Sawyer's outfits:
Woods -

School / Animal Clinic / Loft / Woods -

▪︎ 🖤 🏳️‍🌈🕯▪︎

Chapter Thirty-Eight
🦊 More Good Than Bad 🦊

"I think I just saw him." Stiles said as he and Sawyer ran around the woods, looking for Scott. All of the sudden they end up running into Scott causing all three of them to scream. "Oh." The twins said when they realized it was Scott, "I think we found something." Stiles said, gesturing to his sister who nodded. "So did I." Scott said, breathing heavily. 

Scott followed behind Sawyer and Stiles until they led him to a rocky hill. And through a little hole in the wall, Scott and Stiles walked through but Sawyer stayed back in front of the entrance. "It's a coyote den." Stiles said as he shined the flashlight around, "Werecoyote." Scott corrected. 

"You see this? This is Malia's. Remember? It's the same one she was wearing in the photo." Stiles said as he picked up one of the articles of clothing. "Guys, we shouldn't be in here." Sawyer said as she glanced around while the guys looked back at her, "What do you mean?" Stiles asked and she sighed. 

"She's not gonna come back now. We just invaded her home- our scent's going to be everywhere." She said and Scott nodded in agreement, "If she's not going to come back here, where's she going to go?" Stiles asked and Scott shrugged slightly. 

"I don't know..." 

"Can you track her now? You think you got her scent?" Stiles asked and Scott sighed, "Maybe... But I'm better at this when I'm a full wolf... And I'm still worried that if I do it, I won't be able to turn back." Scott said and Sawyer sighed and nodded slightly. "The door's still open." 

"If I can't get to Derek, we're gonna have to find someone else to help." Scott said and sighed softly, "This is basically a crime scene, right? I think it might be a little out of my boss' league." 

"And more in our dad's." 

A while later, there were police cars and deputies around the den and Stilinski walked out from the den, holding a blanket, before walking over to his kids and Scott. "You're sure it was her?" Stilinski asked and Scott nodded, "I looked her right in the eyes, and they glowed, just like mine." Scott said. 

"It makes sense, Dad." Sawyer said and Stilinski raised his eyebrows, "But it wasn't a girl- it was a four-legged coyote, right?" He asked and Stiles pursed his lips slightly. "Well, okay... But yeah, see, that's the point that we don't exactly have figured out yet." He said, "Okay, but if it was a full moon, and she did change while her mom was driving, then anything could have happened-" Scott said and Sawyer pointed at him and nodded. 

"Horrible things could have happened! Ripping, shredding, tearing things." She added, "Which is probably what caused the accident!" Scott said. "Think about it Dad, all right? They're driving. Malia starts to change. She goes out of control, the mom crashes, and everybody dies." Stiles said and Sawyer snapped her fingers and pointed at her father, "Except for Malia." She said. 

"She blames herself, all right? Goes off running into the woods, and eventually... becomes trapped inside the body of a coyote." Stiles and their father nodded slightly, "That makes sense..." He said, making the twins smile. 

"In a Chinese folktale!" Stilinski said, making her smiles fall, "Guys, this is-this is insane. I need this kept quiet. The three of you? Not a word. I don't want anyone hearing about this. I especially don't want Mr. Tate hearing about this." Stilinski said before noticing Scott staring off in the distance. 

"Scott? Scott!" Stilinski said, making Scott look at him, "Sorry... What did you say?" Scott asked before a car pulled up. "Aw, hell..." Stilinski whispered before Agent McCall and Mr. Tate got out of the car and started walking over. 

"Mr. Tate." Stilinski said and Mr. Tate walked up to him before slowly taking the blanket, "Mr. Tate?" Agent McCall asked as Mr. Tate stared down at the blanket. "It's hers..." He said and Agent McCall nodded, "All right, wait here." He said. 

"Dad-" Scott started to say but his father cut him off, "I'll talk to you in a minute. I wouldn't mind hearing how your mom's okay with you running around in the woods this late." He said before he and Stilinski walked away. 

🦊 

"Here's where we found the den. It's right in the middle of the hiking trails." Stiles says as he, Scott, Allison, Sawyer and Anakin stood around Stiles' tablet in the corner of their class room. "Well, that could narrow it down. Coyotes travel in fixed trails. But, I think you're right about her not going back to the den. Coyotes don't like wolves, and they're really smart- if they don't want to be heard, they actually walk on their toes." Allison said and Sawyer nodded in agreement. 

