{1.15 | I'll Tell You a Story}
The Salvatore School was quiet.
The day after the competition was drastically different than the day before. It was calm, and the students went about their day as if they weren't worried about anything. There wasn't a monster threatening the school (Elara had learned that the gorgon had been caught, meaning no one else would turn to stone).
There weren't any monsters. There wasn't anyone trying to wreak havoc on the school.
It was, honestly, pretty nice.
Her routine returned to what she did during monster-less days. She'd wake up early, early enough to witness to last of the sunrise, and then she'd go to the school's gym. Some mornings she would run, some mornings she would break a few things, and today felt like doing a bit of both.
With Jed's return to the school, Elara still did her best to avoid him. Seeing as she couldn't remember what had happened the last time she saw him and the time she did remember meeting him-- alone-- was not a fond memory, but Rafael was struggling with it. Elara didn't blame him. Jed had beat up Landon pretty badly, and although Landon wasn't there for Jed to argue with, Rafael still felt that protectiveness.
At least, that was what Elara thought.
Landon had run off some point during the competition. He'd reached out to the school, but Elara hadn't yet heard the voice message. Alaric was upset with her (for what reason, she didn't know, but it wasn't hard to guess) and hadn't let her into his office when the message came in.
Hope hadn't heard it yet either, spending her morning in their dorm, attempting to paint.
When Elara walked back into their room after an hour in the library researching whatever the Merge was with Josie, Hope was staring at an empty canvas, tapping her brush on her shoulder.
"G'morning," Elara greeted, inching up behind Hope. "Working hard?"
Hope sighed. "Trying to."
"So what feelings are we drowning?" Her voice came from a lot closer than Hope had expected, making her jump a little.
"I'm not trying to 'drown' any feelings."
Elara cocked a brow. "Weren't you the one who told me that you paint when you're feeling emotional?"
"How do you even remem- that's not the point." She cut herself off, turning to face Elara. "I'm fine."
The taller girl simply tilted her head to the side, brow moving even higher.
"...Okay. Maybe I am feeling a little emotional."
Elara stepped back from Hope, sitting on the edge of her bed and patting the spot next to her. "Wanna talk about it?"
There was a pause. It wasn't uncomfortable, but it wasn't comfortable like most silence between them was. It was tense, like neither of them knew exactly what to do, and they really didn't. Neither of them were great at consoling people.
Hope took a deep breath. "Maybe? I don't know. All of this is still new."
"What, having emotions?"
"Sharing them with people who aren't my family," she corrected. She dropped onto the bed next to Elara, sitting where her arm just brushed hers. "And you're new to this, too. Don't act like you aren't."
"Oh, I'm an expert at them, actually."
A brow on Hope's face lifted. "Really?"
"No, I'm kidding."
Elara earned herself a swat with that one.
"Ow! Okay, I'm sorry." Her head turned to look at Hope, her blonde hair falling over shoulder. "Look, I'm sure we can figure it out-- whatever it is-- together. We can both be amateurs at emotions."
Hope shook her head. "Yeah, not into the 'amateur' title."
"Newbies?"
"No."
"Novices?"
"Still no."
"Beginners?"
"Y'know what? Sure." Hope nudged Elara's shoulder with hers. "But I do think you're right. About us figuring it out together."
Elara grinned. "Of course, I am, but I'll admit. I stole that line from you. From Hellhounds to emotions, we'll deal with it together."
Hope smiled softly at that, her eyes squinting in the way that made Elara's heart skip a beat.
"Okay," she breathed out. She watched as Elara reached out and tucked a piece of Hope's hair behind her ear gently. "I do feel a little better, but I can't stop thinking about everything that happened yesterday."
"Well," Elara began, and Hope noticed a shift. One she recognized from the day before.
One that made her feel like her chest was catching fire.
Elara leaned towards her, bringing her face close enough to brush her nose against Hope's, and the tri-brid's breath hitched. "I can think of something pretty distracting."
