Anchors [ 3.13 ]
Almost two weeks had passed since that dreadful day. Things had gone somewhat back to normal, well as normal as they could be for Beacon Hills. Though it also meant that it had been almost two weeks since Novas heard from Derek, granted that was expected as she did say she wanted space. So she left it alone and just hoped that things would turn up fine.
Plus she had other things to worry about, like her dad finally being out of the hospital. With him being out and back home, Novas kept an eye on him and helped him around even though he had asked her not to worry so much about him. Nova didn't listen though, she was going to help him around anyway.
But in terms of her friends, things had been alright. Obviously everyone had their own things going on. Their own nightmares coming after them, though they've been doing their best to hide from them or hide it from others.
Nova had been walking into school when she saw Stiles, he looked like he was spaced out, staring at nothing. She walked over nudging him a few times before he finally took notice of her presence.
"You okay?" She raised her eyebrows in question.
He nodded, "Yeah, I'm great." He responded but of course Nova didn't buy it. Though there was no opportunity to question as he began to walk.
The two walked outside towards the courtyard when they saw Scott. He was running fastly down the steps taking glances behind him as if there was something following him. They rushed over to him, stopping him in his place.
"Hey! Hey, you all right?" Stiles asked him, quite alertly.
Nova eyes him skeptically, "You don't look all right, Scott." She told him, sharing a look with Stiles.
"I'm okay." He nodded.
"No, you're not. It's happening to you, too–" Stiles spoke up hesitantly, " -you're seeing things, aren't you?" Novas eyebrows furrowed as he said so.
Scotts mouth forms an 'o' form, "How did you know?"
"Because it's happening to all three of you." Lydia walked over, Allison at her side.
"So much for normal." Nova muttered under her breath.
They all had walked back into the school hallways, Lydia leading the way as they made their way through the doors.
"Well, well, well... Look who's no longer the crazy one." Lydia mutters in a more playful manner.
Allison looked at her with wide eyes, "We're not crazy!" She exclaimed.
Lydia shared a look with Nova, "Hallucinating? Sleep paralysis? Yeah, you guys are fine."
"We did die and come back to life... That's gotta have some side effects, right?" Scott asked the group.
Nova looked at him with a look, "It's not exactly a natural occurrence." She told him.
"We keep an eye on each other, okay? And Lydia?" The Strawberry blonde snapped her head in his direction, "Stop enjoying this so much." he said before walking past her.
They followed behind him, with the exception of Allison and Lydia who had a different class from the three. They walked into their history class finding seats near one another.
"Good morning, everyone. My name is Mr. Yukimura." The asian man introduced himself with a smile, "I'll be taking over for your previous history teacher. My family and I moved here three weeks ago. I'm sure, by now, you all know my daughter, Kira?" He began to share about himself.
He was met with silence, "...Or, you might not, since she's never actually mentioned anyone from school...or brought a friend home, for that matter..." He trailed off shortly, "Either way, there she is!" He pointed towards the back row where the girl was sitting with her head down before raising it slightly in embarrassment."Now, let's begin with American history at the turn of the 20th century..."
Nova noticed Scott looking back at her, keeping a somewhat long stare going which she found creepy. His head was leaned outwards in front of her. She snapped her fingers in front of his face, "Do you want to move your fat head?" She questioned making him frown. "You have time to ogle her any other day." The teen wolf pouted and turned back to face the board, as Nova sat with a proud smile
* 。 • ˚ ˚ ˛ ☾˚ 。* 。 • ˚
After making it out of class, Scott and Nova joined Stiles at his locker. Nova watched as Stiles struggled a bit with There was a certain tension surrounding them.
"Maybe we need a little more time to get to normal?" Scott suggested.
"Normal? What is normal about anything at his point?" Nova asked rhetorically.
Stiles nodded, "Yeah, try not to forget– we hit the reset button on a supernatural beacon for supernatural creatures. There's a pretty good chance things are never going back to normal."
"Yeah..." Scott said but his eyes were focused on something behind his two friends.
Nova watched as Stiles struggled with trying to get the combo of his locker. His eyes squinted as if he was unable to read the numbers. She asked if he was alright to which he just shook off.
"Oh, dude, your eyes!" Stiles turned to look at Scott.
A look of confusion crossed Scott's face, "What about them?" He asked.
"They're starting to glow!" Nova exclaimed.
