His first thought seeing her is that she's such a small thing to have caused so much damage these last few weeks.
(three dead and another in a coma)
Short-cropped hair streaked with purple, ragged and grungy jeans, and oversized camouflage jacket worn with use give her the appearance of a military brat firmly entrenched in teenage rebellion. She looks Southeast Asian, Vietnamese maybe, except for her eyes, which reflect an otherworldly green in the moonlight.
She's small.
(it's dangerous)
Derek lets a snarl echo throughout silence of the Preserve.
Her eyes don't leave his. She smiles and any doubt he might have had that she's the creature responsible for the killings fades away.
(there wasn't much to begin with he tracked her scent from the hospital)
"Hello," the girl says.
A pleasant little smile plays around the edges of her mouth. She sounds Irish more than anything, but even that is likely a ruse.
"What are you," Derek says, demands, allowing his words to be more of a growl than anything. He doesn't like intruders in his territory, even if he may no longer be Alpha.
She chuckles. The low, throaty sound of it raises Derek's hackles.
(his wolf wants to kill her rip her throat out and lick the blood from its muzzle)
"Well, where's the fun in telling you that?" the girl replies, stepping away from the tree she'd been examining. Her boots are scuffed and just as worn as the rest of her clothes.
(rags couldn't disguise the creature's haughtiness)
"What. Are. You." Derek repeats himself, allowing the power of the wolf to slip into his voice. The girl shifts and tilts her head, considering.
"I am sídhe," the green of her eyes flares brightly at the words and Derek's glow blue in response. She seems content with this reaction. "Do you know what that means?"
(the wolf wants to lash its tail in frustration because yes it does)
Derek nods stiffly, thinking that if Stiles were here, he would say something stupid like It means you identify as female?
(thank god stiles isn't here)
She laughs, bright and delighted. Her eyes continue to track him as she moves closer, jumping down so they're on level ground. She's only a few yards away now.
"So, little wolf, what brings you here?"
The flippancy makes Derek want to growl. Instead he says, "Beacon Hills is protected by fae law. My mother and your court had an agreement."
She snorts at the statement.
(the wolf could end this all in one lunge one snap of its powerful jaws)
"So it is. So she did. So I've always honored that treaty," the smile looks more than a little mean now. It makes him think of cracking bones and the strange smell of contentment that wafted from each victim during their comas.
Before they disappeared and their bones discovered stripped of all flesh three days later every time.
It was Derek's turn to snort. "You call four victims 'honoring the treaty'," he snarled.
"I resent that implication," she said mildly, narrowing her eyes. "Makes it seem so much worse than it is."
(stiles sometimes had the same expression when he challenged the wolf)
Derek raised his eyebrows. "Worse than murder?"
She frowned in response.
"Don't be ridiculous. It's not like I'm preying on them; I'm no revenant." Her forehead smoothed and she raised her chin slightly. Not enough to expose her throat. "I'm a djinn."
(a djinn a genie a wish-granter the wolf stilled at the knowledge)
The girl smirked. "Do you know how the sídhe live our lives eternal?" Her face shifted to something mischievous, almost coy.
"You steal the life-force of other creatures." Derek glared. "Humans, generally."
"Yes," she said easily. "And no... Some of us literally suck the life from their victims, leaving them nothing but dried-out husks-succubi, incubi, and the like.
"Others are more direct in their methods, consuming the bones and flesh of others, taking energy from the magic that resides in all living things. Revenants, kappa, et cetera.
"Djinn, however," she said with a sly look at Derek, "feed on emotion. The emotion is specific to each individual, of course. I prefer something sweet to sate my needs: happiness, contentedness, lust."
(the wolf growled but still did not move)
Her eyes flashed as she peered up at him from beneath dark lashes.
"And happiness from the miserable is sweetest of all... Tell me, Derek Hale."
(the creature asked with a smile that hid fangs)
"Do you wish to be happy?"
(when the next morning came derek did not wake and the same scent of contentment drifted off his body as well)