competition, allison argent

xix. restraint

Morning light pours in through the library windows over Allison as she steps inside. She throws a glance at one of the wall cameras and then walks into the book stacks out of its view.
Unzipping her bag, she removes a tablet. As casually as possible, she places the tablet between the books on a shelf.

On the other side of the rack, Scott takes the tablet. With Stiles and Cody peering over his shoulder, he taps the screen to look over a page of the Bestiary and the translation next to it.
On her side of the shelf, Allison opens a book, trying to look inconspicuous as she whispers to them.

"It's everything Lydia could translate."

"Does it say how to find out who's controlling him?" Scott asks.

"Not really. But Stiles was right about murderers. It calls the Kanima a weapon of vengeance," Allison responds, her voice barely above a murmur. "There's a story in there about a South American priest who used the Kanima to execute murderers in his village."

Cody nods thoughtfully. "So maybe it's not all bad."

Allison continues, a note of caution entering her voice, "Until the bond grew strong enough that it killed whoever he wanted it to."

Stiles's eyes widen in alarm. "All bad. All very bad."

Here, Allison hesitates, her voice dropping even lower as a teacher's footsteps echo through the library stacks, passing by without a glance. But Scott, his eyes glued to the tablet, picks up the thread of thought. "Until it resolves that in its past which manifested it."

Stiles quips, "If that means Jackson could use a few thousand hours of therapy, I could've told you that myself."

"What if it has to do with his parents? His real parents," Allison suggests, the idea dawning on her like a revelation.

"Does anybody actually know what happened to them?" Scott poses the question to the group, his tone serious.

"Lydia might," Cody offers.

"And if she doesn't know anything?" Scott presses, the uncertainty of their next steps hanging heavily in the air.

Allison answers, "Well, he doesn't have a restraining order against me. So I'll try talking to him myself."

Scott, feeling the weight of his responsibilities, looks lost for a moment. "What do I do?"

"You've got a make-up exam, remember?" Stiles reminds him, the mundane concerns of their non-supernatural lives breaking through the gravity of their situation. Scott looks to Cody, who nods, a silent show of support.

Scott sighs, turning to Allison with a look of concern. "Okay. But if he does anything..."

"Like?" Allison prompts.

"Anything weird, bizarre, anything," Scott says, trying to cover all bases.

Stiles can't resist adding his two cents, poking his head through the shelf with a mischievous grin. "Anything evil."

Allison, without missing a beat, pushes his face back through the shelf, prompting a burst of laughter from Cody as Stiles struggles to prevent the books from toppling over. 

🍃

The school bell's echo cuts through the bustling hallway as Lydia, with Cody and Stiles right behind her, makes a beeline out of class. The urgency in her stride matches the seriousness of their conversation. "I don't know what happened to them," Lydia admits, her voice carrying a mix of frustration and resignation.