lydiascreams | [017. I reveal nothing, both played fate.]

[017. I reveal nothing, both played fate.]

[Open Spam]
[Her body is still shaking from the scream, from watching Zane kill Vergil when she wakes up in her bed. Her bed. They are back. And she almost rushes right out of her room toward the infirmary when she realizes she has a katana and a necklance in each of her hands. Her hands that are covered in blood. Both items that she retrieved from Vergil's body.

So instead, Lydia takes time to shower, to both clean herself and pull herself together. She knows from experience that, after something like that, no one needs a reminder of what happened, of how terrifying all of it was walking around the Barge. And it helps her, too.
But as she sits down to put on her make up (not bothering to cover the bruises around her neck this time, either. She survived again. Twice). But when she checks the network as she gets ready, her stomach drops again.

Allison, Mr. Powers. Both of their messages tell her something is wrong. Worse, they tell her that things aren't normal. They tell her that some people are still switched even thought they are already on the right barge.

Or maybe they she is on the wrong barge. Their rooms were the same for the most part.

So Lydia ventures her way out of her room and into the hallway slowly. The mountain ash line underneath her door tells her that she really is back in the right Barge. But then, she has plenty of werewolf enemies in the mirror barge, too. She heads toward the Infirmary to check on Vergil. And once she's done there, she makes her way straight to the seventh floor, using her key to get into Stiles' room ]

[Open Video]
[A few hours later, it's pretty clear to Lydia that this is the normal barge and that there are plenty of mirror people in there still. Which means she needs to be careful and pretend to be her mirror self for as long as possible. A couple of people already know who she really is, but she trusts Stiles, Allison and Mr. Powers not to out her.

So she puts her best glare on and starts the video. Very visible bruises on her neck both from when Jackson tried to strangle her and from the necklace that Zane used against her have already formed.

If someone she trusts contacts her, she will just switch to private and tell them the truth.]

What the hell is going on?

[ooc: Lydia is not switched. More info here.]

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[A few hours later, his powers have already been limited. He's still an alpha, technically - his eyes still turn red when he looks in the mirror. But he doesn't have the strength to back it up, and that's a little terrifying.

But like hell is he going to advertise that. It takes all his concentration to keep his face as - well, wolfish, monstrous as it is.]

You don't look so good. [He sounds arrogant.]

[There's definitely no question of which version of Scott this is. Even when he's wolfed out, he doesn't look like this. Like a monster. And this version of him actually scares her. She doesn't know if it's better to play up being the version of her he already hates, or to try and show him she's not that bad. She doesn't think it will matter, though. For now? She's going with neutral.]

Neither do you.

Edited 2014-10-01 20:04 (UTC)

[He can't keep it up forever. He doesn't have the strength. But he'll pretend as long as he can, as long as he can hold out.]

Who tried to choke you out? Don't they know I got there first?

[Going well already. Lydia takes a deep breath and switches the feed to private.]

I'm not her, Scott. I'm the other Lydia. I'm part of your pack here. [That should help, right?]

[He laughs, toothily, even though the fangs are shrinking back. Sweat is breaking out by his temples.]

You think that makes a difference to me?

[Obviously not.

But she does notice what is happening to him, her eyes narrowing a little.]

I think it should, Scott. Because you're not the powerful Alpha you are on the other Barge. And I can help you. [She can play the game if it comes to it.]

Edited 2014-10-01 21:18 (UTC)

[He snarls at her, and at least he stills has that, that otherworldly sound, like a precursor to a howl.]

I'm still an alpha, and you're still nothing but a banshee.

[He makes himself smirk. He remembers a lot of things, from being the other Scott.] One who has no idea what she's doing, at that.

[Her jaw clenches at that. If there's one thing that frustrates Lydia is her lack of control over her powers.]

One who can tell you who your friends and enemies are. [But does it matter for him? It's a last ditch effort. Mostly for Stiles' sake.]

[He smirks when her jaw clenches, and he knows he's hit home. It makes him feel a little better.]

You think I can't figure that out myself? I'm not an idiot.

[He did hit home. But Lydia doesn't give up easily. Especially not on one of the very few people who would never give up on her. On one of the main reasons why she is who she is today and not a lonely, cold-hearted bitch like her mirror self.]

No. You're not. But if you were really smart, you'd use me. Let me into your pack to make you stronger. You wouldn't hurt me because you'd know it'd only weaken your connection with your most important Beta.

You'd remember that an Alpha is only as strong as his pack.

[He bares his teeth.]

Don't talk to me about packs. Just because you're supernatural doesn't mean you know the first thing about one. And you don't know the first thing about Stiles, either. He'll never turn his back on me.

[Not like Allison did. Even if he had to kill his girlfriend temporarily.]

I know a lot about packs, Scott. Because of you. Because you're my Alpha and you accepted me. We're a successful pack. A powerful one. We have taken out an entire Alpha pack, a Darach, we broke down an ancient evil spirit and we did this because we are strong and powerful. Because we are together.

