Author's note: Thank you so much for your continued support of my story; it keeps me motivated! We've reached the final chapter in this story, and I hope you'll enjoy the way things unfold.

Also, shout out to Stef, one of my fav guest reviewers. I learned she's a home care nurse, and I wanted to acknowledge what an extraordinary person you must be and the vital role you play in your patients' lives — thank you for everything you do! :)

Kol and Bonnie slowly turned to look at Klaus, wearing twin expressions of guilt. A peculiar look Klaus couldn't read passed between them before they pushed the door to the library open all the way to join him. Clearly noticing Klaus' deteriorating condition, Kol dug into his jeans pocket and pulled out one of his daily prescriptions that he kept with him for emergencies. He quickly handed the correct dosage to his brother while Bonnie fetched him a glass of water. Klaus gratefully swallowed the pill, for once not minding the dry, bitter taste that followed.

"Nik," Kol began, his tone uncharacteristically nervous as he shoved his hands back into his jean pockets as he rocked slightly on his feet. "What you heard...it's not like it sounded, mate. I was just trying to fix everything for you; to give you your best chance."

Klaus replied gently, "Brother, I thought you'd accepted this. That you understood that there's nothing left for me to try."

The girl shot his brother a look, her head tilted almost in triumph as though Klaus had somehow made her point for her. Kol glared at her before responding with, "That's what I thought too! But then I started researching...um...alternative medicinal options, and I kind of stumbled onto this dodgy-looking website that contained all this folklore." His boyish face lit up as he excitedly told him, "At first, I thought it was absolutely bonkers, but then I dug in a bit and you can't deny the legends about this place, mate. So, I figured we had nothing to lose and I convinced you to let me bring you here. And then, it turns out I was right — the stories about this place are true," he concluded happily.

Klaus squinted at the pair, trying to follow Kol's disjointed rambling. "What are you on about, Kol? Alternative medicine nonsense? And what do legends have to do with it?"

Bonnie hesitantly opened her mouth to speak, but was cut off by an impatient voice. "The legends say that sometimes the people who come to The Traveler's Path are healed of their terminal illnesses," Caroline explained as she confidently made her way to Klaus' side with a neatly trimmed half-sandwich and a pitcher of water. She refilled his glass, setting the pitcher on a small table that resembled a polished tree stump.

"Healed how," he asked suspiciously, his hands instinctively clenching the blanket at his chest.

"They're thunderbirds," Kol giddily burst out, as though he couldn't contain the secret a moment longer.

Bonnie pinched the bridge of her nose, irritated as she admonished him, "Kol! We agreed we'd ease him into it. That had all the ease of a jackhammer!"

"Well, if you're fond of jackhammers, little bird, perhaps I could interest you in —" Kol's over-the-top innuendo was cut off harshly by Caroline's authoritative tone.

"Enough, Kol!" She turned to study Klaus, her voice deceptively soothing as she explained, "Klaus, I'm sorry you had to find out this way, but now that you have, it's important you understand. We are myth made flesh. Creatures of legend whispered among Native American tribes for generations." As though sensing his unease, she smiled her sweet, familiar smile that he often conjured when he closed his eyes. "Thunderbirds have the power to give life or take it away. We can summon the elements to nourish or destroy with wind or water."

Klaus rubbed the top of his head tiredly, the pain finally dulling as his powerful prescription started to travel through his system. His fingertips brushed the barely-there wisps of dirty blonde curls and seemed to anchor him in this moment of absurdity, allowing him to ask wryly, "So where does the thunder part come in then, sweetheart? Or did you just add that bit because windbird implied uncontrollable flatulence?"

His brother snorted, dispelling some of the tension in the room, and even Bonnie visibly relaxed beside Kol as she answered, "Thunder is a created when we flap our wings, setting off a chain reaction of lightning and storms, which is why our valley experiences brief storms once a day whenever we take to the sky."

