🪐

"Acalia!" Deucalion shouts to his daughter
"Yes?" 8 year old Acalia asks her father
"We need to go to Aunt Talia's." He says.

"Yes!" She cheers and gets in the car and they drive to the house
"Hi Uncle Peter."
"Hello, buttercup." He says looking up from his book.

"I heard what happened. Are you okay?" She asks, Deucalion always told her what happened with everything because he didn't want to shielded anything with the hunter from her
"I'm fine, though two days with just Derek was awful." He says and she laughs.

"Aunt Tali!" Acalia says hugging her
"Hello, Acali. Your father and I need to go somewhere. We'll be back." She says and turns to Deucalion and they both leave.

"So, do you want to do something?" Peter asks and Acalia nods.

🪐

"They were there for two days, waiting. Hiding. That's what we're taught to do when the Hunters find us-- hide and heal." Cora says looking out of the window of the loft
"Okay, so, is two days standard, then, or are we thinking Derek's on, like, some extended getaway?" Stiles says.

"Why do you care?" Cora asks
"Why do I care? Let's see..." Stiles says
"Here we go." Rayne says.

"Because, over the last few weeks: my best friend's tried to kill himself; his boss nearly got ritually sacrificed; a girl that I've known since I was three was ritually sacrificed; Boyd was killed by Alphas... I... Do you want me to keep going? 'Cause I can, all right? For, like, an hour." He says.

"You think Derek can do anything about that?" Cora asks
"Well, since he's the one everyone seems to be after, it's more like he should do something about it, yeah." Stiles says
"I don't know... There's something different about him now. He wasn't like this when I knew him." Cora says.

"What was he like?" Stiles asks
"A lot like Scott, actually. A lot like most teenagers-- unbearably romantic, profoundly narcissistic, tolerable really only to other teenagers..." Peter says from the stairs
"And so what happened? What changed him?" Stiles asks.

"Well, the same thing that changes a lot of young men... A girl."
"Paige." Rayne mumbles and Peter looks at her confused
"You're telling me some girl broke his little heart? That's why Derek is the way he is?" Stiles asks.

"Do you remember Derek, before he was an Alpha, had blue eyes? Do you know why some wolves have blue eyes?" Peter asks
"I just always thought it was, like, a genetic thing." Stiles says.

"If you want to know what changed Derek, you need to know what changed the color of his eyes."

🪐

"Okay, so if Derek was a sophomore back then, how old was he? How old were you? How old are you now?" Stiles asks
"Not as young as we could have been, but not as old as you might think." Peter says
"Okay, that was frustratingly vague. How old are you?" Stiles asks Cora.

"I'm seventeen." She says
"See! That's an answer. That's how we answer people!" He says
"Well, 'seventeen' how you'd measure in years-" Cora says.

"All right, I'm just gonna drop it. What happened to Derek and the cello-girl?" Stiles says
"Paige, her name was Paige." Rayne says
"How do you know that?" Peter says.

"I know a lot of this, like how I used to call you 'Uncle Peter' and I called Talia 'Tali' and I remember everything." She says
"Everything with the Alphas?" He asks.

"Everything. Now back to Derek and Paige. What happened?"
"What do you think happened? They were teenagers-- one minute, it's 'I hate you, don't talk to me,' the next, it's frantic groping in any dark corner they could manage to find themselves alone for five minutes."
"I understand that." She says and they all grimace.

"Their favorite dark corner was an abandoned distillery outside of Beacon Hills."
"All right, hold up-- how do you know all this? You just said that they were alone." Stiles says
"Back then, I wasn't just Derek's uncle. I was his best friend, his closest confidante. That's how I know." Peter says.

🪐

Peter had took Acalia to the abandoned distillery and they watched as Derek and Paige kiss, well Peter did, Acalia looked away in disgust and then they see Alphas and their packs walk into the building then Peter leaves her to get a better view.

"There! You see it? They dragged him here, an arrow in his throat, and they hung him and cut him in half! They killed one of ours." Ennis says
"One of yours. Why should I care about one of your pack?" Kali asks
"Because the Hunters don't discern packs-- especially the Argents." Laura says.

"But, they do discern motive... Ennis, why did they kill him?" Deucalion asks
"Because your young, naive Beta killed one of them!" Marco says
"Marco..." Deucalion warns.

"He killed a Hunter, didn't he?" He says
"Accidentally." He says they hear a wolf howling and then run into the building and transforms into Talia and Laura covers her with a robe.

"Deucalion, do you catch a scent and familiar one." She says and Deucalion sighs
"Acalia Aldopha, come here now." He says and she walks out of the shadows
"Yes?" She asks.

