x x
"Fenris," Elora echoed, flashing past a pair of orderlies bordering the hall Malia Tate had been staying in since her arrival in Eichen House. "Do not touch her."
The seasoned supernatural doctor turned his head, standing outside of Malia's room. "Ah, Ms. Danielson. I was wondering when you would arrive."
"Moving one of my patients without tell me?" questioned Elora as she approached. "You're damn right I'm going to show up. What the hell do you think you're doing?"
"My job," Fenris countered. "I'm sorry Ms. Danielson but their have been supernatural claims against Ms. Tate."
"Claims, quite possibly but if feral behavior has been claimed then it is most likely from her time spent living in the woods and not anything beyond subpar human behavior." Elora came to a dead stop in front of Dr. Fenris, irritation bubbling inside of her. She wasn't even thinking about the mess with Charlie or the attack on Isaac, or even that of Kira blacking out the entire town.
Conrad Fenris held eye contact with Elora, the orderlies standing by utterly confused from the sensible tension.
"I will not let you take her," Elora said with a flat expression.
Fenris weighed his options, well aware of Elora's family ties. He knew he wouldn't win. "Leave us, gentlemen."
Elora and Fenris stood in silence, waiting until the burly taser-wielding orderlies exited the hall.
"You really won't, will you?" Fenris asked with an arched brow.
"No, and I hope you'll accept that without a threat involved, Fenris." El kept her eyes on the doctor who once had his career destroyed before finding Eichen in the spring. "You yourself said there are good ones. Malia is one of the good ones. She's had a rough time, but I truly believe she's one of the best. She just needs time to adapt."
Fenris thought heavily as he glanced back to the shut door of Malia's room.
"If she's gone this long without you having a clue, clearly she's well adjusted. Adjusted enough to not have to be stuck on a floor that barely gets any daylight." Elora put a hand on Malia's door when it seemed as if Fenris would lunge. "I will take personal responsibility for her while she's here. Please do not put her on that floor."
"Full responsibility," Fenris repeated, as if he needed confirmation.
Elora put out a hand, planning on staying in front of him until she had an agreement. "You will not move her or change her schedule without notifying me. If she gets violent, I will take care of it."
Fenris shook Elora's hand, giving a soft nod. "Fine. She's your responsibility." He hesitated, able to read her expression. "And anything that goes on with her, you'll be consulted and informed first."
"Thank you, sir," El replied, letting go of his hand. "I appreciate this, I really do."
"I'm trusting you on this one, Danielson," Conrad replied, backing away from Elora and turning back the way he came.
Elora knocked on the door of 417, opening it after a moment.
But Malia had hugged Elora before she could say anything.
Elora stumbled backward as Malia wrapped her arms around the witch, soon hugging her back with a mild laugh.
Malia's yes were shut as she was pressed against El. "Thank you."
She wasn't sure if the thanks was for keeping her away form the supernatural floor or if it was for believing she was genuinely good, but Elora hugged her tightly away.
x x
As night started to filter over Beacon Hills, the day staff of Eichen House were leaving the building with desperate intentions to forget the things they had witnessed.
Elora had sent Charlie off after returning from her rescue of Malia, having grown irritated with his presence. She had, however, missed the text strain with Aiden.
"Tough day at work, sis?"
El hesitated as she headed towards the camaro in the staff lot, her eyes nearly rolling into the back of her head as she found Charlie leaning on the trunk.
Charlie genuinely laughed at his sister's expression, standing up. "Good to see you, too."
"What are you doing here, Charlie? I told you to go."
"I did go," he replied with a mild shrug. "And now I'm back."
"And why, pray tell, is that?" El asked flatly as she unlocked the camaro, pulling open the driver's door.
"Because," said Charlie, "we've got a party to get ready for."
Elora's eyebrows raised, one foot in the car when she stopped, "What party?"
Charlie only grinned, "It's Halloween, little one, there's always a party. Our favorite night of the year, El, we can't not party."
Scoffing lightly, Elora climbing into the camaro and shut the door.
Charlie suddenly appeared in the passenger's seat, the door never having opened, "Come on, El. It's a party. Partying is essential for your teens and twenties. Since you didn't get to party much as a teen-"
El turned her head to Charlie, her facial expression flat enough to scare someone. "I hope you haven't forgotten that was your fault, no less."
"Consider this me making up for it," Charlie offered. "Trust me, you'll love it. Your little furball can come, too."
"Would you mind actually calling him by his name, Charlie?" El requested as she backed the camaro out of her parking space.
"Alright, fine, so Isaac, the one who doesn't know we knew his older brother," replied Charlie. "And, uh," he idly itched his jaw, "why is that?"
"Talking about people's dead siblings isn't actually a great conversation starter." Elora drove through green lights, false lights that she herself had forced. "It was a long time ago."
"Or that if you brought up the fact we knew Camden would have to involve you mentioning me?" he countered as he leaned back in the passenger's seat.
Elora didn't look over him as she drove, "That might've crossed my mind."
"Or the fire at the school?"
"There's that too," Elora said with a sigh. "I would appreciate it if you would leave that subject alone. Isaac remembers his brother in a good, loving way and he deserves to keep it that way."
Charlie held up his hands as the camaro pulled into the driveway of el's house, "Fine, fine. I'll leave your pretty boy alone. Don't let me ruin his family."
"Given that he doesn't have any, I'd definitely say you should leave that alone," Elora sharply said as she stopped the car and shut off the engine.
"He stayed home from school, right?" Charlie asked as the two got out of the car. "You're sure he won't tell anyone? Chris asked for 24 to explain."
"He won't say anything," assured Elora, locking the camaro. "His car's here, he's not gone anywhere."
