OUT OF CHARACTER

Name: dai
Personal Journal: dai_choo_choo
Age: 22
Contact: disarmingly
Characters Played: n/a

IN CHARACTER

Name: Allison Argent
Canon: Teen Wolf
Age: 17
Timeline: 3x23: Insatiable - right before the big fight.
Background: just your normal girl ⇏ in an abnormal world

Personality:

Before moving to Beacon Hills, Allison Argent's life had been primarily about one thing: finding herself. With a father who was a highly respected and federally licensed weapons distributor, they moved around just about as much as Allison's interests did. From painting to poetry to gymnastics to archery, when Allison made friends only to leave them, it was her hobbies that stuck. Her parents encouraged the activity, for it kept their daughter fit and social and gave her a place where she could feel confident in her skills and her skin. Allison's interests narrowed as the years went on, to primarily gymnastics and archery, both of which she decided to leave behind when she came to Beacon Hills. It was a new town, a new (high) school, and it was time for new friends. Because that's what she wanted, friends that weren't her parents and her Aunt Kate, but little did she know that it was this need to be accepted and to find her rhythm that would eventually uncover secrets she hadn't even known her parents were hiding. And with those secrets would give Allison a chance to find herself, destroy that self, and recreate everything it is she wanted to be.

⇏ BREAKING IN, SHAPING UP ⇏
The Allison we meet in the first episode of Teen Wolf is a young Allison - not by years, but by experience. She's new to town and ready to make friends, to focus on her life as a high school student, and to maybe find a boyfriend - and for the first bit of her time there, that's what she does. She and Scott click fast and early, because for Allison she craves the connection. Friends are easy, are something she does and redoes often, but first loves? First loves are different, and Scott was adorable and sweet and caring and she felt everything the songs told her when they kissed.

The Allison that Scott fell in love with was bright. She laughed and loved as easily as she could, she flirted and kissed and set her feet in the sand that was Beacon Hills. Soon enough she had friends, good friends, and she had a boyfriend and she was making the grades, and that's all she could really ask for at the time. A carefree and confident girl, Allison came across as what could be considered normal. Or as normal as she could get, with a hunter father and a werewolf boyfriend - neither descriptor she was aware of, either. As far as Allison knew, her father was over-protective and Scott was perfect, though sometimes strange, and her life was finally going right. Her parents promised they'd stick there for High School, which meant she could finally make a name for herself in the way she wanted to, and things were going just as she planned.

It's this confidence in herself that led her further down this road of discovery and destruction. A naturally curious girl, Allison couldn't help but take up the challenge her favorite Aunt Kate gave her - a little research on her family history. She starts to find some interesting stories about a particular myth, and Scott becomes distant. Very distant. Up until the night they're attacked in the school, and Allison has a reality check, because when everything goes right, things seem perfect, and all it takes is one bad night for it all to come crashing down. For a girl who was so confident and sure of herself, she comes to realize just how powerless she really is, left to be locked in a room while Scott ran out to save them all. Unable to help build self-igniting bombs, or protect her friends. This is the moment when Allison decides she wants to change - she breaks up with Scott, tells her Aunt Kate that she wants to be trained, and she wants to change.

But this is the first of many times that Allison finds herself in over her head. Kate shows her what her family really does, shows her Derek tied to a wall, being tortured and Allison...well. At first she freaks, which is understandable considering the circumstances, but it is the moment he gets pulled over sobbing in her car that she realizes how disgusted she really is in herself. She asked for this, she wanted to be trained, and she's acting like a little girl. This is really the first time we see the Argent blood in her, the moment when the switch flips and Allison decides that this is what she wants to do, and will do.

⇏ WAKING UP TO ASH AND DUST ⇏

The night of the Winter Formal is a complicated one - one where Allison's two worlds collide for the worst, and end with Lydia in the hospital and the realization that her (ex) boyfriend is a werewolf that her father and aunt have been hunting. When Lydia's found, it's obvious she's been attacked by an alpha, and Allison's father attempts to push Kate and Allison both out of state. That doesn't sit well with Allison, because of what happened with Scott, and it doesn't sit well with Kate because the action is still here. This leads to that and Allison joins Kate to hunt down the alpha that tried to kill her best friend. Allison tries to keep up because this is what she asked for and this is still her Aunt. Her favorite Aunt. So she goes, and she helps, and she watches as werewolves fight werewolves and her Aunt and Father fight too and eventually it comes down to a team-effort between them all to light Peter up. But not until after she watches her Aunt's throat get ripped from her as Allison just stands and watches. In a clash of what she knew and what she finds out, Allison and Scott make up, realizing that their lives are still intertwined and that's okay.

Or, okay for them. Allison's parents are anything but okay with their daughter dating a werewolf, which sends Allison and Scott into a secret relationship, one that grows more and more complicated as the semester moves on. Scott's distracted by the supernatural side of life, Allison is dealing with her grandfather (the hunter arsenal) coming to town for her aunt's funeral, and staying on ground of revenge. Derek starts to build a pack, and Allison starts her 'official' training, which involves staged kidnapping and impromptu training sessions. She's torn between her family and Scott, because she's not supposed to have ties with one side, and feels uneasy about what is being kept from her on the other. It's around this time that Allison really starts to be concerned with how involved she is in the life. Now that she knows, she should know everything, and it becomes painfully obvious how little she's actually being told. But at the same time, she desperately clings to her normal, teenager side of life - a life that her parents have all but decided doesn't exist anymore. She tries to be confident, she tries to not be jealous of girls (Erica) hitting on Scott, and she tries to keep up with the Kanima and the Argents and this idea of duty and honor and our sons are raised to be soldiers, our daughter leaders. When she can barely keep her own mind straight, Allison's not sure how she feels about leading, despite the talks she has with her father about responsibility and honor. She just feels in over her head, trying to keep her head above water, living two different lives and needing to find a foothole. It doesn't help that it's around this time that her feelings for Scott shift - she loves him. Loves him more than she can stand, but Scott is starting to fight the 'my happiness or the happiness of others' fight, which leaves Allison feeling a little betrayed. Misunderstandings lead to people getting hurt, and Allison is struggling to keep up. She wants to be included and she wants to help, but she's never really sure how, and this struggle with the added issue of her own teenage-driven self esteem issues, gives Allison even less footing to cling to at the next big change.

Allison's next big shift happens when she gets a call at Lydia's birthday party, a call no teenage girl should get. Her mother has taken her life, and Allison has no idea why. It is at this emotionally fragile stage that her grandfather - Gerard - steps in, and Allison is basically puppetted around from there on out. She's driven by guilt - by the last thing she told her mother, by the fact she couldn't help save her, by the fact it must have been something she did to spur it on. But then Allison remembers her mother's words, how pain will push her to strength, and while Allison has been avoiding pain to desperately cling to being a teenager, she realizes that's no longer an option. At the death of her mother, Allison looks for a new rock to lean on, and that is when her grandfather steps in. One moment we see Allison being handed a note by Gerard, told it's from her mother. The next we see her destroying her room, getting rid of any and everything person, everything immature, and when she redresses it's in all black as she prepares for revenge. For her new purpose. This is one of the clearest moments we get of Allison's drive, her ability to make a decision and stick to it, no matter the circumstances or the situation. She has chosen to take her place in the family, and without her mother she is next in line to lead, and she does. She steps right up and takes that position with a clenched jaw and forced nonchalance.

She gives the impression of what she assumes she's supposed to be - unfeeling, unforgiving and malicious. She's strong and powerful and she's everything she assumes she has to be, everything that Gerard tells her she needs to be. She hunts down Erica and Boyd and Isaac without issue, attacks them and ties them up and feels no mercy, because this is what she's supposed to do. This is who she is supposed to be. Even when her father tries to talk sense into her, Allison doesn't listen, because Gerdard is leading her in a certain direction and that is a direction she can take. While she thinks she's taken on the part of the leader, Gerdard is still pulling the strings, and Allison has no idea. She trusts her grandfather, because if you can't trust family, who can you trust? A best friend that poisons you to near-insanity? A boyfriend who is a monster? Her whole life she's depended and trusted her family, so there's no reason she couldn't now.

It's not until the climactic end of the season that Allison realizes how wrong she's been. When Gerard's true colors are shown, it sinks in just how much she's been manipulated, used, and abused by her grandfather, a man she had put her trust in so fully. He nearly kills her in his attempt to get what he wants, and Allison is crushed, the foundation she had built this new her on top of disappearing from beneath her feet. They manage to stop the kanima, cure him actually, and it doesn't end there. Not for Allison. The worst of it comes later, because where everyone else can go home with the great feeling of a job well done, Allison has to deal with the fact she has been constantly manipulated by her grandfather, has done more horrible things than she can imagine, and has no idea where she stands. The guilt weighs down on her more than anything; guilt for her mother's death, guilt for hunting down Erica and Boyd, guilt for the fact she was all but ready to kill Scott...so she does the only thing she thinks she can do, which is break it off with him. She can't deal with a relationship right now when she can barely handle her own life, and Scott says it's okay. It's fine. Whatever she needs to do, he'll let her do it, because he's willing to wait for as long as it takes. They kiss, a goodbye to end all goodbyes as far as Allison is concerned, and she is left to whatever of herself hasn't fallen apart. She leaves for France not long after, in an attempt to let things settle and give her time to find herself.

⇏ WELCOME TO THE NEW AGE ⇏
When Allison returns to Beacon Hills, it's as a fragile, repaired mirror. She left for France to put back the pieces of her life and her self, to find out who she was without werewolves and boyfriends and school, and it's evident that despite her excitement to be back with friends, she's still worried, and is walking on glass wherever she moves. She wants to be Allison again, but with everything that's happened, she's not quite sure who that is.

But she is Allison. Which means that when she sees Scott in school, and wants to talk to him. When her class is attacked by birds, she wants to know why. When a strange woman comes up and leaves an imprint on her and Lydia's arms, she wants to know why she asked for Scott and what it means. She's just as determined, stubborn, and curious as before, but this time she has experience, she has the chance to look at a situation and know where she's been before. When Derek tells her she needs evidence about her mark, she goes out to find it for herself, because she will still be Allison Argent at the end of the day, and whoever that girl ends up to be, she wants to be able to look her reflection in the eye. Determined, driven, and desperate to find her place in this world, she does what she knows needs to be done, sees things from a different - trained - perspective. She's stubborn but can be persuaded, analytical from the outside and confident in the midst of it. This new Allison is also an independent Allison. It's one who is wary to trust, because of how she's been hurt in the past, and quick to jump in on her own because of her need to prove - to herself, and to everyone else - that she can.

She is also prepared to fix her mistakes. Being able to face the person she become, and the things she did, was one of the hardest things for her to do, but she's doing it. When she messes up, she goes out to fix it, no matter if it's dangerous or a threat to her life. As long as she's smart about her hunting, she can hunt, because she can't let (more) innocent people die because of her. Her sense of morals is strong, but so is her loyalty to her friends and family, and Scott, wherever he lands on that spectrum. For Allison, it's a matter of proving to herself that she doesn't need Scott, despite wanting to be around him, despite worrying and stressing and constantly wondering where he is and what he's doing. Scott's self-sacrificing tendencies kicked a new gear up in Allison, where if Scott won't worry about his own safety, she will. This protectiveness ends up applying to all her closer friends - Scott, Lydia, Stiles and Isaac as the weeks go on.

Allison used to find herself in a constant battle between the bigger picture and her smaller circle. With the loss to her family that she suffered, she'd almost violently protective of her friends, and while she may not agree with what they plan she will do whatever is in her power to help them - including helping Derek Hale, someone who had been enemy number one for so long, if it meant helping Scott, Isaac and Boyd. She will do whatever it takes to keep those people safe, because that scope is enough for her to handle. For the majority of the season, at least, and it shifts even further at the end when things are all said and done. By finding that balance in her life between being able to protect her friends and family, and find herself, Allison convinces her father to start hunting again but by a new code. We protect those who cannot protect themselves. Scott's always tried to save everyone, it's in his blood, but Allison had to start small to get there.

