The Wolf - Klaroline

16. Moon Over Bourbon Street

Season 1 Episode 16

Notes:

An important warning: this is the dreadfully awaited ~~Genevieve Chapter~~. If you can't stand to read Klaus with anyone other than Caroline in any capacity, than consider whether you really want to read this. If you do read it, please don't yell at me. I warned you guys this moment would come. Be warned.

This chapter was not beta'ed, so it'll probably have a lot more mistakes than usual. I apologize beforehand. Also because this chapter was not beta'ed, it means I have no previous reactions to it and have no idea how any of what happens here will be received. lol It's the chapter I most dreaded, so you can imagine the TENSION. Be gentle with me, folks! Please? :(

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

They say the passage of time will heal all wounds. But the greater the loss, the deeper the cut, the harder the process to become whole again is. The pain may fade, but scars serve as a reminder of the suffering and make the bearer all the more resolved never to be wounded again.

So as time moves along, we get lost in distractions, act out in frustration, react with aggression... Give in to anger. And all the way, we plot and plan as we wait to grow stronger. Then before we know it, the time passes... We are healed, ready to begin anew.

Except Niklaus seems to be stuck somewhere between distractions and frustrations.

Elijah would be far less preoccupied if his brother had been giving in to anger, as would be expected. Instead, he sulks and mourns in the confinement of his private quarters, rarely ever leaving the house. The outside world hasn't had news of Niklaus in a month, and while he retires into the privacy of his drinks and bad decisions, the world keeps on turning.

The city of New Orleans is a spark away from going up in the air. All around, sensibilities are heightened and nerves, jangled. Wolves, witches, vampires, even humans... Everywhere you look, be it the French Quarter or the Bayou, temperature is rising. With Marcel gone, the city's fine balance is at risk.

Elijah so detests to admit to a misstep, but the truth is he should've probably thought things through before he cast Marcel and his nightwalkers out of the Quarter, perhaps done it so in a more calculated manner. Granted, his own nerves were more than a tad frail then, and he hasn't regretted his decision. But he did not count on his brother becoming a hermit. New Orleans claims for a new king, a strong ruler to keep the city leashed, but the crown's rightful owner seems to want absolutely nothing to do with it. If they continue down this path for much longer, the situation will become unmanageable.

Somebody needs to act to make sure they can all still find peace, otherwise riots will start to break out left and right and soon enough they'll living in a supernatural wild wild west. Unprotected as she is out in the Bayou, a witch carrying a hybrid child, Caroline will be the first to get caught in the crossfire.

She naturally disagrees, insisting that she's better off there than she'd been under the Mikaelson's roof. Elijah cannot fathom how someone like her can live in the swamp, among mongrels and an endless parade of plaid shirts and cowboy boots, but it's hard to argue when she seems so ordinarily... fine. A lot better than he would ever like to admit. She gets along wonderfully with the werewolves, is very well-adjusted to their routines. Honestly, sometimes it's like she's a wolf herself. Either the baby's having a bigger influence over her than Elijah thought, or... He doesn't even like to think about the other alternative.

Since the Crescents finally broke the curse Marcel had placed on their pack a couple of weeks before, every time Elijah sees Caroline, she has that man, Jackson, hovering around her with a look of sheer adoration about him that has not escaped Elijah's attention. How Niklaus can stand that is just beyond him. Elijah has made sure to emphasize to his brother just how close Caroline and that werewolf seem to have become, and yet all it does is deepen his scowl and further sodden his mood. No action whatsoever. Klaus hasn't spoken to her once since she left their house. Not a phone call, not a text. Nothing. He hides behind a mask of aloofness, pretending to be understanding and accepting of her wishes, but he fools no one. His constant grumpiness and pitiful dejection leave no doubt as to how he truly feels. Caroline's departure has left a hole in their lives, her absence a haunting reminder of all their failings, and no one has felt it more deeply than Klaus. Yet he remains adamant in his refusal to do the decent thing, which would be to grovel at her feet and beg for forgiveness, resorting instead to wasting away in misery and pouting like a toddler - a drunken toddler, that is. And while he favors his pride over sensibility, the mother of his child inches ever closer to the Crescents' alpha.