Drifting slowly into a haze Elijah stumbled on to the bed in the small cabin that the three were currently in.
"Hey, hey come on now. Elijah focus on my voice. Don't worry about this I'm going to try to get the venom out." Kat began an incantation trying to pull the werewolf toxins out of Elijah.
"Kat it isn't working he's turning pale. Well paler than normal," there was panic in Sunshine's voice.
"Yes I know thank you for the update Kiran." Kat gritted her teeth as she tried to maintain a steady flow of magic.
Elijah's body slumped, his face turned ashen and his veins bulging.
"Kat why is he that color?!That is not a normal color! Kat what are we going to do?!"
Kiran had began to pace and pull at her hair.
"Sunshine I need you to shut the fuck up and get your ass over here." Kat reached up and flicked Kiran in the forehead. "Now when was the last time you had vervain?"
"Um I don't know yesterday I think?" Kiran said rubbing the spot on her forehead.
"Well I had some in my coffee so you get to be food source. Sorry love." Kat said reaching over for Sunshine's arm. "Also this is gonna hurt and there is no way I can make it not hurt. Remember you love me?"
Deftly pulling a knife out of her boot Kat grabbed Sunshine's wrist and pulled the blade across it. "Come on Elijah, come towards the smell of the blood." Kat partially pulled Sunshine towards the ailing vampire.
Elijah latched on to Sunshine's wrist drinking until the blood was dribbling down his chin.
"Okay that is enough. Seriously I'm feeling woozy," Sunshine began to swat at Elijah. "Hello is anybody awake in that bulbous head of yours?"
"Douche pants! She said that's enough now off."
"I need to eat! The venom is trying to rot my brain from the inside out." Elijah growled at Kat trying to pull Sunshine into her arms.
"No! You don't!" Sunshine said pushing herself free of Eli.
The two girls walked out on to the front porch. Exchanging looks the two girls sat down in defeat.
"You know the only thing keeping him in there is your spell right?" Sunshine remarked, not bothering to look at Katerina when she said it.
"Yeah I know. I wonder how long it takes for the venom to clear his system. Fucking Klaus always gotta go and fuck shit up." Kat said picking up a stick and breaking it in half until it had become a splinter.
Sunshine stood up and walked towards the water. "If I'm not back in 20 a gator got me. And tell Cal, her and Klaus need to stop dicking around and screw each other already. Oh and you really should call that guy from the other night."
"Please don't get eaten by a gator. You do not know how hard it is to find another bartender who is okay with our customers."
"Yeah, which reminds me if I come back remind me to ask for hazard pay."
"You'll get that same time I do," Kat shouted at the ever shrinking body that was Sunshine walking away and chuckled to herself.
"Well that was cute." Tyler said from the post where he had been left tied for the last few hours.
"Yeah it was but wanna know what else is cute? Your dead body." With a flick of her wrist Kat snapped Tyler's neck.
"Accalia! Are you still showering?" Klaus walked into the house yelling up the stairs.
"You do realize that one day you are going to have to do more than just flirt with her, right?" Hayley said as she kicked off her mud laden boots.
"Why would you say that? We just have our banter to keep us occupied while we wait for me to take over the city." Klaus said stepping over Hayley's shoes.
"Okay whatever you say," Damon walked up to Klaus, patting his shoulder with one hand and holding a blood bag in the other.
Klaus slouched, freeing himself of Damon's hand. The three parted way each going to separate sections of the compound.
Grim stalked the feather that had escaped from Cali's down pillow. With each pounce the feather would flutter further and further away, eventually landing on the head of a sleeping Ghost. Claws no longer retracted, Grim pounced and woke Ghost. The two were quickly caught up in a battle of confusion.
Bending down Cali scooped up Grim, "Hey supercat, you should know to let sleeping dogs lie." Laughing at herself Cali set Grim down on the bed and went to comfort Ghost.
"Where's your mommy puppy dog? Don't look at me like that," Unbenounced to Cali, Klaus had walked into the room and was watching her.
"I know Ghost. You don't need to worry about her. She's a big girl and can take care of herself. Plus if Klaus did anything to her I'd take care of him if you catch my drift."
"What could you possibly do to me?"
Before Klaus could react there was a throwing knife embedded in his thigh with Cali crouching with another one ready.
"Leave or this is going in your heart." Cali said without blinking keeping her focus trained on the vampire standing in her room.
"Accalia what on earth has gotten into you?" Klaus said moving into a defensive position, "I thought we were friends.".