"You mean, like, right now?"
"Yes, right now! Scott, stop! Stop it!" But Scott kept repeating that he couldn't, he didn't have control. "All right, just keep your head down. Look down, come on. Keep your head down." The two guided him away from the lockers and into an empty classroom.
They brought him into a class, his breathing had gotten heavy as his friends watched him completely wolf out. His tallans and sharp teeth came through as he let out a growl. "Get back away from me!" He told them. "I don't know what's going to happen. Get back!"
He plunged his claws into his skin causing blood to drip down his palms, "Pain makes you human." he told them.
Stiles and Nova crouched down to his level trying to comfort him, "Scott, this isn't just in our heads." Stiles told him, "This is real. And it's starting to get bad for me, too... I'm not just having nightmares– I'm having dreams where I have to literally scream myself awake. And sometimes, I'm not even sure if I'm actually ever waking up."
"What do you mean?" Scott turned to face him.
"You know how you can tell you're dreaming? You can't read in dreams. More and more, the past few days, I've been having trouble reading. It's like I can't see the words-- I can't put the letters in order.
Nova's face was filled with worry, "Like, even now?"
"I can't read a thing."
* 。 • ˚ ˚ ˛ ☾˚ 。* 。 • ˚
"You know I'm sure there are better ways for you to spend your Tuesday nights."
Nova turned towards her dad as she placed their food on the table that she had spent cooking, "Not really. What's better than hanging out with you." She smiled, taking a seat next to him.
"How about going with your friends?"
She shrugged, "It's been kind of weird with them. Things haven't been normal to say the least." She told him as she began to dig into her food.
A smirk crossed his face trying to joke, "Not Shocking." She smiled at his attempt, "But still– Nova you don't have to do this. I am a fully capable adult of cooking, cleaning and working."
"Well you don't have to do it yet, while I'm here."
They sat in silence as they ate their food before he spoke up once again, "Have you talked with Derek?" He turned to his daughter.
She set down her fork, a sigh released from her mouth, "No." She responded, "I told you me and him– we're taking some time."
He nodded understandingly, "I know. I just wish I knew more."
Her eyes met her dad's soft eyes, "I just wanted time– it was a rough few weeks." She admitted making him frown deeply, the thought of her grieving alone made him wince. "I think that part of me felt like I didn't deserve him, not after what I did–" She cut herself off before saying something she'd regret.
Though he caught on, "What did you do?"
She hesitated before coming up with an answer, "I was kind of angry with him at the beginning even though he was just worried. And I lied to him after we saved everyone. I told him I was going to visit you but I just kind of ran off." She told him, altering the last part a bit.
The father grabbed his daughter's hand, "I'm sorry Nova. That I couldn't be there for you–" She went to talk but he didn't allow her to, "I wish I was. But you're wrong about you not deserving him because you do, you deserve the whole world." He spoke sincerely to his daughter. "You didn't give up on Derek the many times he was almost a convicted felon–"
Nova let out a cute snort, "Almost is the key word."
"It is." He chuckled, "Point is he doesn't want to give up, so don't you start now."
"Aren't you supposed to be opposed to me dating?" She questioned playfully.
"If it keeps you out of my hair, you can run off with him if you want." He joked with a laugh and for the first time in the last few weeks Nova let one out too, a genuine laugh. And it felt really good to do so.
* 。 • ˚ ˚ ˛ ☾˚ 。* 。 • ˚
The next day at school, everyone was just as cautious of how they acted and like promised they kept an eye on each other. But even then with everything that was happening to the three teens, it was clear that they should prioritize trying to help them more.
"Okay, so– what happens to a person who has a near-death experience and comes out of it seeing things?" Scott asked around at the table.
Stiles nodded before piping in, "And is unable to tell what's real or not?"
"And is being haunted by demonic visions of dead relatives?" Allison added.
Nova tried to make a joke, "Sounds like you were cursed by a witch." But no one found her trying to lightning the mood amusing, making her pout.
Isaacs lips twitched up into a smile at her joke but then turned to the rest of the group, "They're all locked up because they're insane."
An irritated face washed over Stiles, "Ha. Can you at least try to be helpful, please?"
"For half my childhood, I was locked in a freezer..." Isaac remarked, earning some silence, "So, being helpful is kind of a new thing for me." He shrugged.
The sarcastic boy scoffed, "Hey, dude, are you still milking that?" HE questioned.
