Once again I apologize to my readers, life has been kinda crazy lately so my chapters will be a bit slower coming out. Please forgive me.
Álmos woke up early in the morning to the subtle scent of rose petals and apple blossoms passing over him. He slowly raised himself into a slouched seated position, resting his head of the headboard as he opened his eyes slightly to peer into the still dimly lit area, seeing the luminescent form of a woman walking by. He smiled and let out a sigh of relief as he watched the figure drift over to sit in a chair, waving her hand through the air to disperse a lingering plume of smoke from his incense.
"You know if my son has to stay here as often as he is we're going to have to do something about this, maybe switch you over to essential oils, it's like a hookah house in here." Claudia said as she looked over to the still mostly reclined form of Álmos.
"My apologies Mrs. Stilinski, I wasn't planning on this being as regular an event as it has been." the werewolf replied quietly from where he was seated. "I will admit it is hard keeping those two apart anyway, and it would likely be easier on your dear husband's nerves for them to be affectionate here than there."
Claudia's specter chuckled at that. "Yes, you have a point there, but it would be best for him to adjust to this reality sooner rather than later. Easing him into things has never quite worked out that well; why else do you think Stiles kept the truth about Scott and the others from him from so long? Subtlety wouldn't have worked, nor would he have believed the truth without one of you outing yourselves to him." she added as her ghostly hands went to rest on her lap. "Were you able to rest well?" she asked as her eyes rested gently on the Alpha werewolf.
Álmos nodded with matching gentleness, a restful smile on his face as his eyes drifted closed for a moment before reopening, his eyes a matching shade of steely blue the same color they had been at his birth. "Like a rock." the twenty-something year old mentioned. "And before you ask me how well a rock sleeps, let me remind you I'm alive because a tree gave its last breath to me." the gypsy wolf added with a smirk, earning another soft chuckle from the woman.
"Oh you are a delight, more so than your cousin upstairs, I understand his issues, but does he always have to be such a sourwolf?" Claudia asked as she got up and waved a hand in the direction of the windows, the dust that had collected falling loose and drifting down.
"You sound like him, now I know where it is he gets his particular brand of humor." Al replied with a fond smile, Claudia smiling in turn and bowing her head gracefully.
"Among other things, you didn't think he came by his talents out of simple necessity did you?" Claudia asked as Álmos' brow rose. "His druid abilities, he's hardly the first in the family to express that specific set of skills, and I doubt he'll be the last." Claudia added with a sweet smile.
"His aura is difficult to read honestly, as though there is a veil. I know that such abilities are seldom self-attained, but I wouldn't have put it passed him. But I trust there is more to him than simply being a druid; I've never met one yet that is so resilient, or instinctive. Never met one who works like he does, as though it's second nature to him, he's barely started learning and already he shows so much progress." Al said as he finally got up and greeted the morning, realizing he was still fully dressed from the night before.
"He was always a fast learner, his focus may be split, but his retention is remarkable. As for this being second nature to him, you have no idea how accurate that is. You should, by now, realize his nature is to keep things in balance, keep things connected and united. He's a natural center point, an axis, focus, and anchor. He can see things for what they are, he can see under the surface to a degree and it is definitely something to be admired. However this second nature, this fearless, in your face, confident authority figure…that would be his druidic side seeking to manifest itself more." Claudia trailed on as the sounds of birdsong began to creep into the loft.
"An authoritative druid…I know what that means." Álmos said as he turned from the window and looked to her. "Should he be told? Or do you want him to be shocked when he finds out?" Álmos inquired.
Claudia shrugged as she made her way away from Al's makeshift bedroom. "I'll let nature run its course. Let him find out as he will find out." the luminous entity said before slowly fading away leaving Álmos alone in the soft haze of the early morning.
Álmos took the opportunity to begin working on setting up breakfast for everyone, setting plates for six people at the table. It was pancakes this time, sausage and yogurt with poached eggs with fresh orange juice to drink. Antler, statue, flower in their respective places, John's badge in another and a small moon pattern coaster under the juice on another. The smell of his cooking had alerted the rest of the building and slowly everyone made their way over, Scott and John thanking Al for the food, thankful for not having to either skip or go all the way back home. While everyone sat down Álmos looked over to Stiles' place and eyed the carved antler and smirked.
"So, when do you think your first transformation will be?" Álmos asked rather bluntly getting a choked wheeze from the teenager.
"My what?" he asked as he let his utensils fall to his plate. "Dude I didn't even know that was a thing." Stiles said as he near choked on his pancakes.
