♡ 𝙩𝙖𝙨𝙩𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙮𝙤𝙪 ♡
𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘵𝘦𝘳 sixty-six
out of the woods.
─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───
JAMES GARCIA TOOK A PUFF OF HIS CIGARETTE, THE MUSKY NICOTINE AIR GATHERING IN HIS FRESH LUNGS AND THE ASH SINKING INTO THE GRAVEL UNDERNEATH HIS GRITTY SOLES.
His human skin blotted with blood cells and cold veins as he took a step forward. They poked through the goosebumps, like rubies and icy diamonds hiding beneath his skin. He felt human today - much more human than he'd like. His shoulderblades slouched with aging bone and eyelids heavy with exhausted mortality. James wouldn't be surprised if he had already started to grey a little.
The doppelganger's muddy brown eyes swatted the endlessly burning tobacco between his fingers before flicking it to the ground. Scratching his soles further into the floor, the bicast leather shredded into the rocks until it became nothing but a puddle of muddy cinder.
Hands ran through his hair. Barely disrupting the gel, but tossing a few hairs out of place.
The Mikaelson Mansion cast a great shadow on his broad figure. He'd admit, it was a tad intimidating. Heavy, wideset curtains hung in front of the windows and were tightly sewn shut as if the sun itself were holding the inhabitants hostage. White pillars held the building up with pride, stationed at almost every window the human eye could see.
Greenery was thick around the building and seemed routinely pruned into hedges, plant pots, and flowers. Even the driveway had an odd circle of freshly clipped grass with cars folded around its edge.
The Mikalesons were a family of wealth. And showed it proudly.
James pulled out the newspaper clip and held it between his fingers. He felt anxiety emerge from his stomach, climbing up his ribs and scratching at his lungs to reach his throat. A throaty swallow couldn't keep it still, as each step he took towards the french doors made it unbearable to breathe.
Luckily, he'd have a sharp inhale as he rested his knuckles against the glass. Perhaps enough time to gather his thoughts and plan how exactly he'd explain his presence to a family of elder vampires.
But as a heavy thump collided against his temples - his eyelids shut almost instantly upon impact.
⊱ ──────ஓ๑♡๑ஓ ────── ⊰
When Scott stepped outside of the library, he tensed up at the wind. A wind that was much harsher than usual California weather. Clouds had fogged up the sky, thickening into a corpse blue overcast that chilled their spines.
Lightning crackled in the sky with plasma and godly rage. Thunder boomed afterward like a sickening drum preparing them for the worst. He turned to Dallas but paused as he noticed electricity swarm the air. It pulled up loose strands of her hair and created a warm aroma between the two.
Beneath it all, although, the full moon glimmered back - stretched in what felt like a wide Cheshire grin ready to swallow them whole.
"Should we be worried about that?" Dallas gulped. Her hands fell to her sides and tendrils gently fluttered in the unusually warm wind. "You know I don't do well in storms, Scotty."
He didn't meet her gaze but kept his firmly settled on the sky. "It's not just a storm." The werewolf mumbled as he recalled The Raeken's taunts. "It's the Supermoon."
Dallas furrowed her neat eyebrows. Her lips parted to speak and her throat engulfed fresh air, but the words never came. Instead, she watched helplessly as Scott fell to the floor with another werewolf tackling his frame. Beneath the clawed scratching and aggravated grunts, the Siren barely caught the glimpse of Liam Dunbar through his bared teeth.
"Liam, get off!" Scott ordered but his words held little dominance. Although Liam backed up, he never faltered his blood-thirsty gaze toward the Alpha. His claws pulled at the carpet and fangs spilled spit over the hardwood floors.
"You promised you'd protect us." He spat. Quite literally. His eyes grew wide to glare through the gold glow as his irises lit up like divided eclipses. "But you can't. You won't."
Scott, already hurt and clutching his ribs much tighter this time, furrowed both brows. "Liam," he felt breath struggle to remain in his lungs and panted with each word. "It's the Supermoon, you're not thinking straight-"
Dallas jumped back as he leaped towards the boy. Punches were thrown. Bones cracked underneath their weight. It felt like forever had passed until her hands gripped his shoulders to pull him off the Alpha. Although, Scott didn't seem to want her help as his eyes widened and head shook furiously.