Biting her bottom lip, she whispered, "and what would that be?"
And they almost closed the gap.
But the sudden opening of their door forced them apart, both jumping back at the sound and embarrassment of being caught.
"Hope, I need your help-" Lizzie said. She'd barged into their dorm (again), interrupting them (again), and Elara felt the urge to throw the twin out the window (again). "I'm not interrupting anything, am I?" she asked, a suggestive brow lifted.
"Nope," Elara and Hope answered at the same time. They tried their best to hide their flushed faces, but Lizzie's grin showed that they weren't doing a good job.
"Well, whatever." She held an apron in one hand. There was flour on her face. "Hope, I need your help."
Hope sat up straighter. "Monster?"
"No," Lizzie sighed. "Unless you count the pile of flour and puddles of butter monsters. Baking sucks."
Elara's face scrunched in confusion. She knew Lizzie couldn't bake, and a shiver went down her spine as she remembered the salty, bitter taste of her last attempt at baking.
"You're baking?" Elara asked, leaning back on her elbows. "Sounds like a disaster."
"I don't have time for your snark, Lara. So, please, save it for later."
The roommates exchanged a glance. Both of them knew Lizzie hardly used the word "please," and with Elara no less. She really did need help.
But Elara was already helping one twin, and to be honest, she was starting to get tired of helping everyone.
Except Hope. She felt like that was something she was never going to get tired of.
...What?
Before Elara could question the commitment of her thought, Lizzie jumped into an unprompted explanation. "Josie didn't come back last night. I think she slept in Penelope's old room, which is a really good way to get hepatitis B."
"Have you slept at all?" Hope asked, rising to her feet. "You seem a little..."
"Focused? Motivated? On point?" Lizzie fired off, her eyes widening.
"That's not what I'd call it," Elara mumbled, pushing herself off of the bed. She'd told Josie she wasn't going to be gone too long, and she'd already been gone for half an hour.
"Sure," Hope answered Lizzie. "Yeah."
"Not sleeping in the same bedroom means the Twin Forgiveness Cuddle is off the table. But she's been holed up in the library--"
"Speaking of," Elara murmured, inching her way towards her desk to grab the journal.
"--so a snack offering should do the trick."
"Y'know, at some point, you might actually have to apologize," Hope said, following Lizzie and Elara as they left the dorm room.
Lizzie looked offended at that, nearly stopping in the middle of the hall. "Never apologize. Trust me, okay? This is what we do. I'm selfish, then she sulks, and then I offer baked goods."
"Somebody else's baked goods," Hope muttered.
"It's giving you something to do, isn't it?"
Elara snorted, knowing Hope was practically itching for something to do-- and hoping it involved getting to fight or take down something.
"Y'all have fun with that," she said, turning to go down a hallway, but Lizzie caught her shoulder.
"And where do you think you're going?"
Elara glanced at Hope, and she shrugged. "The library? As amusing as it'd be to see the destruction you've done in the kitchen, I've already got plans."
"Uh, no. You're helping, too."
"Uh, no. I'm not."
"But you're the backup plan. If the treats don't work, you can convince Josie to forgive me," Lizzie said, a pleading look in her eyes. "It's also a chance for you to fix whatever happened between the two of you."
Elara shook her head. "Nuh uh. I've got my own stuff to deal with, and they don't involve getting involved in twin drama. This... weird, anger triangle is the least of my worries."
Lizzie let out an annoyed groan. "Fine."
~-~-~
The kitchen was, indeed, a disaster. When Hope walked in behind Lizzie, the sight reminded her of a crime scene.
Lizzie came to a halt in front of a mountain of dishes, grabbing the apron lying next to it and tossing it to Hope, who caught it with ease.
"Certainly looks like a monster attack," Hope mumbled.
"I attempted-- keyword: attempted-- to make a banana cream pie by myself," Lizzie explained. She moved to another counter, grabbing one of the snack containers. "And, well, we can see how that turned out, so you are gonna make it for me."
