MOONS.
003. | ❛ matter of life and death. ❜

Klaus is on the balcony outside of his bedroom, drinking a tumbler of bourbon, when he suddenly senses that he is not alone. He doesn't even need to turn around to know that Jackson and Elijah are behind him.

" I thought I smelled swamp." He finally turns to face Jackson and Elijah, both of whom look furious as they glare at him.

"What'd you do with Hayley?" Jackson furiously asks

"Tell me what you know." Elijah adds on

Klaus walks toward them with a coy expression,"Has Jackson misplaced his bride? Come to think about it, I did read that global warming was affecting migration patterns. Try Georgia!"

Jackson says angrily, " I Just left the bodies of people I care about to rot in the woods because you left them defenseless against poachers!"

Klaus looks surprise and wonders about his Luna and if she was amongst the ones injured.

"Like Kingmaker Land Development. Does that ring a bell?" Klaus' smile falls, and Jackson realizes he's onto something

"Yeah, the CEO is Lucien Castle" He gestures to Elijah

"Elijah tells me you two go way back--"Elijah cuts him off and walks toward Klaus so they are face-to-face

"So, I will ask you once again-- what do you know?"

Klaus points at Elijah"As it happens, I just came back from a romp with our good friend Lucien. You can find him in the penthouse of the gaudy new construction on Canal. And while you two are catching up, be sure to ask him about the prophetic vision he showed me of our family's spectacular downfall. You could use a good laugh."

Elijah sighs and points at Jackson

"You stay here. Niklaus and I will deal with this."

"Actually, as long as Hayley's prowling about on two legs and unaccounted for, I'm staying with my daughter." Klaus walks toward Jackson, looking at him suspiciously

"And, should I discover that this is yet another cock-eyed scheme for Hayley and you to abscond with her, the paltry remains of your beloved wolf pack will be sniffing at your entrails come morning."
Jackson scowls at him, which makes Klaus smile as he walks away. However, Elijah vamp-speeds in front of him, blocking his way

Elijah amused,"This doesn't frighten you, brother. But, one day, your daughter will know exactly the kind of man that her father is."
His smile falls, and he looks at Klaus with a deadly serious expression

"If anything should happen to Hayley, you mark my words-- no one will have to take Hope from you. She will, without question, leave you of her own accord."
Elijah leaves with Jackson without another word, leaving a stunned and slightly worried Klaus behind to think about what he's just learned.

Luna stumbles upon the Mikaelson compound, bloodthirsty and hurt.

"Elijah, I'm not going to-" Klaus begins but stops when he sees his fair maiden on the floor.

"My love what has happened?"

"Hunters shot me in the abdomen and Freya pulled it out." Luna struggles to get her words out. Soon her veins pop out from underneath her eyes, but Klaus figures out what she wanted. Klaus bits into his wrist and places it on Luna's mouth. She held onto his wrist and continues to drink his blood. Only after a while does she stop and wipes her mouth from the left over blood.

"Where were you? I was waiting for you but Freya told me that you had an art exhibition. "

"I had to stay here, Hayley's missing and Elijah and Jackson are in the hunt for her."

"I have to help them. If Hayley's missing then..." Luna starts making her way to the door but Klaus stops her.

"Darling, you only have a few more hours until you revert into your wolf form. And if the hunters are still out there then that puts you in more danger."

"Fine, I'll stay here. Taking care of Hope." She backs down and walks upstairs to the baby's room.

***************

Klaus is walking down the stairs of the compound as he leaves Freya a voicemail on her phone.

"Freya, I'm aware that 21st century technology remains a mystery to you, but when you see my name pop up on your phone, you answer it. Come home. Immediately."

"Klaus!" Luna yells from downstairs.
When he makes it down the stairs to the courtyard, he finds an unhappy Cami standing there waiting for him.

He takes a seat on the couch, and Cami, exasperated, sits down across from him in an armchair

"This is a matter of life and death." Luna says

Cami opens her bag and pulls out her laptop before opening it and pulling up the crime scene photos of the serial killer victims.

