True form - A Teen wolf (The Pack) imagine
Request: Hi! Could you maybe do a one shot were the reader is a mermaid and the pack finds out. Like maybe she would be able to talk to fish or something and that would help the pack in some sort of way in a supernatural-case-thingy? Maybe the pack finds out when she accidentally gets wet or maybe se has a necklace that seals her powers?uuggh so many ideas but no skill in writing! XD thanks a bunch!! <33 sorry if it's too specific! xoxo
A/N: I used a bit of scandinavian folklore in this one (I got slightly carried away) and also made my own twist so it by connecting the lore of kelpie to Backahasten. I hope you don`t mind this, also here is some lore about backahasten for those unfamiliar with it.Â
*Backahasten is from the scandinavian folk lore. It is a horse that live in the water and it would lure its prey by transforming into something useful, lika a boat or a log, and then drag its victims down under water where it would eat its victims. In some lore Backahasten would lure people by letting them ride on its back into the water.Â
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After living on land for over half your life, you`d think you`d get used to it. You`d think that the calling of the sea would fade with the years, that it would grow more silent with each passing day. But it didn`t. Each day you could hear it, the soothing sound of waves crashing against rocks and washing up over damp sand. It didn`t matter how far away you were from the ocean, the familiar sound always found your ears and coerced a gentle smile to grace your lips. You would be lying if you said you didn`t miss it, it was after all such a big part of who you were. But you were still happy living on land, you`d managed to make some great friends and much to your parents approval as well as your own excitement your new found friends turned out to be of the supernatural sort. Well with the exception of one, Stiles, but other than him you found yourself surrounded by werewolves, werecoyotes, banshees and kitsunes, all supernatural beings.
You`d know Lydia the longest, ever since your parents migrated to land when you were 8 you`d found a friend in Lydia. She`d taken you under her wing from the first moment you met and after that, everything else had just fallen into place. Now here you were, 9 years later and surrounded by people.
None of whom knew you were in fact a mermaid.
Keeping your identity as a mermaid a secret hadn`t been intentional, not really. The opportunity just never came up with all the other supernatural things going on in Beacon hills that demanded the pack`s attention. And by the time you actually got some room to breathe, you`d just forgotten to enlighten them of that particular fact.
Which was why, when Lydia told you and the pack about the strange things that had been happening at her family`s lodge, specifically in the lake near the house, you felt your body slightly tense.
“Guys I`m telling you, I can feel it.” Lydia argued as she sat by you on the couch. For the past few minutes she`d been talking about how people who`d been swimming in the lake recently had mysteriously gone missing. Lydia was convinced something supernatural was involved and even though all members believed her, they were still hesitant towards going out there and risking the whole pack`s safety. Particularly because it seemed like whatever was out there kept to the water and none of them would be able to fight in the water. Well except you, but they didn`t know that.
“We believe you Lydia, but I`m not sure what we can do, we can`t investigate like we normally do and if it keeps to the water, how are we supposed to fight it?” Kira asked as he shoulders slumped as she let out a deep sigh.
“We could at least check it out.” Scott offered and Lydia nodded in agreement.
“Right, let`s at least check it out, who knows what we might find.” The pack all seemed to agree on that and thus it was decided that the following day you`d be heading out to Lydia`s parents lake house. As you sat by Lydia`s side while the others continued to plan what the plan of attack was you couldn`t help but feel an unsettling shiver running up your spine. Somehow you got the feeling that for better or worse, this trip to the lake house would cause something drastic to happen.
Night was only just beginning to fall, you were standing on the pier with Lydia by your side. Scott and the others were walking up and down the stony shore in search of any kind of clue as to what you were dealing with. So far you`d had no luck. You`d only managed to convince the group that you were not dealing with either mermaids or sirens since both species, contrary to popular believes were not in fact man eating killers. But after dissuading those theories you were left with nothing, so instead of burying yourselves in books you`d opted for a classic search around the lake. Which had also proved fruitless and now even the sun was giving up. You gazed out across the lake as the final rays of sunshine spread a warm light across the glistening surface of the lake. Oh how you wished you could just dive in and swim for an hour or five. It had been years since you last swam in the ocean. Your parents had been very strict with not letting you anywhere near the ocean, they feared hunters might find you and once a hunter had their sight on you, you almost never escaped.
A heavy sigh escaped your lips as you turned your gaze from the setting sun to look at the shore. Stiles was struggling to overturn a stone twice his size until Malia came to his aid and effortlessly flipped the heavy stone over. A slight giggle escaped your lips as you gaze moved towards Kira who was crouched by the edge of the shore line while carefully examining something on the ground. You couldn`t see Liam, Scott or Isaac but you guessed they weren`t too far off.