Dallas wasn't expecting it. Perhaps she acting foolish. Because with the swift swing of his arm, a heavy breath seething through his teeth and eyes lighting up with fire - he beat her to the dusted carpet without a second thought.
Liam didn't seem to notice. Nor did he seem to care.
Minutes, maybe even seconds later, Liam felt his bones stiffen.
Eyes blinked furiously as a white glaze glimmered over each iris. His free will began to crumble - and twisting his head towards the girl, he watched as she clambered up from the floor with white light dangling from her fingers.
"Liam, that's enough." She wiped the blood from her lower lip with the edge of her sleeve. Her words became distorted in his head, as each word sounded like multiple voices talking at once. "Let him go."
Scott felt the grip around his neck loosen but then tighten again within each second. The gaze he had directed at her flickered furiously between white and yellow as she struggled to keep her grip.
"No."
"Liam," Her voice became sterner. Words piercing each crevice of his brain. With a single look coated with focus and hypnosis, she gently coiled through his membrane and toyed with the neurons, almost as if they were puppet strings hanging from each shaky fingertip. "Let him go."
Dallas felt focused. The longer she held her stare, the easier it became to strip away his free will. Although, between milliseconds, it felt like the tide could easily flip between her and the supermoon. Each one having great influence over his entire body.
But her brain clouded. The manipulator became the manipulated so very easy. The words were too hushed to decipher, but the voice was crystal clear. There it was, again. The echo she thought she imagined. One she almost forgot.
"Lydia?"
Dallas instinctively turned to the open door and knitted both eyebrows as she heard the banshee call through the night. The lightning became nothing but white noise behind it. Thunder a mere instrument. The melancholic cry of a Banshee so sharp it could shatter glass.
But it echoed curiously. Bouncing from each lobe that scattered through her mind.
Like it came from a psychic link.
And so, Dallas broke her focus.
Liam's eyes faded back to their feracious golden hue and took a final glare toward Scott. Thumping his feet against the carpet and wrapping his arms around his torso, he took a final leap toward the boy.
Scott could do nothing but widen his eyes as both came tumbling out the window between shards of glass and brittle wood, hoping some would break their fall.
⊱ ──────ஓ๑♡๑ஓ ────── ⊰
Stones crackled underneath the feet of Stiles Stilinski as he crept behind the cars, his look stationed towards a rather bare Deputy Parrish. Shorts covered his legs but his chest and arms had nothing but a thin layer of sweat to fight off the cold.
Eyes, accompanied by a layer of dirt surrounding the lid, remained lifeless with each step deeper into the car park. Stiles mumbled profanities underneath his breath as his own steps were much more difficult to coordinate in the darkness. Nothing but the supermoon to light up his already unsteady path.
Parrish barely flexed as he threw open the backdoors to a suspicious yellow van. Something inhuman lending him the strength to do so. When tossing open the freezers of dead teenagers, his face held no remorse. Just the same possessed trance Stiles had gotten very used to seeing.
The engine roared to life as he climbed into the driver's seat. Bodies thumping in the back of the van with nothing but the potholes to beat their frozen hearts.
Stiles slid down the edge of another car to bring the phone up to his ear helplessly, only straightening his posture when headlights lit up his hiding spot. He ran furiously towards the car as Theo Raeken practically fell out of the front seat to meet him.
His hair was slicked back beneath a thin glaze of gel and a leather jacket hung delicately from each of his broad shoulders.
"Sorry, I got here as fast I could." He spoke through staggered breaths. Stiles didn't take much notice of him before he started jogging towards the passenger door.
"We gotta go. Now. Parrish has the bodies."
Theo clenched his jaw before digging the soles of his shoes deeper into the stones to stand his ground. "Okay, wait up.." He paused. "Stiles, wait."
The Stilinski's tone was erratic and he paid little notice to the Raeken's odd behaviour. "Parrish is out and he's got the bodies." He tugged open the passenger door as he felt his heartbeat thump loudly in his ears. "We've got to find Scott.. we've gotta tell him!"
"Stiles!"
The human boy finally tore his eyes up to meet his. And he didn't like the mischievous ones staring back. He slammed the door closed and quirked a brow. "I don't think Scott wants to talk to you right now."