As though sensing his skepticism, Caroline added helpfully, "You have no idea how good it feels to stretch out those wings after they've been cooped up. It's very freeing."

He slowly nodded, trying to decide how best to gracefully exit this completely mad predicament his foolish brother had landed both of them in. Perhaps with a good night's sleep, he'd be strong enough for them to check out in the morning and leave these nutters safely behind?

Caroline grabbed his hand with surprising strength, her thumb caressing his pulse point as her melodic voice washed over him, "This is real, Klaus. We embody Shakespeare's assertion that 'There are more things in heaven and earth, than are dreamt of in your philosophy.'" Before he could protest this ludicrous notion, a vision startled him as it seared through his mind, and suddenly he felt as though he was soaring high over landscapes of unimaginable beauty, the weight of his gigantic wings a comfort as long, soft feathers gently caressed his back. Before he could hit his stride and float along the warm wind currents as his body ached to do, he was snapped back into reality by the insistent swipe of Caroline's thumb across his pulse point once more.

"What the bloody hell was that," he croaked, his voice gasping for air in the small library.

"I told you," Caroline sighed reluctantly, her blue eyes blazing, "'There are more things in heaven and earth..."

Before she could finish, Klaus watched in awe as the familiar blue of her gaze shifted to an impossible silver, and he absurdly was reminded of the color of lightning as it strikes — one that suddenly was reflected in Bonnie's stare as well. Black spots began to dance before his eyes and just before he lost consciousness, he thought he heard Kol's fearful gasp.

Klaus awoke in his bed in the late afternoon, quickly sitting up as he recalled the bizarre hallucinations he experienced that were clearly brought on by his pain medication. It wasn't the first hallucination he'd had at the resort, he mused, recalling how early that morning he thought he'd seen shadows the size of planes circling the ground and flying in intricate, dizzying patterns nothing that size could ever achieve. It was a curious hallucination that he couldn't pinpoint its cause, or why it bled into his interactions with Caroline and Bonnie. They had been nothing but exceedingly kind to him and his brother during their stay, and he had no cause to subconsciously view them as a threat.

A light knock at the door to their enormous suite sounded, and he eased himself out of bed carefully to go answer it. An attractive brunette with a knowing grin walked in pushing a small cart carrying a platter of healthy-looking wraps and some sort of berry smoothie. "Thought we'd trying feeding you again," she said airily, stopping the cart in front of him. "And this time, try to actually eat something, huh? I'm in the middle of replacing a carburetor and was hoping to finish up today." She jangled a set of keys in her hand, toying with a keychain sporting an oddly-shaped silver emblem.

Klaus shook his head, fuzzily thinking that the symbol looked familiar. "What do you drive," he asked, reaching for one of the halves of what appeared to be a turkey and Swiss wrap.

"It's a '57 Thunderbird," she cheekily replied with a wink.

"Katherine," a stern voice said, followed by Caroline stepping across the threshold of the entryway. "Out," she commanded, pointing to the door.

The brunette shrugged, pouting slightly as she murmured, "You're no fun," before exiting the room.

Klaus' mind was whirling from the unexpected visit. What were the odds that the term his hallucination conjured would be the same as the model of that woman's car? Caroline's face seemed pained as she jerked her chin toward the vacant doorway and said, "Sorry about that. Katherine is a bit much sometimes. She likes to poke at people to get a reaction." She carried the tray of food over to the rustic-looking table seemingly fashioned out of the same reddish-brown cedar as the resort walls. She glanced over her shoulder at him, that same furrow appearing in her forehead as she asked worriedly, "How are you feeling after...everything? Do you remember what happened?"

He took a bite of his sandwich, chewing thoughtfully as he tried to make sense of his chaotic thoughts. "Well, I remember that earlier today, I watched you repaint a totem pole out in the woods. When I started feeling unwell, you brought me back to the resort and I think I overheard my brother arguing with Bonnie." He shook his head, adding awkwardly, "And then I must have passed out," he concluded, not wanting to embarrass himself by mentioning the absolutely mad visions his addled brain concocted.

