Holding On and Letting Go.

(Don’t worry about it! We could skip, if you want?)

Kol looked mildly amused with the mention of it and nodded. “Who would have thought that it’d take a few girls to get us to work together, brother?” he asked almost jokingly before he undid his tie and tossed it aside with a sigh. He was worried about this, with the fact that they’d have to do absolutely anything to get the girls’ humanity back, but he wasn’t going to back down from it.

---

Marie nodded slightly as she watched her friend leave before she sighed out. Stretching her arms above her head, she moved to lie down, intent on sleeping now that the night’s events had worked out in their favor one way or another. There’d been a few bumps, sure, but they’d done what they’d set out to do, and now she could sleep with satisfaction.

@ momentai.
(Skipping sounds great. Do you just want to skip to the next day or farther?)

(We can skip to the next day?)

@ momentai.
(Sounds like a plan)
Sophie sighed as she walked down the streets of the French Quarter. It was nice to be out in the open and not have to worry about hiding or taking back alleyways to avoid the eyes of people she wouldn't want to see her. If it was any other circumstance, Sophie was be thrilled to be out in the open, but she had slept like hell, having a dream of the night Kol was daggered. She hated that he was having such an effect on her. Sophie had to assure herself that she wasn't getting her humanity back and that Kol meant nothing. She had to continue telling herself over and over in order to try and believe it. She needed to just stay away from him and all thoughts of him for at least a few days.

---

Klaus had talked it over with Kol and Elijah this morning. They were going to be just as conniving as Sophie and Marie were being. Klaus was going to try and get under Marie's skin by taking her to all the places they used to go when they were together. Kol was to continue to try and anger Sophie to get more under her skin, and when she was on the breaking point of having her humanity back, Klaus was going to dagger Kol in front of Sophie. Klaus hoped to get Marie close to her breaking point too, and then he was going to go after someone he cared about to bring back her humanity. This was the only way. Klaus knew it and so did his siblings.

@ momentai.
(Sounds like a plan)
Sophie sighed as she walked down the streets of the French Quarter. It was nice to be out in the open and not have to worry about hiding or taking back alleyways to avoid the eyes of people she wouldn't want to see her. If it was any other circumstance, Sophie was be thrilled to be out in the open, but she had slept like hell, having a dream of the night Kol was daggered. She hated that he was having such an effect on her. Sophie had to assure herself that she wasn't getting her humanity back and that Kol meant nothing. She had to continue telling herself over and over in order to try and believe it. She needed to just stay away from him and all thoughts of him for at least a few days.

---

Klaus had talked it over with Kol and Elijah this morning. They were going to be just as conniving as Sophie and Marie were being. Klaus was going to try and get under Marie's skin by taking her to all the places they used to go when they were together. Kol was to continue to try and anger Sophie to get more under her skin, and when she was on the breaking point of having her humanity back, Klaus was going to dagger Kol in front of Sophie. Klaus hoped to get Marie close to her breaking point too, and then he was going to go after someone he cared about to bring back her humanity. This was the only way. Klaus knew it and so did his siblings.

Kol had agreed to the plan to dagger him without hesitation. For now, he’d have to set off in search of Sophie to continue to push her anger, pry it out if he had to. He was sure this would end with Sophie resenting him at first, but at least she’d have her humanity back and that meant he might be able to gain her favor again. Of course, he wasn’t entirely fond of Klaus’s idea to go after somebody Marie cared about, because that left only Sophie - Marcel, as they all knew, had vials of his brother’s blood, after all. He didn’t want Sophie in harm’s way, but he hoped that Klaus would save her even if his plan didn’t work. Looking ahead, Kol walked and focused on finding Sophie for now. When he spotted her, he was quick to move over. “Wandering the streets now, love?” he questioned, “Must be enjoyable, getting to roam freely.”

