REAPING INNOCENCE ◦ STILINSKI [3]

i.

"Caterina."

Carter moved her eyes from her fumbling fingers, blinking a few times before running her shaky hands over her face, looking to her left to see that Raeven was staring intently at her, a concerned expression on her face. She smiled at her full name, knowing that she only allowed Raeven to call her that because of how much she reminded the girl of her mother.

Pulling her lips into a tight line, Carter nodded at Raeven. "Yeah, Rae?"

The undead girl looked weary, an expression Carter had never seen on her face, almost seeming afraid to say what was right on the tip of her tongue. "Are you ever going to tell me what happened to you four years ago?" she asked, her voice was low and she kept looking out of the corner of her eye to make sure that Stiles and Lydia didn't hear.

Carter was defeated, her face falling completely as she let out a deep sigh — Raeven had been pestering her about that night ever since Carter had made a slight reference to it. She frowned deeply, trying not to think back to the memories she had shut out long ago. Rarely ever did she recall back to the night when everything changed between herself and her brother, mostly for the very reason of how gruesome it had been. She didn't like remembering the blood and the flames and the screams — the agony.

She knew that eventually she would have to tell them, but before she could even take in a breath to speak, Stiles' voice sounded.

Stiles sighed, rubbing his hands together. "This doesn't seem so bad."

"It's not the town, it's the plan." Carter replied, crossing her arms over her chest, feeling the basking sun shine down upon her bare arms. A sense of relief coursing through her at Stiles' brilliant timing, knowing that she still wasn't ready to talk about it.

Carter and Lydia had both been extremely pessimistic and verbal about how they didn't think their plan was going to work out. The two girls both knew that their plans always sounded good on paper, but when they actually tried to act them out, it always backfired. Raeven kept making snide comments about how the brunette and the strawberry-blonde didn't trust Stiles' plan-making skills; he did have better success rates than Scott's, but Stiles' last plan was for him to allow the Nogitsune to possess him so it wouldn't harm Carter.

And they all knew how that turned out.

"What's wrong with the plan?" Stiles asked, becoming slightly defensive as he turned to look toward the girl.

"Stiles," Carter called out flatly, finally glancing up to meet his eyes. The same chocolate brown mixed with golden caramel eyes that had completely changed her perception on anything and everything in her life. Ideale Altro. "This could be the stupidest plan we've ever come up with. You're aware of that, right?"

Raeven smirked, cocking her head to the side upon hearing her doppelgänger's remark. "I mean, I've only know y'all for a few days, aside from Carter, and from what I've gathered — this cannot be the best that you have ever come up with."

Stiles shot a glare toward Raeven, "Hey, come on guys, have a little faith."

"We are going to die," Lydia announced, taking the first step toward the "club" where the Calavera's were located. Scott, Malia and Kira were all inside as well, scoping out the place while they awaited the arrival of their other counterparts.