through the trees, finding Elijah's silent, brooding presence behind them both calming and annoying. She understood why he had to come, she had been the one to offer it to him in the first place after all, but that didn't mean that she was elated by Noah's lack of speech. She wasn't sure whether or not it was because of her, or because of Elijah, but either way, she could feel her palms sweating.

She tried to focus on the nature around them, feeling the spirits of the wolf ancestors everywhere she looked. It seemed like the bayou had once been a werewolf kingdom, and now, as she looked around at the barren civilization, she knew that they had dwindled into nothing but broken pieces of what was once a prosperous community. She wished that she could've been able to see it, but she was only reminded of what once was by those who had ruled before.

She didn't understand her role in the werewolf community, especially when the wolf ancestors constantly reminded her that, as she got older, her role would eventually change. What she would change into, she wasn't sure, but she tried to focus on the present instead of worrying about the future. She knew that would only get her more frustrated than the lack of answers.

So, she focused on Noah, on the way that he stepped so cautiously between sticks and patches of grass. She saw the way that he would brush the leaves away from bushes and trees so that Mercy could step through, unscathed. She watched as, every so often, when it felt like the quietness was deafening, Noah would look over his shoulder from where he walked, and he would smile at her.

She wondered what her Uncle Elijah thought about all of these things, because she knew that he had caught onto them as well.

She shook her head, and just when she was about to open her mouth to ask Noah how much longer they would need to walk, he spoke up.

"We're here," he said, gesturing to the cabin in front of them. It was almost completely covered with vines, using the trees to blend in. She could see the top of the house peek through the leaves above them, and a small, circular window that showed nothing of the inside. Should she have stumbled upon the house, she wouldn't have thought anyone still lived there. In all honesty, it looked rather run down.

But, she ignored this and focused on the small details that provided a sense of life to the otherwise desolate house. There was a porch that wrapped around the side of the house, and she could see some sort of swinging bed there, pillows askew from the wind or other harsh weather. She also saw flowers in the windowsill, the yellow color signaling that there had once been love there as well.

She wondered why they had let the outside be overtaken by nature, but she reminded herself that they, as werewolves, were outnumbered in the wars that seemed to always plague New Orleans. This facade was the only way to stay hidden and by extension, stay safe. She reminded herself that Noah was the same age as her, so it wouldn't be too farfetched to say that his uncle came here of all places to keep him protected.

She followed Noah to the front porch, hearing the steps scream with tension at every movement. Noah casually opened the screen door, swinging the wooden door behind it open and calling inside. "Uncle Parker!" He exclaimed, and Mercy looked back at Elijah to see that he was standing silently, a single eyebrow raised. She wasn't sure what expression he held, but when he noticed her stare, he gave her a kind, ghost of a smile.

They heard loud footsteps make its way to the door, and a face popped into view. He towered over Noah, but probably wasn't as tall as Elijah; overall, he seemed like a happy character. He held fondness when he looked at his nephew, and his blue eyes were shining. He held a rag in his hands, but swung it over his shoulder before he crossed his arms.

"Hey Noah," he greeted when he caught sight of the two guests. However, his smile disappeared when he saw Elijah. He pushed Noah behind him, and Mercy frowned at the action. "No vampires are welcome here."

Elijah raised an eyebrow lazily before his gaze met Mercy's. "I will be close," he told her when he saw her pleading gaze. He looked back up at the man before him, his eyes narrowing. "And I will be listening for any commotion should my niece be put into danger."

Parker's eyes widened and flew to Mercy's form, apparently understanding that she was one of the daughters of Klaus Mikaelson, the most hated Original in all of the werewolf community. He tensed, but Elijah only walked away, and when Parker let his eyes crawl back to Mercy, she gave him a blindingly innocent smile. He relaxed at the sight, sensing that she posed no threat to him despite who her family was.

Noah stepped out from behind his uncle, gesturing to Mercy. "This is my friend from yesterday," he explained, and Parker raised his eyebrows with a small smirk.

His blue eyes shifted to her. "Hi, I'm Noah's uncle, but you can call me Parker. I've heard a lot about the new girl my nephew is so excited about," he said, ignoring Noah's annoyed look. The kid's cheeks were red and Mercy felt a jump in her stomach at Parker's words. They weren't the butterflies everyone always talked about, but more like a swarm of kangaroos. She wasn't aware that Noah had talked about her to his uncle, but the revelation made her happy.

Before she could give herself away, Parker continued. "I assume you're Mercy?" He asked finally, and she nodded.

"Yep, that's me," she said with a smile, trying to be as nice as possible. She wanted to make sure that he liked her, because she knew that she needed to make a good impression if she wanted to be Noah's friend.

But, she was delighted to find that he was extremely accepting of her, opening the door wider for her to enter. She did so with a nod.

Noah turned to her suddenly, his eyes twinkling with joy. "Do you still have that stone I gave you?" He inquired and she nodded.

Digging into her jean pocket, she pulled the stone out, delivering it to his outstretched palm. She felt a pull when she gave it away, but reminded herself that she would get it back soon enough.