Stiles felt his shoulders slump with disappointment. "Yeah, thanks, I'm aware of that." he attempted to pull at the handle once more. "It doesn't matter. He needs to know about this."
"Stiles.." Theo taunted. Almost taking pleasure in his persistent frowns. "Scott doesn't want to talk to you."
Stiles knitted both eyebrows and took hesitant steps forward. "But I think your dad does." He held his hand up as his fingers wrapped around the young Stilinski's ID card.
⊱ ──────ஓ๑♡๑ஓ ────── ⊰
James had a headache. A killer headache. He could hear colour and feel the buzzing of each atom in the room. Or it at least felt like it.
He pulled at his hand to rub his temples but grunted as they were bound with wet rope. The rope felt uncomfortable against bare skin and smelt horribly of a scent he had never encountered before.
"Brother, you've never looked so dapper." A strong British accent entered his ears. Another thing he didn't recognize.
"Niklaus, he's awake." Another voice mumbled.
James hesitantly rose his head before someone knelt before the chair he became bound to. "Come on, wakey-wakey." Klaus taunted as he took a sip of bourbon. "I always have time for doppelgangers."
"What was he doing lurking around the house?" A blonde spoke this time. Quite tall. Accompanied with a confident, quick-witted demeanor he was familiar with.
Klaus clenched his jaw and increased his grip on the glass. "Perhaps he would tell us if you didn't interrupt so much, Rebekah." He then slapped a hand on James' shoulder. "Want to tell me what you're doing on my property, human?" he took a glimpse at the lack of burns from the vervain.
Jim swallowed. A sudden nerve lodged in his throat. He definitely did not plan this enough.
"I was.. I was looking for you. One of you."
Klaus narrowed his eyes. "Ooh, and which one of us would that be?"
"Elijah. Elijah Mikaelson." The words felt unfamiliar on his tongue but with the way Klaus' face lit up, he seemed very familiar.
The hybrid took another large sip. "Well, you should've just said so." he turned to the window frame. "Brother?"
Stepping out of the shadows, darkness usually engulfing him, stood Elijah Mikaelson. His eyes filled to the brim with suspicion and unease. James froze at the sight of him.
It was jarring, to say the least. It was like looking in a mirror. One that dressed you differently and changed your accent slightly. One that changed everything but your face.
"It's unsettling, isn't it?" Elijah's voice broke him from his thoughts. "Suppose you should count yourself lucky you have my face and not his." The Mikaelson nodded to Klaus who remained silent, ignoring the taunts as he examined Jim's face.
His demeanor became a lot darker with each passing moment. "What do you want my brother for?"
James breathed deeply. His fear subdued into his stomach and he faked the confidence. "I need his help... with my daughter."
⊱ ──────ஓ๑♡๑ஓ ────── ⊰
Dallas Garcia's head stuck out the window, avoiding shards of glass and splintered wood that threatened to spike her neck as she watched the two boys scrap in the next room.
Scott's face bruised and healed ten times over with each vicious punch sent his way. The wind escaped his lungs only to be replaced with fresh air moments later. That was until he felt the werewolf grip his shoulders and toss him across the room, did he also feel the healing begin to lag a little bit longer each time.
Groans sprang from his lips as a chair slammed against his spine to keep him flat against the floor. He stood up once more just to be slammed back into the carpet by the Dunbar's rough grip.
Those hands then grabbed his shoulders from behind and dragged him up to his chest. His thick forearms pressed down on his windpipe and made it even harder to breathe. Scott thrashed and kicked all he could but the Supermoon's power gave Liam an unfair advantage.
Once slipping and twisting out of his arms, he sent a forceful kick against his chest and watched the feral werewolf fumble over the tables.
"Don't do this, Liam."
Nothing but a deep snarl spoke back.
"I can't let you kill me." The McCall pleased. The moonlight cast a large shadow to arise from his frame while blood slowly trickled down from his nose and atop his lip.
He turned to the window. Staring up at the moon - watching it stare back - the McCall finally gave in.
And Dallas didn't feel so safe anymore.
A thundering mix of yells and growls erupted from his chest and claws extended through his fingernails as long steak knives. His cheekbones, exceptionally bruised, became coated with an inhuman concoction of fur and human hair.