Hope let out a small sigh, remembering their conversation from the night before. Lizzie had admitted to what Hope already knew, the twins were fighting, and seeking a way to fix it, she made a deal with Hope. If Hope helped Lizzie fix her relationship with Josie, then Lizzie would help Hope create her relationship with Elara.
"Right."
"Your turn, Hope." Lizzie tossed some of the contents of the container onto a small plate. "I talked about Josie. Your turn to talk about how it's going with our resident emo girl."
"It's... going somewhere? I don't know."
Lizzie smirked slightly. "Looked a little more than 'somewhere' when I walked in. Twice."
"Thanks for that, by the way." Hope rolled her eyes. Shaking her head, she continued, "it's like we take two steps forward and one step back, and now, with Landon out of the picture, it's like... I don't know."
"Like you both don't know how to take the next step?"
"Exactly, but it's impossible to think of the right things to say."
Lizzie tilted her head slightly. "So, practice."
"What?"
"There's this prism," Lizzie started to explain, stepping towards Hope. "Emma make me use it when I'm in a state, and it simulates a conversation." She stopped a foot from Hope, a determined glint in her eye. "I'll trade you one prism for a banana cream pie."
Teaming up with Lizzie Saltzman of all people was not something she imagined ever happening, especially to help her ask out her roommate, but the prism sounded like a good idea. With it, she'd be able to figure out the perfect thing to say.
Hope chuckled softly. The prism could work, but first, she had some baking to do.
~-~-~
Elara found Josie in the library the same way she left her, hunched over a table covered in various books.
It was easier to call whatever their relationship was as "transactional," seeing as the only reason Elara was helping Josie (or rather the reason she could confidently say) was because she owed it to Josie. Elara was many things: a liar, a fighter, a delinquent, but she wasn't one to go back on her word.
Well... she kind of was, but not all the time.
"Find anything new?" she asked, pulling up a chair and sitting in it backwards.
Josie huffed. "No. Each book I look in has the stupid page ripped out. It's like it was purposefully removed from the library."
Elara nodded, resting her chin on the back of the seat. "Yeah, most of the books that even mentioned the Hellhound were the same. Seems like anything actually useful has been removed by your dad."
"Which reminds me," Josie muttered. She reached over to a sheet of paper and pushed it towards the other side of the table. "That should be everything I've told him."
Dark blonde brows drew together in confusion.
The twin continued, pushing the paper closer to Elara, "about you."
Elara slowly nodded as she grabbed it and skimmed her eyes over the lines. It wasn't Josie's handwriting, she knew that. Josie's was neat and the letters were always spaced evenly. These letters were a bit scratchy and a little wonky. Most of its contents were mundane, only talking about Elara being closed off to sharing information about herself or mentioning her refusal of joining the pack, but there was a small part of it that Elara had suspicions about.
Josie had told Alaric about Elara's incident at the football game and her confession about the ringing in her head, but she noticed that Josie hadn't mentioned the gaps in memory. Or when she found out her real last name...
Or that Elara had admitted to Josie how afraid she was of herself.
"Where'd you get this?" Elara asked.
"Let's just say it came as a parting gift from Penelope," Josie answered in a mumble.
A groan escaped the blonde's lips. Why was it always Penelope Park?
Clearing her throat, Josie spoke quietly. Elara almost had to strain to hear her. "I didn't tell him everything. At the time, I wasn't completely even sure why I was doing it. Just that I had to."
Elara hummed in a way that Josie couldn't tell if she believed her or not.
"Elara--"
"Can we not?" Elara rose from her seat, her expression falling neutral. "Can we not do this right now? I'd rather just keep reading."
Josie just nodded.
They worked in silence for a while, occasionally getting the others attention to point out a potential lead, but none of the leads fell through.
"Gah, this is annoying," Josie grumbled.
"Agreed," said Elara. She dropped the book she'd been looking at on the table. "I never realized how dedicated Ricky was to keeping secrets."