"Call it a hunch, but I think your friend Lucien is torturing and killing humans in the Quarter. There have been two victims so far, but I've constructed a psychological profile of the killer, and I don't think it's going to end there."

Klaus rolls his eyes,"Lucien would never be so sloppy."

Cami, not convinced, turns her laptop to show them the photo of the first victim. When Klaus sees it, his amused smile falls as he becomes mildly concerned. Luna places her hand on Klaus who squeezes it

"...Although, I admit, there is a familiar method to this particular madness..."

"You want to prove to me that you're turning over a new leaf? Make sure this latest victim is the last one." Cami starts to pack up her bag, and Klaus looks at her curiously

"Are you suggesting that I prove my redeemability by killing my oldest friend? Such irony!"

Cami rolls her eyes,"Look, NOLA PD can't take down a thousand-year-old psycho with vampire powers, but you can. You're the smartest, and the strongest, and the scariest."Klaus is clearly pleased to hear this description of him and smiles brightly

"So, make him stop."She turns and walks to the door, and Klaus sighs

"Do you really believe Lucien is the one killing these people?" Luna asks Klaus

"At this point, I don't know what to believe anymore."

*******************

Luna was on the top balcony when she heard some walk into the compound.

Freya was arm-in-arm with the young man that looked drunk. They walk into the compound together as Freya smiles at him.

"Nightcap?" She gestures around the room

"You'll find bourbon on basically every horizontal surface."

"Or, we can skip to the fun part." The young frat boy said as Freya giggles as the two begin making out against an end table. After a moment, Klaus suddenly appears next to them and loudly interrupts their hook-up. Luna started to chuckle at the sight of this.

"Freya! It's about time you brought a gentleman home to meet the family." He turns to the man to introduce himself

"I'm Freya's brother. And you are? No, don't tell me. Let me guess-- Brad? Chad? Brody? Let's go with Brody. What are your intentions for my sister? Shall we discuss a dowry?" He lets his hybrid-eyes slip out for just a moment, which scares Freya's suitor.

"Bro, what the...?"

"Leave. Now."

"Brody" rushes out of the compound without another word, and Klaus laughs in amusement, and though Freya gives him a look, it's clear that she thinks it's funny as well. Luna liked seeing them somewhat bond over something.

"He was drunk! No one will believe his story."

"Not three months ago, you utterly despised me, and now you're playing protective brother."

"I'm sure you're quite capable of protecting yourself against the scourge of Fraternity Row." Klaus pauses for a moment, and his tone becomes serious

"I need you to perform a locator spell. Hayley's missing."

Freya stares at him,"You're worried about her. I've never seen you worried about anybody besides Luna."

Klaus plays tough,"I prefer to know the whereabouts of my enemies. Besides, Hayley has a history of taking what's mine. Luna is different, she cares about my feelings unlike other people. "
Klaus walks away, hoping to avoid a discussion, but Freya knows better than that.

"No. You're afraid she's truly lost."
Klaus turns to face Freya, looking unamused, so Freya changes the subject

"I'll need the best connection to Hayley. You'll have to wake Hope." Klaus nods in agreement

*****************

Jackson is chained by his wrists in the courtyard while Freya stands in front of him, still in her party clothes from the night before. Jackson yanks at the chains angrily in an attempt to get free. Luna looks at him in fear of what would happen if he was free.

"Can I get you some water, or... something?" Freya says awkwardly

"Let me out! It's dawn, we both haven't turned back yet. It doesn't make any sense. I need to find Hayley."

"I trust Luna but you in not so certain about."

Freya walks towards Luna and puts her hand on her chest to try to sense what is going on with them with her magic. The sound of Luna's heart pulsing gets louder.

"I can still feel the curse in your blood. Something's restraining it, but you could transition at any moment."

Suddenly, Hayley vamp-speeds into the room and shoves Freya into the nearby column, which instantly knocks her out. Jackson looks up at her in surprised, but then becomes even more concerned when he realizes that she is covered from head to toe in blood. Hayley grabs Luna's throat and shoves her into a wall and squeezing her throat with force.

"Where the hell is that bastard?"