II.
The five siblings had never been to New Orleans before. They'd heard it was quite a welcoming place for vampires, but had always preferred the older European cities to any they'd been to in America.
It was currently the end of November, and New Orleans was full of tourists left over from Thanksgiving. That must be great for their large, undead population, Branna had pointed out.
Not big fans of rushing into danger in a place they knew nothing about, the Jamesons had decided to take a day to familiarize themselves with the French Quarter. With a potential war brewing, they didn't fancy getting caught in a scuffle they couldn't fight their way out of without knowing all possible escape routes beforehand. For the same reason, they'd rented a loft on the outskirts of the city, in case they needed a place to lay low.
Cate assumed they'd be spending most of their time with the Originals, but wanted somewhere no one else knew about to retreat to, just in case. They didn't bother compelling a human. It was unlikely anyone would recognize them, and in a city as full of vampires as New Orleans, she didn't think five more would draw much attention.
By early evening they found themselves in a voodoo shop called Jardin Gris. Unlike all the other tourists, they knew there were real witches here, and assumed they'd be able to point them in the right direction. While Quinn kept an eye on the street and her younger sisters poked around the shop, Caitlin approached the young woman manning the counter.
"Hello," she began, smiling politely, "We were wondering if you might be able to give us directions to the Mikaelson's home?" Immediately at the mention of that name the woman tensed, straightening up quickly. At the defensive stance she took, Cate sighed heavily and backed up a few steps, raising her hands to gesture she intended no harm. "Hey, we come in peace, okay? We're not here to hurt anyone. If you can just point in the general direction, we'll be on our way."
Evidently her show of pacifism worked, or the lady just wanted them out of her shop, and she drew them a small map on the back of a business card. It wasn't far. Smiling again, she picked up a random necklace on the jewelry stand on the counter. It was priced at $25. Caitlin reached into her wallet and grabbed a hundred dollar bill. Slapping it down on the counter, she nodded and thanked the woman, handed the necklace to Siobhan, and left with her siblings in tow. She'd rather make friends than enemies, especially on their first day in the Quarter.
Now that they had the location of the Original's new home, the family had decided to get some ice cream and wander again. They stopped at La Divina Gelateria quickly before resuming their trek, taking in the sights, sounds and smells of the Quarter while blending in with the rest of the tourists as darkness descended. As they had assumed, both tourist and vampire activity increased once the sun went down. Quietly they split up and lured a few unsuspecting tourists into a dark alley to feed. They could definitely see why vampires loved this city so much. None of them wanted to join the Originals in whatever shenanigans they were getting up to at less than full strength, and taking care of their meals discreetly here was a breeze.
As they approached the house at the corner of Dumaine & Royal, their heightened sense of hearing alerted them to the disturbance within. Having the element of surprise, but not knowing anyone or who was on who's side, the Jamesons swept through the rooms, snapping necks instead of ripping hearts out, just in case they accidentally incapacitated the wrong vampires. When most of the assailants had been taken care of, the siblings stood together in one of the larger rooms. A dark haired girl was being pinned against a pillar but before any of them could try to help her, a man ripped the hearts out of the two vampires assaulting her.
Caitlin was really hoping that was the side they were supposed to be on, and not that of the two dead vampires on the floor. She was confused though, when the same man that had saved the brunette hurried up the stairs and told whoever was up there that 'Elijah's cavalry had arrived.' Did that mean he wasn't on Elijah's side? This was all quite confusing.
Waving hesitantly at the brunette who had just pulled the stake from Elijah's back, she introduced them. "Hey, we're the Jamesons. You're not going to try to kill him, right?" Because that fight wouldn't go in her favor.
"No, of course not. And hi. I'm Hayley," she replied and Cate couldn't help the pang of jealousy that shot through her quickly. She pushed it aside just as fast, knowing she had no right to be feeling such things. It was just strange for her, to finally see the mother of Nik's child up close and in the flesh. She'd heard of the pregnancy some time ago but it had never seemed quite as real as it did at that moment.
"Well, that's a relief. It's nice to meet you. I'm Cate, and these are my siblings," she took a moment to introduce them all individually before finally realizing they were not alone in the house. "Do you know that there's a witch upstairs?" She wondered, and noticed happily that Elijah was finally starting to wake up.
"Oh crap, that must be Freya," Hayley answered, standing from her position over the Original to look upstairs.
Before Hayley could leave the room, Branna and Siobhan were already introducing themselves and helping Freya down. By the time Elijah had fully regained his wits, Caitlin had taken a seat across from him and shot him a grin. "Hello, love. Not having a great evening, are we?"