"Yeah, maybe I am still milking that!" Isaac exclaimed, rather annoyed.
Before either of the two could continue their small bickering someone interrupted their conversation, "Hi..." Nova's eyes looked up seeing the familiar asian girl, Kira from their history class, "Hi, sorry... I couldn't help overhearing what you guys were talking about... And, I think I actually might know what you're talking about..."
They all stared at her as she continued speaking, "There's a Tibetan word for it– it's called "Bardo." It literally means "in-between state." The state between life and death."
Lydia leaned forwards with a condescending look, "And what do they call you?" She asked, the questions sounding somewhat sarcastic.
"Kira." Scott spoke up before the girl couldn answer, "She's in our history class." He further explained as he received looks from his friends.
"So, are you talking Bardo in Tibetan Buddhism or Indian?" Lydia asked.
Kira shrugged, taking a seat beside Stiles, "Either, I guess... But, all the stuff you guys were just saying? All that happens in Bardo. There are different progressive states where you can have hallucinations. Some you see, some you just hear. And you can be visited by peaceful or wrathful deities."
"Wrathful deities? And what are those?"
"They're like demons." Nova answered, earning a nod from kira.
"Exactly." She pointed.
Stiles sighed tiredly, "Demons." He scoffed, "Why not?"
"Hold on–" Allison spoke up, "If there are different progressive states, then what's the last one?"
"Death. You die."
* 。 • ˚ ˚ ˛ ☾˚ 。* 。 • ˚
After school the three best friends had made their way to the animal clinic in hopes of talking to Deaton about what was going on. When they had gotten there, they had helped explain everything that they could to the best of their abilities, hoping he had any sort of idea as to how to help.
"It sounds like your subconscious is trying to communicate with you." Deaton closed the door to his business.
The three followed behind him, "Well, how do I tell my subconscious to use a language that I actually know?" Stiles questioned.
Deaton stopped turning to face them, "Do you remember what the sign language looked like? The placement and movement of the hands?"
"You know sign language?" Scott questioned.
Nova shook her head impressed, "At this point, what doesn't this man know?" She asked rhetorically, earning a small smirk from the vet.
"I know a little." He answered Scotts previous question, "Let me give it a shot." He turned back to Stiles.
Stiles nodded, he concentrated on mimicking the hand movements that he had seen, "Okay, the first one was like this..." He thought back, "Then..." Deaton followed along carefully, "Then, there was this, twice..." Deaton nodded, "And this in between it." Stiles finished off.
"That's it?" The vet asked. Stiles nodded as Deaton put the phrase together, "When is a door not a door?"
"When is a door not a door?"
"...When it's ajar." Scott and Nova answer in unison, both knowing the answer.
"You're kidding me." Stiles scoffed lightly, "A riddle? My subconscious wants to tell me a riddle?"
"Not necessarily..." Deaton shook his head, "When the three of you went under the water, when you crossed from consciousness to a kind of superconsciousness? You essentially opened a door in your minds."
"So, what does that mean? The door's still open?" Nova asked.
"Ajar." Deaton answered.
" ...A door into our minds?" Stiles realized.
"I did tell you it was risky..." Deaton told him.
"What do we do about it?"
"Well, that's difficult to answer–"
Stiles interjected, noting the look on the man's face, "Oh, no! Wait a second, I know that look-- that's the "we know exactly what's wrong with you, but we have no idea how to fix it" look!"
Deaton sighed, "One thing I do know is that having an opening like that into your mind? It's not good. You each need to close that door, and you need to do it as soon as possible."
The boys looked somewhat puzzled, "If it's not closed in time." Nova spoke up, "There's no telling what your mind will allow in." She said, Deaton nodded in agreement while her two friends looked at her with a stilled expression.
After talking with Deaton for a while more, the trio made their way outside. There was a sense of uneasy that crossed their face, it was clear that they were somewhat scared at the possible outcomes that could occur. Though before they could ponder any further about it, the blinding lights of the sheriff's SUV caught their attention .
Stiles frowned as his dad stepped out, "Dad, what are you doing here?"
His hands rubbed together as he looked at the group, "I'm here because I could use some help. Actually... your help." He gestured towards Scott.
"Why me?" Scotts eyebrows furrowed in confusion.
