"What are you getting?"
"How should I know? You're the one who's been here before," Abbie glared over at Isaac who continued to stare at the menu above the diner counter. Why they waited in line at yet another American diner, Abbie couldn't say. Both Isaac and Scott insisted that the diner they stood inside and the diner she and Isaac had eaten at with Argent had entirely different appeals. Abbie obviously didn't see what they did. The diners smelled the same, the menus looked the same--hell, the diners had the same color schemes and decor, right down to the painstakingly specific font on the sign out front! But maybe she was just crazy--though she was pretty sure the two werewolves beside her proved a little more off their rockers with how they kept staring at the menu like they found the Holy Grail.
After getting as much information out of Peter as they could, the three made their way to get an early dinner (though Abbie doubted this would be Isaac's last meal of the day since he seemed always ready to eat more). Despite his insistence on his knowledge about Huli Jing, Peter really couldn't tell her anything about her great grandmother, or how Huli Jing powers might manifest in a descendant of one. Peter said Huli Jing were masters of human languages but Abbie didn't find that very helpful since she already knew plenty of languages from her tutoring on earth 816.
The one thing that really stood out to her was a Huli Jing's ability to heal. While they couldn't just heal someone's wound with a wave of their hand, they had supernatural intuition on how to help fix wounds. It reminded her of the feeling she got in her gut when she was stitching up Isaac's wounds; she knew there were better ways to stop the bleeding from his bullet wound, but she still used a torch, only to learn later that he would have died if she hadn't have burned out the wolf's bane.
She also noted when Peter said that Huli Jing could ease pain for others, calming them or helping them ignore their pain. While she couldn't really recall ever manipulating someone's emotions in such a way, she remembered how surprised she felt when Isaac passed out while she cleaned his wounds. From what she heard, he had been through worse without losing consciousness, but she remembered wishing that the pain would ease, and then he was out like a light. She couldn't have been sure, but she suspected that might have been her own doing.
Beyond that, there wasn't much Peter could tell her. Luckily, Scott said Mrs. Yukimura agreed to make a special trip from San Francisco to meet with Abbie. Though the timing seemed odd, Mrs. Yukimura would meet her around 5 am the next day since she still had to get back to San Francisco before noon. Honestly, Abbie didn't care what time they had to meet--as long as she got answers.
Until then, they'd meet with Lydia and Malia at the diner. Abbie felt nerves bubbling up at the thought of meeting Malia, but she knew she didn't have to worry too much. If Peter, the former psycho-werewolf, greeted her so easily and without causing her to feel like her life was in mortal danger, she was sure Malia would be fine--hopefully.
"I'm getting the Roarin' Rack of Ribs with a side of Bellyachin' Steak Fries," Scott stated, more obviously talking to Isaac--who nodded his head vigorously at the idea--than Abbie. "What about you?"
"I'm thinking the K.O. Everything Burger," Isaac's eyes danced with barely contained excitement. "Man, I've been craving one since leaving Beacon Hills."
Scott grunted in agreement and Abbie rolled her eyes from behind them. Honestly, they really were a bunch of animals. She decided not to address it since she clearly didn't understand the obsession they had with the food there. Perhaps it had something to do with their enhanced senses, or just plain nostalgia driving them to look like men who hadn't eaten in a month. Looking back at all the horrendously gruesome lunches she used to sit through, watching Isaac tear through sandwich after sandwich, she wasn't actually that surprised. Werewolves obviously had big appetites.
While the boys drooled over what they planned to order, Abbie's eyes glanced around the room absentmindedly. Only a few patrons sat about, other than those in line in front of the small group of supernaturals. She particularly noticed a few teens sitting over to the side, whispering to themselves and occasionally looking over to them.
"Hey, don't look, but what are those teens over there whispering about?" she elbowed Isaac, pulling him out of his greasy-food-induced trance. "They keep glancing over at us."
Isaac quietly listened in for a second before frowning. When he didn't respond, Scott looked over with a sympathetic expression, "They're talking about how many odd instances have surrounded our friend group over the years. From Lydia's disappearance after Peter bit her, to all the deaths... We're not as invisible as we once were."
"No, I suppose not," Abbie frowned, glancing over at the group again before realizing Isaac still looked lost in thought. Deaths. It wasn't hard to guess where his train of thought had gone; Erica, Boyd... Allison. "Hey, what do you think I should get?"
