Theo stares into Tara’s eyes as she plunges her hand into his chest.
He had realized early on that he was stuck in a loop. After Theo tried every door and window of Beacon Hills Memorial with no luck, he stopped trying to get out. Now he walks the halls and waits, and in the short time before his death, he replays memories in his mind. Good memories from a distant time, he hopes that if he thinks of them often enough, he won’t forget.
He doesn't remember when the repeated motions started to ebb and flow like the oceans tide.
No, Theo thinks as he struggles to breathe. Not like the ocean, like a cold, rapid river.
Theo spoke to Tara early on, trying desperately to get through to her. He gave up on that quickly too, when he realized she was never going to respond.
He told her ‘You don’t have to stop’, because she doesn’t.
He looks into Tara’s eyes, and he doesn’t see her in them. This Tara has only one goal, to get back what belongs to her. Theo knows this, he knows what he says doesn’t mean anything to her, but it means something to him.
When he said ‘It’s okay’ what he meant was ‘I’m sorry’. When he said ‘you don’t have to stop’ what he meant was ‘I love you’. He couldn’t say those words then, but now… he can say them now, because he means it.
“I’m sorry Tara.” He says with his last breath.
“I love you.” He barely gets the words out before his eyes close.
"Where am I?" Theo asks the woman? standing across from him.
"You are where you are supposed to be." The woman's voice softly echoes, like a breeze on a hot day cooling the sweat on his skin. Theo feels oddly comforted by her presence. An image of Tara putting a Transformers bandage on six year old Theo's freshly scrapped knee, inexplicably pops into Theo's mind. He doesn't try to hide his fond smile.
She’s the cryptic type. Theo thinks to himself. Probably won't be getting real answers to my questions anytime soon. He asks anyway.
"Why am I here?" Theo can’t tell how old this woman is. Honestly he can’t tell much about her at all. It’s like she is standing behind frosted glass, he can see her, but he can’t make out any details.
"You found your way here for a reason. Do you know what that reason is?" Theo feels wide open as her voice washes over him, like his soul is laid barren on the table between them. Yet, he isn't afraid, for the first time since stepping foot on that bridge all those years ago, Theo feels safe.
"I told her." Theo stops and takes a second to breathe past the sudden lump in his throat. “I told her I’m sorry… and that I love her.”
"That you did." Theo can't be sure through the frost, but he thinks a small smile has adorned the woman's face.
"Few souls find their way here Theodore. I am always pleased to welcome a new one." No one has called Theo Theodore in a long time. The name makes a pain twinge in Theo's chest, right below her heart.
"You are carrying a large burden." She says it like a statement, not a question, because they both know she is right.
"We are built so that we can carry the weight of our pasts." She tells Theo as she turns to grab something from the array of shelves splayed out behind her. Theo doesn’t remember the shelves being there.
Theo blinks, and he can see the space around him with new clarity. They are on a field that seems to never end, it’s dark but bright enough to see despite the lack of a moon. The light instead, comes from what look like fireflies, small specks of light that float around them. He sees the woman now when he couldn’t before, the first thing he notices is her hair. Stark white and long, it flows all the way down to her knees. A sparkle catches his eye and he looks closer to see thin braids evenly spaced in her hair, interwoven with small, shiny crystals. She wears a robe that looks too big for her, a dark maroon that covers her from head to toe. It has small white embroidery details on the end of billowy sleeves and the collar. Otherwise it is plain and simple. She stands behind a worn wooden table. The shelves behind her are filled with an array of items. Theo does not know what the items are, but somehow, he knows they are important. She looks at Theo and he thinks she is the most beautiful thing he has ever seen.
Theo has never felt so heavy.
"This is for you." The woman holds out a closed hand to Theo. He reaches out and she places a feather light object into his awaiting hand. Theo absentmindedly notices that he felt her sleeve touch his skin, but not her hand. He would ponder over that detail, if he wasn’t so distracted by what she had given him.
A Transformers bandage rests on Theo’s palm. The same bandage Tara used on six year old Theo’s scraped knee. He knows this to be true as much as he knows everything to be true in this place.
"It is time to heal past wounds Theodore. You have shown yourself to be ready." She gives him an inscrutable look and yet, Theo feels as though she sees him differently now.
"I don't feel ready." Theo doesn't feel ready, despite not knowing what he needs to be ready for.
"They never do." She replies. "That is how I know you are." She looks at him and he looks back at her, unafraid.
The weight lifts, in this moment, Theo feels light in a way he barely remembers feeling.
He does remember though, he remembers Tara holding his hands as he stands on his skateboard for the first time. Her soothing voice and delicate touch, ebbing his tears after he fell. He remembers playing Mario Kart with Scott and Stiles after school, Dorito dust clinging to his fingers and getting all over the controller. Squeals of laughter filling the room when Stiles tackles Scott to the ground to keep him from winning. He remembers his mother kissing his forehead as she tucks him to bed, her hands soft like Tara's as they brush his hair to the side to make room for a mothers love.
He remembers his father closing the door behind them as they say their final goodnight's, the only light in the room fading away as the door clicks shut.
- Should I turn this into a longer fic or leave it here? (I’ve never written for Thiam before and don’t write in general, like is this any good? Idk.)
Couple of house cleaning things:
1 - The woman is loosely based off of the Blacksmith from RWBY Vol.9. (Only her voice/demeanour, physical appearance is completely different.)
2 - Transformers bandages probably didn’t exist when Theo was 6 years old. I chose to ignore this because I wanted the bandage to be identifiable and show one of Theo’s childhood interests that I gave him. (My brother loved Transformers as a kid. Him and Theo would be around the same age if the internet is telling me the truth.)
3 - I haven’t watched Teen Wolf in a hot minute. So if any details are way off, pretend they are not.
4 - I didn’t get to the Thiam part of the story here but if I turned it into a full fic it would be Thiam focused.
