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Tweak says, "alice the camel has 5 humps"

hope mikaelson (baculum) wrote in somerealityrpg,
@ 2020-07-25 19:41:00

Entry tags:

active: hope mikaelson

WHO: Hope Mikaelson and Hayley Marshall
WHERE: CajunSea
WHEN: Lunchtime, backdated to Friday
WARNINGS: mentions of torture and death probably
SPOILERS?The Originals season 5

Hope had no idea what she was doing. It was surreal sitting across from her mom, making small talk with her. She'd ordered her favorites, but she was barely picking at her plate as her brain churned over how to say what she needed to say. At least she was fairly certain she wouldn't get the same kind of reaction as she had from her dad, but she'd picked the quietest corner in the place anyway, just in case. It was also close to the back exit, so she could bolt if needed. But she was pretty sure she wouldn't.

This was her mom, the person she'd known best for most of her life. But instead of making this easier, it was making it harder. She needed to rip it off like a bandaid, but there was just so much to tell...

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wolfcry
2020-07-26 05:46 pm UTC (link)

The last time Hayley had seen her daughter, Hope was seven years old. Sitting across from her daughter now, she could still a bit of that little girl beneath the well-crafted expression. Before that, they had been tied up, their lives in the balance as well as their status as hybrids, werewolves and vampires. In Hope's case, a tribrid status. Hayley had volunteered for them to seal her werewolf side in order to break the cloaking spell on herself and allow Freya to find them. Before they could began the spell, Hayley found herself here, letter in hand, and absolutely clueless as to what had happened between those two moments.

Thankfully, Freya and Elijah had been there to explain everything and help her understand why Hope was a child again when she had been a teenager last time Hayley had seen her. It was shocking to hear she was eighteen, but it was less of a shock than Hope being a child again. It was strange that no one had filled her in on how Hope and her had managed to escape though. She hadn't mentioned it yet, but it was one of the biggest things confusing her at the moment. Why had no one told her?

Hayley picked at her plate, noting that Hope had barely touched her food despite ordering a variety of food. They had made small talk, keeping to lighter topics, but Hayley could tell there was something on Hope's mind that didn't involve the randomness of this place. "It sounds like you built quite a life here," Hayley said after a moment. "I'm proud of you, Hope." Hayley reached out and touched her daughter's hand gently.

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baculum
2020-07-26 05:55 pm UTC (link)

"Thanks," she replied, lips barely quirking up into a smile. It hadn't been easy, and if she hadn't assumed her life back home was toast it might never have happened at all. She knew some of the people who knew her from home were surprised to see just how many friends she had made, considering her closed-off nature back home. "I don't think I want to go home if I have a choice. Especially now that you and Dad and everyone else are here." She knew she was needed back home, but there was clearly another version of her there, a version that was slipping into Josie's mind and fighting new monsters all the time. Was it selfish to want to stay in a place where things were easier?

... Well, sometimes easier.

Looking up at her mom, she gathered up her courage. "The last thing you remember was that house, right? We were trapped with Roman and Greta?"

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wolfcry
2020-07-26 06:37 pm UTC (link)

They were finally all together as a family. It was a concept that was impossible back home. Because of the Hollow, the members of Hope's family couldn't be physically near one another without activating its destructive powers. Thus, they were all separated. Hayley raised Hope with Freya's help and the help of a werewolf, Mary. The other's could communicate with Hope via Skype and such, but outside of that, they could never be physically present with her or each other. It was what they needed to do to protect Hope even as it also hurt her, but it was no way for a child to grow up.

Hayley felt horrible about the way in which Hope had to grow up. She knew a lot of that separation caused Hope to be closed-off. Why build relationships when people would always leave you? Losing her father was particularly hard for her. Klaus pulling away hurt Hope the most and Hayley wished it had been different. It wasn't that she ever believed her daughter could not handle it, but it was more so that Hayley wished she didn't have to face it. Didn't have to be strong all the time.

Being here gave her that chance and Hayley completely understood it. She understood why Hope would want to stay here. They had their family here and she had a life here with friends, people who cared for her and loved her completely. She could have a normal of existence (as much as this place allowed anyway) and Hope was happy for that. It was all a mother wanted for their child. For them to be happy.