"Coyotes tip-toe?" Stiles asked, slightly shocked, making Allison roll her eyes slightly, "They tip-toe." She said and then the bell rang. "I gotta go, but send me the pinned location." Allison said and Sawyer sent her a thumbs up as she walked away. 

"All right, everyone, let's get started! We were just talking about internment camps and prisoners of war. There's a passage in our reading that I'd like to go over in more detail. Who would like to come up and read aloud for us?" Mr. Yukimura said as he glanced around. 

"Miss. Stilinski, how about you?" He said, making both Sawyer and Stiles look up at him with wide eyes, "Actually- uh... Can I do it?" Stiles asked, raising his hand slightly, trying to get his sister out of reading. "Thank you for volunteering, Mr. Stilinski, but I would like Sawyer to do it." Mr. Yukimura said. 

Stiles glanced at Sawyer worriedly as she took a deep breath and nodded, "Okay." Sawyer said and got up before grabbing Anakin's leash and walking up to the podium. "Okay, okay... Come on, come on..." Sawyer muttered to himself. 

She looked down at the book as she started to breath heavily, making her grip onto the side of the podium, tightly closing her eyes for a moment. She looked back down at the book, only to see all the letters look like they were falling off the paper. Anakin stood up and tapped his nose against her thigh, making Stiles and Scott's eyes widen before they stood up. 

"Sawyer?" Stiles asked and Sawyer glanced over at him before looking like she was going to pass out. Quickly, Stiles ran over and grabbed his sister's arms, keeping her steady as Scott grabbed Anakin's leash. "We should take her to the nurse's office." Scott said and Mr. Yukimura nodded, making Stiles and Scott instantly pull Sawyer out of the classroom. 

"Sawyer? Look at us. Is this a panic attack?" Scott asked as Sawyer stumbled into the bathroom. "It's a dream, it's a dream, it's just a dream..." Sawyer rambled as she gripped onto the side of a sink. Stiles quickly went over to her and gently grabbed her shoulder, making her look at him, "Hey, look at me. This is real. You're here with us." Stiles said calmly and Sawyer just looked at him with glossy eyes as she breathed heavily. 

"Okay, how do you tell if you're awake or dreaming?" Stiles asked calmly and Sawyer took a couple deep breaths. "Your fingers- you count your fingers. You have extra fingers in dreams." She said, glancing down. Stiles glanced at Scott who watched them worriedly before looking back at his sister. "How many do I have?" He asked as he held his hand out and Sawyer just continued to just slightly shake her head while breathing heavily. 

"Sawyer." Stiles said, making her look up at him, "Look at my hands and count with me." He said as he held both his hands up. "One... two..." Sawyer said, panting and Stiles nodded, "Keep going." He said calmly as he held up a third finger. 

"Three... four... five... six... seven...eight... nine... ten..." Sawyer counted as she looked over both Stiles' hands while he nodded, "Ten. Ten fingers, this is real Sawyer. It's not a dream. " He said calmly as Sawyer's breathing started to get back to normal. She took a few deep breaths as she slid down the wall making Scott crouch down in front of her while Stiles sat down next to her against the wall. Anakin ran over and sat down on the other side of her before laying down across her lap. 

"What the hell is happening to me?" Sawyer whispered and Stiles sighed and gently patted her leg making her look at him, "You're going to be okay." He said and she looked at him skeptically. "Am I?" She asked then looked at Scott, "Are you?" She asked, making Scott sigh. 

"Scott, you can't transform... Allison's being haunted by her dead aunt... And I'm straight up losing my mind. We can't do this. We can't-we can't help Malia. We can't help anyone." Sawyer said and Scott sighed softly. "We can try. We can always try." Scott said and Sawyer just took a deep breath, leaning her head on her brother's shoulder. 

🦊 

Stilinski, Stiles, Sawyer and Anakin quickly walked down the hall with animal control in front of them. While the guys were helping Sawyer stay calm after her panic attack, Coyote Malia made her way into the school and chased Kira into the locker room until Scott scared her off. 

"A couple of students said they saw it running across the field and back into the woods. Thank God nobody got hurt." Stilinski said and Sawyer raised her eyebrows, "What happens if she does hurt someone?" She asked and her father sighed. 

