XI - 𝔥𝔶𝔟𝔯𝔦𝔡 𝔰𝔠𝔬𝔲𝔱𝔦𝔫𝔤

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"ONWARDS, MY TRUSTY STEED!"

In a secluded part of the mountains, Klaus Mikaelson and Lilura Anthemoessa were shortening Stefan Salvatore's lifespan.

How?

By piggybacking and running around the same tree for a total of 25 times.

"Faster, Nik!"

A tiny bark from Sirius supported his owners's statement.

The Hybrid casted an icy glare to the dog, "Will you bloody shut up? She's my wife."

Sirius barked again, this time massive eyes narrowing.

Stefan watched on, his own sack of werewolf propped haphazardly against the juxtaposing tree.

"Could we please...continue?" said Stefan, the look on his face a mixture of amusement and pain. To Lilura,  he looked like he either had to pee very badly or throw up, which both seemed entertaining at this point.

"Alright, alright," The siren sighed, patting Niklaus' shoulder in resignation.

It wasn't to feel the muscles underneath his shirt. No. Not at all.

"You okay? Is Ray getting heavy?" Klaus cooed.

"I'm fine. I was fine before. I'm fine now."

"You sure about that? You know, we've been walking for quite some time now and we've rested for, truly, only a few minutes. If you need some water or some more time —"

Lilura snorted and Klaus advanced, still carrying her on his back.

"You know, I get that we're, uh," Stefan's thick brows stitched together.  "That we're stuck together, but if we could maybe just skip the chitchat and the gross flirting, it'd be great."

Klaus grinned, not deterred in the slightest, "So much brooding. Your self-loathing is suffocating you, my friend."

The younger vampire shouldered Ray Sutton's unconscious body. "Maybe it's 'cause I'm a little tired of hunting werewolves. We've been at it all summer."

"Well thanks to our pal Ray, we found ourselves a pack, and who knows Stefan, maybe it'll —"

A flurry of exited yapping erupted from Sirius' small golden body, and Lilura squealed in delight at what the smart little guy had found.

"There!" She said, pointing straight ahead. Then to Klaus, she bent down to whisper smugly, "Told ya he was necessary for this trip."

"Oh big deal," He responded. "I could've found it just as fast if not faster." Klaus practically spat those last words to an indifferent Sirius.

Lilura smiled widely. The rivalry between Klaus and Sirius amused her to no end.

Klaus set Lilura down and motioned for Stefan to make his entrance, "Loners first," He said. Swiftly after, the Salvatore strode into camp and dropped Ray's body on the ground.

"Ray! Oh, my God. What's going on? Who are you?" shrieked a woman who had been playing with the children before.

Lilura smiled deviously, "Inquisitive little things, aren't you all?"

"Yes, but actually, the important question is who am I. Please forgive the intrusion. My name is Klaus."

Collectively the group paled and drained of any jolly emotion.

"You're the hybrid," She whispered.

Klaus smiled, "You've heard of me. Fantastic."

———— Δ ————

"It's fascinating, actually...A werewolf who isn't beholden to the moon, a vampire who doesn't burn in the sun. A true hybrid."

Lilura watched on as Ray woke up.

"Excellent timing, Ray. Very dramatic," Klaus gloated.

"What's happening to me?"

"Stefan?" The Hybrid beckoned.

"Are any of you human? Your friend here needs human blood to complete his transition to vampire. If he doesn't get it, he will die."

What a lovely way to introduce yourself,  Lilura mused. By threatening others.

"Doesn't take much, just a sip. Anyone? A boyfriend, a girlfriend, along for the ride?" Klaus inquired.

The group of werewolves began in tumultuous conversation but Lilura head the beating heart all the same. Catching, Klaus' demanding gaze, the siren quickly nodded to the man on the far left who was clearly human.

"You!"

Klaus rushed over to him and almost bit his arm clean off. Then proceeded to drag the struggling man without an ounce of effort of his lean muscles.

