Survival
Chapter 36
Connor
...
Stiles found Cats very interesting, mainly for the wrong reasons.
"Why's that Pouncival kid humping that hot, slutty chick? Well, I mean it's obvious why he's doing it, but if that Tugger jerk turns around, he's one dead kitty."
Sean sighed at the screen. "It's not exactly 'humping', more like 'rubbing his butt against her leg... And her hand...'" He shifted uncomfortably, the show could be a bit racy at times, "Bombalurina's better off with Pouncival anyway. Tugger's a player." He shook his head, "Wait until The Jellicle Ball, they practically mate onstage." He frowned, "And she's not 'slutty'. Tugger on the other hand..."
Stiles grinned, "A love triangle? This may be interesting after all... Of course, by the way Tugger physically straddled Pouncival and slapped his ass, he might enjoy the idea of a threesome."
"I doubt Rum Tum Tugger 'loves' any of his girls. He's just a pompous flirt. As for why Tugger was humping Pouncival, I have no clue. I mean, John Partridge, who played Tugger, is gay. Karl Morgan, Pouncival, is straight, I assume, since he has a wife and kids now. He and his wife run a dance school for kids now."
"Maybe he was just copping a feel?"
"Everything is carefully choreographed, I'm sure it was in the script. Maybe it was a dominance display, like when Scott growls his 'Alpha' growl.."
"I still say he was molesting him. And did you see the way that tall, skinny, pale tom cat was flinging his legs up at Tugger and staring at his crotch?"
"Plato, Bryn Walters. He also plays Macavity, but we haven't gotten to Macavity yet. And everyone was looking at Tugger."
Stiles arched a brow, "Okay, I get knowing the characters' names, but the performers'?"
Sean shrugged, "You knew who played Oola, how's that any different? I bet you know who played Moff Jerjerrod."
"That's easy, Michael Pennington. And it was Moff Tiaan Jerjerrod. Do you know who played Sim Aloo?"
"Anthony Lang." Sean shook his head, "Nevermind, we're watching Cats!"
"Is it just me, or does Alonzo look like Willow?"
They missed a great deal of the music as Stiles continually pointed out various features of Bombalurina and Demeter's impressive anatomies and sensual dances that he found stimulating.
"Man, that was like Kitty Porn." Stiles remarked as the credits rolled by.
Sean sighed sadly, "I try to bring a little culture into your life, and all you can think of is sex."
"Look, I'm 17, I risk my life constantly fighting evil monsters and demons and things that go bump in the freakin' night. I've been kidnapped, tortured, poisoned, beaten and possessed. My best friend's a Werewolf, my girlfriend's a Werecoyote and I just watched Cats with a Wendigo. I probably won't even live to see 18, so I think I have a right to enjoy myself."
Sean put an arm around Stiles' shoulders, "Don't talk like that Stiles, if anyone can survive, it's you. You've lived through things I can't imagine, and I haven't exactly had it easy lately."
"You came back from the dead, that's hard to top."
"Catalepsy, not death."
"Hey, Sean, can you dance?"
"Not like that. Well, like some of that, very basic stuff, but ballet? Nope."
"I wonder if Werecats are hot like that..." He sighed.
...
Peter Hale watched as a tall, thin figure in dark robes approached The Nemeton, making no effort to conceal itself. He could smell it was a man, a human, though he smelled of the forest and earth. He wasn't afraid, merely curious. As he drew closer Peter could see that it was a pale-skinned, red-haired man, with Celtic symbols etched across his thin, freckled face and hands.
"You know this is Hale property, don't you?"
"Aye. But when I went to ask permission, no one was at home." His voice was soft, with an Irish accent, "I wasn't expecting ye' to be guarding The Nemeton, Peter Hale."
"You have me at a distinct disadvantage, you know who I am, and I know nothing of you, save that you look like a Druid."
"Ye' have a keen eye. I'm Connor."
"Connor. Wolf, right?"
Connor was standing in front of him now, neither intimidated nor attempting to intimidate Peter.
"Ironic, don'tcha think?"
"Why are you here?"
