While warming up his body before starting to run in the gym class, Alistair searched for Isaac. He found the boy bent lacing his shoes. What caught his attention the most was the twins, the bulky ones he encountered in the library. They walked up to Isaac and stopped right behind him, watching him intently.
After the whistle sounded, Alistair walked up to Isaac and Scott, only being able to hear as Isaac told Scott, "It's them". After that, he sprinted after the twins with Scott behind him yelling for him to wait. Alistair decided to follow after them. Even being human, with all his years of training and missions, he was only a little bit behind them.
None of them seemed to mind the fact that they weren't even trying to hide their inhuman capacities. He lost sight of Isaac and the twins, only being able to follow Scott. Arriving behind him to a secluded area of the forest, he could only see as the twins were holding Isaac down, Scott got there and punched one, and they all started to growl at each other like dogs claiming a territory. Alistair couldn't help but roll his eyes at the dramatic display of dominance, it was being all show, and no do.
He was going to approach them when a scream pierced through the woods. Running in the direction of the scream, he found a bunch of students standing around a tree, murmuring and astonished. In a tree was hanging a man, strangled with what looked like a cable.
Fifteen minutes after, the sheriff arrived, alongside David and another deputy. Stiles immediately approached his father to tell him about the body, while Alistair approached David.
"This one looks exactly like the other two bodies we have found this week", David told his son.
"That means there's a pattern, can't be a coincidence." Alistair thought for a moment. "Seems too polished to be a werewolf kill, you know what that looks like?" The question came with a somber tone, one that expressed how dark everything would get if he was right.
"Sacrifices", was all David could say, with the same somber tone and the worry clear in his face. After that, he left his son to approach the sheriff, ordering the students to leave the scene.
Alistair saw that Isaac, Scott, and Stiles were together talking, and decided to approach, listening to their conversation, hearing how Isaac was blaming the twins for the crime, Alistair doubted that, while Stiles was also talking about sacrifices, he was definitely smarter than people gave him credit for.
He stopped in front of them and crossed his arms over his chest, the others stopped walking.
"Do you think is a coincidence? They appear and people star dying", was Isaac's sharp question.
Stiles answered, "no, but I don't think it's them", Scott had a clueless expression on his face, looking from one side to the other like a lost puppy, it was quite the adorable scene, if you forgot about the dead body in the back.
Stiles was looking incredulously at Scott after he said that Isaac had a point and that human sacrifices didn't make sense. He looked at Alistair, before looking back and, gathering all the sarcasm on his body and using his hands to show his point and exasperation, he questioned how Scott's disbelief in sacrifices was inadequate, considering the fact that he could change so many parts of his body and come back to normal.
Scott could only look back at Isaac and say, "that's a good point".
The three looked at Alistair, silently questioning him for his opinion.
"We are still investigating this, let's not jump to conclusions and get in trouble". He didn't want to take a part in their discussion, but after a momentary pause, he added, "but Stiles is right, this doesn't have any wolfy characteristic. We've seen this before, and yes, they are probably sacrifices. Who and why are still the important questions".
Isaac, being fed up with the conversation, especially after Alistair didn't back him up, only said, "I don't care. They killed the girl that saved me, and could have killed your brother", he added that, looking back at Alistair.
"But they didn't, and we don't know if they kill the girl, John said he hasn't heard anything after leaving you in the hospital".
"I don't care, I'm going to kill them". And he left, without waiting for any reply.
"He's only gonna get his ass beaten", Alistair sigh and left.
(...)
During one of the classes, Alistair was late. Reaching the class, in the hallway, were the twins, looking at him. He stopped in front of the door when Isaac walked out of the classroom.
They stood side by side when the twins approached. Alistair reached to his back pocket for one of his daggers, but, for their surprise, one of the twins did, in fact, attacked the other. Punching him repeatedly, while the punched one only smirked. He recognized that one as the one who flirted/tried to intimidate him, in the library the other day.
Then, the hurt twin was thrown at Alistair's and Isaac's feet, when everyone in the classroom went to look at the commotion. They looked at each other, knowing this was the point of the whole show.
That's how they ended in detention.
(...)