"If you don't drink it, Ray, I will or she'll make you." Stefan pointed to Lilura, who grinned widely. "Problem is we both don't know how to stop."

"It's the new order, sweetheart," Klaus hissed to a girl. "You join us, or you die."

"I'd rather die than be a vampire."

A smirk : "Wrong choice."

Then the girl was dead at Klaus' feet.

Lilura huffed and caught the Hybrid's attention. Her distaste at the violence was clear as day but Klaus chose to smile instead of addressing it.  "Don't worry, darling, she'll thank me for that later."

"Okay, who's next?" Klaus cackled, turning around with fangs protruding from his gums. His eyes flashed golden in the waning sunset light, illuminating the insatiable appetite for power and control that was stitched across every part of his angelic face. His teeth caught the soft flesh of his bottom lip as he swiped his tongue across his lips. Slowly, his eyes met hers as the clearing before fell them in a deathly silence. Even Ray had stopped wailing.

Lilura had to stop herself from gaping; she had never seen anything so beautiful yet destructive. The Hybrid look really did suit Niklaus Mikaelson.

When he sent her a suggestive smirk, the enchantress yelled, "Bugger off!"

"No can do, love. I can smell your arousal quiet potently from here."

She elected to ignore that crude remark and study the werewolves instead. Her eyes danced over the unconscious bodies on the ground, and the bonfire that had died out.

Klaus stepped over the bodies and proceeds to plop down beside her, bouncing with uncontained enthusiasm.

"Come here, Sirius!" She patted her lap and used the baby voice she reserved only for the dog.

Once situated, he licked Klaus' hand amicably.

"Bloody mutt," The Great Original Hybrid whined.

"Klaus," Lilura began gently. "You're also a dog."

Before he could reply, Ray Sutton's insistent sobs interrupted their conversation.

"They're dead. They're all dead," He said.

"Ah, he's through his transition. He should be feeling better soon," Klaus remarked. Although he observed everything with an air of great superiority, Lilura could see his nerves on full display as if he had shined it like a trophy and placed it on a shelf.

Klaus Mikaelson himself wasn't sure if it was working.

The blond Salvatore kicked over a log, "So is this your master plan? Build an army of hybrid slaves?"

Klaus chuckled, "No, not slaves. Soldiers, comrades."

"For what war, might I ask?"

Lilura coughed and choked on air from Stefan's stupid question.

"You, my friend," She pointed to his face. "Are becoming more and more like your dead girlfriend everyday."

His expression immediately dropped to the lowest pit on earth. "Don't talk about her," He hissed.

"Are we wearing black, mate?" Klaus jested. "Lighten up, Elena Gilbert is long gone."

"And besides," Lilura said. "You don't arm yourself after war has been declared. You build your army so big that no one ever dares pick a fight."

Stefan rolled his eyes at her patronizing tone.

"What makes you so sure that they'll be loyal?"

"Well, it's not difficult to be loyal when you're on the winning team. That's something you'll learn once you shake that horribly depressive chip off your shoulder," Klaus supplied easily, humming a tune under his breath.

For some unknown reason, the Salvatore laughed. "That's why you're, uh...you're keeping me around? To witness my attitude adjustment?"

Ray started to shake and blood ran down his eyes.

This displeased Klaus greatly.

Immediately his tone darkened with the failure, "You'll know why I'm keeping you around when I've decided that I want you to know."

"Something's wrong," He tutted and cracked both sides of his neck in restlessness.

"Yeah? No shït," The enchantress sassed.

"That shouldn't be happening, should it?" Stefan asked.

Again, Lilura rolled her blue green eyes, "Well, obviously."

"You said it was gonna feel better. Why doesn't it feel better?" Ray gasped.

"Some master race," Stefan Salvatore mumbled.

Klaus raised his eyebrows and stared pointedly at the Salvatore with his hands on his hips until the younger vampire started to fidget.

