2015.08.14 - Goodbye, Beacon Hills

**Emitter:** N/A

*Ethan packs up and leaves town with Jason.*

August 12, 2015

Beacon Hills

*This scene follows 2015.08.14 - Rail Yard Date.*

**Beacon Hills - 3011 Forrest Hill Park - Ethan's Room**

*This is a very large room. The walls have been covered in a light green wallpaper with a delicate ivy pattern. On the floor is a deep,  plush carpet of forest green, warm and soft to the touch of bare feet.  Curtains over the window are a complimentary green and white.*

         *Much of the room is dominated by the massive king-sized four-poster, covered in high-thread-count cotton sheets and a satin-trimmed comforter. The four tall posts are carved of dark mahogany, with pine cone shapes at the top of each. The head of the bed is situated so that it faces the huge windows, giving the occupants a spectacular view of the city. At either side of the bed are small nightstands with lamps. Each also holds an alarm clock, one electric and digital, the   other an old-style wind-up model. On the wall above one of these tables is a large mirror.  Directly across the room, there's a huge brick fireplace dominating the wall. Hanging on the wall above this is a large, flatscreen TV.*

          *To the left side of the room are two dressers. One is tall with five drawers set one atop the other, while the other is shorter and wider, with six smaller drawers. Both are polished mahogany, though the scent of cedar can be detected from within. On top of the short dresser are various combs, hairbrushes, and a silver-plated handmirror. On the right side of the room, next to the walk-in closet, is a tall, wide wardrobe, also polished mahogany.*

The front porch light is on, and the door is unlocked, but if there's any knocking, it goes unanswered. Ethan is up in his bedroom, which happens to be the house's master bedroom. Sometimes it pays to be the older brother, not to mention the brother who went through all the hassle of renting the house in the first place. His stereo is on, though the volume is low, some whiny emo song wailing in the background, as he tosses a few last minute things into a giant, camping-style hiker's backpack. Though there's a nervous excitement about him, he also has an air of indecision and regret. This isn't easy, by any means.

Jason Christopher has been making an effort to be less creepy with Scott McCall's pack. It has paid off too, if the fact that Scott accepted the phone he handed him was any indicator. Jason invited himself into the house. But at least knocks on the door to Ethan's room. Awaiting patiently for a reply from him.

Ethan Carver tenses at once, lifting his head and sniffing the air. He relaxes again, at least a little, calling, "It's open. I'm almost done here." He looks around the room, closing drawers and shutting the closet, making sure everything is neat and orderly before he leaves.

The door swings open and Jason walks into the room. He glances around, taking in the decor, but his focus is Ethan. "Packing light, good. If you need anything else we can pick it up in Seattle." He pauses to gauge Ethan's mood. This is a hard choice, and they will have things to talk about.

Ethan Carver regards Jason for a long moment, then sits heavily on the edge of his bed. "What I need," he says, voice barely above a whisper, "is for Seattle to be about eight hundred miles closer to Beacon Hills. This feels wrong. Leaving McCall, leaving the pack, leaving Liam. Leaving town before Aiden shows up." He lifts his head then, shoulders squaring. "But I'm a good soldier. I follow orders, and right now, my orders are to go with you."

Jason Christopher has been through a lot in the last few days. He has been forced to face things about himself. Things that have left him nearly breathless with revulsion, at himself. So his capacity for empathy is running somewhat stronger than it has in some time. He walks over and places a hand on Ethan's shoulder. Jason is dealing with the weight of life times worth of issues. But he squeezes the former teen alphas shoulder reassuringly. "Ethan. I know it seems hard to accept right now. But with everything that has happened in the last few days. Hells the last few weeks. Your making the right choice." The power he radiates at such close range. It is nothing remotely human. It is primal, like a storm, a very aspect of nature itself.

Ethan Carver sucks in a breath, looking up at Jason with a mixture of awe and admiration. That authoritative aura really is pretty overwhelming. The man just exudes confidence and power, things that a Beta naturally respond to. Ethan nods once, pushing to his feet and grabbing the pack. "How are we getting there?" he asks. "I'm not leaving my bike behind." He needs that escape route, the knowledge that he can leave whenever he wants, make his way back to Beacon Hills, the thrice-cursed town he's come to think of as home. "I belong here," he mutters, more to himself. "I'm coming back."

Jason Christopher shrugs faintly and says matter of factory. "It took me about 4 hours to run. I'll rent a car with a bike carrier. Some of the others use bikes there as well. The roads are very good for them." He pauses, not removing his hand. "There are others there Ethan." As if on cue his phone chimes. He doesn't need to look to see who it is. "The situation is complicated. The Quileutes are an American Indian tribe. They phase into giant wolves, even larger than my dire wolf phase. But they don't know there are other breeds of werewolf. Please before you phase in front of them, let me explain. It was a conversation I wasn't ready to have yet. But I will, for the chance to train you."