"I understand that," Hayley replied softly with a gentle smile. "We're together here and you're happy. No one would want to give that up."

Finally, the subject that Hayley had been wanted to ask about for so long was broached. At the question, Hayley nodded. "Yes. I was about to have my wolf side bound."

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baculum
2020-07-26 06:59 pm UTC (link)

Look away, Hope. She was back in that room again, the smell of burning flesh, her mom's anguished screams piercing the air. It didn't take much to conjure the memory, it was always there in the back of her mind. "They bound you," she started, trying to keep the emotion out of her voice. These were the facts of it. "But they left themselves open for an attack and you took it. You were a vampire, so you couldn't leave, but it meant Freya knew where we were. I'd cloaked you as a hybrid, not a vampire. I—I didn't want to leave but you told me to. And then I couldn't even do that. Greta knocked me out."

This was where what she'd been told came in. She still wasn't sure if she was grateful to be spared the memories or not. "You fought her. Dad showed up, but he was too busy fighting Elijah to help. You..." Tears were falling down her face unnoticed. "You took Greta down, but you died in the process."

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wolfcry
2020-07-27 01:03 pm UTC (link)

Hayley didn't look away even as her daughter did. She didn't need Hope to tell the story to know that it had ended badly, like most of their existence. They had bound Hayley, but in doing so, they allowed Freya to find her. Hope had cloaked a hybrid, not a vampire and now that was all Hayley was...a vampire. It was daylight outside and without her wolf side, Hayley could not leave without bursting into flames, but she'd taken the chance anyway. She'd fought back, given Hope a chance to escape, but that bitch stopped her, knocking out her daughter.

Of course Hayley fought like hell even as she knew she was weaker do to age. Klaus, for all his faults, would never leave her to die and would always come for Hope. But...fighting Elijah? The news stunned her for a moment. Elijah didn't remember. He didn't remember Hayley or he didn't want to. Tears started to tumble down Hope's cheeks and Hayley pushed back her chair, move to kneel at her daughter's side and take her hand.

Died. Hayley had died saving them. Saving Hope. She swallowed; she'd saved her daughter, but done what she'd never wanted to do. Leave her alone. "Hope, hey..." Hayley reached out to stroke her daughter's hair. "It's okay. I promise." There were tears burning in her eyes and Hayley blinked them back.

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baculum
2020-07-27 02:45 pm UTC (link)

She took a gasping breath, drowning on dry land under the weight of it all. It was never going to be okay, no matter how many times her mom told her. Maybe it could get somewhat better now that she was here for longer than Hope'd had with her in the afterlife, but it was never going to be okay.

There was more because of course there was. Better to get it all out, right? She couldn't rip off only part of the bandage. "They had a second line. You would have hated it." Hope certainly had. "Dad came to the real funeral... which meant that the world started falling apart. I ... I took the Hollow back." She'd wanted to fix things, but she'd messed up. A central theme in her life, apparently.

"It was stronger than I anticipated; I couldn't hold all of that power. It was killing me, but using the dark magic kept it at bay, so... I did. I hurt Elijah. I hurt Dad. I took out the Nightwalkers in one blast, but Bill died with them. I couldn't handle using it after that, knowing I'd killed someone innocent. I... think I died the day of my first full moon. But I saw you when I did. You were at peace, with Jackson and Grandma Mary." She knew it was too much, too fast, but she couldn't stop it now.

"You sent me back with Dad's help. And he—he used my first transformation to take all of the Hollow into himself. Elijah had his memories back by then, and he took enough to keep Dad from completely losing it. And then—" her lips moved but no sound came out, and she swallowed hard before trying again— "then they killed themselves. So I could live." How was she only halfway done? She felt so exhausted already.

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wolfcry
2020-07-27 03:13 pm UTC (link)

"Hey, hey, Hope. Shh. It's okay, alright?" Hayley knew it would never be okay. Not for Hope. She wished she could take it away. She wished she knew the truth so that her daughter didn't have to tell it to her and relive the painful memories of all of it. She couldn't though. She couldn't remember what she hadn't live through. What she had died from.

