𝐁𝐄 𝐊𝐈𝐍𝐃.

“ the deepest of convictions are the darkest of positions —- best not to roll the dice and play the fool. ”

..

if  she  had  a  dollar  for  every  time  a  mikaelson  said  some  cryptic,  or  vaguely  threatening,  she’d  have  enough  money  to  build  herself  a  compound  to  rival  theirs  out  in  the bayou.  she  simply  doesn’t  indulge  him  any  further,  arms  crossed  tightly  over  her  chest  as  she  waits  for  him  to  finish.   with  klaus,  you’re  always  best  to  wait  until  he’s  said  whatever  he  needs  to  say  before  trying  to  get  a  word  in edgewise  —  especially  when  it’s  important.   “  some  people  say  hello,  you  know. ”   despite  the  bite  to  her  words,  she  is  glad  to  see  him.  tumultuous  relationship  aside,  a  familiar  face  is  an  ally  in  a  city  like  reprieve.  

                  she  often  only  read  books  that  she  found  in  abandoned  places  or –  some  that  she  had  collected  and  were  given  throughout  the  years .  several  out dated  though ,  they  were  still  entertaining .  especially  the  books  concerning  past  kings  and  queens .   so  much  had  changed  through  her  time  and  being  tossed  into  a  whole  different  world  was  far  too  exhausting .  especially  given  she  didn’t  have  a  single  clue  about  the   rules  and  such  that  existed .  dracia’s  nostrils  flared  a  bit  when  the  other  woman  grew  closer .  a  werewolf .  she  didn’t  trust  them .  not  since  the  one  helped  created  the  monster  that  swallowed  her  parents  and  a  few  of  her  siblings .  

                eyes  shifted  towards  her  ,  noticing  her  defense .  and  it  caused  the  dragon  to  tense  up .  “  one  that  i’m  not  familiar  with .  “  dracia  replied ,  eyes  glancing  down  for  a  second .  did  this  other  creature  know  what  she was ?  she  had  hoped  not .  her  eyes  followed  to  where  the  other’s  flickered  up .  “  right .  “  she  hummed softly .  “  thanks … “ 

they’re  both  tensed,  like  at  any  moment  this  could  turn  from  civil  conversation  to  a  fight,  and  it’s  what  reinforces  that  this  isn’t  davina.   while  it’s  no  secret  the  witch  didn’t  always  get  along  with  the  mikaelsons  and  anyone  who  supported  them,  this  feels  different.  when  the  woman  looks  at  her,  she  doesn’t  see  any  recognition  in  her  eyes.   the  assumption  could  come  back  to  bite  her  but  given  nothing  in  reprieve  is  as  it  seems  ...  she  runs  with  it.   “  —  and  they  say  we  stop  learning  once  we  leave  school  behind. ”

she  drops  the  act,  taking  a  step  closer  to  the  stranger.   “  look,  whoever  you  are  ...  you  look  just  like  someone  i  used  to  know.   i  know  you’re  not  her. ”   she’ll  get  that  out  of  the  way  quick,  for  argument’s  sake.   “  but  have  you  seen  her  ?   i   could  seriously  use  an  ally  here. ”    someone  who  could  help  her  get  home;   back  to  the  bayou,  back  to  hope.

@lcvebuilt··

there are barely any woods in this city. but there are, around the edges, patches of tender wilderness, of grassy fields, shadowy trees, and SILENCE. she’s been all alone ( on more than one account ) since being plunged here ;  rather than sit around and wallow in her very human emotions, she’s chosen to spend most of her time as a wolf, running and running. she doesn’t expect anyone to be around, thus the suspicious shudders that climb up her spine as soon as she finishes getting dressed. she pursues the sentiment, trying to decide if it’s friend or foe. SHE DOESN’T EXPECT THIS.

her breath hitches in her throat and she feels the need to raise a hand against the trunk of a nearby tree, as if it’s an anchor for stability. she hasn’t forgotten her mother’s face a single beat of her life  —-  it’s immortalized in memories, in her own pool of guilt, and in the almost finished drawings hidden at the back of a drawer back at salvatore. emotions clash in her chest, ration tells her this isn’t REAL, that maybe the necromancer is mocking her current solitude. but she also wants to hope, wants to give in to that ardent need for comfort she keeps strangling. she feels like her walls should be held high, but instead  —  they crumble.  “ m–mom? ”  a stutter and a crack of her voice too. not very decisive.

