After arriving home from the trip, Hope went into the woods behind their house and set the urn down, placing multiple barrier and protection spells around it. She didn't tell anyone where she had hidden it, not even Landon. Which was yet another secret she was keeping from him. Another secret that clawed at her insides, but at least this one wasn't something personal. Something deep down that she knew she should tell him.
The next day was school, and Hope kept to herself once they got to Mystic Falls High. She walked into her class and pulled out her notebook before starting to take notes once it started. Notes were a welcomed attempt at a distraction. But her mind still drifted to everything she had learned recently. Everything about Landon and Malivore and Seylah. The question of why Landon couldn't remember but she could. No amount of note taking could truly distract her from that.
She let out a sigh and continued writing, trying to focus on class for the moment, wanting as much of a distraction as her brain would allow. Just for now. She sketched on the margins of the notebook during her free moments. Each of her classes continued like that until finally it was lunch time. Which meant no more of keeping her distance from Landon. It wasn't his fault. And she hated hurting him like she was probably doing. But things were complicated. And she knew that it was hard being around him and not telling him everything. She took a seat in their usual spot instead of walking there with him. He walked over with a grin and sat beside her.
"Hey." Landon greeted, pulling out his sandwich he had brought to school.
His grin was a bit unsure but loving. He loved her. He loved spending time with her. But he knew she was going through a lot in her mind. First with everything involving the Necromancer, which she still hadn't told him about. But also involving the memory gap and the mystery of what had happened. He didn't want to push her into talking to him about her feelings. But he also was not sure where they stood right now.
"Hey" Hope greeted, looking over at him as she cloaked them both.She frowned in concern as she noticed a bruise forming on the side of his face a little and his lip a bit banged up. "What happened to you?"
"Ah- it was one of the members of Connor's group before he was, well, possessed by an Arachne that you killed" Landon said and winced. "Turns out you're pretty intimidating to them too. And hot. So they steered clear of me after the dance. But, uh, I guess they stopped"
Hope gently placed her hand on the lower part of his cheek, careful not to touch at least the parts she could tell were bruised. Her thumb brushed his busted lip just slightly as she looked at him. "They did this to you because I'm being distant?"
"No, they did this stuff long before you showed up. But yeah they stopped after the dance, and now they are starting back up again" Landon said, looking at her.
Hope drew back her hand. "How hard is it to be a decent human being?"
"It's okay, Hope. I'm used to it."
"You shouldn't be"
Landon didn't say anything to that. Instead, he asked, "Any theories yet about what could have happened that got us to Georgia?"
The tribrid shook her head, not willing herself to speak the lie she was telling. "I've been thinking about the Salvatore School actually. And the Malivore situation. I was thinking..." She paused, recalling Seylah's story about how Landon had been conceived. "I was thinking maybe it's about time we start going to the Salvatore School. If you're okay with it. It's just... With everything going on, we might be better off being there and more involved."
"I'll go where you go for as long as you want me. Always. if you believe that the Salvatore School is the place we should be at right now, I support your decision. When do you want to transfer?"
"I'll have to talk to Dr. Saltzman first, but I was figuring it should be sometime this week" Hope told him.
"Okay. That sounds good to me" Landon paused. "Do you want me there? I- I mean you said we, but you've been distant lately, and I am not exactly any of the species at the school."
"No, you aren't." Hope said, staring ahead as she drew her knees a bit closer to her chest, thinking a bit. "But you are supernatural. Even if we don't have any idea what you are. I don't want to go without you. Even if I'm acting distant. Which I'm sorry for. I've got a lot going on in my mind. But you don't deserve it. I- Well, I'd understand if-if you didn't want to be with me. If you- well, if you didn't want to be dating someone that's acting distant like this."
"No. Of course I don't want that. Look, if you need to be distant, then be distant. If you want to change your mind about being with me, change your mind. I'm going to work that much harder to get you to change it back. if you want to keep secrets, keep your secrets. I'm not going to ask you about what happened with the Necromancer. if you want to tell me about that, my attention is all yours. I don't want you to feel pressured to tell me anything that you don't want to tell me. But I'm going to bust my ass until you see me as someone to confide in. When you're ready, I'm here for you."