"Ricky?" Josie's voice cracked in surprised at that. She looked at Elara with a hint of amusement, which was the first time that day Elara had seen Josie not look frustrated. "Please tell me you did not just call my dad 'Ricky.'"
She blinked. Her brows furrowed. "I... did."
"...You didn't mean to, did you?"
Elara blinked again. Had that been her doing? Or was something in her shifting, breaking through her own mind and leaking into the world? Things had been feeling different with the wolf, she realized. Her temper was shorter, desperate to flair, but she'd learned control by then. She felt more protective of her people, and she often had to hold back lashing out on anyone who looked at them wrong.
She remembered the night before, when Landon had gone off in a drunken tangent and the pure rage she felt the moment he mentioned Hope's name. She remembered Roman making an appearance earlier that morning and her urge to charge at him. Saying "Ricky" hadn't been intentional at all. Instead, it felt like an old habit resurfacing, but she'd never called Alaric that before.
Was something wrong with her?
Elara took a deep breath. "I did." Whatever was wrong with her wasn't Josie's responsibility anymore. "If he wants to treat me like I'm the worst thing he's ever met, I'm not calling him what he wants to be called."
"...So, you chose Ricky?"
"I don- y'know what, let's just move on."
~-~-~
Elara walked around the school, walking down the hallways with her mind elsewhere. She wasn't alone, though. Students actively wandered the halls in the afternoon.
She shoved her hands into her pockets. With Josie researching the Merge and asking for Elara's help, Lizzie asking for Hope's help to mend whatever bends she could between the twins, and Hope disappearing throughout the day to do who knows what, she hadn't been able to talk with Hope.
And it wasn't the end of the world, she knew that. As much as she enjoyed spending time with Hope she knew that they both had different lives, different responsibilities, and different things that needed their attention. Not talking to Hope for hours was fine-- well, fine-ish. It was just... Elara wanted to talk about what they were.
The thought scared her. Terrified her, even. The last time she'd attempted a conversation like that with someone she ended up half-way conscious with a broken arm behind the bleachers of her old high school, but it wasn't the idea of rejection that scared her.
The idea of even worrying about Hope rejecting her terrified he, especially when a part of her considered the commitment she was willing to give. Elara didn't do relationships. The few times she did attempt to have a romantic relationship ended terribly-- being jumped at school included. She barely knew how to express her own emotions let alone a girlfriend's.
A shiver forced its way down Elara's spine as she remembered what happened the last time she'd tried to date. It had been three years before, a month before she moved in with Felix's foster family. That family, the Warrens, were incredibly strict. One step out of line meant that Elara would be punished, whether it was her fault of not.
And, apparently, homosexuality was one of the worst things in their mind for her to do, but she'd already worked through that conflict. Well, enough to accept herself for that.
The idea of a relationship hurt, like a constant needle poking her in the back. She'd grown up around failed ones her whole life, but imagining herself with Hope...
It made the pain go away. Just like Hope always did.
She turned the corner and froze. While listening to herself think, she hadn't heard Rafael bump into a vampire nor the vampire jab at Rafael. They stood close to each other, mustering their most intimidating glares at each other, and the wolves followed their alpha. The vampires followed one of their own.
Alaric noticed it, too. He pushed through the crowd. "Hey, hey, hey!" He grabbed at Rafael and the vampire. "Stand down-"
"Let go of me!" Rafael yelled. He tossed Alaric like a sack of potatoes behind him, and the headmaster crashed into a chair.
The action only made the conflict worse. More wolves jumped into the standoff as vampires did, too. Jed launched himself forward, pushing through and telling them to stand down. Roman sped in, doing the same to the vampires, but it wasn't working. The supernaturals kept pushing, and pushing, and pushing.
And a ringing kicked Elara out of her momentary shock.
A growl escaped her lips before the words, "that's enough!" did. She pushed between the two, shoving them apart. She could feel her canines growing, and the glow of her eyes caught Alaric's attention from the ground. They were yellow. Then they were orange.