Isaac broke out of his thoughts and started going down the list of good menu items, making Scott smile in appreciation for her emotional intuitiveness. Scott understood that neither of them seemed to want a romantic relationship with each other, but he was still glad for their friendship. He remembered how much Stiles had stepped up and supported him after Allison's death, and he could see the same loyalty in the friendship between Isaac and Abbie.
Just as they were about to be next in line, Lydia and Malia entered the diner, making Scott glance between them and the register that just opened up. Abbie noted his internal conflict and snorted. Sometimes it seemed like Scott and Isaac were the same person when it came to food.
"It's alright," she smirked. "I can go introduce myself."
"Are you sure?" Isaac frowned, no longer preoccupied with the menu. "I can wait to order."
Abbie smiled. How sweet of him to prioritize her comfort over his stomach, but she'd survive. "No, Starving Man, you stay here. Get me a, uh..." she glanced at the menu for a moment. "A Shakin' Bacon Burger. With no mayo or mustard, please."
"You chose something while barely looking at the menu?" Scott asked, obviously seeing her actions as purely sacrilegious. "But there are so many options!"
"You mean how there are four different Bacon-Burger options?" Abbie raised an eyebrow in amusement. "The Spicy Pig has jalapenos and red hot pepper flakes, which I could definitely do without, the Pig-inator is literally just meat, no produce, and the Squealer is marinated in hot sauce," she counted off with a shrug. "And the Shakin' Bacon Burger has curly fries--score!"
Abbie walked off, leaving Scott to watch in confusion while Isaac rolled his eyes, "Scott, don't bother. She's just showing off."
"She wasn't even looking at the menu earlier," Scott looked to Isaac, silently asking if he was going crazy.
Isaac rolled his eyes again, "She always does that."
"Does what exactly?"
"She can take one look at a menu and know everything that's on there."
"How?" Scott balked.
"How should I know?" Isaac smirked. "Good memory, I suppose."
"I've seen good memories," Scott shook his head. "That was..."
"Don't bother trying to understand," Isaac clapped his friend on the shoulder. "You're only going to hurt yourself."
Abbie approached the two girls with a hesitant smile. The taller one wore a t-shirt and jeans, hair short and tucked behind her ears, while the shorter one wore a classy blouse and fitted black pants, her hair in a sleek bun behind her head, a few stands framing her face. Abbie didn't struggle to recognize which one was Malia and which was Lydia. Lydia's hair alone made Abbie a little self-conscious of her ponytail she took little to no time to do that morning--Abbie expected nothing less from the former popular girl of Beacon Hills.
"Uh, hi," she greeted them. "I'm Isaac's friend, Abbie. I thought I'd introduce myself while they drool over greasy food."
"It's a therianthrope thing," Lydia glanced at Malia in a look that seemed equal parts disdain and amusement. Malia stared at the menu above the counter with the same transfixed gaze that Abbie had rolled her eyes at Scott and Isaac for just minutes before.
Abbie's eyes brightened at the mythological terminology, excited to know that someone else knew the term for supernatural people able to metamorphose into animals. She had tried explaining the term to Isaac several times, but he never seemed to remember it. She suspected that he purposely forgot it, if only to mess with her on a regular basis. "Well, you're obviously Lydia."
"What gave me away?" she smiled, making Abbie shrug.
"Everything, really," Abbie admitted, making Lydia raise an eyebrow. "You know, the clothes, the hair, the absolutely perfect natural make up--how do you do that?--not to mention use of such scholarly vernacular."
"I'm that obvious?" Lydia laughed.
"Well, no," Abbie laughed as well. "But you're also the only other one not looking at the menu like a kid in a candy shop. So that makes you Malia."
Malia looked to the brunette, meeting her strikingly blue eyes. Dear God, they looked just like her father's. Scott had told her briefly over the phone that the girl they would be meeting was related to the Hales, but perhaps it hadn't quite sunk in before that. It made Malia uncomfortable, mostly. She barely had a consistent relationship with her father and she never connected with Derek--not to mention that she had never met Cora. Yet right in front of her was another formerly-estranged family member.
"Uh, hi," Malia said, glancing to Lydia to see if she should have been doing anything else. "So, we're related."
"Uh, yeah," Abbie blinked at Malia's bluntness before smiling a little. Honestly, it was a little refreshing after having to practically interrogate her aunt Anika and then Peter just to get any straight answers. "I believe we have the same great grandmother."
Malia nodded, "And you're a Kitsune."
