"My boss?"
"Yes"
"But he's a former emissary," he said, as if that was a way of defending him "and a druid!" And as close to a father as I ever got. And your dad's friend. And a friend of nature, someone who would never harm-
"So?" He arches an eyebrow at him, waiting for an answer but doesn't get any.
"Does that make-...?"
"Yeah..."
"I can't do this to him" Scott says unsure.
"You don't have to, we'll take care of it" Lydia and Isaac both nod while Kira looks just as hesitant as Scott.
"Do you have to?" She asks.
"If we want to live" Stiles arches an eyebrow at Scott who snaps out of whatever 'thoughts' he sank in. "Yeah" he just says and Stiles sighs.
"Call him then"
"What, now?"
"Yes, tell him we want to meet up for... Something. Improvise"
"I can't lie to him"
"Jesus Scott?" Stiles sighs in exasperation "Just say you want to talk to him"
"Then what!?"
"We'll talk to him, straight forward" but it doesn't sound reassuring enough.
"About what?"
"saving unicorns" Stiles answers "you know what"
"And if it's not him?" Isaac asks.
"Then we'll be dead before we know it. She wouldn't hesitate to do it anyway"
._._._.
Eventually he makes the call, having all three teenagers at his face while at it. While something tells him they're not there to just talk, he's worried, for Isaac especially, since he didn't get to finish it up with Gerard, he would take it on Deaton if he refuses to help.
But Deaton was the one to say the had to close the door.
He was the one to tell him about regression to the mean.
Balance.
They all arrive to the lonely forest they'd promised they'd meet in.
Lydia recognises the tall trees from her dream, everything looked identical, she startles when Isaac asks:
"When is it gonna start raining" suspiciously looking around, side glancing at the vet, who simply answered:
"The sky is clear today, I don't assume it's going to" He even finished it with a smile, Isaac narrows his eyes, Kira's hand is on her belt, Stiles pacing in circles.
The sky bleeding, she remembered.
And they just stand in silence, Lydia doesn't miss how they're keeping a very good distance. And a few times approaching before backing away. Also, Isaac is first in the group.
"We need your help" Scott starts. Before Isaac added:
"You don't happen to need ours too, do you?" Scott glares at him, clenching his jaw shut, this was going down really fast. Deaton shakes his head.
"he doesn't seem like he knows" Stiles whispers behind him, causing him to jerk around like someone slapped him across the face "what? But you said-"
"Ask him about his sister" he says, lower, not leaving Scott's mentor by the eye. He nods, then does, the vet's expression changes for the first time since they met, and Scott's suspicions grow.
"Is she the one doing all this?" He asks again.
"You know what we're talking about." Isaac says matter-of-factly.
"I'm afraid I don't" he answers.
"Marin is it?" Stiles says "pseudo for Māra, death demon" Deaton gives him a tight lipped smile, Lydia bites her lip, did he just call his sister a demon? He did.
"-Ready to go through all risks to accomplish justice, while bigger brother is out of commission." He says, and Scott doesn't like the way he's addressing him "fits right"
"Not quite" Marin appears behind her brother, out of nowhere, flashing them all a stern look. Kira's grip tightens on her sword-belt as she sees a matching one in Morrell's hand.
"Alan was never in commission. He's a believer that nature eventually goes back to normal. Our father used to believe that too" Deaton shoots her look, suggesting that she was telling too much but she chooses to ignore him "While I know that if someone doesn't put order into things soon, no one will"
"So you're going to kill us."
"No, I'm going to punish you for what you have done."
"We did it for the right reasons" Scott defends and Stiles approves by nodding.
"We can-" Deaton turns to his sister but she interrupts:
"Alan, let me handle this, will you. You've kept enough secrets from me already" and the pack members exchange glares.
"Scott is a true alpha" he protests anyway "You know what that means"
"At least he'll come back purified" she answers back. They all look at Stiles, who shakes his head.
"About that..."
"You touch him..." Scott threatens, but she doesn't waste any more time talking as she lurches forward, Kira blocks her attack with her sword.
