Take Me Down

Match

The large white door swung shut with a heavy thud, causing the walls around it to shudder slightly before coming back to a cold stillness, leaving Alan Deaton alone in a small room within of Eichen House's lesser known floors - well he wasn't not entirely alone.

"Doctor Valack?" Alan slowly approached the glass, his eyes slowly adjusting to the dim lighting behind it. After a moment he was able to make out a male figure sitting on a small bed wearing a white t-shirt and white pants although they had both faded to a dirty grey. More notably, there was a blood-stained bandage tightly wrapped around his forehead as he stared back at Alan.

"You must be important. They don't usually let people get this close," Valack said slowly, sizing up Alan as he slowly closed the book in his hands.

Alan kept his distance, watching Valack closely. "I was hoping we could talk. My name is Doctor Alan Deaton."

Valack dropped his head with an air of amusement, shaking it slightly as he looked back up at Alan, a sly grin already sinking onto his face. "Oh I know your speciality, Doctor Deaton. And I know it's not cats and dogs." He moved closer to the glass, both eyes steady on Alan although they had a slightly manic gleam in them. "I know why you're here. The Threefold."

Alan hesitated, suddenly caught off guard by the unexpected phrase. "Threefold?" he repeated back, eyebrow furrowed in confusion.

Valack gazed back at him for a moment, lips pursed in thought. He tilted his head slightly, studying Alan. Then finally he gave a small nod, clasping his hands together. "Ah. Not yet. No...You want to know about La Loba. The Bone Woman."

Alan nodded slowly, his mind still halfway stuck on what Valack had just said before. Threefold. He'd had his own suspicions of course, ever since Ariana had revealed her own heartbreaking sacrifice, being forced to kill her own best friend only to gain her abilities shortly afterwards. The timing had been too perfect, coinciding with Genevieve's wolf abilities. There was no way Alan's theory could be right, though. It didn't fully add up. There were pieces missing. Unless Valack knew something he didn't.

But there was no time for that, not right now when Scott's life hung in the balance and when Valack clearly had information worth knowing. "Yes, I need you to tell me what you know. I need to know what Kate did to Derek Hale. And if he's dying," Alan said firmly.

"Well if you want to know more Doctor Deaton, you'll have to come closer." Valack was still, hands clasped in front of himself as he watched Alan, a smug expression flickering on his face. He knew Alan had no other choice right now.

"I've been advised against that." Alan stood his ground, watching Valack closely. "I only want to talk. To hear what you know."

Valack was unmoved, only raising an eyebrow at Alan's refusal. "You need to see what I know. You do that by coming closer," he explained smoothly, lifting the bandage from his forehead to reveal a grotesque gaping hole in the centre of his forehead. It was bleeding slightly, clearly still an open wound and the sight caused Alan to recoil, but only slightly. He'd seen much worse in his time as a vet, but the sight was still unpleasant.

"I don't know much about trepanation, but I'm relatively certain that just because you drilled a hole in your own head, it doesn't mean you've somehow gifted yourself with extra-sensory perception," Alan remarked dryly, his brow furrowing slightly as he pulled his gaze from the hole back to Valack's own eyes.

A small smile slipped up Valack's lips as he moved an inch closer to the glass, almost pressing against it. "Come a little closer. Take a look for yourself."