"Uh, no... it turns out it's a little more complicated than that--but I'll explain more after we get our food," Abbie's smile dropped at that with a sigh. "But you're a were-coyote, right? What's that like? You must view the world differently than most."
"Being a coyote is fine," Malia let her gaze train back onto the menu with a frown. "It's humans I don't get. Animal rules are absolute and necessary for survival; human rules change every minute depending on who you are talking to, what you're talking about, and what you plan to get out of the interaction."
"That's extremely insightful," Abbie tilted her head with a small smile. "You would make for an incredibly helpful interview with a social psychologist. Most people just know how to interact on a subconscious level, but your conscious learning of how people interact would give invaluable knowledge to the subject."
Malia blinked back at Abigail, quite surprised before giving the smallest smile, "Thank you... No ones every said it like that before."
Abbie gave an answering smile before Malia focused back on the board. Lydia watched the interaction with a bit of wonder, quite surprised by their mutual respect. Most people didn't know how to handle Malia when they first met her, but Abbie took to the girl like it was nothing, immediately letting her know that being different isn't necessarily bad and that it could actually make her more fit in some circumstances than others. She had been a little worried for Malia before, but Abbie eased those worries right away. Lydia liked the girl.
Once they all sat down with food, Abbie tried her best to explain her supernatural genetics to the two girls. Lydia related the most to her story, knowing just what it was like to have abilities that were unknown and largely undefinable. Abbie seemed frustrated more than anything--and that was entirely justifiable.
Sure, Abbie seemed to have an intuition for first aid, but how was she to identify when her 'abilities' were kicking in? Her powers were mostly subconscious, but they didn't seem as instinctual as that of a werewolf. Werewolves know when they are sensing fear, but Abbie didn't exactly know what if felt like to sense life. What was she supposed to feel when she sensed a soul? She didn't know.
And when Peter prompted her to tell if he was lying, she didn't know how that worked either. Sure, on some level she knew he was honest while still holding something back, but she had to think about it and observe him. What if she had just subconsciously realized that from watching his facial expression and body language? She wondered if she really had any real Huli Jing powers at all.
"And I learned Chinese years ago," she explained. "It's not like I suddenly understood it or anything when my abilities surfaced--which is another thing because I still don't know when those began."
"Maybe your interest in Chinese history and language growing up came from your heritage," Scott suggested as a waiter began setting their food in front of them.
"Maybe," Abbie trailed off, not really bothering to argue even though she knew he was wrong. She knew all about the Chinese language because she was forced to learn from renown tutors by WICKED, but she wasn't about to unpack that whole story over greasy burgers.
Maybe one day, she'd consider the people sitting around her and Isaac as real friends--and maybe she would tell them about the other life she had lived... But not yet. She was just earning their trust and she didn't need them thinking she was crazy.
"Fluent in Chinese must have looked good on your college applications," Lydia commented, noting Abbie's dislike for their topic of conversation being trained on her heritage.
"Everything looked good on her college applications," Isaac snorted, taking his plate from the waiter. "She's practically a genius."
"Wow, you guys could be best friends," Scott smiled to Lydia before looking to Abbie. "Lydia is going to MIT in the Fall."
"That's amazing!" Abbie smiled over at the girl who glared over at Scott. "It's extremely hard to get in, you've obviously worked tremendously hard; congratulations."
"Thank you," Lydia looked down at her plate humbly and smiled. "Where are you going?"
"Oh," Abbie glanced at her plate. "Uh, I'm just staying local. My parents are a bit worried about me staying on a campus hundreds of miles away from them."
The others nodded a bit in understanding while Isaac just rolled his eyes with a scoff, "She's just embarrassed. Yeah, she's staying local-- Yale is only 20 minutes from her house."
Scott choked on his first bite, "You're going to Yale?"
"Yes," Abbie sighed, sending a glare at Isaac who met her eyes evenly. "I just don't usually volunteer that information in normal conversation--it makes me sound... pretentious."
"Using the word 'pretentious' makes you sound pretentious" Isaac earned himself an elbow for that comment but he just smirked. He ignored his annoyed best friend with a smug grin on his face, taking his first bite of his burger. Not even a full chew in, he froze with a frown, setting his burger back down and grabbing a napkin and spitting the bite into it. "Ugh, great."
"What?"
"I forgot to ask for no pickles."
"No pickles?" Scott laughed in disbelief. "You love pickles. They were, like, the only thing you contributed to our fridge when you lived at my house.
"He used to like pickles?" Abbie leaned forward in extreme interest.
