Arabella's POV:
Returning home after a painfully long day at school, I was greeted with my overly excited sister, greeting me with a bear hug. "I've been gone like 6 and a half hours Hope." I giggled, returning the hug for a moment.
"What am I not allowed to miss my little sister now?" she quirked causing me to roll my eyes.
"You're literally seven minutes older than me." I deadpanned, somehow making her laugh at my slight annoyance. "Anyway, I gotta go. Derek may or may not have turned another high schooler."
"Wait, what's that got to do with you?" She asked curiously.
"That sister, is a question I wish I had the answer too. Scott wants me to come with to check out the ice rink, see if the boy's there. You coming?" I finsihed, waltzing into my closet to put on a more flexible outfit. You know, in case anything went wrong.
"Maybe later." She chirpied, tossing me a piece of paper and a pen. "Write me a note and shove it in your pocket. If you need extra help, or you just want me to kick werewolf ass with you, send it my way."
Scribbling down a quick message, I scrunched the note in my pocket. "You little genius!" I commented. "Love you! Try not to use up all my canvases whilst i'm out." With a wink, I excited the room, making my way to the car.
Just as I reached the parking lot, I noticed Scott walk through the double doors, i'd arrived just in time.
"Did Derek tell you everything?" The McCall asked, slowly inching closer Boyd. Sat on some sort of polishing machine or whatever, he continued to move around the rink, his face emotionless as he didn't respond. "And I don't just mean going out of control on the full moon. I mean everything."
Finally pulling the keys out of the ignition, the dark skinned boy stopped. Turning to face Scott with an amused expression. I saw fit to approach the two now, not interrupting them quite yet.
"He told me about the hunters."
"And that's not enough for you to say no?" Scott asked in disbelief. I only smiled to myself at the boys bluntness. "Whatever you want there's other ways to get it."
"I just want to not eat lunch along every day." He cut the boy off, his voice raised slightly. Feeling a pant of sympathy in my heart, I responded.
"Why didn't you say anything? Becoming a bloody werewolf is a little extreme for that problem isn't it?"
"If you're looking for friends, you can do...a lot better than Derek." Scott chimed in siding with me.
"That really hurt Scott." A voice sounded from beside us. "I mean if you're going to review me...at least take a consensus." he finished, gesturing to his two little pets beside him, Issac and Erica.
"Erica, how's life been for you since we met?"
"Hm, in a word...transformative." She blared, cocky attitude never faltering as she growled. She was really starting to get on my nerves.
I laughed in return, "aw, was that supposed to be intimidating?" I quirked, condescending look on my features.
"Issac?" Derek continued, ignoring my comment.
"Well, I'm a little bummed about being a fugitive, but other than that I'm great."
"Okay hold on, this isn't exactly a fair fight." Scott sounded, I was slightly taken aback.
"Hello? right here? literally beside you?" I answered obviously, the McCall boy looking at me.
"Then go home Scott." Derek patronised.
Just as Erica and Issac approached, the boy slammed his fist into the ice, transforming into his half wolf form. "I meant fair for them."
Letting out a menacing roar, a brawl ensued. Issac charged at me, throwing a harsh punch, an advance to which I responded by literally launching him across the room. A laugh escaping my lips at the attempt.
Scott took on Erica, slamming her against the cleaning machine just as Issac came back running. He threw Scott across the ice before lunging at me.
Of course I grabbed his arm, twisting it round as I flashed my amber orbs. "I don't think so, pretty." I smirked, kicking the boy to the floor. Scott got up, slamming him into the ice, just as Erica jumped on his back, Derek was watching this whole thing unfold.
With a fist full of her hair, I yanked Erica backwards, peeling her off my friend's back as I connected a swift left hook to her face. Their attempt was quite cute really, I barely had to lift a finger.
Scott was back on Issac dodging his punches as he fell to the ground with a grunt. I however, was loving how weak the blonde girl was in my grip. Taking great pleasure as I slammed her into a wall, gripping her by the collar as she growled under my grasp. With a final punch, I quite literally launched the girl back towards the middle of the arena. Watching as Issac writhed on the ground.
"Don't you get it! He's not doing this for you! He's just adding to his own power, okay it's all about him! He makes you feel like he's giving you some kind of gift when all he's done is turn you into a bunch of guard dogs!" Scott called, trying to reach out to the pair.
"Bravo Scotty, nice little speech you got going there." I quirked, kicking Erica's practically unconscious body towards the sour wolf, Scott did the same with Issac.
"It's true." Derek admitted, staring Scott in the eye. "It is about power." he began walking forward, claws bared as he started to transform. Part of me knew this was a fight Scott would have to face, I opted to let him pursue the battle alone. Though of course I would step in if he got his ass beat.
With a few sharp punches and a swipe of his claws, Derek seemed to have the upper hand. That is until Scott threw him off, head-butting him as the elder werewolf was taken aback. He approached again, punching Scott repeatedly as I debated stepping in, keeping a watchful eye on Boyd throughout.