Scott curled his head to Liam and the sympathetic look melted away, burnt by the fire of his red eyes that glowed like scorched coal beneath his menacing glare.
Both bared their teeth at each other - and finally, the Siren backed away from the window.
⊱ ──────ஓ๑♡๑ஓ ────── ⊰
"Your dad was looking for you, Stiles." Theo circled around Stiles with a deep-set grin stretching across his face. He then snickered as he felt the boy follow his movement carefully with his eyes. "Apparently Scott isn't the only one you've been fighting with." His shoulders twisted to face him. "He found me instead."
Stiles tried to keep his breathing steady as he spoke. "Where is he?"
Theo didn't answer but simply replied arrogantly. "I covered for you." He flicked the card between his fingers. "This was taken care of."
His head found his feet and kicked the stones amongst the gravel. "If Melissa didn't find it at the hospital.. I guess even the son of a cop can make mistakes."
Stiles wanted to lunge for him. Theo Raeken had already tested enough of his nerves to deserve a stiff uppercut. But he found himself frozen to the core. "Did you hurt him?" He spat.
Theo snapped his head up, eyes slightly teary and throat choked up. "I never lied about why I came to Beacon Hills." he paused and took a few moments to gather himself. "I'm here for a pack. I came for the were-coyote. The one whose first instinct is to kill. I came for the Banshee, the girl surrounded by death.. I came for the dark kitsune, the Beta with anger issues, the maneater with an attitude problem." He finally stepped forward. "I came for Void Stiles."
"That's the pack I want." He took a step back. "Unfortunately, it doesn't include Scott."
Stiles felt anger bubble beneath his chest and balled up his palms into vengeful fists. "Your heartbeat's rising, Stiles." The tears became blinked away underneath a layer of mischief. "It's not because you're afraid. Nogitsune is gone, but you've still got more blood on your hands than any of us. Even Dallas can't beat your tally, huh?"
Stiles narrowed his eyes and spat at the teenager for even speaking the demon's name.. and for speaking her name. "I'm about to get more."
⊱ ──────ஓ๑♡๑ஓ ────── ⊰
Elijah stood before James, interest piqued at the mere mention of family. "You have a daughter?"
James nodded. "I've read about you.. originals. You can force anyone to do just about anything. No matter the species." he recalled the words. "Compulsion, is it? I need you to compel her."
Elijah ignored Klaus' curious glance. "Compel her to do what?"
"Turn her humanity back on."
The elder Mikaelson took a step back before shaking his head in dismay. "I don't have time for rogue vampires. That's your problem."
As Elijah turned his back, Klaus found himself tugging at the photograph that the lawyer kept folded up in his pocket. "Please, be careful with that." He mumbled to him. "And she's not a vampire."
He smoothed out the folding and hummed at the polaroid of James and Dallas, one that seemed to be taken many years before her Prom Night. Klaus snickered. A snicker that turned into quite the humoured laugh.
"A little iffy on the height, probably add a few extra inches and thicken out the eyebrows a little.." Klaus held up the photo before turning to Elijah. "But she does have a look of you, brother."
Elijah glanced over his shoulder. He noticed how peculiar it was that someone with his face could live such a different life with different people. "If she's not a vampire, then what is she?" He huffed silently.
James felt like the words could stir up controversy. Especially in this town. So, he held his breath for a moment before speaking.
"Siren." He avoided their looks. "She's a Siren."
Elijah remained silent. Eyes burning into James' piercingly.
"Absolutely not."
⊱ ──────ஓ๑♡๑ஓ ────── ⊰
"Scott, can't you just.. knock him out?" Dallas shouted through the broken window as Scott clawed away the hands that gripped his neck.
"Do you want to give it a try?" He hissed back, dodging a swing from the enraged Beta.
Dallas didn't want to get involved. It'd be the first thing Derek would tell her not to do. Peter would probably push between them just for the hell of it. And James would scold her for being there at all.
"You should have better control of your Betas, Scott." She yelled. "Him kicking your ass isn't setting a very good example."
He ducked a chair swing, buying enough time to send her a quick glare before feeling a punch gut his stomach. "Ya' think?"