Hope watched and listened to him as he spoke, her expression getting more vulnerable and loving with every word he spoke. Her eyes burned with tears as she struggled to find words for a response. Instead, once it was clear he was done, she moved closer to him and pressed her lips to his, a smile on her face. She moved to wrap her arms around his body, causing him to wince as she accidentally pressed on a bruise she didn't know was there.
"I'm so sorry" Hope apologized. "They hurt you there too?"
"It's okay. I'll be okay. It's worth it" Landon said before pressing his lips to hers again before she could protest.
He wrapped his arms around her and held her close, not caring about his sandwich that fell to the ground in the process. He was glad when Hope moved on top of him and continued to kiss him, and neither of them stopped until the bell rang to go to class. Hope jolted away from Landon quickly at the sound of the bell, her hair a bit of a mess, which caused him to chuckle.
"We are cloaked. It's not like anyone can see us" Landon pointed out as he grabbed his bag and fallen sandwich. He threw the partially eaten sandwich away as Hope stood up.
"I know" she said. "Part of my reaction was because of my hearing. I got... distracted and wasn't expecting the sudden bell."
"And because your werewolf side is activated, your hearing is heightened" he nodded as he looked at her. "Though honestly if my back hadn't been pressed up against the wall, I probably would have had the same reaction."
Hope chuckled lightly and kissed him briefly before taking his hand in hers. "Let's get to class" she said as she uncloaked him.
--
That night, Hope was cuddled up against Landon, but she wasn't asleep. Her mind kept going to the events before. Of the secrets she had yet to tell Landon about and the thoughts of Seylah and Malivore that kept her from truly being able to rest. She sighed softly and slowly pulled away from him. She headed downstairs quietly and went out of the house. She knew she wouldn't be able to rest unless she let loose some of her built up energy.Then, maybe, she would be relaxed enough that even her thoughts wouldn't keep her awake. At least, she hoped so.
Hope went into the woods and got undressed before shifting into her wolf form. She roamed around in the woods for a bit, starting to relax in thoughts and magic. It was always easier in wolf form. So much so that she used to be tempted to stay that way. But now she had Landon, and she wanted to stay human. And be with him. Besides, she knew her relatives wouldn't be thrilled if she decided to live life as a wolf.
Finally, the tribrid shifted back into human form and got dressed. It was only as she slipped her shirt over her head that she heard the cry and scream of a very young child. She took off towards the mansion and went inside, heading right up the stairs to Nik's room. Freya and Keelin had gotten there before her and were near a crying Nik.Keelin was holding Nik in her arms gently. Hope inhaled sharply at the sight of blood.
"What happened?" Hope questioned as she walked closer. Landon, who had woken up at the sound of the cries, came in behind her, worried about the child.
"I don't know" Keelin said in concern. "I was with him, and he was sleeping. And then this suddenly happened. It was like a Nightmare on Elm Street moment except with a young child instead of a teen or adult" She took a worried deep breath.
"I'll get what I need to help him" Freya said before leaving the room.
Hope took a horrified step back and left the room. She headed over to her room, thinking. She hadn't wanted to leave Nik's side, but her heart was weighing her down with guilt. Lost in thought, she hadn't even noticed Landon had followed her until he spoke.
"What is it?" He asked, knowing it was more than just what had happened that was bothering her.
"The urn. I brought it back. It must have drawn another monster here. And that monster hurt Nik-. And it shouldn't have been here. It was a message to me to hand over the urn and - This is all my fault" Hope took a deep breath, closing her eyes to keep herself from losing control of her emotions and magic.
"This is your fault? What do you mean?" Freya's voice questioned from behind her. Before Hope could reply, the witch looked down at the gel in her hands. "We'll talk about this later" she said before heading back to her son to help him with both magic and the gel.
Hope followed after her and stood in the doorway as Nik was treated, watching with worry about whether or not he would be okay. If she had never brought the urn home, Nik never would have gotten hurt. She crossed her arms and watched nervously. Her cousin was still crying a bit once he was done being treated, and he clung to Keelin who had been holding him while Freya helped him.
Freya wrapped her arm around her wife. "He'll be okay. The cuts are healing quickly"
"We need to figure out what attacked him" Keelin said.
"We will. Hope, go to your room. I'll be there in a minute to talk about this"
Hope nodded and left the room, her head a bit lowered. Landon watched her go before looking back at Freya and Keelin who were holding a still crying Nik close to them. He wanted to explain everything, to save Hope from having to while she obviously felt guilty about everything. But he wasn't sure where to start. They hadn't even really told them about the Malivore situation at all.
