Klarosummer Bingo prompt: Hiking in Peru

The rough scrape of the scales against the rock's facing made Caroline wince, too terrified to scream. Everyone was dead. The unnaturally strong hand that suddenly covered her mouth reminded her that some people apparently started out that way. Despite her terror, she glared at the unfairly attractive creature, still trying to figure out how she went from hiking in Peru with a tour group to learning that the world was actually one giant supernatural clusterfuck.


Yesterday, she'd been drinking chilcanos at a tiny bar hidden in the San Blas area of Cusco, waiting on the rest of her tour group to arrive. "Impressive for a tourist," the accented stranger sitting next to her said, eyeing her drink. "I would've expected someone like you to order a mojito, love."

"Not that it's your business, but I drink like the locals when I travel," she replied, not bothering to hide the slight edge to her voice. She allowed herself to study him briefly, flicking her gaze appreciatively over a strong jawline, well-defined chest and intense gray eyes. Pity — had he kept his mouth shut, she'd have been interested in some hot vacation sex.

He smirked, flashing unexpected dimples that she was certain had swayed far too many before her. "I didn't mean to offend. When one has been around as long as I have, you develop a certain sense about people." He smoothly held her hand, lightly brushing his lips across her knuckles as he said, "I'm Klaus."

"Caroline," she replied a bit stiffly, doing her best to fight the shiver that went down her spine from the touch of his lips. "And feel free to keep to yourself whatever you're sensing about me." She busied herself with another sip of her cocktail, savoring the delicious lime and doing her best to ignore the smirking shadow beside her.

Misinterpreting her brushoff as a challenge, he signaled the bartender for another round, studying her closely. "Of course, sweetheart. Then I will certainly keep to myself that from the delightful lilt of your voice, I would hazard a guess that you originate from the southern United States, perhaps South Carolina or Virginia? You also appear to carry yourself with a great deal of confidence, and I surmise a certain amount of stubbornness that at times lands you in trouble. However, I suspect you possess a great deal of charm and honeyed words to smooth over any feathers you may ruffle."

Woah. Blue eyes wide, she downed the rest of her drink, wordlessly scrambling for the fresh one the bartender had set in front of her. How the hell did he read her so well? "So, you're like a mysterious grifter scamming dumb American tourists in bars," she asked, the sarcasm heavy as she added, "Nice work if you can get it, I guess."

"Something like that," Klaus replied with an enigmatic smile.

And that's where she thought they'd part ways, leaving her a little curious about what might've been...


But instead, her once-in-a-lifetime hiking in Peru adventure took an unexpected turn when a flash of brilliant green scales unexpectedly slithered out of a twisting gorge and ate their scruffy tour guide. She'd barely managed to hide behind a clump of giant ferns when the leviathan reared back, sweeping the screaming tourists into its enormous mouth. Curved fangs. Sinister hissing. Was that seriously a giant snake?

A streak of movement caught her eye, and she let out a small gasp as she watched in disbelief as Klaus seemingly appeared out of nowhere, his handsome features morphing into something monstrous, complete with deadly-looking fangs. He attacked the creature, displaying incredible strength as he managed to claw a gaping hole into the snake's flesh, spilling sickly-sweet blood that caused it to let out a terrifying screech that echoed throughout the valley.

When it was clear the creature wouldn't die easily, Klaus retreated, tossing Caroline over his shoulder and flashing them up the steep mountainside where they currently were hiding in a narrow gap between the rock facing.

Caroline barely kept the hysterics under control as she whispered, "Seriously?! Giant snakes are a thing?" She gestured toward Klaus, noting that gold had bled into his gray eyes, not entirely sure what to make of it. "And whatever you are, I guess."

"Hybrid. A vampire-werewolf. One of the originators of both species," he murmured, a note of pride entering his voice. "And that was the Yacumama, the giant serpent of Peruvian folklore. I honestly thought it to be nothing more than myth. Rest assured, I'll be having words with that troublesome demon shaman when this is over."

She blinked in surprise, not entirely sure what to do with that information. What the hell do you even say to that? She blurted out the first thing that came to mind: "How is this my life?! I just wanted an adventure; but one of those safe, glossy magazine-type adventure where the biggest actual danger would be running out of anti-frizz serum, and now I'm going to die in this dirty cave and I never even got to have hot vacation sex!"

The gold in Klaus' gaze brightened, and she couldn't help but wonder if maybe that hot vacation sex was still a possibility...


Klarosummer Bingo prompt: "Good job — now the mermaids are glaring."