Caroline sighed, as though disappointed in his answer. Tucking a few blonde curls behind one ear, she asked hesitantly, "So you don't recall our discussion about thunderbirds?"

He looked up sharply, setting down his half-eaten sandwich on the tray as he said in a strangled voice, "Bloody hell, how much of that nonsense was real?"

"All of it," she replied, blinking slowly as her blue eyes changed to a startling silver. As though she could hear his rapid heartbeat, she held out her palms in a placating manner, telling him, "I don't mean you any harm. I just want you to understand. Can you keep it together long enough for me to show you something?"

Still marveling at the surprising beauty of her silver eyes, he nodded mutely, not trusting himself to speak. He watched in confusion as she threw open the doors to the deck, stepping into the sun's afternoon rays. Turning her back to him, she unexpectedly pulled off her simple lilac halter, carelessly tossing it behind her on the rough planks of the deck.

He swallowed harshly, trying to process the fact that this stunning creature was now standing on his deck in nothing but cutoffs encasing her incredible long legs. His eyes appreciatively roamed the smooth lines of her ivory skin, noting the unusual sets of tattoos on her shoulder blades, recalling that she said they were pictograms symbolizing lightning.

He let out a startled gasp as he saw long feathers smoothly emerge from the tattoos, shading from cream to a warm caramel with rust-colored bands at the edges. They spread out across the balcony, fluttering in the gentle breeze, and he couldn't seem to reconcile what he was seeing with what he could understand. A beautiful woman was standing topless before him...with wings. The wingspan was so enormous, the tips actually trailed off the sides of the deck.

He opened his mouth, unsure of what he was about to say, but before he could utter a word, Caroline gracefully leapt from his balcony, her wings stretched to the sky as she arched her back and began gliding upon the warm currents, making lazy circles in the sky. He walked out onto the deck, his gray eyes following her every movement as he watched her soar higher and higher. As she flew directly overhead, her shadow engulfed everything around him and he emitted an odd choking sound as he realized that the immense shadows he witnessed that morning must have been Caroline and her friends.

Awestruck, he witnessed the seemingly effortless way her great wings flapped together, granting her dizzying height that made it appear as though she could touch the stars if she was so inclined. Suddenly, a loud clap of thunder caught his attention, and a rainstorm appeared out of nowhere, bringing with it several beautiful but deadly bolts of lightning. He moved back inside, continuing to watch her through the open doors as she circled back around, floating to the deck once more. She perched on the wooden railing, allowing her wings to drape behind her back. Pushing back some of the damp blonde curls from her forehead, she told him somewhat sheepishly, "Sorry about that. Storms are a downside to these things," pointing a thumb behind her to indicate her soaked feathers.

Klaus tugged at the thick collar of his navy robe, making an extraordinary effort not to gape at her incredible, impossible wings, but also to avoid staring too long at her glorious, creamy breasts unabashedly on display. "So...you could come...inside I mean, if you want," he offered awkwardly, unable to stop his gaze from frequently landing on the delicate pink of her nipples.

Amused, the edges of her lips quirked up, and she told him, "The rain will stop soon now that my wings are dormant. They'll need to dry out a bit before I tuck them away." Raising an eyebrow, she added, "I can wrap a towel across my breasts if you're uncomfortable."

"No!" He quickly squeezed his eyes shut, not intending to be so loud. "I just mean...you look comfortable and I'm not uncomfortable with how you...look."

She let out a delighted giggle, a musical sound that seemed to warm him from the toes up, and confessed, "I like the way you look too, Klaus."

