Coming and Going || Elena & Alaric
venandi:
Alaric was on edge. He couldn’t tell you what was setting him off… just that it was something. The day was grating on him, too many calls, too many meetings, too many people waiting for him to do shit for them. It wasn’t just his job, Alaric was feeling the pressure from every angle possible and the mountain of paperwork he was currently staring down had the hunter feeling the not so sudden urge to s c r e a m.
Thick fingers found his light brown hair, tugging at tufts as if pulling hard enough would just pull the responsibility and heavy load straight out of his head and he wouldn’t have to face it any more. It was the soft sound of light footsteps and a gentle rap at the door that alerted him to the presence of another. Certainly not Braeden, who’d just shove her way in here making her presence known before he’d even have a chance to lift his brows… and the bloody receptionist was at lunch. Alaric opened his mouth to protest the intruder when he realized who it was- and suddenly, his mood shifted. “Elena” He greeted the young woman with a weary yet warm smile, motioning towards the chair opposite him. “What brings you here on this fine afternoon?”
Elena wished she knew what to do. How to cope with all of this, the change, the stress, the... horror, quite frankly. She closed her eyes, she saw her parents. She opened them, she saw Katherine Pierce staring back at her. Caroline... if she’d never dragged her friends here would she still be alright? Not that... she wasn’t alright, it was just... everything was wildly different and terrifying.
When she opened the door to his office after giving a slight knock, the first thing she noticed was that he looked... tired? Stressed? Elena couldn’t entirely put a name to it but she saw it on his face. Elena was perceptive. “Hey..” She offered him a light smile, though she did feel a little... off, still. She couldn’t put her finger on it. “I was just wondering... do you have time to talk?” Elena didn’t want to barge in if he was busy and especially now that she thought he looked a little strained or something. She moved to sit down in the chair he gestured to anyway, slipping her bag from her shoulder and to the floor. “If you’re busy, it’s fine, I just...” A shrug.



