"Well you are being trained to be a High Priest; I just thought it would make sense enough for you to realize that you should probably get yourself ready for something along those lines." Al said with a shrug before moving his way to eat his own meal leaving Stiles sitting their jaw dropped. Derek looked over to his mate with an entirely different expression, one of shock, in fact one that hinted at fear, that slightest flicker being more than enough for the werewolves in the room to pick up on.
"What's wrong Derek?" Scott asked as he continued eating his breakfast. "You look like Stiles being whatever it is Al said is bad."
Derek shook his head. "It's… it's not bad, it's just that…a High Priest…they're pretty important when it comes to the druid community. They're basically the best of the best, and extremely powerful." Derek responded as he looked down at his plate.
"So…what's the big deal with that?" Scott asked as he pushed his empty plate to the side before looking between the werewolf and his mate.
"It means a lot of things will want to either kill him, or take him away." Derek said softly, and now the nature of his fears was revealed.
Stiles looked up at that point and stared directly into his mate's eyes, looking deep into them as though seeking some sort of comfort from them. He got some, but it was tainted by worry. He then reached out and took Derek's hand in his and squeezed it gently. "We'll be fine." Stiles said confidently, certitude to his voice that resonated around them, putting an end to any concerns. The tone washed into Derek's ears and his eyes closed as it seeped into him and put him at ease. "So, if I am a High Priest, then when is it that I'll have my first transformation? Or is this one of those, it will happen when it happens deals?" Stiles asked looking over to Álmos who still had a slight smirk on his face.
"I would ask Deaton, he would be the one who'd know best, I know of only one other but until you come into your calling you won't be able to contact that person in particular." Álmos replied bowing his head a little.
"Lemme take a wild guess, my mom?" Stiles asked getting a choked reaction from his father as the Romani nodded his head.
"Wait, what is this about my wife being able to tell him about this?" John asked as he tried his best not to choke on his coffee. "What does Claudia have to do with any of this?" John added looking at Álmos, daggers shooting from his eyes as his expression grew grim.
"Please Sheriff relax, your wife was an Emissary, most likely to one of the other packs that had passed through the area, she was likely dismissed in some fashion, or her pack dissolved leaving her to carry on with her life. She has been here though; her spirit is keeping vigil over you and your son, keeping you safe." Álmos replied. "And she is a powerful spirit, I can only imagine how much of a presence she had while alive." the older Alpha said with a soft smile. John simply looked at him with a mix of anger, sorrow and disbelief. What right did this guy have to even bring up his wife? Talk about her like he knew her? Then he remembered that Stiles had come to that conclusion and he turned to his son.
"Is she actually here? Is she invisible or something? I don't know whether the whole ghost thing means we can see her or not." John asked as he looked to his son.
"I don't know, I know I thought I felt her upstairs looking over me and Derek, I could smell her perfume." Stiles said as he looked down at the table. "I think what Al said is true though, I think she is keeping us safe, or at least trying to." he added as he fought back some growing tears with a brave little smile. John could see the tears brimming in his son's eyes and was about to get up before he saw Derek pulling Stiles over to him and holding him close. He looked over to the young man holding his son appreciatively and Derek just nodded, there were few dry eyes at that moment, even Cora's were misty, but hers were tinged with something akin to jealousy, and in fact that seemed to be the exact case.
"Great, so we have guardian angles floating around and protecting everyone, good for you." Cora said slamming her utensils down and storming back to her room and slamming the door behind her. Stiles looked up toward the room and looked like he was feeling even worse now than he already did. Derek simply ran his hand through Stiles' hair and tried his best to assuage his feelings of guilt.
"It's okay Stiles, it's okay, she didn't mean it like that, she just…she just misses mom." Derek said, choking a little bit on the last word as he held Stiles close. At this point John did get up, as did Scott, John moving over and pulling his son and his son's boyfriend into his arms and offering what comfort he could. Scott lingered downstairs for a bit taking in the sight before him before moving his way upstairs to check on Cora.
As he got near the door he could already here the muffled sound of sobs coming out of the slightly ajar door. He knocked first getting a somewhat pathetic growl in response, but Cora could tell who it was and she didn't fight him making his way inside. She also didn't pull away when he moved to sit down beside her on her bed.
"I wanted to make sure you were okay." Scott said as he reached over tentatively and moved Cora's hair out from the side of her face. She didn't flinch away; she just let things unfold as they would. The red streaks from tears ran down her face as she slowly moved up and leaned into Scott, her head pressing against his chest.