I had got distracted ever so slightly, turning back as Scott was slammed to the ground, Derek standing with a foot threateningly close to his windpipe. I lunged forward, tugging the alpha back before connecting my fist to his jaw. Silently praising myself for all my combat sessions I had taken part in.
He growled at me for a second as Scott seethed. "Now, I think you know better than to pick a fight with me." I taunted, letting go of my grip on his shirt. He backed away slightly as Boyd got down from his position.
"Don't! You don't wanna be like them." Scott warned the boy through gritted teeth.
"You're right." Boyd admitted, lifting his shirt to reveal a large gash in his side. "I wanna be like you." he finished, looking between the pair of us this time.
"For God's sake." I scoffed, looking between Boyd and Derek, holding out a hand to pull up my injured friend.
"Well that worked out a treat."
And with that, all four of the werewolf's walked away, leaving me and Scott in the rink. "Show me the wound." I ordered, gesturing to the boys torso as he lifted his shirt.
He seethed slightly at the pain, revealing a gash just above his hip. He mentioned needing to go to the animal clinic, I didn't argue, only ringing up Hope to politely persuade her into checking on Stiles. After all, he hadn't got back to us all night.
Knowing just how dramatic teen boys could be, I decided to drive Scott to the clinic, not taking no for an answer.
"Why isn't it healing?" He groaned, walking into the medical room beside me.
"Because it's from an alpha." A voice sounded. Catching Scott off guard as he assumed no one would be here. "I think it's about time we have that talk now."
"What happened?" Deaton asked, looking at the wounds on Scott's abdomen before looking at me, an odd stare as he noticed I was completely unharmed.
"Werewolves." I added, "nothing we couldn't take. What's with the body?" I asked, smiling at the man before us.
"Hunter. I was asked to help them figure out what killed him, they know whatever it was was supernatural." he added. "I assume you're not human either? Are you also a wolf?"
I looked back at the man, eyeing Scott as he gave me a trusting nod. "Something like that. But I'm not entirely sure we have enough time to get into it all."
"I see. She's right Scott. They're coming back so we don't have much time to talk." he finished quickly, grabbing some alcohol and dressing from his drawers.
"Wh-what is that?" Scott uttered, looking down.
"Rubbing alcohol. You don't want it to get infected do you?" Deaton answered obviously, tapping a cotton pad against the wound. "You'll heal the same. Just not as quickly because of Derek."
"How do you know this again?" I asked, genuinely curious about the man's absurd supernatural knowledge for a seemingly normal vet.
"Actually how do you know anything?" Scott agreed, trying to question the man as he bandaged up the wound.
"It's a long story. What I can tell you is that I know about your kind. Maybe even your kind too, although I'm not entirely sure what that is yet." He turned to me before looking back at Scott. "Your kind, I can help."
"This?" he continued, gesturing to the body. "This is something different."
"Do you know what did it?"
"No but the Argent's will. And this is the critical part." Deaton added, looking between the two of us urgently. "They'll have some kind of record or book. It'll have description, histories, notations of all the things that they've discovered."
"Uh...All the things? How many different things are there?" Scott asked, making me roll my eyes slightly.
"We've been over this Scott! Our world is a hell of a lot bigger than you think. They've been hunting for centuries, of course they've seen more than just werewolves." Deaton nodded, just as I finished my sentence, a set of cars pulling up outside.
I instinctively grabbed Scott's hand, "invisique" I muttered, before leading us to a closet beside us. Deaton looked confused, brushing it off as he returned to look at the body. I held a hand up to Scott's mouth, signalling for him to keep quiet.
"I'm starting to think I might have to buy a more prominent "closed" sign." Deaton suggested.
"Hello Alan." A horrendously raspy voice rang out. Belonging to none other than the eldest Argent himself, Gerard. "It's been a while. The last I heard you had retired."
"Last I heard, you followed a code of conduct." He snapped back, making me smirk to myself, good on him.
"If you hadn't noticed, this body is one of ours." Chris Argent piped up making his presence known.
"I did. I also noticed the gunpowder residue on his fingertips. So don't assume I'lol be swayed by your philosophy just cause I'll answer a few questions." Okay, Deaton is officially one of my favourite adults around here.
"He was only 24."
"Killers come in all ages." Deaton defended.
Gerard suddenly felt the need to pipe up, "All ages, sizes, shapes. It's the last one that concerns us."
"How about you tell us what you found?" Scott looked at me in reassurance as we peered out of the glass window in the door we hid behind. His grip on my hand was firm, assuring we were both still cloaked just incase.
"See this cut? Precise. Almost surgical. But this isn't the wound that killed him. This had a more interesting purpose."
"Relating to the spine?" Gerard asked, peering at the cut at the back of the mans neck with a pair of glasses on.
"That's right. What ever made this cut was laced with a paralytic toxin potent enough to disable all motor functions."
I looked at Scott, noticing his face contort as he realised what Deaton meant. There were more supernaturals here.
"These are the cause of death." Deaton's voice brought me back to the focus. "Notice the patterns on each side?"
"Five for each finger."
"Each claw."
