'Cause After Midnight I'm Feeling Kinda Freaky, Maybe It's The Club Lights I Kinda Wanna Kiss Your Girlfriend

kaya's voice screamed over every other loud thought that passed through the demons anxious brain. looking over with wide eyes, gabriela stood up and ran quickly over towards their daughter. tears changing from doom and fear to instant happiness, because all of this could be handled. raymis couldn't hurt any of them as long as they were together, she was so sure of that. felt it in her bones as if it was some prophecy. pulling their daughter into a tight hug, gabi's breathing began to go back to a steadier pace. the hellhound had always been her axis.

"babygirl, i am so sorry. i should've known raymis would try to hurt you and mariana. i mean i did know, but i just wasn't prepared, but i am now." all that mattered was reassuring each child that this wasn't fully on them. hell wasn't an easy place to find yourself, it changes your very dna with how brutal it can be. gabriela never wanted kaya to see that place. "i'm going to kill him and he won't be able to come back next time. i will make sure of it."

After arriving back on the material plane, Kaya's mind didn't even attempt to quiet. Everything was a jumbled mess, and though she'd seen her brother and her friends, there was only one person who could help to quiet the rage that coursed through her like hot fire. When she hadn't been at home, Kaya'd quickly set out in the direction of lakeview. A place they shared together, their quiet place. Seeing her mom with tears in her eyes broke something in her just a little bit more. If she had just been better, faster, stronger, she could have prevented all of this, could have prevented the tears that ran down her mom's face. And wasn't that the point of her existence?

"Mom?" Kaya asked, her voice so small. She stood a few feet away, wringing her hands together nervously. Everything felt so different, so wrong and changed, and she wasn't sure how to approach any of her old relationships the same way anymore. But she knew, at least, that her mom would always be there to hold her hand and hug her tight through all the pain.

charlie would like to think that his disappearances had gone unnoticed, that she didn't notice how nonchalant he had gotten since his transition began. the hybrid took a quieter approach, watching and waiting until she was time to swoop in. with him she had possibly waited too long and so she wanted to make it up to him. shaking her head softly, she did her best to smile. "when have you ever seen me let those two just handle it?" a smirk crept on her lips, before it faded when she noticed his stance.

he'd had a lot of drinks, so much that he lost count and she really didn't want anyone drinking from what was provided, let alone her own family. before she could even say anything about it, the room was sent into a panic and her instinct to protect charlie kicked in. "listen to me, these are hunters and they can hurt us, we need to find a way out of here. are you able to follow me?"

The younger Mikaelson, sensed the familial undercurrent of intrigue as unusual events unfolded. Since his transformation, he had distanced himself from his family's machinations. The recent killings had reached his ears, but they held little interest for him. He preferred to drown his sorrows and revel in his own reckless endeavors.

As his mother's voice reached him, Charlie sighed. "Do you have to fret about it? Dad or Uncle Klaus must be handling it," he muttered. He resented his family's propensity to take charge, particularly his mother. He longed to shield her from danger, even in his current state.

Charlie hung his head as his mother inquired about his alcohol consumption. In truth, he had lost track. A mask concealed his ravaged appearance. "I don't recall. I've lost count," he replied. Deceiving his mother was futile; she possessed an uncanny ability to discern his lies. He opted for partial honesty, knowing he couldn't evade her forever.

"i'm always ready to bolt." hayley admitted looking around the room as people went about their night with carefree attitude, but with the way her life had been, she'd never learned to settle. turns out the feeling was never wrong, her fight response was always correct when it came to these things. it was visible, only the screams could be heard at first, but then she noticed the waiters walk in some type of position before taking of their masks and bringing out hidden weapons. "and this is exactly why..." she trailed off, grabbing a knife from her small purse, before bearing her claws. turning quickly to beau, her eyes grew wide. "have you seen hope or charlie?"

To say the least, things were a little complex for him now. Navigating the world knocked his footing off as he tried to settle into the new shoes being a hybrid had put him in. More often than not, he'd withdrawn into the background until he could surely trust himself again. That was going to take time, and work. But one thing he could always trust was Hayley. So when he noticed her at the bar, looking a might bit off center and focused, his spidey-senses went off and he moved closer to her. "You look like you're ready to bolt.... something up?"

josie had been looking for hope for a few hours, lizzie wasn't sure where she was and so the siphoner grew worried. in her mind now that lizzie was back, it was very possible she'd then lose hope. the search seemed impossible, until a bunch of women with blank stares left the bathroom in a rush. walking with purpose, she made her way into the room to see hope applying lipstick, that wasn't hers, while her cheeks appeared the same color. so that's what hope was doing, making out and possibly more with someone she didn't know. several emotions managed to attack the others nervous system. jealousy, excitement, and everything in between. making it evident that josie needed some type of therapy to get out of this codependent relationship.