"Enough!" she repeated, looking between Rafael and the vampire, and that seemed to do the trick. The vampire rolled his shoulder before walking off in the direction Roman pointed him to, and the other wolves back away, Jed trying to direct them away.
Catching sight of him-- and him seeing her, she clenched her jaw. She'd just stopped one fight. A second one wasn't necessary.
Rafael seemed to come back to his sense as he rushed behind them to help Alaric. Emma pushed her way through the crowd, having heard the commotion.
"Dr. Saltzman," she heard Rafael say, "I'm sorry."
He helped the headmaster to his feet, and Emma stood a distance aways, watching carefully. Had he thrown Alaric just a little harder, he would've sustained a greater injury. He was just a fragile human.
And Emma came to the same realization. She approached Alaric, helping him to his feet. Rafael muttered another apology, and Alaric just reassured the alpha.
Elara followed Rafael as he quickly made his way out of the hall, and she wasn't sure why she did when Rafael climbed onto the bleachers in the gym.
He sat down, placing his elbows on his knees. "What do you want?" he asked, his voice shaky.
"I want to see how you're doing," she answered. She hopped up the bleachers and sat one the same row, keeping a safe distance. "After everything."
Rafael couldn't stop the scoff from escaping him. "I'm doing great. Why even bother asking?"
"Because..." she paused to think of what to say. Truthfully, she didn't know what to say. Ever since Rafael had joined the pack and his rise to alpha, the two hadn't spoken much. Hell, the last time they spoke was during a time Elara couldn't even remember. She wasn't even sure how that played out, but during her stay at the school, Elara had loosened her grip on her walls, allowed countless people to see past them. Rafael was no different. He was a wolf who she had tried to help, maybe because she wanted to give him what she couldn't get herself.
Answers.
But what did that mean when Rafael got the answers he wanted? He joined the pack, became the alpha, and Elara wasn't there. She didn't stop him, and they drifted away from whatever weak bond they'd created. He didn't need her at all.
"I wanted to see how you were doing," she finally answered.
He scoffed softly, almost involuntarily. "I'm doing great."
"Raf," she trailed off. She turned her head to look at the double doors. "You're not."
"Don't act like you care about me."
"I'm not acting. Or lying, for that matter."
Rafael didn't respond, and Elara took it as a chance to speak again.
"I understand that you're not yourself. I understand that you don't feel like yourself. I care about you, Raf, and so does the pack-- even if some of it is from obligation."
His brow lifted at the last line, but he didn't say anything.
"I'm not here to critique you as an alpha. Hell, I don't even have a place to since I'm not a member, but as your friend, I have to check on you, and I haven't been doing that." She turned her head to look directly at him. "You don't have to say anything. Not until you want to but know that you have me on your side. You may not be my alpha, but you're my friend."
At the sound of footsteps, Elara knew it was her time to go, and the sight of Jed reassured that feeling.
"Even if it's a last resort," Elara said as she walked down the bleachers, "know that you've got me."
Avoiding Jed's broad frame, she walked around him, ignoring the apologetic look he gave her, and exited the gym. The day had been long, filled with conflict after conflict, and-- frankly-- Elara was tired. Tired of fighting, tired of dealing with everything going wrong.
Tired of playing games, and with a deep breath, she exited the building.
There was still one thing left for her to do that day.
~-~-~
Hope found her at the Olde Mill. Elara was sitting on the roof in her usual spot, looking up at the moon and stars. The moonlight bounced off of her skin, highlighted the shape of her hair, and Hope smiled at the sight.
"Hey," she greeted, taking a seat next to her.
Elara looked at her with a smile mirroring hers. "Howdy. You come here often?"
"Only when there's a stranger to follow."
Elara chuckled at that, fidgeting with something in her hand. Hope glanced down at it, managing to break away from her mesmerizing gaze, and noticed a translucent orb.
