There was no time for a victory drink. Pulling on his jacket, Elijah was out the door in search of the next Mikaelson he deemed most amiable to Camille's request, his eldest brother Finn. Although he seemed to be going by Vincent nowadays and moonlighting as some sort of… educator. Elijah found this quite amusing; surely Finn would bore his students to sleep before he could possibly teach them anything useful.

He found his brother on the patio of an outdoor café with a stack of papers in front of him as thick as a man's fist.

Finn set down his red pen as he saw his brother approach. "Elijah. What a surprise."

"Not entirely unpleasant I hope. Forgive me if I am disturbing you…"

"Oh, don't bother with the pleasantries, Elijah. You clearly want something so come, sit down. You should at least be comfortable when I deny your request."

"Hmm," Elijah agreed. He took the empty seat across the table.

"So how can I complicate your life today, brother?" Finn asked, gesturing for Elijah to begin.

"Camille O'Connell."

"I know the name," Finn said, leaning back into his chair with folded arms. "What about her?"

"Earlier today she rang to inform me that she requires a…set of siblings."

"A set of siblings? Does she collect tiny glass animals too?"

"Not as far as I am aware," Elijah said. "Miss O'Connell has apparently joined the field of family psychology. She has the psychologist. No she needs the family."

Finn was laughing at him. "So let me get this straight: some human has you on a scavenger hunt for her. My goodness, Elijah, I would have thought with mommy dearest returned to the world of the living you'd have much more important matters on your hands."

"Well up until today I have been quite occupied with ignoring your existence."

"See? That there? That's not how you win friends, Elijah. No wonder you're so desperate for participants you've come to me."

"Actually," Elijah pointed out, "Rebekah has already agreed."

"Rebekah will do anything you ask of her."

"Perhaps," Elijah continued, "but I am here because I suspect our other siblings will do anything you tell them."

"Is that so?"

"You are the eldest. Certainly, you hold some sway in their decisions."

"It's hard to curry influence with one's family when you've spent nine hundred years in a box."

"The comfort of your coffin should have been some indication of our respect for you," Elijah said, hiding his amusement.

"If that were true then you and Niklaus would have joined Kol and I as witches long ago instead of continuing to occupy the bodies of vicious, bloodthirsty vampires who do nothing but cause death and destruction in their eternal wake."

"Now who's alienating their friends," said Elijah.

Finn tapped the table twice. "It's a 'no,' brother. Whatever you are here to ask of me, a solid 'no thanks.'"

Elijah glanced down at his watch, completely unfazed by his brother's refusal.

"Well, thank you for keeping that short."

"I aim to please," Finn grinned, watching his brother rise from his chair. He leaned back, stroking the side of his face in contemplation. He had not been lying when he told his brother he knew the name of Cami O'Connell. Finn couldn't help but break into a wide smile; he wasn't so surprised by the fact that Cami had found a new project after the death of her old advisor so much as that her new project was apparently the Mikaelsons.

Now talk about a conflict of interest! This was the last thing Finn had expected when he had written back to Cami that he'd gladly be her new advisor…


In hindsight, he probably should have just skipped Kol altogether. Nonetheless, his youngest brother had some vital information and so Elijah found himself at the Lycee next. While Finn knew Esther's current whereabouts, Elijah knew he would never give them up –talk about mommy issues. Kol, however, was a wild card and could perhaps be persuaded to play along nicely.

Perhaps.

Not really.

Actually never mind.

"Eh, big brother," Kol smirked. He bit lazily into an apple. "Come all the way out here to see little ol' me?"

"Back from the dead with a new body and yet you remain troublesome and tedious as ever. I am…impressed by your persistence, if nothing else."

The witches' classroom was gloomy, dusty, and doused in that delightful cemetery smell. Elijah walked around the broad table in the center of the room, noticing that any trace of magic or spellcraft had been swept clean before his arrival.

His mother had clearly known he was coming.

"And where is our mother now," he asked pointedly, knuckles on the table.

"How should I know?" Kol shrugged, grinning.

"Aren't you always at her heel?"

"That's Finn," Kol sneered. "What do you want, Elijah, I've got a thing at one."

"A thing? Are you referring to your date with Ms. Claire at the coffee shop on Royal?"

"No need to be the creepy brother, Elijah. Again that's Finn."

Elijah nodded, barely hiding his amusement. Then he remembered he was a man on a mission and the clock was ticking. "My intentions are benevolent, Kol, I assure you. I am here simply because I desire to gather the family together for a weeklong engagement."

"Are we taking a family trip someplace?" Kol teased, waggling his brow.

"A trip through our collective past, yes," Elijah said. "I will spare you the details but tell you nonetheless that a friend of mine wishes to speak to us on what I assure you will be a variety of informative and intrusive topics."

"Folks on the hot seat? Sounds like fun. Do I have to participate or can I just watch you all squirm?"

"Your participation is requested."

"And what's in it for me, mate?"

"To be honest, I don't believe I can offer you anything, Kol. All I can do is ask. So do I have your consent?"

"Yeah, alright," Kol mused, striking a pensive stance. "I'm in, but on my own time. If I feel like it, you'll see me. If not, eh." He shrugged, tossing his apple core into what Elijah was sure was nothing close to a rubbish bin.

"That is perhaps the best I could ever hope for," he said.

"Then if you excuse me, big brother, I've got a date…"

"But you are sure," Elijah pressed one last time, "that you have absolutely no information on our mother's whereabouts?"

"Do you think I would tell you if I did?"

"No."

"That's why you're the smart brother, Elijah."

Kol's phone pinged and he smiled, turning on the heel to head toward the door. "Well, it's been a nice chat, big bro. Sorry to pop off but I've got a pretty young thing downtown and I can't keep a lady waiting. Text me the address of that place for the interview or whatever so I can come watch everyone make fools of themselves. Laters!"

Elijah sighed, watching Kol leave. Glancing down at his own phone, he frowned at the time. The hour was up. Even if he did know where his mother was, tracking her down would have to wait until tomorrow. He was due back to the Compound now to meet Camille and with nothing to show for it.

Well, not entirely. There was still one Mikaelson sibling out there he had yet to approach...