"I don't know," Isaac rolled his eyes. "Ever since I got freaking electrocuted, pickles just don't taste good anymore."
"That's... odd," Lydia surmised.
"It sucks," Isaac amended. "I loved pickles... and now I can't stand them."
"Just take them off," Abbie told him, taking a bite of her own burger.
"But the top bun will still taste like pickles," he argued.
"Then don't eat the top bun."
"But then that ruins the rest of the burger! The bread-to-fillings ratio matters, Abbie!"
"For the love of-" Abbie rolled her eyes, dragging his plate over next to her own. She took the top bun of her own burger and switched it with his before sliding his plate back over to him. "There, happy?"
He stared at his burger glumly before taking a bite with a big sigh. It took everything in Abbie not to take her bun back and tell him she wasn't going to be considerate if he was going to keep pouting.
"I swear, you're like a big child..." she grumbled, much to the rest of the table's amusement.
The rest of the meal was quite pleasant, as they all chatted pleasantly while eating, Isaac soon forgetting about his original bun and Abbie easily ignoring the pickle-taste every time she took a bite. It had been a small sacrifice and she supposed it was time she started putting others first more in her life.
*****
After the diner, Isaac and Abbie went back to Scott's house to get some sleep. Since they'd be meeting Mrs. Yukimura so early in the morning, they thought it best to just get to sleep earlier. It was nearly 7:00 pm and they'd have to be up by 3:00 am to pack their things and get ready before driving to the location that the Kitsune agreed to meet at. Scott volunteered to drive them without a second of hesitation and Abbie was truly starting to understand why he was a True Alpha. He was going out of his way to help her--just because she was a friend of a friend.
Abbie didn't know how tired she was until she laid down, barely able to keep her eyes open as her head hit the pillow. She had been overloaded with information all day, yet almost none of her questions had been answered yet. When she thought about it, she wasn't even sure what questions she was asking.
Much later on into the night, she woke up when she felt the bed shifting. She rolled over to look to her best friend, a sinking feeling settling in her stomach when she realized he was having a nightmare. It made her feel terrible; she was the reason they came to Beacon Hills and his old trauma was getting dredged up because of it. She felt like a horrible friend for making him have to go through that. She knew what it was like to be haunted by the past.
"Isaac," she said softly, trying to wake him up without startling him. She tried a few more times but it didn't work. She knew she'd have to nudge him and she hoped Peter was right about her ability to calm people because she didn't want to die at the hands of a half-lucid werewolf.
She felt her hands start to tingle and she reached out to grab his arm. "Isaac," she said a little firmer and shook his arm a little, gasping when he jerked awake, grabbing onto her other arm in a tight grip. It was almost a tight enough hold to bruise and she panicked for a moment before imagining the tingling feeling in her hands transferring to him, seeping through his skin and calming his erratic heart. "Isaac," she tried again, searching his eyes for recognition and sighing in relief once she saw it. "It's okay, it was just a dream."
He pulled himself away from her and tried evening his breaths, glancing at her a few times to make sure he hadn't hurt her. She made no effort to move away, though, far too focused on making sure he was okay.
"It was her, huh?" she asked lowly. "You had a dream about her... Allison." As soon as the name left her mouth, his gaze moved up to hers, eyes watery and lost.
She knew he needed a hug, but he'd never ask for it himself. After years of abuse, she didn't think he knew how to ask for comfort. To be touched, to be held by someone who loved him. She she didn't bother waiting for him to initiate anything, reaching over and wrapping her arms around his shoulders, holding him tightly so that he'd know that she was there--that she'd always be there for him.
And that was all it too for him to break, dropping his head on her shoulder and holding her with trembling arms--trying desperately to tell himself that he was cared for and that he wasn't alone. He cried and held her tight and he didn't know when, but at some point she had started crying too, tears soaking the shoulder of his shirt. She didn't let him go, even when the tears had stopped and he could take deep breaths again.
"It's okay to still mourn her, you know?" she whispered. "That doesn't make you weak... it just means that you cared about her."
"It just," his breath hitched and he sniffed. "It still hurts so much. She's gone and I... I know that but it's still so much."
She tightened her hold on him again, her heart breaking at the pain in his voice, "I know... I know it does."
"I just wish it wasn't real sometimes," he whispered, like he was scared to admit it.
"I wish that too, at times," she hesitated. "I know you don't believe everything... but I understand. I know what it's like to just want to go back to when things weren't so broken."