He felt his heart pound, excitement flooding his body in a way he hadn't felt in ages. However, his body began to tremble where he stood, a terrible reminder that he wasn't the man he used to be and pursuing any sort of physical relationship with Caroline was out of the question. He noted bitterly that he barely had the strength to pull over one of the wooden dining chairs to sit in. To distract himself from his disappointment, he asked, "Would you tell me more about thunderbirds, sweetheart?"

Caroline lifted her face to the rain, closing her silver eyes as a peaceful calm seemed to come over her. "We're known as good spirits and protectors of humans." She lazily stretched, her wings curving around her body as she favored him with a cheeky grin, "Also, we have some other noteworthy features."

He chuckled, telling her, "I must admit, I kept thinking you would completely transform into a bird with a curved beak and sharp, ferocious claws, love."

She cleared her throat awkwardly, curling her small hands into fists at her sides. "Yeah, um...actually, we do have talons, but I thought it might be a bit much at the moment."

He nodded wisely, doing his best not to stare at her fingers and imagine them as elongated, deadly blades. "Considerate. But unnecessary, love. After all, it's not like you're a terrifying parakeet — now those are the birds you have to watch out for." At her obvious confusion, his dimples flashed as he explained, "Growing up, my Aunt Dahlia had this bloody parakeet, a cantankerous little tosser, who used to try to eat the freckles off of my hands."

"Noted — your turnoffs include freckle-chewers," she laughed, shaking the raindrops from her wings as the sun peaked out from the clouds. They sat in silence for a bit, enjoying a familiar companionship that had no need for words.

He cast furtive glances at her, appreciating the graceful curves of her body and wanting nothing more than to bask in the presence of this extraordinary creature he'd never imagined could exist. He recalled her curious words in the library downstairs and couldn't help but ask, "Why are some of the people who stay here healed while others aren't?"

Caroline seemed to stiffen at his question, and then appeared to take her time answering as her feather slowly retracted underneath her shoulder blades. She bent to where her lilac halter had been balled up in a corner of the deck and tugged it back on, while Klaus tried to fix his expression into one of indifference rather than the silly disappointment he felt. She regarded him with her familiar blue gaze as she said, "It's true that we have the power to give life; however, just because a human says they want to be healed doesn't mean it's actually what they want. While a body's instinct is to accept healing, the mind already may have accepted death."

Her gaze bored into him, as though she could uncover all of his secrets with a simple glance. "Everyone who comes here must choose their own path. If they choose to live, we can make them into one of us. However, if their subconscious believes it's ready to move on, then their body will reject our gift and they will pass away."

Klaus frowned as he considered her extraordinary words. "So, there's the possibility that even if I say I want you to turn me into one of your kind, I could still die because my subconscious won't accept it? Isn't there a way to be sure?"

"Well, the ritual healing almost certainly would work if you were a halfling born into this." At his confusion, she added helpfully, "It's when one of your parents was a thunderbird. I don't suppose that's the case with you?"

He shook his head, a sad chuckle escaping him. "No, I think I'd be aware if there was such a lofty pedigree running through my veins, love."

She nodded, standing as they heard the door to the suite open and Kol walked in. "You have a decision before you, Klaus. I'll take my leave so that you and your brother can talk."

As she exited their suite, Kol gave his brother two thumbs up while comically wiggling his eyebrows. "Nicely done, Nik — Bonnie is still being exceedingly stubborn in succumbing to my charms."

"It wasn't like that, Kol," Klaus protested with a sigh. He shut the doors to the deck and turned to face his brother. "Well, I mean she was topless for a bit, but that was just to show me her wings...I think," he added as an afterthought.

Kol let out a derisive snort as he clapped his brother on the back. "Oh sure, the old 'I have to take my top off to convince you I'm a supernatural creature.' Sure, Nik. Dress it up however you want, but it doesn't change the fact that Big Bird wants to have her wicked way with you."

The brothers burst out laughing at that, and Klaus realized his heart felt lighter, just being around his mischievous brother. He couldn't stop the silly grin that appeared as he recalled the time they were at a pub and Kol suddenly appeared sporting a swollen eye that was rapidly turning purple. At Klaus' questioning brow, Kol had grumbled, "I seem to have mistaken sexual tension for just regular tension."

