"Nothing is with me now but a sound,
A heart's rhythm, a sense of stars"
- W. H. Auden, Compline
In which Charlotte Salvatore wakes after a 145 year slumber and is thrust into a supernatural world before she can cope with the modern one.
(THE VAM...
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They were in the mountains, hiking up to find where the pack gathered so that Klaus could not only have not just Ray but a whole fleet of hybrids. Stefan was carrying Ray over his shoulders, Klaus had offered to carry Charlotte too but the glare she gave him made him raise his hands in surrender chuckling.
"Are you okay? Is Ray getting heavy?" Klaus said with mock concern.
"I'm fine."
"You sure about that? You know we've been walking for quite some time now. Do you need some water or to sit down."
The sincerity in his words was entirely absent and both Salvatores knew it. Charlotte's hand reached out to punch him lightly on the arm, speaking up finally when his mouth opened, clearly ready to goad him once more
"Nik, is it possible to not be a dick for like ten minutes?"
Klaus ignored her comment, but he did reach for her hand, pulling her beside him. She rolled her eyes at him, secretly pleased at the way his thumb moved back and forth across the back of her hand.
"You know, I get that we're stuck together but if we could maybe skip the chitchat, it'd be great," Stefan said.
"So much brooding. Your self loathing is suffocating you my friend."
"I didn't know you had friends," Charlotte cut in, a tone of with mock surprise, giggling a moment later when Klaus shot her a glare.
"Maybe it's because I'm a little tired of hunting werewolves," Stefan was exhausted and not just physically, she knew he was miserable being here, "we've been at it all summer."
"Thanks to our pal, Ray, we've found ourselves a pack."
They were silent the rest of their journey, Klaus with an excited grin on his face while Stefan brooded and Charlotte worried. Klaus was good at ignoring what people were really saying, at only focusing on what he wanted and he was doing that now, practically skipping as he walked, tugging Charlotte quicker and quicker in his eagerness.
Their destination finally appeared in front of them, a large clearing with a dozen or more people walking around setting up tents.Klaus let go of Charlottes hand as they reached it, pushing her a little behind him as he and Stefan stepped forward, catching the attention of the pack. Stefan dropped Ray on the ground and a woman ran forward in horror.
"Ray. Oh my God. What's going on?" The woman was horrified, stroking his forehead she looked up with anger at Stefan, "Who are you?"
"The important question is, who am I?" Klaus was walking forward confidently, "Please forgive the intrusion, my name is Klaus."
"You're the hybrid," the woman said, standing slowly.
"Jeez, his ego is never going to recover from this," Charlotte muttered, she was leaning against a tree now, still behind Klaus and her brother. Klaus ignored her, Stefan did too, but he had to fight back a smirk at her snark.