In detention, Alistair and Isaac were ordered to clean one of the storage rooms together.
When they entered the room, it was in awkward silence. They kind of liked each other, but they have never been alone. Neither knew how if they should start a conversation or just work in silence.
Isaac was the one who decided to start, "I'm sorry, I never gave you back your jacket. Thanks, by the way", he said with a soft look on his face and a small smile, looking at Alistair's eyes.
Alistair smiled back and said, "you can keep it, don't worry. I have a bunch of them". Isaac only nodded, with a slightly bigger smile, and satisfied, looking back at the shelving. Alistair nodded to himself, smiling, doing the same.
Suddenly, the door was closed, and the light turned off.
Confused, they turned back and tried to open the door to no avail, it was locked, and it seemed there was something in the way.
Isaac started to panic, his breaths started to be very close to one another, his heart rising, and he couldn't keep still. He took off his cardigan and brought his hands to his head. Looking at him, Alistair recognized two things, he was probably on the verge of a panic attack, and he was more probably having a traumatic response.
Desperately, Isaac started to punch the door, trying to break it or at least open it, those were uncalculated hits, with no strategy, there was no thought process behind them, only surviving instincts, and fear, and desperation.
After a couple of minutes, not archiving his goal, Isaac started to shift, he looked back at Alistair with glowing yellow eyes and his fangs showing. The Keeper knew his options were limited. He could try to avoid and eventually subdue Isaac, or directly hurt him with wolfsbane to calm him.
Before Isaac could turn and attack, Alistair kicked the back of his knees, making him bend and captured him in a headlock. Isaac tried to claw him, throwing his arms over his shoulders, but only got to his back, covered with a leather jacket.
"Isaac, I need you to calm down now", his words weren't being heard as Isaac kept struggling. Tightening his hold, he hissed, "If you don't stop, I have two options, or I inject you wolfsbane, or we wait until you can't breathe and pass out". He could only hear Isaac's erratic breaths.
Positioning his chin on Isaac's shoulder, he said, "follow my breathing", his tone was soft, but it left no space for questions. He started to breathe loudly, so Isaac could follow. After a couple of breaths, Isaac was calming down, and abruptly, Scott opened the door. He was confused at the scene in front of him but relieved that no one was hurt.
Looking back at Alistair and reclining his back on his chest, Isaac said a breathless, "thank you".
Letting go of his neck, Alistair only smiled back at him, squeezing his shoulders, "any time". He nodded in Scott's direction and left.
Later in class, he saw Scott taking out different motorcycle parts and putting them over his desk, both twins looked at him when one of the twins got out running of the classroom. Minutes after they heard it, a motorcycle speeding through the hallways.
When they got out, Alistair saw the twin, Aiden, over his bike, and in front of him, Isaac, soon joined by Allison and Scott. The trio laughed at each other triumphantly, Alistair frowned only deepened it when he saw his sister across the hallway laughing. Shaking his head and snorting, he went for his things.
(...)
Stiles, recognizing he was not only the one with the most knowledge of the supernatural among them, but also backed him up with the sacrifices' theory, decided to text Alistair, asking him to come to Deaton's clinic, to question the Druid.
When he arrived at the clinic, Stiles was telling Deaton about historical human sacrifices and how they were related to the druids.
Alistair then started to remember different things he had read during his training, things about the druids and how they obtained their power and the different paths they could take.
After Stiles finished his rant, asking Deaton what the Druid's favorite plant is, he responded, "mistletoe".
"I'm only telling you things you already know", was Stiles' conclusion. "Why haven't you told us?", he sounded exasperated for the lack of information.
Deaton made brief eye contact with Alistair, who was entering the room, and looked back at Stiles, "maybe because, when you have spent so much time in the last ten years trying to hide something, lying, denying it, it becomes a habit". Alistair could feel the sincerity and regret, maybe even self-reproach, coming from the Druid.
"Is this guy a Druid?"
Alistair took this moment to make his apport, "nope. We just found ourselves someone trying to copy ancient traditions from the original Druids".
Nodding at him and feeling respect for someone with knowledge, Deaton added, "do you know what druid means in Gaelic?" Stiles shook his head.
