spamalot } { of family history and little mermaids

[beanchaointe]

Lydia: [is sitting at the table, paging through books for a moment before looking up at him] Do you think we could find another one?

Peter: [is reading as well from a book he had just acquired from a rare book stone in Ireland] Another banshee?

Lydia: [nods a bit] I was talking to ... someone, and he thought that maybe if I found someone else who was like me - who knows how to control it - they might be able to teach me too.

Peter: [thinks, then sits back] Well, that will come down to your own comfort of revealing your power to a complete stranger, Lydia, in hope that they will be able to show you. Do you feel you are ready to do that?

Lydia: [she shifts uncomfortably, crossing her arms on the table in front of her] I don't know.

Peter: That's going to be the key factor in doing that. Imagine your feelings in another person somewhere halfway across the world. Would you want to reveal yourself for what you are just for a curious mind, or would you do it if it meant helping another?

Lydia: [she sighs] I don't know. I don't really have anything to offer. I don't know what I'm doing.

Peter: [he takes a long breath] You will always be protected here, so I'm not worried so much as your safety physically from another. But I don't want you to lose the focus you have. I'm sure there are others out there, and when you're ready to find them, we can explore that option. But that is going to be up to you.

Lydia: [she nods. He's right. She's not ready to be exposing herself like that]

Peter: [thinks a bit more before leaning forward back to look at the book] We could ask Stiles to set up some kind of algorithm on the computer to be able to look for instances though that could point us at anyone who would fit the pattern. So we could see if there is anyone in California at least.

Lydia: [she swallows a bit] Actually ... there may be someone who could look into that for us.

Peter: Oh?

Lydia: Deputy Parrish. In the sheriff's office?

Peter: John's new boy? I've seen him around while I'm down there. He's only been here a few weeks.

Lydia: [she nods] He offered. It was his idea.

Peter: I didn't realize he was in the know about the supernatural.

Lydia: He's ... not. Not really. [she looks down awkwardly] I needed someone to talk to. He was there.

Peter: [he chuckles] There's no crime in finding someone to confide in. And if it's the one I remember, he's a very nice young man. Overly polite.

Lydia: He is very nice.

Peter: Nice enough for you to confide in him something like this.

Lydia: It was a bad night. It all just sort of ... came out.

Peter: And he didn't think you were crazy. [which is... very good.]

Lydia: He thinks it's a gift.

Peter: [thinks a moment] Well, he's not wrong.

Lydia: [looks up at him with a look that says "not you too."]

Peter: Lydia, Stiles is alive right now because of you. [leans forward] Do you really think that is something that would come from a curse?

Lydia: [her hands flop against the table] I don't even know if that was really me! The doctors were defibrillating him at the same time, it could have just been a coincidence.

Peter: [raises an eyebrow] Is that what you really think, or is that what you tell yourself to keep yourself from seeing the potential in this?

Lydia: I don't even know what I did! And what if I didn't do anything at all, what if I delude myself into think it was me, that I did something and then the next time someone dies.

Peter: And if you believe that you didn't do anything, what will you do when it happens again? Ignore it and hope for the best, or try and repeat what you did?

Lydia: I don't know. I don't know! I don't even know how I did it. I was upset and frustrated and it happened.

Peter: I know you were, but it happened, and deep down you know it was you who did something. [he stands up and stretches] Come on, let's go for a walk in the woods.

Lydia: [she exhales slowly, clearly frustrated, but she'll nod and get up to follow him]

Peter: [walks with her, waiting until they get to a spot where he can't hear anything for a mile around them except for their own heartbeat.] Tell me what you hear, Lydia.

Lydia: [closes her eyes for a moment, before shaking her head] Nothing.

Peter: In your head, or in the woods around you?

Lydia: .... Both.

Peter: [he pulls out his cell phone to send a pack text about ignoring Lydia's scream in a moment] I want you to try something different. I want you to close your eyes, and with all your might scream as loud as you can. Get all your anger and frustration at everything out in this scream and keep going until you can't scream any longer... and then listen again.

Lydia: [she glances over at him, looking skeptical]

Peter: [slides his phone into his pocket] Your brain isn't telling you to scream, so no one's going to die from it. But maybe the scream will trigger something else. [he moves to stand behind her so he's not in the path of the sound blast that would come]

Lydia: [she sighs pressing her lips together for a moment, before doing as she's told. She screams.]

Peter: [and he goes to cover his ears because damn, that's loud. As the scream fades, there's the sound of a record player scratching as it spins endlessly. Over and over again. And then it stops, reset, and then there is a voice in her head "I can hear you Ariel. Find me."]

Lydia: [her head tips to the side for a moment, confusion lacing her features, before she turns on her heel and is heading back to her car]

Peter: Lydia? [and yeah, no, he goes to follow. The record starts again, just scratching noises over and over again. It will get louder if/until she gets to the lake house.]

Lydia: [yeah, no, she knows where that is. She knows exactly where that is] I have to go.