taking a deep breath, she calmed all of her emotions doing her very best to smile. hope's words came spilling out, causing josie to walk up to her and clean the smudge of mascara under the others eyes. "well your kryptonite sure as hell wasn't a revolving door..." a soft giggle escaped her lips before looking in the stolen makeup bag. "not sure how we are going to fix the dress, if this was a man he should've known how to get where he needed to go without ripping this beautiful gown." rolling her eyes, men made her angry. the way they would just take things in their hands and not handle it with care. she'd always think of how she would treat them better, something she knew wasn't healthy. stuffing her anger down, she looked at hope with kind eyes. "listen, as long as you are having a good time that's all that matters, but don't let lizzie see those rips."

𝐂𝐋𝐎𝐒𝐄𝐃. ⸺ ( @iknowthvnd ) event: enchanted evening masquerade ball. setting: women's bathroom.

' SHIT, SHIT, SHIT, SHIT!! ' had been the word that ran through hope mikaelson's mind the second she'd come down from that blissful high enough to have remember her ' common sense ' not that it mattered much now, but as she stood in front of the mirror in the woman's bathroom, after compelling anyone inside so they'd leave ⸺ her attention settled on her appearance, from her ruined her, smudged make up and the most ' offending ' sight, at least it would be to her sister ( lizzie to be exact ) the ripped dressed, biting her bottom lip she looked through the make up bag she'd ' borrowed ' and pulled out a muted red lipstick, lifting to her lips her attention only shifted as the sound of a swishing door reached her ears. a prominent blush rose to her cheeks ( a common occurrence for the night ) as she turned and found herself with josie's doe eyed gaze. " hey jo... " her voice had gone up an octave, the sound causing her to clear her throat, there would be no way around the CONVERSATION she did not want to have. " would you believe me if i said.... i got into a fight with a revolving door and lost? " she paused once more... biting her bottom lip. " think i may have finally found tribid kryptonite. "

it was often that josie would see her twin sister in a crowd, only to blink and realize it was her mind playing tricks, because of course she wasn't actually there. yet, each time she closed her eyes tightly to re-open them, lizzie still managed to be standing there only feet away. "what the..." she trailed off, her whole face growing warm which was met with an icy chill. the whole thing was overstimulating and it didn't take long for the panic to bubble from her stomach into her chest.

the remark made her scowl, the same way she would before the merge. "elizabeth saltzman you can't seriously be risen from the dead and shocked that me of all people are staring." running to her twin, she hugged her tightly, not even waiting for the other to adjust. to hold lizzie near caused tears to fill josie's eyes. "is it really you?" with the way her life had been lately, she wouldn't be shocked if this was some sick joke.

location: a bench in the French quarter.

open: to all @inaducursehqstarters

she was enjoying the feeling of being alive, herself trying to ignore the feeling of uneasiness that was felt through ever bone and vein in her body. eyes closed, head tilted upwards, trying to catch the sun rays against her face. “you know, if you took a picture, it would last longer.” lizzie remarked, opening her eyes to look at the other.

she didn't want to bother charlie more than she already was, his eyes darted every so often, so she nodded her head and stepped out of his way. "yeah i do, they knew my husband way back when. here i also have a map since you look like you are in a rush." taking the pamphlet out of her back pocket, she handed it over with a smile. gabi knew more about hayley than she did elijah. being a crescent wolf was always big news, even for demons. "if you need any help let me know."

Charlie took the package of blueberries and stuffed them into his backpack. "Thank you," he replied, normally he wouldn't worry about missing an item on the list, but he just hated doing that, especially if it was for his father.

"I just don't like to upset my parents," he replied with a simple shrug as he began to double-check his list. "Yeah, they're my parents. I take it you know them?" Charlie asked, curious to see if the other person was familiar with his family.

He wanted to make sure he had everything his father had requested, even if it meant adding an extra item. Charlie knew how important it was to his parents that he followed their instructions, and he didn't want to disappoint them.

