Klaus frowned to himself, carrying two unnaturally colored cocktails, wondering how he got demoted to drink mixer.

Caroline pouted at him, holding aloft her empty glass. She opened her eyes a little wider, a pleading look in them. "Please, Nik?"

He tried for stern, but it didn't last very long, and any remaining resistance crumpled to dust when she beamed at his acquiescence. Handing him the glass, she planted a quick kiss on his cheek.

"I'll make it up to you later," she whispered. He smiled at her, shifting his head to brush her lips as she retreated, a taste of the promised later.

"And what about me, brother?" His eyebrow twitched, though he refused to look anywhere but his lovely Caroline. "Pretty please, Nik?"

Eventually, Klaus turned his baleful gaze on his brother, absorbing the huge grin Kol had on his face; his hand extended to waggle his own empty glass in his direction.

Klaus' scowl deepened, unmoved by the obnoxious display. Except maybe toward murder. A dash of fratricide in the morning always brightened his day (or afternoon, or evening).

A nudge to his ankle put a little twitch in his cheek, reminding him of the promise he had made to Caroline a few months ago, about being a bit kinder to his siblings. It had been an easier thing to consider then, when none of his pesky siblings had darkened his doorstep for the last few years.

Now, though? When Kol was clearly begging for a snapped neck?

But she didn't nudge him again, leaving the decision up to him. And to his dismay (he was rewarding Kol's behavior, now?) he found he didn't want to disappoint her.

Movements bleeding aggravation and aggression, Klaus reached over to snatch the glass from Kol's hand, eyes promising retribution if his little brother said a word. Though the prat's eyes gleamed he actually did the wise thing for once and kept silent.

Klaus sighed.

Oh, right…

(And not that Klaus would ever admit it, not in a million years, but he was actually enjoying the closer relationships he's had with his family. Even when that meant the likes of Kol stopped by every few years rather than every few decades. At least, that's what he tried to tell himself.)

It had been a little over a century since Caroline had decided to be with him, and he had just started to lessen some of his legendary caution (paranoia, chirped a voice that sounded suspiciously like Caroline in his head) in regards to his siblings.

Of course, he was always on guard when it came to his Caroline's safety, but he had come to trust his siblings would have her back. When on of them was around, he didn't tend to listen for her quite as keenly anymore, senses only tuned for potential intruders or sounds of distress.

So, when he caught the tail end of frantic sounding whispers, to say he was displeased was a vast understatement.

"-going to kill me!"

Klaus blurred the remaining distance, reappearing by the pool in an instant.

His Caroline could easily read his moods, taking a step in front of Kol, protector that she was, hands raised in peace.

"So, don't get mad…"

It didn't take a thousand years of experience to know nothing good could follow such a qualifier, though her explanation was cut off by a splash in the pool.

Depositing the glasses, Klaus switched their positions, taking the opportunity to shove Kol across the yard, and keeping Caroline shielded behind him.

His glare shifted to the water only to have some of his tension dissipate when he saw the source of the noise.

It was a snake, a fairly large snake, but nothing particularly concerning. He was a bit irked it was in his pool, an issue he would blame on Kol, but that was all. That being said, he hadn't lived as long as he had by relaxing his guard. And Kol was usually far more devious than simply dumping a large animal where it shouldn't be.

"This is Jerry, a sea serpent," Caroline introduced, stepping out from behind his back to his side as she gestured toward the pool, as if she hadn't just startled him with that bit of information. Part of his mind rapidly processed everything he knew and heard about such creatures even as he kept his senses tuned to his surroundings.

"It's a bit more than that…" Kol muttered from where he continued to lurk in the background.

Klaus half-turned to regard his brother, expression sharp and dangerous, the rest of his body swaying a little closer to Caroline. "What do you mean by that? Why is there a sea serpent in my pool?"

"Perhaps," a hissing voice sounded from the water, "I could provide your desired explanations."

The last vestiges of tension bled from Klaus' frame, his body fluid in its lethality, every inch a predator. His eyes shown gold as he watched what had been a large snake rapidly swell in size. Soon, its body filled up the majority of the pool, sending water sluicing over the edges.

It bent forward to place one of its eyes level with his own, the creature now big enough that Klaus could see his whole face reflected in its gaze.

"Please," Klaus spoke softly, silken menace in his tone, "enlighten me."

Rather than speaking, the beast seemed to blink in slow motion, a nictitating membrane dulling the acid green-yellow of its eye. When the serpent was clear-eyed once more, a series of images and impression bombarded Klaus' mind.

The beast crashed through his mental barriers, or perhaps more aptly put, slithered through them as if they weren't even there. He grit his teeth, even as he processed what he was being shown.

Darkness.

Cold.

Pain.

The crushing, unfathomably heavy burden of miles of water pressing down.

Wrath and hatred the only other companions. Loneliness shoved down beneath those burning emotions.

And then light.

Warmth.

(He knew the feeling, mate.)

Blonde curls floating, ricocheting shafts of sunlight that pierced through the water.

The first being he had seen in centuries, during the one time he could rise near the surface.

Her eyes were large and fascinated, a touch alarmed, but she didn't flee from his massive form, though her entire being was well dwarfed by the slit in his eye alone.

Instead she tentatively swam closer, pressing a gentle hand to the scales she could reach at the corner of his eye.

And then he felt it.

A fluttering presence, tickling at the edges of his mind. Still warm. Still light. Inquisitive. And achingly young.

Klaus opened his eyes, unaware he had closed them, as he came back to himself. For a moment he had lived as the Great Serpent had, freed by a tiny, slip of a girl. With a soul like the sun.

Though the rest of the memory dimmed, the foreign emotions once more washed clean, an echo of the awe remained. Klaus could not help but relate, having once felt something similar the first time he saw Caroline. A sentiment that had only grown over time.

His eyes faded back to blue and he dipped his head respectfully as he took a step back.

Though his predator quickly found a new target, eyes glowing gold, now quite aware why Kol thought he would kill him.

His words came out in his mother tongue, hoarse and clipped, his fear and fury too great to express himself any other way. Every bit of his restraint was exercised to stop himself from tearing Kol to pieces.

"Kol, you will inform me, now, how you allowed Caroline, on your watch, to confront Jörmungandr. By Herself."

Title translates to something like "Broken Wheel/Circle" in Old Norse, but take this with a grain of salt.