Her shoulders slumped into a slouched position as she could do nothing but watch the two werewolves fight it out. However long that would take.
"Dallas," He rolled his shoulders back to brace himself for another impact. "Only one of us can stop Theo, it looks like it's gonna have to be you."
"What?" She shook her head in dismay. "No, we agreed that we'd help each other-"
"Help me by finding him, okay? Before anyone else does."
Dallas backed away from the two squabbling Lycans and swallowed the lump in her throat. "What.. what about Liam?" she found herself worried for him. Worried about him. If anyone deserved to have his own friends turn on him - it definitely wasn't Scott.
"It's fine," He blew out a breath of fresh air and rolled his shoulders back once more. "I can do this all day."
⊱ ──────ஓ๑♡๑ஓ ────── ⊰
Theo dangled the ID between his fingers and curled his lips up into a grin before turning back to the agitated Stilinski. "You know what? I'll tell you where your dad is," he leaned against the hood of his car carefully. "I'll tell you where your dad is,"
"If you promise not to help Scott."
Stiles couldn't hold it in anymore. He felt his fist swing back and collide with the Raeken's nose. The bones crunched underneath his folded fingers and Stiles could feel nothing but satisfaction at the sound. He deserved that and so much more, much more.
Theo stumbled back and held his fingertips underneath his nose to stop the blood from dripping. What sounded like coughing at first turned into maniacal laughter as he drew a wide grin. "There he is!" he got too close for his liking. "That's Void Stiles."
"It felt good, didn't it?"
Theo fell to the gravel as another punch collided with his jaw. Stiles' heavy breathing synchronized with the Raeken's slight huffs of pain. He slowly clambered his way up from the floor while spitting a puddle of blood beside him. "We won't tell Scott." he leaned against the gravel in a half-sit. "Cause you can't lose your best friend, right? Even though we both know, you never needed him."
Stiles snapped and charged for him, pressing his knee against his chest and snatching him by the collar. Although, his fists didn't reach his face. Grunts and pants echoed through the car park as Theo tried to compose his pain. "You hate me now, but you'll get it eventually." he watched as Stiles shook silently. "This is the hard part. 'Cause, you can't help Scott and save your dad's life."
"You still got time, Stiles." Theo taunted with a bloody lip. "You've still got time."
⊱ ──────ஓ๑♡๑ஓ ────── ⊰
The streets that Dallas scoured through were empty. She opted to find Theo by scent, which consisted of scorched wood and way too much cologne. The Siren felt hopeless. A part of her thought that Scott was wrong - that she should've stayed and helped him.
As a common trait of the men in her life, Scott didn't want to put her in danger.
She was thankful. She was bitter. She was embarrassed. She was relieved. She felt so many emotions at once that she couldn't keep grasp of which one ruled her entire being at that moment.
Her feet carried her as far as they possibly could while wind cascaded through her hair. The scent was fresh, but long to carry, ending in a place surrounded by burnt rubber and gravel. Dallas had plans for Theo. She wanted to kill him, obviously, eat his heart, and pretend like he never even existed in the first place.
Something told her Scott would probably tweak those plans a tad.
⊱ ──────ஓ๑♡๑ஓ ────── ⊰
Scott McCall lay slumped against the floor, blood coating his brows and bruises scattering his skin. Each hit left his body pulsing with a delayed heartbeat and shallow breaths.
Liam pulled out his claws. Moonlight lit up the nails like sharp blades ready to slice at whatever they could grab - which quickly became Scott.
The Alpha expected the fresh slice of claws split his skin and a final glaze of darkness to engulf him. He expected Liam's vengeful eyes to be the last thing he ever saw. Scott, simply, expected to lose.
"Liam!"
He did not expect to hear Mason's voice. The teenager took a step forward and held a look of disgust on his face. "Liam, what are you doing?"
Caught up in his own anger, Liam flickered his eyes between his claws and a very bloody McCall he stood above. Panicked pants escaped his lips as he observed the blood that trickled down his hands. The blood of someone who he never wanted to hurt.
⊱ ──────ஓ๑♡๑ஓ ────── ⊰
Dallas, luckily, didn't feel the loss of breath in her chest as she approached the car park. She never felt the ache in her bones from so much running. Or the cold on her face from such harsh wind.