..

she  flips  the  page  of  the  book  in  her  lap,  lips  pursed.  nope.  she  flips  again.  still  nothing.  she  flips,  and  flips,  until  she’s  paged  through  the  entire  book  and  found  nothing  of  use.  in  truth,  she’s  not  surprised;  time-travel  is  something  out  of  a  sci-fi  novel,  not  something  you  encounter  in  everyday  life.   of  course  there’s  nothing  in  any  of  the  books  she’s  been  helplessly  scanning  over  the  past  few  weeks  that  have  provided  her  with  any  kind  of  explanation  —  let  alone  a  way  HOME. 

there’s  nothing  even  remotely  familiar  about  this  foreign  place.  echo  might  have  provided  her  a  place  to  stay  but  it’s  not  home;  it  can’t  be,  not  without  the  people  she  loves.   on  the  outskirts  of  town,  there’s  a  grassy  knoll  she’s  come  to  haunt.   it’s  not  the  bayou  but  it’s  as  close  as  she’ll  get.  today,  however,  she’s  not  alone.   eyes  flash  gold  momentarily  as  she  senses  another  wolf  in  the  vicinity,  belongings  abandoned  on  the  blanket  she’d  spread  out.   she  ventures  further  into  the  grassy  fields,  eyes  softening  when  a  young  girl  stumbles  forward.   she  hardly  looks  like  an  enemy  waiting  to  strike  but  she  doesn’t  let  her  guard  down  all  the  same.

it’s  surprise  that  hits  her  first.  surprise,  and  then  a  wave  of  grief.   she’s  a  mother,  even  if  her  child  isn’t  here;   even  if  she  can’t  hold  her,  or  protect  her.   she  might  not  be  this  girl’s  mother  but  the  instinct  sees  her  approaching  slowly  all  the  same.   if  the  tables  were  turned  and  hope  needed  someone,  or  something,  she  hoped  someone  would  do  the  same.   “  i’m  not.  i’m  sorry. ”   her  gaze  softens,  her  hands  reaching  up  to  push   hair  away  from  her  own  face.   “  —  but  if  you  tell  me   more  about  her,  maybe  i  can  help  you  find  her. ”

“i mean, it is f i v e ‘ o c l o c k somewhere, right?” caroline justified, lifting her jell-o shot to cheers it with hayley. the two of them had more in common than they liked to think back when they were young, the whole teen drama of it all seemed to not matter anymore. not now, when they were adult women with d a u g h t e r s they cared more about than anything else in this world, and the fact that their children were nowhere to be found was both a blessing that they didn’t have to be in this place but also an a g o n i z i n g pain that they couldn’t see them. “i’ve also got stronger in the other room, when the jell-o shots get old.” 

@lcvebuilt·

they’ve  come  a  long  way  since  that  day  in  the  bathroom  back  in  mystic  falls  all  those  years  ago.  as  teenagers  they  might  have  fought  over  boys  who  didn’t  deserve  it  but  as  women  they  have  more  in  common  than  their  differences.   both  displaced  from  their  homes,  missing  their  daughters,  and  with  no  idea  how  to  fix  any  of  it.  

so  yeah.  they’re  drinking.  

