This is just background information, mostly. It is important that you read it, because it might get confusing if you don't. Enjoy! Reviews are much appreciated.:)
Disclaimer: Teen Wolf isn't mine.
Woah. Woah. Woah. I'm getting way ahead of myself. I bet you're all confused, huh? Well, let me tell you a bit about my life so far. My name is Ashlynn Blake Argent. You heard right, Argent. My father, Andrew Nicolai Argent, is the oldest son of Gerard Argent and older brother to my Uncle Chris and Aunt Kate. My father was bitten by a rogue Alpha on the job one night when he was hunting and obviously since I'm here he survived. We're not really sure how, but he didn't change into a werewolf or die. He did manage to kill the alpha that bit him, though. A few months later, he met my mother, Anna Marie Louis, who was an elemental shifter. An elemental shifter is someone who can change into many different animals (much like the shifters in True Blood), but can also control an element (s). They got married a year and a half later and skipped town. Ten months later, on August 9, they had me. Right before I turned one, I somehow managed to change into a wolf pup. My parents were baffled. They discovered that since my father had killed an alpha, even though he didn't change, somehow the power of the alpha passed to him. So that pretty much meant he was an alpha, only he would never change. My mother was also an alpha because she was the last of her bloodline. So when they got together, their genes combined to make me, a new breed of supernatural. They concluded that I was definitely a shifter like my mom, my dominant form would be that of a werewolf - and not just any werewolf... an alpha. Even though I was very young, it seemed my abilities were adamant to show themselves. By the time I was five, I could shift into any animal I wanted. I even had control over my wolf on the full moon.
It wasn't until I was six, that we found out I was an elemental as well. There was a carnival in town and I had begged and pleaded to go. We were having so much fun, and mom had even brought the camera to take pictures for our scrapbook, when everything became chaotic. Mom hurried to put everything in the bag that she had brought and strapped it on my back, so I wouldn't lose it. There were gunshots and people screaming and running. In all the commotion, my mother and I got separated from my father. The gunshots sounded closer and closer every second as mom looked for a place we could hide. Unfortunately, the shooters were much closer than we had anticipated, and they descended upon us. Mom tried to distract them so I could get away, but I was frozen in fear. They made me watch as they violated her. The entire time she was telling me it was going to be ok, I felt something building inside of me, like it wanted out. The more they taunted us and laughed, the more the feeling inside of me built, waiting to be unleashed. When they decided they were finished with her, they dragged her up until she was kneeling only three feet in front of me, and they pointed the gun at her. I could hear police sirens and my father calling out to my mother and me as they pulled the trigger. Being covered in my mom's blood is what released my ability to control the elements.
When my father and the police found us, every single man was unconscious and my mother was slowly bleeding to death. She was immediately rushed to the hospital. The doctors told us that the bullet had gone through, but they couldn't get the internal bleeding to stop. She was barely awake when we went in to say our goodbyes. As we sat in the hospital room, she told me that she had written a journal for me in case I showed an elemental ability and about her life and the things she went through. She died a few hours later. My father fell into a depression soon after her funeral, so we moved back to Beacon Hills, California, to stay with the Hale family who were good friends with my parents.
Three weeks. That's how long I stayed in a coma like state. The week after those three weeks was spent gaining back my strength and health. And the weeks after that, I spent pouring over my mother's journals in secret. It took me a little over a month but I finished every journal she'd written. I started disappearing for hours on end; practicing, training, and honing my abilities. My father's depression didn't get better until four months after I'd finished mom's journals. And even then, it was only because I'd been admitted to the hospital. I was practicing in the woods and I lost track of the time. Next thing I know, it's dark out and I'm having trouble breathing all of a sudden. The cold weather wasn't helping my situation either. It was later than I'd thought because everyone was out looking for me. I made it to about twenty feet from the house when I collapsed, unable to stay awake any longer. As darkness invaded my mind, I cried out so they could find me. Of course, I told the doctors that I'd gotten lost in the woods, so that no one would get suspicious. They told me I had pneumonia and kept me for four days. When I was released, I gave everyone the same excuse. It was dark and cold and I just got lost. Things went back to normal in the days after I was discharged from the hospital. The adults would sit down on the porch drinking coffee or tea, us kids would rough house in the yard, and my dad was on the mend. I waited a few weeks before I started up my training again, only this time I added more: obstacle courses, endurance, speed, enhancing my senses etc.