"Landon" Freya said, seeing him still in the doorway. "Hope talks to you. Do you know what she meant when she said this was all her fault?"
"Hope's fault?" Keelin straightened up a little, looking between her wife and Landon, wondering how this could be Hope's fault. "Is this actually her fault or is she blaming herself like usual?"
"A bit of both. Also mine" Landon admitted. "It's a long story. I don't know how much of it Hope has told you. Or if she has told you any of it at all."
"Let's go downstairs, and we can talk more about this. I doubt any of us will be getting more sleep tonight" Keelin said.
Landon agreed, and he headed downstairs, Freya and Keelin following after him. Freya had Nik in her arms, comforting him as she walked. The married couple took a seat on the couch together, Nik sitting on their lap, a small toy Keelin had grabbed for him in his small hands, helping distract him a bit from what he had just experienced.
Freya wrapped her arm around Keelin and looked over at Landon, who was sitting in a nearby chair. "What's been going on that you haven't told us about?"
"The fire that burned Hope's room... It was caused by a dragon" Landon began.
--
After Landon explained everything to Freya and Keelin, Nik's parents were overwhelmed with the new information they had learned. They both stood up from the couch, and the witch turned to her wife. "Until we get this under control, you need to take Nik somewhere safe."
"I'm not leaving you" Keelin said, shaking her head a little as she looked at Freya, not knowing what possible mythical creature was in their house. She held Nik close to her and stepped closer to the woman she loved, who had moved a little away.
"You know I can handle myself" Freya said, reaching out and placing a hand on Keelin's cheek. "What I need right now is making sure you and our son are safe while I make our home safe again from what ever caused this. Nik already for hurt. I know neither of us want that to happen again"
Keelin let out a small sigh, trying to let go of her worry long enough to agree. She knew it was what was best for their son, but she wished she would be able to help Freya. "I'll take him. But keep in contact. I want to know how things are going"
"I will" Freya promised her. She drew Keelin closer to her and kissed her for a moment, lingering longer than necessary. She pulled away a bit, her forehead pressed against hers.
"Be careful" Keelin said. "We don't know what this thing is."
"I'll be careful. I promise"
The werewolf kissed her wife one more time before heading out of the house with Nik, wanting to get him somewhere safe. Freya watched her go before heading up to Hope's room and walking inside. Hope was sitting by her window, looking out at the woods. It was taking everything in her not to let her emotions get the best of her.
"Landon told me about Malivore and the urn and the knife. What were you thinking bringing the urn here? You know that your cousin is here. And unlike the rest of us, he can't fight and defend himself. He's only one year old" Freya said.
"I know." Hope said, unable to bring herself to face her aunt.
"Nik could have died! What were you thinking? You knew it attracted dangerous supernatural creatures, and yet you brought it here. Not only that, but you didn't tell us about it."
"I know" Hope said, finally facing Freya. Tears burned in her eyes, but they didn't fall. She rarely let them fall, no matter how she felt.
Freya's face softened at the sight of Hope's expression. "Come here" she said, taking a seat on Hope's bed.
Hope stood up from her chair by the window, and she walked over to her aunt, sitting beside her. "I'm so sorry. I never meant for Nik to get hurt"
"I know you didn't" Freya said. "But why did you bring it back here?"
"I- I hid it and put it under plenty of spells. I thought it was safe. I didn't think that any of us would get hurt because of it. Especially Nik. I just-" Hope took a deep breath. "I thought I would know if something came. Because of the spells I put up around it. I thought it was enough. But I was wrong, and Nik got hurt because of it. I never wanted that"
Freya pulled Hope into a hug, and Hope let a tear fall as she hugged her aunt. She squeezed her eyes shut and clung to her, feeling awful about being comforted when she was the one that hurt her aunt's son. But the hug also helped her, and she hoped it would help Freya too.
"Hope, it's okay to tell me about anything that comes up. You don't need to deal with these things on your own" she said as she pulled away.
Hope gave Freya a small, grateful smile. "I know. I just... I didn't want to bother you if I could handle it. I'm just sorry that I messed up. I shouldn't have brought it anywhere near here."
"You're still learning. Keelin took Nik somewhere safe. So we can just focus on figuring this all out."
