Red, H. Mikaelson.

Burned One.

Nathan sat on the deck with a beer in his hand, as Hope walked up to him.

"Did you sleep?" It was the first time in ever she struck a genuine conversation with him.

Normally they stayed as far as possible, and when they were out together with Alaric, they had never witnessed anything like they had done this morning.

At least not together.

"I tried to close my eyes and the smell came back. When I reached there was still flesh left." Nathan said and she flinched.

"You shouldn't drive again, join us in the car." She said as she awkwardly sat down next to him.

"I'm going to, I am not in enough control, not to swerve and die."

He said as he passed the beer to her, she denied it and he said.

"First time I saw a carnage was when I was 7, my dear old grandpa was worried about a thing that might kill him and he decided that he needed to prepare."

"He injected my entire class of 150 with very experimental things. All but two died that day."

She recoiled at this honesty, she never expected this form of conversation with him.

"That wasn't the end of his creativity and when he took something very precious from me. I killed him and every soul that stuck with him."

She looked at him wide eyed, he was becoming a new person right in front of her and she didn't know how to react.

"I became a Hero that day, my coven kicked me out because we have a rule that says we cannot kill our own. So they had to, but I became a Hero."

"Things you can't even imagine were given to me."

He turned to her as he offered the beer again.

"None of it helped. Being a hero didn't help."

"That is when I recognized it is overrated, the tragedy that made you want to become one still has happened, people still die, bad things still happen. You know the thing that helps?"

She shook her head.

"Getting high, not at the level of self destruction but enough to make you numb. This bus, just changed things, you will become a hero for this, no doubt."

"It's what you are, a hero but I can tell you will all honesty, getting numb will help."

She looked at him and actually laughed genuinely with him as she took the beer and drank it. To find it was not beer but whiskey, very strong whiskey.

She almost gagged but gulped anyway.

"Why is it so strong?" She asked.

"I got addicted when a man I respect very much gave me a glass."

"When was that?" She asked, his life was genuinely very interesting now that she thought about it.

He smiled sadly at her as he said.

"Your dad." Her eyes widened.

"You had a drink with my dad?"

He nodded,

"When I went to New Orleans."

She fell silent, realising that before her father took the Hollow from her. He had a drink with Nathan.

Suddenly Nathan got up.

"That old man should be done with other stuff, let's get to the car."

She noticed him changing the subject and she welcomed it as she got up.