But she's also bigger than just her hunting. She's compassionate, caring, friendly when she wants and funny when she can. She dimples when she laughs and she's sarcastic when she wants, and she loves. Her friends, her dad, and she's working on herself - it's a harder battle than the rest, with the guilt she carries, the understanding that everything she did was a choice and the consequences too. But she's working on it, just as she's working on dealing with that darkness in her heart, that heaviness in her chest. She's someone, for sure, and she's getting closer to accepting that this someone is her.

Suitcase:

⇏ 3 dresses
⇏ 2 pairs of tights
⇏ 2 pairs of pants (jeans, black)
⇏ various sets of underwear
⇏ 2 pairs of boots
⇏ 1 pair tennis shoes
⇏ 3 jackets (long black, leather, green)
⇏ 2 t-shirts
⇏ 1 pair shorts
⇏ 1 wallet (ID, money, credit cards, pictures)
⇏ 1 smartphone (useless)
⇏ 1 toiletries set (toothbrush, toothpaste, brush, hair ties, etc.)

Surprise? sure!

SAMPLES

Network Sample:

[ they step through the gate, and everything goes black. allison doesn’t know if she hit her head, if she passed out, if it’s something to do with the magic of the place, but they all step through and then nothing. nothing, up until she feels the impact of hitting a floor, and when her eyes fly open she finds that she’s inside somewhere. thin carpet, dark halls, dust. she sits up so fast her head spins a little, but she forces herself through it to get up, to look around.

her heart feels like it’s going to explode - they were going to save lydia, to take on the nogitsune. they were going to finish this. and now where was she? some…hotel? she doesn’t know, but she starts moving and trips over a suitcase, a suitcase that has her name and some number, and when she rips it open, is full of her clothes. what follows comes as something of a blur, because there are things and a tablet and a hallway and a room. lots of rooms. but none of them have lydia.

allison looks, but whatever happened left her unarmed with only her clothes, this suitcase, and the strange tablet she found inside. she searches the floors first, all the way down to some lobby with no door. some lobby, where the glass didn’t break and the walls were too thick to get through. after she checks all she can check, ending up back in her room, she turns to the tablet - her last resort. when she turns on the feed, she look a little rumpled, a little panicked. she’s fighting through it, though, gritting her teeth. ]

Lydia? Lydia, if you can see this- [ no, no that’s stupid, allison shakes her head. ] I’m looking for Lydia Martin. Red hair, heels, tell her Allison is looking for her, she’ll know who I am. [ she takes a breath, swallows, straights. ] Scott, Isaac, Kira- if any of you are here, I don’t- [ she purses her lips, stares at the screen for a few more moments, like she’s thinking over whether or not this was a good idea, before she shuts it off. ]

Threads: [ ⇏ | ⇏ | ⇏ | ⇏ ]

dai_choo_choo

disarmingly

Before moving to Beacon Hills, Allison Argent's life had been primarily about one thing: finding herself. With a father who was a highly respected and federally licensed weapons distributor, they moved around just about as much as Allison's interests did. From painting to poetry to gymnastics to archery, when Allison made friends only to leave them, it was her hobbies that stuck. Her parents encouraged the activity, for it kept their daughter fit and social and gave her a place where she could feel confident in her skills and her skin. Allison's interests narrowed as the years went on, to primarily gymnastics and archery, both of which she decided to leave behind when she came to Beacon Hills. It was a new town, a new (high) school, and it was time for new friends. Because that's what she wanted, friends that weren't her parents and her Aunt Kate, but little did she know that it was this need to be accepted and to find her rhythm that would eventually uncover secrets she hadn't even known her parents were hiding. And those secrets would give Allison a chance to find herself, destroy that self, and recreate everything it is she wanted to be.

⇏ BREAKING IN, SHAPING UP ⇏
The Allison we meet in the first episode of Teen Wolf is a young Allison - not by years, but by experience. She's new to town and ready to make friends, to focus on her life as a high school student, and to maybe find a boyfriend - and for the first bit of her time there, that's what she does. She and Scott click fast and early, because for Allison she craves the connection. Friends are easy, are something she does and redoes often, but first loves? First loves are different, and Scott was adorable and sweet and caring and she felt everything the songs told her she would feel when they kissed.

The Allison that Scott fell in love with was bright. She laughed and loved as easily as she could, she flirted and kissed and set her feet in the sand that was Beacon Hills. Soon enough she had friends, good friends, and she had a boyfriend and she was making the grades, and that's all she could really ask for at the time. A carefree and confident girl, Allison came across as what could be considered normal. Or as normal as she could get, with a hunter father and a werewolf boyfriend - neither descriptor she was aware of, either. As far as Allison knew, her father was over-protective and Scott was perfect, though sometimes strange, and her life was finally going right. Her parents promised they'd stick there for High School, which meant she could finally make a name for herself in the way she wanted to, and things were going just as she planned.

It's this confidence in herself that led her further down this road of discovery and destruction. A naturally curious girl, Allison couldn't help but take up the challenge her favorite Aunt Kate gave her - a little research on her family history. She starts to find some interesting stories about a particular myth, and Scott becomes distant. Very distant. Up until the night they're attacked in the school, and Allison has a reality check, because when everything goes right, things seem perfect, and all it takes is one bad night for it all to come crashing down. For a girl who was so confident and sure of herself, she comes to realize just how powerless she really is, left to be locked in a room while Scott ran out to save everyone. To save her. Which left Allison unable to help build self-igniting bombs, or protect her friends. This is the moment when she makes a decision - she breaks up with Scott, she tells her Aunt Kate that she wants to be trained, and she leaves behind the Allison she thought she wanted to be.

But this is only the first of many times that Allison finds herself in over her head. Kate shows her what her family really does, shows her Derek tied to a wall, being tortured and Allison...well. At first she freaks, which is understandable considering the circumstances, but it is the moment she gets pulled over sobbing in her car that she realizes how disgusted she really is with herself. She asked for this, she wanted to become a hunter, and she's acting like a little girl. This is really the first time we see the Argent blood in her, the moment when the switch flips and Allison decides that this is what she wants to do, and what she will do.

⇏ WAKING UP TO ASH AND DUST ⇏

The night of the Winter Formal is a complicated one - one where Allison's two worlds collide for the worst, and ends with Lydia in the hospital and the realization that her (ex) boyfriend is the werewolf that her father and aunt have been hunting. When Lydia's found, it's obvious she's been attacked by an alpha, and Allison's father attempts to push Kate and Allison both out of state. That doesn't sit well with Allison, because of what happened with Scott, and it doesn't sit well with Kate because the action is still here. This leads to that and Allison joins Kate to hunt down the alpha that tried to kill her best friend. Allison tries to keep up because this is what she asked for and this is still her Aunt. Her favorite Aunt. So she goes, and she helps, and she watches as werewolves fight werewolves and her aunt and father fight too and eventually it comes down to a team-effort between them all to light Peter up. But not before she watches Kate's throat get ripped open in front of her. In a clash of what she knew and what she finds out, Allison and Scott make up, realizing that their lives are still intertwined and that's okay. That can be okay.

Or, okay for them. Allison's parents are anything but okay with their daughter dating a werewolf, which sends Allison and Scott into a secret relationship, one that grows more and more complicated as the semester moves on. Scott's distracted by the supernatural side of life, Allison is dealing with her grandfather (and the hunter arsenal) coming to town for her aunt's funeral, and staying on the grounds of revenge. Derek starts to build a pack, and Allison starts her 'official' training, which involves staged kidnapping and impromptu training sessions. She's torn between her family and Scott, because she's not supposed to have ties with one side, and feels uneasy about what is being kept from her on the other. It's around this time that Allison really starts to be concerned with how involved she is in the life. Now that she knows, she should know everything, and it becomes painfully obvious how little she's actually being told. But at the same time, she desperately clings to her normal, teenager side of life - a life that her parents have all but decided doesn't exist anymore. She tries to be confident, she tries to not be jealous of girls (Erica) hitting on Scott, and she tries to keep up with the Kamina and the Argents and this idea of duty and honor and our sons are raised to be soldiers, our daughter leaders. When she can barely keep her own mind straight, Allison's not sure how she feels about leading, despite the talks she has with her father about responsibility and honor. She just feels in over her head, trying to keep her head above water, living two different lives and needing to find a foot-hole. It doesn't help that it's around this time that her feelings for Scott shift - she loves him. Loves him more than she can stand, but Scott is starting to fight the 'my happiness or the happiness of others' fight, which leaves Allison feeling a little betrayed. Misunderstandings lead to people getting hurt, and Allison is struggling to keep up. She wants to be included and she wants to help, but she's never really sure how, and this struggle with the added issue of her own teenage-driven self esteem issues, gives Allison even less footing to cling to at the next big change.

This happens when she gets a call at Lydia's birthday party, a call no teenage girl should get. Her mother has taken her life, and Allison has no idea why. It is at this emotionally fragile stage that her grandfather - Gerard - steps in, and Allison is basically puppetted around from there on out. She's driven by guilt - by the last thing she told her mother, by the fact she couldn't help save her, by the fact it must have been something she did to spur it on. But then Allison remembers her mother's words, how pain will push her to strength, and while Allison has been avoiding pain to desperately cling to being a teenager, she realizes that's no longer an option. At the death of her mother, Allison looks for a new rock to lean on, and that is the hole her grandfather fills. One moment we see Allison being handed a note by Gerard, told it's from her mother. The next we see her destroying her room, getting rid of any and everything personal, everything immature, and when she redresses it's in all black as she prepares for revenge. For her new purpose. This is one of the clearest moments we get of Allison's drive, her ability to make a decision and stick to it, no matter the circumstances or the situation. She has chosen to take her place in the family, and without her mother she is next in line to lead, and she does. She steps right up and takes that position with a clenched jaw and forced nonchalance.

She gives the impression of what she assumes she's supposed to be - unfeeling, unforgiving and malicious. She's strong and powerful and she's everything she assumes she has to be, everything that Gerard tells her she needs to be. She hunts down Erica and Boyd and Isaac without issue, attacks them and ties them up and feels no mercy, because this is what she's supposed to do. This is who she is supposed to be. Even when her father tries to talk sense into her, Allison doesn't listen, because Gerard is leading her in a certain direction and that is a direction she can take. While she thinks she's taken on the part of the leader, Gerard is still pulling the strings, and Allison has no idea. She trusts her grandfather, because if you can't trust family, who can you trust? A best friend that poisons you to near-insanity? A boyfriend who is a monster? Her whole life she's depended and trusted her family, so there's no reason she couldn't now.

It's not until the climactic end of the season that Allison realizes how wrong she's been. When Gerard's true colors are shown, it sinks in just how much she's been manipulated, used, and abused by her grandfather, a man she had put her trust in so fully. He nearly kills her in his attempt to get what he wants, and Allison is crushed, the foundation she had built this new her on top of disappearing from beneath her feet. They manage to stop the kanima, cure him, and it doesn't end there. Not for Allison. The worst of it comes later, because where everyone else can go home with the great feeling of a job well done, Allison has to deal with the fact she has been constantly manipulated by her grandfather, has done more horrible things than she can imagine, and has no idea where she stands. The guilt weighs down on her more than anything; guilt for her mother's death, guilt for hunting down Erica and Boyd, guilt for the fact she was all but ready to kill Scott...so she does the only thing she thinks she can do, which is run. She breaks it off with Scott because how is she supposed to deal with a relationship when she can barely handle her own life? And in that very Scott way, he says it's okay. It's fine. Whatever she needs to do, he'll let her do it, because he's willing to wait for as long as it takes. They kiss, a goodbye to end all goodbyes as far as Allison is concerned, and she is left to whatever of herself is left. She leaves for France not long after, in an attempt to let things settle and give her time to find herself.