"Most likely, they'll have to put it down." He said, making the town's eyes widen, "Put her down. Dad, try not to forget there's a girl in there, one that you'll be killing!" Stiles said. "Come on, you aren't back to not believing, are you?" Sawyer asked and Stilinski stopped and turned to them, "I believe there are a lot of things I don't understand yet. But that doesn't mean that everything and anything imaginable is suddenly possible!" He said, making the twins glance at each other. 

"Now, are you one hundred percent sure that this is a girl and not an animal?" Stilinski asked and they nodded, "Yes. Because Scott's sure." They both said before they looked down the hall to see Scott looking at them. "Scott, you been listening?" Stiles asked and Scott nodded slightly before the twins looked back at their father as he sighed. 

"All right. Let's get this figured out. Come on." He said before gently grabbing their shoulders and walking away. 

A little while later, Scott stood in the locker room, looking over at Kira as she talked to her dad. "Guys, I think I know what she was looking for." Stiles said as he, Sawyer and Anakin walked up to Scott. He held up his backpack and pulled out the baby doll from the car making both Scott and Sawyer sigh, "You took the doll from the car?" Sawyer scolded, making his eyes widen. 

"Yeah, I thought Scott could use it! You know, for, like, her scent..." Stiles defended and she just gave him a look. "Where did you get that?" Someone asked making them look over to see Mr. Tate standing in the doorway. "Where did you find this?" He asked as he took it from Stiles, "It belonged to my daughter." 

"Mr. Tate, I don't know how you heard about this- if you have your own police scanner or what- but you can't be here." Stilinski said and went to lightly push Tate out the room but froze for a second, moving Tate's jacket to reveal a gun at his side. "I have a permit." Tate said. "California schools are gun-free zones, permit or no permit. You need to leave, Mr. Tate. Now." 

"You find that animal! You find that thing!" 

🦊 

"Xylazine. It's a tranquilizer for horses. For a Werecoyote, expect it to work within seconds." Deaton said as he walked into the examination room and set three small bottles on the table. "I only have three. So, whoever's shooting needs to be a damn good shot." 

"Allison's a perfect shot." Scott said and Isaac instantly took that opportunity to do what Isaac does best, "Well... She used to be." He said. "She can do it?" Scott said and Isaac shrugged slightly, "If we manage to find the thing." He said and Stiles squinted at him. "Okay, what is the point of him? Seriously, I mean, what is his purpose? Aside from the persistent negativity and the scarf? What's up with the scarf, anyway? It's sixty-five degrees out!" Stiles said, making Isaac just roll his eyes slightly. 

"Look, maybe I'm asking a question no one here wants to ask- how do we turn a coyote back into a girl when she hasn't been a girl in eight years?" Isaac asked and Scott looked down while everyone looked at him, "I can do it." Scott said looking back up at everyone, making Stiles raise his eyebrows. 

"You can?" He asked and Scott looked at him, "You remember the night that Peter trapped us in the school? In the gym, he was able to make me turn using just his voice. Deucalion did the same thing in the distillery." Scott said and Sawyer shook her head. "Except this is a Werecoyote, Scott. Who knows if it'll even work? If you can even find someone who can teach you." She said, making realization cross over Stiles's face, "That's why you called Derek first." 

"Yeah, I could try it on my own... But, right now, I'm too scared to even change into just a Werewolf." Scott sighed. "We need a real Alpha." Stiles said, making Scott shoot him a look, "You know what I mean! An Alpha who can do Alpha things. You know, an Alpha who can get it going! You know, get it-" 

"Up?" Sawyer asked and Stiles gestured to her making Scott sigh, "Great. I'm an Alpha with performance issues." Scott sighed, "Is there anyone else besides Derek who could help?" Deaton asked and Isaac shook his head slightly. "I wouldn't trust Peter." He said Stiles looked up at them, "Maybe the twins?" He suggested. 

"They're not Alphas anymore. After what Jennifer did, almost killing them? It broke that part of them." Deaton said and Sawyer nodded slightly with a shrug, "But what if they know how to do it?" She said. 

"Nobody's seen them for weeks." Scott asked, making Sawyer sigh and purse her lips slightly, "I have Aiden's number..." She said and Stiles furrowed his brows slightly. "Why do you have Aiden's number?" Stiles asked and she shook her head slightly, "I don't even know, man." 