---

Marie sat outside a small coffee shop, watching people as they passed by, scanning them, listening to their conversations. Closing her eyes, she focused while she tapped at her coffee cup, thinking for a moment. She could attack any of these people and leave them dead in the street for anybody to see, just to cause trouble. The thought appeased to her and she eventually stood, opening her eyes when she decided on a victim and she smirked when she caught his eye. Leading him to an alley, it didn’t take much to keep his attention and she drained him before she tossed him into the street and dashed off, wiping the blood from her lips with a smirk once she was far enough away.

@ momentai.
Sophie was so deep in thought, she hasn't heard Kol come up next to her before he spoke. She looked over and rolled her eyes at him, "Yes it's quite enjoyable. I was enjoying it very much before you came over." She stated, keeping her tone normal. She didn't want to give him any advantage he might take at getting under her skin. Sophie was more than willing to act cold toward him if it meant he would leave her be and she could think in peace. Of course, Kol was on a mission, Sophie knew that deep down, and she knew how stubborn he was and how he wouldn't just give in because she gave him one insult.

---

Klaus wandered out of the compound in hopes to find Marie. Klaus heard a scream rip through the quarter before he used his speed to go over to where it came from. He could see a body laying on the ground with his neck practically ripped to shreds. Klaus knew this was Marie. She was using her new found freedom to start causing chaos in his streets. He wasn't going to let that happen so easily. Klaus looked down the street, spotting Marie's retreating figure and he sped over to her, walking at her side, "There were many better ways you could have gotten my attention, love." He said with a smirk.

Kol arched a brow in response, allowing himself to look mildly amused. “Is that so?” he questioned, “Well, then, I suppose I might as well stick around. If you’re going to keep your humanity off, I think it’d be a very bright idea to stick close to ensure you don’t get yourself killed.” He shrugged easily, turning his attention ahead. “Oh, there’s something that we can talk about. With your humanity off, do you even care whether you live or die? Because, I care, love. And I’m not going to lose you because you don’t give a damn about staying alive.”

---

Marie offered a quiet hum in response, peering over at him with a small smirk of her own. “Oh, Klaus, this outfit was to get your attention,” she chimed easily, because, as a human or with her humanity on, there was no way she’d wear something like this. “That,” she motioned behind her with a wave of her hand, “Was simply for fun. And, either way, I think it was a great way to play.” She winked, her smirk broadening as she turned her attention ahead. “Having you on your toes feels so… empowering. It’s a great way to relieve the boredom.”

@ momentai.
Sophie rolled her eyes, "Of course I would rather stay alive. I'm not so stupid to go just get myself killed. I've been hiding in the shadows for years, but that doesn't mean that as soon as I've got the freedom to do as I please that I'm going to do something stupid enough to get myself killed." She replied before he started speaking about her humanity, "It's nice that you care, Kol. It's nice to care about things that matter to you. It's what makes you weak. Which is why I don't. So please, keep caring, because the more you care, the weaker you are, and the more power I get." She spoke as they walked. Sophie wasn't going to let him have the upper hand this time.

---

Klaus raised his eyebrows at her words before he gave her a quick once over, "Well I must say, I do like the look." He replied with a smirk before it turned into a frown, "I don't like the bodies being laid around my city." He added, "If you're bored, love, I could think of a few ways I can help you pass the time." He said with a small smile playing on his lips. Klaus didn't mind flirting with her, because he knew it wouldn't effect her, but if he got to keep her around, he could take her to their old favorite places and hopefully get some of her humanity to show itself.

Kol snorted quietly with the mention of it, shaking his head slightly as he followed her. “I don’t think it makes me weak at all,” he said easily, “In fact, I think the fact that your humanity is off is what makes you weak. Your judgment is clouded by how you’re forcing yourself to not care.” He shrugged slightly and peered over at her for a moment as they walked. “After all, you seem to forget that my siblings and I can’t really be killed. You, however, can. So can your friends. If you care about your life at all or your friends lives, perhaps going against my family isn’t the smartest choice. Ah, but, your judgment is clouded because of your lack of humanity. You think you’re calculating when, really, you’re just so focused on keeping your humanity at bay that you’re not really seeing the big picture.”

