in the aftermath of the attack on the academy, ben is exhausted. it takes much more effort to keep the rumbling monsters in their place, in the heat of battle, than he ever would have expected. but that was two days ago. it had taken him a while -- longer than it should have ( longer than he liked ) -- to notice his brother’s absence. but he hadn’t been worried, not initially. not until a nagging in the back of his mind had him rushing into klaus’ room, only to find it empty, but for the abandoned headphones still blaring their music. luther and diego had been useless. more preoccupied with looking for five when ben had brought up his concerns, brushing him off. and it was a stroke of luck when he ran into diego’s cop friend, tagging after her like a lost puppy until she agreed to take him along to a dingy motel on a hunch. now, almost sixteen hours after saving klaus only to watch him disappear from his bus seat before his eyes, ben wound his way through the academy halls. maybe he could rope allison into helping him search, rather than wandering the city for another half a day on his own. it takes him longer than it should to notice the bloody footprints leading from the bathroom to klaus’ bedroom. but he’s bursting through the door once he does, shouting, ❝ jesus christ, klaus !! where the hell have you been? ❞ // @fourthmedium !!