🦊 

Stiles, Sawyer and Lydia walked into the loft and glanced around while Scott stayed at the door, "They said they'd meet us here..." Lydia said, confused. All of the sudden a fist punched Scott in the face making them turn around to see the twins attacking him. Stiles quickly pulled Sawyer and Lydia over to the side while the twins threw Scott into the loft. 

"I thought you guys were gonna teach me to roar?" Scott groaned as he laid on the ground in pain, "We are! You do it by giving in." Aiden said as they stood over him. "Giving in and letting go. That's how Deucalion taught us control." Ethan said as he pulled Scott up by his shirt. 

"Hey, you know, that's funny- We've actually tried something like this one time, using a heart monitor and lacrosse balls. But, you're right, beating the living crap out of him is probably a lot better." Stiles said and Sawyer chuckled and nodded, "Ah, the memories." She said. 

"That's actually the plan? You kick my ass?" Scott asked, looking at the twins crazy. "You're afraid to turn." 

"We're gonna make you. You turn, then you kick our asses!" 

"And then, you roar." Aiden said before letting out a loud roar making Sawyer make a face, "Dramatic." She said and everyone ignored her. "You don't think you can let go with us?" Aiden asked, "You think you're going to hurt us?" Ethan asked as he pushed Scott into Aiden. 

"Come on, McCall! Give it your all!" Aiden said as they started pushing Scott back and forth like a couple third grade bullies do in movies. 

"We can always heal!" Ethan said and Scott went to punch him but he just grabbed Scott's arm and punched his stomach and Aiden punched the side of his head. "You're an Alpha. You want to roar like one? You've got to give in, full-throttle. You've got to be the monster. Become the beast. Become everything you're afraid of." Aiden said. 

"That's what gives you power. It gives you strength." Ethan said and Scott went to punch Aiden but he just dodged and then elbowed Scott in the back. Scott fell to the ground and spat out blood. "Giving in doesn't make you the bad guy..." Aiden said, "So long as you can control it." Ethan said, looking at his brother. "Sometimes, control's a little overrated." Aiden said before kicking Scott. "Come on, Scott. Fight back." Stiles muttered. 

"What if I can't control it? What if I can't turn back?" Scott asked looking up at them, "You become Malia. You get further and further away from being human. You turn into an animal, or worse-" 

"You become Peter." Aiden said, making Scott's eyes widen for a moment. Slow, he started to stand with a little struggle and a growl before charging at Aiden but Aiden quickly grabbed him and slammed him on the desk making Lydia flinch slightly while Sawyer cringed. 

Aiden jumped on top of Scott and started punching him over and over until Ethan ran over and grabbed his arm "What? I thought we were helping him." He asked and Ethan shook his head slightly. 

"You help too much." 

🦊 

"Anyone else think we might be doing more harm than good?" Lydia asked as she, Scott, Stiles, Sawyer, Isaac and Allison all stood around their cars at the preserve. "We're trying to keep a father from killing his own daughter." Scott and again, Isaac took this opportunity to do what Isaac does best. 

"Actually... we're trying to keep a guy from killing a coyote, who is actually his daughter... who we don't know how to change from a coyote back to his daughter..." Isaac said, making Sawyer squint at him, "And again with the not helping." She said. "Did you bring it?" Scott asked, turning to Allison. She looked at them for a moment before opening the trunk and pulling out a giant dart gun.

A few minutes later they all separated after hearing distant gunshots. Scott drove off on his bike, Allison with Isaac and Lydia and Sawyer stayed with Stiles while he called their dad. "It took the doll again? What the hell is so important about this doll?" Stiles says into the phone as he turned to the girls. 

"Probably, but listen to me. There are traps all over those woods... near the trails, probably near the car crash... And Tate is out there with a rifle. I want you to stay out of those woods. You got that?" 

"It's... the... doll?" 

"All right, but why would it go all the way to the school and then all the way back to the house, just for a doll? One that was in the car wreck in the first place. We didn't find it in the coyote den." Stiles said and Lydia shrugged slightly, "It likes the doll- who cares?" She asked and Stiles shook his head slightly. 

"It likes the doll a lot..." He said and Sawyer thought for a second, "It was a baby doll right?" She asked and Stiles nodded. "Yeah, here I took a pic." He said as he pulled his phone out. They looked at his phone over his shoulder, "That's Malia?" Lydia asked, pointing at one of the girls and he nodded, making realization cross over Sawyer's features. "And the one holding the doll is her sister. The dolls her sister's." Sawyer said before sighing and looking up at Stiles, who realized the same thing. 

