Pure Reluctance (Klaus Mikaelson) ON HOLD

I.IV

An almost shamed expression overtook Sophie's features as she grimaced, "I.. wasn't always an advocate for the witches.. My sister was devoted like our parents, and our upbringing was very strict, which drove me nuts. The minute I turned 21, I left the Quarter to travel.. and play, but I wanted to be a chef. So, I came back to Rousseau's."

Nixie's expression never faltered, a gift she had picked up after having spent so much time with the witches recently. It wasn't until Sophie mentioned the word harvest did she actually develop an interest for the conversation.

"What the bloody hell is a Harvest" Rebekah piped, brows furrowing at the unfamiliar term.

"It's a ritual our coven does every 3 centuries so that the bond to our ancestral magic is restored" the young witch explained, "we appease our ancestors. They keep our ancestral power flowing."

Rebekah wasn't the only one disturbed by this, even Klaus' expression twitched at the new information, "and why haven't I heard of this?"

"Because the harvest always seemed like a myth" Sophie shrugged, "a story passed down through generations like Noah's Ark or the Buddha walking on water, the kind some people take literally and some people don't."

An amused snort left Nixie at the comparison, her hand coming up to cover half of her face to hide her grin when she received a glare from the witch and a playful nudge from the hybrid beside her.

Ignoring the outburst, Sophie droned on, "they had the girls of our community preparing for months. Four would be chosen for the harvest. They said that it was an honor, that they were special. I thought it was just a myth."

"Was it?"

Before Sophie could answer Rebekah's question, the sound of a phone going off interrupted and everyone turned to face the hybrid who pursed his lips while pulling out his cell. Klaus spared a quick glance at the name before putting it up to his ear, "Marcel" he casually greeted causing the women to fall silent right as Hayley stepped into the room.

Nixie pointed excitedly at the wolf, drawing her attention before gesturing to her own stomach with a grin. Hayley shook her head with a silent chuckle, understanding that her friend was referring to her protruding belly. It was as if the baby had grown twice it's size overnight and as Hayley's stomach grew to accommodate it's occupant but remained hidden, Nixie's grew along with it with the help of the illusion spell to keep up the ruse that she was the one still carrying the baby. Sophie and the rest of the witches were none the wiser, to them Hayley remained perfectly normal with her growing belly hidden safely behind the spell.

-dead witches in the Bayou. Sounds like less of a problem and more like a cause for celebration."

Everybody's heads snapped up as Klaus repeated Marcel's words back to them, him promising to meet the vampires there and the second he hung up, Sophie was on him.

"You can't go out there now" she protested, "I need to gather the witches' remains and concentrate them. If I don't get to them before sundown, we lose the link to their magic."

"Those witches tried to kill Nixie" Klaus reminded rather heatedly, "and I prefer for Marcel's informant not to find anything that would lead back to us, to her or to, you know" he pointed towards Nixie's stomach, "that."

"You are all class" Hayley muttered, taking a sip of her tea as she rolled her eyes behind the mug.

"Just stay put" Klaus ordered, well, everyone, but his eyes focused solely on his human who he knew had a knack for doing the opposite of anything he asked, "stay out of trouble." Before anyone could protest, he had placed a quick kiss onto the crown of Nixie's head and disappeared before she even had time to register it.