"The truth orb?" she asked, and Elara nodded, setting it down behind them.
"I was talking to myself," Elara admitted, fiddling with a piece of her hair. "And I needed something to keep me on an honest track."
"I've also been talking to myself. A lot, actually." Hope reached into her coat pocket and pulled out what Elara assumed was a crystal. "Long story short, I have something I... really want to talk with you about."
"Okay."
Hope took a deep breath, suddenly finding it hard to look at Elara. Figuring out what to say hadn't been easy, but actually saying it... was going to be a bit harder.
"First, I'm sorry I wasn't able to talk with you much today--"
"No need to apologize for that, Hope," Elara cut in, noticing the nerves radiating off of Hope. "I'm happy with whatever I can get."
Hope smiled at that, then continued. "I... was figuring out what to say and used the prism to do it. It's a magical object that simulates a conversation using your subconscious."
"Freaky but also kinda cool," Elara commented.
"And my subconscious helped me figure it out." The blonde looked like she had a question, but she nodded, indicating for Hope to continue. "When we first met, I knew from the moment I saw you in the park, when you were just a runaway werewolf, that you were going to be an obstacle in my life, but not the type of obstacle you're thinking of. I knew that you were going to change my life."
Elara watched Hope as she looked up at the sky. "And you did. You came into it, claiming half of my room as your own. It was awkward, annoying at times, and I wasn't eager to let you in, so I pushed you away. I ignored you, we bickered, we argued, and we avoided each other-- well, I avoided you a lot."
"Even though we were partners," Elara chimed in quickly, and Hope chuckled. Elara was just as nervous as she was.
"Even though we were partners, and I thought that was how it was going to be." Hope fidgeted with her hands, catching sight of a bright star in the sky-- Sirius. Elara had pointed it out to her one night, and Hope hadn't forgotten. "Until monsters started appearing in Mystic Falls. Monsters that literally redefined the world as we knew it, but it wasn't just the supernatural that they changed. When we fought the gargoyle, the first time I can remember us actually working together-- willingly-- I was terrified because it was a monster that wanted to hurt everyone, including you, and I think that was the turning point. I wasn't terrified because of the appearance of a monster; I was terrified of it hurting you."
Elara couldn't help but glance at the orb, and it shined a brilliant blue.
"Then, well, MORE monsters appeared, and each time we faced a new challenge. At that point, I knew something was different. You were acting differently; I wanted to figure it out. There was more to you than any of us knew, but it's so much more than I thought. You're funny and witty, you're smart, smarter than you let on. You're pretty-- god, you are so pretty-- and you carry yourself with so much strength that makes me believe you're unstoppable."
She was watching Hope with an intense gaze, and Hope couldn't tell what she was thinking. Then, an embarrassed smile reached her lips. Never before had anyone seen her like that, and they definitely never admitted it.
"I like you, Elara, a lot, and it's a little pathetic how much I do," Hope admitted, her voice jumping in pitch. "You- you mean a lot to me, and I was an idiot not to do or say anything about it earlier. I said 'yes' to Landon because I thought that was the right thing to do. We both knew he was the easy option, but he wasn't the right one for me. I made a lot of decisions because I was afraid of getting too close, and I know you're the same way." Elara slowly nodded at that, leaning back on one hand. "But with you I feel safe. I feel comfortable, I feel like I could take on the world. And, if you'll let me, I'd like to do that with you. For real this time. No more games. No more dancing around feelings. I want to be with you."
Elara bit her lip, turning her head straight on to look away from Hope as she looked at her. Her face had started to redden, and she swallowed.
A second of silence passed. Then another. Then another.