"Lose the attitude," came the motherly tone.

"And say sorry," Lilura supplied toothily.

———— Δ ————

"It's funny how you were promised a nice little roadtrip in a nice car with some nice air conditioning but get stuck in a mossy forest with billions of mosquitos instead. Don't you agree?"

Sirius barked.

"Hm, I was thinking you'd enjoy it a lot more because of the space," Lilura though aloud. "But you're just like me, buddy. We love comfort."

"Derek," Klaus called, "come feed your girlfriend."

"There he goes again," Lilura said, shifting in her seat.

Then suddenly, she glimpsed a flash of dirty white and brown before realizing with a little pin prick of dread that Ray Sutton had escaped.

"Go get him," Klaus ordered.

Stefan sprung into action,  a natural grace propelling his run. However, all of that was thrown out the window the moment Ray bit ferociously on the blond vampire's arm.

"Damn," Lilura whispered.

Stefan jogged over to Klaus and Lilura, who had moved spaces to get a better look at the drama.

"Where did he go?" The Hybrid inquired.

"He, uh...he got away. Forget him. Let's go."

Klaus' arm whipped out in a fraction of a second to restrain Stefan. "A fatal werewolf bite. Ouch."

"Yeah. I'm gonna need your blood to heal me."

"Well, I tell you what," Klaus smirked. "You find Ray, and then I'll heal you."

"You can't be serious," Stefan responded.

Niklaus' smile grew, "You better hurry, 'cause that bite looks nasty."

Stefan hobbled away and Lilura crossed her arms, shaking her head at the mess of bloody werewolf zombies loitering the clearing.

The Siren turned around to check up on Sirius but felt her blood run cold when she couldn't spot him anywhere.

"Bloody hell," She whispered.

———— Δ ————

At around 10:15, Stefan Salvatore returned with the same old sack of werewolf propped on his shoulders.

Klaus was situated next to Lilura on a rock. One immortal was furiously contemplating his failed army. The other was biting her finger nails in great anticipation.

When Lilura spotted Stefan walking over, she jumped up.

"Did you not get my 56 missed calls?"

The blond dropped Ray. "Sorry," He said. "I was a little bit busy catching a dog for your boyfriend."

Lilura bristled immediately. "What about my dog?"

Stefan froze. "What?"

"Sirius's gone!"

A strange expression morphed on his face. "Lilura," Stefan began softly, placing a hesitant hand on her shoulder.

The enchantress frowned and shrugged it off. She was not in the mood to be spoken to like a child. "Spit it out."

Stefan sighed and motioned to Klaus.

The Hybrid strolled over to the two, eyes unfocused. "They went rabid. Some of them, I killed. The others just...Bled out. In the end...They're all dead."

Again, Stefan sighed and returned to Lilura's expectant gaze. "When I went to catch Ray, Sirius followed. One thing led to another and..."

Lilura felt her heart stop. "No," She whispered. She finally understood his gentle eyes.

"I'm sorry. Sirius is dead."

"I did everything I was told!" Klaus howled to the moon. "I should be able to turn them. I broke the curse. I killed a werewolf. I killed a vampire. I killed the doppelgänger."

Lilura gasped, tears running down her face.

Stefan, who was stuck in the middle of two unstable immortals, did not know what to do — at all.

As if breaking out of his own bubble, Klaus inspected Lilura's heartbroken sobs.

"You both look like hell," He remarked.

"Sirius is gone!" She bawled, hiccuping as she spoke.

The boys exchanged unsure glances.

"Come here," Klaus finally murmured, opening his arms wide for Lilura. "It's going to be ok."

The trio set out back to their car. Stefan at the front because he was scared of an emotional Lilura, and Klaus next to the enchantress so he could comfort her.

Halfway through Lilura began to  stumble, due to being physically and emotionally exhausted. So, without so much as a word, Klaus swooped her up in his arms.

He carried her all the way to the car.