What she did feel, although, was disbelief strike her in the gut.
Hunched over a beaten and bruised Theo, fist aimed for his face and hands gripping his collar was.. Stiles Stilinski. The headlights lit up their frames and as her boyfriend aimed to throw another punch, she rushed over and yanked him backward by his shoulders.
"What the hell are you doing?"
She noticed how Stiles himself didn't have any bruises on his face. Not even a scratch. It seemed like a one-way fight. Dallas stared at him for a few moments, a mixture of shock, disappointment, and even guilt washing over her as he kept his gaze locked on Theo.
It was only a few seconds later did he finally look at her. "Stiles." She repeated his name. It made him shiver slightly. He didn't want to look at her. He'd rather not have her see him like this. See him act as Void Stiles would.
"Time's ticking, Stiles." Theo wiped the dirt from his face and gleamed a smile at Dallas who side-eyed him. "So, what are you doing?"
Dallas turned to Theo. "You, shut up." She then turned to Stiles, "Can you at least talk to me? For five minutes?"
He waited a few moments to speak. A few moments too long. Too caught up in his own embarrassment of finding him so unlike himself to justify it. He'd rather pretend like it never happened. Hope she'd forget to find him like that.
He hoped he wouldn't have to mention that Void Stiles may not have just been The Nogitsune.
"Fine," She frowned. "Go find your dad." she turned away from him. A glimmer of hurt tinged her voice. "I'll deal with Theo."
Only then did he work up the courage to speak.
"Dallie-"
"Go." she interrupted him, eyes staring holes into Theo's head. He paused for a moment, clenching his jaw and cursing at himself.
He held the door open to Theo's truck momentarily and stole another look at the Garcia. "Be careful." Stiles muttered, folds creasing at the sides of his lips into a frown.
Dallas locked eyes his way and felt her exterior soften a little. They had so much to talk about - and absolutely no time.
And so, Stiles left. Leaving the Chimera and the Siren alone to bask in eachother's dreaded presence.
Theo still lay against the stones. He was evidently amused by the tension between the two. Between the whole pack, it seemed.
"Trouble in paradise?" He quirked a brow, dusting the dirt from his leather jacket. "I told you that you'd want me on your side. You didn't listen. You called me a douchebag."
"You are a douchebag." She hissed back.
Theo narrowed his eyes. "Your humanity is on." He tutted. "Boring. Flip it back. I like no humanity Dallas better. Or is it Void Dallas? Aw, Void Stiles and Void Dallas-"
"If Scott doesn't kill you, I will. You know that, right?" Dallas crouched down to his height and felt her fangs tug at her lower lip.
Theo seemed to pause for a moment. A moment that felt like forever. He had this look on his face like he was reading her face like an open book. Like he knew exactly what she was thinking.
"Or I kill you."
Dallas snickered. "You can certainly try."
"I think the Ghost Riders know how." He watched as colour drained from her face. "See, I think Sirens are pretty cool. Chimera... Siren, both creatures from Greek myth. It's why we get on so well."
Dallas rose both eyebrows. Clearly.
"But those aunts of yours? Your mother? They've not got as much spark as you, do they? Their bloodlust isn't as strong. They know how to control it, you don't. You don't want to." He ran his tongue over his teeth. "That's the kind of Siren I want in my pack. And maybe a few litres extra for good measure. You'll be my original though, I promise."
Her eyebrows folded into a frown. A sick, twisted look of an emotion she couldn't decipher.
"Theo." She spoke through pauses, taking a moment to rub her lips together and choose carefully what words she spoke next. "I know what it's like feeling like the pack doesn't want you. Like you don't fit in, but committing mass murder isn't going to make anybody warm up to you."
He cocked his head to the side. "This? Coming from you?" He snickered. "With her infamous tally of dead men that she wore so proudly, what, a week ago?"
"You're right." Dallas swallowed, nodding. "I wanted to at least give Scott's plan a try. Be rational. Be sympathetic." She stood up, towering over him in ways she never could any other time. "But I like my plan better."
He shot her a dashing grin. "And what plan is that?"
"I'm going to eat your heart."
☆ word count: 4,830. ☆
a/n: how we feel about the name change? also eli & james besties arc?