That had always been the way with them — even as children, Kol had been the prankster, the one who would get his brothers in trouble but just as quickly would jump into the fray to be a part of the glorious aftermath. When they were teenagers, Kol somehow managed to track down a video of one of their teachers drunkenly singing Barry Manilow karaoke and convinced Klaus to program it to play on a continuous loop on all of the classroom TVs.

In the hilarious aftermath of the stodgy teacher hotly insisting it was his twin, Kol gleefully published his family tree (which was devoid of any siblings) on the first page of the yearbook. They both received detention for the rest of the semester, but Kol was incorrigible and talked him into nicking most of the faculty's phones so that they could change the ringtones to play Manilow's greatest hits. Then, during an assembly, they kept randomly calling the numbers, much to the amusement of the entire school. He shook his head at the fond memories, knowing how fortunate he was to have a lifetime of madcap stories just like those and that it was all thanks to his mischievous brother. With a pang, he realized how much he would miss Kol. But what if he didn't have to? What if he chose to accept Caroline's healing ritual?

Kol must have sensed the change in Klaus' demeanor, because he spoke in a hushed tone, "Caroline told you about the choice you need to make."

"Yes, she told me there was a chance I could become like her and her friends." He frowned, rubbing his forehead tiredly. "But there's also the possibility that it won't work and I could die," he finished bluntly.

Kol twitched as though he had been slapped. "You can't think like that, Nik. It's a chance; one you didn't have before."

Klaus knew he was right. He felt a cold sliver of fear creep up his spine at the thought of the ritual going badly, but he realized he was more afraid of spending his remaining months in agony as he faded away. It was no way to live. "I suppose there's not much difference to me if the ritual fails," he told Kol with a careless shrug and a wry grin, "What the hell, mate. Let's go turn me into Big Bird."

"Bloody hell, you're giving me mixed signals here, little bird," Kol grumbled as Bonnie smacked him on the arm once more for staring at her exposed breasts.

Klaus privately agreed with his lecherous brother that the three women were making it difficult to concentrate on anything else other than the fact that they were topless, and he kept reminding himself to look at Caroline's lovely face and not allow his gaze to dip much lower. They had gathered at the clearing where the totem pole stood, the tangy scent of the pine trees surrounding them as the women created a type of medicine wheel out of smooth gray river rocks. They carefully measured the sections of the circle to ensure that each slice was of equal distance from the center where the totem pole stood. He had watched in fascination as they placed different objects in each segment, from a white-blossomed plant that Caroline explained was yarrow, to braided ropes of sweetgrass and oblong bundles of sage.

Like Bonnie and Katherine, Caroline had painted her face and bare torso with the colors blue, red, yellow, white, and black, which Caroline told him represented the sky, sun, lightning, day and night. Their massive wings were on display, and as Caroline leaned over him to anoint his forehead with water from a spring and a thin stripe of river clay, he couldn't help but think that she looked almost angelic. Her blonde curls fanned out around her like a halo, and he couldn't stop thinking about kissing her.

It was something he had thought about, off and on, during his time at the resort, but his illness had always held him back. He had been so accustomed to pushing people away for fear of them getting too close that he didn't know how to properly form attachments. Then, once he had discovered the truth about Caroline, he had been intimidated by what she was and couldn't see a place for himself in her world. However, this ritual could change everything. His heart thudded in his chest as a wary voice in his head coldly reminded him that the ritual also could kill him. He tried not to shiver at the thought, but as he lay on a thin blanket underneath the totem pole, he couldn't help but tremble slightly.

As though sensing his distress, Caroline squeezed his hand and lightly asked him, "So, do you have any plans for tomorrow?"

Klaus smiled weakly and replied, "Why? Do you have more handyman chores, love?"

