This Was So Easy, The Way Their Fingers Interlocked, Fitting Together Like Pieces Of A Puzzle. A Surge

gabriela knew the rosza family well, josh was a huge help in the transition of soul bringer to something calmer. with that, she was able to meet blossom and since her father helped so much, it felt like duty to do the same for his children. so gabi knew not to press the girl any further, shrugging their shoulders they leaned against the tree with a light sigh. "i won't lie something is going on, but i can't place my finger on it just yet."

taking a pause, the demon pushed through the nervousness and simply asked the question. "have you had any nightmares recently?"

“it’s fine.” blossom commented with a small shrug of her shoulders. eyes moving from the other to her sketch pad, hand continuously drawing at a rapid pace. drawing, it was one way she found could help clear her mind, especially with the uneasiness she had been feeling. it sometimes helped either clear her mind fully or put everything into perspective.

“I’ve been..” a pause for a moment, another shrug of her shoulders. “y’know the usual.” it was the best she could come up with. “what about you? how’s everything going?”

closed starter ⊹₊ ⋆ @tribidscrsed muse ⊹₊ ⋆ josie saltzman location ⊹₊ ⋆ french quarter (klaus and caroline's home)

it was impossible for josie to not find out, that hope was back in the city. the two ended on not so great terms a few months ago, causing their european adventure to be cut short. both of them held too much grief and shared the inability to cope, a recipe for disaster when it came to any relationship. once finding out about the murders, she realized that delaying their meeting was not going to work out. knowing that if anyone was going to join the crusade to figure out who was behind this, it would be the trusy tribrid, someone josie loved dearly.

taking a deep breath as if to gather courage, the siphoner knocked on the door of hope's old room. a place that would never change thanks to caroline. after a rthymic few knocks, josie placed her hands behind her back, gripping her wrists tightly as some way to hold back all her feelings. if hope does open the door, what the hell was meant to be said? i love you? i'm sorry? can we just go back to before? the endless questions began to give josie a headache. regretting the idea of doing this in the first place.

"hope, please open the door. i just need to know you are okay."

"of course, your dad and i are willing to help you with whatever you need. what you are is still new to both of us, being a mix of demon and werewolf, it means that you have abilities we both do." finishing her drink, gabbi let out a soft sigh. not happy that kaya had threatened raymis, he most likely would retaliate, but she also knew that he was able to press too far. make you say and feel things that weren't exactly what you meant, anything for him to stop. "no he didn't like that, but don't worry i will speak with him. we haven't talked in a really long time and i was hoping to never see the man again. but life can't be that sweet i guess."

twirling on the bar stool, they eyed the dance floor and watched as others began to enjoy the night. "have you tried any of the fancy food? i had a few salmon puffs and maybe one day i can perfect that recipe." she decided to make jokes, enjoy the night for what it was. there was no way she'd be making salmon puffs, the family was normally eating crawfish boils and other new orleans favorites. it wasn't fancy but it was enough.

Kaya listened to her mother talk with sympathy and understanding. She knew that both of her parents had been through the ringer. That was part of the reason why she didn't like to trouble them so much with the goings-on of her own life. She never wanted to be a burden or cause them too much stress.

"I'd never felt anything like that before. I honestly think this is the first time I've used my like, demon powers, or whatever. Maybe after the masquerade, you could teach me more about all this stuff. And Dad, too. I don't really know what's going on with me lately, Mom." She took a small sip of her drink, already feeling the effect of the shots coming on. "No, no. That was it, just tried to scare me. I did also threaten him, and I don't think he liked that so much."

remembering the conversation with damon, made josie quickly agree to kaya's request to dance. nodding her head, she held onto the others hands and began to follow the rythm of her body. the song wasn't exactly that fun, but having had a few drinks, it felt as if the music was something she'd choose. "i'd love that!" josie replied, focusing on the other as they danced. "i heard you and hope got ready together. you both look beautiful." it was so easy to throw out compliments, when your other half was back. when nothing felt as if it was missing, josie realized that she had longed for other types of relationships. friends instead of just family or the small hellos to co-workers.

Kaya, fresh off a few shots from the bar, danced by herself to the slow, kind of boring music that floated through the air. She barely even noticed when Josie bumped into her, and she probably wouldn't have even said anything at all, just kept going about her swaying and enjoying of the music.

Instead, she grasped both of Josie's hands in hers. The two weren't exactly close, but Kaya had spent enough time around Hope that they'd hung out a few times here and there. The alcohol, however, made everyone in the room Kaya's best friend. "Do you want to dance?" she asked, cheerfully, holding both the girls hands and looking at her with a wide smile. "I mean, I know we were both already dancing, but do you want to dance, like, together?"

@xfatalexit

+Bonus

the demon tilted their head with a sweet smile, happy to take the compliment in. "thank you hope. i have a few other plans with this outfit, tyler is not happy about the whole me joining the faction, but it's kinda hard to be mad when i look like this." her hands hovered around her breasts before letting out a chuckle, admiring the humor that poured out of the tribrid beside her. she was a lot like her mother and father, it seemed like every good part of klaus managed to shine with his daughter. something that gabriela could relate to even though she'd never tell him that. "ohh yeah, i forgot you don't really need to do the whole breathing thing. i'm sure your mom would love this conversation if i was not having it with you."

gabriela hated the way her family and the mikaelsons still held such anger towards each other. it was something she hoped to change, but the murders got in the way of that plan. hayley had already agreed, that there was no need for any of them to hate one another. all of them had done some horrible things, all out of fear and thinking it would provide their loved ones safety. "hope can i just say, it has been really nice seeing you and kaya be friends. i know there is a lot of bad feelings our families have had towards each other...." they'd never say it, not yet, but they also loved hope and her siblings. the demon took great pride in her family and that love grew bigger, as she met other families who held that loyalty as well. "i wish i could change the things that had been done, the things i've done, but we just can't and it also doesn't help to hold it in."

