Her house is walled in magic. Klaus sensed the barrier she had no doubt erected in the aftermath of Silas' visit. It circled the property like thorny, invisible vines. None could enter without her knowledge and permission. He put a palm to the unseen wall, tracing its contours with a smile. When his hand ventured further, the spell activated, rising and trembling in alarm. A window opened on the second floor and Bonnie Bennett appeared there, a strange Juliet.

Klaus had an inkling of the guise Silas had used to taunt her, but the manner of the taunting was a mystery.

She seemed to hesitate before shutting the window and disappearing inside, and for a moment his impatience spiked, thinking to assail the barrier, claw at her magic so she would get no rest until she came to her senses and allowed him inside. But she emerged from the front door and walked cautiously up the driveway.

"We need to talk, little witch."

She hugged her arms around the oversize sweatshirt covering her small frame and nodded. "Silas. He came to you too?"

"I would much prefer we discuss this indoors."

She shifted uneasily. "Caroline's coming over soon."

"Then we are wasting time," he gestured at the barrier again.

She bristled at his tone, making the wolf pace impatiently behind his eyes. This was no time for her accursed stubbornness.

"Come in then," she said, raising her chin.

With no little exasperation, Klaus strode through the magical barrier. Bonnie had designed it to reject ghosts and witches - both forms Silas would assume - but it was far from gentle on hybrids. He gritted his teeth as the sensation of steel thorns pierced him from head to toe. Like being impaled by a hundred small daggers. It was gone just as swiftly, and he stood before the Bennett witch. She was still wary, but evidently satisfied, her fingers digging into her elbows like her magic had dug into him. The phantom traces of it still lingered on his skin, dissipating slowly as he followed her inside.

He and the witch had allied themselves against a common enemy before, when his wretched mother had used the local history teacher Alaric Saltzman as her very own puppet vampire hunter. Together, he and Bonnie had managed, through a combination of strategy, power - and, in the witch's case - sheer dumb bravado, to both imprison his mother and return Saltzman to his former self. Since then their relationship had hovered in a tenuous space between enemy and necessary ally - a space that, he supposed, could be comically labeled "friendship". His designs on the youngest Bennett witch were far from innocent - the blend of magic and courage she possessed was too potent to leave on the wayside. But he had to be careful, bide his time - persuade her to see his side of things willingly. As such he usually deployed a combination of distance and attention in her presence. He was a hunter by nature. He knew how to lie in wait, to seize his moment.

Yet, in the aftermath of Silas' visitation, Klaus found himself- impatient. His former tactics seemed quaint and restrictive as he watched her move around the house assembling Grimoires and notebooks, as he sat nearer, followed closer than she liked. She found his penetrating gaze unnerving, he could tell by the way her bird-bright eyes darted to and away from him, the slight flutter in her movements.

"We need to trap him," she said, pointing out a series of incantations. "But we need a body."

"That is easily acquired."

"Right...," she moved to the other side of the table, and he followed. "It has to be a vampire, otherwise -,"

"Otherwise he can still access his magic," Klaus finished, coming to stand beside her again. "You know what he truly seeks, don't you? No matter what body we put him in, so long as you are alive he will pose a threat."

"Not if I splinter his soul and scatter each miserable little piece in the wind," she said, eyes flashing. "No one can repair a spirit that's been Split. Only the witch who split it," she added with a grim, little smile. The steel in her tone and the reckless determination behind it, were familiar.

"What did he do, when he came to you?" He asked, inching closer.

Her face changed, the fierceness melting into uncertainty before she quickly caught herself. "I'll get some more candles, then we can Summon him -,"

Before she slipped away, his hand encircled her slender elbow in a vice like grip, keeping her by his side.

Magic flared in her eyes. "Let go of me."

"Not without an answer." Bonnie Bennett never ran from him and he never chased her. They were two poles of a compass, composed and joined with steel.

"Why do you care?" She blurted.

With his other hand he fished out the blood stained sash Silas had left behind. Her eyes flew wide.

"I assume this belonged to you?"

He loomed above her, enclosing her in his shadow. Perhaps it was Silas' tampering, some dangerous seed sown in the sorcerer's wake, but he wanted to feel every inch of her skin, ensure she was flesh and blood and not apparition. The longer he held her the more apparent it became - she had been as exposed as he by the sorcerer's visit. Even now, fear and anger and woundedness warred in her eyes. His gaze fell to her lips and found them slightly swollen, tender and bruised. Bonnie stiffened, eyes glistening with angry tears.

He said nothing, but his thumb traced the corner of her mouth, and Silas' vision came flooding in. He thought to sink his fingers in her hair, replace his thumb with his mouth, wipe away the sorcerer's trace from both their minds. The light sound of footsteps on the sidewalk caught his ear. Her friend was almost at the barrier, and they were out of time. Klaus leaned down quickly, far quicker than he would have liked, and kissed her, swallowing her small breath of surprise. His tongue stole a brief taste then laved the wounded skin, willing her to to grasp his intent.

"Do it," he urged against her lips when she hesitated, half expecting to be set on fire or assailed with aneurysms. Instead she pressed tentative hands to his shoulders, stood on her tiptoes and bit him. Small but determined human teeth worried his lips. Klaus pressed her flush against him, a hand claiming the small of her back, ready to stay her if she wavered. But war had always come easy to them, and it seemed Bonnie Bennett needed little prompting to kiss him raw and taste his blood. Silas' illusion had tasted of ice and nettles, a hopeless, stinging emptiness. Bonnie was not without thorns, not above inciting a black and bottomless hunger in him, but she promised repast. Her kiss vengeful and furious but also yielding the knowledge, the trust only possible between those who have fought to the death. She would not vanish, nor turn cold. She would feed you utterly, to the end of your life and hers. When she drew away, crimson on her teeth, his mouth that followed hers, red and hungry.

She started, giving a heavy sigh and glancing over his shoulder. "Caroline's outside."

He released her slowly, as though sudden movement might endanger them both. Bonnie seemed untroubled by the languor of his hands. They wiped their mouths clean in silence.

"Now the next time Silas pays us a visit we shall both know the difference, hmm?" he said, with a sidelong gaze at her.

"There won't be a next time," she muttered, brushing past him to open the door.

Klaus watched her brisk little stride and licked his lips once more. For good measure.

A/N: Not totally satisfied by this buuuut the inspiration hit me and I wanted to take a small break from dissertation writing to indulge. I'm gonna add a few more pieces to this - Silas x Klonnie turned out to be a way more enticing combo than I thought! Let me know your thoughts. xoxo