Interrupted Solitude

[lu]

Lu had adapted to Aldeon with his usual speed. Within a matter of days he'd taken stock of the political situation, gotten a good idea of the layout of the land, worked out how much of his magic worked here, and gotten a job working as a builder. While not his ideal job, there wasn't going to be a shortage of work any time soon, what with all the new arrivals and all, and it was a change from what he'd been doing in the past.

Actually, building was a pretty good job for Lu. He'd acquired a lot of skills in his five millennia of life, from mathematics to more hands on skills, and he was starting out on the bottom of the ladder, so he always had someone to tell him what to do. This allowed him to turn his mind off for the most part, and let time flow around him.

However, despite his success in finding a job, Lu hadn't had much luck finding affordable accommodation. The kingdom was doing it's best to shelter all the newcomers, and many had had their residences brought along with them by whatever weird magic Rumpelstiltskin - the man allegedly responsible for their current predicament - had worked, but there were still many who were homeless. The end result was that the little accommodation available was priced quite highly.

Lu had solved this problem quite well. Instead of living in the city, he'd found himself a nice place in the forest where he could hide his few belongings and then turn into a wolf for the night. This was another advantage, as it meant that Lu didn't need to pay for any food, since his lunch was provided by his employers and he could hunt for breakfast and tea as a wolf.

Of course, there had been the small matter of an existing pack whose area he had chosen, but they had soon learned what happened when you attacked a five thousand year old werewolf with supernatural healing abilities and the area had been cleared of wolves entirely.

The final thing about living in a forest that appealed to Lu was that it was peaceful. Humans were fine to be around, smelly and noisy though they may be, but Lu wasn't really someone who wanted to be around them all the time. He needed some time for himself, something he hadn't had for a long time, and being outdoors mad his moments of solitude even sweeter.

Sitting in his little clearing with his back to a tree, Lu closed his eyes and smiled. It was strange to be as free as he now was, but it was a good kind of strange. It made him happy.

[Klaus Mikaelson]

Klaus had been exploring the woods all morning, familiarizing himself with the land. This was his hunting territory now and he needed to know every inch of it. More than that, he was looking for something - or rather someone. He knew there was a werewolf in the area. He could smell it everywhere, and the scent was different from that of the regular wolves. Klaus needed to find this wolf. His whole plan depended on it.

Back in his own world, Klaus had an army. Dozens of werewolves whom he'd bitten, turning them into hybrids like himself. Every single one of them devoted to him. He longed to have that again here, where he was so lonely without his siblings. Of course, he couldn't go through with the entire thing just yet. He'd need to wait until he found Elena, to get her blood. Still, he could be using his time to track down werewolves or vampires to turn and convince them to join him.

He strutted into the clearing silently, watching his target from behind with a grin on his face. He was confident in his powers of manipulation, even though this man was older than he was used to. Klaus usually targeted college students, but this was the first werewolf he'd come across in this new world and he couldn't afford to be picky. With his superhuman agility, he found himself standing in front of the man in the blink of an eye.

"Beautiful day, isn't it?" he began, continuing to grin in an effort to look friendly. "My name is Klaus, and I'd like your help with a little project."

[lu]

Lu heard the creature before he smelled it. It was quite, he'd give it that, but he had very good hearing a lot of experience at listening for the smallest of sounds. It was just as well that the creature had approached from downwind of Lu, because if he'd smelled it before it got as close as it did, he'd have bolted. The creature, whoever it was, smelled of werewolf and vampire, and that was never a good combination of smells.

With speed and agility that Lu didn't have, the creature moved into the clearing and stood in front of Lu. opening his eyes, Lu could see that the creature looked practically human and was smiling. The wolf within him took offence at the display of teeth, and Lu was rattled enough by the smell of the creature that the wolf almost broke free. His body tensed up for the briefest of moments, adrenaline coursed through his veins and his breathing increased. And then, almost as quickly as the fight or flight response had begun, it was gone as Lu regained control of his mind and body, presenting a non-threatening front.