"I..." Elara finally started. She stammered unintelligibly, then she placed her head in her hands, and to Hope's surprise, she laughed. "Sorry! Sorry, oh, my god, I just-"
"You don't have to respond," Hope said quickly, suddenly feeling a warm flush of embarrassment washing over her. Had she said too much? Was it too soon? Had she been looking too much into it--
"No- yes! Yes," Elara stuttered. She locked eyes with Hope, taking one of her hands in her own. The touch was like a spark of heat before a bonfire. "Sorry, I had this whole speech planned about great you are and how amazing you are and how much I like you, but you- you." She inhaled deeply, a crooked smile appearing. "No one has ever looked at me or spoken to me the way you do, and it's really disorienting-- in a good way! You make me nervous sometimes. A lot of times. Most of the time."
Elara cleared her throat, and Hope melted as Elara traced the back of Hope's knuckles with her thumb. "I want to be with you, too. Like, a lot. Just... give me a second to remember the charming things I was going to say."
Hope laughed a little as the nerves washed away from her. "It's not your charm that caught my attention, Elara. I like you as a dork, too."
"Shh." Elara nudged Hope's shoulder, earning another smile from the tri-brid. "I'm trying to impress you with a cool response."
Hope gave in, because why wouldn't she, and waited for Elara to gather her thoughts into words. It didn't take Elara long.
"Hope, you are one of the most amazing people I've ever met. You're kind, ambitious, strong. You carry the weight of the world on your shoulders and yet you push through every day. Without hesitation, you jump at monsters and save the day. You're a hero, especially mine." She glanced at the orb, which hadn't flickered away from the blue glow once. "I was blind to a lot of good in this world because of the world IÂ grew up in. It was dark, painful, and every day felt like another battle, but you, you gave me hope, and I think you were the light I've been needing."
"And I want nothing more than to be your girlfriend." Elara leaned towards Hope, and like a magnet, Hope followed. Close enough to feel the natural heat radiating off of her, close enough to brush her nose against hers, it felt as if they were the only two people in the world.
And they were completely okay with that.
Hope tucked her bottom lip between her teeth, pressing her forehead against Elara's. "So... is that a yes?"
"Of course, it is, you idiot," Elara answered with a laugh. "Can I kiss you?"
Hope nodded without pause. Elara leaned forward, but she hesitated, glancing around them.
Hope's brows drew together, concern making an appearance. "What?"
"Just making sure Lizzie isn't about to interrupt again."
Hope chuckled, then Elara kissed her like she'd never get the chance to do it again.
They stayed on the roof for a while after, simply enjoying each other's presence. Hope had her head leaning on Elara's shoulder, and Elara had an arm around her, holding her close. Neither of them knew how much time had passed. An hour, maybe two, but neither of them really cared. They just basked in their newfound relationship.
Relationship. Something Elara never thought she'd find herself in again. It was good- no, it was amazing. She was in a relationship with Hope Mikaelson.
"Hey, girlfriend."
"Yes, girlfriend?" Hope responded, looking up at Elara. The softness in her gaze alone made Elara's heart skip a beat.
Elara grinned. "Nothing. Just wanted to test it out."
"And what's your feedback?"
"Mm, I think." She pressed a kiss to Hope's forehead. "That I really like it."
Hope hummed. "Ditto."
Together, they looked up at the sky, watching the twinkling stars and the slow-moving moon. Together, they kept small, quiet conversation about anything and everything. Together, they listened to their hearts beating in almost unison.
Together, a word that Elara was still getting used to.
Elara's face was starting to hurt from smiling, but she couldn't help it. The joy she felt was worth all of the pain. For Hope she'd do anything, be anything. Nothing could stop her. Not even the Hellhound.
And as her luck would have it, a strong ringing pierced her mind, louder than the versions from before. She grimaced, hoping it would pass quickly, but it didn't. It grew louder, and louder. She leaned away from Hope, placing her head in her hands. Hope's voice was there, muffled by the sounds of her danger sense.
Danger. But for who?
Slowly, her senses came back to her, and Elara sat up with Hope's help.
"Elara, what is it?"
Elara took a shaky breath. "Someone's in trouble."
"But who could it be? We're all here-"
Together, they realized just who it was.
"Landon."