"Klaus I am simply an asset to you and you will keep me around so long as I am useful. I know Kat and Kiran didn't come back with you and neither did Elijah. You are a child who is throwing his temper tantrum because he isn't getting what he wants. Unless you would like to take this knife in your thorax you will tell me where they are." Cali moved closer to Klaus taking an attack position.
"They are in the bayou and mostly okay." Klaus said with a shrug and a smirk, "So long as Elijah's hallucinations don't get too violent."
"YOU LEFT TWO HUMANS IN THE MIDDLE OF BUTT FUCK EGYPT WITH A HALLUCINATING ORIGINAL VAMPIRE?!" Cali screamed and started to walk out of her room and past Klaus. "Oh wait I forgot this." Cali tuned and drove a silver dagger with white oak ash embedded in the blade in between his shoulder blades where he couldn't reach.
Cali rushed down the stairs and began to mentally make a checklist of all she would need to grab before going on her rescue mission.
"I see the gators didn't get you." Kat said as Kiran walked back.
"Nope. Not enough return on investment." Kiran sat down next Kat. "What's our plan for sharptooth in there?"
"Well someone obviously doesn't remember that Chomper taught us the Sharptooth's were misunderstood." Kat laughed pushing Kiran. "I think we just have to wait it out. Which means we need to figure out food and such. I think we should go get firewood and start a fire then go from there."
Cali's driving became more erratic the further she got into the bayou. Following the gps' directions, she came to a halt at the end of the gravel road she was on. Climbing out Cali heard twigs snapping.
"Who is that? Katerina? Kiran?" Cali looked around and finally realized it was her boots that had snapped the twigs.
Walking around to the back of the car Cali unlocked the trunk and dug out the duffle bag with weapons she had packed. With the bag slung over her shoulder and a crossbow in hand Cali set out to finding her friends.
"Where in the world could they be. Kiran! Kat!" This time there were twigs snapping and it was not from Cali. "Who is it?" Cali moved the crossbow to a ready position.
"I mean no harm I just heard a voice and wanted to investigate." A man said holding up his hands in a position of surrender.
"Who are you? And what on earth are you doing out here sneaking up on people?" Cali said not lowering the bow.
"My name is Caleb. I am a wolf. I've lived in these woods for my entire life. I'm not going to hurt you or your friends."
"You know where they are? Can you take me there?" Cali questioned.
"Yeah they are in your parents old cabin off the water. I have no problem showing you but can you lower the bow? I don't want you tripping and shooting me." Caleb said with an uncomfortable laugh
"My parents don't have land out here? They grew up in California. They own a house outside Portland. I don't even think they have even been south of the Mason Dixon line."
"No your biological parents. You were taken from the bayou when you were a small child. A witch thought your family was getting too powerful so his solution was to kill you or at least attempt to." Caleb said nonchalantly as he continued to lead Cali through the brush.
"Okay, I'm not going any further and until you explain what the hell you are talking about." Cali stopped dead in her tracks.
"Your family was one of the most powerful packs in the bayou, then the witches were concerned that the Aquarii and Crescent packs had too much power. So they said that any female wolves born would be killed. Your parents thought that if they sent you away then the witches wouldn't be able to find you. Then the vampires turned on the wolves and your parents died in the first days of the battles. Your parents didn't tell anyone where you were for fear of the vampires finding out where you were. So you stayed with your adoptive parents until you know all the unpleasantries that happened when you were kidnapped."
"So you're telling me I am a werewolf? What's next Sunshine is a fairy? I can only handle so much supernatural shit in my life, now you add this to the mix. You do realize how ridiculous this all sounds? My "parents" sent me away because a witch was threatening me. I know that witches can get a little vicious, but killing babies that is too far." Cali said as she gestured Caleb forward.
The rest of the trek was silent, Cali was processing everything that was supposedly her past. The brush had finally thinned and Cali and Caleb walked into a clearing. There was a fire crackling in a pit, next to the pit was Tyler's unconscious body. Further into the clearing there was the small cabin with small amounts of light leaking through the windows. Cali dropped what she had been carrying and ran into the cabin, shouting for Kat and Sunshine.
Before Cali could process what had happened Elijah had thrown her down the ground and had bitten into her shoulder. She struggled under the weight of Elijah, trying to kick him off. Elijah was thrown off of Cali with a great force, which only enlarged the wound on her shoulder. Sunshine and Kat screamed as they came around the corner from the back of the cabin.
"Oh my god, Cali! What are you doing out here?" Sunshine rushed to her side, and began to put pressure on Cali's shoulder.
"Coming to rescue you." Cali winced when the rag made contact with her shoulder.
"Huh, funny to think that I am the one keeping the raging vampire off of you two." Kat said as she had her hands up standing between the girls and Elijah.