"I'm sorry." she whispered out tiredly as she felt Scott slowly wrap his arms around her. "I didn't mean to snap like that." she added as she began tearing up again.
"Hey, it's okay, I get it, I know you didn't mean to, everything will be okay." Scott said as he just rested a hand on Cora's back, the other gently beginning to run through her hair. He kept holding her like this, his hand gently rubbing her back as well until he could feel her relaxing. "Okay, now come on, I know you didn't finish your breakfast and Al's cooking isn't something to go wasted, come on." Scott said as he gently took Cora's hand in his own, a small smile creeping onto his lips as he stood up and helped Cora back onto her feet.
"You realize you totally just cheated right?" Cora said as she pouted a little as she got to her feet.
"How did I cheat? I didn't order you to calm down or anything did I?" Scott asked in genuine concern, he was new to being an Alpha he wasn't sure if he'd subconsciously done something to compel her.
Cora just chuckled and shook her head. "No, you just knew exactly what to say and reminded me that I was ignoring awesome food." Cora replied with a smile of her own as she felt the warm touch of Scott's hand holding hers. It was definitely something new, something welcome, and something she could get used to. It also didn't hurt that it would drive her brother insane for a while, and she had some built up sibling torment to unleash.
"So basically I cheated by being awesome and by guilt tripping you?" Scott asked as he walked them to her door.
"Yes, now shut up before I smack you." Cora said giving the Alpha fair warning with a slight flash of amber in her eyes. Scott smiled further before opening the door and making his way downstairs to rejoin the people at the table. It seemed that Al had broken out some of his mead again because there were empty glasses and everyone seemed to be in fairly better spirits than when he'd left. Derek looked up seeing their hands linked and though he inwardly flinched he didn't show it, he did show a measure of thanks though to Scott though who simply nodded his head in return.
"Well kiddo I need to go back to the house and get changed, think we'll be in the clear for now?" John asked as he walked over and hugged his son gently.
"Not sure…Al, any chance you could…" Stiles began asking before Álmos raised his hand to stop him.
"I will gladly escort your father, from now on though we'll set it up so you two don't have to neglect your home, I would like it Scott if you could discuss things with the twins to see if they'd be willing to set up a detail for Stiles and his father, if only to make sure their house is secure." the gypsy wolf requested looking over to Scott who was now feeding Cora in a rather surprising display of affection, one that was making Derek want to get up and smack the Alpha upside the head.
Scott looked over though, the idea was far from unusual, and it wouldn't hurt to keep a watch out for Peter, his family would be fine, his mother knew who the bastard was and she knew her way around quite a few things that could render a werewolf useless. As for his father, well he was a big boy and he was sure that with recent developments that his mother was more a threat to him than Peter would be. "That actually wouldn't be a bad idea, I'll mention it to them at school today; make sure that they check the place out before anyone heads back."
"Kiváló. Now, you two finish your breakfasts, then we can see to getting you off to school, Stiles, Scott, feel free to borrow some clothes from my dresser." Al said as he got up and walked over to John. "Now, I believe we have a house to go disinfect of any possible family members of mine." Al added before turning around and making his way with John to his cruiser leaving the three werewolves and the human to get ready for their days.
Stiles and Scott both grabbed some pretty basic clothes and Stiles just took to draping his hoodie over it to maintain his usual layered appearance. Scott just found a nice t-shirt and some spare jeans and met up with Stiles at his jeep after leaving Cora with one last hug and a chaste little peck to her cheek which caused them to both flush a bit at the boldness of it. All it made Derek do was want to smack Scott even more, though this time maybe his ass, with a steel-toed boot…with spikes. Sensing her brother's ire Cora turned and stared him down eventually earning a tired sigh as Derek moved over to Stiles and wrapped his arms around him.
"Okay then, you know what to do if things start going weird at school right?" he asked as he leaned in and gave him a gentle kiss.
"Start shining the sourwolf symbol?" Stiles said teasingly as he kissed Derek back. "Seriously though I know babe, I'll contact you and let you know what's going on." the druid-in-training said softly. Well, High Priest in training. That thought was going to take some getting used to, could a druid train a High Priest while not being one? He'd have to ask Deaton later, today was supposed to be a study day anyway so he was ready for it.
Derek smiled warmly giving Stiles one last gentle squeeze before letting go. "Okay, you guys head off, Cora and I are going to go get more food for the loft; we don't want Al going broke trying to feed everyone." Derek added as he moved back toward the loft. "Please, just be careful." Derek added more to Stiles than to Scott. Stiles simply smiled and nodded his head and Scott nodded in turn before they got out and headed off to school. Derek simply watched with that familiar concerned feeling dredging up in his gut, the fear that while his eyes were directed elsewhere his mate would be in danger. He was broken out of it though by the timely interruption of his sister.