Noah grinned at her before turning to his uncle. "Hey, Uncle Parker?" He started as the adult turned to him. "Do you think you could make this into one of those necklaces? I know you've been teaching me, but you're so much better and I really want this one to last," he explained, and his eyes suddenly shot to Mercy's in what seemed like embarrassment before returning to his uncle.

Parker seemed to have caught onto the embarrassment and saved his nephew from it, slipping the stone into his hand as he nodded. "No problem, bud," he responded, to which both of the kids' faces lit up. "Do you guys need any snacks or anything?"

"Maybe in a little bit?" Noah said, looking to Mercy for confirmation, and she shyly agreed, glad that she had been included in the decision.

"Okay, sounds good," Parker said with a smile. "Just let me know. I'll be in my office," he finished, nodding his head before leaving them by themselves. Mercy looked to Noah, but found that he was already staring at her. She blushed, gazing down at her feet, and he laughed.

"Come on," he said, grabbing her hand and pulling her down the hallway.

She exclaimed at the action. "Where are we going?" She asked through her giggles, and she yelped when she crashed into the back of Noah. He had abruptly stopped in front of a door, and luckily caught her before she could take both of them to the ground.

He turned to her very slowly, his face blank, and Mercy's smile fell, wondering what he was doing. He spoke quietly to her, so quietly that she had to bend down to hear him.

"The monster shall be released," he whispered, and she tilted her head in confusion, watching as he quickly opened the door to the room they stood in front of.

Immediately, a familiar ball of fur attacked them both, and laughter echoed through the hallway. Mercy watched as Max jumped onto them, his tail wagging and smacking them in the face while he licked his slobbery tongue everywhere. Mercy pushed the slobber away from her face, laughing with Noah as they struggled onto their feet.

It happened so quickly that it took her breath away. Just as Noah had grabbed her hand to help her up, Max had decided to walk in front of her feet, making her trip and fall forward. Noah caught onto her, but a second too late.

The feeling of his lips were soft, even if it only lasted a moment. She pulled away, her face heating up as she watched his do the same. Max was still yapping from the ground, oblivious to the situation while the young boy and girl only stared at each other in shock and another, unfamiliar emotion.

Noah's hand came up to scratch the back of his neck, trying to laugh the awkwardness off. "That was..." He trailed off though, unsure of how to describe what just happened.

"Nice," Mercy filled in for him, a small smile coming onto her face even as it lit up in flames. She didn't know why she just said that, but she couldn't help being honest. His lips had sparked something inside of her that she hadn't felt for anybody else her entire life.

He nodded, a small, shy smile forming on his face as well. "Yea, it was," he said, and the two of them lapsed into silence again before the whining of Max below shook the two out of the moment.

Noah scooped Max into his arms before nodding over his shoulder. "Here, we can hang out in my room."

She remained silent, wanting to see his room if only to know more about him. She realized that while she had described a lot to him yesterday about herself, she truly didn't know that much about him, and she was enthusiastic to learn more.

They continued down the hallway before entering a room on their right. The door had the same dark wood as all of the others, but when they entered, she saw as the wood changed into a light blue color on every wall. There were maps hung up by pushpins, as well as a few movie posters that Mercy was unfamiliar with. She saw that a bunk bed was pushed against one wall, a dresser across from it. There was a big window adjacent to the bed, and she saw branches blocking out the outside view. A small desk sat underneath the windowsill, and she could see a globe, a small stack of papers, and an open pencil bag laid out on the surface. The room was tied together nicely, even if the blankets on the top bunk were askew. All in all, the room was calming in Mercy's opinion, the blues from inside pairing beautifully with the greens on the other side of the window.

"Wow," Mercy breathed out, standing in the middle of the room, looking down to see that there was a large rug to keep the wood from biting into anybody's bare feet. Noah walked past her, setting Max onto the bottom bunk of the bed before turning to face her, smiling as she observed every nook and cranny she could.

She brushed a strand of hair behind her ear, walking slowly to the window and gazing outside. Behind her, Noah simply watched in calm silence, petting Max absentmindedly.

When Mercy turned around, she smirked at him. "Your room is natural," she told him, looking back at the blue paint. "It reminds me of being outside."

He nodded his head as she walked toward him. "My mom picked it all out," he told her, and she sat down next to him on the bed, tilting her head as she watched his face contort with emotion. "Then she left, and...I couldn't bring myself to get rid of anything."

Mercy paused, frowning to herself. "I'm sorry," she said quietly, and he looked at her, his hazel eyes penetrated into her own. She noticed that his eyes were a little darker than hers, and that there were small flecks of yellow swirling in them as well.

He was the first to break eye contact after the long moment, sighing as he ran a hand through his hair. "It's whatever," he shrugged his shoulders. "She and my dad left when I was really little."

"Still," she said, grabbing his hand and surprising the both of them with the action. When he looked her way, she gave a small, half smile. "I know what it feels like to be denied your family. It sucks."

He laughed at her bluntness, and she found herself chuckling as well. Their hands were still holding each other's, and, after she noticed, she slowly released his. She could feel his gaze on the side of her head when she looked down, her smile fading.

