never really been one to be in the spotlight." He said. "But it's pretty impressive. Your search for the truth. You seem to be handling the revelation of a supernatural world pretty well."
"Oh, I already had a couple meltdowns. At first. But I'm okay now."
"And Cami had no idea?"
"I didn't really know how to tell her that I knew about the world she was so obviously trying to hide from me."
"So why did Finn help us? I mean, he's on your dad's side."
"I don't think Finn's on Mikael's side. I think he's just against Klaus."
"Still, he said you were even. Why did he owe you?"
"Long story."
"You don't say much, do you. Everything's a long story."
"Two years ago, he helped my mother try to kill our entire family. Guess he figures he owes me."
"But not Klaus?"
"By doing so they hurt someone close to me."
"The ex?"
"No."
"Girlfriend."
"Definitely not. She's more family than anything. She's someone I've known her entire life."
"Oh."
"My mother did a spell, and Alexis was affected. In fact if it wasn't for my other brother Kol-"
"How many brothers do you have?"
"Four."
"Klaus, Finn, Kol... Who's the fourth?"
"His name is Elijah."
"Huh, and you have a sister."
"Rebekah, yes."
"Must be nice having a large family."
"It comes with a lot of struggles."
"Well, here's my stop." She said. "Meet me tomorrow for coffee?"
"I'm not so sure that's a good idea."
"If you're worried about Cami, try to remember that you can't die, and also I'll tell her I've anointed you my bodyguard."
"Your bodyguard?"
"You saved me, like, twice. You can pretend to be my bodyguard or whatever, but I just think it'd be cool having you as a friend."
"Okay, fine. Coffee." He said.
"Cool." She unlocked the door and stepped inside. "I'd invite you in, but I'm pretty sure my roommate would kill me, so..."
"Cait, don't tell me you've befriended a vampire." A girl walked out into the landing, freezing as she saw Arkyn. "You."
"You." He replied.
"You know each other?"
"We met." Arkyn tensed, remembering his earlier interaction with the seer who warned him against Bonnie.
"Was I right?" She crossed her arms.
"Yes." He looked at Caitlyn. "I should go."
"Wait." Caitlyn stopped him. She reached over before quickly taking his phone out of his pocket. He looked at her curiously as she added her number, saving it and giving her own phone a quick call. "Tomorrow. Eleven am."
"Till then." He nodded and walked away. She waited until he was out of view to close the door.
"So what exactly were you right about?"
"I met him a few years back with his girlfriend."
"Years?"
"They were on vacation and she wanted a reading. I had a vision- that she wasn't trustworthy. That she could be his downfall, but I don't think he believed me."
"Oh."
"Come on. Let me give you a reading."
"I already told you Cass. I like my future to surprise me."
"He's dangerous."
"He saved me. More than once. I think we can trust him." Caitlyn said. Cassandra shook her head as Caitlyn walked past her.
"He's a vampire."
"And you're a witch. And I'm a human. So what?"