The scream was exhausting - it always was, but this wasn’t just a scream to clear her mind, to clear her thoughts. She was searching with this scream, for the lost, for the past, for the one that she had thought was gone for good. Lydia knew, before she even opened her eyes, that it had worked.
"Allison?“
The name came off her lips like a prayer, and she opened up her eyes to see her, her best friend, her sister, the one person that she had loved unconditionally and had asked for nothing in return. A sob escaped her lips, and she started nodding, not even certain she could voice how she felt in that moment.
She could see her Allison.
Shock ran clear through her veins, her dark eyes glazed over at the prospect of it working. Had it? Will it? But he friends matching expression, the feeling that centered from her. It had worked, she could see her. Joy spread through the girl, a feeling she didn’t know she was allowed to have. Still it was there, just for her best friend.
"Its me Lydia.”
Words almost choked from her mouth, Allison didn’t yet know if tears were possible. But deep down she knew if so, they would be streaming down her cheeks. Some of sadness for where they were, but for happiness that they might be able to have.
No manual. Of course no manual. Was there ever one? Well, perhaps, trapped in the Argent apartment in the form of a Bestiary. The Hales had one as well - it was high time she began to compile her own, but for now, she would have to wing it.
Powers, revealing things, showing the truth-
”Cover your ears.”
So she went with the most basic of all things that a banshee, herself, could do. She opened up her mouth, and let out a scream.
Was there something about ghosts written, at least by her family… All she could ever remember was talk about wolves, but even when they needed information about kanimas it was there. Maybe they could find something, figure a way to make this work. At least she could communicate, count her blessings with that number. Wheels were turning in both their heads, and when she looked to her friend she found herself nodding. Even if she couldn’t see it.
"Okay.“
Placing her hands over her ears. Catching the wails that even as a ghost made her skin crawl. Had it worked, could she see her? Allison had no idea.
If there was anything that Allison could say that would make Lydia wish she was losing her mind… this was it. Not Kate. Of all the people that they needed back in their lives, she wasn’t it. Torturing Derek, manipulating Allison, and of course, the damage that she had done to the Hale Family…
”Holy hell, Ally. You don’t just get to show up and expect me to not be a little shocked.”
How many had died? How many had passed on? This was the first, obviously, that just couldn’t move on.
”Of course, you would be stubborn enough to stick around. I can’t see you. I have to see you.”
She hated this, all of it.
There was nothing more she wanted then to help Lydia deal with this somehow. Show her that it could be alright, that she wasn’t crazy. It was a failed effort of course, especially with her assumed dead aunt now on the loose. Kate wasn’t what her friends needed, especially after dealing with a nogitsune.
"Well…. Point taken.“
Allison had to stick around, what friend would she be if she didn’t? What Argent would she be even?
"Can’t leave you all alone too long, might need me… —- I, don’t know if that’s possible Lyds. There isn’t really a ghost manual floating around.”
Something cold slid over her barely covered shoulder, and a shiver ran down her spine. There it was again. That sensing… She could so easily hear that voice, and feel the presence… almost like Allison had touched her. Why couldn’t she see her? Or was she losing her mind again?
”Tell me something I don’t know, so that I know this isn’t a memory or me losing my mind. You have to tell me something I wouldn’t know.”
Fingers. Glancing down at her hands, Lydia counted her fingers. It wasn’t ten when you’re dreaming… but ten were there. Not a dream. A psychotic break, or Allison was really there.
Success! The thought rang through her mind but faded just as quickly as it had came. Of course Lydia would want proof, especially after everything they had been through these past weeks. Images, thoughts, what did Allison know that her genius best friend didn’t. One thing.
"Lydia you need to warn everyone —- Kate is back"
That was something right? Maybe this could work, Allison could help her friends, protect them still. Now she just had more free reign, more room to weave around the town and watch over things without being seen.
"So, you’re not crazy, ghosts can’t be that surprising Lydia.“
Kate’s been here for years, she’s learned her way around Limbo. God knows she was strong enough to bring part of herself back to try to warn her niece, and yet she wasn’t alone in this version of the Afterlife.
“Well Allison, welcome to Limbo. My name is Aunt Kate and I’ll be your guide for this evening. We’re currently on our way to touring Heaven, Hell and all the places in between. But coming up just around the corner is a fork in the road. To the left we have ‘what the hell were you thinking?’ and to the right we have ‘why didn’t you listen to me?’
Which path would you like to travel?”
— Come on, she’s been drifting between Limbo and Hell for two years now. She’s had time to make this speech.
Allison should have been comforted right? At least she wasn’t stuck on this infamous other side entirely alone. With her aunt that hadn’t made the best decisions sure, but she had always loved her aunt, at least while she was alive.
"Wow you’re enjoying this aren’t you?”
There really wasn’t much she could say, at least not when she was still shocked, raw to the feeling of not being alive. “Just tell me where I can go to make sure everyone’s okay, if there is that place.”
It wasn’t a soft whisper. It wasn’t a memory. It wasn’t even wishful thinking. She heard it. Lydia heard Allison speaking. She turned around, not sure what she was looking for, but seeing nothing. Even if she could see nothing, she could still sense it. There was a presence there, and one that had not passed on.
Unfinished business…
“Allison?”
Could she sense her? Did her abilities stretch that far?
They never knew much about what exactly Lyida could do. Maybe hoping she could sense her was Allison’s own lost cost. Somehow she had to get her to know she was there. Determined. Yes, that’s what she was. Regardless of if she could feel the ghost or not, Allison slowly placed a hand on her shoulder. Maybe she could sense it, maybe not, but Allison never wanted to see her best friend hurting because of her.
Lydia deserved more than that, better even.
“Who else?” if she was able to laugh, even manage a small smile she would have, “I’m here Lydia, I promise.”