⇏ WELCOME TO THE NEW AGE ⇏
When Allison returns to Beacon Hills, it's as a fragile, repaired mirror. She left for France to put back the pieces of her life and her self, to find out who she was without werewolves and boyfriends and school, and it's evident that despite her excitement to be back with friends, she's still worried, and is walking on glass wherever she moves. She wants to be Allison again, but with everything that's happened, she's not quite sure who that is.

But she is Allison. Which means that when she sees Scott in school, she wants to talk to him. She knows that unless they have the time to talk things out, to clear up whatever is left over from their break-up, she won't be able to move on. When her class is attacked by birds, she wants to know why. When a strange woman comes up and leaves an imprint on her and Lydia's arms, she wants to know what it's about and why she asked for Scott. She's just as determined, stubborn, and curious as before, but this time she has experience, she has the chance to look at a situation and know where she's been before. When Derek tells her she needs evidence about her mark, she goes out to find it for herself, because she will still be Allison Argent at the end of the day, and whoever that girl ends up to be, she wants to be able to look her reflection in the eye. Determined, driven, and desperate to find her place in this world, she does what she knows needs to be done, sees things from a different - trained - perspective. She's stubborn but can be persuaded, analytical from the outside and confident in the midst of it. This new Allison is also an independent Allison. It's one who is wary to trust, because of how she's been hurt in the past, and quick to jump in on her own because of her need to prove - to herself, and to everyone else - that she can.

She is also prepared to fix her mistakes. Being able to face the person she become, and the things she did, was one of the hardest things for her to do, but she's doing it. When she messes up, she goes out to fix it, no matter if it's dangerous or a threat to her life. As long as she's smart about her hunting, she can hunt, because she can't let (more) innocent people die because of her. Her moral compass is strong, but so is her loyalty to her friends and family, and Scott, wherever he lands on that spectrum. For Allison, it's a matter of proving to herself that she doesn't need Scott, despite wanting to be around him, despite worrying and stressing and constantly wondering where he is and what he's doing. Scott's self-sacrificing tendencies kicked a new gear up in Allison, where if Scott won't worry about his own safety, she will. This protectiveness ends up applying to all her closer friends - Scott, Lydia, Stiles and Isaac as the weeks go on. And when Beacon Hills is thrown back into the supernatural chaos it has become accustomed to, Allison is right there with them, helping Scott and Isaac and even Derek to take care of the alpha pack, and to go on a search for the darach. When their parents are taken by Jennifer, to be used as sacrifices, Allison throws herself into finding them, whatever it takes. She will not lose the only family she has left, she won't. Even if it means letting that darkness into her heart.

Allison used to find herself in a constant battle between the bigger picture and her smaller circle. With the loss to her family that she suffered, she'd almost violently protective of her friends, and while she may not agree with what they plan she will do whatever is in her power to help them - including helping Derek Hale, someone who had been enemy number one for so long, if it meant helping Scott, Isaac and Boyd. She will do whatever it takes to keep those people safe, because that scope is enough for her to handle. For the majority of the season, at least, and it shifts even further at the end when things are all said and done. By finding that balance in her life between being able to protect her friends and family, and find herself, Allison convinces her father to start hunting again but by a new code. We protect those who cannot protect themselves. Scott's always tried to save everyone, it's in his blood, but Allison had to start small to get there.

It's not until that darkness resettles that Allison starts experiencing even more problems. Through it all, she's seeing haunting visions of her dead aunt, and those hallucinations are pulling her right out of reality and into a state that has, on more than one occasion, almost caused her to harm one of her friends. She also can't trust her body anymore, shaking hands making it near to impossible to shoot. This is a test for Allison, because when it came down to it and she wasn't sure she would ever be able to trust anyone around her, at least she could trust her own abilities. Now what is there to stop her from becoming a monster? Again? It's frustrating for her to try and keep footing and relevance in a world filled with supernatural creatures, or even other hunters, who can do so much more than she can. Who can actually help. But Allison will keep trying, because she has to be able to help.

But she's also bigger than just her hunting. She's compassionate, caring, friendly when she wants and funny when she can. She dimples when she laughs and she's sarcastic when its called for, and she loves. Her friends, her dad, and she's working on herself - it's a harder battle than the rest, with the guilt she carries, the understanding that everything she did was a choice and the consequences too - but she's trying. She's working on it, just as she's working on dealing with that darkness in her heart, that heaviness in her chest. She's someone, for sure, and she's getting closer to accepting that this someone is her.

⇏ TARGET PRACTICE
The thing about Allison is that before she even knew her parents were hunters, they were preparing her for the fight. Gymnastics and Archery were just two of the many things that her parents introduced her to growing up, and it's those two that she clung to the most. Moving around a lot meant that she didn't have much time to really make friends, but these hobbies gave her an outlet and a chance to practice and learn no matter where she went or what was going on. Archery is something she continues to do now, as it is one of the ways that she feels like she can protect herself, and honestly she's quite talented at it, hitting tiny targets at almost impossible distances.

⇏ HUNTER'S DAUGHTER
There was a time during Allison's first year at Beacon Hills where she was terrified. It was one of a few, yes, but it involved being locked in a school with absolutely no way to protect herself. She depended on her boyfriend, Scott, who did not think it was important to tell her what was really going on. After getting out of that school, she made a vow that she would never be that vulnerable again. Being born an Argent meant that she already had an advantage in that field, for her family was in the business of being armed and powerful. Hunters, to be specific, known to hunt dangerous creatures that stalk the night and prey on innocent human beings. Allison was brought into this family secret during that first year at Beacon Hills, and taught the ways of their family. Men grew up to be soldiers, and women, leaders. She was taught self defense, quick-attacks, strategy and the basics of hunting both regular animals and supernatural. They taught her the basics to most weapons, vehicles, and fighting stiles to make the job easier, and her arrows were updated with special arrow-tips as she continued to learn the harsh reality of her world. A reality her parents tried to keep from her. These skills stick with her, even if she and her father have stopped hunting, because there are some things that just stick. Allison still wants to know that she can always protect herself, when the situation calls for it, even if she's no longer living that life.

⇏ MORTALITY IS KEY
Or in clearer terms: teenage-dom. Allison, unlike Scott or Isaac or Derek, has no supernatural ability. She is human, through and through, though trained and armed. When you cut her, she bleeds, and she does not heal in minutes. She is subject to her emotions, her hormones, and her body betraying her in all the ways that bodies tend to do. She's a relatively new hunter, which means she's not quite mastered the ability to conceal all of her emotions, and especially not her weaknesses. There is a disconnect between what she thinks she can do and what she can actually accomplish, and while that confidence has saved her life and the lives of others, it also ends her in situations that could be avoided, just because she believes so completely that she can handle it. That she can run at the same pace as everyone else, no matter their supernatural speed or strength.

unfortunately, it is these gentle wolves who are the most dangerous ones of all.

For a hunter, the simple fact that she is being known as The Wolf is going to be problematic for her. It doesn't help much that with the role come a few extra abilities that she will have to learn to control. The first being that she can, and will, shift into a wolf, roughly the same size as she is as a human if not a little bigger. This shift is brought on by certain emotions, the most important of them being the hunger for something she can't have. And I'm not talking about food. The problem for Allison will be wanting, despite knowing better - wanting to go home, but she can't. Wanting to protect everyone, but she can't. Wanting to be normal again, but she can't. Things that she wishes for, or wants, even though she knows she shouldn't or can't. Until she learns to control this power, she will not be able to hold back the change, control her actions once changed, or even remember what she does as a wolf - everything instead being driven by her instincts and subconscious desires.

And then there are the few extra abilities she gains as a wolf. Other than the extra speed, heightened senses, and increased strength, she will also be able to mimic voices and she has the ability to unhinge her jaw and consume entire beings - within range. Her limits are that of a man of 6'7" in height and roughly 400 lbs, and anything smaller, and she prefers (at least the wolf prefers) for them to be alive.

⇏ one cell phone
⇏ two chinese ring daggers
⇏ one family pendant pendant

[ if allison was being perfectly honest, she'd half expected this to be some kind of hallucination. which, after spending an hour or so just wandering around the place, she realizes was a stupid assumption in the first place. her hallucinations are always of her aunt, are always dark and are usually of the hospital, or the woods. this? this is some other kind of crazy. some kind of crazy that she's not really a big fan of.

the...people? villagers? whoever they were were nice enough, even if they didn't seem to explain anything and just kept telling her they were happy she was here. even if she was a wolf.

what did that even mean?

but it doesn't matter much now, does it? allison just needs to find her way back. find out if she's here alone or if anyone else she knows is here. she has most of her things still on her, but that doesn't really help if she can't get back home. and whatever this book was supposed to be? actually...allison stops for a moment, staring down at it before she's hit with a sudden curiosity. one of the villagers had told her it was a way to talk to everyone in the town, that if she just wrote down her message...

totally crazy. insane, even, but... why not. ]

I'm not really sure how this is supposed to work. But does anyone know how to get home? This whole fairy tale story thing is cool, but I have school tomorrow. [ and, you know, demons and family and important things. ] Also, does anyone know why I'm not getting any service?

She hadn't been sure what would happen, when she stepped in front of the door to her father's study. He was packing up his weapons, setting them in the foam for storage. There was a tension in the air that she recognized, the same tension that hung when she had talked to him about helping, when she snuck out to that abandoned mall.

A disconnect between what they think they want, and what they know they should.

"Back to storage?"

Her father's back tenses, before he closes the lid. "That's the plan."

She fidgets with her hands, looks down as she steps forward. Our daughters to be Leaders he'd once told her, and she's still got a ways to go. But it's the steps that matter, the steps inside his study, towards him. "What if I've got a different plan?" Deaton's voice still rings in her ears, when it's quiet enough. When she closes her eyes she can see his face, the shadows and lines of it, as he told her. He told them about the consequences of doing what they did, how it would change them and the city around them. The dangers they'd face, the darkness they'd feel, and the struggles they'd fight, and they'd all agreed anyway. She can't even bring herself to question the decision, especially not when she sees her father look over his shoulder at her. Here. Alive. She couldn't lose him too. "Deaton said that what we did in order to find you might draw things here." Her feet move her in front of his desk, as her confidence grows. "Make Beacon Hills kind of a beacon again."

"I hope not."

But even then, she knows he's starting to understand. Women might be leaders, men soldiers, but her father was one of the most intelligent men she'd ever met. He knows exactly what she's trying to say, and waits for her to say it. It's her decision to make, and he'll follow.

"I was thinking that maybe I should be prepared." Her throat constricts momentarily at the memory of each time she couldn't keep up - mostly without her bow, but the mere occurrence didn't sit well with her. She needed to be able to keep up. "Learn to be a better fighter, learn all the things that you can still teach me."

She must be imagining the pause there, the way her suggestion hangs in the air. It's not a question, because she's made up her mind, but in this she still worries, still carries that little ball of self-doubt right in the bottom of her gut. He is still her father and he still can tell her know, overpower her, just like he did in the vault. But when he turns to her, she can tell he's not about to tell her that. She can tell that he's agreeing.

"And maybe a few things more."

Her back stiffens a little, then. Pulls her shoulders back and makes her taller. There's a tension in her jaw that hadn't been there before, because while she's gotten him to agree to step one, step two is where she draws the line. Makes her stand. "But we're going to have a new code." She sees the confusion and she doesn't even blink. "Nous protégeons ceux qui ne peuvent pas se protéger."

