The Hybrid had been waiting, praying for his daughter’s heritage to save her from death. Carrying her body back to the compound, finding it abandoned, delivering her from the cruel, dark streets to their home, he’d had nothing other than hope to keep him from the turbulence of his vengeful thoughts. It could’ve been minutes, or maybe hours, he wasn’t one to be highly sensitive to the passing of time, but Hope was sitting up, breathing, and even if she smelt of the cold death of person in between humanity and vampirism, he could only see her as alive.
The panic he’d felt once subsided to overwhelming relief, enough to wrench a sigh from him. He squeezed back, sharp cerulean eyes meeting her similarly coloured hues. Niklaus wasn’t sure what to say, wasn’t sure how much she knew, remembered.
“You’re in transition,” he said, quietly, and was surprised at how stable his voice sounded. She’d need to feed if she wanted to survive, and a chilly ripple of guilt possessed him. The hunger was no pleasant cross to bear.
He looked her over, slowly. She was okay, he wanted to embrace her and tell her this, but the only reason she had ever been not okay was his fault. He kept his distance, but didn’t release her hand. He could lie and say he had no part in her demise, but that would only backfire drastically if she knew.
“Are you in pain?” he sounded strained, but it was really that he had no idea how this was supposed to work, would it be like normal? Or would she not even truly survive the cross over into immortality?