Florence's outfit:
꧁𖤍𖤓🔥𖤓𖤍꧂
Chapter Seventy-Nine
🏹 The Nemeton 🏹
"It's me. Um, hey, we're still looking." Scott said as he tried to call Argent while they still walked around the woods, "Just getting a little worried about meeting up on time. So just give me a call, or text, anything." Scott said as Malia stopped before walking back the way they came.
She stopped again and started walking back in the original direction before stopping again. "Okay." She said, dropping down to her knees and focusing on her senses. "Ah." Malia said as she stood up, "It's the way." She said, walking in the direction they came from again before turning back around again.
"It's this way." She whispered before stopping again and growling slightly as she glanced around. "Did you find the Nemeton a bunch of times?" Malia asked, looking at Florence who shrugged slightly, "Yeah, but not without triggering my Phoenix side." She said. "Okay, how did you trigger your Phoenix side?" Malia asked and Florence pursed her lips as she thought for a moment.
"Fighting with Jordan and Lydia being in danger." Florence said, making Lydia raise an eyebrow, "Yeah, I'm not going to put myself in danger." She said and Florence chuckled. "We have kids, wasn't gonna let you." She said before she suddenly furrowed her brows and turned her head slightly. "What is it?" Lydia asked, noticing as Florence glanced around slightly.
"Someone's following us. They've been following us almost the whole time." Florence said as she started walking away from the group slowly, "Who?" Lydia asked as she stepped behind Malia. Florence backed up towards a tree as she glanced around slightly. "Get over here, you little shit." She said, suddenly grabbing a fifteen-year-old, Eli Hale, by the back of his shirt and pulling him out from behind the tree.
"Wait, wait! I wasn't doing anything! Sorry!" He said before she let go of him, "It is you." Scott said as he looked at the boy, while Lydia looked at Malia confused. "Eli, Derek's son." Malia said and Lydia nodded slightly, "Wow, you've gotten really big." Scott said.
"Yeah, it's probably because I was only three the last time you saw me." Eli said and Florence looked at Eli with raised eyebrows, "What the hell are you doing out here?" She asked and Eli pointed at her. "I was kind of wondering what you guys were doing out here." He said, "Hiking. Can't you tell? It's a really nice night for hiking." Malia said and Eli nodded.
"I know what you're looking for. The tree, right? That huge stump that's like twenty-feet wide?" Eli asked and Lydia raised her eyebrows, "You know how to find it?" She asked. "Kind of. I sleepwalk. I don't know why. But I've just been doing it for the last few months." Eli said and Scott nodded, "I used to wake up in the woods too." He said, making Eli look at him.
"After you were bit by Peter, right?" He asked and Scott smiled and nodded, "Yeah, your dad tell you a few stories?" Scott asked. "Yeah, all of 'em. Florence told me some too." Eli said and Malia raised her eyebrows, "What about the tree?" Malia asked and Eli shrugged slightly.
"It's not far from here." He said and Malia nodded, "I knew we were going the right way." She said and Eli shook his head. "No, you were going the wrong way. It's that way." Eli said, pointing in the direction behind Lydia, Malia and Scott.
"We were circling back." Malia said, making Lydia hum and raise her eyebrows, "Thanks. Now go home." Florence said as they started walking. "Well, I can help you find it." Eli said as he followed, "Got it." Malia said. "Hey, come on." He said running to catch up to his cousin and Florence.
🏹
"So aren't you the screamer? Florence's wife?" Eli asked, walking next to Lydia and Florence as the sun had gone down, "Banshee." Lydia corrected. "Yeah, but banshees scream, right?" He asked, "Well, they wail if you want to get technical, but yes." Lydia said and Eli raised his eyebrows slightly.
"So how loud can you scream?" He asked and Lydia sighed, "Loud enough to create a burst of acoustic energy that could crush your skull." She said and Eli nodded. "Good to know." He said awkwardly before looking at Florence, who looked at him in amusement before Malia pushed past them.
"There it is." She said, making everyone look over to see the Nemeton sitting in the middle of a clearing. "So what should we do about Argent?" Malia asked and Scott shrugged slightly, "Uh, I mean, I'm never gonna get a signal now. Even if he's texting me I wouldn't know." Scott said as they walked over to the Nemeton. Florence took a deep breath, knowing she was near the one thing that could kill her for the first time in years.
"We're gonna have to do this now. We can't wait for him." Lydia said, making Scott look at her, "It's his daughter." He said and Lydia sighed. "You said we have to do this tonight. He would want us to do this without him." She said before Malia looked back at Eli.
"Do you have something to do?" She asked, making Eli look at her, "Yeah. Yeah, I have a lacrosse game to play- or more of a Lacrosse game to show up to since I like- I never get to play." He said, glancing at everyone before Florence and Malia gave him a pointed look. "Oh! You want me to leave. Okay, uh, I got it. Okay, well, I'll tell my dad that I saw you guys?" He said and Scott shook his head.
"No, don't. Don't tell him anything. This is kind of-" He said and Lydia finished his sentence, "Personal." She said and Eli nodded. "All right. Don't worry. I won't say anything." He said, looking at Malia and Florence again, and they both gave him a look, making him smile awkwardly then walk away.
Scott pulled out the cloth and dumped the dirt into his hand while Lydia unwrapped the Oni's sword. "Now what?" Malia asked and Lydia took a deep breath, holding the sword out in front of her before glancing at her friends. "Why are you looking at me? I didn't write the instructions." Lydia said and Florence raised her eyebrows, "You kinda did, Princess. You quite literally wrote the instructions." She said, making Lydia give her a look.
"Okay, you know what I mean." Lydia said and Florence tilted her head slightly before lifting up the other end. Almost immediately, they all felt the energy around them shift. "Do you feel that?" Scott asked and Lydia nodded, "Yeah." She said before the wind started to pick up.
All of the sudden, the dirt from Scott's hand flew up into the air and into the crack in the middle of the Nemeton. The sword shook in Lydia and Florence's hands for a moment before shooting out of their hands, stabbing into the center of the Nemeton.
The wind picked up more, making everyone step back slightly, grabbing on to each other. The wind started circling around them and the Nemeton as the sword slowly sunk down into the stump and the wind stopped.
Everyone was quiet and they waited for something to happen but nothing changed. "Okay. That was fun. Um, you guys want to go get something to eat now?" Malia asked before she started walking away. Lydia sighed softly as she looked down at the ground.
Lydia lightly patted Scott arm before nodding towards Malia, grabbing Florence's hand and the both of them started walking away. Scott looked at the Nemeton for a moment before starting to follow them.
But as they turned around, Florence felt a strange feeling, making her look at the Nemeton again. A second later a blueish-white like started glowing in the center of the Nemeton, making Florence's eyes widen. "Guys." She said, nodding towards the Nemeton, making them all stop and turn around as the light grew down to the roots of the Nemeton.
The light trailed back to the center before forming into a figure. Soon enough the light cleared away to reveal an unconscious naked body laying on top of the Nemeton, making everyone's eyes widen.
"It's Allison." Scott said as they stared at her in shock, "She's alive." He whispered.