" WELL IF IT HELPS ANY, you are an absolute vision, gabbi. " the tribid complimented with a bright smile, tense shoulders relaxing slightly despite the tinge of animosity held for her husband hope wasn't unaware of the reason why it existed and while that often made for an awkward moment or millions between herself and kaya ⸺ she couldn't deny the high regard she placed her friend in and that somewhat extended to her mother, even if such sentiment would NEVER actually feel true where tyler was concerned. " at the very least, we'd be having a better time breathing. " she mused with a snort. " suppose it's lucky, that technically i don't have to. " the advantages of an activated vampire side. " secret is safe with me, after all if i told her you said it, then i'd have to admit i HEARD it and that just opens an entirely different can of worms... that none of us deserve to dive in to. "

eleanor wasn't sure where to go tonight, with nikolas remaining at arms length and her family so caught up in her return, it felt as if nothing was right. sure being back from the dead wasn't right or normal either, but to be treated like such a fragile piece of art, well it made the young woman anxious. the feeling never left her, it seemed once she crawled out of the grave, she was destined to feel out of place in the world. possibly because she didn't belong here anymore. none of it made sense, so she made her way to the outside area of the venue and took in a the fresh air. only coming back to reality when a voice filled the silence.

tilting her head to the other, she opened her eyes and furrowed her brows. trying to think what answer would be best. bolting felt like the best option. yet, her feet stayed planted on the ground. "honestly, i can't answer that. i want to leave this ball so badly. get away from everyone and just be, but i don't want to worry people anymore."

↷ open ╳ @inaducursehqstarters ↷ muse playing ╳ andrew salvatore ↷ location ╳ vaso bar and venue (bywater ) ↷ event ╳ enchanted evening masquerade

the redhead was still on edge after drinking from his father , damon . the limitation of blood was starting to get to him . he didn't want to feed on anyone else because he didn't want to hurt them , but that didn't changed the fact that his craving for the taste often danced on his tongue . however, andrew knew that his father would give him another hit before the night was done so he decided to think about something else for a change . " should we dance like we belong or ditch this place ? " andrew approached the other .

the siphoner was sure that she couldn't be brought down. her twin sister was back, hope wasn't mad at her, and it felt as if the world was placed back on it's axis. so even if damon was complaining, it didn't really bother her, instead she raised an eyebrow and smirked. "well yeah, you got to see parties when there were like no rules. so of course this is dull." taking a sip of her champagne, she shrugged her shoulders before eyeing the crowd again. "how many masquerades have you been too? cause i'm pretty sure this is my first."

open starter Though it was early in the night, Damon was growing bored by the serious lack of action. Most people still stood in groups chatting, neglecting the dancefloor and the bar a little too much for his liking. He'd been looking forward to a night to let loose, but not even the band seemed to be inspired yet. "Seriously?" he sulks aloud, "I've been to funerals with better live entertainment than this." @inaducursehqstarters

she wasn't sure why, but each day she spent alive the quieter her mind became. when all her anxious thoughts washed away, it was much easier to be around others. even with darkness lurking in the shadows, eleanor believed that she was getting her life back. nursing a gin and tonic, she began walking around the venue. watching as people giggled as they told each other stories, ever since coming back from the dead, she felt so disconnected from the world. as if she wasn't meant to be here anymore. the thought made her shiver, knowing that she should be dead instead of at a party.

with her mind darting from one horrible scenario to another, eleanor managed to bump into someone who was also trying to stay out of the spotlight. "oh my gosh i'm so sorry." grabbing some napkins from her pockets, she handed them to the other. "i spaced out and wasn't paying attention."

open to all ! location: paradigm gardens event 002: lighting of the solstice @inaducursehqstarters

Heath sat on the edge of the gardens, doing what he did best: watching. His careful eye followed party-goers as he sipped beer from a plastic cup while seated on a fallen log. He wasn't working, exactly, but he couldn't turn off the need to observe. Besides, he wasn't really an engage in the social scene type of guy himself, so the outskirts were where he felt most comfortable regardless.

He kept his eyes peeled for any suspicious behavior, on the look out for the demon he and Ingrid were tracking, and eyes open for any of his other ongoing case subjects. Even off from work, there was no such thing as just enjoying an outing.

being a new vampire was never easy, the transition took a lot of willpower and determination. something that you're still learning to acquire in your twenties. so hayley had a feeling charlie wasn't handling it well, hearing stories of him spending nights drunk on the street. she wanted to stop him sooner, but also knew how she had been during her transition. it wouldn't matter what someone said, all you want to do is wallow, but she felt her son had done enough of that. her eyes followed the drink, as it passed from the bartender to his lips, the hybrids chest grew heavy. shaking her head softly, she turned to face her son. "no, that's not it. something else is wrong but i can't put my finger on it yet."

honestly none of it really mattered right now, all she cared about was charlie's mental health. "mind if i ask how many drinks you've had tonight?" her voice was soft and gentle, hoping he would understand that she wasn't trying to interrogate. hayley's goal wasn't to make him feel bad, instead to just get a tiny glimpse into what was going on in his mind.

Charlie shrugged his shoulders at the sound of his mother's voice behind him. Observing the lively crowd engaged in conversation and dancing to the music, he acknowledged that the sole reason for his presence was the allure of free alcohol. His mask proved to be a valuable shield, concealing his emotions as he seamlessly merged with the festive atmosphere. "People are having too much fun," he quietly mumbled while accepting a drink from the bartender. Aware that his response may not have been what his mother expected, he felt indifferent towards her opinion at that moment.