Scott McCall (lacrosse_wolf) wrote in madisonvalley, @ 2021-01-10 15:31:00 |
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Entry tags: | !completed gdoc, !log, !match-up, scott mccall (lacrosse_wolf), ~2021 january, ~~~~~nico di angelo (sonofhades) |
Who: Scott McCall and Nico Di Angelo
What: Match Up Run In
When: Sunday
Where: Cemetery
Rating: Low
Scott was going for a run to try and get out some extra energy. He knew he could phone Malia and she’d be willing to provide that extra energy outlet, but Scott didn’t want things to feel like a booty call and he had work soon. So he ran instead, through the forest until he caught a scent that was definitely… strange. It made his instincts want to go the other way which meant that Scott went against his instincts and headed in that direction instead.
It led him to the cemetery. Again, he should have probably turned around. It wasn’t the cemetery itself, which took him a second to figure out. No, it was something else. Something that pulled at the darkness surrounding his heart. Lips pressed together, he followed his nose until he was standing in front of another person.
He realized he was staring and blinked, suddenly looking a little sheepish. “Hey.”
--
Nico liked being in the cemetery. It was peaceful and quiet and he was more comfortable with the company of the dead than he was with most humans. He’d come here tonight after suffering through Christmas and New Year’s with people, and he was really, really enjoying the silence of the tombstones and the companionable darkness of the evening.
Until, that was, some guy was standing directly in front of him.
He’d seen the guy around on the network, but didn’t know a thing about him. He didn’t seem threatening, but Nico couldn’t figure out why he was here at all. He didn’t want him there. He wanted to be alone.
After he spoke, Nico crossed his arms.
“What?”
***
Scott blushed briefly and brought his hand up to the back of his neck to scratch the spot there. “Sorry. I - I was just out running and I got distracted.” By you. Scott realized he wasn’t sure how to explain it. How did you tell someone they smelled like death? Or, harder still, how do you try to explain you died once to save your mom which left a darkness around your heart and somehow it felt pulled to him? It almost sounded like a really weird pick up line.
“Are… you okay?” Since he was in the cemetery and all..
--
“I was,” he said. When he was alone. When some guy surrounded by death hadn’t shown up here bugging him. He wasn’t a ghost. He wasn’t dead. He was just marked. You could live a long life marked, and there was nothing Nico could do about it. So why was he here?
“It’s quiet here. And peaceful.” Well, when the ghosts shut up, anyway. And when this guy wasn’t here.
“You’re Scott, right?”
Hey, he might not speak much, but he knew what was going on around here.
***
Scott felt like he was definitely intruding now which was such a strange feeling to have in a cemetery. He could sort of see how a cemetery could be quiet and peaceful if you didn’t think about all the dead bodies a lot.
“Uh, yeah.” He nodded, offering a small smile he hoped could smooth over whatever feathers he ruffled. “Sorry, I was just… I guess, drawn here?” He grimaced because he was sure that sounded dumb.
--
“Because of the death around you?” Nico didn’t feel like beating around the bush right now. Why? The guy was in a cemetery after dark and was acting super weird. “I’m the son of Hades. My dad would draw you even more if you were here.”
He shrugged, sitting on the side of a large monument.
“The ghosts tell me you died.”
***
Well, this was not how he saw today going at all and that was clearly written on his face. He blinked and almost looked like a dog tilting its head when it was confused, though only briefly. "Uh, yeah… twice, actually. Or… well I guess the first time didn't really count." Or did it? Scott got confused about those sorts of things.
"You're really the son of Hades?" Scott believed him. He had no reason not to. "That has to be hard…"
--
“It’s not like I’d brag about it if it wasn’t true,” he shrugged. “And yeah. It’s hard sometimes. People are creeped out by me. People like you show up. I talk more to the dead than the living.”
He raised an eyebrow at him.
“How did the first time not count?” If you were dead, you were dead. It was kind of like being pregnant, there was no halfway.
***
That was a good question. He rubbed the back of his neck as he tried to figure it out on the spot. “Well, one time I was killed.” By Theo, which he tried to push away from his mind because the Theo here was really trying to be different and he could respect that. “The other time… we went into these ice baths to stop our hearts to save our parents, but I remember actually going somewhere that time and I guess I just considered that different.” He paused. “But now that I say it out loud.. yeah, I guess it’s not really different.” Especially since the first time left a mark on him.
“Do I - I mean, can you sense something about me? Like, inside of me?” They had ‘closed’ the door, but sometimes the feeling still lingered, especially at night.
--
“It’s not really different,” Nico proclaimed, in a tone that was not to be challenged. “You came back, but you were dead.”
He paused before answering the second question.
“Yes. There’s something there. A darkness around you. I don’t know if you can sense it or feel it or not, but death marks you every time.”
***
“Uh -” His hand moved up to his chest and over his head. “Sometimes… I try not to think about it.” He worried more about Stiles after what he went through, but he wouldn’t just say that to a kid he just met.
“There’s no way to undo it, is there?” He wasn’t even thinking of himself, but of Stiles and Allison. “A way to like… cleanse the mark or something?”
--
“No.” There was no arguing with Nico’s tone. “You should have stayed dead, but you didn’t. There’s no way to get that mark off of you. Just be happy that whoever is in charge of the Underworld in your world actually let you go.” He shrugged. He didn’t care if that was the answer Scott wanted or not. It was the truth.
“You’re not human either, are you?”
***
That was kind of an intense answer, but Scott nodded. He was right, Scott realized - he should be thankful. And he was. Maybe dwelling on it too much would come off like he wasn't and bad things would happen. He didn't want that. Though now he was wondering if there was someone in charge of the underworld back home. Would Derek know? Maybe he'd ask Peter.
He looked a little surprised at the assertion. He probably should have been though. Scott blinked. "Yeah… I'm a werewolf, actually."
--
Nico didn’t really look all that surprised at that. He’d been in Madison Valley long enough that he was used to just about everything it had to throw at them. That, and well, his home wasn’t exactly normal either.
“There are a lot of those here. Different types. They don’t seem to cause much trouble, which is good.”
***
He nodded. He knew most of the werewolves here and he had to agree. “Yeah. Everyone here seems a lot more peaceful than what I’m used to. It’s nice, actually.” And nice that Nico seemed to understand they were peaceful here too. “Seems like most people here are peaceful.” And he hoped Nico was the same, really. The boy seemed hard to read.
He paused. “I should… probably let you get back to what you were doing.” Not that Scott knew what Nico was doing. He looked at the kid. “You’re okay, right?”
--
Nico looked at him curiously, then shrugged a little. Of course he was okay. He was better than okay. He liked it out here and he definitely didn’t need protection from the dead who he could literally control.
“Yeah. Of course. I’m fine. I come here because it’s quiet and nobody else wants to.”
Hardly anybody ever came here. Ever. And he’d kind of wished that tonight would be the same.
***
"Right…" Scott didn't really understand personally, but he wasn't going to tell someone else how they felt. If this place worked for the guy, then all the more power to him.
"I'll get going then. Sorry for bothering you… and thanks for answering my questions." This was weird and awkward.
He gave the boy a nod and then turned to go, not even sure how that went.