"Because eight years ago, almost an entire family died in a car accident. Once of the bodies, a young girl named Malia, was never found. There's enough evidence to have me thinking that a Werewolf could have caused the accident and dragged her body away. If you could somehow get a lock on her scent, if you could somehow help me find her body, it might provide the missing clue..." The sheriff Stilinski explained,
Stiles interjected, "But what if it was a Werewolf?"
The father looked at his son, "Well, there's somebody out there that murdered an entire family– someone who still needs to be caught."
* 。 • ˚ ˚ ˛ ☾˚ 。* 。 • ˚
The following day Nova didn't join the boys in looking for clues at the Tate house, they needed to be discreet and adding another person didn't seem so lok-key. Instead she waited at home for a call or message from either of the two.
Ultimately she didn't receive the message until late in the night, almost twelve. They told her to meet her outside and they'd pick her up in Stiles' infamous jeep.
"So what's going on?" She hopped into the car and made her way to the backseat as Stiles drove off.
Scott craned his head back to look at the girl, "We're going to the woods."
"To...?" She questioned her eyes looking between the two boys.
They were silent for a few moments before Stiles answered, "Find a body..." He answered hesitantly, "Possibly a dead one."
Nova groaned, flopping back into her seat, "Again? Are you serious?" She exclaimed, "I mean I hate to be the party pooper but isn't this exactly how we ended up in this whole situation."
"We're doing this for Stiles and his dad." Scott informed her, "He's on the brink of losing his job thanks to mine and if we are able to– we're going to prevent it."
Nova leaned up in her seat, "You should have led with that."
* 。 • ˚ ˚ ˛ ☾˚ 。* 。 • ˚
When they arrived at Beacon Hills reserve Nova got a sense of deja vu but in a better way. At least this time they were more prepared and aware of what was out there.
"You know, if my dad's right, that means there's another Werewolf in town that we haven't met yet..." Stiles mentioned.
Scott sighed as he pointed the flashlight, " I know."
"If it turns out to be something, like, triplets that form into, like, a three-headed hound of hell, I'm seriously not up for that." Stiles shook his head.
Scott agreed, "Yeah, me, either. Especially if I can't even control my own transformation anymore."
"Maybe it's a were-butterfly." Nova mumbled remembering back to when she thought Jackson would become one. The two boys just shook their heads at her answer but the fun in it made them smile.
They continued following Scott who was looking down at the map on his phone. They made it to a small hill when they heard a coyote howl causing Stiles to jump a bit in fear which impromptu led Scott to drop his phone in a puddle.
"Sorry, buddy." She patted her his shoulder, "I hate coyotes so much-- they always sound like they're mauling some tiny, helpless little animal."
The teen werewolf jumped down picking up his phone, "It still works." The other two followed in suit down into the small ditch.
"Let me see the flashlight." Stiles grabbed it from Scott, "I think we found it..."
They followed him, only to find the flipped over car still there. "Uh, why wouldn't they move it? Isn't it evidence?" Scott questioned.
"Probably too much of a pain in the ass to tow out." Stiles mentioned. They all looked around it until scratches on the car caught their attention, "Look at this– see those? Animal claws would be closer together, right? A lot closer."
"Then it was a Werewolf."
"So, my dad was right..." Stiles trailed off.
They further inspected the car until something caught Nova's eye, "What is that?" Stiles reached over grabbing it. He held the doll that he pulled out in his hand, they stared at it skeptically, "I'm hungry." Its robotic voice spoke, causing them all to jump back, dropping the toy.
Stiles hand reached over his chest, "I think I just had a minor heart attack."
Nova huffed as she caught her breath, "Me too." She held up her finger agreeing.
As Scott caught his breath he became on edge, "Hey, guys...?" He had an outstretched hand towards the two, " Please tell me you see that."
They followed his eyeline, "We see it."
It was almost like a stare off until the animal went off running. Scott had no hesitation and followed the coyote.
"Wait, hey, Scott! Scott, wait!" Stiles tried to stop him but it was no use.
Nova sighed, "Last time..." Nova pointed towards the woods, "That was you." She turned back to Stiles.
Stiles held an unamused face, "Let's go."
☾˚
I'm back! Thank you for being patient with me and giving me time to mourn and collect myself mentally. I appreciate every one of you and I look forward continuing. ❤️
Hope you enjoyed! 💫 Comment & Vote
Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays. Whether you celebrate or not have the best day ever!