"I know what she's doing. And we know where she's going." Stiles said before running off making the girls quickly follow him. 

"Scott? It's me. You got to call me back as soon as you can. It wasn't Malia's doll- it was her sister's. Malia left it at the car for her sister. It's like bringing flowers to a grave, okay? And we stole the flowers. So, that's all she's trying to do, right? Bring the doll back to the grave, to the car wreck. That's where she's headed- the car wreck." Stiles said as he left Scott a voicemail. 

The girls followed behind him until there was a metal clicking sound, making Lydia stop. She took a deep breath, slowly looking down to see her foot was on top of a bear trap trigger making her let out a nervous breath, licking her lips. "Sawyer?" Lydia said, making Sawyer turn to her while Stiles kept walking, not even noticing they stopped as he tried to call Scott again. 

"Yeah?" Sawyer asked, looking at her to see her nervous and frozen demeanor. Her eyes slowly trailed down to see Lydia foot on the bear trap. "Lydia, don't move." Stiles said as the trap moved a bit, making Lydia suck in a deep breath, "Look for a warning label." She said and Sawyer looked at her confused. "A warning label?" She asked, "Instructions on how to disarm it." Lydia said, freezing up when the trap moved again. 

"Lydia, why the hell would they put instructions on the bottom of a trap?" Sawyer asked and Lydia gave her a look, "Because animals can't read." She said. Sawyer looked at her for a moment, completely freaked out, before looking back at the direction her brother went to not see him anywhere, meaning he was too far away. 

"Damn it." She mumbled before dropping down, looking around for a label. She found it before closing her eyes for a moment and sighing. "Lydia, we got a problem." Sawyer said, making Lydia look down at her while she looked up at her, "I can't read, either." Sawyer said. 

Lydia let out a shaky breath, closing her eyes for a moment. "You don't need the instructions. When was the last time you've ever used instructions? Am I right?" Lydia said, making Sawyer look up at her. 

"You don't need them, because you are too smart to waste your time with them, okay? You can figure it out. Sawyer, you're the one who always figures it out. So, you can do it. Figure it out." Lydia said and Sawyer sighed, "Lydia, if I mess up you could lose your foot. You- you could bleed out." He said nervously and Lydia shook her head. 

"Sawyer, I believe in you. Figure it out." Lydia said and Sawyer stared at her for a moment before looking back down at the trap. She stared at it for a second until she noticed something making him move away a bunch of leaves to reveal a wheel. 

"Okay, here we go." Sawyer said and sweat dripped down her face. She gently placed her hand on the wheel before looking up at Lydia, "Ready?" She asked and Lydia looked at her and nodded. "Okay, here we go..." Sawyer whispered before quickly turning the wheel. Almost instantly she shot up and pulled Lydia off the trap and into his arms as they watched the trap snap. 

They both breath heavily before looking at each other for a minute. Lydia leaned her head on Sawyer's shoulder, while Sawyer closed her eyes for a moment, slightly tightening her arms around Lydia. 

After a moment they slowly pulled away, staring at each other for a moment before Lydia smiled softly while grabbing Sawyer's hand. Sawyer took a deep breath and smiled at her before they started walking in the direction to the crash. 

A moment later, they saw Stiles walking towards them with a confused look on his face. "Where did you guys go?" He asked and the girls glanced at each other for a moment, "We had a bear trap problem..." Sawyer said, making Stiles furrow his brows. 

He was about to say something but they suddenly heard a loud roar making them turn in that direction. "That's what I'm talking about!" Stiles said as Sawyer laughed proudly and Lydia smiled.

A little while later, Stiles and Sawyer sat in their dad's police car, watching as Mr. Tate and Malia reunited. Sawyer's phone went off, making her look down to see a text from Lydia. She stared at it for a moment before setting her phone down, laughing softly in relief as she rubbed her face. 

"What?" Stiles asked as he looked over at her and she smiled before grabbing her phone, "Thank you for saving me from a bear trap today." Sawyer read, making Stiles' eyes widen, "You can read again?!" He asked and she nodded. "I can read again." She said and he leaned his head back and sighed in relief before they both started laughing.