"Because o' The Nemeton, a' course. I'm one of The Guardians. Was we who helped The Nemeton return to its former glory, after it absorbed that energy an' came back from the dead."
"I know two people who've come back from the dead personally, and I'm one of them"
"The other would be the Walcott lad, Sean? Wendigo are impressive creatures, but they don' get the respect they deserve." He put a hand to The Nemeton trunk, "They, like Banshee, walk hand-in-hand with Death, and 'ave a better understandin' of The Balance a' things. A few of them 'ave become great Druids."
"Right now I'm more interested in why you and your group came here, and why you healed The Nemeton."
" 'Course ya are. M' apologies. We, The Guardians, protect spots of great energy, both sacred and profane. The Nemeton is a sacred thing, though The Darach and that fox demon profaned it with their evil. The Slender Man's energies, we couldn' make heads nor tails a' that, it's outside a' our knowledge. We couldn't save it before, but now that it's alive again we can heal an' protect it." He pulled back his hood, revealing his long red hair.
"What do you mean, sacred and profane?"
"There's a balance, ye see. In all things. Some places are full a' darkness an' evil, but without them worse things could come. So they are guarded, protected and nurtured, though the Guardians who protect them usually are are 'evil' as well."
"And you, are you evil, too?"
"We're all a' us good an' evil both, I strive t' be Neutral, neither one nor the other."
"Why was The Nemeton cut down before, if it had Guardians?"
Connor frowned, "Because The Guardians themselves were cut down by the bloody Argents." For the first time since they'd met, Peter sensed anger, carefully suppressed, but there nonetheless.
"Where do you intend to live while you guard The Nemeton?"
"I 'ave a dwellin', yes, on yer land, without yer say."
The man's nerve was somewhat amusing, "How do you know I won't kill you, or toss you off my property?"
"'Cause that'd be a terrible waste. And yer not as bad as ye' think."
"You said 'we', where are the others?"
"They left. I was chosen to stay behind."
"How do you intend to protect yourself? Beacon Hills is a dangerous place, the forest even more so. There are plenty of monsters like me roaming around in the night."
"I know a' The Old Ways. I can do terrible things to people, should I put m' mind t' it."
"That didn't help the previous Guardians." Peter observed wryly.
"That Kate Argent were in league in league with Th' Devil himself. Gerard too. Besides, The Old Ways don' do much t' deflect bullets."
"How do you intend to eat?"
"I lived off the land since I was born. I suppose it's poor manners not t' to ask the landowner before goin' huntin'."
"Yes, I believe they call that trespassing and poaching. I don't much care, as long as you don't make trouble, but you may meet my nephew and his friends. They're a bunch of soft pups, they won't mind either, I'm sure. And we have a cabin that nobody uses, if you want shelter."
"Thank ye, but I prefer t' live outdoors, though if a blizzard or a rain a' frogs come, I may be seekin' shelter."
"It actually has rained frogs several times in Beacon Hills. But I'd worry more about snow and hail."
"Was a joke, I don' mind frogs. Thank ye for yer hospitality, my shelter's designed to protect me from things like hail, it's underground, ye see."
"It's not near the old house, is it?" Peter didn't care if a Druid decided to protect The Nemeton for him, but he didn't want anyone messing around with the ruins where his family was massacred.
"No. That be a different kind of sacred, personal. I wouldn't intrude upon a man's pain and memories like that."
He could tell Connor was being completely honest with him, unless he had some sort of glamour like The Darach had used. "How did you know Sean Walcott was a Wendigo?"
"Our more powerful members can read auras, tell who an' what a person is. Like I said, we did careful research, of all of Beacon Hills. This was before the poor lad's family was butchered by that renegade Astomi. Talkin' of The Mute, did ye kill him?"
"He put a tomahawk laced with wolfsbane in my chest. I gave Sean the first shot, because he lost his whole family to that bastard, but he's too kind to kill anyone in cold blood, even that trash. So I stepped in and did what had to be done, as usual."
"I was certain McCall didn' do it, he don' have it in him. Neither does Sean."