Peter: What are you hearing, Lydia?

Lydia: I know where it is, I'll be fine I just ... I have to go.

Peter: Where what is? I'll come with you.

Lydia: The record player.

Peter: [nope, that makes no sense to him] Okay, but let's go together. I won't stop you.

Lydia: [she doesn't respond. But if you get in the car before she takes off she won't stop you either]

Peter: [good thing he's fast. Not that he wouldn't just chase after the car if she had left, but he's going to take the comfortable route that kept him from ruining his shoes or having to get naked]

Lydia: [she doesn't say much as she gets behind the wheel and starts driving, heading out of town and towards the Martin lake house property]

Peter: [he's just watching, paying attention to Lydia but also watching where they were going

Lorraine had died a few years ago now, the lake house having passed down to Lydia's mother. When they got there, the sound would keep getting louder until they got to the record room. There was a single record already in the player, the turntable sitting on a cabinet with two doors. The sounds of laughter and a child playing hide and seek would echo in the house]

Lydia: [just follows the sound of the record player, not stopping until she reaches her grandmother's study. She moves and opens the door of the cabinet, pulling it out and setting it on a low table next to it. She studies it for a moment, before flicking the switch and turning it on. She sits down next to it, folding her legs under her and just tries to listen]

Peter: [he's just silent behind her, sitting on a chair and watching.

the record starts to play a jazz tune. It's not the right record. Keep looking, Lydia.]

Lydia: [frowns after a moment, before pushing up and going back to the cabinet, flipping through the records to see if she can find the right one.

as she does that, there is one record that is in a white sleeve, unmarked among all the other albums. When she goes to pull the record out, however, a piece of paper will fall out.]

Lydia: [she blinks, watching it for a moment, before picking it up to read it.

good luck, darling.]

Lydia: [just stares at the paper in her hand, as though her staring at the code will make it unscramble and make sense. Spoiler alert: it doesn't]

Peter: [after a moment, he gets up and walks over to look at the paper over her shoulder. His eyebrows go up, shocked because that was not what he was expecting]

Lydia: [after a long moment of silence] My grandmother worked for IBM.

Peter: Computer code?

Lydia: I think so.

Peter: Well, it's a good thing there happens to be a coding company just down the hill from town on the road to LA. I'm sure of the six of them, four could break it.

Lydia: [nods slowly, before turning and looking around the room again] I think she was like me.

Peter: Maybe she was. [looks around the room.] The walls are soundproof.

Lydia: [nods a bit, before folding the paper in her hand and sliding it into her pocket] She ... they thought she was crazy.

Peter: That sounds familiar. [he rubs her arm gently, trying to be reassuring] Do you want to stay or go back?

Lydia: [there's a part of her that wants to stay, but she could always come back later. Right now, she wants to get this to Stiles] We should go. [though if she disappears during a bad episode, this will probably be where to find her in the future]

Peter: [he nods, and he will remember this place. He has a feeling there are more secrets here too for her to find]

Lydia: [and off they go to go visit Stiles.]

Lydia: [so she probably should have called in advance, but she doesn't, she just drives right to the office to see Stiles. The piece of paper is tucked in her pocket for safe keeping and she's visibly nervous]

Peter: [obviously is with her, but is letting her take the lead on all this]

Lyle: [is sitting at the front desk today and sees Lydia and looks up.] Oh hey, Lydia. Hi, how... you doing okay?

Lydia: Hi. [person who's name she doesn't remember] Is Stiles here?

Lyle: Yeah, he um... he's in back working on... something. [and he's stumbling to his feet] I could go get him for you or show you back or um... get you a coffee?

Lydia: [small smile, before shaking her head] No, I'm fine. I just really need to talk to Stiles.

Lyle: Okay. Okay, um... I’ll go get him. You just stay right here. [and he's going to head towards the back to try and find Stiles]

Lydia: [she nods, waiting until he's out of earshot before ...] What's his name again?

Peter: [leans in] Lyle. He was actually Stiles' team leader when they were at Google.

Lydia: Lyle. Thank you. [she'll remember now. probably.]

Stiles: [it's a moment and then Stiles is coming up from the back, talking into his Bluetooth and pointing at a thing on his tablet at Lyle who nods and takes it and heads off for the desk to try and work on the code.] Hey Lydia, Peter. What's going on?

Lydia: Sorry. We probably should have called but ... there's something I need you to look at.

Stiles: Yeah, sure. You guys want to come back to my office?

Lydia: [nods. This isn't something they should really discuss out in the open] Please.

Stiles: [nods with his head] Come on this way. Want something to drink?

Lydia: [she shakes her head] No, I'm fine. [and she'll just follow his lead back to his office]

Stiles: [and they weave past the pool table and a clear doodle board window that Neha and Yo-Yo are double side code working on to where Stiles' office is. It's a nice size with a couch and a few chairs to the side of his desk] Here, have a seat. Sure you don't want something to drink?

