descent | 𝐊𝐋𝐀𝐔𝐒 [HIATUS]

𝟎𝟖

𝐃𝐄𝐒𝐂𝐄𝐍𝐓
﹙ 𝒂𝒄𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒓𝒆𝒆, 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒑𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒆𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 ﹚
࿐ ࿔ ✧˖*°
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After their heart-to-heart, Rory had decided that giving Klaus his time alone to familiarise with the place he once called home was the right thing to do. Besides, it was clear that he wasn't truly up for talking—if the fact that he'd been trying to decimate the Hollow's broken jawbone gives Rory any indication. Instead, the Gilbert girl decides to seek out Hope.

The little tribrid has been on her mind since the last time they spoke. Hope's little voice, asking if she could call Rory her mommy. There's an odd sort of misplaced guilt in her chest, wondering if she was replacing Hayley in a way, but she knew that would never happen. Hayley's her mother, and Rory would only be an additional helping hand.

Though, she couldn't brush the certain kind of warmth that settles in her chest, being called a mother.

Her ears perk up as she hears a rustling coming from the attic, followed by a soft, high-pitched voice. She pulls her eyebrows together into a frown, trailing up the steps after Hope's voice. She finds the red-haired girl buried between boxes and older things that were cluttered together, and just seeing the old clothing and pictures that were tucked away in the corners, Rory knew what this was.

Marcel's old bedroom.

She feels her chest fall as she walks further into the room, seeing Hope crouched with a book in her lap. "And when the sky begins to roar, it's like a lion at the door; and when the door begins to crack, it's like a stick across your back; and when your back begins to smart, it's like a knife against your heart; and when your hearts begin to bleed, you're dead and dead and dead indeed."

"Hope?" Rory questions. The little girl turns to face her, a small smile on her face as she welcomes the brunette. Rory crouches next to Hope, brushing a hair from her face. "What do you have there?"

"It's an old book of rhymes. There's a lot of weird stuff in here." Hope responds, closing the book. Rory turns to examine it, brushing her fingers over the hard cover.

"Yeah. Not very uplifting material, is it?" Rory questions, picking up the book and putting it aside. She examines the room, pursing her lips. "It looks pretty dangerous to be in here all by yourself."

Hope giggles. "I'm a tribrid, remember? Nothing can hurt me up here."

Rory quirks an eyebrow. "Oh, really? Well, what about the bats and the termites? Or the spiders?"

"I'm not scared of spiders!"

"Oh, really? Not even the huge ones that eat your flesh?"

Hope gasps. "There are spiders that eat your flesh?"

"There's no research to prove there aren't."

The red-haired girl looks genuinely perplexed, her smile slowly dropping from her face. "I didn't know..."