There was a brief, faint smile at the mention of the second line. It disappeared quickly at the mention of Hope taking back the Hollow, trying to save her family, to keep them together. "Hope, honey. You're so brave," Hayley replied softly, touching her daughter's face. "You tried to help your family. You tried." Even if Hope had started to succumb to the Hollow's wraith and power, using dark magic to keep it at bay, she knew Hope had done it for good reasons.

Hope had triggered her transformation. She'd lashed out against her uncle and father and then obliterated the Nightwalkers with a single blast, killing Bill. "I am so sorry I wasn't there. I wasn't there to help you through that." Help her through the transformation, but more importantly, help her through taking a life. Hayley's heart ached for Hope and she took up her hand and squeezed it tightly. She'd only wanted good things for Hope, happiness and peace, instead she only had pain and suffering. Loss.

Hayley was crying too, sniffling to try and keep her own emotions in check for her daughter. Klaus took his own life. Elijah too. She would have expected nothing less from either of them. They loved Hope more than themselves, more than anything. "Hope, I'm sorry." She reached up and brushed a few of the stray tears from her daughter's cheeks. "I'm so sorry."

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baculum
2020-07-27 03:48 pm UTC (link)

"Don't be sorry." Hope's face crumpled a bit that Hayley felt that way, and she leaned into the touch even if she didn't deserve the comfort. "It was all my fault. I went back to school after that. I stopped going home. Dr. Saltzman started taking me with him when he needed help, partly to distract me, I think, but also to keep an eye on me. I kept myself apart from everyone else, though, even more than before. Knowing that if I hadn't started talking to Roman..." She'd forgiven him, but not herself.

"And then things started happening, more than usual. Those creatures I told you about, that we all thought weren't real but are? They were coming from this creature called Malivore. It was created hundreds of years ago by a group of witches, werewolves, and vampires to eat threats. Whenever it absorbed something, memories of that thing existing were erased. It was rising, it was about to start threatening everyone. And the only thing we thought could stop it would be another union of witches, werewolves, and vampires. Me."

"I didn't have time to come up with another plan. There had been—the Necromancer was one of the creatures. It told me that Dad wasn't at peace. That he couldn't be until I was. I thought maybe, considering everything, that destroying Malivore was why I had been born. That if I saved everyone, I'd find peace and then Dad would too. So I jumped in. Turns out I was wrong and got spit back out, but the damage was done. No one knew who I was until Josie and Freya figured out a spell that brought back everyone's memories." Even when Josie didn't know who Hope was, she was messing up Josie's life. Between Landon and using dark magic, Hope was still surprised she wasn't hated.

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wolfcry
2020-07-27 08:12 pm UTC (link)

Hayley's heart felt heavy. She never wanted her daughter to isolate herself from the others at school; she never wanted her to feel as if she could never go home. Of course part of her was grateful that Dr. Saltzman had helped Hope as much as he had, giving her something to focus on outside of the pain of losing so much of her family so quickly. "Oh, Hope. That's not true. Not at all. Letting someone in doesn't have to end that way. Some people are just...bad or caught up in something bad. Oh sweetie. I never wanted you to feel as if you couldn't go home." Hayley stroked her daughter's cheek gently. She had done what was right to protect them all, but seeing Hope like this? It broke her. If only she'd been there, things would have been easier on Hope. She could have helped her through all of it. It just wasn't fair.

Hope had sacrificed herself. It didn't surprise Hayley to hear that. She was a loving, kind individual who only wanted the best for the people she cared about. Giving herself up to ensure their safety? It was an easy choice. "Hope. You are so brave. I am so proud of you." She squeezed her daughter's hand again. "Even if it didn't work, you did a good thing. You were trying to save everyone." She had done what she thought was best, sometimes that was all you could do.

If anyone could figure out a way to bring back memories it was Freya. It sounded like little Josie had grown into her own too, much like Hope. She was sure Caroline and Alaric were both proud. "I guess Josie's become quite the witch since I last saw her," Hayley replied softly. "I'm not surprised your Aunt Freya helped figure it out though. I'm glad to hear they found a way for people to remember you. God, Hope it had to be so lonely. I'm sorry you had to feel that."