"You can go to her if you want. Be with Keelin and Nik. Be happy and safe"
Freya shook her head. "They aren't the only ones I care about. We'll figure this out together. Against two first born Mikaelson witches, whatever this thing is, it doesn't stand a chance"
"Okay. Together" Hope agreed and stood up. "We need to start researching legends, see what can hurt someone without anyone seeing it"
--
After hours of searching (and skipping school), Landon Kirby was starting to doze off a bit, still tired from not getting much sleep the night before. He knew Hope was beating herself up about this still, which was another reason why he had been looking so hard through the books, trying to find answers.
Inside the dream, he was inside the Salvatore School. It was his first day of school, and he had no idea what to expect. He had several first days before in his life, but this was a school for the supernatural. He looked around for Hope but couldn't see her anywhere. What he did see were several students standing about near him. Lizzie walked over to him.
"Hey, have you seen Hope? She was supposed to be here" Landon questioned.
"You really thought Hope was going to be by your side on your first day and hold your hand the whole time?" Lizzie scoffed. "She's already in class. Fitting in like she belongs. Which she's part of three species. Vampires, werewolves, and witches. She belongs here. You, on the other hand, are a mysterious fourth category and show no signs of being supernatural beyond not being compelled. Maybe you should try again. It could have been a fluke"
The students gathered around her laughed at the commentary as Landon's expression faltered. "We are working on figuring out what I am"
"And how's that going? Any luck?"
Landon looked around at everyone else as they suddenly started laughing even harder. It was then he realized he was suddenly only in his underwear. He took a step back and tried to cover a bit of himself automatically, though it didn't accomplish much. Then it hit him. This was all fake.
"This is a dream" he said and looked around for something sharp to wake himself up. He headed to Alaric Saltzman's office and burst inside. The office was empty, and he went over to the desk quickly to find something sharp.
"You know what you must do, Landon" Alaric's voice said from behind him.
Landon turned in time to see Alaric shift into something else. Someone else. A creepy woman with a veil covering her face.
"Bring it home."
Landon grabbed a sharp letter opener on the desk and stabbed himself, which caused him to jolt awake in reality. He was back in the Malraux-Mikaelson library, his hand bleeding.
Hope, who was nearby, sensed something happened and quickly turned in his direction. She rushed over to his side at the sight of blood.
"Landon!" She exclaimed, taking his injured hand gently.
Landon winced a bit. "I was dreaming. A nightmare actually. I realized and had to wake myself up. Which apparently caused a wound here too"
"Alright, let's get this taken care of, and you can tell me all about it" Hope said as she stood up and headed to the witchcraft room. "So something that happened to you in a dream happened in real life too?" She asked as they walked and went inside.
"Yeah, maybe your aunt Keelin wasn't too far off when she said Nightmare on Elm Street"
"Have you seen those movies?" She asked as he took a seat, holding his bleeding hand.
"Only the first two. It's not as much my thing, but I probably would have just watched the rest anyways if I could" Landon winced as Hope took his hand and muttered a healing spell under her breath. Then she started cleaning off the blood as the healing spell started to help. He grimaced at the additional pressure on his wound.
"Was there nothing else you could use to injure yourself?" Hope questioned as she set the bloody rag to the side and put gel on Landon's wound.
"I can handle a wound from a letter opener, Hope" Landon said.
"I know" she sighed. "I just would prefer you not hurt at all"
"Well, unless you put a spell on me to keep me from ever helping, I'll keep getting hurt a bit, but it's worth it. I'm not going to stop helping you and being here for you. Even if it results in me needing to stab myself with a letter opener."
They looked at each other for a long, silent moment before Hope looked down and wrapped up his hand in a bandage. "It should be healed pretty soon, but keep this on for an hour just in case" she said before pressing her lips to his. She pulled away and stepped away from him.
"I will" Landon promised and hesitated, thinking.
"What is it?" the tribrid questioned, watching him, a small frown on her face.
"I want you to teach me how to fight"
"Landon..."
"No, I know you're worried about me getting hurt, but I'm more likely to get hurt if I have no experience. I want to be able to help you and defend myself if I need to. I can't do that without training." At the sight of her expression, he added "Please, Hope."
Hope sighed and nodded finally. "Okay. Once this is dealt with, I promise to teach you a bit of fighting skills. But JUST in case something happens and I can't be there to help you."