---

Marie peered over at him, her smirk growing as she arched a brow. “You like the look and yet you refuse to just let me be how I am. We both know that, if my humanity came back, this outfit would be tossed out. What fun would that be?” she asked, pausing in her steps to turn to him, placing her hand on his chest and sliding it up as she arched a brow. “Perhaps you would like this version of me if you weren’t so obsessed with the human you abandoned.” Lifting her shoulders in a shrug, she went back to walking, dropping her hand back to her side. “And, last I checked, I don’t really care whether you like the bodies laid in your city or not. So, unless you have something truly interesting to pass the time, I suggest you leave me alone so that I can go back to doing what I do best.”

@ momentai.
Sophie could tell what he was trying to do, and once again he managed to get under her skin in the tiniest bit. She scoffed at his words, "That's all I ever hear about the original family. They can't be killed. I happen to know that's a lie. You and your siblings can be killed. We just have to find the right weapon to do it with. Until then, Klaus is the one who can have no harm done to him, but as I recall there is a certain pointy object that happens to enjoy the company of you and your siblings quite well. Now that may not be killing you, but it's sure as hell a great plan B." Sophie replied as she raised an eyebrow at him, "I don't need to keep my humanity at bay, Kol. It's gone. It's not coming back. I'm not weak. I'm strong."

---

Klaus shook his head, "I won't because this is not who you are. This is the worst version of yourself that you're letting play out because I hurt your feelings by leaving you. You know damn well I didn't have a choice and you wouldn't have left Sophie or Marcel, so there was only one option and now you're throwing a temper tantrum because of it." Klaus scolded. When she spoke about having something interesting to pass the time, he grinned, "As a matter of fact, I have just the thing to relieve you of your bordem." He said, "Let's take a walk down memory lane."

Kol watched her idly. “Oh? Who’s going to dagger me, then, love? You?” he asked, tilting his head. “Then that would make you no better than Nik, don’t you think? And while you rant of everything that happened back then, I can’t quite imagine you turning into him.” He lifted his shoulders gently. “But, go ahead, prove me wrong. Dagger me. Or don’t and then deal with your friends realizing that you’re of no use to them anymore. After all, you and your friends are behind everything, yes? Imagine how they’d react if you bail on a plan, love.”

---

“You abandoned me. You didn’t give me a choice. You just left,” Marie corrected as she stared at him, “Without a word. So, no, Klaus, this isn’t a temper tantrum. This is what happens when you abandon somebody that you claimed to love. This is what you turned me into, so maybe you should admire your handiwork.” Her face fell, though, at the mention of memory lane, and her eyes narrowed at him as she scowled, rolling her eyes. “What on Earth makes you think I’d go anywhere near any of those memories?”

@ momentai.
Sophie rolled her eyes at Kol's words, "It wouldn't make me Klaus, Kol. Unlike your brother, I wouldn't do it to put you in a time out. He usually pulls the dagger out after he feels like you've had enough time to realize your mistake. I wouldn't pull it out." She stated with a shrug, "Our plan is to beat your family. If I dagger you, we would have one of you beat. Though I don't think you would want me to dagger especially since you care. I know all about those daggers and what happens if a vampire is the one to use them. If I dagger you, I die. I've already told you I don't want to die just yet."

---

Klaus sighed at her words, "I didn't abandon you, Marie. I didn't want you to be pulled into a life of constant running. You didn't deserve that. I didn't want you to have to leave Sophie. I was trying to protect you." Klaus said and huffed. He hated the thought that she felt like he abandoned her. All he wanted to do was protect her from Mikael. He knew at the time, fleeing wasn't the best thing to do to protect her from Mikael, but it needed to be done, "If you really don't care then the memories won't phase you. Humor me."