Lydia: [nods, reaching into her pocket to pull out the piece of paper] I'm fine, I just ... [she pauses, then her hand jerks forward to hand it over to him] Please?

Stiles: [he looks at the paper, and then unfolds it] Whoa... that's... [he tilted the page a bit to look at it] Where did you get this?

Lydia: My ... grandmother left it for me. I think she was like me. A banshee.

Stiles: Well, that would have been good to know earlier on, I bet. [he goes over to his computer, tapping it awake and sitting down, reaching for his glasses] I've never seen a code like this before.

Lydia: She worked for IBM.

Stiles: [thinks a moment, then he looked up] When?

Lydia: It was the early years. I'm not really sure exactly when. [mostly because I can't do the math right now]

Stiles: [nods and goes to start typing in the code line by line, getting it onto his screen] She probably coded things then in dos, so I'll run it through that first and see what I get.

Lydia: [nods a bit, moving to sit in one of the chairs and trying to relax]

Peter: [nope, is going to hover over Stiles, watching him work]

Lyle: [is going to come back in, carrying the tablet tucked under his arm, a tray with a few diet cokes and a root beer on it] As requested, boss-o-rooney. Got that code solved in under three. Anything else?

Stiles: Yeah, you got any experience with advanced DOS?

Lyle: You serious? People still code in that?

Lydia: The code was written a long time ago.

Stiles: Yeah, come here look at this. [and all three men are staring at the computer screen, and Lyle goes to move Stiles out of the way to take the keyboard and click click computer geek things and they have something]

Stiles: You get a cypher key for this?

Lydia: [blinks for a moment before shaking her head] No. That was all there was.

Lyle: Well, we need a key to crack the code. I mean, it's not responding to any of the modern stuff, so obviously it's something else. We won't know what it means until we have it.

Lydia: [frowns, considering for a moment] Can you tell how long it is?

Lyle: It'll be a single word, but who knows how long.

Lydia: If the code was written for me, in theory it should be something I should know, right?

Stiles: Alright, so let's figure out what you two shared. What did you two do together?

Lydia: [her hand falls away from her forehead a bit] Read. She always used to read to me.

Stiles: Okay, what did you read?

Lydia: The Little Mermaid.

Lyle: You read the movie?

Lydia: [... sigh.] It was a book first. It was my favorite book, actually.

Stiles: Dude, really?

Lyle: What, I didn't know it was a book.

Peter: [pinching the bridge of his nose] Boys, focus.

Stiles: Try Little Mermaid.

Lyle: One word, Stiles.

Stiles: Put it together, Lyle.

Lyle: [types] Nope.

Lydia: What about just mermaid?

Lyle: Nada. Was the fish in the book? Flounder?

Lydia: ... No. [she huffs for a moment, getting up and starting to pace] I don't get it. She read it to me almost every time she saw me. I was obsessed with it to the point where I would only respond to Ariel. My parents thought it was annoying, but Grandma ... [then she blinks. Duh, Lydia.] Try Ariel.

Lyle: [types] Nope.

Stiles: Dude... it's spelt A-r-i-e-l.

Lyle: Oh. [retypes and...] Something's happening.

Lydia: [is about to roll her eyes again before making her way around the desk to see what's coming up]

Peter: [crosses his arms, watching as the code turns into names. He knew more of the surnames from families in Beacon Hills]

Stiles: It's a list of people.

Lydia: [frowns as she looks at it. Her eyes scan for a moment until she stops] Lorraine Martin. That's my grandmother.

Stiles: I guess your next step is going to be to find out who these other eleven people are.

Peter: I recognize most of them. I think most of them lived in Beacon Hills when I was a kid.

Lydia: Can you print this out for me? [she'll probably ... run it by Parrish]

Lyle: We actually don't...

Stiles: Sure. [hand on Lyle's shoulder] We have a printer in the storage room. Get it for me?

Lyle: Does it have ink in it?

Lydia: [sighs heavily] Or you could just email it to me.

Stiles: I'll send it to you. [butts Lyle out of his chair to send the e-mail]

Lydia: Thank you.

Stiles: Hey Lyle, give us a minute?

Lyle: Um, sure. [looks over at Lydia with a smile, and then heads out and closes the door behind him]

Stiles: So mysterious list with names of people on it. Why would your grandmother leave you that?

Lydia: I don't know. I don't think I'm going to know until I find out who they are.

Stiles: Well, I could try and set up some kind of algorithm to search for these names online, see what I can find out from them.

Lydia: [she shakes her head] I have someone I can ask. But thank you.

Stiles: [nods] Alright. Well... good luck then. [nope, he's going to do it anyway. He has the list. You can't make him unsee it]

Lydia: [she figures but she's going to step forward and give him a hug] Thank you, Stiles.

Stiles: [hugs her back easily] No problem, Lydia. It's what I'm here for.

Lydia: [she pulls back after that with a nod before turning back to Peter] I'll drive you home.

Peter: Thank you. [he will be calling you later, Stiles, to see what you find]

Lydia: See you later, Stiles.