"Thank you" Landon smiled at her and leaned forward, kissing her gently on the lips before pulling away. "Now lets get back to research"
As they headed to the library, Landon told Hope everything in detail that had happened in the dream. He was a little vague about the lead in, not eager to dive into talking about his fears when they had more pressing matters at hand. He'd talk about them later. Right now he needed to concentrate on the situation at hand so that they could be better prepared for it. Hope listened to his words intently, mentally taking notes on everything he said.
Once he was done, she said "Alright, get to researching. I'll call Aunt Freya and fill her in." Freya had chosen to go to the Salvatore School and research in their library with Keelin, who had gone there this morning after Nick got some sleep at the motel.
"Maybe we should go over there too. Leave whatever it is here alone."
"i can't risk it getting its hands on the urn." Hope shook her head. "Maybe Freya can borrow the books from Dr Saltzman and bring them here so we can all look through them together. I'll take the online research angle."
"Sounds like a plan. I'll look online until she gets here" Landon said and headed over to Hope's laptop (which she hardly used) and started searching.
Hope let out a small sigh before pulling out her phone and calling her aunt. She filled in her aunt on the information before hanging up the phone and walking over to Landon. She took a seat beside him and started researching on Freya's computer. The secret Hope kept from him still stirred inside her, waiting to be spoken, but after their talks, she felt better than before and was more than happy to be right here with him.
Soon enough, Freya walked in the house, books in her arms. "I brought books for us to look through" Freya said, setting them down on a table. "The headmaster pointed me in the direction of books that could have our answers. He is looking through books, trying to find answers too. The students are currently taking exams."
"Alright, thank you" Hope said. "Let's get back to researching then." Landon took a book from the stack and started to search through it for answers.
It took a while, but eventually Freya came across something in one of the books. "I think I found it" she said, and Hope and Landon quickly got up before going over to the book she was looking at. Hope was grateful for something to get her moving around. She was worried she'd end up falling asleep. "Our latest monster is a Night Hag, a malevolent spirit trapped on the astral plane that can only interact with us through dreams.
"What do you think she meant when she said 'bring it home'" Landon asked. The use of the word home had kept rising in his mind since it was said to him.
"I'm guessing she means Malivore" Hope said. "She'll keep tormenting us until we produce the urn. Or kill her."
"Right. But if the Night Hag is a monster that's trapped on the astral plane," Landon questioned, "then how can she even physically take the urn anywhere?"
"The book also says the Night Hag can't affect our reality, but your wound and Nik's prove otherwise" Freya pointed out. "These beings have existed for who knows how long and have been erased from the collective consciousness. Lore tends to vary from source to source. This one could be innaccurate."
"Human dragon, anyone?" Hope reminded as she walked away from her aunt a little.
Landon frowned slightly at that, thinking about everything and considering the incorrect information.
"When the Night Hag finds a way to get the urn, we'll be there to stop it" Hope said, looking between her aunt and Landon. "And Aunt Freya and I can kill it."
"And Keelin and Nik can come home" Freya finished, causing guilt to further sink in Hope's heart. Just another reminder that this was her fault. That the longer this took, the longer Nik and Keelin couldn't come back to their own home.
"If you want, you can go back to them. I've got it covered here" Hope told her aunt. "And I can call you once I get this taken care of."
Freya shook her head at that. "As much as I want to be around Keelin and Nik, you're my family too, Hope. We are in this together. Always and Forever. I'll always be here for you, if you let me"
"I know. Thank you, Aunt Freya"
"You're welcome" Freya smiled at Hope before standing up. "See if you can find anything on how to defeat it. I have an idea, but I'll need to look at a few things first" At the sight of Hope's nod, the blonde headed out of the room.
Landon continued searching through books, working through a theory he hadn't vocalized. He didn't want to risk his theory being shut down, even kindly. Not that he really thought Hope wouldn't listen to him. But just in case, he didn't want to distract her thoughts. Especially if he turned out to be wrong.
Hope started looking through the book Freya had been searching through, hoping she could find an answer. Especially since the tribrid was hoping weaponry would be needed. She did enjoy her use of weapons while fighting. She loved using her magic too, but using weaponry helped calm her werewolf side a bit. And it helped wear out her body eventually. Depending on what she was doing. Freya's theories kept being proven wrong due to ingredients in the spell, so she continued searching.