For the next year and a half, things continued as they always had, until the day after my eighth birthday. Sarah (Derek's mom), Michael (Derek's dad), Peter (Derek's uncle), and my dad had gathered us all into the living room for a family meeting. My dad explained what I am and how I came to be that way to everyone who didn't already know. And then they proceeded to inform us all that we would be training together, and that Derek and Laura would have to help get me to their level. Of course this made me mad, and only furthered my want to prove them all wrong. Over the course of the next few days, the adults tested our endurance: how fast we could run and for how long, our resistance to weather, our senses, etc. Then the real fun began, They took us to a clearing that was big enough for us to train and fight in and told me to defend myself against Derek and Laura. As I stood in the middle of the field, I let instinct take over. I could feel them as they prowled around me, waiting to pounce. I heard their heartbeats quicken, when I didn't show a response to the sounds they were making. I could taste the emotion in the air, the need to scare. Thump. Thump. There! The attack began, I won't go into detail, but know that they got whooped by an eight year old. At the end, when we were all laying on the ground breathless, the adults come over and asked how I was able to do that with no training. I told them that I'd been training for the past year and half not only heightening my senses but my control over the elements as well. We all agreed that since I was at Laura and Derek's level already that we would begin intensive training immediately. For five years, we lived peacefully. Training non-stop. Unfortunately, there's always an obstacle that brings that peace to an end.
My dad decided that the summer I turned twelve, we were going to go on a cruise. He told me I could bring two people along, so I chose Braylen and Phoenix. They were always getting left out when we went places so, I thought they deserved it. Plus the twins and I were really close. It's a win-win situation either way. So, when May came around and we got out of school, we said our byes to the family, and headed to the airport. Seven hours later, we landed in Florida, got a rental car, and drove the rest of the way. When we arrived the next day, we were in for a shock. Apparently, the cruise wasn't going to be starting for another two weeks due to staffing delays. The captain met with us to discuss arrangements. He explained that they had sent out messages to everyone, but it seemed ours hadn't been delivered. Dad had the bright idea to offer our help until the rest of the staff were available in exchange for us staying on the ship. After they shook on it, the captain, whose name we learned was Anton Berkeley, showed us where we would be staying. As we were going to be helping out as well as being guests, we were given one of the larger suites. It was HUGE! We each got our own room, plus there was a kitchen and two bathroom. After settling in, Anton took us to meet the staff that was already here. Most of them weren't too happy to have children helping out, but there were a few people who I took a liking too. There was Maria, the dance instructor; Amanda and Edward (an older man), who were part of the kitchen; the captain (of course!); Lucinda, the head of the cleaning people; and my favorite, John Gilly (he prefers to be called Gilly), the head of security. Turns out they all knew about 'supes' (as they put it). Anton and Lucinda were both actually born into a family of werewolves, but the gene was dormant. Edward was a retired hunter and Amanda, Maria, and Gilly were all shifters. Maria was a panther, Amanda a wolf, and Gilly was like me, only he could only shift into any animal he saw. Plus he couldn't control the elements like I could either. Anton put me with Edward and Amanda to help in the kitchen, well mostly watch, but still; Phoenix was with Maria and Dad decided to help Gilly. Braylen got to stay with Anton. Two weeks and a couple of days later, we were on our way to Puerto Rico, in the Caribbean.
(AN: I'm not going to go into a lot of detail about what happens on the cruise. I'm just gonna sum it up.)
The two months on the cruise were spectacular! We visited many places like Bioluminescent Bay and the Bahamas. There were different classes you could take like dance, martial arts, even language classes. Since I already knew how to defend myself, I spent my time learning new languages like Spanish and French and even taking a few dance classes. Braylen and Phoenix made a few new friends who they promised they would keep in touch with. Even though it wasn't hunting, dad was happy to be in a security like position. I also picked up some awesome cooking ideas from Edward and Amanda. When their boss wasn't working, they would let me cook with them and come up with some new ideas. The guests actually liked some of my ideas, too! The day we were to head home, Braylen, Phoenix, and I came down with colds. When we touched down in California, they got worse. Bray and Nix couldn't stay warm and were shivering badly, I ended up puking my guts up outside the terminal, and to top it all off we still had to drive back to the house which would take an hour. Let's just say that was probably the worst hour of my life. By the time we got home, the twins were passed out, and I could barely function properly. My head felt like it was being split in two with a drill saw, and my entire body ached and would go into small convulsions every few minutes. All in all, it felt like I was dying. After an entire day of this, and me not getting better while the twins were, dad called in Dr. Deaton. After running some tests, he deduced that it was just a high fever of 108 degrees. After everyone freaked out saying I should be dead, he explained that since shifters naturally ran a higher temperature than humans that I would be able to withstand the high temp. He also gave me a homemade concoction of his to take, that would help bring down the fever almost instantly and it would go back to being a simply cold. Though the twins and I were getting better, albeit them a little faster, we were all still experiencing bad cases of the shivers and coughs, so we were all bedridden.