“  sure. ”  she  agrees  with  a  light  laugh,  reaching  for  one  of  the  jello  shots.   she  feels  a  bit  guilty,  knowing  her  time  could  be  better  spent  trying  to  find  a  way  back  to  her  daughter,  but  it’s  been  weeks  with  no  tangible  leads.   she’s  not  giving  up  ...  she  just  needs  a  break.  she’ll  be  no  good  to  anyone  if  she  cracks  under  the  stress.   “  both.  definitely  both. ”   she  shoots  two  of  the  shots,  nose  scrunching  up  slightly  at  the  taste.  “  vampire  tolerance  is  something  i’ll  never  get  used  to.  i  don’t  usually  miss  being  a  lightweight  but  on  days  like  today  i  really  do. ”

           confused  didn’t  even   BEGIN  to  describe  how  she  was  truly  feeling .  one  moment ,  she  was  in  reality  and  the  next  she  was  tossed  into  this  unknown  place .  it  was  different .  so  much  different  than  mystic falls .  dracia  slowly  made  her  way  towards  a  local  book store  in  hopes  it  would  still  be  open  despite  how  late  it  was .  at  least  reading  was  a  slight  ESCAPE  from  what  was  going  on .  though ,  this  place  was  confusing  to  navigate  around .  she  had  no  clue  where  anything  was .  and  she  certainly  didn’t  know  anyone  she  had  encountered .  hands  grasped  the  small locket  that  she  wore  around  her  neck .  it  was  a  locket  that  a  witch  had  given  her  as  a  birthday  gift  over  a  hundred  years  ago .  it  was  SPECIAL  and  all  she  had  with  her . eyes  scanned  around   and  the  urge  to  snort  in  frustration  grew .  but  given  what  would  happen  when  she  would  do  such  a  thing ,  would  surely  alarm  those  around .  it  wasn’t  normal  to  blow  smoke   unless  you  were  a  dragon .     

                     eyes  searched  and  nothing .  finally  she  paused .  “  for  merlin’s  sake ,  where  is  anything  in  this  place ?  “   dracia  growled .  

..

it’s  been  a  long  time  since  she  picked  up  a  book  for  anything  other  than  trashy  romance.  that  had  been  years  ago  too,  long  before  she  made  her  way  to  mystic  falls.  their  lives  didn’t  exactly  lend  to  a  lot  of  downtime  for  reading.  no,  they  were  too  busy  fighting  unknown,  usually  ancient,  enemies,  or  trying  to  figure  out  how  to  coexist  in  a  house  filled  with  big  personalities.   it’s  only  now,  with  the  big  personalities  nowhere  to  be  seen,  that  she  can  appreciate  them;  their  absence  leaves  empty  spaces  in  her  chest  that  can’t  be  filled  with  things  like  books,  or  whatever’s  streaming  on  hulu.

her  fingers  run  absently  over  the  spines  of  some  of  the  books,  searching  without  direction  as  she  resists  the  urge  to  sigh.   she’s  paged  through  almost  every  book  that  mentions  time-travel  but  it’s  all  fiction;   thereby,  unhelpful.    she’s  just  about  to  grab  a  copy  of  the  time-traveler's  wife  —  yes,  she’s  reaching  now  —  when  enhanced  hearing  picks  up  the  sounds  of  someone  growling  further  into  the  stacks.   she’s  curious,  so  she  approaches.  

“  it’s  a  bookstore. ”  she  comments  obviously,  arms  folding  over  her  chest.   she’s  on  the  defensive.   this  girl  looks  like  davina  but  there’s  something  off  about  her;   she  smells  all  wrong.   she’s  always  trusted  her  instincts  and  they’re  screaming  IMPOSTER.   “  it’s  not  hard  to  figure  out. ”   she  shrugs,  eyes  flicking  up  to  the  K-L  placard  just  above  her  head.   “  alphabetical  order. ”

          the timing for bonnie had only been a simple four days. a daydream state, that was what she had been pondering, was this another of kai’s tricks? a question she often considered. she had survived so much in her twenty-four years of life, all she ached for was something ordinary & even that didn’t seem to be her destiny. friends, family; where were they? was she alone again in a an alien place, oh she prayed that she wasn’t. she didn’t know if she could deal with that pain again.                     leather boots drifted off the bench, allowing the person to sit if they chose. green hues adapting to the light, an embracing smile relaxed upon her lips. hayley, her preference in men wasn’t ideal in bonnie eyes. though it had been awhile since hayley slithered off, so who knew maybe things had changed?  “ it’s a weight lifted off of my shoulders. i thought i was alone “

..

the  person  she  was  in  mystic  falls,  the  choices  she  made,  feel  like  they  happened  in  another  lifetime.   she’s  changed  so  much;  she  became  a  mother,  had  to  look  out  for  someone  other  than  herself,  and  settled  into  herself  in  ways  she’d  never  been  able  to  before.   she  wasn’t  the  same  person  she  was  back  then.   by  looking  at  bonnie,  she’d  be  willing  to  put  money  down  that  the  same  could  be  said  for  her.  