This is the silence she was waiting for. The moment where Allison Argent makes her stand. Because the Argent family has lived for centuries, has fought and protected and lived by the code. But Allison has also watched it destroy her life, her friends, and her family. She has watched it all crumble around her, and as she felt the ground cracking underneath her, she found her footing. Things are going to be different. Things are going to work. But only if her father believes in her, will help her built this new life for them, in the city they came back to.

"We protect those who cannot protect themselves."

She doesn't need the verbal approval. She can see it in his eyes.

dai_choo_choo

Before moving to Beacon Hills, Allison Argent's life had been primarily about one thing: finding herself. With a father who was a highly respected and federally licensed weapons distributor, they moved around just about as much as Allison's interests did. From painting to poetry to gymnastics to archery, when Allison made friends only to leave them, it was her hobbies that stuck. Her parents encouraged the activity, for it kept their daughter fit and social and gave her a place where she could feel confident in her skills and her skin. Allison's interests narrowed as the years went on, to primarily gymnastics and archery, both of which she decided to leave behind when she came to Beacon Hills. It was a new town, a new (high) school, and it was time for new friends. Because that's what she wanted, friends that weren't her parents and her Aunt Kate, but little did she know that it was this need to be accepted and to find her rhythm that would eventually uncover secrets she hadn't even known her parents were hiding. And with those secrets would give Allison a chance to find herself, destroy that self, and recreate everything it is she wanted to be.

⇏ BREAKING IN, SHAPING UP ⇏
The Allison we meet in the first episode of Teen Wolf is a young Allison - not by years, but by experience. She's new to town and ready to make friends, to focus on her life as a high school student, and to maybe find a boyfriend - and for the first bit of her time there, that's what she does. She and Scott click fast and early, because for Allison she craves the connection. Friends are easy, are something she does and redoes often, but first loves? First loves are different, and Scott was adorable and sweet and caring and she felt everything the songs told her when they kissed.

The Allison that Scott fell in love with was bright. She laughed and loved as easily as she could, she flirted and kissed and set her feet in the sand that was Beacon Hills. Soon enough she had friends, good friends, and she had a boyfriend and she was making the grades, and that's all she could really ask for at the time. A carefree and confident girl, Allison came across as what could be considered normal. Or as normal as she could get, with a hunter father and a werewolf boyfriend - neither descriptor she was aware of, either. As far as Allison knew, her father was over-protective and Scott was perfect, though sometimes strange, and her life was finally going right. Her parents promised they'd stick there for High School, which meant she could finally make a name for herself in the way she wanted to, and things were going just as she planned.

It's this confidence in herself that led her further down this road of discovery and destruction. A naturally curious girl, Allison couldn't help but take up the challenge her favorite Aunt Kate gave her - a little research on her family history. She starts to find some interesting stories about a particular myth, and Scott becomes distant. Very distant. Up until the night they're attacked in the school, and Allison has a reality check, because when everything goes right, things seem perfect, and all it takes is one bad night for it all to come crashing down. For a girl who was so confident and sure of herself, she comes to realize just how powerless she really is, left to be locked in a room while Scott ran out to save them all. Unable to help build self-igniting bombs, or protect her friends. This is the moment when Allison decides she wants to change - she breaks up with Scott, tells her Aunt Kate that she wants to be trained, and she wants to change.

But this is the first of many times that Allison finds herself in over her head. Kate shows her what her family really does, shows her Derek tied to a wall, being tortured and Allison...well. At first she freaks, which is understandable considering the circumstances, but it is the moment he gets pulled over sobbing in her car that she realizes how disgusted she really is in herself. She asked for this, she wanted to be trained, and she's acting like a little girl. This is really the first time we see the Argent blood in her, the moment when the switch flips and Allison decides that this is what she wants to do, and will do.

⇏ WAKING UP TO ASH AND DUST ⇏
The night of the Winter Formal is a complicated one - one where Allison's two worlds collide for the worst, and end with Lydia in the hospital and the realization that her (ex) boyfriend is a werewolf that her father and aunt have been hunting. When Lydia's found, it's obvious she's been attacked by an alpha, and Allison's father attempts to push Kate and Allison both out of state. That doesn't sit well with Allison, because of what happened with Scott, and it doesn't sit well with Kate because the action is still here. This leads to that and Allison joins Kate to hunt down the alpha that tried to kill her best friend. Allison tries to keep up because this is what she asked for and this is still her Aunt. Her favorite Aunt. So she goes, and she helps, and she watches as werewolves fight werewolves and her Aunt and Father fight too and eventually it comes down to a team-effort between them all to light Peter up. But not until after she watches her Aunt's throat get ripped from her as Allison just stands and watches. In a clash of what she knew and what she finds out, Allison and Scott make up, realizing that their lives are still intertwined and that's okay.

Or, okay for them. Allison's parents are anything but okay with their daughter dating a werewolf, which sends Allison and Scott into a secret relationship, one that grows more and more complicated as the semester moves on. Scott's distracted by the supernatural side of life, Allison is dealing with her grandfather (the hunter arsenal) coming to town for her aunt's funeral, and staying on ground of revenge. Derek starts to build a pack, and Allison starts her 'official' training, which involves staged kidnapping and impromptu training sessions. She's torn between her family and Scott, because she's not supposed to have ties with one side, and feels uneasy about what is being kept from her on the other. It's around this time that Allison really starts to be concerned with how involved she is in the life. Now that she knows, she should know everything, and it becomes painfully obvious how little she's actually being told. But at the same time, she desperately clings to her normal, teenager side of life - a life that her parents have all but decided doesn't exist anymore. She tries to be confident, she tries to not be jealous of girls (Erica) hitting on Scott, and she tries to keep up with the Kanima and the Argents and this idea of duty and honor and our sons are raised to be soldiers, our daughter leaders. When she can barely keep her own mind straight, Allison's not sure how she feels about leading, despite the talks she has with her father about responsibility and honor. She just feels in over her head, trying to keep her head above water, living two different lives and needing to find a foothole. It doesn't help that it's around this time that her feelings for Scott shift - she loves him. Loves him more than she can stand, but Scott is starting to fight the 'my happiness or the happiness of others' fight, which leaves Allison feeling a little betrayed. Misunderstandings lead to people getting hurt, and Allison is struggling to keep up. She wants to be included and she wants to help, but she's never really sure how, and this struggle with the added issue of her own teenage-driven self esteem issues, gives Allison even less footing to cling to at the next big change.

Allison's next big shift happens when she gets a call at Lydia's birthday party, a call no teenage girl should get. Her mother has taken her life, and Allison has no idea why. It is at this emotionally fragile stage that her grandfather - Gerard - steps in, and Allison is basically puppetted around from there on out. She's driven by guilt - by the last thing she told her mother, by the fact she couldn't help save her, by the fact it must have been something she did to spur it on. But then Allison remembers her mother's words, how pain will push her to strength, and while Allison has been avoiding pain to desperately cling to being a teenager, she realizes that's no longer an option. At the death of her mother, Allison looks for a new rock to lean on, and that is when her grandfather steps in. One moment we see Allison being handed a note by Gerard, told it's from her mother. The next we see her destroying her room, getting rid of any and everything person, everything immature, and when she redresses it's in all black as she prepares for revenge. For her new purpose. This is one of the clearest moments we get of Allison's drive, her ability to make a decision and stick to it, no matter the circumstances or the situation. She has chosen to take her place in the family, and without her mother she is next in line to lead, and she does. She steps right up and takes that position with a clenched jaw and forced nonchalance.

She gives the impression of what she assumes she's supposed to be - unfeeling, unforgiving and malicious. She's strong and powerful and she's everything she assumes she has to be, everything that Gerard tells her she needs to be. She hunts down Erica and Boyd and Isaac without issue, attacks them and ties them up and feels no mercy, because this is what she's supposed to do. This is who she is supposed to be. Even when her father tries to talk sense into her, Allison doesn't listen, because Gerdard is leading her in a certain direction and that is a direction she can take. While she thinks she's taken on the part of the leader, Gerdard is still pulling the strings, and Allison has no idea. She trusts her grandfather, because if you can't trust family, who can you trust? A best friend that poisons you to near-insanity? A boyfriend who is a monster? Her whole life she's depended and trusted her family, so there's no reason she couldn't now.

It's not until the climactic end of the season that Allison realizes how wrong she's been. When Gerard's true colors are shown, it sinks in just how much she's been manipulated, used, and abused by her grandfather, a man she had put her trust in so fully. He nearly kills her in his attempt to get what he wants, and Allison is crushed, the foundation she had built this new her on top of disappearing from beneath her feet. They manage to stop the kanima, cure him actually, and it doesn't end there. Not for Allison. The worst of it comes later, because where everyone else can go home with the great feeling of a job well done, Allison has to deal with the fact she has been constantly manipulated by her grandfather, has done more horrible things than she can imagine, and has no idea where she stands. The guilt weighs down on her more than anything; guilt for her mother's death, guilt for hunting down Erica and Boyd, guilt for the fact she was all but ready to kill Scott...so she does the only thing she thinks she can do, which is break it off with him. She can't deal with a relationship right now when she can barely handle her own life, and Scott says it's okay. It's fine. Whatever she needs to do, he'll let her do it, because he's willing to wait for as long as it takes. They kiss, a goodbye to end all goodbyes as far as Allison is concerned, and she is left to whatever of herself hasn't fallen apart. She leaves for France not long after, in an attempt to let things settle and give her time to find herself.

⇏ WELCOME TO THE NEW AGE ⇏
When Allison returns to Beacon Hills, it's as a fragile, repaired mirror. She left for France to put back the pieces of her life and her self, to find out who she was without werewolves and boyfriends and school, and it's evident that despite her excitement to be back with friends, she's still worried, and is walking on glass wherever she moves. She wants to be Allison again, but with everything that's happened, she's not quite sure who that is.

But she is Allison. Which means that when she sees Scott in school, and wants to talk to him. When her class is attacked by birds, she wants to know why. When a strange woman comes up and leaves an imprint on her and Lydia's arms, she wants to know why she asked for Scott and what it means. She's just as determined, stubborn, and curious as before, but this time she has experience, she has the chance to look at a situation and know where she's been before. When Derek tells her she needs evidence about her mark, she goes out to find it for herself, because she will still be Allison Argent at the end of the day, and whoever that girl ends up to be, she wants to be able to look her reflection in the eye. Determined, driven, and desperate to find her place in this world, she does what she knows needs to be done, sees things from a different - trained - perspective. She's stubborn but can be persuaded, analytical from the outside and confident in the midst of it. This new Allison is also an independent Allison. It's one who is wary to trust, because of how she's been hurt in the past, and quick to jump in on her own because of her need to prove - to herself, and to everyone else - that she can.

She is also prepared to fix her mistakes. Being able to face the person she become, and the things she did, was one of the hardest things for her to do, but she's doing it. When she messes up, she goes out to fix it, no matter if it's dangerous or a threat to her life. As long as she's smart about her hunting, she can hunt, because she can't let (more) innocent people die because of her. Her sense of morals is strong, but so is her loyalty to her friends and family, and Scott, wherever he lands on that spectrum. For Allison, it's a matter of proving to herself that she doesn't need Scott, despite wanting to be around him, despite worrying and stressing and constantly wondering where he is and what he's doing. Scott's self-sacrificing tendencies kicked a new gear up in Allison, where if Scott won't worry about his own safety, she will. This protectiveness ends up applying to all her closer friends - Scott, Lydia, Stiles and Isaac as the weeks go on.