Landon kept reading throughout the books for creatures that were in relation to dreams. Suddenly, he straightened up, setting his cup of coffee down beside the book. "I think I found something. Can you go get your aunt?"
Hope obliged, and soon enough she and Freya were looking at Landon. Neither of which knew what it was that he had found. He was hoping he was right about this. It matched up with everything, but considering there were a lot of creatures in the different lore, he couldn't be 100% sure.
"Let's pretend for a second that the research isn't wrong," Landon began. "Maybe the Night Hag can't hurt us in real life. Maybe the Night Hag can't leave the astral plane and get ahold of the urn, so maybe we are not dealing with a Night Hag."
He turned the book to face them both, hoping he was right about this. It felt right at least, which made him feel like he could at least do something to help. It made him feel needed that he was able to help, but he was worried about the chance he was wrong.
"What's an Oneiroi?" Hope questioned, seeing the name of the creature as well as an image of it.
"It's a black-winged shapeshifting dream demon from Greek mythology" he described. "Unlike the Night Hag, if it hurts you in your dream, you're hurt in real life. It's a shapeshifter, and what better way to stay alive than to have us think it's something else. But now that we know what the creature is, we can fight it"
"Not we. Me. You're not doing any fighting" Hope said firmly. "I'm gonna be the one to kill this... Oneiroi. I can't fall asleep without compromising the location of the urn, I need someone else to pull it out of the dream plane
and into our waking reality."
"Let me help with that at least" Landon said with a frown.
"I'll go in and sleep and try to send it back here with a spell. I think I know one that could help" Freya said. "But I think Landon should go to sleep and try to help as well. And we need to talk about this later."
Hope sighed. "Alright... Fine. You both go to sleep, even though I don't like it."
Alright, then let's try to get some sleep. The sooner we get this taken care of, the better" Freya said. It was getting dark, and she longed for this to be taken care of and Keelin and Nik to return. But she knew she needed to wait until this was over before she could see them again. She headed to her room to try to get some sleep.
Hope and Landon headed towards their room, and once they were inside, the tribrid turned to Landon. "Landon, I don't think you should do this. You're gonna be inside of a nightmare."
"Yeah. I am" Landon agreed.
"This monster can get inside of your head, use your worst fears against you."
"Hope, I can face anything in real life with you by my side. I can handle a nightmare. It's far from the first time I've had them. I don't want to not be able to help. I hate the thought of you handling it all on your own. This? This is my way of being able to help you. Nothing that dream demon can do will change that. I want this. Plus, I saved the day. Well, I... No, I found the plan that saved the day. You're the one that's actually gonna save the day. Which is so sexy, by the way. I'm staying, and I'm gonna help you stop this thing."
"I don't know what it's gonna take to stop it. But maybe there's one thing that you can do to help me." Hope leaned over and whispered the false location of the urn in his ear before kissing his cheek. "Sweet dreams"
Landon gave her a small smile before going to get some sleep. Hope watched him and took a seat beside him while he slept unrestfully because of the nightmare he was having. She took his hand in hers, careful not to wake him up, and she watched him, wanting to support him while he had the monster enduced nightmare the best she could. She wished he and Freya didn't have to go through this, but she knew there was nothing he could convince either of them. Finally, Hope stepped outside of the room, despite her desire to remain by his side, and she headed to another area of the house.
Once Landon got hold of the Oneiroi inside his dream and yanked it into reality, he and Freya both woke up in their rooms, and Freya quickly headed out of her room to go see if Landon succeeded and where the Oneiroi was. The dream demon headed inside Hope's old burnt up bedroom and made its way over to her dresser that had tall drawers. He yanked them out, only revealing clothing inside.
Hope entered the room after him. "Did I tell Landon the wrong hiding place for the urn? Oops" she said before attacking the Oneiroi.
She shoved the creature into the dresser, but it grabbed and threw her into the mirror behind it. Glass cut into Hope's skin, and her head throbbed, but she ignored it and kicked at the creature, sending it flying back. She moved closer and hit it, and it grabbed her throat, squeezing hard. Hope reached for something around her to fight with.
"Delfan eoten cor" Freya said once she entered the room.