"What are you doing here?" He asks
"Peter told me we were gonna do something cool so he took me here and then that asshole left me." She says
"Language." He scolds
"But he was." She says and Talia laughs.

"Can we get back to the issue here?" Ennis asks and they all nod
"It is his right. We're not the only people to adhere to rituals thousands of years old." Talia says
"Which is no excuse for not evolving." Deucalion says.

"They ripped his claws right out of his fingers! How is that evolving? Useless debate! I'm done with it!" Ennis says
"Ennis, don't! Don't make us part of a historical cliché. With two such powers, it never ends at an eye for an eye-- a skirmish becomes a war, a murder becomes a massacre, and we end up no better than our enemies!" He says and Ennis proceeds to claw the wall with a spiral.

🪐

Peter draws the same spiral on the window with his finger
"Our mark for vendetta." He says
"Man, you guys really take that revenge thing to, like, a whole new level, don't you?" Stiles says.

"It's not just revenge. Losing a member of your pack isn't like losing family." Cora says
"It's like you lose a limb." Rayne says
"They wouldn't even let him see the body." Peter says.

🪐

I don't get it-- what does this have to do with Derek?" Cora asks
"Everything. It's never just a single moment; it's a confluence of events. Personally, I looked at Ennis' circumstances, and I saw a profound loss. Derek saw something different. He saw opportunity." Peter says.

"Opportunity? To do what?" Stiles asks
"To always be with her." Peter says
"Still can't believe you left me when I was 8." Rayne says.

🪐

"I kept telling him not to do it. Every day, the more he thought about it, the more convinced he became. You know teenagers... I bet he even blames me! He's probably convinced himself the whole thing was my idea-" Peter says.

"It probably was." Rayne says.

🪐

"They keep us connected to humanity. But, they're a secret, even in the pack-- sometimes only the Alpha knows who the Emissary is. Derek and I had no idea about Deaton." Cora explains
"Or his sister, Morrell." Peter says.

"She's an Emissary, too?" Stiles asks
"For the Alpha Pack." Rayne says
"Our guidance counselor? Why the hell don't you people tell me any of this stuff, huh? I shared some really intimate details with her!" He says.

"And did she give you good advice?" Cora asks
"Actually, yeah."
"That's what they do. That's what Deaton used to do for Talia." Peter says.

🪐

"While I admire your willingness to extend an olive branch, I have to tell you... it might not be welcome." Deaton says
"And I'm not sure that Gerard is the one to accept it." Talia says
"It's true-- the Argents have a matriarchal leadership." Deaton agrees.

"Actually, I was speaking about the fact that he's a complete psychopath. The man cuts people in half with a broadsword." Talia says to Deucalion
"Do the two of you really have so little faith in people? You think Gerard isn't worried about the deaths on his own side?" He says.

"Do you know the story of the Scorpion and the Frog?" Deaton asks
"My daughter does. Acalia!" He calls and she walks into the room
"Do you know the story of the Scorpion and the Frog?" Deaton repeats the question and she nods.

"When the Scorpion asked the Frog to carry him across the river, the Frog said, 'How do I know you won't sting me?' The Scorpion replied, 'Why would I do that? Then, we'd both drown.' So, the Frog agreed. Halfway across the river, the Scorpion stung the Frog. When the Frog asked him why he did it, since now they would both die, the Scorpion replied... 'It's my nature.'" She says and he smiles.

"Your faith in humanity may not matter if you underestimate Gerard's nature." Deaton says
"Make sure you meet him on neutral ground... And do not walk in there alone." Talia says
"I'm an Alpha. I never walk alone." Deucalion says.

🪐

"Ennis? Why would he choose him?" Cora asks
"Why not? Ennis needed a new member for his pack. Paige was young and strong. Doing a favor for Derek meant Ennis would be in good with Talia-- back then, everybody wanted to be in good with her." Peter replies.

"He doesn't remember it was Ennis, does he?" Rayne asks
"If he does, he keeps it to himself." He says
"So, then what happened? Did he turn her?" Stiles asks.

"Almost. He came at Ennis-- a fifteen-year-old boy against a giant. There was no reason for him to fight. She'd already been bitten."

🪐

Acalia watched as her father got out of his car and walked into their house
"Dad!" Acalia squeals as she jumps into his arms
"Hi, sweetheart. Today's a very special day." He says and his daughter looked confused
"We are going to make peace." He says.