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baculum
2020-07-27 09:05 pm UTC (link)

Letting herself finally feel all of it, Hope slid out of her seat and to the floor, folding in toward her mom as she openly sobbed in front of the entire restaurant. Having her mom recognize what she had been trying to do with the pit and not be furious with her like Klaus had been initially healed some small part inside of her, the pieces clicking together like they should have been all along. "I've missed you so much."

Letting herself cry it out, it was a few minutes before she spoke again. "I know I can let people in, now. Landon helped with that. And Dr. Saltzman, a little. Then I came here, and except for Lizzie—who couldn't remember me then because of Malivore—I was alone. I let people in here." That was another reason she didn't want to go home.

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wolfcry
2020-07-28 03:15 pm UTC (link)

"Hope..." With her hybrid strength, Hayley easily gathered her daughter close in her arms and held her as tight as was safe against her. "It's okay. Shh. I know it doesn't feel like it, but it is. I promise. Telling me everything...I know it is hard on you. Reliving those things. I am so sorry, Hope." She stroked her daughter's hair gently. "Thank you for being so brave to tell me. For living through all of that again."

"I'm here now." Hayley wished she could promise her daughter that she would always be here now. That she would never leave her to face anything alone again, but she knew that wasn't how this place worked. She saw the network. She knew people left. She knew it could be her. All she could do was hold her daughter while she wept, allowing Hope to gather herself whenever she was ready to, no matter how long that might be. She didn't care if anyone stared; they didn't know them. What they thought would never matter to Hayley.

Hayley smiled to herself. She was glad to hear that Hope had been able to let people in again. To find friends, especially here. "I'm glad to hear that. I'm glad you were strong enough to give them a chance and for them to take it. I'm glad they helped you."

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baculum
2020-07-28 10:22 pm UTC (link)

It was so nice to break down and know her mom had her. She'd missed that more than she'd realized. It was always her job to be strong, to have a plan, to do the hard things. That was why it was her responsibility to tell Hayley. But now that she had performed that particular duty... she could almost let her mom take some of it up for her. Maybe. She at least had someone to lean on more fully than she let herself lean on anyone else. Realizing that kind of made her cringe, knowing she'd been holding back with her friends and even her family. She could work on that trust issue later.

All of this was wildly different from Klaus learning the news. "Dad was so mad that I essentially killed myself," she reported, sniffling. "We worked it out, but I still think he's mad." If they didn't talk about it then the fighting couldn't start up again, that was her motto on the situation.

"Some of them are going to want to meet you. And I want you to meet Landon, of course. And anyone else who wants to." She didn't want to put too much pressure and insist on it now, but she, too, knew that this place could rip people away without a moment's notice. "... I know I just lost it, but I want you to know I'm going to be okay. If you go away again, or I do. I'm gonna be okay, Mom."

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wolfcry
2020-07-29 03:15 pm UTC (link)

Hayley offered her daughter a sympathetic smile. "Your dad can be...extreme sometimes to put it lightly, but he does love you. He just is really protective and never wants anything bad to happen to the one thing he loves the most in this entire world," she replied gently. "But I can talk to him about it. See if I can get him to try and see it your way, okay?" Hayley didn't know how much of an impact she could have on Klaus, but she knew sometimes she could make him see the situation in a different light.

Hayley's smile brightened and she squeezed her daughter's hand. "I would love to meet him and anyone else." The news she just heard would be a lot to digest for a while, but she wanted to meet her daughter's boyfriend, especially since he had such a positive impact on her and helped her open up to people. That was a big thing for Hope. "Just do the introductions and I'll be there."

Hayley touched Hope's face lightly. "I know, Hope. I always knew you would be okay no matter what. You're strong, resilient, and adaptable. I know you can handle yourself. I know you will be okay, no matter what happens." Hope had grown into such a strong, brave, and loving woman. Of course she would always worry, but she knew Hope could take care of herself and that no matter what happened, she would be okay.

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