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

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.

[She raises an eyebrow as she steps inside.]

Seems like he decided now was a good time to make poor life choices.

I've only gotten bits and pieces here and there, but I think this is the latest in a long line.

( And this latest one packed a wallop. )

He'd been working with an outfit and decided to go rogue. Such is the life of the man caught up in the roads taken.

[Kieran emerges at the sound of voices and nods to the other witch as she registers her presence.]

Freya. Thank you for coming.

["Of course. I'm happy to help." Freya smiles. "Nice to see you again."]

Sister, girlfriend. Girlfriend, sister.

( Somehow made better that he isn't under the same roof as all of his siblings and in the presence of his most level-headed. (Still terrifying when she wants to be, but not to him.)

To Kieran: )

Any change?

[She moves over to her brother and shakes her head.]

No, but that's the best we could have hoped for if he didn't recover already. At least he's not getting worse.

[Freya moves closer, tipping her head to the side as she examines him.

"Do we know anything about how the witch in question operates, magically speaking?"]

He stepped off the Mayflower. He works in conduits instead of amassing any of his own power ( or using any dark objects ) and despite being out of the picture, Julian hasn't declined.

( Kol is worried about that imminent decline. It's only a matter of time when the person channeling that power finishes. )

Do you sense any leftover tether?

[She nods, her hands holding over Julian's body as she closes her eyes and tries to sense the magic.]

The severing was clean. But I don't think it was done by the caster of the spell. Your brother is still alive, and I would assume that he would have just drained him completely.

[She opens her eyes and looks over at them.]

But as clean as the break was, it wasn't the traditional ending of the spell, so he's still trapped within it. It isn't so much an issue of his body as it is his mind.

( It's something a Mikaelson has experienced, as have most ancient vampires. )

His mind thinks the spell is still on.

[She nods and pushes to her feet.]

Chambre de chasse, if I had to guess and quite a strong one at that. Davina and I could likely finesse whoever's willing inside, but it'll be up to you to wake him up and help him find his way out.

Self-induced. And we're sure my niece's fingerprints are nowhere near this?

( He's been there, okay? )

No, whoever did this wasn't Hope. The person who severed the spell acted quickly and without hesitation.

[No offense intended to her niece, but it takes finesse to cut a spell this cleanly. Finesse and zero hesitation.]

As talented as our girl is, this is above her skill level.

( The joke is ill-timed and poorly placed, but alas, this is still Kol, even in life and death circumstances. He turns to Kieran. )

When's the last time you've gone into a sibling's head?

[She shakes her head because Julian hasn't afforded her many opportunities. She still feels like she knows him better than anyone, and while their father trained them in terms of breaking out of chambre de chasses, he didn't have the chance to give his children as firm an education as he would have liked.]

We didn't really play those kinds of games.

Your brothers and sisters weren't vampires.

( It wasn't a game, but they have on more than one occasion, gone into each other's heads.

To Freya: )

How many can you send?

["I can send both of you. Davina and I can handle it from here. But be careful. We don't know what kind of temporary world our leech set his mind up in."

That she can at least manage, and with Kol there to guide her, she can just focus on the Julian of it all. She just hopes that they can convince him to snap out of it. Or maybe find the key on their own.]

Thank you, Freya. I know this is probably inconvenient.

["Hardly. Sounds much more interesting than sitting in a penthouse and watching my brothers snipe at each other while Rebekah eggs them on." She's kidding mostly, those are her favorite kinds of family gatherings. But this is where she can be useful.]

Oh yes, terrible to miss that. Davina?

( They weren't having the nicest moment earlier... )

[She nods as she steps forward, glancing at the space around them.]

Let's get him on the floor, so Freya and I can be on either side.

[The couch doesn't really make it easy for them to maneuver if they need to.]

Plus we'll need more space for the two of you.

( Kol assists them in moving Julian's brother to the floor. Balancing on one foot, he retrieves a pillow from the couch to position it under his head. )

Where are we needed?

["Chalk?" Freya asks, and Davina passes it over.]

You both have to be touching him and each other. So maybe shoulder to shoulder?

[It'll make quite the large circle, but it'll also be the most comfortable for everyone.]

( Climbing over Kieran's brother, he settles next to Julian, crossing his legs, giving her access to his back so she can sit against him. He then places one hand on Julian's chest. )

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