"So we're going to do more sibling bonding? I think I'd almost wish I'd gone with John and Al to check out Stiles' place." she said with a groan. "And last I looked both his pantry and fridge were full, so who are you trying to fool? What are you up to Derek?" she asked staring her brother down, his body language was speaking volumes, this wasn't going to be just a pleasant day out doing menial chores.
"I'm not planning anything, so chill." Derek said as he turned and headed back to the loft. "But we are going to be heading out; I have to go shopping for a few things." Derek added before getting back inside. He went over and pulled out a fresh outfit, moving over to the bathroom to shower and get ready for the day and leaving Cora waiting for her turn. He stretched out some in the shower as the water ran over him and groaned at the discomforting pops in his back and shoulders; he'd have to remind Stiles of the offer he made the morning after he'd shown up. He really, really needed a massage, and he was just hoping Stiles' hands could do the trick.
Cora had heard what Derek had said, and she had also realized it was a total lie; one Derek really hadn't tried to hide. He wasn't lying about the shopping, but he lying about not having something in the works. She decided to probe her way around in his room, being the typical nosy sister and rifling through his belongings. It was there that she came across a small little box inside his jacket, dark blue velvet and as thought touching it burned her she dropped it and scampered back.
"Oh my fucking god he can't be serious." Cora said sucking in a breath as she slowly backed up only to back up into the solid frame of muscles that was her brother. She immediately jumped and spun before backing away again.
Derek saw the box on the floor, saw the look on his sister's face, and had heard what it was she had just said, and to say his face didn't look furious…was actually a somewhat fair statement. He actually looked like he was about to laugh his ass off at the way his sister looked like she expected him to kill her. He walked over and picked the box up, pulling off the pieces of dust that had tainted the soft velvet surface before putting it back in his jacket pocket. "So I need to find a good lock to put on my door it seems." Derek said as he slipped on the leather jacket and walked back out the door. "Then again for all I know you'd just rip the doorknob off or something." he added before working his way down the stairs, leaving his sister standing there in two different states of shock, first at having been caught, second at having been let off with little more than a backhanded comment that he wanted his privacy respected.
Eventually Cora snapped out of her trance and made her way sheepishly downstairs and into the bathroom with her own change of clothes, making sure to not make eye contact with her brother. She didn't want to see the triumphant gleam in them, knowing that without so much as threatening her he'd humbled her pretty easily. She didn't have quite the same issues in the shower, not having nearly the level of hellish tension in her own body as she let the water pour over her. She was still however recovering from nearly having died, still having that slight tremble when she overextended, getting a bit lightheaded. She ended up coming out a good hour and a half later with her hair still wrapped in her towel and looking a bit more relaxed than she had prior, and no longer as dour as she'd gone in.
"Alright, so where the hell are we going?" she asked as she vigorously dried off her hair before taking the brush she'd brought out with her and dragging it through.
"Well first I want to go get some new clothes, which means yes, you can get some too, but I swear to god if you don't find at least three outfits in half an hour I will never buy you anything, ever. You can get a job and then go shopping on your own, or bring Lydia, she'd probably love to have someone to go shopping with, might give Aiden a break too." Derek replied as he got up from where he'd been sitting, reading, and headed for the door. "After that I want to scope out a few places, I can bet you know for what purpose." Derek added tapping his jacket pocket.
"Gods do not remind me, please." Cora said with a groan. "I would have figured you'd just drag him to the middle of the woods or something, not take him out to a fancy restaurant." Cora said as she tilted her head a little. Derek then looked at the ground as though thinking the idea over. "Oh my god stop, I was joking, you're not dragging him into the woods to propose to him or whatever it is you're doing. Be normal for once damnit." Cora said causing Derek to smirk and chuckle a little.
"Okay, okay, I'll be normal and take him to a restaurant, but nothing too fancy, I'd never be able to figure out how all the spoons and forks go." Derek said as he headed down to the Camaro.
"Sounds like a smart move bro." Cora said as she closed the door behind them feeling a slight jolt as the latch connected. "Gah! The hell was that!?" she asked pulling her hand away and shaking it.
"Must be some sort of defense thing that Al has set up, makes sure nothing tries to sneak in while everyone is away, can't blame him, we've had plenty of uninvited guests, it's only natural he decided to put that up." Derek said as they climbed into the Camaro and took off for a day that Derek was sure he'd regret later that day.