SCOTT

That had to be the most awkward dinner ever.

Scott had thought maybe, just maybe, his family being altogether would be a fun evening. After all, everyone had finally started to warm up to each other, right?

And by that, of course, Scott meant everyone was warming up to his dad. His mom, Stiles, and Mr. Stilinski had no issue when it was them and Scott dining together. But toss in his dad, and things were especially… quiet. And tense.

Scott had bought some pizza, and while everyone did seem to be enjoying it enough, that didn't change the fact that conversation was at a standstill. At least it wasn't as tense as the dinner Scott had been a part of at Allison's.

When his dad and Mr. Stilinski had finally returned to Beacon Hills, it had seemed like a good idea to have this dinner. His mom was off of work for the day, and both Scott and Stiles had nothing left to do for the rest of the day other than remaining homework.

Dinner when both Scott's dad and Stiles' dad left, and when his mom announced she was going to be early. Scott and Stiles went up to his room, where Scott couldn't help but begin to rant about the dinner.

"Well, Scott, things can't just suddenly be normal," Stiles replied. "I mean, the last time your dad and my dad sat at a table and actually talked to each other, my mom had been alive and your parents were still married."

"I know, but… I mean, my dad is really trying to make things better. He wants to be a part of my life, and I do too," Scott replied. "And I know you and your dad both have reservations about him –"

"But as I've told you before, Scott, my dad and I are putting that aside. I mean, we're willing to give him another chance," Stiles replied. "We just both care about you. And when he did what he did – well…"

"I know," Scott replied with a sigh. "I just thought maybe we could have one nice dinner together. We're in the last semester of our Junior year, Stiles. Next year is going t be our last year of high school. I don't want to have to worry about whether or not my dad will feel comfortable at graduation sitting next to my mom and your dad."

"Well, it's not as if they're dating, Scott – I think you're just making a bigger deal of this than it actually is. You can't just… expect things to get better faster. You have to give it time. Who knows, maybe before you know it, your dad and my dad won't stare at each other with malice."

"I guess you're right," Scott replied, throwing himself onto his bed. "Things don't just get better immediately."

"Yep," Stiles replied, throwing himself beside Scott.

"That applies to all kinds of things though," Scott began, turning to Stiles. "You know that, right?"

"Scott, I know where this is going, and –" Stiles began, but Scott interrupted him.

"I'm not going to pressure you into talking," Scott replied. "And I'm not going to tell you that you're not the only one who is suffering. But I just… I get worried. You haven't really said anything solid to me about the Nogitsune incident in weeks, and when you do, it's just you changing the subject. I don't want you bottling it up. We're brothers, dude. I'm always here for you."

Scott had meant every word he'd said. He hadn't wanted to admit it, but he had been really worried about Stiles. They always used to share everything. Now it was like there was an invisible wall between them, keeping them apart. Scott was doing his best to tear through, but he was afraid that Stiles was going to hide behind it forever.

"I know, and… I'm sorry," Stiles replied. "I just… I need some more time," he replied. "If it helps, I have been talking about it…"

"With who?" Scott asked. "Lydia?"

"Uh, no. I mean, that day she put us all to sleep, I did, but it was only a bit. I've actually been talking to Derek about it, here and there. And it's not because I don't trust you or anything, it's just… truthfully, Scott, I feel guilty every time I'm around you. And it's not your fault, either. I just… I feel like I failed you. I was weak and got taken over, and because of that, I caused Allison to die. I think that's why I can't talk to Lydia about it either. She was your first love, and she was Lydia's best friend. Derek… didn't really have that big of a connection to her."

"I guess I'm just surprised," Scott replied. "I know you and Derek don't really hate each other, but I never expected you two to actually talk about things like that."

"Yeah, well, he's surprisingly a good listener when he's not yelling at me to saw off his arm or getting upset that I'm not excelling in his grade A self defense program."

"I want you to know something else," Scott started after a long silence. "I don't blame you for Allison. Neither does Lydia. I think we both feel the way you do as well, about blaming ourselves. Lydia tried to warn us not to go, and I feel like if I had been just a little bit faster, I could have saved Allison. But we have to move on from that, because Allison wouldn't have wanted that."

The room went silent again, and Scott was afraid maybe Stiles wasn't even listening anymore, that maybe Stiles was off in his mind again, blaming himself, but then he felt a hand on his shoulder, and turned to see Stiles looking at him.

"You're right," Stiles replied. "Thanks, Scott."

"No problem, buddy. After all, as a wise philosopher once said, 'you've still got me'," Scott replied, and Stiles smiled.

"I am pretty wise."

Stiles was sleeping on the bed. Scott was glad to see his friend was getting some solid sleep without being awoken by horrible nightmares. Unfortunately, Scott couldn't sleep. It was only ten, but he could feel that tonight would be restless. He wondered how long it would be until the next full moon. He hadn't really been keeping tabs, but he knew that they'd need to check in on Malia and make sure she was situated for it.

Scott wasn't sure what happened between Stiles and Malia. He knew they'd had a moment in Eichen House, but ever since she'd been released, he hadn't seen them together once. He saw her in the hall at school as well, but from what he heard, they put her with the freshmen, and even then, she has multiple remedial classes due to all the years of school she missed.