Ethan Carver's eyes widen a bit. "They don't...Whoa." He shakes his head, taking another long breath. "This is going to take some getting used to. But yeah, I'll keep my wolf under control until you've told them all the score. Full Moon's not for another couple of weeks anyway." He hoists the pack, then frowns. "I'm not going to have to get into a pissing contest just to fit in, am I? I've had just about all the measuring competitions I can handle for a while." And under his breath, he adds, "Stupid cats."

Jason Christopher smiles and shakes his head. "The pack there accepted me readily." So readily he still fails to really understand why. "I have grown especially close to a couple members. Much like you and I have here." He feels close to him. Just a day or so ago it would have surprised him to say it. Now it's just a simple truth that may floor Ethan just the same. "I've grown very close to a wolf your age named Jacob." He glances at his phone. "Who seems to have finished working on a truck I bought just before I left there. I believe you and he will be like brothers quickly. When your actual brother can join us, I believe you'll all bond."

Ethan Carver raises a brow, a bit of the old suspicion creeping into his voice. "The last Alpha you told us we'd bond well with his pack turned out to be a crazed lunatic. And the thing is, we really didn't. Bond well with his pack, I mean. I don't think any of us particularly liked each other. By the end, even me and Aiden were snarling at each other."

Jason Christopher sighs and kneels down to look right into Ethan's eyes. A hand on each shoulder. "Ethan. The only way this works, is if you trust me. If you can't even trust me enough to accept who we will meet... How do you expect me to teach you? Am I still him in your eyes?" There is soft reproach in his voice as he says it. Two hands, it feels like a hurricane now. A tornado. No mere thunderstorm anymore.

Ethan Carver looks into those captivating eyes and opens his mouth to say something, likely something he considers witty. Instead, he shuts his lips again and closes his eyes, giving his head a quick shake. "No. You're not like him at all. It'd be easier to refuse if you were." He reopens his eyes, taking a breath. "I'm trying, okay? I want to trust you. I'm trying to trust you. That hasta be enough, because it's all I can give right now. Okay?"

Jason Christopher nods to Ethan, his eyes smoldering with that inner fire. "It is a start Ethan. Just as with Scott McCall. I will take what you can offer me freely. I shall earn the rest." His voice suggests simply there is no room for doubt. He is not merely confident. It is a fact.

Ethan Carver looks into Jason's eyes for a few long moments, then starts to stand again. But he pauses, suddenly frowning. "There's cell reception and wifi up there, right? You're not taking me completely off the grid."

Jason Christopher releases Ethan, and it is like going from the funnel of a tornado to a comfortable spring day. His presence is still electric. Now that Ethan has felt it, it is hard to unring that bell. "There is cell reception yes. And where you'll be staying has wifi as well." So Ethan may be staying someplace special.

Ethan Carver lets out a sound of relief, nodding as he gets to his feet again. "Good. Promising I'd text and Skype was about the only thing that kept Liam from totally losing it. For a bit there, I thought I might have to leave him in the bathtub wrapped in duct tape for his parents to find after I'd left town. Which would not have gone over well." One last look around his room. It hasn't been -his- room for long, less than two weeks, but he already thinks of it as home. Very few personal touches, but a few very personal memories. "Let's go, before I think up some new excuse to back out."

Jason Christopher pauses and looks at Ethan. "It's the right thing Ethan. But you can't do this just because you were told. Are you sure YOU want this. For yourself?"

Ethan Carver gives his head a small shake. "No, not just for myself. Yes, I want it. But not just for me. For -them-. For Scott and Stiles, Liam, even Derek. I need to be as strong as I can be, to strengthen the pack. If I do this just for me, I risk becoming...what I was. I won't let that happen again."

Jason Christopher listens to Ethan and nods to him. "You know how long I've lived Ethan. Everything changes in life, save change itself. It is constant. You will never be the person you were. I wouldn't allow it, your pack would not. But most importantly you wouldn't. Power is just a tool you wield to an end. Those ends have changed permanently for you. You'll never fall that way again. Because even if for some reason you couldn't catch yourself. Now others would." His voice is like a battering ram, humming with certainty and authority. He offers Ethan a hand to stand up.

Ethan Carver can't help the shiver that runs down his spine. The words themselves ring true, but it's the power in that voice that really drives it home for him. With another nod, he takes Jason's hand, both to stand and as a symbol. He's accepting this immortal creature as his teacher, his mentor, and if not his Alpha, someone who holds a position nearly as close to his heart. Lifting the pack onto one shoulder for now, he says, "I'm ready."

That symbolism is not lost on Jason either. and holds Ethan's hand a beat longer than needed, squeezing it firmly. This trust, it has great meaning to him. Then he turns and guides Ethan. Away from Beacon Hills, along the lengthy drive to the distant north. There will be plenty of time along the way to answer his other questions from on the road. With each mile bringing him closer to Jake and La Push as well.