It was the gleaming scales in the garish lights of Silas' Traveling Carnival that caught Klaus' attention. She was here. It burned to know that unscrupulous humans had taken what he'd considered his.


He'd first encountered Caroline earlier that summer, playing in the shallows near a barrier island in southwest Florida. He'd foolishly run his sailboat aground, and his colorful string of curses had been interrupted by a soft giggle.

"Let me guess — growing up you wanted to be a pirate?" The lovely blonde grinned up at him cheekily, the iridescent scales of her long tail shimmering in the sunlight. Mistaking his silence for shock at encountering such a creature, she quickly reassured him, "No, you're not hallucinating. But I promise, I'm not going to hurt you."

Her sunshine smile made his heart twinge unexpectedly. She thought he was human. "I appreciate the reassurances, love. And though it's been some time since I was a child, I don't recall any pirate fantasies." Perhaps after they were better acquainted he could amuse her with how he'd inadvertently ran afoul of the fearsome cutthroat Grace O'Malley, while securing his idiot brother Kol's release when he happened to be aboard one of the Spanish galleys her crew raided in the 1560s.

He jumped over the side, purposely slowing his body's supernatural reflexes to appear human. As he pushed on the starboard side of his beached sailboat, he cocked an eyebrow, asking, "Care to give me a hand...or a fin?"

Scoffing, she flicked the edge of her tail, sending a spray of water that soaked him from head to toe. "You seem the type to save yourself." As she trailed her hand through the water, she added gleefully, "Better get to work — the tide's out for another five hours."

He'd been so amused by his encounter with that intriguing creature that he'd returned every day for a week, teasing and shamelessly flirting just to see that telltale blush stain her cheeks whenever she found him especially vexing. He was careful with the stories he shared, not wanting to reveal his true nature. Her kind were notoriously distrustful of both humans and other creatures. He tried to deny it, but seeing the way her blue eyes twinkled as she teased him had become something of an obsession. It was a shame it wasn't time to tell her the truth — that they didn't meet by chance.


The angry flick of her tail pulled him from his thoughts, and he immediately raced to the glass case where she was being kept along with two others. Her blonde head broke the surface of the water, blue eyes blazing. "Klaus! What are you doing here?!"

"When you stopped coming to our island, I knew something had happened to you. It took me weeks to learn you'd been taken by this foul circus to be displayed." Klaus couldn't keep the anger from his voice when he saw how Caroline had been caged like an animal, forced to be part of a distasteful sideshow attraction. He barely maintained control on his hybrid features, his fangs aching to emerge and eviscerate the humans who'd dared to enslave such a beautiful creature.

She shook her head worriedly, her voice an urgent whisper as she warned, "You need to get out of here. The men who took me are dangerous and Silas is the worst of them all!"

When was the last time someone had been concerned for his welfare? He honestly couldn't remember. He hated the fear he saw etched upon her lovely face, and he felt the need to soothe her. "All will be well, sweetheart. I know of Silas and men like him are driven purely by greed. I'm here to purchase this reprehensible carnival from him. You will be freed." He impatiently ignored the cold pit that had settled in his stomach. Would Caroline still favor him with her sunshine smiles when she realized the half-truths he's spoken?

As he walked away, Caroline comforted the brunette twins caged with her, the women still eyeing him suspiciously despite her reassurances. He found Silas in a rundown trailer near the edge of the carnival, smoking a cheap cigar as he boasted to the local news outlet on the phone of his unique sideshow attraction.

He'd intended to simply compel the reprobate into signing over the circus, but Kol had reported that he appeared to be under a witch's protection, which would complicate matters. Obscene amounts of money seemed to be the answer, as was often the case in these matters, and his meeting concluded with his new ownership as soon as he added enough zeroes to his offer. Humans were such ridiculous creatures.

Kol was waiting for him outside the trailer, an impish grin on his boyish face as he teased, "You could've bought a small country for what you just paid that dullard. That's quite the freak show fantasy you have, brother."

His blood boiled at Kol's innuendo, and he wasn't about to allow him speak of Caroline in such a manner. His hybrid gold burned in his gaze as he seethed, "You know bloody well I purchased the carnival because I require a mermaid to summon a hurricane. Otherwise, the spell won't work."

A series of angry splashes jarred both brothers from their heated discussion. Klaus cast a wary eye over his shoulder and felt his heart sink when he realized that some idiot stagehand had relocated the mermaids' enclosure next to Silas' trailer. Bollocks.

Slapping him on the back, Kol observed sarcastically, "Good job — now the mermaids are glaring."

From the fierce glint in Caroline's stare, it appeared his plan just became more complicated.