He decided to make a mental note to himself that next time he saw her, he'd try to be friendly, maybe even invite her out with the others. She had to be pretty lonely.

Speaking of lonely, Scott couldn't help but want to be alone for awhile. Yes, Stiles was asleep, but Scott wanted to get out for awhile – go run, let loose for awhile, and just be free.

In case Stiles woke up, Scott left him a note, and took his cell with him. If Stiles did wake up and needed him, he wanted Stiles to be able to reach him.

Once that was done, Scott opened his window, went onto the roof, closed the window, and then leapt. As his feet hit the floor, he began to run, feeling the change come over him.

It felt so good to be out doing this. He tried to remember the last time he had been able to go out, running like this. It had felt so long. Even if things weren't exactly "peaceful", they were much more peaceful than things had been.

He ran for awhile, noticing occasionally that he was getting closer and closer to town. He tried to stay in the shadows, that way no one would see him – even if they didn't know it was him specifically. He didn't want rumors circulating around the town about a wolf man or the return of the mountain lion – which, strangely, ended up being real.

As Scott had been running, however, a strange scent began to fill his nostrils. It was a familiar smell, one that caused his body to feel immediate alarm. It was the scent of blood – human blood.

And then, he heard a bestial roar. It didn't sound like anything he'd ever heard before, but he knew one thing – it didn't sound like an animal that should be in Beacon Hills, and it also didn't sound like a human.

Scott moved quickly, immediately running towards the scent of blood and the sound, afraid of what he might find. There'd been enough murders in town, enough death. Scott didn't want any more people to die, even if he didn't know them personally. He was tired of funerals, tired of loss, tired of feeling useless when he wanted to feel strongest most.

Scott could smell the blood better as he moved, knowing he was certainly following the right path. He stopped suddenly as his path ended, and he was standing on a cliff. When he looked down, however, he saw that there was more land just about twenty feet down.

What he saw in addition to that, however, was what caught his attention.

There were two creatures – very, very large and muscular creatures. They were entirely covered by bones, as if they were wearing them, and had animal skulls on their heads. Both of the creatures were circling around someone else – a man, who was large and muscular as well, but not nearly as much as these creatures. The man was bleeding from his leg, and from what Scott could tell, he wasn't in great shape.

But what truly shocked Scott about the man, however, was his face. Everything seemed normal, excluding the fact he had no mouth.

It occurred to Scott then who that man was. It was the mouthless man, the man they had all been sure was gone by now, the man they all were ready to give up searching for. And here he was being attacked by two very formidable looking creatures, and he was losing.

Scott didn't think before he leapt forward – he didn't know the mouthless man, but this man was the only lead he had. Why had the man been here? Why were these creatures here now? And why were they attacking him?

He didn't know if he could trust the man, but he couldn't risk letting the man die. He wouldn't risk it because he couldn't let him die. He'd saved Stiles life before, and even if he hadn't, it wouldn't be right. Scott didn't believe in killing, and while he'd been told that would be his downfall, he refused to change because this is what he felt was right.

As he descended from the air, he slammed his feet as hard as he could into the nearest bone creature, sending it onto its back. Scott rolled his way onto the ground after, trying to regain his balance. As he began to get up, ready to attack the other beast, he felt himself being shoved backward, and saw it was the mouthless man doing it.

At first, Scott thought the man was attacking him as well – until he saw that the second bone creature's arm connected to the spot he had just been standing, and was sure that would have broken something of his.

Scott immediately kicked forward again, sending the bone creature that had attacked him staggering back a few feet.

Once he regained his ground, and saw both creatures clearly in front of him, he turned his direction towards the mouthless man. He didn't look to be in too bad of a condition, but Scott could tell the man's left leg was broken, and from how he moved, he wouldn't be able to help much in a fight.

"Thank you," Scott said to the mouthless man. "I'm not here to hurt you. If we team up, we can beat these things. I'll get you out of here safely."

The mouthless man scanned Scott, as if he were sizing him up. Then, the mouthless man nodded, clearly on board with the idea. At least Scott didn't have to worry about having to fight him off as well.

"You're injured, so you need to move back. I know it hurts, but you'll only get in the way if you stay right here, okay?" Scott said to the main, and he nodded, already beginning to limp away, though clearly struggling.

A thought ran through Scott's mind to grab the man and try to run, despite his size, when he felt something hard slam into his body from his left side. A large surge of pain swept through Scott, and he could feel his body flying back a few feet. The bone creature he had knocked down clearly had regained its balance.

Scott felt his back connect with a tree, but luckily, nothing cracked. He was glad for that. As he tried to get up quickly, to attack the bone creature, he saw out of the corner of his right eye that the other bone creature was only a few feet away, and already about to attack him.

Or, it was – until it stopped moving suddenly, and the tip of a blade appeared from its stomach. Then, the blade was gone, being pulled back out, and Scott thought for a second it was Kira. He was about to ask her what she was doing out here when the bone creature moved off to the side, grabbing at its bleeding stomach, when Scott saw it wasn't Kira. It was some boy around his age that he'd never seen before. He was lean and held a katana in his left hand, and his right hand seemed to be glowing. His eyes were pure black and glowing faintly as well, and they traveled from the bone creature to Scott, and a scowl seemed to cross the boy's face.

"You just couldn't stay out of this, could you?"