Allison used to find herself in a constant battle between the bigger picture and her smaller circle. With the loss to her family that she suffered, she'd almost violently protective of her friends, and while she may not agree with what they plan she will do whatever is in her power to help them - including helping Derek Hale, someone who had been enemy number one for so long, if it meant helping Scott, Isaac and Boyd. She will do whatever it takes to keep those people safe, because that scope is enough for her to handle. For the majority of the season, at least, and it shifts even further at the end when things are all said and done. By finding that balance in her life between being able to protect her friends and family, and find herself, Allison convinces her father to start hunting again but by a new code. We protect those who cannot protect themselves. Scott's always tried to save everyone, it's in his blood, but Allison had to start small to get there.

But she's also bigger than just her hunting. She's compassionate, caring, friendly when she wants and funny when she can. She dimples when she laughs and she's sarcastic when she wants, and she loves. Her friends, her dad, and she's working on herself - it's a harder battle than the rest, with the guilt she carries, the understanding that everything she did was a choice and the consequences too. But she's working on it, just as she's working on dealing with that darkness in her heart, that heaviness in her chest. She's someone, for sure, and she's getting closer to accepting that this someone is her.

⇏ TARGET PRACTICE
The thing about Allison is that before she even knew her parents were hunters, they were preparing her for the fight. Gymnastics and Archery were just two of the many things that her parents introduced her to growing up, and it's those two that she clung to the most. Moving around a lot meant that she didn't have much time to really make friends, but these hobbies gave her an outlet and a chance to practice and learn no matter where she went or what was going on. Archery is something she continues to do now, as it is one of the ways that she feels like she can protect herself, and honestly she's quite talented at it, hitting tiny targets at almost impossible distances.

⇏ HUNTER'S DAUGHTER
There was a time during Allison's first year at Beacon Hills where she was terrified. It was one of a few, yes, but it involved being locked in a school with absolutely no way to protect herself. She depended on her boyfriend, Scott, who did not think it was important to tell her what was really going on. After getting out of that school, she made a vow that she would never be that vulnerable again. Being born an Argent meant that she already had an advantage in that field, for her family was in the business of being armed and powerful. Hunters, to be specific, known to hunt dangerous creatures that stalk the night and prey on innocent human beings. Allison was brought into this family secret during that first year at Beacon Hills, and taught the ways of their family. Men grew up to be soldiers, and women, leaders. She was taught self defense, quick-attacks, strategy and the basics of hunting both regular animals and supernatural. They taught her the basics to most weapons, vehicles, and fighting stiles to make the job easier, and her arrows were updated with special arrow-tips as she continued to learn the harsh reality of her world. A reality her parents tried to keep from her. These skills stick with her, even if she and her father have stopped hunting, because there are some things that just stick. Allison still wants to know that she can always protect herself, when the situation calls for it, even if she's no longer living that life.

⇏ MORTALITY IS KEY
Or in clearer terms: teenage-dom. Allison, unlike Scott or Isaac or Derek, has no supernatural ability. She is human, through and through, though trained and armed. When you cut her, she bleeds, and she does not heal in minutes. She is subject to her emotions, her hormones, and her body betraying her in all the ways that bodies tend to do. She's a relatively new hunter, which means she's not quite mastered the ability to conceal all of her emotions, and especially not her weaknesses. There is a disconnect between what she thinks she can do and what she can actually accomplish, and while that confidence has saved her life and the lives of others, it also ends her in situations that could be avoided, just because she believes so completely that she can handle it. That she can run at the same pace as everyone else, no matter their supernatural speed or strength.

She hadn't been sure what would happen, when she stepped in front of the door to her father's study. He was packing up his weapons, setting them in the foam for storage. There was a tension in the air that she recognized, the same tension that hung when she had talked to him about helping, when she snuck out to that abandoned mall.

A disconnect between what they think they want, and what they know they should.

"Back to storage?"

Her father's back tenses, before he closes the lid. "That's the plan."

She fidgets with her hands, looks down as she steps forward. Our daughters to be Leaders he'd once told her, and she's still got a ways to go. But it's the steps that matter, the steps inside his study, towards him. "What if I've got a different plan?" Deaton's voice still rings in her ears, when it's quiet enough. When she closes her eyes she can see his face, the shadows and lines of it, as he told her. He told them about the consequences of doing what they did, how it would change them and the city around them. The dangers they'd face, the darkness they'd feel, and the struggles they'd fight, and they'd all agreed anyway. She can't even bring herself to question the decision, especially not when she sees her father look over his shoulder at her. Here. Alive. She couldn't lose him too. "Deaton said that what we did in order to find you might draw things here." Her feet move her in front of his desk, as her confidence grows. "Make Beacon Hills kind of a beacon again."

"I hope not."

But even then, she knows he's starting to understand. Women might be leaders, men soldiers, but her father was one of the most intelligent men she'd ever met. He knows exactly what she's trying to say, and waits for her to say it. It's her decision to make, and he'll follow.

"I was thinking that maybe I should be prepared." Her throat constricts momentarily at the memory of each time she couldn't keep up - mostly without her bow, but the mere occurrence didn't sit well with her. She needed to be able to keep up. "Learn to be a better fighter, learn all the things that you can still teach me."

She must be imagining the pause there, the way her suggestion hangs in the air. It's not a question, because she's made up her mind, but in this she still worries, still carries that little ball of self-doubt right in the bottom of her gut. He is still her father and he still can tell her know, overpower her, just like he did in the vault. But when he turns to her, she can tell he's not about to tell her that. She can tell that he's agreeing.

"And maybe a few things more."

Her back stiffens a little, then. Pulls her shoulders back and makes her taller. There's a tension in her jaw that hadn't been there before, because while she's gotten him to agree to step one, step two is where she draws the line. Makes her stand. "But we're going to have a new code." She sees the confusion and she doesn't even blink. "Nous protégeons ceux qui ne peuvent pas se protéger."

This is the silence she was waiting for. The moment where Allison Argent makes her stand. Because the Argent family has lived for centuries, has fought and protected and lived by the code. But Allison has also watched it destroy her life, her friends, and her family. She has watched it all crumble around her, and as she felt the ground cracking underneath her, she found her footing. Things are going to be different. Things are going to work. But only if her father believes in her, will help her built this new life for them, in the city they came back to.

"We protect those who cannot protect themselves."

She doesn't need the verbal approval. She can see it in his eyes.

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dai_choo_choo

disarmingly

⇏ JUST A NORMAL GIRL ⇏

The thing about Allison Argent is that she had been a relatively normal girl. Sure, her parents moved around a lot, but that hadn't done anything for her growth. She didn't have long to make a lot of close friends, so she was close to her family, in particular her aunt Kate - her father's younger sister. Much younger, who tended to act closer in age with Allison than her father. But she also had a great relationship with her mother and father, very open and close, because when your father moves from town to town selling firearms to police forces, it's hard to really have friends. Her parents made sure she tried out everything she could, but the things that really stuck were archery and gymnastics, and as time went on and the towns changed, these two hobbies kept her involved. She stopped taking part in gymnastics and archery around the same time, before she came to Beacon Hills, because she'd wanted a fresh start. She was in high school, so why not?

Her first day at Beacon Hills high school was like most first days - a little awkward, trying to be as nice as she could to as many people, and make it through the day. The things that stand out are the people she meets (a boy, who gives her a pen before she even asks, and a girl and boy - Lydia and Jackson - who she hits it off with immediately) and the rumors flying around school. The night before a body had been found in the woods, and in a relatively small Californian town, that was definitely something. Allison didn't take too much part in it, just trying to settle in as quickly as she would with as few looks, and set off to something that was too familiar for her: the first day at a new school. Lydia Martin, who Allison soon finds out is something of the queen of the school, is the girl that she attaches onto easiest so she continues to follow her around for the day for that safety. Even to lacrosse practice that afternoon where Lydia's boyfriend - Jackson Whittemore - is something of the king. Allison asks Lydia about the boy she met in that first class - Scott - to find out that he's also on the team, though something of a nobody. When he shows off what seems like natural talent (more like supernatural), Allison attention is caught.

It's not until later that night when Allison is driving home that she really gets a chance to talk to Scott, under fairly horrible circumstances. In the dark and the rain she accidentally clips a dog, so she finds the closest animal clinic and - as a hysterical mess - pounds on the door asking for help, so worried about the dog she can barely contain herself, and Scott offers to help. Allison is embarrassed that Scott saw her in such a state, but more relieved that he was able to help the dog, and after they talk for a bit while she finishes calming down. He offers her some dry clothes and asks her to a party, to which she agrees. The party itself is that Friday, and it starts off pretty well - cute guy, fun night, and she's happy to finally get a chance to be a normal teenager, rather than just the new girl. She's oblivious to the full moon, or how it affects Scott, until he completely disappears on her at the party and she has to get a drive home from an apparent friend of his, Derek Hale. Allison isn't happy with Scott for what he did, but when he finds her after school that next day she forgives him easily. While she might not want to necessarily forgive him, there is just something about that crooked jaw and how he seems to want to be honest with her, even if he isn't, that warms her heart. When he asks her to trusts him, even if she'll probably end up regretting it, she agrees. She makes plans with Lydia (and Jackson and Scott) to go out after the lacrosse game, and she's happy. Happy to have a boy who is cute (really cute) interested in her, happy to have a group of friends that she can go out with, and happy to think that her life is finally going to be normal. Normal, average teenager.

Despite her father trying to use the recent animal attacks (a.k.a. the dead bodies being found all over town), Allison sneaks out to go to the bowling date with Lydia, Jackson and Scott. Something about this life in Beacon Hills has awakened her rebellious side, and she literally climbs out the window in order to go on this date. While they're there, Allison proves herself to be an expect bowler - another example of something she used to do with her family, as well as her natural athletic and competitive nature - and she tries to help Scott who lacks these same things. She having a great time, despite the fact that there is obvious tension between Scott and Lydia and Jackson, but Allison just tries to play the mediator. Allison also proves herself to be very flirty on this date, trying to help Scott by telling him to relax and keep his mind off the pins by imagining her naked. As far as she's concerned, the night goes really well. She gets a goodnight kiss when Scott drops her off that night, and everything is great - because, for now, it's normal.

Not much later after that Allison's aunt Kate comes to town, who Allison is extremely close with. She's young, she's out-going, and she's one of the few constants in Allison's life. However, with things starting to (somewhat) settle down in Beacon Hills, Allison starts noticing something is a little off. It starts off when she catches her family in a lie - her father goes out late because Kate's having car trouble, a 'flat tire', but then Kate talks about how her car just needed a jump. It's off and weird and has Allison, suddenly, questioning everything else that's a little strange in her life. She doesn't really want to, because she doesn't want to break whatever good thing she's gotten started, but that's a little hard to ignore. It gets pushed to the back of her mind when she and Scott plan 'a study date' - to which Lydia very wisely advises to have condoms on hand. Red flags also go up when she sees Scott talking to Derek - someone who Scott had explicitly stated he was not friends with - but she pushes that aside too. She wants a normal life, and doesn't want to be bothered by everything that doesn't seem right, so she drives home. They start 'studying', which for high school is code word for make out, and when they're interuppted by a call Scott starts to go through her room. Finds a picture of Aunt Kate and her dad, Chris, as well as some old photographs and poetry that Allison claims she was 'trying out' but wasn't very good at. With how often she moved, Allison was constantly trying to find that one place where she belonged, because while she had her family she wanted to have her skill, and when Scott asks her what she is good at, she takes him down to show him her garage. She shows him her bow, while he's more concerned about the gun collection, and right when things are starting to settle back down Chris and Kate show up and somehow, Scott gets invited to dinner. Which is code, in parenting by the Argents, as interrogation. Kate tries to buffer, but Allison and Scott both end up suffering through the awkward dinner conversation that includes fatherly tests, conversations about shooting rabid dogs, and basically anything else that could make the night as bad as possible. Which is where Allison is wrong, because Kate finds out that someone's been rummaging through her bags (Scott), and after a very long and very awkward (and threatening) conversation, Allison pulls out the condom she stole from Kate's bag before Scott came over. She owns up to it, because it's her life and what she did, and the look on her father's face almost gives her a sense of pride. A.k.a. her rebellious streak.