Three days later, Sarah sent dad out for some cough medicine in hopes that maybe if we could get the coughs to go away, so would the shivers. Five minutes later, Peter is coming into my room telling me to quickly pack everything valuable to me. Deciding not to question him because of the urgency in his voice, I immediately get up and pack as quickly as I can. Photos, music, my scrapbooks, anything and everything I know I will be able to carry in a bag. When I was done, he led me out into the backyard where I saw Bray and Nix waiting. I started asking questions left and right, but he wouldn't answer. He just told me to take the twins and hide. He made me promise that no matter what I heard, I would stay with them and protect them with my life. Not knowing what he was talking about, I promised. And I kept my promise. I took them to a spot I'd found earlier on in my training that I called the 'Batcave' like in Batman. It had tunnels going all through the ground and best of all, the entrance was hidden. Not only that, but it wasn't too far from the house, so if someone hollered for me, I could hear them. Since we were all still recovering, the short walk it took to get there had tired us out. Bray and Nix sort of just made a pallet on the ground and dozed. As I sat watching the entrance to the cave, I kept my senses alert. For Peter to send us out of the house while we were recovering, I knew it had to be something bad. Sure enough, five minutes later, I hear people walking through the trees. I smelt gunpowder and knew it wasn't anyone good.
Gasoline and smoke. Then fire and screams. I can still hear their screams like it was yesterday. I wanted to help. I knew I could. Fire was my strongest element. But I'd made a promise. And anyway, I couldn't leave the twins alone. I mean, what if something happened to me and no one knew where to find them? I wouldn't have been able to deal with it if something happened to them because I tried to be the hero. Right when the screams started, the twins startled out of their sleep and scrambled to get up. I managed to grab them before they got anywhere, and we sank to the ground as one, crying, as we listened to the dying screams of our family. I glanced up as I held them, to see a flash of what seemed to be the dirty blonde hair of a female. Thinking it was my mind playing tricks on me, I forgot about it. It wasn't until a few years later, that it occurred to me that, that flash of blonde hair could have been the person who started the fire. Half an hour had passed, when we heard the sirens. I could also hear my dad, Derek, and Laura screaming, trying to get inside. Knowing that the danger had initially passed, we grabbed our bags.
Slowly, to make sure no one strange was lurking around to see us emerge, I made my way out first. When I was sure it was clear, I gestured to the twin that is was ok. None of us wasted any time. We ran as fast as we could to get to what was left of our family. Upon seeing us, my dad broke free of the firefighter that was holding him back and engulfed us in his arms. As we sobbed, Laura and Derek joined our group hug. Though they didn't want to - as you could see it in their faces - two police officers interrupted our grieving. Dad told them he had gone to get medicine for the three of us and that he had no idea what had happened. I took over and explained that while we were resting, Peter - who we learned was severely burned and the only survivor, had been rushed to the hospital - had come in and told each of us to pack up everything valuable to us and then told me to take the twins and go hide. When they asked why we remained hidden, I told them about the promise he'd made me make. I also told them that as he'd walked away I heard him mutter, 'Gotta convince them to leave now.' When they asked if I'd seen anything else, I said no. The flash of blonde hair being so far from my mind that I forgot it had even happened. They escorted us to the hospital where the doctors told us that Peter was in a coma and they didn't know if or when he would wake from it.
Though we tried to convince them to stay, Laura and Derek left a few weeks later. They couldn't bear the heartache of so many memories. Derek was worse than all of us. He wouldn't tell us anything, but I knew that he was blaming himself for the fire. I knew that he'd gotten a girlfriend a few months before our cruise, but he'd never really introduced her officially to the family. Or if he did, he'd done it while we were on the cruise. Somehow, even though I'd never met her, I knew that she had something to do with the fire. Otherwise, Derek wouldn't be blaming himself. He'd realize that whoever the arsonist was, that they were sick in the head for killing..no... murdering innocent people, not to mention children. Deep down I knew it was because we were different. Monsters is what the hunters called us. So after they left, dad bought a new house closer to town but still far enough away that we could have privacy from prying eyes. Dad ended up buying a little bar/diner from this little old couple, who wanted to retire, for pretty cheap. We remodeled it a bit for our liking, and opened it about a month later. Because Bray, Nix, and I were missing so much school, dad made a deal with the principle that if we could take the exams early and pass, that we wouldn't have to go to school until the next year which would put me in sixth grade and the twins in third grade.