He pulled away and Abbie feared for a moment that she had said the wrong thing, making a bad move by trying to relate to him with a life he didn't even believe she lived. It hurt to know that no one believed her, but she felt even more guilty for practically forcing what people considered her 'delusions' onto others.
"I believe you," he looked her square in the eye and her breath faltered.
"W-what?"
"I believe you," he repeated, holding onto her hands. "I'm so sorry you've been so alone with this, but if you say that there are alternative worlds and that you've lived on one and everything--then I believe you."
She thought she wouldn't cry again but her eyes burned and her lip trembled before she pulled him into another hug, shoulders shaking in both laughter and tears, "You mean it?"
"Yeah," he hugged her back, staring over to where he sketch pad sat on top of the night stand. "I've been thinking about it since the other night at your house. If I can believe in werewolves and banshees and Kitsunes and Huli Jing, then I can believe you. And everything you believe."
"Thank you," she sighed, tears still streaming down her face.
"No, thank you," he responded. And he meant it; she had done so much for him in the time they had known each other. She was his best friend and his confidante and she understood him and cared for him and stood up for him. She brought a light into his life that he thought couldn't ever be there, snuffed out long before. But she helped him pull his life together--even if he still didn't have any clue what he was doing.
At least he knew that he had friends. Her, as well as all the people he left behind in Beacon Hills.
He had a family.
*****
Hours later, Scott pulled the car over behind a restaurant about an hour outside of Beacon Hills. He couldn't really blame Mrs. Yukimura for wanting to stay out of Beacon Hills. Time and time again, the place had proven dangerous as the Nemeton beckoned more and more creatures in.
Behind the restaurant was an abandoned concrete building, part of one of the walls caved, along with most of the roof. The sun was yet to rise, a small band of pale light stretching across the mountainous horizon behind the tall pine trees. The air outside felt crisp and not even the birds chirped or flew about, still too tired to grace the winds.
Another car was parked beside the gaping entrance to the abandoned building, hinting that Mrs. Yukimura was already waiting inside.
"Do you want me to come with you?" Isaac twisted around to look at Abbie in back seat. He tried to ride back there with her but she rolled her eyes and had said it was fine, knowing his legs were too long for the back seat and that it would do nothing to help his claustrophobia.
"No, It's probably best I go alone," Abbie never moved her eyes away from the building overgrown with vines as he unbuckled. "Traditionally speaking, wolves and foxes don't get along all that well. And she may have warmed up to Scott, but she still doesn't know you really."
Isaac knew she was right but it still didn't make him feel any better about the situation. But she still needed answers and he wasn't going to argue when she was so close. He watched as she got out of the car and zipped up her coat before heading for the concrete building and disappearing inside.
"Does she know you're not going back with her?" Scott asked, watching Isaac closely.
Isaac sighed, "We haven't really talked about it, but she knows I can't stay in Milford after what happened."
"Where will you go?"
"I don't know yet," Isaac leaned his head against the window. "I can get my diploma mailed to me wherever, but I haven't put much thought into it yet."
"You could stay here," Scott pointed out with his ever-hopeful tone of voice that made Isaac smile slightly.
"It's too soon," he told his friend quietly, getting a nod before they lapsed back into silence.
"Can I make a suggestion?"
"If you say Beacon Hills again, I'll hitchhike my way out of here," Isaac half-joked.
"No," Scott grinned before becoming more serious. "Derek has been away checking on different packs across the nation, as you know."
Isaac nodded his head, wondering where Scott was going with this.
"But Peter hasn't heard from him in weeks," Scott swallowed. "Something happened to a pack in Colorado a couple months ago and Derek was trying to figure out what was going on. He was supposedly trying to track a group of hunters..."
"But now no one knows where he is," Isaac finished.
"It's only a suggestion--it could be really dangerous," Scott warned him.
"But it's Derek," Isaac countered.
Scott nodded, "But it's Derek."
"Let me think about it," Isaac told the True Alpha after a minute.
*****
Abbie carefully stepped between the tree roots sprouting from the foundation of the ram-shackled building while also dodging large pieces of rubble strewn about. Mrs. Yukimura had obviously wanted a remote and secluded meeting place--and she succeeded. Abbie couldn't help but worry in the back of her mind about the whole place collapsing in on her if she sneezed too hard.