The next day is her birthday, and Allison gets more than she bargained for with her gifts. For one, her Aunt Kate gives her a family heirloom and the piece of advice to look it up. For another, she shows up at school to a not-boyfriend telling her she should skip. Granted, he doesn't even know it's her birthday when they get to school because Allison is embarrassed by the fact she's a year older than everyone else, but when he correctly guesses it's because she moved around so much her mood is brightened immediately. Scott, mister not-boyfriend with all the ideas, decides that they should skip class to give her the perfect day, and while it is one hundred percent not like her (or the old her) she agrees. And the day does go perfectly, up until they realize they forgot about parent teacher conferences that night and end up getting busted for playing hooky. Their parents are obviously furious when they arrive and start blaming the other parent's child when a commotion breaks out and a mountain lion - obviously the one to blame for all the killings in town - starts running around the parking lot and is shot dead by Chris Argent.

⇏ AND THEN SHE GREW UP ⇏

Following her Aunt Kate's advice, Allison does some digging and finds out that the sigil on her necklace dates back to the 18th century when her ancestor had been involved in a situation that was very much like the one in Beacon Hills - similar animal attacks and chaos - and she learns that the animal to blame looks something like a very large wolf. She thinks this is incredibly interesting and continues to research more and more into this story, ending up researching the lore and ancient stories of werewolves as she goes. Granted, Scott is hiding in Allison's closet the entire time she learns this from her Aunt, and in turn tries to avoid her at school thinking it isn't safe. She doesn't notice at first, but does feel a little disconnected since his phone is broken - Jackson ends up stepping in at this point and tries to make nice with her. Allison's a little suspicious of him, because he's not nearly as easy to read as Scott and that bothers her a little, but she agrees to try. Scott doesn't seem thrilled to be lab partners with her either, which Allison is very confused about because last she checked things seemed fine.

And then that night he stands her up. At twenty-six minutes and counting, Lydia and Jackson show up to pick her up and take her out because they don't approve of Scott and will jump on any opportunity to keep Allison to themselves. She almost agrees to go out with them when she receives a weird text from Scott asking her to meet her at the school. Despite the extreme levels of sketch that come with that text, Allison starts to worry and convinces Jackson to drive over to the school. Just to check it out. And, of course, it's dark and closed and she shouldn't go in - but there's a propped open door and Scott sending that kind of message? Something is going on. Something big, if Scott's actions earlier that day had been anything to go by. So - after Jackson tells her to be careful - she goes in. She catches Scott and Stiles in the lobby and Scott is all but happy to see her - and when she explains that he was the one to text her, things get a little out of hand. It's not long before Jackson and Lydia join them inside the school, and Scott is acting panicked and clipped with her, which in turns makes her just as panicked (if not more) but trying to remain calm. Scott's keeping something from her, because he won't tell her who sent the message though it apparently wasn't him, and Lydia gets hung up on when she tries and calls the police department. It's just them.

Eventually they end up getting themselves locked in a classroom - after Stiles punches Jackson and Scott blames Derek and Allison still has no idea what is going on - and it just so happens that the classroom they go to is a science lab. Lydia, miss Queen of the School and Genius of the year, is able to create self-igniting molotov cocktails from the simple ingredients around the room. Scott decides he will be the one to go out there and get the keys off the dead janitor's body so they can leave down the fire escape, and Allison tries to convince him not to do it. There is a killer running around the school and they're all locked up in the second floor and he wants to go out there? Totally unarmed and unprepared? He's going to get himself killed and she tries to get him to see that, but Scott goes anyway. Even when Allison calls him out on lying. She's terrified, with shaking hands and on the brink of sobbing, and it's Jackson that goes to her aid. Tries to calm her town.

Of course, the molotov cocktails fail thanks to the fact Jackson was too distracted to hand Lydia the correct compound. Not that any of them know that. That, or the fact that Scott gets as far as the door to their classroom under the spell of the alpha with the intent on killing them. It's Allison's voice that calms him down enough to get back in control and seal his friends in the room until the cops arrive. She doesn't know any of this, and is instead caught up on the fact the he left them, lied to her, and wouldn't tell her what happened after the fact. She feels betrayed, coddled, and when Scott comes over to apologize she breaks up with him on grounds that she doesn't think she can trust him anymore.

Things don't pick up until a few days later when the school reopens, and that whole time is Allison questioning herself if she made the right decision. She misses Scott, doesn't know if she reacted too harshly or just harshly enough, and what wasn't he telling her? She knows there's more, there has to be more, but no one will tell her what. So rather than sitting around in a pit of her own self-pity, Allison decides to make a change. She refuses to let herself be that defenseless and vulnerable ever again, and after talking to her Aunt Kate, she's given a taser gun and taught how to use it. In the middle of her lesson Allison ends up breaking down because of her relationship problems with Scott, because this was her first relationship and it ended on such an up-in-the-air note, she needs closure. She mentions Derek Hale and Kate gets a little weird, but she opens up about it all because out of everyone, Kate Argent is one of the few people she can trust. Kate ends up acting even weirder, and Allison is left feeling a little used about her opening up, so she goes to the only other person she thinks she can turn to - Jackson. She makes him promise not to laugh at her and he picks her up (during the full moon) to have a talk. They both agree that they don't think whatever was in the school was Derek Hale; he calls it a black shape and she informs him that she thinks her family knows more about what went down in the building than they do, and they (her dad and her aunt) weren't even there. She knows people closer to her than Scott are keeping secrets and that she feels a little lost.

The next day is full of Allison being oblivious of the werewolf drama around her - Scott is trying to make nice with her and remind her of their relationship (when he's actually trying to steal her necklace) and Jackson being extremely sweet to her, filling that hole that Scott left (when he's just trying to make Scott jealous) and Allison feels like things might actually start looking up.

She stumbles on the old, abandoned Hale mansion on a jog and - once again - her curiosity gets the better of her. She decides to check it out to find her own answers, only to be surprised to find that Kate had followed her. She knows Allison is looking for answers and a chance to become powerful, and while the taser was helpful it wouldn't always work. Kate tells Allison that she can help her if she gives her time, and then leaves. Bait, line and sinker, if we're being honest. Allison is given not only a chance to learn the truth, but to build herself up to the independent, strong and powerful woman she wants to be. But that's not it, either, because Allison starts putting together some pieces of her own. She tests out an arrow-head attachment her father was using to find that it explodes on impact and temporarily stuns whoever is close enough. She tases Scott when she realizes she's being followed, despite the fact that the only reason Scott was there was to return her necklace. That leaves enough of an impression on Allison that she decides to try and trust him again, and stops by Scott's house later that night to open up to him about all her suspicions. Scott is there, ready to listen, and she starts in on her story when they're interupped and Scott - once again - leaves Allison behind. After enough time for Allison to give up on this, she gets a text from Kate and follows it to an underground liar where Kate is keeping Derek chained up, and her eyes are opened up to the truth about werewolves, and what it is that her family does.

At first, Allison freaks, and ends up speeding and crying and generally freaking the fuck out about her life as a whole when she's pulled over. It actually disgusts her how much she's freaking out about this, and she demands that Sheriff Stilinski writes her a ticket just to prove she's not crying to get out of it. It acts as a sort of reality check for her - this is real, this is life, and she needs to stop being a baby and accept it. Especially since Derek is the one who nearly killed her in the school, and Allison's sights have been reset.

⇏ WAKING UP TO ASH AND DUST ⇏

Jackson ends up asking Allison to winter formal, and she agrees to go - mostly because some part of her is still trying for that normal life, or at least clinging to those last little bits of it. Werewolves are real and her favorite aunt is secretly terrifying, but a nice guy from school is who (co) captain of the lacrosse team still wants to go to the dance with her. Nevermind that he broke it off with her best (girl) friend, or that Jackson has been acting just as weird as Scott. She's going to go, and she's going to get revenge on Lydia while she does it (a girl doesn't make out with another girl's 'not' boyfriend in the coach's office, not in Allison's world). Of course, this night goes anything but planned - Jackson's an asshole, Lydia goes missing, and Scott's technically banned from the dance - but Allison considers it to be a decent night when she finds out that Scott's snuck in. They dance, and Scott tells her that he loves her, and Allison could honestly have stopped breathing right then and been happy. But as her life goes, that's not where it ends, because when she tries to sneak off with her not-boyfriend to have some privacy, her dad tries to kill him, and in the midst of the chaos she comes to realize that he's a werewolf and has been the entire time. No matter how much she tries, she can't seem to keep her two lives separate, and the more she learns the more she realizes they were never separate in the first place.

Chris orders Kate to go and take Allison out of state and to safety, but on the way she convinces Kate to stop by the hospital for her to see Lydia. As it turns out, when she went missing she ended up getting attacked by the Alpha (a.k.a. the werewolf everyone has been trying to find). After seeing what's been done to Lydia, she asks Kate if all werewolves end up killing people, if they're all violent. Her response is: "Yes, Allison, even Scott." It's a moment where Allison isn't sure what to believe, but out of everyone in her life (friends, family, Scott) Kate has been the only one to actually tell her the truth. So she trusts her, and decides to go with her to try and take down the alpha by any means necessary. But despite what she believes, Allison isn't ready. Not to really hunt, like the rest of her family, or to go after an alpha werewolf with Kate. Mostly because Kate is a little insane when it comes to hunting, and nearly kills Scott when Allison hesitates to do so. Chris shows up to try and stop Kate because it's against the code, and that's when the alpha finally appears - knocking Chris out and dragging Kate inside the mansion where she had trapped the entire Hale family in the basement and left them to burn. Allison watches the alpha kill her aunt who, while crazy, was still one of the closest people Allison had in her life. Once Kate's secret it out, and she's dead, the alpha goes after Allison only to be stopped by Derek and Scott who team up to take Peter down, but those two alone are not enough.

It's finally Allison stepping in (as well as a special appearance of Jackson and Stiles) that gives them the upper hand to finally take Peter down. And when it's all said and done, Allison approaches Scott while he's still in werewolf form, showing him she's not scared of him. Not anymore. Might not have ever - really - been. And then she kisses him, the kiss helping him shift back into his human form, and tells him she loves him. In that moment they're a little too distracted with each other, and Derek goes off on his own to really put an end to Peter life and taking the alpha status from him.

Season two begins with Scott and Allison playing a Supernatural Version of Romeo and Juliet - despite Allisons promise, with Scott at gunpoint, to never see him again. Which lasts for all of however long it takes for Chris to turn his back, and Allison and Scott start up a series of secret meetings. Stealing time at school, writing times to meet in the woods on the window of her car, etc. Allison's mother who is just as - if not more - terrifying as her father is also on the hunt, so they learn very quickly to act very un-together as possible. Meaning, Stiles gets to play messenger-boy. Lydia is getting steadily better, except for that one night where she disappears, and Allison jumps in on the opportunity to help look for her with Scott, uncaring of what her parents will think. She's more worried about finding her best friends, and keeping said best friend of the Beacon Hills Dead Bodies list to worry too much about being with Scott. Lydia does turn up, with no recollection of what happened, and it just adds another tick onto Allison's list of things to worry about, right under the gossip about her serial killer Aunt - who had been pinned for the murders by the local police department.