Then suddenly you felt the whole pier shake violently beneath your feet followed by a loud splash and Lydia who let out a surprised yelp. You whipped around so fast you almost lost your balance yourself but as you stumbled to regain it you noticed that Lydia no longer stood by your side. Instinctively your gaze shifted towards the water as you scanned the surface for the familiar face. A few feet away Lydia`s body shot up from the water and she gasped sharply as she tried to inhale as much air as her lungs could muster. From her sloppy movements you could tell the sudden contact with water had caught her off guard and she was clearly disoriented, until her eyes landed on a log floating only a few inches from her face. Immediately Lydia inched herself closer to the piece of wood while still coughing water.
You realized what was happening almost immediately, but it was still too late. Lydia had already grabbed a hold of the floating log and was coughing violently in an attempt to free her lungs from the water she`d accidentally swallowed. Your eyes widened and your mouth dried up as you tried to scream in a desperate attempt to catch her attention. But her name died on your lips as you saw her suddenly disappear below the surface, a strangled cry just barley managing to escape her lips before her body was completely submerged.
You didn`t hesitate before you dove head first into the dark abyss below. You could faintly hear Scott and the others scream your name as your body hit the water. You allowed your body to sink a few meters down before you paused. As much as you knew you wanted to go to Lydia’s rescue immediately your body needed a few seconds to adjust to the once familiar sensation of functioning under water. You closed your eyes and relaxed your body. Almost instantly you could feel a tickling sensation envelop your legs as you squeezed them together. A smile tugged at the corner of your lips as you felt bubbles wrap around your limbs, weaving them together as they transformed into a beautiful lilac tail that shimmered in both gold and purple.
As you opened your eyes again you swept your tail back and forth, trying to get accustomed to the movement again after so many years. To your surprise it was easier than you thought it would be, but you reasoned that swimming for a mermaid was something equal to walking for humans, once you`ve learnt it you never forget. Despite the situation you smiled, it had been so long since last you felt the rush of water all around you. You`d never felt so strong, so alive, before. You never wanted to leave the water again.
As you practiced moving your tail you realized that you were still holding your breathe. You would probably be able to breathe underwater, but you had yet to give in to that assumption. A part of you still feared that the time you spent on land may have deprived you of that on particular privilege but as Lydia`s shrilling scream vibrated through the water you instinctively inhaled sharply and set of in her direction.
You`d expected your lungs to fill with water, you half thought you`d have to struggle for air as you moved quickly through the water, but no such thing happened. Just as natural as the swimming had felt breathing did too. Your left hand tentatively reached up to caress you neck only to find that gills had grown out on each side. Yet another smile found your lips and you put more force into each sway of your tail, further increasing your speed as you swam deeper and deeper into the pitch black ocean.
Your mother had once told you that there was no creature on land or in the sea that could ever match the speed of a mermaid, and right now, you prayed to whatever god was listening that she was right. Your arms were pressed snugly against your side as your eyes squinted down into the darkness, you could still feel the slight vibrations in the water as Lydia struggled against whatever it was that was pulling her down.
“She`s close.” You thought to yourself as a particularly strong wave of vibrations resonated around you. You pushed yourself to go faster and soon you could see Lydia`s limp body floating a little bit below you. Her waist was encircled by something that looked like while strands of hair but as you gaze moved from Lydia and slightly further down you noticed the bright yellow eyes of a white horse that gleamed in the darkness.
“Backahasten.” You thought instinctively and as you were only a few inches away from Lydia you halted your movements. You`d heard stories of Backahasten from your mother, how it was a creature that lived in the darkest depths of the sea and would lure humans down into the dark by transforming itself into something of use to them, like a boat or a floating log, then once the humans were down in the water with it, Backahasten would eat them.  Your eyes narrowed and your fists clenched. Backahasten was not a creature of reason, you weren`t sure you`d be able to persuade it to release Lydia. Normally you could demand a creature of the sea to heed to your will, as is the power bestowed upon all mermaids and mermen, but Backahasten was different, it listened to no one. Being one of the oldest creatures in the sea, Backahasten only followed its own rules.
Your gaze shifted from Backahasten to Lydia, you could feel the beat of her heart slowing with each passing second through the water. If you didn`t get her to the surface fast she would die. You bit your lip as your mind raced in an attempt to think of something, anything, you could use as a weapon against the creature. Then you got an idea, it was a mad idea in every sense but it was the only one you had, and it was worth a shot. If you were right, you would not only save Lydia, but also rid these waters of Backahasten. You looked straight at Backahasten who had its teeth bared in what you would assume was meant as a wicked grin. You clenched your fists and took a deep breath.
