[ klaus is certainly not the right person for neat little answers in careful little boxes. the problem might be is that he stopped trying to have anything in neat little boxes a long, long time ago.

what he does know is that things are complicated enough as it is. things are always complicated, messy puzzle pieces all wrapped up in a family name that just seems to pull disasters to them like their own little kugelblitz.

he watches the kid go through the motions patiently, brows tipping with a knowing nod. ] Oh, yeah? You too, huh? [ the sympathy around the edges of his tone are genuine, for what its worth.

the question makes klaus pause. it's a good question, to be fair, and it makes klaus glance down at his palms. hello, goodbye, tattooed across, before his fingers fold over them. he shrugs, looking back over to eddie, and offering a press of a smile. ] Just a feeling, really.

[ a beat, and there's a small frown forming, something that scrunches at his nose as he looks around them again. he's really not great at existential peptalks. ] Hey so, ah, you know — things don't need to feel real yet either. You'll believe you're alive when you're ready. [ he can relate.

a part of him still wants to ask, what was happening before eddie came here but another part of him kind of figures that maybe he'll give the kid some room. but what if he'd also come from an apocalypse? what if he'd come from their apocalypse? shit, five was so much better at this than klaus was. ]