Scott and Isaac immediately jump into the fight, fangs barred and glowing eyes. But not for much long as mountain ash is circling all three of them, nicely put by her. When Stiles is close enough, Lydia whispers something then starts backing away.
He stays in place for a moment that is no longer than a few seconds, looks around, looks at Lydia before realizing what the banshee has just said to him:
'Break the mountain ash and run as fast as you can"
So he does. Even before Marin could react, he's breaking the mountain ash barrier just in time with Lydia's scream, it was the loudest most piercing scream they had ever assisted, she was screaming with her whole body, eyes clenched shut, hair flowing in the wind very aware of what impact her voice had on the enemy.
._._._.
Lydia stops screaming, opens her eyes and witnesses a shower of red flowers flooding around her dress. Then realized when they collide with it that they're thick drop of blood, she wipes her eyes and sees the goddess of death headless and bloody.
Deaton, nowhere to be seen.
Her throat feels sore, she tries calling for her friends but knows they're already out of earshot by now, at least they should be.
But then why is she having that feeling again?
Like something went wrong...
She scans the place with her eyes, and sees -other than the body- Kira's backpack, she must've dropped it when she ran.
Lydia approaches the object cautiously, because it's a little too close to the blood bath. And she wants to puke so bad she had to put her hand on her mouth not to.
When she lands hand on it, it's open, and a piece of wood comes out of it.
'OUIJA'
Without even realizing it, she knew that this was the way to get rid of the feeling.
So she sits down, and calls for her friend. Fingers pressed on the planchette, eyes clenched, recalling every bit of memory, the sad ones the happy ones.
But then,
Nothing.
And Lydia thinks it didn't work, but for some reason glues her hands to the board again.
._._._.
'RUN' Scott orders.
And they do.
Kira, starting last running first. Behind her the two werewolves, then Stiles. They all hear
Their hearts jackhammering in their ears, their heads hurting like the scream resonated in their skulls but their legs never stopped moving.
For some weird reason, when their heads start feeling like a broken door from constant knocking, Scott recalls Lydia's dream and wonders if this is the part where they die.
And before he knows it, his head collides with the floor.
He hears his name been said, faint and distant, with a question mark at the end, he doesn't have time to guess who it is before his world is all darkness.
"Scott. Scott, wake up" he's shaken several times awake. He blinks a lot more before he does so:
"Allison, what are you-" he asks, slurring.
"We don't have much time, you have to wake up" she says, already lifting him up, and he could feel her touch, not ice.
"Run" she says, but he's just staring like there wasn't anything else to do "go!" She insists.
"I love you." He says.
"I love you too." She smiles this time, but he still doesn't move.
"Don't worry about me" she adds. "Now go"
Scott wakes up and starts running again, finding all his friends awake as well.
._._._.
"So, you don't die" Stiles says, addressing Scott while the rest of their friends are gathered again.
"Looks like it"
"And you" he looks at Lydia "kick ass" she scowls:
"Don't remind me" but he doesn't miss the way she flutters her eyelashes at the compliment. Then she tells them that the Ouija board doesn't work anymore, but Scott denies it by telling them his story while on a run. She looks surprised but doesn't promise another try.
Scott wakes up saying he has to do something. Within minutes he's at the animal clinic:
"I'm sorry about your sister" he says, still surprised he was let in at all.
"After what she had done, I don't think there was another way to do it" Deaton justifies.
"Why didn't you tell me?" He finds himself asking. "About who she was, I mean"
"Because that would put you straight to danger" he said "But I knew I made a mistake when she started following other, ancient methods that had proven to be wrong"
After a brief silence he added:
"The door that has been opened inside your minds is the result of a sacrifice you made" the werewolf nods "and even if you managed to escape the punishment, nature always finds a way to pay back, if I could call it that"
"So even If..."
Deaton shakes his head in affirmation "someone will come for you" he says, and Scott gets stuck in a moment where he doesn't know if his mentor's smile is telling him 'this is my way of punishing you' or just genuine reassurance and sympathy.