Her breath seemed to catch in her throat as she answered, "We'll have to see what the day brings." As she studied him, the blue in her eyes flickered to startling silver and she confessed, "I've been wondering what this would feel like," and surprised him by leaning over to kiss him softly on the lips.

Klaus responded eagerly, chasing her lips with his own, trying to wordlessly convey his emotions, all the while knowing that this might be the last time he had the chance. As she reluctantly pulled away, he told her brokenly, "Whatever happens, it was worth it to have had the chance to know you, sweetheart."

She nodded, not bothering to wipe away the stray tear that had started to trickle down her cheek. She whispered, "Remember your path is your own, Klaus." She stood, signaling the others at the edge of the ritual circle to start the ceremony.

As Klaus stared up at the impressive carvings on the totem pole, he couldn't help but think that the lines seemed to be moving, as though the animals were coming to life. A pain suddenly shot down his spine and he went rigid, realizing that he wasn't imagining things as he heard the impossible roar of a grizzly bear, the sinister rattle of a snake and a cacophony of other noises the exquisitely carved beasts were making as the ritual seemed to infuse them with life.

He tried to block out the noises and focus on the path before him—his body wanted to be healed; it craved to be made whole once more, but there were lingering doubts that his mind wouldn't cooperate. That it instead would want him to move on. His last conscious thought was that he would like to see Caroline's blue eyes shine silver once more before he slipped into the darkness.

Seeing his brother pass out, Kol let out a hoarse shout, but the women pressed on with the ritual, preventing him from breaking the sacred circle. Summoned by the call of such powerful magic, dark clouds rolled in, blocking the sunlight. Bonnie and Katherine chanted with one clear voice, their strength flowing over the medicine wheel and infusing the objects in each section with light. A powerful force swept through the clearing, ruffling their wings as it caressed their bare skin. Caroline knelt beside Klaus, opening the buttons on his plain gray shirt to finish the sacred markings but gasped as she noticed a tiny silver feather dangling from a black cord around his neck. She looked at Kol sharply and said, "That's mine. How does your brother have my necklace?"

"Our mother gave it to him a long time ago. She said it belonged to his father," Kol explained, confusion marring his boyish features as Bonnie and Katherine began chattering excitedly beside him.

Caroline's voice became urgent as she asked, "Was his name Ansel?" At his bewildered nod, she smiled gently and explained, "Ansel was the traveler who helped to create this sanctuary for us. In gratitude, we made him into one of us. This makes Klaus a halfling." She nodded reassuringly at Kol as she promised, "Your brother will be fine." She finished painting the sacred symbols and felt a comforting energy pulse outward from the totem pole.

Klaus let out a hoarse shout that startled the group, and as he opened his eyes, the familiar steel gray had been replaced with shining silver.

Someone should have warned him that these bloody wings were ridiculously heavy. He hadn't quite gotten the hang out of compensating for the extra weight and had managed to fall off of the resort's roof twice now, much to the delight of Caroline, who would gracefully float to the ground and land beside him with a cheeky grin. Grumbling, he rose to his feet and managed to make it back to the roof with only a few flaps of his wings. Caroline settled beside him once more on the ledge, playfully elbowing him as they surveyed the rolling green hills below.

Their wings caused a small rain storm and Klaus tilted his face up to the sky to catch the cool droplets, marveling at how everything old felt new again. He hadn't had the opportunity to fully grasp what had happened to him since his transition, but he knew that the sickness that had ravaged his body was gone now, and he felt reborn. There was power flowing through his veins and he was excited to explore what that meant for him with Caroline at his side. He leaned over to kiss her with a passion he hadn't felt comfortable conveying before, and he couldn't help but think that it felt like the promise of many more.

When Caroline pulled away, she asked, "So where do you think your path will take you now?"

Klaus smirked, kissing the tip of her nose as he replied, "Well, love, I always thought I'd make a good handyman."