As he finished packing his bag, Charlie gave the other person a polite nod, grateful for their assistance. He was determined to complete his errand for his father, and he was confident that he had everything he needed to do so.

gabriela couldn't help but give hope a soft smile, she was always unsure of how to greet the demon, most likely due to the odd relationship between hope and tyler. they didn't blame hope for feeling such animosity towards their husband, but also felt the need to defend him each time. the balance provided a weird balance for the whole mikaelson-lockwood clan. however, now that she was in the faction, gabbi grew closer with hayley and tolerated klaus. shaking her head softly, she then nodded in agreement. "you can call me gabbi, by the way and you're right these dresses have a lot of fabric. i've always been a fan of a nice satin slip dress, feels nice against the skin, easy to get off...." her voice got lower, realizing that she was not in the presence of someone her age. sure, hope knew all about the birds and bees, but being a mom meant that not everyone felt comfortable speaking on the topic. clearing her throat, the demon took a sip of their champagne and smirked. "don't tell your mom i said that."

PAYING ATTENTION TO ANYTHING but the massive amount of fabric that the tribid had to currently mange to walk in, was proving to be a tad difficult. dainty hands, were gripping the corners of her dress, she'd glided her way through the many interested parties with promises of saving a dance or twelve for those that asked ( with no intention of delivering of course ) an ocean colored gaze, looked around, taking hold of a champagne flute, she allowed one side of her gown to drop. only coming to a sharp halt as she lightly slammed into someone else, the person appearing unfamiliar for a moment, before her gaze focused. " oh.. gab... mrs. lockwood? " their families weren't close ⸺ in fact her friendship with kaya was merely a few years old, and while she held the hellhound in high regard the history between families was a bit too dense to ignore. " still learning to navigate this thing. " she mused with an awkward laugh. " should have asked for an INSTRUCTION manual before wearing it. "

the other approached her so softly, that gabriela didn't even realize she was there, until the quiet voice spoke. wiping their eyes, the demon looked over to see nova, someone who had known mariana for a long time. the only response that she could provide was a nod yes, before taking the tissues and rubbing her nose. "thanks, i mean you kinda already know what's wrong but really thank you." it felt calming, to have someone so caring at their side. the distress slowly rolled off their shoulders as they grabbed the water, taking slow sips to steady the nerves.

this was not how gabi wanted nova to see her, but there was no turning back. normally she would fight it, act as if this wasn't happening until the person left. "i'm just terrified for my family. they are in danger because of me. sure i thought that danger was dead, but i should've realized that someone like me, can only be happy for so long." last week, her only worry was the kids moving out of the house. they were all moving on with their lives and she was beyond excited. now, all of that felt so far away and it was all their fault.

What did Nova know about the Lockwood-Chavez family? Truthfully she knew Mariana the longest, ran into the remaining siblings, and that's about it. She also knows that Mariana must have been through it with this mystery kidnapper. Maybe that's why she wanted to compensate with care packages, not that it would make a huge difference. But sometimes everyone needed a pick me up.

Nova paused in her steps noticing someone cry. She made an observation that she looked like Kaya at an angle before shaking her head. The witch gingerly sat down next to her. She took out an unopened water bottle and tissue packet handing it to her.

"You don't have to tell me whats wrong." Nova said softly.

I know you don’t believe in this, in us, yet. But you will. Oh, I’ve been looking for someone like you for a long, long time.

of course, lizzie thought that josie and hope brought her back, the three of them made a promise the night before the merge. to find a way to bring back whomever lost the merge and never stop trying. hope and josie did their best, dove into some terrifying magic in the process, but never managed to find any light at the end of the tunnel. holding her twin tightly, she took in the others smell and touch. something she yearned for since the last time the two held hands and prepared for the worst 3 years ago. shaking her head softly, the siphoner bit her lip as tears welled once again. "no, no we didn't. we tried lizzie, but no spell could bring you back and it broke the two of us."

that was summing it up nicely, she thought as she pulled away and looked into her sisters eyes. "lizzie i am so sorry, i failed you and i'll never forgive myself for it." this should've been a happier reunion, but the last 3 years had been hell for josie. she stopped enjoying things, only talking to people when it was required to then go home, alone. she was a shell of a person and even though their parents tried hard to get her back on track, josie would always find a way to fall off again. "i've honestly been a spinster since that night." she admitted.

hearing her sisters voice, her eyes shot open and the grin spread across her lips. “i mean, you do have a point, it is why you were always the smart one.” she grinned as she watched Josie. a sense of calmness washed over Lizzie. it felt amazing to hold Josie again. pulling back ever so slightly, fingers brushed away her sister tears. “well there is only one lizzie saltzman, so of course it’s really me.” she spoke, eyes examining Josie.

“why are you so shocked I’m here?” a knot forming in her stomach, the realisation that maybe josie and hope didn’t have any part in this. “surely you knew I would be back..”