Mrs. Yukimura herself stood at the far end of the warehouse-like room, only sort of illuminated by the faint dawn light streaming in from the collapsed roof. She seemed younger than what Abbie expected for someone who had been alive for nearly a millennia. She supposed she looked maybe 5 years older than he own mother would have if she was still alive--just maybe 2 years older than her adopted mother, Donna.
"You must be Abigail," she called out as Abbie approached. "I must admit that you look very little like her."
"You knew my great grandmother?" Abbie stepped forward. "You knew Aileen Aiko?"
"When I first met your great grandmother," the Kitsune lifted her chin. "Her name was Sima Ai. I was just a young girl, then, still traveling with my mother who had met Ai when she was just a girl."
"So your mother knew where she came from," Abbie stated.
"You misunderstand me," Noshiko shook her head. "My mother was just a girl when she met Ai. Huli Jing were far more rare than Kitsunes by the time I met her."
Noshiko sat on a large piece of rubble and Abbie followed suit across from her. It was obvious that the Kitsune had a long story to tell.
"Sima Ai was a Benevolent Huli Jing born over 1700 years ago, during the Jin Dynasty. She was a distant cousin of the Emperor at that time. In that age, Huli Jing were sacred beings, worshiped for being fox Spirits of the highest order, gifted with wonderful healing abilities and immortality. Though Huli Jing abilities are passed down from mother to daughter, the people believed that spiritual fox entities came down and possessed young girls as a way to show favor towards honorable families. Because of this, many Huli Jing would go hundreds of years without having children, hoping to stay within the favor of the Chinese people as blessed by the Spirits.
"For over 700 years, Ai lived among the highest royalty of China, as her mother had before her. The people believed she was not only a Huli Jing possessed by Húxiān Niángniáng--the Immortal Lady Fox--who was a deity that represented all fox spirits in China. Sima Ai's mother hid her from the people until her death. That was when Ai took her mother's place within the Chinese Empire.
"It was not until the Shang Dynasty that Ai's position in the Empire was threatened. Daji was a young Huli Jing with corruption in her soul--a Malevolent Huli Jing. She was married to Emperor Xin of the Shang Dynasty, and together, they ruler the Empire tyrannically. While Ai, as a Benevolent Huli Jing, sustained her energy from the presence of human life--making her very powerful--Daji, like all Malevolent Huli Jing, used torture and pain to sustain herself, stealing the life forces of those she and the Emperor tortured. Eventually, one of Emperor Xin's generals led a revolt against the Emperor and Daji, marking the birth of the Zhou Dynasty--as well as the death of many Huli Jing.
"After the evil that Daji brought upon China, the worship of Huli Jing was oppressed and Huli Jing themselves were executed. The Emperor did not care to discriminate between the Benevolent and Malevolent Huli Jing after that. The same day of Daji's execution, Sima Ai fled from the royalty and hid herself within the villages as a healer."
"So she escaped persecution," Abbie struggled to wrap her mind around everything. So her great grandmother was worshiped as a goddess in China until about a thousand years ago? It all sounded so insane to her.
"Even today, your grandmother runs from a cursed fate," Noshiko shook her her head at the girl watching her with crystal blue eyes. "Emperor Wen, Xin's former general, took every precautionary measure he could to rid the world of Huli Jing. He had many powerful court sorcerers--Chinese Druids--who he commissioned to place a curse on the Huli Jing, preventing them from giving birth to baby girls so that the fox spirits would not be passed down through their generations. Unsatisfied with only stopping the births of more Huli Jing, Emperor Wen took his persecution a step further."
"Peter Hale said that my great grandmother had been hiding from hunters--that those hunters probably killed my father," Abbie twisted her fingers together.
"One of the Emperor's lead generals, Shao Gong Shi, presented his family to serve the Zhao Dynasty for the rest of time. From his line came the Shao Warriors, sons trained for the specific purpose of hunting and killing Huli Jing until they were wiped from existence. The court sorcerers bound the Shao Warriors to their oath so that their sons and their sons' sons would uphold their sacred duty for generations to come.
"Sima Ai has been running from them for more than a millennia. After nearly three hundred years of hiding in villages across China, she left her home country and ventured farther through Asia. She came to my mother and I for only three days in Japan, frightened and paranoid. I was only a child then, not quite yet old enough to inherit my Kitsune abilities and Sima Ai was the first Huli Jing I had ever encountered--and one of the last ones I ever knew of after that. My mother had met Ai when visiting the coast of China as a young girl and she gladly hid Ai for those few days.