"Wise oak", was Alistair's response. While Deaton explained to Stiles what the Celtic Druids were and did, Lydia called the boy, revealing that a teacher had disappeared. They decided to go investigate.
(...)
Once they were in the missing professor's office, Lydia showed them a recording on a cellphone, it sounded like the music you would expect in the background of a horror movie, the scene before the killer gives the ending strike to its victim from behind, making a great jumpscare scene. It made the hairs in the back of Alistair's neck rise. Deaton asked Lydia to send him a copy.
Deaton started to explain the power of groups of three, virgins, healers, philosophers, warriors. Stiles interrupted asking, "wait, a warrior could be like a soldier?", Deaton affirmed it. And Stiles connected the dots. The last two victims had military backgrounds.
While Stiles left to call Boyd, Lydia mentioned how she knew someone else with a military background. Professor Harris.
When they arrived at his classroom, he wasn't there, but all his belongings were there, making obvious what happened.
They started to check the desk in which he was working. They also noticed that he was grading exams, but, the important thing was, he was leaving random letters on them, letters that didn't represent a real grade.
"Stiles, you remember we were talking about how Druid means wise oak?", while Deaton was saying that Alistair come from behind him, seeing how he arranged the grading, making a word. He felt a shiver run down his back, confirming the theory he talked with his mother about.
Deaton continued, "if a Druid lost its way, they would say he became a Dark Oak".
Alistair finished, "a Darach".
(...)
When he arrived home latter that day, Alistair talked with his mother about the Darach.
"I'll start working with Michelle censoring spells tomorrow, we need to track where this Darach is and where they are storing all the power from the sacrifices", Alistair told his pensive mother.
Esther only hummed through her grim expression, "who would have thought all this happens in a boring town like this", she said humorlessly. She got up from the couch, kissing her son's forehead, and retreated to her bedroom.
(...)
Once in his own bedroom, Alistair sat at his desk in front of the window, watching the pouring rain. He looked down at the bestiary on his hands, searching for anything useful about Darachs, he knew of them but very limited.
He was interrupted for his phone, showing an incoming call from an unknown number.
Doubtfully, he picked up the call.
"Hello?", the other line was silent for a moment, only hearing a faintly familiar breathing, before he recognized Isaac's voice, even if it sounded so small and vulnerable.
"Hey Alistair", he made a long pause, only being heard his breaths that were getting considerably fast. "Remember you said that, if I needed anything, I could call you?" Isaac wasn't sure why he decided to call Alistair, someone he barely knew. But he couldn't ignore the feeling of easiness and comfort he gave him, the way his words always held such warm, something he wasn't accustomed to, but it felt nice and right.
There was no need for Isaac to express his desperation with his words, it was very clear in his defeated tone. Understanding this, Alistair saved the boy the trouble of explaining anything over the phone, "where are you?", he got up from the desk, looking for his car keys.
After getting instruction to get to him, Alistair cut off the call and drove to the indicated direction.
He picked up Isaac, receiving a very sincere thanks in return. They drove in a somewhat comfortable silence; the only thing being heard was the music coming from the speakers of the car. Alistair asked, but Isaac said he didn't want to talk about what happened. Alistair respected his decision.
The only thing Isaac said was that he needed a place to spend the night, Alistair was immediate to say it was no problem for him or his family. Isaac nodded grateful, and Alistair sent a text to his mother, informing her of the situation.
(...)
When they arrived at the Rookwood household, everyone except for John was at the table waiting for them.
Isaac stopped abruptly on his feet at the sight, feeling incredibly awkward and nervous, he looked at everyone's smiling faces and then back at Alistair. He believed he was interrupting a family moment.
Esther got up from her seat and approached them. Standing in front of them, she smiled reassuringly at Isaac and put her hands on his shoulders, saying, "I hope you're hungry. Now, go take a seat before the food gets cold", and left for the kitchen to gather the rest of the food.
Smiling at Isaac, Alistair put one of his hands in the boy's back and guided him to the table.