🪐

Acalia stood next to her father as they met with the hunters
"I think it's quite fitting that we are meeting in a distillery. You know, the process of distillation is the separating of two substances by pushing them into their different volatile states." Gerard says.

"'Volatile" is exactly the state I was hoping to avoid." Deucalion says
"Ooh. Then this is going to come as quite a big disappointment." Gerard says and then starts turning a wheel and it releases gas
"Acalia, run!" Her father shouts and she tries her best to run out and then into the forest.

🪐

"So, did she turn?" Cora asks
She should have. Most of the time, the bite takes. Most of the time." Peter says
When you offered it to me, you said, 'If it doesn't kill you...'" Stiles says

"If."
"It didn't matter that she was young and strong. Some people just aren't meant for this. But, she fought. She struggled desperately, trying to survive..."

🪐

"Another in a long line of Beacon Hills animal attacks." Peter says
"And what about Derek?" Cora says
"Taking an innocent life takes something from you as well... A bit of your soul. Darkening it, dimming the once brilliant golden yellow to a cold, steel blue." He says and flashes his blue eyes.

"Like mine."

🪐

Acalia ran out from the forest to see her father crawl out of the building with Gerard walking towards him
"Don't! Don't do this! I have a child!" Deucalion pleads
"I have a vision... A vision of peace!" He says.

"A little short-sighted, wouldn't you say?" Gerard says and takes two arrows and stabs him in the eye and he screams in pain as Acalia screams in fear at the sight as tears fall down her face.

🪐

"I'm sorry... The eyes will heal physically, but your sight." Deaton says and Deucalion screams
"Leave me alone." He pants and Talia leads her to the front when they hear crashing and they walk in.

"I'll clean the blood off of him, I need to talk to him." Talia says and Deaton nods and starts to talk to Acalia
"Deuc, it's not safe for Acalia, Gerard knows what she looks like now. You have a target on her back."

"I know, I told her I wanted her to see peace be made." He says
"We have to take her memories." She says
"I know. I'm never gonna see her again or hear her voice since I can't see." He says.

"You know taking them away is the best thing to do." She says and he nods and then Deaton comes back with Acalia and they sit her on the edge of the table that doesn't have blood on it.

"Acalia, I love you so much and I will never forget you." He says
"I love you and I'll never forget you either." She says and he hugs her and then Talia takes out her claws and stabs them into Acalia's neck and she lets out a scream and then she takes them out.

"If she ever gets bitten again, she'll remember everything so hopefully it never happens." Talia says.

🪐

"What? What's this-what's this look on your face?" Cora asks
"What look?" Stiles asks
"The kind of look that makes me want to punch you." She says.

"Oh, my God-- you are so Derek's sister, I forgot." He says
'Well, what's with the look?" Rayne asks
"I just don't believe him." He says.

"All right, in Miss Blake's class, we're reading Heart of Darkness, and it's in first-person, right? Narrated by Marlow. The thing is that he's an unreliable narrator. You know the details of it have changed, you know, just because of his perspective." Stiles says.

"Well, then we heard the story from Peter's perspective." Cora says
"Right, and I don't think we got the whole story." Stiles says
"So, what...? Are-are you just gonna ask Derek about the girl he fell in love with and then killed?" Rayne asks.

"If I have to? Yeah."

🪐

"Now, do you know where your parents are?" Melissa McCall asks
"I don't remember." She says and Melissa turns to Noah.

"What are we going to do? The only orphanage is miles away." She says
"I could take her for a while." He says
"Really?"
"Really. Claudia always wanted a girl and a boy." He says and she nods.

"I just need to run tests, she doesn't even remember her own name, only that she is 8. She must have been in an accident."

🪐

Stiles left and Rayne stayed with Cora
"Erica used to talk about you, in the vault." Cora says
"You know, Boyd and I were in the same chemistry class and we became friends and I then worked with him at the skating rink over the summer."

"We became best friends and I remember he told me he had this friend who was single and I reminded him I liked girls. He then told me it was a girl and set up a date and we started secretly seeing each other. And it was Erica." She says.

"I remember our first real date."

🪐

"Okay upstairs is done."
"Just in time for me to kick you out." Rayne smiles and kisses his cheek
"Thank you."
"Have fun." He winks and after five minutes of checking her phone the doorbell rings and she goes to the door and opens it with a smile

"Hi." Rayne says
"Hi." Erica says
"You look really pretty." She says.

"So do you."
"Well, come in." Rayne says
"Okay." She says and they walk upstairs.

🪐

"We watched A Cinderella Story that night." Rayne says
"You both seemed to love each other so much." Cora says and Rayne smiles sadly
"Yeah, we did."