𝐟𝐥𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫 𝐜𝐫𝐨𝐰𝐧𝐬, km

𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐫𝐭𝐲-𝐟𝐨𝐮𝐫

When everyone else remained quiet, Rory took it upon herself to take a small step closer, with a made attempt at a smile, although it clearly looked forced, and rather awkward.

"I'm-- uh, I'm Rory?"

Esther's eyes narrowed in on her, as if she were judging the girl. But the elder witch's face remained stoic, so Rory had no clue what was going on in her mental process. But before she could answer any of her own questions, Esther slowly reached a hand out for Rory to shake, alongside her own smile. A small one, but it was still a smile.

Everyone else watched in anticipation, Finn's and Klaus' eyes not wavering once from his mother, Elijah and Rebekah's eyes averting between her and Rory, and Kol momentarily letting go of her hand.

"Hello Rory, I'm Esther."

Rory stared at the extended hand for a few seconds unsure. Unsure of what? Even Rory didn't know. Esther seemed intimidating, yet welcoming all at the same time. Reluctantly, the Salvatore witch extended a hand of her own, grabbing onto Esther's. 

And with the immediate contact, the Mikaelson witch almost smirked evilly when she felt the power that Rory held.

Esther then moved on to her own introduction with Katherine, which could have been even more awkward to say the least. The whole situation in itself was out of pocket, not expected, but they tried their hardest to adapt with what they had.

Even going to bed that night was a challenge. Despite the calm skies, and the light breeze, everyone's minds were far from that. With their thoughts running at incapable speeds, processing newly acquired information as if it were delicate pieces of glass.

Some of them had gone from having no one, to having their whole family in the short span of less than twenty-four hours. It is bound to mess with their heads.

No one got any sleep. Tossing and turning in their beds. Although Katherine did get a fair amount. She slept like a baby.

Rory laid down in her bed, on the brink of sleep, the usage of her magical capabilities being the only thing allowing her to get even the slightest bit of rest. Her room was dark, with the faint light coming from a single lit candle, and the moon shining through her open windows.

It felt normal. If she didn't reflect on any of her own convictions, it almost just felt like a normal day. A normal night where she didn't have to worry about anyone about the very moment she was in. The very moment that could mean nothing but a mere idea of sleep. And the very moment that sleep was about to be whisked away into her only blissful sleep, she got stopped.

"Rora," a voice whispered from beside her, seemingly not caring that it was late in the night, or early in the morning. Slowly turning over, and opening her eyes, she saw Kol standing next to her bed, clearly looking as though he hadn't gotten even the slightest bit of sleep either.

Besides, he was considered dead with a dagger through his heart for a few decades, so sleep may be the least of his worries.

"What?" Rory whispered back, rather harshly, though Kol seemed to be not phased by it even in the slightest.

"Can I sleep with you?"

Rory laid there, staring at him for a moment, deciding whether or not she should. But the more she looked at him, the more she realized that she missed him. She missed him so much.

"No, you can't just get into my bed," she responded sleepily, barely able to keep her own eyes open, rolling over so her back was now facing him. But apparently that wasn't enough of an answer.

"Yeah, no shit, you're taking up the whole thing, scoot over," said Kol, pulling the blanket back and forcibly moving her over, before getting into the bed himself. Rory flipped back around, to they were now facing one another.