"I appreciate the effort and I would love to help if I wasn't bleeding out right now." Cali said as she pushed herself up off the floor. "Just snap his neck and we will deal with him later."
Doing what Cali had suggested Kat flicked her wrist. Then turned to her friends embracing them both.
"How'd you get here? I would pay to see you make your way through the swamp on your own." Kat said as she began to examine Cali's shoulder.
"Some wolf helped me, he found me and lead me here. He said this is my parents cabin. I guess that the people who raised me weren't my parents. Here I'll get him and have him explain." Cali turned and walked out to grab Caleb.
Pulling the others outside to sit around the fire, Cali sat Caleb down to have him explain. Caleb repeated the same story to Kat and Sunshine. To keep herself busy Kat worked on healing Cali's shoulder while listening. Both of them equally shocked by the revelation.
"So let me get this straight Kat is a witch, Cali is a werewolf, and the house I am living in is overrun with original vampires? In what world does this possibly make sense?" Sunshine asks while throwing pine needles into the fire.
"Yep, you also forgot the fact I am adopted," Cali said leaning in towards the flames. "Though it does answer some lingering questions about stuff my mom said."
"Cal, I don't mean to distract from the fact your life has basically been a lie the entire time but you didn't by chance pack food in that bag of yours did you?" Kat said, her arms wrapping around her stomach..
"Yeah nasty camping food." Cali replied realizing she had not planned to stay the night. "Granola bars and shit."
"Well it is better than the bugs and twigs we were going to find on our own." Sunshine said swatting at an in coming mosquito.
"Y'all do realize that you are in the bayou with the princess of a major wolf coven and that my cabin is maybe a mile from here."Caleb said quietly, "You know a cabin with food in it? We're not heathens out here."
"Okay, but what are we going to do about the guy who wants to make us into chew toys?" Cali questioned examining the mostly healed wound on her shoulder.
"We can go get the food and bring it back." Kiran suggested standing. "If you are okay with me coming with you?"
"Of course I would enjoy the company. The walk can get boring." Caleb said reaching out his arm for Kiran to take.
Kat and Cali look at each other trying not to laugh at the formality of the gesture. Sunshine and Caleb left to go get food, arm in arm. Once they were sure that they could no longer be heard Cali and Kat gave into their desire to laugh.
"He really offered his arm to her like that. What is this a Jane Austen book?" Kat said trying not to fall off the stump she was sitting on.
"Who'd have thought that our little Sunshine would be walking arm and arm with a werewolf in the bayou," Cali said staring at the disappearing bodies.
"I'm really hoping he has better food than what you brought, because this shit is awful." Kat spit out the bite of granola bar she had been chewing, "Peanut butter-raspberry is disgusting.".
"So how did you know that Cali is the daughter of the people who used to own that cabin?" Kiran asked following Caleb through the underbrush.
"My parents were a part of the pack they lead. People of wolf families know when they get around other wolves. And, I can smell it on her," he sighed, "It always sounded made up to me until now. We are cousins if you want to get into the technicalities. She's sort of the only family I have left besides my dad." Caleb had stopped and turned to talk to Kiran.
"Oh, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have pried." Bowing her head Kiran Caleb to continue walking.
"No worries, we have about another 5 minutes before we get to the cabin. Do you mind if we don't talk? It is easier to hear someone coming up on us if we are quiet." Caleb lead them in silence the rest of the way.
"Sure, I don't mind at all," Kiran smiled and settled into a comfortable silence.
The cabin was almost identical to the one where Elijah was riding out his hallucinations, this one just slightly more well kept. There were lights on inside, and Kiran could see movement in the cabin. Caleb walked in with Kiran close behind, both being greeted by the smell of comfort food.
"Oh my god that smells so good," Kiran was almost salivating from the smell of the food.
"Well I don't believe we've met before I am Peter, Caleb's father and you are?" The man reached out to shake Kiran's hand.
"Hi I'm Kiran, I actually just met Caleb. He helped me and my friends find our way to an old cabin where one of our friends was." Kiran took Peter's hand.
"Oh I thought I heard some noises coming from that old cabin glad to know its not some drunk teenagers getting up to mischief. We've had issues with people coming on that property and vandalising it." Peter talked while stirring something in a large pot on the stove.
"Speaking of that old cabin, there's a few people staying out there tonight Dad. I was thinking we could show them some southern hospitality and send some food over there and you know other supplies." Caleb said gesturing towards the pot on the stove.
"Well we most definitely can do that," Peter said pulling out thermos' to put the gumbo in to.