( open ) i’ll be your monster. but darling, you should know:

[poppycock]

​who / klaus + open prompts + closed starters in comments!
where / around and about the mansion grounds
when / after event & july catch-all!
rating / e for everyone (unless otherwise indicated!)
summary / klaus tends to his horse and paints
the story /

𝒐𝒑𝒆𝒏
𝒈𝒂𝒓𝒅𝒆𝒏𝒔
[ when he was a child, he made his paints from berries and flowers; his canvas from stretched and dried animal skins. the paints and canvases he takes from the closets are certainly less prosaic, but outside in the quiet of his concentration, a soft breeze and the sun at his neck and the smell of trees in the air, he remembers. he remembers holding a brush of his own making in his hands; the peace and rush and fear of hiding away to do something mikael would disapprove.

the weather is warmer and the mansion is stifling, in more ways than one. afternoons find klaus outside, set up in the gardens with brushes and paints at his side and an easel in front. he quickly goes through one canvas and then the next. ]

𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒃𝒍𝒆𝒔
[ persephone is a horse that requires ample attention. besides needing the care of a dedicated owner and the freedom to stretch her legs, she is as much in need of affection and companionship as any living thing.

she's a good horse: calm and playful and patient. klaus visits the stables regularly and often to take some comfort in both her presence and in the duty of responsibility. he feeds her, changes her water, combs her, cleans her stable. and, of course, takes her out to walk and trot the grounds as well as up and down and the beach. ]

𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒅𝒄𝒂𝒓𝒅
surprise me! feel free to pm klaus' journal or hit me up at provenance if you're unsure.

Comments

i'm a word that no one ever wants to say

[poppycock]

[ he doesn't think about it: his hand on damon's shoulder or its purpose. he means it to make him still, to steady him as much as demand his focus; it's an involuntary instinct to reach out that perhaps would unease him if he took a moment to consider it deeply —

(they want the same things. they have experienced so much of the same things. he has never liked nor trusted damon salvatore, but these months in wonderland have swayed him from that hardened certainty into something nebulous and unknown, into something untested and unacknowledged. into a 'not-quite.')

they share this: this ardor, their love granite; their hatred and anger fire. klaus holds him at arm's length, the lingering vulnerability passing from his eyes. he sees that reflected determination, ready and willing. it's all they need to see. ] Her rooms. [ at least, that's where she was when klaus awoke and left this morning, not too long ago.

not a second after he says the words does he speed away, a mere blur as he rushes to the mikaelson common room, assured that damon is at his heels. the door knocks against the wall, swinging on its hinges. he calls out before striding to her room's entrance, ] Freya!

i'm a word that no one ever wants to say

[eyething]

( damon doesn't think about it either, and he doesn't question klaus' response. there's no need to think about motives or to worry about what will result from believing in what the original says. their needs and motives align, and klaus answers him.

it's all that is required.

damon follows directly at his heels without question, without a snarky comment, without anything but that same determination carried by klaus, in another moment, he might hate the similarities, but right now, he needs them. he needs them to know for certain where elena is. to know caroline is there too. to realize wonderland has done this (and doesn't that mean something?)

it shakes, trembles through him, but he remains quiet. he knows klaus will deal with this, will speak to his sister and tell her what they need. he hasn't spoken to any of them since elena died when the mirrors crossed over. he hasn't been able to.

freya is the one who knows why he'd be so terrified of elena returning. she could come back in the magic coma she witnessed elena in. it could be like that. )

i'm a word that no one ever wants to say

[deathlessness]

[Freya does know. It's certainly not a fate she'd wish for Elena to return to, but there are things they can control, and things they can't. Still, she isn't blind to the fact that her brother has become more irritable, and there's been a certain blond vampire presence that has been missing.

If both of them are gone at the same time, that can't be promising for anyone.

So when Klaus bellows her name as she's emerging from her bathroom, towel drying her hair as she glances over the two of them, and sighs. While Klaus could be bellowing for any reason, really. But with the presence of Damon, that makes things much clearer.]

Let me guess. You need a locator spell.

i'm a word that no one ever wants to say

[poppycock]

[ freya's door opens much like their common area door opened: without a knock, ensuing admittance, or a sufferance for privacy. (sorry, freya.) he stops in his tracks at her easy supposition, a bit of surprise filtering over his features — but then again, it's not as if they don't all share a breakfast nook.

klaus sucks in a quiet, shallow breath. perhaps it's his sister's capable presence, the answers within their reach, or both, but he finds a measure of temperance. for now. with a hard swallow, he says, ] We can't find them. [ a waver in his voice belies his distress. ] Caroline or Elena. [ it's unspoken, what this could mean. it could mean by coincidence or design, wonderland has sent them home for an interim. it could mean something else. ]

i'm a word that no one ever wants to say

[eyething]

( it's important to determine the distinction between the two.

did they return home or was it something else? does wonderland have terrible, purposeful timing in the way it takes people away in the same instant? but still- still never know when mirrors could come over and do what they do best. damon doesn't think it's possible that elena could have been taken from his arms while he slept by anything other than wonderland, but he is not willing to take any chances.

his gaze drifts to freya distantly (his head's not completely here. it's racing into a future that he's lived intimately, that he's carried all this time). he nods his confirmation of what she's already guessed. )

We need a locator spell.

i'm a word that no one ever wants to say

[deathlessness]

[She nods once, before dropping her towel down on the bed and moving towards her spell supplies.]

I'm going to need something that belonged to each of them. Unlike Bonnie, I don't have those on hand for Caroline and Elena.

[Unless you count Damon the Ferret, but she doesn't tend to use her pet as a spell ingredient.]

i'm a word that no one ever wants to say

[poppycock]

[ he glances at damon — he can sense just how lost in his distress the other man is and wonders if he has the wherewithal to make it to he and elena's rooms with an object sans incident — or if he's capable of it at all. freya knows what she needs; she's communicated quite clearly, so for that split moment klaus considers if caroline has left behind something of her best friend's in the next room. (she hasn't exactly visited.)

he can't recall. that concern is short-lived; even if he does not trust damon will do his part, klaus knows his own. he has his priority, and if he can know if caroline is present or gone quicker, all the better, perhaps for them both. he is gone in a flash and returns just as quickly, a soft shirt of caroline's hanging from his grasp. he walks forward to hand it to freya, a bit of desperation in his rounded eyes. ]