(AN: Ashlynn skipped first grade because of her mother passing away and went the next year. And had to repeat third grade because of all the training, they took her out since they didn't know she'd already been training. Afterwards, they just let her stay home. The twins skipped first grade.) Well we took the tests, and passed with flying colors. Dad called in Edward, Amanda, and Gilly to work for us. He let me work as a waitress/hostess and I even got to help out in the kitchen sometimes. Bray would help clean tables and wash dishes and Nix would flit from one thing to another helping wherever she was needed. People would sometimes question why youngsters were working, but once dad explained, they all accepted and moved on. Pretty often you'd hear someone say "They may be kids, but they know what they're doing. Besides they liven the place up."
Over the next year, our little bar/diner had become a pretty popular place. We even had regulars who would come in on certain days. Unfortunately, our school-free year, was up. Dad couldn't manage taking us to school and running the diner, so he had Amanda take us to school and then come in to work. It worked out this way because they'd hired another cook to help lighten the load on Edward and Amanda. Before we knew it, we had a cycle. Go to school, come home and do homework, go to work, train, and then do it all over again.
Two years passed and I was in my last year of middle school, when the twins met Stiles and Scott. (AN: Ashlynn is now fifteen, the twins are ten, and Stiles and Scott are twelve.) They were odd boys and even though the two pairs couldn't be more opposite, they just sort of clicked. Dad told the twins that they couldn't let them know about our secret and shockingly, they agreed. He'd taken me aside and told me to watch over the two boys. Ever since the fire, dad had kind of gone all mystic. It seemed like he just knew things. He just put it off as following his instinct. I trusted him though, and watched out for them. Once again, our life lapsed back into a cycle. All of us having a different one this time around. Between studying to get my license, school, work, and training, I barely had any time for myself. You would always find Braylen with Scott and Stiles, and if Phoenix wasn't with them, then she was with her friend Erica, who'd she met shortly after meeting the boys. Business was so good at the diner, that Dad had expanded it to the building on the lot next to it, and put it a sort of hang out spot for teens. It was kind of like a club, only it didn't serve alcohol. With the expansion, and having to hire new people and security, dad was always busy. Which of course, left me in charge of the twins, and because where they were, Scott and Stiles were also... I think you get the picture. So I usually had four or five kids, depending on if Erica was over or not, to look after. They might have been a handful, but I always had fun. There were a few close calls where the twins almost spilled the secret, but somehow we managed to divert everyone's attention almost every time it happened.
You'll be glad to know that I got my driver's license a couple months before school ended, and with it, my dad got me a black 2003 Jeep Grand Cherokee SUV. Not the most stylish of cars, I know, but I was going to be driving kids and myself to school and such, so it was fine with me. Though they weren't that much younger than me, Scott, Stiles, and Erica grew on me. I looked at them like they were my younger siblings. I took them under my wing and helped them out when I could, especially Erica. Being an epileptic is hard, but it's even harder when people make fun of you because of it. She wouldn't let any of us do anything about it. And for fear that they would retaliate even worse, we left it alone, for her sake. I should mention also, that even though Erica was friends with Phoenix, she didn't much care to hang out with the boys that often and they seemed to have the same mindset. Although she did have the biggest crush on Stiles. Don't tell her I told you, heh heh.
Over the next four years, our lives went on pretty much the same. Some things changed after I moved up to high school, though. The boys seemed to distance themselves from the girls and vice versa. When they were at the house they would hang out together for maybe like twenty minutes before they were going off doing their own thing. I don't know. I guess maybe puberty? It was the end of my junior year,Stiles and Scott's freshman year, and the twins' eighth grade year, when the principal approached me, asking for a meeting with dad about the twins. Come to find out, their scores on the last exams, were phenomenal, and the principal wanted them to be put in sophomore classes instead of freshman classes. They agreed almost immediately, and so on the last day of school, I took them around to meet all the teachers and show them where everything was. Needless to say, they were so ecstatic, that they barely paid attention to a word I said. Then, at the end of the day, they just left with Scott and Stiles to 'celebrate'.
As I was headed to my 2008 white dodge charger, - eighteenth birthday present - I saw Erica sitting all alone looking quite downtrodden. Curious as to what happened, I offered to give her a ride home. Instead of going straight home, I took her for some ice cream to talk over. As we ate our yummy cup of deliciousness (lol), she told me that she'd had an episode today during one of her classes and that some guy had got it on video and posted it all over the internet. My temper had threatened to explode, when I asked her where the boys and Nix were, and all she could do was look away. I took her home and after speaking with her mother to get permission, I made it my mission to make Erica feel better, no matter how long it took. I went home and told dad that I was taking a few days off for personal reasons, which when I explained to him - but told him not to say anything - he completely understood. I packed a bag with a few days worth of clothes and other stuff and headed back to Erica's.
And that is the end of that. Whew! I thought I'd never get done with that. It took forever to get things straightened out. Anyway, next chapter kind of introduces Ashlynn's relationship with Erica, as well as skims over the summer activities.