Landon came inside just in time to see the Oneiroi's heart telekinetically ripped from its body. The Oneiroi collapsed to the ground, and Landon stared a bit with wide eyes, having not been expecting a heart extraction.Hope watched the dream demon fall to the ground and pulled a piece of glass out of her arm. Freya came over and helped get out any pieces of glass that remained, and Hope's body quickly healed itself. She looked down and waited to make sure it didn't come back.
Once she was sure, she looked at her aunt. "I'll dispose of the body and figure out what to do with the urn. You should go back to Keelin and Nik. I know they're missing you."
Freya nodded. "I'll be back tomorrow, and we can figure out what to do about this."
Hope looked down a little and nodded. "Alright" she said and watched her aunt leave.
The tribrid headed outside, carrying the dream demon, and she worked on burying it in the back woods. When she was done, she headed inside and took a shower, cleaning off the blood.
Soon, she was scrubbing her hair dry in her room, and Landon came inside behind her. She turned to look at him, a smile on her face. "Hey"
Landon walked over to his beautiful girlfriend, smiling a bit as well. "Hey" he said.
"I'm sorry I had to lie to you about where the urn is."
"I know. I know you needed to give it a false location so you knew where it would go. I get it. I'm not upset" He wrapped his arms around her, drawing her closer.
Hope gave him a small smile before it slowly faded. "You might be in a minute. There's something I need to tell you. Something I lied to you about, but I don't want to keep it from you anymore. I can't."
"What is it? You can tell me anything." Landon said in concern.
Hope pulled away from him and took his hands before heading over to the bed and taking a seat on it. She wasn't sure how to start. How do you tell someone that they met their mother but can't remember it. That their mother got pregnant with them in a pit of tar. That you've been keeping this from them for three days, and during those three days it's been eating you alive. Tormenting you. She took a deep breath and felt him squeeze her hands. They'd get through this, no matter what comes next.
"So, uh, our amnesia trip where we woke up in Georgia, and you had no memories of how we got there? Well, I did. I remember all of it. Now, I have no idea why I can remember it and you can't. It doesn't make sense, but I can."
"Then what happened?" Landon questioned. "And why didn't you tell me?"
"We found your mom, but she eventually jumped into Malivore, which is why you don't remember. I'll give you all of the details, but the reason I didn't tell you is-" Hope stopped, trying to find words. "You've been wondering about your mother your whole life. Youfinally meet her and then she dies.I thought if I could keep you from knowing what that feels like, then it's worth it."
"Hope-"
"I know. I know. I'm sorry" Hope said, seeing the pain in his expression at finding out that she knew he had met his mom but didn't say anything. "I shouldn't have kept it from you."
"No, you shouldn't have. You should have told me when we were still in Georgia" Landon said, standing up, his hands slipping from hers.
"Landon..." Hope trailed off, watching him get up, tears burning in her eyes but not falling.
"I want you to tell me everything that happened. In detail since I can't remember it myself" Tears were in his eyes as well, but he didn't let them fall. He never let them fall. When he had when he was younger, it hadn't ended well. Even in front of Hope, the girl he loved and trusted the most. The person he loved and trusted the most.
"I can show you, Only my memories. Not yours. But I can play it in your head, and you'll know everything I do. If you'll let me" she said, her gaze still on him.
"How?"
"I put my hands on the side of your head and do a small spell. It's harmless."
"I know. I know you wouldn't do anything that could hurt me" Landon said, taking a seat back on her bed. "I'm still upset a bit, but I'm glad you chose to tell me. And especially now rather than continuing to lie to me for a while."
"I hated it. I hate keeping things from you. It tore me up inside. You're someone I don't want to keep secrets from. I only did it because I thought it was best, but I was wrong. And I'm sorry."
Landon reached over and placed a hand on Hope's cheek, caressing it with his thumb. A small sigh escaped his lips as he nodded at the words she was saying. "I know you thought you were doing what was best for me. But you were wrong. I'm glad you told me." He leaned over and pressed his lips gently against hers, the secrecy still stung a bit, the lies. However, it wasn't stronger than the love he felt for her.
She wrapped her arm around him as her lips parted open and she kissed him back lovingly, glad he wasn't hating her for the secret she had kept. The tribrid had been terrified that he wouldn't understand when she finally told him, that he wouldn't forgive her, which was nothing more than she deserved. Fortunately, however, she had a very loving and understanding boyfriend, who was just grateful that she had chosen to tell him rather than continuing to keep it a secret.
