The Afterlife

•|Chapter II: Hayley|•

Dear Diary,

It's been three weeks since I returned. We're all having a hard time waiting in the shadows for Vincent to retaliate but Klaus has insisted we continue to pretend that the faction isn't conspiring. He seems to want peace and he's busied himself with the company of our daughter. I appreciate his efforts for peace, but I know his vows of non-violence will shift the moment Vincent makes his move. I don't want to underestimate him, but even he knows what he'll do for his family. If he doesn't break the vow, I will. I've been investigating with Freya, snooping around the city with her and Elijah to ensure that Julia isn't bothered by the faction again. Keelin and Marcel mentioned so many times that Vincent was not the same. His true colors are practically blinding. He's unpredictable. My worry is that his actions are annoying Hope more than anyone. She's been just as busy as we have. She moves just like her father, valuing the sacred vows of always and forever in a daring silence with nothing but action. As much as everyone wants me to be afraid, I can't. I've learned the true meanings of unconditional love from her just as much as Klaus has. I suppose our vows of non-violence will depend on hers. Because I will stand by her side no matter what. Always and forever.

Hayley Marshall-Kenner

At the bayou, two wolves ran quickly through the spaced trees, one a lot faster than the other. White and smoke gray, two majestic beasts with one shared mind in their truest form. Thoughts of freedom and nothingness in the darkness of the night. Father and daughter, wolf and littlest wolf. They crushed leaves and sticks under their paws on their way through the night woods, growling and panting with joy and ambition. When they were nearly to the opening of the woods where they'd began, the smoke gray wolf ran in a separate direction. The white wolf reached her destination first, jumping out of the trees and into the opening where she forced herself to her human like form almost immediately. Hayley turned as her daughter thudded into the dirt, two changes of clothing in her hands, and she walked over to where Hope lied naked on the ground. They'd repeated the free runs all week, alternating who gets to run with Hope. The smoke gray wolf jumped out into the opening as Hope finished dressing, thudding onto the ground as a man with a huge smile on his face.

Hope turned to face the opposite direction of her naked father as Hayley walked over to him and gave him his clothes. He dressed quickly with vampire speed as Hope had, still smiling with an unsettling joy. Klaus had been out of touch with his wolf form for a while now. It felt nice to be reminded of what it was like to clear his mind, to feel nothing but the freshness of life even as a dead man. He was overwhelmed with joy that was well hidden with his soft smirk. Hope and Hayley had both wondered what the look on his face was as he looked around the empty dark space, the moonlight reflecting over the water in the distance. In a few moments, the sun would prepare to rise and they would need to be gone. Keelin's pack usually roamed the bayou through the day, more since the resurrection in hopes of confirming that Klaus had been there as well. They knew the scent of the three wolves, and while they'd been forced by the faction not to hunt Klaus down, they'd been hoping that it was him who came to them for a strict reason to retaliate.

"What's that look?" Hayley furrowed her brows, eyes following Klaus as he headed for the lake in front of them. Hope pulled her hair up as she watched her mom follow her dad. She was just as overwhelmed with joy as Klaus was, it was just a lot easier for her to hide. She was happy. It was a dream, a fairytale, to be reunited with her family. To be home again. She felt safe, even with knowledge of Vincent conspiring against them. She knew what she was capable of and that she'd do whatever it took to ensure Vincent didn't win this time.