And while you're right that Stiles would never turn his back on you. It is wearing him down. It's hurting him every time you and the other me hurt each other. Because he cares about both of us. And every time you hurt him, every time we hurt each other, the bond becomes weaker and your pack becomes weaker. No matter how hard Stiles is willing to fight for you.

Yeah, powerful. Look at all you did, you're right, that's really impressive.

[He bares his teeth again, growls out the rest. He remembers.] Is that why so many people dropped dead around your pack? Is that why you let Stiles get possessed?

[He sneers.] You're not powerful. You're ust a bunch of stupid kids who wish they were.

[She doesn't show how his words get to her this time. How hard it hits her because he's right. But that's not the point. The point is fixing things. That's why they are here.]

How many of your own have you killed, Scott? How many have you betrayed and how many have betrayed you?

We may have lost people, but we are fixing it. We'll always fix it. We will always help each other. We would never leave anyone behind. And that includes you. Because that's what makes us pack. That's what makes us strong. Each other.

I'm not one of yours, Lydia.

[He laughs, shaking his head and gesturing with arms wide.]

I never was! When did you care about anyone but yourself?

When you showed me what it was like to really belong without having to pretend. [She stares and although her eyes tear up, her expression remains neutral.]

When your pack accepted me even though everything was falling apart. When you didn't turn your back on me even when I failed [to stop Allison's death.]

I don't care what you say or what you do, Scott. I'm not giving up on you either. I can't. I won't. Because I know you wouldn't give up on me if our roles were reversed.

You didn't.

I didn't show you any of that bullshit.

[The anger is out in his voice, snarling and furious. He doesn't like this, doesn't want to be convinced that loving and trusting is the way to true power. It's not. When he loved and trusted people, he was picked on, bullied - by her, by her boyfriend, and he won't go back to that. He won't be weak again. He won't be the bottom rung.

He won't.]

Whatever, Lydia. I don't care. But if you make me a special project, then you better believe I'll make you one, too.

Like I said, Scott. I don't care what you do.

I know who you are underneath. That's who I'm trying to help. That's who Stiles needs. Who we all need. Our True Alpha.

[The anger doesn't intimidate her. But it does hurt. Because it has no place in Scott's face. It's not who he is. Out of all of them, he's the one who is furthest from what she knows. But she's made her promise to him. She won't give up.]

[He snarls, half way to a roar. He should kill them all, he should kill all of them just for spouting this bullshit at him, for not shutting up--

But he knows when his temper runs hot him him. That doesn't mean he controls it well, but at least he recognizes it.]

You have no idea what I am underneath. Don't pretend I'm him. He's not even worth my time.

You are him, Scott. You don't have to make this harder on you.

[She knows she's getting to him, so she has to push harder. Wasn't it Zane who told her some people had to break before they could be put back together?]

What would Melissa, your mom say if she saw her son like this, Scott? She is so proud of the person you are back home. Of all the people you're helping.

Shut up.

[It's vicious. He'd rip her throat out again if they were in the same room.]

I'm gonna make this really simple, Lydia, since apparently this you is dumb as hell.

I'm not him. His mom? Not my mom. What he cares about? Definitely not what I care about. I get it, you see some similarities between you and the Lydia on my ship, but you're not the same. A couple of 'maybe ifs' don't make you the same. So leave me the fuck alone, or I'll kill you too.

Back to the death threats, I see. I'm not talking in circles with you, Scott. I already told you I don't care what you do and I won't feel differently when I come back if you kill me. I already went through one death toll because of you and I still feel the same. [Something about killing the body, not the soul. She won't lose hope.]

You're an Alpha. If you want people who believe in you, if you want power, you know where to find them. [She pauses]

And FYI, I have spent enough time in the other Lydia's head to know that underneath it all, we're all the same. She's just lacking the guidance of a pack. Your pack. And I think you are, too.

Edited 2014-10-04 02:25 (UTC)

I don't need people to believe in me.

[He squashes any thoughts of how nice it would be mercilessly. It wouldn't be. He has enough. He has Stiles, who trusts him. He has a pack that listens to him. He has loyalty and people who will protect him if he orders them too, even though he'll never need protection.

He has strength. He does. He knows he does.]

I've already got a pack. And sorry, but you'll never be a part of it.

I already am Scott. [Not of his pack, maybe. But she knows he's in there, too. The same Scott she knows. He used to be him, right?]

And you have betas. Aside from Stiles, you have people you've turned because you needed numbers. They are barely a real pack. They don't know you, trust you, follow you like the rest of us would. Because we're all from the same world, some of us have known each other our whole lives. The connection is stronger. It'd different, and I know you have to know that.

Whatever. It's not stronger than pack. It's not stronger than a bite from me. Can't wait till you meet Clementine.

[He grins.]

Don't think I've ever had a more loyal beta. And she was my inmate, too. Fastest graduation ever.

[017. I reveal nothing, both played fate.]

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