"I'm glad too" the tribrid said once she pulled away, "I don't want to keep anything from you again if I can help it. You deserve to know the truth, especially if it is in regards to you and your family and where you came from because you deserve to get the answers you've been looking for your whole life,"
"Thank you" Landon said gratefully at her words, appreciating them now even if that wasn't the state of mind she had for the past couple of days. "You said you could show me your memories of the things I missed?"
"I can,"
Hope placed her hands on the side of his head befor murmuring the spell under her breath, focusing on the memories from when they were sitting in the car together all the way until they were at Triad headquarters, something Hope still wanted to look into but wanted to be cautious of. She showed him their conversation about the Necromancer and everything that happened with her dad, and when she finally pulled away from him, her arms lowering to her sides, she saw his expression as he took in all of the information that had just been thrown on top of him as though he had read a whole book about it in a matter of seconds. She had focused on doing it for just the moments involving herself and Landon because it was things he would be remembering if he was able to himself.
When he finally blinked and automatically shifted back just slightly, stunned by the memories that had just been presented to him, he tried to process it all and what it all meant. Without saying anything, his gaze landed on Hope, and he recalled all that she had told him about the Necromancer and her father, the things she had been trying not to talk about since they occurred, which had caused her to be distant from him, He adjusted himself so that he was on his side of the bed, and he drew her closer to him as he laid on the bed. She rested her arm on his chest as she looked up to him, relaxing at their closeness. She let out a breath of air she hadn't realized she was holding, knowing he had plenty of unspoken thoughts in regards to everything that happened but also wanting to give him space in regards to that topic until he was ready to discuss it.
Besides, right here in his arms, she felt like everything was okay and that whatever came next, they could handle it. Whatever mystery of why she could remember and he couldn't, they would figure it out together. And that was the way it should be. Relationships should be partners. Landon might not have the powers she did, but he didn't need powers to be such a better person than her. He was patient and trusting and kind and a thousand things she never was. And she loved that he figured things out and helped stop monsters and dealing with other things by using his brain rather than brawn like she did. They fit like two broken halves of a whole that were at peace and whole when they were together.
--
Later, it was time for them both to train with each other, the training Hope had promised Landon despite the heart achning fear that it would lead to his death. She couldn't stop thinking about how this could go wrong if he ended up becoming more involved physically and got himself killed. However, she had promised him and knew she needed to trust him to know to stay back when danger was here unless he had to do something. He knew how much she could take care of herself at least.
"Are you ready?" Hope questioned as she walked over to her boyfriend, who was standing near the back porch as she left the mansion. Landon nodded and followed her. "We'll take it slow" Hope headed towards the clearing further back.
Landon followed her there before stopping when they finally arrived, and he looked at her with a nervous smile, glad they were able to do this but also afraid he would be horrible at it. Though he knew Hope would support him and help him improve, no matter how poorly he was able to fight at first. After all, wasn't that why they were here? "I know. I'm glad we are going to be training together. Part of me was worried you would say no when I asked."
She looked down a little, thinking of everything. "I almost did. Part of me still wants to. I don't want you fighting and getting hurt. I want to be the one that takes care of the threats."
"Things are going to keep coming. Whether they are after me or you. You can't just keep me in the dark. I want to stand beside you, no matter what comes next" Landon said.
"I know, but it's dangerous."
"I'll take a seat on the bench and step in only when I need to. But having me have experience is better than me being undefended."
"I know." Hope put a hand on his cheek and caressed it a little. "It's why we are going to actually train. Instead of me saying no, no matter how much I want to refuse"
Landon leaned forward and pressed his lips to hers, tugging her closer to him. Hope's hand moved from his cheek to around his neck, drawing her closer to him. Finally, Landon pulled away from her. "Thank you" he said. "You have no idea how much it means to me. Even if I still need to stay back while you do the fighting"
"You're welcome" Hope said quietly as she looked at him. She leaned forward and kissed him again before backing away and heading towards the center of her backyard.
The two began to train, Hope teaching him how to swing punches. It wasn't the first time he had. But most of the time, he was the one getting punched. Over and over again. He never knew properly how to defend himself, which left him either suffering or having to run. He didn't want to do that anymore if he could help it. Which was why he asked.