Kate's funeral brings in a lot more than just some extra press on the Argents. Allison's grandfather, who she calls Gerard, has decided to come stay in town and reconnect with his son. And by reconnect, she means aid him in exacting revenge for her aunt's death on the werewolves in town. Allison plays spy as much as she can whenever she catches them having hunting conversations, but what she does hear just confuses her - like a deputy, or a man dressed up like a deputy, working under her father and Gerard. The deputy leaves with weapons in hand, sent out to take down a new, recently turned beta who was about to undergo his first full moon inside of a jail cell. Isaac Lahey was being kept under suspicions that he killed his father, but Allison can only get the information out and slow down the deputy (shoots him in the leg, actually, with one of her arrows) before she has to lock Scott up as well. Allison doesn't like doing it because it doesn't seem safe, but Scott convinces her it's the only way to keep her safe, so she locks and chains him into a freezer in Isaac's basement. He doesn't stay there for long, though, because as soon as Allison makes it up to the first floor of the house she comes into contact with a new monster - a human-sized, lethal lizard. It doesn't attack them, just watches and leaves after Scott appears, but it's enough to put Allison on her guard. Especially since her parents are supposed to start her Argent (c) Hunting Training.

Which, much to her surprise, starts up not long after that. A staged kidnapping, where she's bound to a chair and forced to cut her way out. It takes her two and a half hours and it's apparently leadership training. Thanks, Dad, great talk. She goes on another date with Scott but it's not until the next day that she starts piecing things together at school, about Gerard and the creature and the deaths occurring around town. They decide to try and steal Gerards Beastiary to try and learn more about the Kamina, but even when they get their hands on it they run into the slight problem of not being able to translate archaic latin. The first person they run into to try and have translate it ends up only being able to make out a little of what's said, and says that the Kamina seeks a friend. They start looking out for someone that could possibly be trying to protect the Kanima while more teenagers get bitten - Erica, for one, who does her best to get all over Scott whenever she can. And Allison is not jealous. Not Jealous at all. In fact, she's so not jealous she stands up to Erica in class, only to have her nearly rip open her leg. Maybe not the most well-thought out plan, but Allison had her mind set.

It comes down to trying to find out who the Kanima is, as well as keeping their friends safe while Derek has his less than safe search going at the same time, and their target is now Lydia. Scott, Stiles and Allison decide it's their first priority to keep her safe, and Allison makes sure that both boys know she doesn't need any protecting, going as far as to pull a collapsible crossbow out of her bag. Later that night they find out that Lydia is for sure not the Kanima, which gets Derek and his band of Misfit Werewolves off her tail for now. They somehow manage to keep Lydia from finding out about any of this, even after she correctly translates the pages of the beastiary to show them that it means the Kamina seeks a master, not a friend, and that someone has been controlling it and covering their tracks. Things take a step for the creepy when she finds out that her family is invading her school to keep an eye on her - with Gerard acting as principal and her bother stepping in as substitute teacher - and installing cameras all around the school. It doesn't help when she starts getting interrogated on almost a regular basis on just about everything you could imagine - from a missing Jackson (who Stiles and Scott are holding for his own protection) to the dead bodies around town. Eventually she opens up to her father, the one person in this new version of her family that she feels she can really trust. Chris isn't uncompromising, it's not as though he doesn't understand. He's the final card to play because in contrast with the other two Argents, he's the least harsh. Her father is the Argent she relates to the most. He lectures her about the responsibility of knowledge, how because they know they have to defend those that are less likely to be prepared, equipped or capable to do so for themselves. She spills what she knows to him in hopes that the bodies will stop piling up, but it's under the condition that no harm comes to Jackson. She knows that she's just a kid, a teenager, and with the body count that Jackson is starting to pile up it's out of her control. She doesn't know about Scott going to Derek to come up with a plan of their own. Doesn't know about Gerard's hidden agenda either. Just know that her father is an adult, who is driven by responsibility and honor, and who she believes will do the right thing.

The situation at the school makes seeing Scott that much more difficult, and when she tries to talk to Scott about it he mentions maybe pretending to date other people. Just to get her family off their trail. She agrees only because Scott presses it. But when he says I love you, she only says I know, and it is our first look into a change happening in one Allison Argent's mind. Because Allison put so much into her relationship with Scott, cared and trusted him more than almost anyone, and the fact he was so ready to just see other people, even if it was just to throw her parents off their trail, hurt. As far as Allison's concerned, there's really no one for her to turn to, and the bricks of Allison's independence stand their first test of time. She agrees to see other people and comments about how she already was asked to go on a date with Matt, another boy on the lacrosse team. However, what Scott does know is that this date is to the underground show where Scott and Derek are planning on capturing the Kanima, at the exact same time that the Argents are planning something similar. When they find each other at the show, Scott starts to panic because she is there and therefore is in danger, and Allison starts to panic as well because something in her tells her it's her fault. She told Chris, she helped plan the raid, she knew and she didn't tell Scott and now...now, Scott brushes her off before she can fully explain and once again she's left standing on the sidelines while everything storms around her. If she really knew what was going on, she could help, but instead she's just caught in the middle with nowhere to turn. While the two plans merge, Allison is left sitting, clutching her phone, waiting for the moment she's supposed to signal her father. And then there's the date, which is so low on Allison's list of important things that she doesn't even seem to care when Matt hits on her, or when he kisses her (to which she just pushes him off). It's not until she's driving him home and finds some really, really creepy pictures on his camera that she really notices something is wrong. Of course, this is all happening while the two plans merge, and without her knowing her boyfriend was almost murdered by her mother who ended up getting bit by Derek to save Scott life.

As is the life of a teenager, Allison doesn't have long to really let the failure to capture the Kanima at the concert because there's already a new and important event to be worried about: Lydia Martin's birthday party. And the state of her mental health. And what the party will do to that. She goes because Lydia is her best friend, but not after getting very snippy with her mother, as most teenager girls do. As far as Allison was concerned, she's still not on good terms with her mom, and she has things to do that are important to her, rather than sit and chit-chat. She goes to the party and sees Scott, but they're on awkward terms after the fight at the concert so they kind of avoid each other at the party. What's even better is that the punch at said party? Definitely drugged. And Allison starts hallucinating someone following her around the party, putting her on edge so much to the point that when Matt tries to talk to her, she ends up freaking out and flipping him onto his back on the floor when he reaches to grab her. She apologizes, but is a little distracted by the fact the person following her? Is a version of herself, calling her pathetic and weak. It doesn't help that this hallucination ends up shooting her in the stomach with one of her own arrows (also a hallucination) and all but laughs when Allison ends up calling for Scott for help. Her other version of herself just stands there, talking about how Allison always has to be rescued and how absolutely worthless she is. Really great for the self-esteem, let me tell you.

⇏ OUR DAUGHTERS TO BE LEADERS ⇏

Rather than sticking around the party, Allison ends up getting a phone call from her father that she needs to come to the hospital because something's happened. Something's happened to her mother. When she arrives, she finds out that her mother is dead, and her first reaction is wondering if this is some kind of test. It has to be, because her mother wouldn't take her own life. She wouldn't. She was just talking to her before the party, and she seemed just fine, just like her old self. Allison had blown her off to talk and now her mother was dead. Allison broke down there, right in the middle of the hospital, in her father's arms. The more she thinks about it the more guilt presses down on her, pushing and pushing until it morphs into some dark, dangerous creature at the pit of her stomach. She remembers something her mother said before, when she was substitute teaching, about how Allison would grow strong with all this weight on her. She would learn to hold it and move on, unlike all these girls around her who are more worried about going to prom. About being teenagers. Allison has been clinging to the chance to be a teenager, and at the death of her mother, she realizes that's not possible. That maybe, if she'd been stronger and had actually grown up, she'd still be alive. Gerard comes in while Allison is grieving, tells her that she should be proud of her mother after the note he just read. As he's handing her this note he mentions that reading it made him wish he was closer to his own mother, and that when she's ready, she should read it too. He manipulates her in her fragile state, so much that Allison simply believes everything he says. She's looking for someone strong to lean on, and Gerard is there, giving her a letter that may or may not be from her mother, a last chance to talk to her. When she finishes reading, Allison tears off her clothes and destroys her room, getting rid of any and everything that is personal. Childish. When she redresses, it's in all black, it's prepared and she prepares for revenge.

When Allison next arrives on camera, it's as a completely different person. She's shifted from girl to warrior, bent on revenge and not much else with her target Derek Hale. She shows up to the deputy's office after the other castmates have all but got it figured out - Matt was controlling Jackson to kill any and all people associated with his 'death', only having to take pictures for Jackson to act. Scott, Stiles, Derek, and Scott's mom and Stiles' dad are all being held hostage, all the other deputies killed. This all comes out before the Argents even arrive, but that's nowhere near the end of this story. Due to her mother's death, Allison is now in charge of making the decisions for this mission - because of the Argent's code that men are raised to be soldiers, and women as leaders. Her mission? Kill Derek, and if the other's get in the way, take them down as well. For her, the decision is as simple as black and white. They are going to kill Derek, that is the priority, and if anyone gets in her way they recieve the same fate. They shoot up the station, fill the rooms with smoke grenades, and enter in an attempt to find and kill Derek, as well as the Kanima. Derek isn't as easily found, however, and when Chris gets attacked Allison steps in to save him - just one example of the fact that while Allison can talk a big game, she doesn't necessarily believe it 100%. Yes, she wants Derek dead, but she's not willing to risk the life of her father to do it. So when Chris gets knocked out, Allison steps in and distracts the Kanima, drawing him into another room. While her attacks don't necessarily work, she keeps going at him, showing little fear despite her obvious lower status on the power totem pole. Matt appears then, which while it technically saves her from the Kanima, it also opens her eyes to his involvement in it all. Matt flees, but is eventually tracked down and killed by Gerard in the same manner that he had 'died' before - drowning. By killing Matt, Gerard has taken the spot as the Kanima's master, proving himself to be a power-hungry maniac. Unbeknownst to Allison (and to most of the cast) Peter Hale has risen again, thanks to Lydia. Something to do with the after party and distracting all the guests enough to use Derek and the moon for a reviving ritual.

Allison keeps her position as leader, jumping entirely into talking strategy with Chris and Gerard for their next attempt at capturing and killing Derek. While Gerard goes on with his own method of tracking down Derek, Allison jumps head-first into the hunting down and capturing of Derek's betas, Erica and Boyd (yeah, he turned another too). She deceives them into thinking there's another pack for them to join, someone else to keep them safe, but in the end it's just the Argents and their men. She shoots Erica in the leg and immobilizes her, needing a few more to take down the much larger beta Boyd. It's during this time that we really catch a glimpse at the changed Allison - an unfeeling, malicious and cold hunter who is bent on revenge and not much else. She explains she uses arrows instead of bullets because they heal slower and they're harder to pull out, and even when Erica begs for her life Allison ignores her. She almost kills Boyd as well, only stopping when Chris steps in. He tries to address this sudden change in her personality, how overboard she went and is still going, but she cuts him off with a typical talk to the hand because she has to report to her dearest Grandpa. Yeah, he's Grandpa now. Later that night Chris tries to talk to her again, but again, Allison cuts him off. Talks about how tired she is and how she just wants to go to bed, and Chris breaks her crossbow to prove his point. As far as Chris is concerned, he's lost his sister and wife to the hunt, and he's watching his daughter go too, and it's time he does something about it. He goes down and releases Erica and Boyd, seeks out Scott McCall to ask for his help, because he is still trying to live by the code. Even if no one else around him is.