"Hey," he said while brushing his shoulder against hers. "Can't have you being sad when you're destined to be the strongest wolf there ever was, now can we?"

A small smile twitched at her lips, remembering all that she had told him about being the lou gèrye. Her smile fell just as quickly though, pursing her mouth as she shook her head.

Looking back up at him, she sighed. "How do I know that they picked the right girl?" She asked him a question that she hadn't been able to ask anybody else. She didn't feel comfortable enough to explain her fears to her family, as it was obvious they had bigger problems to deal with. She didn't want to bother them with more. And Noah was so trusting that her fears just came tumbling out without thinking. "I don't know anything about the werewolf culture and yet I'm supposed to be the one destined to protect them? How does that work?"

Her eyes shifted to Max's sleeping form next to Noah, giving her friend a moment to respond to such an intense question. He was silent at her words, and yet when he finally opened his mouth to speak, a shout from the other room caught both of their attentions.

"Noah! Mercy! Can you come here please?" Parker yelled from down the hall, and Max's head popped up from the bed, quickly jumping off and running in the direction of the sound. Mercy sighed, standing up from the bed and beginning to follow the energetic puppy when Noah caught onto her hand, stopping her in her tracks.

"Wait," he began, appearing as if he was struggling with his words. The young girl looked at him, tilting her head as he took a deep breath. When he looked up at her again, his eyes were intense. "You may not know much about the werewolves, but that doesn't mean we can't change that," he said, and her face started to color with joy at his words. He shrugged his shoulders and spoke again. "Me and my uncle are wolves. We can try to help if you want?"

She nodded her head, a light blush coating her face. "I'd like that," she responded, and he returned her smile.

The two of them exited the bedroom and walked out to where Parker's office was. The office was large, but not as large as the ones at the compound, Mercy noticed. There was a big, oak desk centered in the room, covered with small tools, little chains, and stones of every kind. Mercy was intrigued almost instantly, coming to stand close to the desk and look at the stones clearly. Max jumped wildly around them, confused and yet happy to be involved.

"Woah!" Mercy said, her hazel eyes locked onto the stones that sat so gently on the desk. There were dark stones that looked like the color of night itself, while others were so vibrant in pigment that they didn't even seem real. She glanced at Parker, who sat in a chair behind the desk. "Did you find all of these?"

Parker chuckled. "Oh, I'm getting too old to forage the woods for the diamonds in the rough," he explained, nodding his head toward his nephew. "Noah usually finds them for me. I just make them look pretty."

The children laughed at his words, and he smiled. Mercy noticed that he had glasses on that weren't there before, settled on the edge of his nose as he finished working on something in his hands. He took his glasses off quickly, leaning back in the chair as he raised whatever he was holding up for them to see.

Mercy gasped, her eyes widening at the sight of such a beautiful necklace. The stone Noah had given her looked perfect with the chain surrounding it, highlighting the golden details there. It was simplistic, and yet perfect nonetheless.

"Here you go, my dear," Parker stated, handing the necklace over to her with a gentle hand. She watched as the piece of jewelry folded over itself in her palm, and she brought her other hand up to run a finger over the stone.

She turned to Noah shyly, outstretching her hand in his direction. "Help me put it on?" She asked him, and watched as his face reddened.

He silently nodded, stepping forward to grab the necklace from her hand. She turned around, breathing deeply as he brought his hands around her. She brushed her hair to the side, feeling the warmth of his skin against her neck as he clasped it together. Once she heard the click, she let her hair go, falling over her back once more. She looked down to see as the necklace settled just below her collarbone, above the hem of her shirt.

She smiled at Noah when she turned back to him, and it was silent until Parker cleared his throat. The children looked up at him to see an almost amused expression on his face. "Well," he began, looking toward the window to see the orange of the sunset. "It's getting late," he looked to Mercy kindly.

She nodded, understanding his meaning. "I should go," she suggested, but her eyes remained locked on Noah's, waiting for a response.

He nodded as well. "I'll walk you out," he offered, and she smiled.

The two headed toward the front door, both feeling saddened that their time had been cut short. Mercy looked down at the ground as they walked, focusing so much on the wooden floors that she didn't realize they were already at the door, ready to say goodbye.

She looked up at Noah, green meeting hazel, and saw as he gave her a shy grin. "I'm happy you got to come over," he confessed.

"Me too," she replied softly, and he looked to the ground, seeming to appear embarrassed about something.

Before Mercy realized what he was doing, Noah had leaned in and pressed his lips to her own, pausing there for a second before pulling away. Mercy's eyes were wide when she looked at him again, but before she knew it, a big smirk found its way onto her face.

"You're rather bold, Noah," she commented, and he blushed before shaking his head, his smile widening.

"And you're completely mind-boggling, Mercy," he responded, which made her raise an eyebrow.

"Touché," she giggled, and Noah nodded his head.

"I hope I see you soon," he told her as he opened the front door, revealing the porch. They stepped outside, and Mercy breathed in the fresh air.

She smiled once more. "So do I," is all she said, and then Elijah appeared behind her on the porch, looking at the two children with something sparking in his eyes. It was similar to the look Parker had possessed earlier: something akin to amusement.