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[ amongst the many and varied conversations of the network regarding this interesting and suspicious turn of events and ensuing chaos, klaus has been quite thorough in taking it all in.

thorough enough to have found a particular exchange regarding a group of beloved and missed drawings that were taken from him some time ago.

klaus waits. he waits until later in the afternoon, torn between his cautiousness and preoccupations involving wonderland, and in reaching out to an unknown entity with vulnerability at all. (he knows who she is. what little he's gleaned has been from a message or two on the network.)

he calls, pacing down the hall to nowhere, abound with energy much like everyone else. ] I believe you have something that belongs to me. [ a moment and he adds, more softly, ] Drawings.

Hello? [ She picks up, and he explains... and she glances to the drawings, which are carefully laid out on the dresser. She's looked them over a dozen times, squinting, trying to take in their details. ] Oh... yeah, no problem! I can bring them over. Where're you?

[ She has no idea who this is, and she doesn't invite people to her room anymore. So, with the phone tucked under her ear, she gingerly gathers up the papers and heads out into the hall. ]

( personally he hopes his daughter will not be quite so trusting as to meet a veritable stranger anywhere, but klaus doesn't argue with the quick response, despite his pause, rife with parental instinct, at it. he looks around at the nondescript hallway. ) I'm - ( where's a suitable place? ) I'll be in the entrance hall.

( then because he is meeting a child and he would like to practice some personable nature and transparency: ) Ellie, is it? I'm Klaus.

Nice to meet you, sort of. [ They haven't met yet, after all. Ellie does have a pistol in her back pocket and her switchblade always on her person, but, as she's learned, weapons that can protect her against hunters and Infected in her world aren't always useful in Wonderland. If this guy meant her any harm, he'd have a number of advantages.

Still, she doesn't think someone who was trying to lure her somewhere would ask about the pictures, right? It doesn't make a whole lot of sense that they'd be his... and so, it seems more realistic, somehow. ]

Am I safe in guessing you didn't draw these?

( ah, if only he knew of her arsenal. he'd commend at least that much. he has always been a paranoid beast; he knows there are things in this world and any other weapons cannot defend against, but the wherewithal to confront that truth and the fight to try regardless has always been admirable to klaus.

he turns to the stairs to make his way down. )

As is it nice for me. ( and it is, considering this is the end to possessions he treasures.

he pauses at the question. not out of hesitation necessarily, but out of feeling. ) No. I didn't. They are my daughter's.

Oh. [ Should she ask if his daughter is here with them? Probably not. A lot of people came along without their families. ... A lot of people's families aren't around even back in their own homes. Ellie chews on her lip as she heads to the entrance hall, hoping his daughter is safe, if not in Wonderland. ] Gotcha.

[ Better to keep private stuff private, right? ]

Well, I've got 'em here, so...

[ And they're safe, in the same condition she'd gotten them in, since she'd taken care to preserve them until she figured out what they were for. The mysterious note, though, she's kept for herself, stuffed into her pocket. Maybe she'll ask if he knows about that, too... ]

I'm almost there.

I'm here now. ( the response comes in the stead of any other: he agrees it's better to keep the private as is. nor does he desire to consider how he would communicate such a thing to an unknown young girl or burden her with the same.

basically klaus mikaelson is a horrible sharer and deals with the ensuing awkwardness by not acknowledging it at all.

but he is grateful. this he will struggle to communicate, but communicate regardless. )

[ Ellie walks in and catches sight of... well, the only other person in the room. Approaching, she holds up the drawings for him to take, offering a sort of half-smile. ]

Here. That should be all of 'em. ... I mean, it's all the ones I got, anyway.

[ Minus the note. ]

( his anxiety and anticipation reach a new height as she approaches, his eyes rounded and hopeful, on ellie but a split moment before they rest and stay on the drawings she offers. he takes them, hearing but not truly processing to what she says, his whole attention focused on what's in his hands.

he flips through them as if to reassure himself they are all here; they are all real.

they are the only piece of his daughter, the only evidence he's ever had, that she is alive. that she's well. that she is living. after a moment, he tempers himself. looks up. ) Thank you, ( the words are sincere and full. they are heartfelt. )

No problem. [ Ellie replies easily, rocking on her heels. ] I'm just glad they could, um... find their way back.

[ She hadn't had any of her own stuff stolen, but imagines that something that personal would be difficult to lose, and wonderful to have back in your possession. ]

Maybe lock 'em up next time so the Mirrors can't get into it. [ She advises lightly, though she's also sure he'll guard them very closely from now on without her say-so. ] They're total assholes.

( he will guard them closely now. her suggestion is not taken lightly: he's troubled considering where they made their way back from at all, who took them, and of course, who returned them all.

klaus lets his gaze rest in the space off to the side as those waves of feeling rush over him, but he does his best to weather and mask them. perhaps it's the way she rocks on her heels followed by her blunt summation of their counterparts, but he cannot help the small smile that cracks his face.

he looks up to her again. ) That they are. ( heartily agreed. after a short pause, he cannot help but wonder, but ask, seeing and hearing all he's heard of notes. ) Did it come with the note?

Yeah. You mean the RQ one? [ Ellie shrugs, then produces the note from her pocket (though she doesn't yet hand it over). ] No idea what this is about.

[ She wrinkles her nose, re-reading it, and then glances back up at Klaus. ]

Is this-... Does it go with the drawings? D'you want it?

[ It isn't as if she's particularly attached, but... ]

I believe that's the point: the not knowing. ( whatever ploy was intended, it's had its desired effect. klaus considers the note in her hand, and her as well: he wonders if it would be safer for her for him to take it. ) They've appeared with many if not all the return of our valuables, from what I've observed.

( he supposes taking the note would not make a difference; clearly whoever 'rq' is, they know where to find her. they know how and where to find them all. ) May I see it?

Well, somebody should be able to figure it out, right? We've got some geniuses around here.

[ Or so they say... ]

Sure. [ She hands it over after he asks, rising to her tip-toes and falling again. ] Any ideas?

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audio. this is late 😬

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audio. ♥️

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