"Afterwards, Ai traveled through Europe as a healer, well-occupied with the plagues ravaging the villages. She managed to evade the Shao Warriors for nearly 800 years, as the Warriors were not immune to illness--and they lost her trail for quite some time once the plagues were no more. By the time they tracked her to Western Europe, Ai was now Aileen Sima, sailing to the Americas.
"I did not encounter Ai again until the end of World War II. She was indignant about the camps for Japanese Americans and came to California to help anyone that she could. I could not believe my eyes when I saw her, no older looking than when I met her as a young girl.
"Her paranoia had lessened over the years and she often settled in places for close to 40 years before she would move again. I told her of Beacon Hills where I had lived before being imprisoned. She left for Beacon Hills while I moved closer to the coast, settling in San Francisco. That was the last time I had heard from her. Until about 17 years ago."
"What happened 17 years ago?" Abbie perked up, knowing it had to have something to do with what happened to her father.
Noshiko regarded Abbie with careful eyes, "Nearly 20 years before that, Ai had fled from Beacon Hills upon word that the Shao Warriors were closing in on her location. She left behind a family--including a grandson.
"In all her years, Ai had many children, their descendants scattered across the globe. But not once had she given birth to a daughter--nor had any of her descendant had daughters. But then, she received word that her grandson had a daughter and he was looking for her.
"Your father knew of the curse upon Huli Jing and he knew that for you to be born a girl meant something far beyond what he understood... But he should not have gone searching for your great grandmother."
"He was killed because he went looking for answers about me," Abbie already figured out that much. "But what... what about the others? What happened to my father's parents? Why haven't I found anything on them?"
"They left Beacon Hills not long after your father alerted them of you. The moved North, but I'm sorry to say they met a similar fate as your father," Noshiko's eyes softened as she watched Abbie's shoulders hunch. "The Warriors found your father and, though they could not trace him back to you or your mother, they traced their way back to the the rest of the Aiko's. Though I know it is of little consolation, know that the Shao Warriors were only known to take pleasure in the killing of Huli Jing--the human families associated with them often met quick deaths."
Abbie nodded while wiping away a tear with a sniff, "Why haven't they come after me, yet?"
"Though she did not know for sure when she contacted me, Ai did not think that they knew of your existence. When your father went searching for her, it is likely that he kept your existence secret. Your last name has been changed, yes? It is wise for the Aiko name to stay buried with your father. Now that your abilities have surfaced, you must be cautious."
Abbie laughed sadly, "I don't really have any abilities."
"Huli Jing existed far longer than any other supernatural foxes, the only ones to truly be considered fox Spirits," Noshiko stood. "You have more power in your blood than you realize--and in time, you will come to understand that power."
Abbie stood as Mrs. Yukimura started to walk away, "Do you know how I can contact her?"
Nohiko stopped with her back to the girl, barely turning her head, "I do not think it would be wise to follow the same path your father took."
"Please," Abbie begged, taking a step forward. "I know better than to go throwing her name around--but I don't think I can do this alone."
Several seconds of silence stretched between the two, feeling like centuries in their own right. Abbie could feel her hope diminishing by the second as the Kitsune continued to stand still before her. Finally, Noshiko sighed and turned back, reaching into her purse.
"Here," she held out a small slip of paper. "It's how Ai told me I could reach her. It's a P.O. Box. Memorize it and then burn it."
Abbie looked at the address for only a moment before she nodded, handing it back to Noshiko who only raised an eyebrow before clenching the paper in her fist. Abbie watched in fascination as her fist began to glow before it faded and Noshiko opened her hand to reveal a pile of ash in her hand, shaking it off to the ground. With a final nod, Noshiko Yukimura walked away, leaving Abbie to stand in the dilapidated building with her thoughts for a moment longer.
She had finally gotten some answers and they were far from what she expected. Nevertheless, she could return to Milford with a little more peace of mind than when she left.
With that in mind, Abbie slowly trekked her way back to Isaac and Scott, an address flashing continuously behind her eyes.
*****
"You're not coming back with me, are you?" Abbie asked as Isaac helped her grab her bag out of the back of the car. They stood at the bus stop, waiting for the next transport to the airport.
"No," Isaac sighed.
"But you're not staying here either, huh?"
Isaac looked to her with a small smile, "Why do you always ask questions about things you already have answers for?"
"Sometimes I ask questions because I don't know the answers," she shrugged. "Where will you go?"
"Derek hasn't been heard from in a while," Isaac starched the back of his neck. "He was looking into some packs that ran into trouble."