“Now or never.” You thought to yourself as you dove with all the speed you could muster straight for Lydia. Your arms circled her waist just as Backahasten realized what you were doing, but just like your mom had said, no creature was faster than a mermaid. With swift speed you spun around and swung your tail towards the strands of hair that bound Lydia to Backahasten and cut the ties. Then you shot upwards, towards the surface, with Lydia pressed tightly against your body as you swam as fast as your fins could carry both of you. You could hear Backahasten roar behind you as the creature took up pursuit of its lost prey.
You pushed the thoughts of the creature catching up to you to the back of your mind and focused on getting to the surface, if you could only get to the surface you had an idea on how to kill it. Your mother had told you that Backahasten was related to the kelpie, who could be killed by a silver bullet. And while Backahasten couldn`t be killed with silver you mother had told you that there were rumours that silver would still defeat the creature, no one knew how though. It was a gamble but you had to try, and since Kira had made a habit out of always carrying around a silver dagger she was your only hope.Â
Once again you thanked the heavens that you mother was right, despite being weighed down by Lydia you were still faster than Backahasten and as you shot up through the surface you had gained such speed that you actually flew a good few feet up onto dry land. Midair you`d managed to twist your body around so you were the one to take the brunt of the fall. You could feel rough rocks digging into the scales on your tail and scrape your back bloody, but you had no time to dwell on the pain. You knew the creature wasn`t far behind so with desperate eyes you searched your surroundings. Your eyes finally found your target, Kira, as she was sprinting towards you and Lydia with the others.
“Kira!” You yelled just as the surface of the lake stirred once more and Backahasten emerged. Furious golden eyes instantly found you and sharp teeth bared as it roared. Had the situation not been so serious you would`ve laughed at the sight of a horse roaring, but there was nothing funny about the situation. Backahasten started galloping towards you across the water, it`s vicious eyes dead set on you, you only had seconds left to live if you didn`t act soon.
“Kira your dagger!” You yelled for dear life as your panicked eyes once again turned towards your friend. Kira immediately pulled the dagger from her belt and you could tell she was pushing her legs to go faster, but Kira was no mermaid and as you sent a worried glance towards the oncoming danger you worried if even her kitsune speed would be enough.
You were fresh out of other options though so as Backahasten came closer you leaned your body over Lydia in an attempt to shield her from the danger and then closed your eyes.
The sound of something sliding roughly across the stone covered shore was the last thing you heard before everything grew eerily quiet. In the heat of the moment you`d closed your eyes and pressed your face to the ground beside Lydia’s head, but now you tentatively glanced up and carefully hoisted your body off of Lydia`s. Glancing over your shoulder your eyes fell upon a shocking scene.
Kira was kneeling behind you, her chest heaving up and down heavily as she was leaning forward slightly. She looked like she was pushing all her force forward and as you glanced up slightly you realized why. Kira had just barely managed to slide between you and Backahasten, and in the same motion she had also managed to slam her silver dagger straight into the chest of the creature. Backahasten now stood on its hind legs, turned to solid stone mid-motion with the dagger securely embedded in its heart. Kira’s hands were still gripping the small handle and burning orange eyes stared fiercely at the stone statue before her.  Her shoulders as well as her grip was tense and you could sense she was still on edge. Carefully you leaned forward and placed a hand on her shoulder, Kira`s eyes snapped in your direction and you flinched back. For a second you thought she might attack you too, but then the color in her eyes faded to brown and a relieved smile settled on her lips.
“I made it.” She sighed as she finally relaxed and loosened her grip on the dagger. You were about to speak, to thank her for saving you when Stiles voice rang through the air.
“Lydia!” Your eyes widened instantly as you remembered your friend who still lay motionless beside you. Immediately you leaned over her body and pressed your ear to her chest. You could hear the water splashing around in her lungs, slowly drowning her from inside, and you knew you only had seconds to get it out of her before it was too late. By now Stiles and the others had made it to your side and each pack member crashed down on the ground beside Lydia, their eyes wide in terror as they fumbled with their actions in sheer panic.
“Move, I`ll give her CPR!” Stiles all but demanded as he almost shoved you out of the way, but you placed a firm hand on his chest and held him back.
“I can do it faster.” You said with a stern gaze before leaning over Lydia once more, not wasting anytime waiting for Stiles to reply.
You pressed your ear against her chest again but this time you listened more intently. Water was your element, and just by listening to the splashing sound in her lungs you could tell exactly how much water she`d swallowed.  Once you`d estimated the amount you placed your lips softly against Lydia’s and inhaled sharply while simultaneously pressing down softly with your right hand on her ribcage. You felt the water flush from Lydia`s lungs and wash down your throat, evaporating as it filled up your lungs instead. You repeated the motion a few times before you removed yourself completely from Lydia and waited with bathed breath. You were sure you`d gotten all the water out of her lungs but you were hesitant as to whether you`d made it in time or not.