Charlie whistled as he went through the front door of the house just behind Elora. "Get your dancing shoes on," he called, "we've got a party to get to."
Elora rolled her eyes, going deeper into the home to place her briefcase on the kitchen counter. "Just because you're my brother doesn't mean you have to be embarrassing."
"Well sure it does," Charlie replied from the foyer. "Get out anything you've got that'll glow in the dark."
"It's blacklight?" Elora quickly asked, rejoining Charlie in the foyer with hidden excitement in her features.
"Oh, it's blacklight," Charlie replied with a grin.
Isaac appeared from the living room, hair messy and still in joggers and a tee. "What about a party?"
"Blacklight party tonight," Charlie told Isaac, idly checking his watch. "Starting in twenty. Get ready. We'll apparate-"
"Charlie-"
"I can take all three of us, Elly, it'll be fine. Just go get ready. I'll be back in ten."
Already on the stairs, El looked over her shoulder with drawn eyebrows. "Where are you going?"
"Booze run, naturally," Charlie said just before disappearing all together.
Isaac softly laughed, amused. He looked up to Elora, at the foot of the stairs. "Do you actually have random glow in the dark stuff in your room?"
"I do, actually," El replied, holding out her hand to Isaac.
An eyebrow lifted, "Should I ask why?"
"For parties like this, duh," she said with a laugh. "And the last concert I went to was blacklight."
"Didn't take you for much of a party girl," mused Isaac as they went into El's room.
"I'm just a sucker for blacklight," Elora admitted as she flicked a finger from her wardrobe over to the bed, a storage box appearing on top of the messy duvet.
"Oo a whole box for blacklight. Very fancy." Isaac wrapped his arms around her waist from behind, watching over her shoulder as she opened the box.
Elora's phone dinged in the back pocket of her work slacks, drawing her attention from the various neon pieces.
Allison: Please tell me you've still got your blacklight stuff from Paris
El softly laughed, pulling free a few items from the bin and placing them in a pile. And when she circled a palm above it, they vanished.
Another ding soon came from Elora's phone, causing Isaac's brain to hurt.
Allison: God bless you ❤️
Isaac's eyebrows lifted, "So you partied in Paris with Allison, then?"
"Don't get too excited," El replied as she dug out a blindingly pink plastic choker with a matching bracelet.
"Jesus," Isaac said with a laugh, "did these fall out of the 90s?"
"Either way, you're wearing one." Elora grinned deviously as she held them both up, equally and alarmingly pink.
Isaac begrudgingly took the bracelet, putting it around his wrist when Elora slid the choker over her head. "What about my shirt?"
"Go put on the light blue one, the short sleeve. It'll glow a little."
"Yes ma'am," he replied mockingly, kissing her temple before parting, heading downstairs to retrieve his shirt from the dryer.
Elora retrieved a blue bralette from the box, setting it out with a thin white tank that fell loosely. She glanced down to her work slacks, hesitating before deciding on an orange lace skirt that was both obnoxious and satisfying.
The set aside outfit vanished from the duvet, suddenly on Elora and her work clothes clinging to a laundry basket in the ensuite.
Elora tucked the remarkably thin tank in to the skirt, her bralette visible from all angles and not likely to draw any complaints from the partygoers.
Isaac practically applauded when he returned to El's room, surprised by her outfit but surely not bothered. "You really are a pro at this neon thing, eh?"
El only laughed, "I do my best." She finally shut the box, double checking that white converse had replaced her heels. "I'm guessing there'll be paints there, so that's a bonus. Uh, has anyone texted you about the party? Scott, Stiles?"
"Stiles tweeted something about it, so I think him, Lydia, Danny for sure, and the twins," Isaac replied. "Sounds like it'll be a pretty big deal. I think the Bloody Beatroots is going to be mixing."
"Seriously?" El asked with an arched brow, clearly impressed. "That'll be awesome."
"Let's go children," Charlie echoed from the floor below. "I've got lots of alcohol and I'm not afraid to use it."
"Isn't that what you always want to hear from your brother," El remarked as she headed for the stairs.
"Of course it is," said Charlie as he stood at the foot of the stairs, Elora and her wolf surfacing. He held a large brown bag that clinked as he shifted, waiting for them to join him. He'd changed into a white tee, evidently relying on face paint for the party. "Grab a shoulder and close the circuit."
"Great," complained Elora, "you're relying on a closed circuit."
"I just want to cover all my bases so no one gets splinched," Charlie defended with a roll of his eyes. "I know I can do it without, I was just thinking it would make you feel better."
Elora mildly scoffed, putting a hand on her shoulder as Isaac did the same. She held out her hand to Isaac, "Close the circuit."
Although confused, Isaac took Elora's hand. He'd come to the point where he would just go along with what was going on around him.
The atmosphere around the trio burned cold for a flash of a moment, suddenly surrounding them with heavy music and glowing lights.
No one around noticed their odd arrival, both Isaac and Elora letting go of Charlie but not of each other.
Charlie only grinned, his teeth blindingly white and his shirt glowing in the UV light. "Behave, you two." He departed from the pair, intent on getting as drunk as possible.
Elora's eyebrows furrowed, the blacklight bliss evaporating as she realized where they were.
Isaac, clearly, was on the same track as his girlfriend. "You don't think he knows about this, do you?"
"Elora!" Aiden cheered as he walked by, "thanks for letting us use the loft!"
El's lips gaped, unable to grab Aiden before he disappeared into the glowing crowd. "I didn't - oh, God I left my phone with Charlie earlier. I'm gonna kill him."
"Not unless Derek kills us first."
But until then, the only thing to do was party.