"Beautiful day, isn't it? My name is Klaus, and I'd like your help with a little project."

Lu, deliberately avoiding looking directly into Klaus' eyes to avoid seeming as though he was challenging the man, nodded politely in Klaus' direction, although he remained seated to ensure he was shorter than Klaus. He wasn't entirely sure if the normal strategies for dealing with werewolves would apply to this strange smelling newcomer, or if they even held true in this new world, but, in his experience, it was better to come off as slightly impolite than as dominant.

Politely, with absolutely no trace of his fears and suspicions about Klaus, Lu replied:

"What project would it be, sir?"

[Klaus Mikaelson]

Klaus immediately liked this man. He called him 'sir' and didn't seem wary or frightened of Klaus at all. The hybrid wondered if age had something to do with it. The young ones were always so jumpy and defensive. He crouched down so he and the werewolf were on the same eye level. He liked looking into a person's eyes when he talked to them. It was usually necessary when compelling someone to do his bidding, but from his experience werewolves couldn't be compelled by mind-controlling vampires, so Klaus reminded himself to be extra-charming when talking to the stranger.

"One that will benefit you greatly. Surely you've noticed by now that this town - like so many others - is unfriendly toward our kind," here Klaus winked at the man, a grin still in place. "I've come across something that will put an end to such discrimination, but I cannot use it without some help. Are you interested?"

He knew he was winning the man over. It was common in Klaus' world for werewolves to be looked at as mindless drones. That was, in fact, how he viewed them himself. He saw no reason why any of them would not want to be rid of the curse of the full moon, and so he played on that desire constantly. He would promise this man a cure, and like all good dogs, the man would do as he was told to get his treat.

[lu]

Klaus crouched down to Lu's eye level, and began to turn on the charm, which made Lu instantly wary. True, Klaus getting down to Lu's eye level had calmed the wolf, but the charm oozing from every pore of the man's body reminded Lu all too much of other men he'd served over the years. They'd always seemed so nice and charming that they appeared harmless. And then, they stabbed you in the back or became angry that you'd delivered a message they didn't like and hung you out for the ravens to gnaw on for a few weeks. Being a good diplomat, however, Lu kept his suspicions hidden and his body language exactly the same.

"One that will benefit you greatly. Surely you've noticed by now that this town - like so many others - is unfriendly toward our kind,"

Lu's mouth gave the barest of twitches at that last comment. "Our kind"? Klaus must have thought Lu's nose was blocked. The man wasn't anything like Lu, except for the fact that he wasn't human. Well, and that he seemed to be part werewolf, but Lu still didn't quite believe that to be possible. He'd seen many things in his day, and an annoyingly large number had been failed werewolf-vampire hybridisation attempts. Those always hurt the most.

"I've come across something that will put an end to such discrimination, but I cannot use it without some help. Are you interested?"

Ah, the typical "I have a cure" ploy. Lu'd heard of a few of these before, and he'd even been the one spouting those words on many occasions. There might well be a cure involved, but rarely was it intended for the werewolf being recruited. Still, the way the man talked about the cure, as if he believed there was one, did get a little head tilt and contemplative silence out of Lu. Then, after a few moments of thoughtful silence, Lu replied.

"I've not noticed much discrimination, good sir. The one misunderstanding I've had with monster hunters here was quickly resolved in my favour."

That was true enough. The Winchester brothers had eventually let him go with his life and he hadn't had to resort to using magic to fight them, tipping his hand. Of course, Lu would never openly admit to being a werewolf because of the prejudice Klaus was talking about. Few people were truly compassionate and understanding towards werewolves, and usually for good reason.

That said, Lu knew Klaus' type and thought that hiding was better than going with him. This was a free country, after all, and Lu didn't need to serve a master in order to live a relatively painless existance, after all. It was perhaps time to give Klaus a little bit of a wake up call.

"What, might I ask, is this cure exactly? I know of many attempts and many failures, but no successes."