"They're good kids, too good. The world doesn't work that way. Enemies don't just walk away after a stern warning. The Darach, The Mute, that whore Kate Argent, they won't trouble us again. Who knows if Deucalion might try to come back? Or Gerard decides to take us all with him before he goes to Hell." He shook his head, "They just don't understand."
...
Rafe McCall couldn't help but feel somewhat uncomfortable sitting at the dinner table with a Wendigo. He knew the boy was basically harmless and that he was eating stir-fried pork, not human flesh, but it still felt a bit creepy.
His day had been busy, he and Scott had visited Sheriff Stilinski and explained that he now knew the situation and would try to stay out of the way. Stilinski had been relieved to hear that, the man was so burdened down with the secrets, the lies and his son's illnesses and suffering that he was close to breaking. Learning that Deputy Parrish wasn't human explained several things, his association with the kids and his inclusion on The Deadpool, though he still refused to say what he was.
Now that he saw things with open eyes, Stiles really wasn't as rude, obnoxious and unpleasant as he had thought. He was just suffering, terribly. Sarcasm and sass were his only defenses against the horrors he'd witnessed and been subjected to. Most trained professionals Rafe new would have broken under such weight, especially The Nogitsune, but Stiles managed to struggle onward. His inner strength was incredible.
He could still be annoying as Hell, though.
"So, did Stiles like Cats?"
"Stiles liked certain cats, particularly the queens with big... Personalities."
"Sounds like Stiles to me." Scott was still unsure about his father, the man who had abandoned him and his mother. It was hard not to be resentful, but at the same time he was still his dad. He wanted him in his life. He wasn't so sure his mother agreed, their was a lot of anger and resentment between them, she was letting him stay on her couch, that didn't mean she would welcome him back into their lives.
"Does this mean you'll be leaving?" Probably not the best way to put it.
"I think I should probably stay and help with all of these supernatural threats."
Uh-oh. Whenever they involved other people, especially the law and parents, things usually headed South real quick.
"No. I mean, are you going to stay in Beacon Hills?"
"That depends on Washington. They may call me back soon, or send me somewhere else. i can't exactly tell them that I'm staying with my Werewolf son and his Wendigo friend helping a pack of Werewolves defend suburbia, can I?"
"That would be a quick way to end your career." Sean noted, "That and talking about UFOs. You could probably get a job on the police force."
"I think I've burnt enough bridges with the Stilinski's that we'll never be comfortable together."
"I nearly ate Mrs. McCall and threw Liam Dunbar off a roof, forcing Scott to bite him to save his life, but they understood that I wasn't myself and are like a mother and little brother to me."
"I doubt you could have eaten Melissa," Rafe smiled, "She'd have had you writhing in pain before you could take the first bite. Knee to the balls, I've felt it. I still feel it sometimes."
Melissa smirked, "Good."
Ouch.
Both Sean and Scott winced at the thought.
...
To be continued...
Notes
Please forgive my poor attempts at an Irish accent.
Moff Tiaan Jerjerrod was in charge of construction of The Second Death Star in Star Wars : Return of The Jedi. He had the displeasure of greeting both Darth Vader and Emperor Palpatine upon their separate arrivals. He was killed when The Death Star was destroyed.
Sim Aloo was the tall, thin Imperial Dignitary who traveled to The Second Death Star with Emperor Palpatine. He presumably died when it was destroyed.
How does Stiles know the names of the various cats? Sean pointed them out as they appeared, others are obvious because they're named in their songs, like Old Deuteronomy, Rum Tum Tugger, Jennyanydots, Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer, Gus, Skimbleshanks, Macavity and Mister Mistoffelees.
Pouncival is also known as Carbucketty. Or sometimes Carbucketty is a separate cat. Sometimes there's no Pouncival only Carbucketty, and vice versa. He's a clumsy, playful, adorable kitten who tries too hard to impress, usually falls on his face, gets knocked over, etc... He let's his friends push him into doing stupid/bad things. He's also my favorite cat. Sorry Mungojerrie, but it was very close...
And no, I do not think Bombalurina is slutty. But Rum Tum Tugger was definitely molesting Pouncival during his song.
Karl Morgan and his wife Janine run a dance school for boys called Movement Warriors in England.