Kol arched a brow before he shrugged gently. “I’m almost certain you wouldn’t be able to get the dagger, anyways, because Nik has it. And, if you’re as determined to live as you say you are, you wouldn’t risk going after it,” he said simply, “Love, just how far would you go to beat my family, hm? You clearly won’t risk your life. What about your friends’ lives?” He arched a brow, moving to stand in front of her to block her way. “Or, better yet, would your friends risk your life to beat my family? Marcel is obsessed with regaining New Orleans. He’s led his friends to their slaughter already - now, from what I seem to understand, that was yours and Marie’s choice, yes? How willing was Marcel to play along with that? And, if Marie was willing to sacrifice all of those people, who’s to say she wouldn’t sacrifice you? Or what about you?” To get her angry, he'd pull out all the stops.

---

“I didn’t need your protection, Klaus. You show so much disdain towards this version of me, but it was your ridiculous attempt at protection that caused this to happen,” Marie pointed out as she watched him, tilting her head. Hearing his later words, she snorted quietly and rolled her eyes. “This is another attempt at convincing me to turn on my humanity, isn’t it? Taking me to those places, trying to affect me with memories - it’s not going to change anything. As I said before, you should really just give up. Move on, Klaus. You and your refusal to give up are making me nauseous and ruining my fun.”

@ momentai.
Sophie listened as Kol spoke, and she could feel her blood start to boil at his words. She stopped walking, grabbing him by his throat and used her speed to slam him onto one of the walls in the alleyway next to them, "First of all, how dare you, Kol Mikaelson." She stated as she dug her nails into his neck, "Marie and Marcel would never do anything to hurt me." She seethed at him, "Second of all, unlike you, they care about me. They are my family. Unlike your family, we do not hurt each other and we do not sell each other out." She dug her nails in a bit more, causing skin to break and some blood to spill, "Do not talk to me about things you know nothing about. It is because of you that I am like this, and you acting like you care about my well being is quite pathetic." She let go of his throat and glared at him, "You and your family cost me my human life, I won't let you cost me my eternal one. My. Humanity. Stays. Off."

---

Klaus shook his head, "Love, I'm not trying to get you to turn back on your humanity. You're too far gone. This is simply to help me 'move on' as you said. I believe it's called closure." He said with a shrug, "I know now that I cannot convince you to turn back on your humanity. It's not worth it. If you turn it back on you'll be an emotional mess and I just don't have the patience to deal with it." Klaus's words were all for show. He knew that Marie was far more gone than Sophie was, and he knew he had to simply beat her at her own game in order to get her to turn her humanity back on. Klaus had always been good at playing the villain and that's exactly what he planned on doing. If he couldn't go the emotional way, he was going to have to go the cold way.

Kol coughed when she released her hold on him and he rubbed at his neck as he watched her. “If you truly believed that, love, you wouldn’t get so angry about it so easily,” he pointed out casually before he drew closer to her, watching her as his eyes locked onto hers and he was mere centimeters away from her. “This isn’t me acting like I care about your wellbeing, Sophie. I do care.” His eyes looked her over, taking her in, and he tilted his head slightly. “And, by the way, love, that anger you feel? That’s your humanity peeking out.” He smirked gently, then. “Because anger is an emotion. If you can feel anger, imagine what else you can feel.”

---

Marie offered a small grin in response as she watched him and she laughed. “You know, maybe you’d be a little more believable if you hadn’t said just last night that you won’t accept this,” she chimed before she folded her hands behind her back and proceeded to walk. “But, fine, Klaus. I’ll play your game. Maybe this is exactly what you need to actually give up and move on and let go. Oh, I have an idea. How about I burn down every single place you take me to? We could feed while watching the flames. Or I could feed while watching the flames and you can be judgy and annoying.”

@ momentai.
Sophie could only feel her blood boil more at his last words, not even thinking about how close the two were, "That's not my humanity doing anything. I'm angry because you claim to know so much about me, but you know nothing. You know nothing about me. You know nothing about my friends. You know nothing, Kol Mikaelson." She growled at her before she poked at him with her nail, backing him up. She was raging by now and there was no stopping her, "You sit here and talk all about how I'm at my worst with my humanity off, but you have no claim to innocence. You and your family are some of the most brutal people I have ever met in my life. Elijah, though he stakes his claim that he is the noble one, he has one of the darkest sides of anybody I've ever met. Rebeckah, though she just wants a normal life will kill someone because they looked at her wrong. Klaus, the hybrid who craves power and kills when he doesn't get it. At least he starts to feel guilt once he's daggered one of you for enough time." She narrowed her eyes before she finished her sentence, "And you. You're the worst of them all. You kill simply because you like it. You don't feel guilt over it. You're not better than I."