"You're going to go make sure he's okay."
"Somebody has to," Isaac nodded, glancing over to Scott's car. "Everybody else has college plans—even Stiles has some FBI training thing. I'm the only one who doesn't have anything better to do."
"That," Abbie nodded her head to the side. "Plus, he's your friend."
"Yeah, that too," Isaac looked off to where a bus could be heard—at least by a werewolf—coming from a distance. "Look," he sighed and grabbed both her shoulders. "Just please... stay in therapy. I know you hate it, and I know they don't believe you about earth whatever the hell the number is, but they want to help you get better and there's so much you need to talk through about yourself and process and so much you didn't get to process about your mom and now your aunt and, if you can't work with your current therapist, then see if Ram-Hilda or—dammit I can't remember all these details—just see if the worlds lady knows of some therapist that knows the supernatural and would believe you."
Abbie laughed, feeling tears pricking the back of her eyes as she stared up at her best friend. He didn't ramble often, but it showed how much he cared when he did. And she knew he was right, even if she knew her current therapist hadn't helped her in the slightest.
"I just..." Isaac squeezed her shoulders again before pulling her into a bear hug, making her laugh. "I want you to live a good life, dammit! And you keep being great and then you do something that reminds me how much you hate it all and I'm tired of you fucking all of this up for yourself. You're absolutely brilliant and gorgeous and kind and not socially awkward and you're negative thoughts are really making it hard for me to be happy for you so would you just try and get better so I don't have to be so completely fucking worried every day? Shit..."
Abbie laughs even harder while wiping her eyes. "Yeah I can try," she nodded emphatically.
Isaac looked down at her, tears in his eyes, "Really? Oh, thank God." He hugged her tight again. "I just need you to be okay... because... because I'm not going to be there every day to make sure you're breathing and smiling and living. And I already want to just camp-out in your closet where my crazy landlords wouldn't find me, despite how much I really fucking hate tight spaces..."
Abbie really didn't know what to say, so she only hugged him tighter, burying her face in his chest, soaking it with tears. Isaac just sighed, kissing the top of her head before pulling away and shoving her a little.
"Alright, go," he feigned a serious expression despite the tears in his eyes. "Get on the damn bus. I already look like a fucking cry baby so you better go—because I'm not getting any prettier."
Despite the tears falling down her face, Abbie smiled, reaching up to give him a kiss on the cheek, "I love you, Lahey."
"Yeah, and I love you, too, you brat."
"Don't die," Abbie told him, only half-joking as the bus pulled up behind her.
"I'll try not to—just because you said so," he grinned while walking backwards to watch her go. "And be careful! She may be your great grandma, but we don't know anything about her—it might be a bad idea to contact her."
"I'll be careful," Abbie promised with a small smile from the steps onto the bus. "As long as you be careful, too."
With a wave, Isaac watched the bus pull away. He sighed, stuffing his hands back in his pockets before making his way across the parking lot to Scott's car.
"She going to be okay?" Scott asked as he started the car.
"Yeah," Isaac ran a hand through his hair. "I think she will."
"What about you?" Scott sent him a glance.
"I'm working on it," Isaac chuckled.
"So you're going after Derek?"
"Did you listen into our conversation?" Isaac narrowed his eyes at the True Alpha.
"No," Scott laughed. "But I had a feeling you were leaning towards it."
"You think Peter would let me take his car?" Isaac pondered.
Scott smirked, "I think you might be able to convince him. It is for a good cause, after all."
**********
Hey everyone! This took a few more weeks than I had hoped, but here you go.
AND I PROMISE THAT STILES IS IN THE NEXT CHAPTER!!!!!
Anyways, I HAD to get this to you for 3 reasons:
1- it's a Valentine's Day present because I freaking love you guys.
2- it's an early birthday present because my birthday is Sunday and all your votes and comments are GIFTS to me!!
3- at the beginning of this month, this story turned 3 years old! That's crazy! I can't believe so many of you have stuck with me through it and I thank you soooo so much!
Also, thank you all for 94.8k reads and 2.88k votes! You all bless me so much!!
Anyways, I'm hoping to get a cat this weekend and I'm excited. He's an orange tabby and I plan to name him Mr. Bingley! Hopefully they accept my adoption application...
Anyways, I'll see you all soon!
Until then,
Vote, Comment, Imagine What Isaac Lahey Bear Hugs Would Feel Like!
Laine Abson
02•19•21