𝐊𝐀𝐋𝐎𝐏𝐒𝐈𝐀 ━ wybie x reader.

Twenty-Four: An Eye for an Eye.

[Ashland, Oregon. Wednesday,
November 22, 2015.]

It's dark and stable in the house, with just some creaks and intermittent vibrations. An emerald light spills from the Other Living Room. Y/n goes there, carrying the cat over her shoulder, past wallpaper that peels up as she passes, to the room where she last heard the sound of her father's finger on the glass.

A poisonous green fire — like sleepy sea snakes —  burns in the fireplace. The bug furniture looks grey now, their lights flickering as if short-circuited; legs and wings twitching uncontrollably.

The teenager scans the walls, and the ceiling, looking for a sign of her nonbiological father. However, sensing the Other Mother behind her, a creature who is no sort of Mother at all but a witch, a Beldam. She turns.

The Beldam is hunched on the sofa — her face hidden. "So, you're back..." her voice sounds dry and tired. She turns her face towards Y/n. It is a white death mask, cracked and peeling. This is her true face. "And you brought vermin with you." She notices the black cat.

Y/n shudders and steps back. The cat makes a fearful sound and digs his claws into her shoulder, not wanting to be a part of this. "Don't call him that." She defended the feline but it was at this very moment that it donned on the teenager that her axe — the only weapon that she had brought to defend herself in this world — is still outside. Vanished and dissipated.

Shit.

The Beldam rises and appears to be 12 feet tall. She is withered to the bone; with plate-like shoulders and hips; her bustle is now an arachnid's tail section. Her true form. She reaches her long, sharp fingers made of needles to Y/n's face, "You know I love you." She said, flatly.

Y/n works hard to not show how freaked out she is. "I don't think so," she shook her head. "If you did, you wouldn't be treating me like this."

The Beldam smiles, turns away, then back, her hand outstretched. "So? Where are they — the ghost eyes?" She inquiries. "Must've been hard for you to gather all four."

Y/n pulls out the four spheres from her bag and starts to hand them over but she catches herself. "Hold on..." she pulls away. "We still have one more thing to do." She reminded the ugly hag.

The Beldam looks daggers, then smiles sweetly. "No, I suppose not. After all, you still need to find your old father, don't you? Too bad you can't use this." She extends her ghastly-looking hand and rips off Y/n's makeshift necklace. Before the teenager could ever dream of protesting, the wicked woman laughs while the magic burns out of the candy with sparks and pops.

While this was happening, the third ghost eye pulses with amber light in Y/n's hand. She turns away, so the witch won't see. "Be clever, miss; even if you win she'll never let you go!" The sweet ghost girl said in a disheartened tone.

Y/n peers over her shoulder towards the locked little door behind the armoire bug and understands: she's got to get the Beldam to unlock it! She furrows her brow as an idea comes to her then nods. She turns to the witch and in the most confident tone she can muster, says: "That's fine. I didn't need it anyway," she shrugged her shoulders. Y/n was trying to come off as nonchalant when in reality, she was sweating bullets. "I already know where you hid David."

The Beldam turns from the fire, both concerned and sceptical. "Well... go on." She egged on the younger woman.

Y/n points to the large door in the corner of the room. "Well, obviously... he's got to be behind that door, right?" She asked, rhetorically. "It just makes the most sense," Y/n added in hopes that the witch would fall for her explanation.