They plan that is eventually decided - without Allison's involvement as of right now - is to get Jackson's body to Derek and Peter so they can try and stop his evolution into something terrifying and with wings. That's the plan, at least, but what they don't realize is that Gerard is smarter than that, and goes to wake up Allison to enlist her for his side of it all. So it's Gerard, Allison and the Kanima up against everyone else, and it doesn't stop there. What eventually comes to light is that Gerard is dying, and he believes the only cure would be to become a werewolf, so he can cure himself. Allison realizes during this time that she's been used, puppeted around by her grandfather, and with her neck in a vice like grip by Gerard and Chris paralyzed by disbelief, Scott forces Derek in his weakened state to open his mouth and give Gerard the bite. This is when the brilliance of Scott McCall decides to step in, and when the bite doesn't take Scott explains that he switched Gerard's pills with wolfsbane ones, so that his body would be forced to reject the bite. Gerard, as he lay on the ground dying even faster than before, orders the Kanima to kill them all, family included. It's the luck of the draw that at that exact moment Stiles decides to show up with Lydia, which distracts the Kanima for long enough that Peter and Derek can pierce him through both sides to slow him down. It all comes to light that the reason the Kanima is the Kanima, rather than a werewolf, is that he lacks love. He seeks a master because in its twisted little mind, it thinks that will suffice. But what Jackson doesn't realize is that Lydia has loved him. Has loved him all along.

Everyone watches as Jackson dies in Lydia's arms, but their attention is diverted when they realize Gerard is missing and Jackson is not, in fact, dead. When he finally gets back up it's revealed to everyone that he's been cured of the Kanima and is now a regular werewolf, which is a relief.

But the worst of it for Allison comes later, because where everyone else can go home with the great feeling of a job well done, Allison has to deal with the fact she has been constantly manipulated by her grandfather, has done more horrible things than she can imagine, and has no idea where she stands. The guilt weighs down on her more than anything; guilt for her mother's death, guilt for hunting down Erica and Boyd, guilt for the fact she was all but ready to kill Scott...so she does the only thing she thinks she can do, which is break it off with him. She can't deal with a relationship right now when she can barely handle her own life, and Scott says it's okay. It's fine. Whatever she needs to do, he'll let her do it, because he's willing to wait for as long as it takes. They kiss, a goodbye to end all goodbyes as far as Allison is concerned, and the episode ends.

⇏ YOU CAN BEAT ME DOWN ⇏

When we next meet our cast of Teen Wolf, there has been a very convenient time skip, and Allison is just coming home from spending four months in France. Away from Beacon Hills, away from werewolves, and away from everything that reminds her of her mistakes. She comes back, though, because she wants to prove to herself she can soldier through it. Her entire life has been moving around, switching schools and friends and lives, and now? Now she has a place where she cares about people and she wants to try and keep that. At least that. So she and Chris move into a new house, give up the hunting life for good, and try for a second time. Allison has spoken with Lydia, but only Lydia, during her absence - her time away from Scott also necessary for her mental recuperation. When she's back she tries to get a chance to talk to him, but the chance never comes around. Her staying out of it doesn't last for very long, though, when she's driving to a not-double date (Allison doesn't want to do the dating thing quite yet) and a deer crashes through Lydia's car windshield. Literally, right through it, and a flock of birds attack her English Class. A mysterious girl approaches her and Lydia at school and demands to see Scott, mentioning that she's Allison, and should know where he is. She grabs onto her and Lydia's arms and ends up leaving a bruise in a very peculiar shape, and that's all it takes for Allison to be dragged back into it.

When she and Lydia notice that the mark on their arms is a specific pattern, Allison wants to go to Scott to see if he knows what it's about. They head to the party that Stiles and Scott are attending to find them, only to be at the party when Stiles' childhood friend Heather goes missing. That next day at school they all meet up with Derek to try and start figuring out what is going on, and Derek is not too pleased to see either of the girls. Allison tries to explain to him that her mother died, and that it should explain her actions, but Derek still doesn't want to involve them. Which is fine with Allison, really, because she's just there to help Scott, but Derek says she won't be any help at all unless she can find something real. So what does Allison do? Start researching. It's not even that she's curious, or that she's worried about what this could mean for the twon (which those two play very important factors, sure) but it's the fact Derek has given her a challenge. To prove that she's changed, and not simply the brainwashed hunter she had been the semester before. She figures out that the symbol is from a bank in Beacon Hills that had been abandoned. She thinks about calling Scott, but remembers what Derek said about find something real, so she decides to go check it out on her own. That night Allison goes to the bank with a pair of bolt cutters to get herself in the bank, only to run into her french teacher and guidance counselor Ms. Morrell. Ms. Morrell ends up shoving her in a closet and telling her to wait until she hears the fighting start. In the closet she finds Erica's dead body, and in a moment of brilliance spills a tub of ammonia on the floor at her feet - to keep one of the alpha wolves who inhabit the bank off her scent. After a few minutes she hears what sounds like fighting, and leaves her hiding spot to find Derek and Scott getting the crap beaten out of them by Boyd and another werewolf. To save Scott's life she breaks the circle of mountain ash and calls to Boyd to get his attention, allowing him and Cora, the other werewolf, to flee.

Derek is furious, and says she's released a bunch of killing machines into Beacon Hills. Allison retorts that she's not the only one turning teenagers into killing machines, and Derek shoots back that she might but the rest of her family is another story. She thinks he's talking about Gerard, but Derek asks about her mother and all eyes go to Scott. He explains to her that the reason her mother got bit by Derek was because she was trying to kill Scott, and Allison is floored. He explains that he didn't tell her because he didn't want that to be the last memory she had of her mother, and both of their attention shifts when Derek brings out Erica's lifeless body. When Derek and Scott go off to find Boyd and Cora, Allison sits in her car and thinks over her choices, before pulling out an arrowhead she keeps there. Without talking to Scott and Derek, she starts hunting down Boyd and Cora just as she was taught by her father the season before, ready to fix her mistake. The only difference this time is that she doesn't seem to be doing it with the intent on killing them. Just capturing them. She doesn't know that Scott, Derek and Isaac went to her father for help, but in the middle of their trap she steps in to help, firing flash-bang arrows at the ground near Boyd and Cora's feet to drive them inside the building when it looks like Isaac won't be able to. The next day or so we find that Allison's having problems staying awake in class, Ms. Morrell's class to be specific, and after a terrifying flash of her mother she tries and question what she was doing at the bank and the two women end in a standstill. This standstill ends up with Allison in lunch detention. Lunch detention ends up being a little more than Allison signed up for, when she ends up locked in a janitor's closet with Isaac, who is extremely claustrophobic, and when he ends up panicking he accidentally grabs her - freaking her out and getting Scott's attention, who comes in and saves them. It comes to their attention that this pack of alphas, who killed Erica and kidnapped Boyd and Cora, are trying to do more than just make them angry. Scott, Isaac and Allison then team up to get back to the twins, with Allison helping Isaac learn how to hotwire one of their motocycles. Allison has officially become involved with whatever this is happens to be. So much for staying out of the supernatural, right?

⇏ TARGET PRACTICE
The thing about Allison is that before she even knew her parents were hunters, they were preparing her for the fight. Gymnastics and Archery were just two of the many things that her parents introduced her to growing up, and it's those two that she clung to the most. Moving around a lot meant that she didn't have much time to really make friends, but these hobbies gave her an outlet and a chance to practice and learn no matter where she went or what was going on. Archery is something she continues to do now, as it is one of the ways that she feels like she can protect herself, and honestly she's quite talented at it, hitting tiny targets at almost impossible distances.

⇏ HUNTER'S DAUGHTER
There was a time during Allison's first year at Beacon Hills where she was terrified. It was one of a few, yes, but it involved being locked in a school with absolutely no way to protect herself. She depended on her boyfriend, Scott, who did not think it was important to tell her what was really going on. After getting out of that school, she made a vow that she would never be that vulnerable again. Being born an Argent meant that she already had an advantage in that field, for her family was in the business of being armed and powerful. Hunters, to be specific, known to hunt dangerous creatures that stalk the night and prey on innocent human beings. Allison was brought into this family secret during that first year at Beacon Hills, and taught the ways of their family. Men grew up to be soldiers, and women, leaders. She was taught self defense, quick-attacks, strategy and the basics of hunting both regular animals and supernatural. They taught her the basics to most weapons, vehicles, and fighting stiles to make the job easier, and her arrows were updated with special arrow-tips as she continued to learn the harsh reality of her world. A reality her parents tried to keep from her. These skills stick with her, even if she and her father have stopped hunting, because there are some things that just stick. Allison still wants to know that she can always protect herself, when the situation calls for it, even if she's no longer living that life.

Truth be told, lately, Allison wasn't sleeping much at all.

She'd go to bed at night, with a goodnight kiss from her father and a promise that her homework was done. The test wasn't until next week, and she was studying with Lydia this weekend. He'd just smile that clipped little smile he has when he's just her dad, just a dad, and she'd smile back until he turned and walked back out the door. She'd then lean over, turn off her reading light, and lay down in her bed.

Before a few nights ago, it usually took her about an hour to finally fall asleep, her mind reeling with thoughts of Scott and Derek and her time in France and her life in Beacon Hills and her grades for this semester and her college choices. Everything you could think of, it's there, swirling and swirling until it finally just melded into a steady hum that gave her some peace. Enough peace for her to sleep. But that was before the bank, before she was all but tossed back into a life she had tried to keep out of. She almost watched Scott and Derek get torn to shreds, and then finding out about her mother? Right when she was just...

It was supposed to be simple. That's what her dad has said. They'd be normal and they'd stay out of it and that way she could keep her friends, keep her life. So what if things were starting to spiral? So what if she knew she could do something, if she just stepped up.

To say the least, her thoughts were a little different after that night. Because it was that, and the alphas, and the people getting murdered and the fact the murders might might not even be the alphas and it's Scott - stupid, adorable, wonderful Scott - had to stop it all. Had to fix it and help everyone. That's the only reason she's getting involved, she keeps telling herself. Just for Scott, only for Scott, because while they might not be dating he definitely can't do this on his own. And there are times, like today at school, where she wonders how any of them (Isaac and Scott and Stiles) will get anything done. They're all just a bunch of teenagers, after all, all in over their heads in a mess of things that never should have happened. But here they are, and when Allison takes a deep breath and tells herself to relax, it's with the knowledge that tomorrow will be just like today. Better than today, maybe, and hopefully not worse.

But when she closes her eyes she sees her mom, she sees her mom killing Scott, she sees her father and Gerard and all the things she did. She's not that person any more, she's not, and she got away to leave that all behind her. Going to France was supposed to give the rest of the world enough time to calm down and leave her be. But her stupid, stupid curiosity screwed that all up, didn't it? The deer running into the car, the woman in school, the birds. And then Ms. Morrison, the alphas, and even when Allison presses the palms of her hands into her eyes, it doesn't help. All she sees is her mother's face.

You're running because you're scared. Because you're just a little girl. I taught you better than this, didn't I?

Allison hopes tomorrow will be better because she's not quite sure how much worse it can get, but then again, every time she thinks that she's proven wrong. Horribly, horribly wrong.

[ allison's looking off-screen when her journal eventually starts up the feed, and it's another moment or two before she notices. when she does, it's with a jump. only a slight one, before she's giving the camera was looks like a very thin smile and tucking a bit of her hair behind her ear. she's been exploring the area around her for almost fifteen minutes now, and she's tired. tired, annoyed, and getting kind of frustrated, but she'll give in. say uncle. that's what this journal is for, right? ]

Listen, I'm not sure if this is supposed to be some kind of joke, but if it is it's not really funny. Sorry.

[ she looks almost apologetic. almost, except for the fact she's really not sure where she is and would really like answers. allison's got theories of what's going on, sure, but none of them make a whole lot of sense, especially with everything going on with the alphas and the murders, but what other option is there? ]

So, okay, whoever planned this - Lydia or Stiles or whoever - you had your laugh. Can I go home now? [ not like she's been trying to go home since she woke up, but all she can see around her are walls of green and no matter which way she turns, all she can find are walls. ] Or at least out of this maze? [ her eyes look up over her, and then over her shoulder, where the camera can probably see tall hedges. someone woke up the maze, in her pjays. best day or best day? ]