"As you can see it dug in, slashed upwards, eviscerating the lungs and slicing through the bones of the rib cage with ease." Whatever the fuck this thing was, it was sure as hell strong.
"Have you ever seen anything like this before?"
I pulled my focus from the conversation, checking the phone in my pocket to notice a missed text from my sister.
Hope<3!:
Your lover boy is fine, he got knocked out when he went to Boyd's house. I took him to the garage to get his car fixed and left him there to wait. I'll see you at home unless you need me sooner ;)
I smiled at my sisters childish nature, typing back a message as I mentioned our new location.
Me:
Yeah yeah. If you're so bored, come meet us at the animal clinic in five minutes, i'm pretty sure the Argent's are about to leave.
"I'm saying you should be afraid." Deaton finished as I zoned back into the conversation outside. "Be very afraid. Because in the natural world predators with paralytic toxins use them to catch and eat their prey. This prey wasn't eaten. That meaner whatever killed him only wanted to kill him. In fact, killing may be its only purpose.
Just as I suspected, it didn't take long for the Argent's to scatter with their friend's body. Scott and I emerging a moment later, cloaking spell dropped. "Okay now do you think we should talk?" I announced, moving into the room.
"I can't tell you everything. But I must admit I am curious, and I am definitely not out to harm either of you." Deaton admitted, his heartbeat not wavering as he appeared truthful. He already knew about Scott's bite, through the two had never really got into it.
"So what actually happened with that wound, Scott?"
It was clear Scott trusted Deaton, the two of us explaining the pathetic little 'battle' at the ice rink not even hours before.
"Now, what might you be? Miss Claire." Deaton smiled, turning the attention to me just as the front door chimed.
"Glad you asked. Impeccable timing Hope." I called out, turning as my sister entered the room. "Hope this is Deaton, he's a vet but he knows about the supernatural. We can trust him."
"This is my dearest twin sister, Hope." I smiled, leaning my head against her shoulder as she rolled her eyes playfully. The two made their introduction, shaking hands as I gave Hope a familiar mischievous look.
A look that told her I was about to pull out the dramatics, the two of us smirking. "Are you familiar with the Mikaelson's?" Hope asked, fake curiosity laced in her tone as we milked the introduction.
The bald man before us tilted his head ever so slightly. Trying to figure out where we were going with this. "The original family? The first vampires, if I remember correctly, yes."
"Yup." I stated, popping the P as I removed my head from my sister's shoulder. "So you've heard of the hybrid? What about Hayley Marshal? Ringing any bells?" I asked, hoping he would catch on, I was really a sucker for the dramatics. I blame Bex and Kol for that.
He stayed silent for a moment, cogs turning in his head. Scott just looked between the three of us smugly, already knowing anything we were about to share.
"You're their daughters, aren't you? The Mikaelson twins." He muttered in realisation, Hope and I both grinning in return, answering his question with a nod. "I'd heard stories, rumours you were still alive. It's an honour to be aqquainted with the two of you." He finished, looking between the two of us with slight shock, although the man's face was generally a hard one to read.
Not to brag, but our family were like Royals in the supernatural community, even sharing their controversial nature; although we tend to evoke much more fright from people than the average monarchy. "Oh don't make us blush." Hope joked smiling at the man.
"Hope and Arabella Mikaelson." I chirped, solidifying the answer. "Tribrids."
"Fascinating, part witch I assume?" The vet asked, hand gesturing to the door as he referenced my spwll from earlier.
"He catches on quick Belle."
"Yes. Part witch, part werewolf, part vampire." I added, the man nodding as he pieced things together.
Hope saw fit to chime in, explaining a little more "We can only access parts of our vampire side, unless we die. And well, neither of us have died. We can't compel or give memories, and of course we're not immortal."
"Just sure as hell not easy to kill." I smiled, the four of us continuing to talk for a little while longer about all kinds of things - although avoiding topics that made our family look weak or vulnerable in any aspect.
"Oh, woah." Scott breathed, checking his phone, just as I did the same.
3 missed calls from Stiles<3
That's odd.
I showed my screen to Scott, the boy revealing he had also missed calls from the pale boy. "Do you think something happened? I thought he was only at the garage."
Scott shrugged at me, not having any answers as he texted his best friend right away.
"He was, I dropped him off there myself. I'm sure he's okay Belle." Hope offered reassuringly, to which I was grateful.
Not long after the realisation, we left the clinic, bidding farewell to Deaton as we all hopped into my car. Dropping Scott off by the ice rink to collect his own car, I set off back to my own apartment, but I couldn't help but think of Stiles.
He sent a text assuring he was okay, but I couldn't shake the feeling, what could have shaken him that much in the span of a couple of hours for him to call?..
---
A/N: 25 done!
Not a particularly interesting chapter I know, but I wanted to publish something. Currently working on my Klaus story along side this one, thank you for the support! Hopefully more interesting things to come...
What happened to Stiles? How will Derek and Ari's friendship change, if at all? What will Tyson find when he returns? What killed the hunter?...
Word Count: 3.1k
No time to proof read, ignore any mistakes!
Until next time...