[He starts at the touch but doesn't pull away. Truthfully, he needs that optimism. Alaric's already settled into the idea that he won't be able to leave; he'll live and die here without seeing Mystic Falls or Jeremy or Jenna's grave, his tentative friendship with Meredith wasted.
It's half the life he wanted and half a rat's single-minded desire for escape. He can't stay here, he tells himself, but what good was he doing out there, anyway?]
I don't think relying on a deadbeat hunter is gonna get Klaus killed. [The very idea is a joke. Unkillable Original with a hybrid army; he's the last person who's gonna be able to help.]