It was barely three in the afternoon and already the brothers were in their third argument of the day.
"Why are we here, again?"
"Niklaus, did you not say you'd prefer not to do these sessions alone?"
"I meant if I'm going to be miserable, I want my siblings to be miserable too! I didn't mean I wanted us all miserable together and in the same bloody room..."
Cami sat again in her chair in the Compound's main parlor. Elijah and Klaus sat on opposite ends of the couch, as far from each other as possible. Klaus was indulging in a late liquid lunch and Elijah was rubbing his temples and doubting his ability to sit beside his brother for the next sixty minutes.
Cami began by stating the obvious. "It appears neither of you had a very good day."
"No question about it," said Klaus. "Any morning, evening, or night my mother is still alive and my brother distracts me from my quest to kill Mikael is far from good."
"I was not distracting you, Niklaus. I was reminding you that you had an appointment to keep," said Elijah.
"I don't need my big brother to keep my play dates for me," Klaus countered.
"You were already half an hour late when I came upstairs to fetch you."
"Because I was polishing my daggers to defend myself against my family's slanderous attacks!"
Cami slapped her notepad on her knee. "Please tell me you didn't bring a sibling stabbing mystical sleep dagger down here with you?"
"You're gonna have to be more precise," Klaus grinned. "That could be any old dagger."
Cami frowned. Maybe this joint session idea wasn't the best plan after all. "Okay," she blew out. "Clearly some ground rules are in order. One: there is to be absolutely no daggering of siblings in my sessions, Klaus. This is a safe space, for everyone. I will not even have threats of daggering…or threats of stuffing your siblings in coffins."
"Unless it's Finn," Klaus added and even Elijah smiled.
"He loves it in there," he said.
Cami sighed.
"Two: since it is a safe space and nothing you discuss today will leave this room unless you give me permission to share it, I want good, honest attempts at answering my questions, go that? Elijah?"
The tailored Original made an open gesture to signify his commitment. Klaus, of course, was thrilled that Cami had directed her second rule at his brother; he wondered impishly what had happened in their session that morning that required such a pointed warning.
Cami shot him a sharp look. "Rule number two most definitely applies to you too," she warned him.
The Original Hybrid just shrugged, unable to wipe the smirk from his face.
"Let me remind you that you both volunteered to be here," said Cami. "I know we've had a bit of a bumpy start but I feel really good about today. I think we can make some good insight, ask some good questions, maybe get used to the idea of self-reflection?"
"Like writing our thoughts in a diary? Oh, Elijah's already got tons of those…"
"And if you put pen to paper every time you thought before you acted, brother, you would at least have filled a journal of your own, if not a single page."
Cami didn't know if she should take notes on the brothers' bickering or try to stop it. She decided to play spectator for a while longer. Klaus had turned in his seat to face his brother, waving his tumbler wildly.
"If I had a diary it would say: Today I daggered Elijah. Finally some peace from his endless prattling and posturing."
"How eloquent, Niklaus. Your ability to wax poetic at the expense of your siblings is an inspiration as always."
"Oh come, Elijah. No need to imagine what you would write about: Dear diary, today my dastardly brother killed someone. What a monster. How fortunate that I am so confident in my appearance that I have never to look in the mirror and realize I am a monster as well."
Cami had to hit pause. "Let's maybe come back later to the things I think I'm hearing."
Which was mostly "as soon as Cami lets us go I am going to strangle you."
"I have some guiding questions," she explained, "but I'm really just looking for an organic discussion here. So, whatever you feel like expressing, Klaus – Elijah - express it."
She looked down at the list of prepared questions. "Klaus," she began.
"No, skip me. I can't possibly follow your rules if I'm not drunk."
He stood and made his way around to the bar leaving Cami to skip to question two. "Okay, then. Elijah. Are you ready to start us off?"
