Petrichor - e.mikaelson

34

A month passed by, a month where though nothing happened, the world still seemed to be crumbling around them. Rebekah's absence still hurt them, Elijah and Klaus clearly feeling the pain of her departure deeply though neither chose to talk about it. Frankie had tried to broach the subject with Elijah more than once, bringing her up in passing and then more bluntly but each time she did she'd catch the wave of pain that shot across his face and she stopped mentioning it.

It was funny, in all the time she'd known them, this really was the first time she was truly with Elijah more than Rebekah or Klaus. They were close now, more than just close, their hands would find one another whenever they were near, like they were reminding themselves the other was near. It sometimes felt as though they were the only two people in a room no matter how many people surrounded them, he'd lean over and whisper in her ear something that would make her lips twitch up into a grin or a frown.

Frankie and Klaus by comparison were barely speaking, it wasn't that she was necessarily angry at him, she was hurt. Hurt by what he'd done to his family and hurt that he was excusing Genevieve's actions against everyone she cared about and everyone she'd thought he cared about. It was that he didn't acknowledge it either, that each time any of them mentioned anything he waved it off as though it was a joke, an overreaction for even mentioning it.

That being said, despite Frankie's silence towards Klaus, the indifference she forced when he was nearby, she was perhaps his greatest defender to his brother.

Elijah grew more exasperated as each day passed by with Klaus neglecting the kingdom he'd so desperately sought. While the city's turmoil only grew, so did Elijah's annoyance as Klaus hid from the world in favour of his art and his literature and Genevieve.

Frankie didn't understand why Elijah was pushing so definitively for Klaus to step up when he clearly lacked interest. Elijah seemed the natural leader to her, someone who could be trusted to be fair, impartial, and focused. Klaus by comparison was led by his impulsivity and his selfishness that forced his and his family's will above all others.

Eventually her pushing made his mind up, stepping in in place of Klaus in order to ensure at least something was done to maintain peace between the supernatural creatures who'd been running wild without someone taking charge.

While Frankie supported Elijah's reign, there were already disagreements they had about some of his ideas. It was difficult, on the one hand, she didn't want to get involved in the supernatural politics, on the other, she knew he was hosting the first tribunal with a representative from each faction and she knew that the wolves weren't invited. It wasn't that he agreed with some of the more difficult members of the community who pushed to maintain the restricted rights of the werewolves, it was that he was prioritising the greatest issues, the current New Orleans community.

They'd gotten the closest they'd ever been to an argument over it, Frankie determined everyone be included, worried that if he didn't include the wolves from the beginning they wouldn't ever get the equality they deserved. It was a difficult argument, Elijah knew himself, he knew how he cared for Hayley and the baby and he knew that as a result he wouldn't let their needs go unmet, but too he knew that the agreement he'd be forming would be tenuous at best and he thought perhaps it would be best to solidify that and bring the wolves in later.