“  so  it’s  just  you. ”   not  disappointing  but  disheartening.  she’d  hoped  maybe  bonnie  had  seen  klaus,  or  even  elijah  —  someone  who  might  be  able  to  point  her  towards  finding  her  family.   maybe  it’s  a  blessing,  her  child  not  getting  stuck  in  this  strange  place,  but  knowing  she’s  out  there  and  she  can’t  see  her  ?  or  protect  her  ?   it’s  unbearable.   “  not  that  i’m  not  happy  to  see  you.  i  am. ”   she  straightens,  a  hand  loosely  tucking  some  hair  behind  her  ear  as  she  chews  her  lip  contemplatively.   “  one  minute  i’m  in  the  bayou  and  now  i’m  here.   wherever  here  is. ”   maybe  bonnie  has  some  answers;   can  explain  how,  or  what,  brought  them  here.   “  it’s  magic,  right  ?   it  has  to  be. ”

worn-out leather boots stretched out upon the bench, shimmering green orbs facing up at the vivid blue sky. those eyes were exhausted, it was noticeable to see from the bags that settled underneath them & all for nothing! bonnie spent the night pursuing the truth, well tried too. how did so many individuals get ripped from their dimensions? she came up empty-handed. as the sun beamed down on her, a shadow formed, hindering the sunlight. “ did you want to sit? ” question rose from her lips, squinting her eyes to see the person.

two  weeks.  it’s  been  two  weeks  and  she  hasn’t  seen  a  single  familiar  face.  her  fingers  pick  at  the  skin  around  her  nail  beds,  a  sign  of  anxiety  as  she  waits  in  line  for  her  coffee.  the  more  coffee  she  drinks,  the  less  she  needs  to  sleep.   the  less  she  sleeps,  the  more  she  can  search.   wherever  this  place  is,  whenever  it  is,  her  family  isn’t  here;   her  daughter,  her  husband,  hell,  even  klaus,  are  nowhere  to  be  seen.   she  needs  to  find  them.   

when  she  sees  bonnie,  she’s  overcome  with  relief.   they  might  not  have  parted  on  the  best  of  circumstances  but  she’d  take  a  casual  acquaintance  over  a  sea  of  strangers  any  day.   her  coffee’s  discarded  as  she  crosses  over  to  the  other  woman,  nodding  her  head  once  as  a  small  smile  graces  her  features.   “  definitely. ”   she  answers,  sinking  down  beside  her.   “  you  have  no  idea  how  happy  i  am  to  see  you. ”

( phoebe tonkin, 21/22, she/her )  welcome to reprieve, HAYLEY MARSHALL-KENNER who is from THE ORIGINALS, SEASON 2.  rumor has it they are a HYBRID, but only they could tell you the truth! when i close my eyes, i think of them and imagine WADING THROUGH MURKY WATERS, HALF-SMILES AND TIGHT EMBRACES, AND A WARRIOR WHO WOULD DIE TO PROTECT THE PEOPLE SHE LOVES.

( candice king, 17/38, she/her ) welcome to san francisco, CAROLINE FORBES SALVATORE. rumor has it they are a VAMPIRE, but only they could tell you the truth! when i close my eyes, i think of them and imagine METICULOUSLY PLANNED EVENTS WITH AN ATTENTION FOR DETAIL, A SINGLE-MINDED PURPOSE, WHITE ROSES SPECKLED WITH BLOOD, AND THE SINNAMON ROLL - LOOKS SWEET, COULD ACTUALLY KILL YOU.