Waiting felt like an eternity. You could tell Stiles was getting more and more impatient by the second and even Scott was sending you hesitant looks in between the passing moments. You bit your lip and kept a firm gaze on Lydia. You`d almost given up hope when the banshee suddenly gasped sharply before falling into a rough coughing fit. The relief that washed over you almost made you fall over but you managed to catch your balance at the last minute.
“Thank god.” You muttered under your breath as you smiled at Lydia who was currently being cradled by Stiles while Malia wrapped her up in a dry sweater. Â
“Y/N” When Scott called your name you turned to him with a smile, but as you noticed the hesitant look in his eyes a frown instantly grew between your brows.
“What`s wrong Scott?” You asked and Scott exchanged a glance with Kira who only shrugged her shoulders.
“It`s um..” He began and it was only then you noticed his gaze drifting towards your legs, or more specifically your tail. ”You`re a-” Scott`s words faded, as if he struggled to believe what he was seeing. Your cheeks slowly got a slightly red tint as you looked away from Scott and towards the ground again.
“Yeah I`m-I`m a mermaid. Sorry I didn`t tell you before.” Your voice was much more quiet than usual and you felt strangely embarrassed to confess your secret, even though it hadn`t been an intentional secret you still felt slightly guilty for keeping such an important fact about yourself secret from the pack for so long.
“Mermaids are real?” Stiles asked between heavy breaths as he looked at you in disbelief. You rolled your eyes and flicked your tail in his direction, effectively splashing him with a few droplets of water.
“No I`m just a figment of your imagination.” You teased and this time it was Stiles turn to roll his eyes.
“How come you never told us?” Liam asked hesitantly while glancing up at you with his puppy eyes. You smiled apologetically.
“It just never seemed like the right time, besides, I haven`t been in this form for over 9 years.” You gestured towards your still glimmering tail and the pack looked practically mesmerized by the sight. Scott was the first to recover.
“Wait, 9 years? Why?”
“It`s too dangerous, you never know when you might run into a hunter and even thought the process of turning into my true form is quick, returning to my human form takes time.” You shrugged while heaving a deep sigh. With all the dangers gone your gaze returned towards the lake longingly. Kira followed your gaze then looked back at you.
“You want to jump back in?” She asked and your eyes widened in uncontrollable excitement.
“Can I?” You felt yourself almost jump with joy but then your shoulders slumped in defeat.” On second though no, it`s okay. We have to get Lydia back up to the lodge and we have more important things to do.”
“Like what?” Isaac questioned with a raised eyebrow.
“I-I don`t know,“ You stuttered.” But the point is we don`t have time for me fooling around.”  You tried to sound firm in your decision but you were sure everyone could hear how you wavered.
“Y/N” Scott said gently. “It`s been 9 years, we can take care of things for a few hours, you should take this opportunity, I`m sure you`ve missed it.” Your resolve faltered instantly.
“Are you sure?” Scott and the others nodded. ”Then I`d like that. But I`m going to need some help.” You motioned from yourself and towards the lake. As fast and agile as mermaids were in the water, they were incredibly clumsy on land in their true form. Scott smiled and motioned for Isaac and Liam to help. You tail was about twice the size of your body so while Liam and Isaac made a joint effort to lift it up, Scott wrapped his arms under your back and carried the upper part of your body. The three boys carried you to the edge of the pier where they then proceeded to gently edge you into the water.
Once again you felt the cool water wrap itself around your body comfortingly and without sparing the pack a second glance you dove down into the navy depths. Tonight you didn`t need any sleep, you only had a few hours until sunrise when you would head back to Beacon hills and you were fully intent in spending as long as you possibly could relishing in and memorizing the feeling of once again being in your natural habitat.
As you swam through the depths you vowed to yourself that you wouldn`t let another 9 years pass before you returned to the sea again. Once you got back home you would talk to Lydia about the possibility of maybe renting the lodge a few times a year just so you could swim freely. Maybe you could even convince your parents to come with you, you were sure they missed the sea as much as you did.
But for now you would enjoy it yourself. If but for a moment you would enjoy the feeling of once again being in your true form.
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A/N: and I got carried away again xD I found this request really fun to write and I hope it measures up to what the anon who requested it wanted it. But as always if it`s not what you had in mind please let me know and I`ll give it another shot ^^ I hope you all also enjoyed this piece of writing and please look forward to my next imagine, part 2 for Lone wolf coming up! ;)Â
As always thank you so much for your continued support, I love you all so much <3
Have a lovely day m`dears~
