everyonelives | why is it you always get to sit in the shade

( If he could sigh and expel that air, he would, but his sister is exasperating on a good day. He can hardly blame her for the in person visit. Maybe she can be of real help. )

We will.

( He knows she might not like how they do it, or what will result from it, but he has no doubt they will. )

Freya is taking it upon herself to join us, what with the danger in the North passing. Listen to me, I sound like I'm in Game of Thrones. ( He smiles, trying to get her to. ) If anybody can help, it's her.

[She snorts, because the joke does have it's intended effect.]

Your family is Game of Thrones.

[But that's not important. In some ways, it's a relief that Freya is coming. As much as Kol may know, Freya has the practical experience. They'll figure out what's wrong with Julian. They'll fix him. Everything will be fine.

She shifts to lie down next to him, leaning in closer.]

Thank you. For being here.

[She's always uncertain, given their arrangement, where she lands in terms of his priorities, but she's glad that he's here to lean on.]

It did feel like that for years, when I wasn't in a coffin, or dead.

( No, even dead it felt like Game of Thrones. He lifts an arm to give her that perfect crook in his side, bringing his hand back down to lightly scratch her head. He always liked when Davina ran her hands through his hair, he hopes this has the intended effect. )

I wouldn't be anywhere else. Family comes first. Always and forever. No matter the terms you're under, when family calls, you answer.

[She tucks herself into the opening, taking the comfort offered her closing her eyes with a heavy sigh. She's likely going to be feeling the stress and tension of today in the morning, but for now she can finally feel herself starting to relax.

She also wants to point out that he didn't go running for his family, he went running for hers, but she doesn't want to ruin the moment. Maybe she's reading too much into this, maybe not, but it doesn't matter.

He's here. She's not going to look a gift horse in the mouth.

Her eyes start to close, and she settles in closer.]

Wake me up when your sister gets here?

( She couldn't ruin any moment, not in his arms, but like her, he drifts off. Knowing his family is safe and that they've secured her brother at least helps him relax. Her being in his arms is the final piece to that puzzle.

In a nearby room, when Davina returns from the bathroom after washing up, she catches Scott with a pillow in his hands. He wants her comfortable and doesn't know if they should share the bed like this. A blanket already sits on the small arm chair.

"Hey, all washed up?" )

Yep. Good to go.

[She eyes the pillow and blanket on the chair as she moves to sit on the edge of the bed. She doesn't want to pressure him, but she also wouldn't mind either.]

You don't have to sleep on the chair if you don't want to.

I just didn't know where we were at. Aborted first date. Emotions in overdrive the night after. I didn't want to assume, either.

( Still, if she's comfortable, he doesn't have to be told twice. He pulls the blanket from the chair and returns to the other side of the bed, setting the pillow back down. )

I get it. But I trust you, and there's also no reason for you to be uncomfortable when the bed is big enough for two.

[They're both adults. They can handle it, even if it maybe feels a little too intimate for where they're supposed to be.]

And I would like to do a redo of that date, for the record. Maybe once we figure out what's wrong with Julian.

I'd like that, too. Julian first, and then sweeping you off your feet.

( He can probably find a motorcycle nearby. )

What do you think about Julian? What's happening to him?

Hard to say.

[She's never actually seen the end result of a bond gone wrong before, even if she has heard that they could go wrong.]

The spell that was cast on him was meant to transfer energy from one person to another until there was no more energy left to transfer. If someone broke it prematurely, who knows what the blowback could have been.

And where is all that energy? Still with him, right? If it wasn't all taken.

( He looks back at the wall to their adjoining rooms like he can see through it. It's enough that he can hear the conversation next door, Freya coming to lend her hand, and the quickened pulse of a worrying sister. )

I don't understand, I thought most conduits are temporary. You tap into it, use it, and break it.

Yeah. Most of the ones used by modern witches today.

[And in the end, that is the difference, really. Who is using it and how old the spell is.]

There are some spells created a long time ago that are a lot ... messier. And it sounds like the guy who he's bound to has been doing this for a long time.

Yeah. Pilgrim times.

( He did read the file. )

He was a bad guy, just let off a leash - if a leash was ever attempted. And this happens.

( People turn away from misdeeds, especially from men like him. )

Freya will know something.

She will. And he's not deteriorating, so we have time to figure it out.

[She just hopes that statement is still true when they wake up in the morning.]

But for now, we should probably get some sleep.

( "We'll watch closely," he says, nodding.

The next morning, Kol awakens early. He lets Kieran get her sleep. After checking on her brother - to which there's no change, heartbeat is still apparent, he showers. Dressed again, he puts the coffee on, the smell of which might awaken his love. )

[Kieran is going to sleep a little while longer, but the other witch will be drawn out at the smell of coffee. As comfortable as it is lying next to Scott, they have work to do, and that work is going to need coffee.

She smiles as she makes her way out, heading to the kitchen.]

Smells good.

Hard to believe coffee in a hovel near DC could.

( She does get a cup of her own for her complimentary efforts. )

You won't mind if I take all the credit, then.

I would be surprised if you didn't.

[There can still be a little teasing between exes, right? She cups the mug in her hands, letting them warm for a moment before taking a sip.]

How's Kieran doing?

( There can. The narration won't go on about what Davina means to Kol, or how any simple, subtle interaction does speak volumes. While his love for Kieran is deep, it is new, and it is not what he defied his family for with Davina. Not yet, anyway. )

How I'd be if I'd known Freya existed and was in a coma for those thousand years. ( Now. Not - then. Kol back then wouldn't care and wouldn't trust. Davina gave him that. His civility. Hedonism never dies, though. That's fine, right? ) I'm letting her sleep in. Freya should be in from the train shortly.

Good. Hopefully we'll have some good news for when she wakes up.

[She takes another long sip of her coffee, before she speaks again.]

It seems like she's been really good for you, though. It's good to see you happy.

How I've needed Davina Claire's astute observations.

( Sizing his choices up in their personal divide. Does he miss San Francisco? The life they tried to build together? All the time. But, if he's true to himself, would that have sufficed for as long as Davina wouldn't let him turn her. But, she is not Bella and he is not Edward. )

[She raises an eyebrow at that. It was meant to be a compliment, a show of support, but if that's not what he wants, then she can keep her thoughts to herself.

It's not as though she doesn't still love him, in some way. But who she needed to be was always going to be at odds with who he wanted her to be.

But before she can get any of that out, there's a knock on the door.]

That must be your sister.

( Davina Claire will always sting. He'd died for her. Killed her. Tried to make things work. But, they couldn't. He is mature, yes, and concerned for his - for Kieran - but he is still Kol.

With any excuse to step away from this, he answers the door. )

[Freya stands behind it, hands clasped in front of her and tips her head to the side to give Kol a smile. Because she is happy to see him, even if he isn't always happy to see her.]

Brother. What are we dealing with?

Sister.

( He steps out of the way, gesturing her to join them in their motel squalor. )

Kieran's brother volunteered himself as a human conduit for a snake-oil peddling Colonel Sanders.

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