---

Klaus sighed at her words, but didn't touch on them before she spoke again, "Bloody hell is that all you do now? Just feed and cause destruction? If you start burning buildings, you're destroying the city that you help rebuild. Can't you think of anything that is more fun to do?" He questioned as they walked down the street. He planned on taking her to the bakery he took her in 1918 when he first kissed her, "Look, love. After having a long talk with my siblings, I have come to the decision that it's better for me to not worry about trying to get you to flip your switch. It's off, and I know you're not flipping it back on any time soon. Though, I'm not particularly fond of this new you, I'm going to have to learn to deal with it." Klaus stated with a frown, "This isn't a trick to try and get you to relive memories, this is me just taking a trip. I'm done trying to get you to go back to who you were. Who you were died when your human self died, love."

“Oh, love, anger can be a powerful emotion,” Kol said with a small smirk as he watched her, “And that is your humanity. Because, if you didn’t care about anything at all, you wouldn’t be so angry.” Taking her in, he eventually offered up a small shrug, his eyes locking on hers. “I never claimed that my siblings and I were innocent, Sophie. But, you were innocent. You were good and you brought that good out in me. How you are now? I refuse to believe that you’ll have your humanity off forever, because I know you. I know, eventually, you’ll let it flip without meaning to. And then you’ll be broken by the guilt of everything you’ve done and I will be right here to pick up the pieces.”

---

“Until you get out of New Orleans, yes, this is all I do now, because I will do absolutely whatever it takes to cause trouble so that you have no choice but to leave,” Marie told him as she looked over at him, shrugging slightly. “And I would burn this city a thousand times over if it meant driving you out, Klaus. Because, quite frankly, I don’t want you here. None of us do.” She listened to him talk idly, casting her attention ahead. She didn’t buy his words for a second, not with everything that had happened. And definitely not with who Klaus was, the man who never gave up, because he was too damn stubborn for his own good. “Fine. I’ll bite. Pun intended.”

@ momentai.
Sophie gave him a bored expression at his words, "Do you think I need you there to pick up the pieces, should that day ever come about, which it won't." Sophie stepped away from him and shook her head, "I don't know why you aren't getting it. I don't need you anymore, Kol. I'm not the pathetic human you once knew. I can take care of myself." She stated. Her anger had started to subside, but she needed to make space between the two. She needed room to breathe. He was suffocating her and it was making her angry, which is exactly what he wanted, but she couldn't stop it.

---

Klaus raised his eyebrows at her words. He had to fight the hurt he felt from them, knowing that she was only saying that because her humanity was off. This wasn't the Marie that he knew before. She was gone for the moment and he had to remember that while he fought to get the old Marie back. When she stated she would go down memory lane with him, he smirked and nodded before he opened the door to the bakery before letting her step inside first, "This place always had the best smells."

Kol listened to her quietly, watching her, before he scowled slightly and shook his head. “If that was what you really believed, that you were pathetic as a human, you wouldn’t have turned off your humanity,” he told her, “Because that humanity reminds you of being human. It reminds you of feeling and enjoying life and being happy. But, now? You think this is better, but it’s not. This version of you will never be better, because this version of you feels nothing. Or, at least, that’s what you like to pretend, since we both know you can feel anger so far.”

---

Marie stared into the bakery for a few moments, frowning slightly to herself. Peering over at Klaus, she watched him for a moment before she shifted, brushing past him to go inside, though she couldn’t help but to go straight to the counter to order something for herself. She hadn’t been there since she’d been turned and she missed her favorite snack, so she was quick to order a slice of lemon icebox pie. While she waited, she tapped on the glass counter, pointedly doing everything she could to pretend Klaus wasn’t there. They were old habits, even if she didn’t want to admit to them.