More from Familiar faces, this was meant to be Kol’s pov of the new human Elijah and his terrible tastes in people, instead Finn’s thoughts in the aftermath of his first waking from the box and a brief appearance of little Marcellus claimed Day 26.
Finn had been awake for a few days mostly being avoided by his sibling-remaining siblings, while he relearnt the world, the language he had picked up from the waking nightmare of the box at least but the courtesy and manners had changed so much over his lost centuries.
Rebekah was at least trying to help him settle into the new world he woke into.
He wanted to rage that the lost but his rage had failed as he had seen the look Klaus’s eyes, a yawning grief had hit him when Klaus had explained, when he had looked in the other coffin, Elijah’s still empty body, no dagger to keep him down there was no need for it after all.
He hadn’t expected the hug from Rebekah when she came home to find him, he was never one of her preferred brothers. Still he held her back as she clung to him and ignored that fact he knew she wanted someone else.
It was fair since he had always wished for someone else.
She had insisted on getting him ready for the current era and Finn let himself be dragged away. He had listened to her quick review on everything that had happened since he was first daggered, leaving out much of the centuries directly after their attack by the Five.
Seven centuries, did he even know Elijah after all those years, even as he let Rebekah pick his clothes he watched her to see how much she had changed and did the same with Klaus from a distance.
They hadn’t changed as much as he thought, he found, they were clearly mired in grief, what had happened to Elijah was the closest thing to true death that could harm them besides Father and his weapon. It was sudden, unexpected and had hit them as hard as Henrik’s had eight centuries before.
Still he wanted to see what he had missed from Elijah’s life, Kol was daggered but could be revived with ease, just as soon as Klaus allowed it but Elijah was lost until they managed to find his human life and bring together with the other shard of his soul to return them to his body and complete it.
Klaus had had witches try to find it using his body to no luck so it was likely to take them years if not lifetimes to find wherever their brother had been reborn. So Finn had decided to find a sign of what Elijah had been like before this a had happened by looking through the house he had lived, the place that had become a home.
He avoided the Elijah’s bedroom ever since Klaus had moved the coffin there and the room he was told was Elijah’s office was locked he was planning to ask Klaus for the key later but had chosen to try the rest of the house, there was a library but for all Finn had learned English from his time in the box his ability to read had not been helped.
He opened a door to find a collection of instruments and what he assumed were music books when a young voice called out to him.
“You can’t go in there.” he turned around and then was forced to look down, the child Klaus was raising stared back, the boy Klaus had daggered their youngest brother to protect.
That one was of the few conversations Klaus had decided to have with him since he had undaggered him.
“Why not?” he asked raising an eyebrow, the boy was fearless considering he must know what Finn was and it hadn’t been a year since Kol had apparently terrorised him
“It’s Mr. Elijah’s.” The answer was clear but so was the pain in the child’s voice, Finn was torn between looking in the room and questioning the child more. He had wondered about the child, taking in and raising a child seemed more something Elijah would do, since he had already been becoming a father to Tatia’s son while the last Finn had known Klaus was still scarred by the discovery that he was not Mikael’s blood.
“I’m sorry, I didn't get your name?” he asks the child, he could look into the room later, the child was here now.
“Marcellus,” the boy offered his hand to him, “Klaus gave it to me.” he added proudly.
Finn took it and let the child drag it up and down, manners were more important to one brother than the other he thought.
“Were you close to Elijah?” he asked, not surprised as the boy teared up
“He was teaching me.” Marcellus admitted miserably.
“Before he was-” he paused, unsure how Klaus had explained the situation to a child, “before he fell ill.”
“Before your other brother arrived and his lady friend died.” the child corrected, “then he stopped, Klaus said he would start again after he moved on but-”
“He didn’t get a chance.” he finished.
Kol’s return had caused Klaus to worry about the boy but Rebekah had told him Kol was brought over here in the box so what had caused him to release Kol and how did it involve this woman Elijah had let himself get close too.
Finn was going to have to talk to Rebekah if someone was aware of the issues between them it had always been her, and as the only other one who has been awake she would know about the woman.
“Are you going to help them?” Marcellus asked, suddenly breaking him from his thoughts.
“Help them?” he parroted back
“Find Mr Elijah.” The child looked up at him with clear hope that had Finn aching, if the boy wasn’t turned it was likely they wouldn’t find Elijah until long after he died, even if Klaus did turn the boy, it could be centuries, how much would he remember the man and a half filled promise after that time.
Finn was saved from answering by a shout from below them.
“I’m here.” Marcel shouted, not even jumping as Klaus appeared behind him. “I found Mr. Finn going into Elijah’s music room.”
“What are you doing?” Klaus narrowed his eyes as he spoke.
“I wanted to get to know him.” he confessed his hand on the door letting Klaus know which him, he was talking about.
“Alright then,” his brother nodded once before turning hsi attention to the boy, “Marcel.” Finn ignored the strange feeling the sight caused as the boy hung on every word and Klaus was beaming at the child, he had never had much interest in children himself but he knew his siblings hadn’t felt the same. “ We'll get you set up with your workbooks and then I'll watch over Finn to make sure he doesn’t damage anything of Elijah.”
He watched them leave before he took a breath and entered the room.
Part of him is disappointed in himself for expecting the room to suddenly give him the version of his brother he lost, instead he stared at dozens of books he couldn’t read and a mixture of wood, strung and metal instruments he didn’t recognize.
“He knew how to play all of these?” he asked after a few minutes just staring at them all as he heard the floor crack behind him.
“He’s likely the reason half of these made it to New Orleans to begin with, it was a hobby of his, something to pass the time.” Klaus explained.
Elijah used to prefer dance, he remembered, when they were alive, Finn would stand at the side line or in a hidden corner with Sage and he’d alway be able to find Elijah in a crowd of dancers, be it their siblings or their neighbours, ignoring Father’s warning about getting too close to the wolves.
In the last years it was always with Tatia, or teaching her son to, his attention so focused on them that the rest of the world could have burned and he wouldn’t have cared, Finn had been happy that Elijah had found something like he had with Sage. That he could be a father without triggering her return.
That was meant to have been his brother’s future, instead it was centuries watching his siblings and a room full of instruments.
He supposes playing the music kept others away but still let his brother feel the rhythm.
Elijah had made friends easily, believed in the best of everyone and wore his heart on his sleeve. He didn’t see any problem with raising a child that wasn’t his, because blood had never concerned Elijah.
That was taken from him, Finn had noticed soon after they were changed, after he returned to learn Tatia was dead along with mother. Elijah was distant with everyone besides their family, he viewed all with suspicion.
In the Martel court Finn had watched during the balls they held, while Rebekah and Klaus danced, Elijah stayed away sitting on the sidelines, he stepped back from interested ladies and men, shutting them down politely but clearly.
He had expected Elijah to return himself as he grew used to the new hunger and learned control, instead the cool, polite but distant man had become all there was.
His brothers were more similar than they believe he thinks as he watches Klaus run a hand carefully across an open book, scribbles to Finn but notes half finished to Klaus, still waiting as if Elijah was just about to return to finish it.
Elijah and Kol had struggled with control over their new thirst the most out of their family but while Elijah fought for every piece of his control Kol revelled in it to ignore what he had lost.
Klaus and Elijah hid their weaknesses behind a front, Klaus’s rage and Elijah’s cool manners.
He doesn’t wonder if he and Elijah shared anything, that was long past and it would likely be a long time before he got a chance to find out again.