The dinner was rather eventful to Isaac. For one, he felt completely intimidated by David's presence, the alpha aura in him was a little overwhelming, he missed it the other night, but here, in a closed space it was impossible to miss. His looks at Isaac were long, he was clearly assessing him, but not quite threatening him. He felt, in a very confusing way, secure and protected with him.
Esther, on the other hand, was trying to diffuse the tense atmosphere her husband was creating, by making small talk with Isaac. Michelle only made side remarks from time to time, not missing the looks Isaac and Alistair sent each other from time to time.
(...)
After the dinner, they left for Alistair's room.
Entering his room, Alistair noticed how unsure Isaac looked on the door. Looking back at him, Alistair smiled and told him, "Get in this shower", he signaled the bathroom in his room. "I'll use the one downstairs". Isaac dumbfounded nodded, walking to the middle of the room, while Alistair walked to the door.
Past twenty minutes, Alistair walked through his room's door wearing sleeping shorts with the towel hanging in his neck, shirtless. Isaac was drying his hair, also shirtless but wearing sweatpants. For long moments they could only look at each other's naked upper body, Isaac looking extremely red, while Alistair could only feel respect for someone who clearly worked so hard on his body. He nodded approvingly.
Alistair was the first to stop the appreciation for the other's body, coughing slightly, he walked to his closet to grab a shirt to sleep. That was the topic they discussed for around fifteen minutes, who was going to use the bed.
Alistair offered the bed to Isaac, saying he could just use the couch downstairs. Isaac, embarrassed, argued how unfair that was, as the bed was his. He proposed to change places, he would sleep in the couch, as the guest he was, and Alistair would sleep in his bed.
Already tired of the pointless discussion and sleepy, Alistair said, "look, the bed is queen-sized, I'm pretty sure we both fit in there. We both want the other to sleep on the bed. Problem solved", he had a serious expression and held no bashfulness.
Isaac blinked a few rapid times looking back at him with his mouth slightly open, he looked from Alistair to the bed and back, "a-are you saying that-that we-". Alistair, seeing why he looked so hesitantly, could only smirk while a breathy laugh scaped his mouth.
"Yes, Isaac. Let's sleep together". He paused for a moment; this was the time for his cheeks to color. "Ok, not, wait. Let's lay together in the bed and sleep". They looked at each other, their cheeks only gaining color by the passing second.
Alistair scratched the back of his neck and nodded. He walked to the bed and got in. Not five minutes after, Isaac did the same. After a few moments of silence, Alistair said, "wanna talk about what happened when you called?"
Isaac's small and delicate voice only said, "no, not right now. Maybe tomorrow". Alistair nodded, not sure if Isaac saw it. Saying his goodnights to Isaac, he moved to lay on his side, Isaac did the same.
In the vast expanse of the bed, their bodies found themselves gravitating towards each other, drawn by an invisible force that transcended physical proximity. Unbeknownst to them, they had settled in the center, their backs touching gently, as if seeking solace and reassurance in the presence of the other.
As they lay there, a sense of tranquility enveloped them, a stark contrast to the initial awkwardness they had anticipated. In this shared space, they found comfort in each other's company, their connection growing stronger with every breath they took. It was a profound intimacy that went beyond words or actions, a silent understanding that bound their souls together.
The night unfolded like a tender lullaby, the soft touch of their bodies serving as a shield against the haunting nightmares that often-plagued Alistair's sleep. With Isaac by his side, the fears and anxieties that once held him captive melted away, replaced by a profound sense of safety and security.
For Isaac, it was a night of respite, a rare moment when he could surrender to sleep without the burden of fear. Nestled in the embrace of Alistair's presence, he found sanctuary, knowing that he was, for sure, in a safe space, with safe people.
As they drifted into slumber, their breathing synchronized, their hearts beating in harmony.
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－ ３３２０ ｗｏｒｄｓ －
Author's note
Here's this weekend's update, as promised.
I've been thinking, and I'm planning on publishing another book, a Bestiary for The Keepers. As I plan to introduce new creatures and make a few crossovers, it could work as an in deep guide for understanding all the differences and characteristics of each species.
Remember to comment and vote, see ya next week.
- 𝒿. 𝒻. 𝒸. 🐼💜