AIDEN

Rebekah couldn’t contain the small smile stretching her lips as the sibling moment transpiring reminded so much of her brothers and herself. Elijah did have his elder protector moment, but it was Niklaus who kept the blonde company when they were children shielding from thunderstorms. Those were simpler times. “Siblings, you cannot live with them and you cannot live without them. I know from experience, we little ones are a handful.”

“Yeah well, i’m all he’s got left.” Which was the truth of it all, sometimes he hated their parents for just leaving them but he wasn’t fifteen anymore or some reckless kid. He’d stepped up to take care of his brother because no one else could do it. “You ain’t meant to be here; the moon is gonna be up soon and while me and a few of the older people are better at controlling the situation...others don’t have the same luck.”

“You shouldn’t make spoken promises you can’t keep.” Jake had watched the sweet yet bordering vomit-inducing exchange between the wolf and the younger boy, curious to the uproar he would cause if he seamlessly ended the pair right in the middle of their hug. As cruel as it would be, that’d likely create a turf war the hunter wasn’t ready to unleash for the time being. “Don’t put your trust in anyone to take care of kids either. I’d hate for him to wander off into danger.” 

“pretty sure? bastard,” oliver grunted, but a smile tugged on the corners of his mouth still, all in good fun, he assumed the other understood. they made their way into the clearing and oli took a seat on a conveniently placed trunk, the tree had been cut a while back for firewood but mostly served as a place for them to sit while waiting for the moon to reach it’s peak. “fuck,” the wolf nodded, a chuckle following, “good luck with tha’ one.”

Aiden let out a chuckle, one that passed as soon as they reached the clearing and he happily took a seat on the ground looking up at the moon if only to see how long they had now. “I’m gonna need all the luck in the world.” He added with a shrug, maybe it would be worth it in the end or he hoped so. “Not long now.” he noted. 

“funny, I’ve been hearin’ that since I learned t’talk,” and that wasn’t even an exaggeration, while his brother had always been everyone’s favourite, even his parents, he had been the runt of the family, the one they hadn’t wanted, and they’d been tellin’ him to shut up from the moment he let out his first cry. thank god for dalton. maybe he should have been nicer to his older brother. “y’got some time, like – how old is he?” oliver questioned, though he really should have known, he didn’t often pay attention.

“yeah well,” oliver shrugged his shoulders, burying his hands into his pocket as they moved deeper into the trees, away from the homes of the people they, well, he loved. he hummed in response to the question, running his fingers through his hair, “if he doesn’t, he’ll go through the angry phase, comes with the territory of bein’ a wolf but either way y’gonna get on his nerves. hell, dalton gets on m’nerves and I’m an adult. I’ll always be his kid brother, so he treats me like a kid, jus’ like you’ll do to your brother.”

“Yeah you shutting up would be a miracle.” he chuckled, walking further away certainly always brought it’s sense of relief at least for him it did. “Definitely hoping for the emo, silent hate phase then and for now i’m gonna kinda love the years where he’s not telling me how much of a dick I am.” Aiden added with a shrug, tucking his hands into his pockets as he continued to walk. 

“I can’t relate to that whole situation, you know, I triggered before dalt, but it sucks being away from an older brother,” oliver breathed, although he quickly shook his head, “when you’re a kid at least.” he tilted his head to the side, gesturing for aiden to move with him, “it’ll get to a point when he hates being around you, think y’got a pretty long way to go since then.” classic oliver, really, he really had to put a downer on everything.

“You know sometimes, you saying jack all would be appreciated..-” he joked slightly, moving with Oli and leaving his brother to however he’d spend the time. “Kinda pretending the teenage phase ain’t gonna happen with him but it’s probably inevitable...you think he’ll go through the whole emo phase?” Since he was basically raising Nick he wondered what Oli’s opinions were even if they were less than hopeful at the best of times. 

“ I can only imagine what it must’ve been like for him… it’s hard on a kid to be away from family… ” she mused, knowing full well what that was like. It had been little over a year ago that she had reunited with her own family, only to once again part ways with them under sudden circumstances. The werewolf tilted her head slightly to the side, as if contemplating the question that had been asked, before she spoke again, “ – triggered my werewolf curse when I was about thirteen… didn’t really have anyone like me at the time to help me through my first full moon. ” She’d leave out the dismal details, not quite ready to divulge her back story to some stranger. She was certain he’d understand, anyway.  “ An old friend, huh… Was he always such an asshole? ” she spoke without much of a filter, a single eye narrowed briefly as the smile still played on her lips. Could he blame her for the distaste towards Oli though? “ So, the alpha… where the hell is he? ” Apart of her was curious about the kind of leader the crescents had– the title alpha weighs heavy on those who don it.

“ No, I get it… he’s just a kid. He shouldn’t have to know that you break your bones over and over again every full moon. ” Apart of her wished that had been the case for her. That she wouldn’t have had to been exposed to this side of her at such an early age– she, too, was just a kid when she triggered her werewolf curse. She nods at his gesture towards the moon, bright and full against the night sky, “ – right. Not the best circumstances to meet under… I’m Hayley, by the way. ” She recalled having encountered a crescent werewolf back in the city the day she had arrived. Her first impression of him wasn’t the most pleasant, admittedly. “ I met one of your guy’s actually… can confirm he was a total dick. ” rosy lips curve upwards slightly into a faint smirk, as the witty remark escapes her. 

Hayley had followed the scent she’d picked up on– the scent of werewolves. She knew the bayou was werewolf territory, but she hadn’t exactly had the opportunity to meet with many new faces. Eventually, she found herself stumbling upon another of her kind, keeping her distance. She watched from the sidelines, as the other spoke to what appeared to be his sibling. After a few moments, the werewolf finally begins to approach the unfamiliar face with caution, “ – younger brother? ” the questions slips past her lips without so much as a second thought, curiosity having overtaken her.

          “Ill keep that in mind.” She lightly chuckled. “But I think I can handle.” Tatia can be very resourceful either way. “I suppose you are right. To each their own is what I always say. We are all different after all.” Tatia mused over. Listening to him tatia felt sympathy. “My condolences on your loss. No child should have to lose their mother and father. but I am sure they are watching and are happy that you are taking care of your brother. . 

“ Vampires, witches… all the things that go bump in the night. ” she gave a nonchalant shrug, words spoken held a lighthearted air to them despite knowing it was the truth of the city. She’d play it off as if she was simply a curious resident for now, unsure if the other was even aware of these facts himself. “ It’s kinda cheesy, I know… ”

          “You would be correct. Katherine and Elena are my doppelgänger. Me being the original one. “ She nodded. “Smart man.” She smiled. “You will know once, you meet her. Many dont like her but I find it all amusing. She is family after all despite the centuries of separation. “ Tatia replied as she shook his hand. “You lived her all your life?” 

             So elena was alive. “Yeah there are three of us. “ So it seems. “Yes, she is nice and well katherine is  … Something else.” She smiled. “I’m tatia. Not elena.” She held out her hand to shake his. “You are?” 

             Paige lightly chuckled and nodded. “Yes, well. Thank you. Though I know I have to respect someone’s decision too.” Paige looked over at the small wolf and nodded. “That would be him…Ah they look so cute. I would hate myself if I pulled him away.” She smiled. “Okay. Um, I guess I can leave him here? You sure he wont get in trouble ? or me? I know how some alphas can get when it comes to new people and all that. Plus me being human and all no trust there. Though I dont really care if jackson trusts me or not. All I care about if he can help them. ”