Feelings - A Hosie Story

Chapter 41 - "I know what that kind of pain is like"

Hope and Josie are with the Mikaelson's having a private training session. Just them. It's early hours of the morning, though none of them seem tired. They have done more practice on the new abilities and senses, which Josie seems to be getting the hang of quickly. She's still not completely confident in them, and she does mess up from time to time, but she's getting there.

They move on to doing some magic, which seems to be the hardest part, because similarly to Hope (although not quite as extreme) Josie is now far more powerful than she used to be. Her magic is stronger, deeper, and in theory, easier to use. She merely has to figure it out, to practice siphoning her vampire side so that she may do magic whenever and however often she pleases. They try various basic spells. A few go wrong, which ends in everyone laughing at the results, but they keep trying until eventually, Josie gets it. She does it smoothly, siphoning the right amount of magic so that the spell does what it is intended to do.

Figuring out how her magic interacts with her vampire side as a siphoner is something not even Hope can fully understand. It's complicated, but Josie knows she will get it. She knows that one day, someday soon she'll be able to perform spells as easily as she could before she turned.

Hope leaps into her arms, whispering into her ear how proud she is of her. Josie hugs her close, kissing her cheek over and over. It's cute, and the Mikaelsons look on with smiles at the two young teens who are so clearly and deeply in love.

They finish the session with some blood bags to refuel. Josie can smell it before she even opens the top. Thankfully she no longer gags at the smell, though it still freaks her out. And as she drinks it, she tries to forget what it is, imagining that it is some weird smoothie or something. It doesn't work, not entirely and after a few sips, she asks Hope a question.

"Will it always be this weird to drink these blood bags?"

Hope shrugs. "Probably." They continue drinking. Josie then picks up on her father's voice, listening carefully to what he is saying. These new senses, makes it feel as though he is standing next to her saying it.

"My dad is calling a meeting. We should go." Josie says. Hope nods, smiling at how well Josie seems to be able to use her new hearing. Hope turns to her family and thanks them, saying she will catch them later.

The students who are still here take their seats. Hope and Josie sit with those from the Super Squad. It doesn't take long for everyone to arrive and for Alaric to begin talking.

"Good morning everyone. I've called you all here to discuss how we are going to be moving forward as a school. Now, classes will be resuming in two weeks' time, but before then we will be calling all students back so that we may honor those we have lost together. And to those people, to Dorian, Alyssa, Clark, Summer, Alycia, David, Ben, Harper, Amelia, Jack, Ava, Daniel, Sarah, and finally Landon, we thank them for fighting for our school and promise to give them a proper send-off."

He lists each name. Scattered sniffles and cries can be heard after each name. Hope turns to Rafael, noticing the devastation on his face. She knew Landon was gone, she knew he'd died, but she hadn't thought to check in on Rafael with everything else that has been going on, and for that, she feels guilty. She knows that the man and his allies had tried to hurt, and she's certain that they did their research on Phoenix's to find a way to kill Landon.

"In the meantime, I have started a small memorial over here for them all." He points over to the spot, which has a few flowers beside photos of each of the dead. "Feel free to leave your things here. I have also called in a few excellent therapists that will be here for all of you during this difficult time. They are here for you and they will help you through your grief. If you'd like to set up appointments, please come to see me in my office, and will discuss it further."

He makes a few more announcements, then announces they are all free to go. Hope and Josie share a look, and Josie knows exactly what Hope is thinking, so she just nods. Hope kisses her cheek and then leaves, trying to catch Rafael before he wanders away.

"Hey Raf, can we talk?" Hope asks, wanting to reach out to him, something she should have done days ago.

"Sure." They walk until they reach a place where they can sit.

"I haven't really checked in on you as much as I should have. I'm sorry for that."

"It's okay. You've been busy." Rafael fiddles with the ends of his sleeves. His leg shakes up and down.

"That's no excuse. I mean, you lost your brother. I know what that kind of pain is like. And I want you to know that I'm here for you, okay?"

"Thanks, Hope." Rafael stops, ready to open. Ready to share his thoughts as best as he can, because he knows he needs to. He knows that he needs to process it all before it eats him up. And he knows that Hope knows that too. "It's been hard. I mean he wasn't just my brother...he was my best friend. We did everything together. And I miss him, every single second of every single day."

"I loved him once, and no matter how things ended and how they were...I still cared about him. He was a good friend and a good brother to you, but I know he's watching over us. They all are."