Chapter 66

Stiles had no problem whatsoever to do the initial dirty work himself. Armed with several baggies of mountain ash, he went on another visit to the sheriff station. While he brought several pounds of fresh strawberries for everyone because the strawberry fields outside of Beacon Hills were closing soon and offered half price for self-pickers, he kept it low-key otherwise.

During a bathroom break, Stiles emptied the bags and ran his hands over the small mounds of eagerly shifting mountain ash.

"Okay, you mission, should you choose to accept it, is to scratch these runes into the corners of every police interrogation room you encounter. Be careful and don't be seen." He showed the ash a picture of a room schematic, complete with cardinal points. "Since this is a nation-wide effort, I encourage you to seek support among the local population. Any questions?"

Hilariously - and frighteningly - there were a few. It was more like a niggling across Stiles' magical awareness, but he understood well enough what the ash needed to know.

"No, do not engage any magic users. This is strictly between you and me. But as I said, if you meet friendlies among your own kind, don't hesitate to draft them." He cocked his head. "Oh, so now we're talking prizes, eh? I haven't got a single problem with that, just so you know. What do you want? A ride with yours truly? Or a ride with one of my furry friends? They'd probably love that."

The ash was pretty eager for rides with Stiles and the werewolves, but the overwhelming vote was for trees.

As in, Stiles was asked to plant new trees, and not just rowan trees either. Just … trees.

"I can get behind that," he told the ash with a grin when he'd recovered from his surprise. "I might have to barter with my Sourwolf because he's the current owner and ranger for the Hale land, but it shouldn't be a problem. Once we've got his okay you can help pick out a spot. Do we have a deal?"

The mountain ash surged up and crawled all over him, covering every inch of his skin. The merge with the mountain ash Lou was using to get around independently of Stiles was lively, and for a moment Stiles really felt like Eddie Brock inside his Venom alien suit.

"This is so cool," he breathed into the ash covering his face, stretching out his fingers and watching as sharp talons formed in the tips and razor-sharp ridges welled up along the back of his hand. "Once you've made it back to me, we'll have to talk about making some sort of wolf suit. It would be amazing to be able to run with my pack."

Once more the mountain ash twisted around him, easily taking whatever shape Stiles and Lou wanted it to take. Then, it slowly seeped back onto the tiled floor, and from there tiny tendrils of black began making their way out of the stall and in the direction of the interrogation rooms. The vast remainder, however, crept towards the high-set and small hopper window to begin the journey.

Stiles fiercely wished the mountain ash safe travels. As soon as it was gone, he did his business, washed his hands, and rejoined his dad in his office.

"All done?" the sheriff asked mildly.

Stiles grinned. "Yup. I'll have to plant half a dozen trees, but that's all. Combined with the discouragement runes on some paperwork that should do the trick in getting the FBI off our backs."

"Your self-copying discouragement runes," his father corrected in a tone that clearly said that he couldn't believe the words that were coming out of his mouth. "Do I even want to know?"

"Maybe you do," Stiles answered with a smirk.

"Yeah," John conceded, "maybe I do."

"You can totally blame Peter for that." Stiles proceeded to tell his father about the talk that prompted Peter's mention of juggling things with mountain ash, as well as Zia Whittemore's meticulously filed paperwork. He wisely left out that that talk had been in person and not via phone. "I mean, how great is it that a simple quip led to this? My mind was, like ..." And Stiles mimed his head exploding.

The sheriff smiled wryly. "You two are the devil's pair, kiddo. I live in fear of the day when you decide that you can easily rule the world."

"Nah, we're the good guys, we'd only go that far if everyone else has royally fucked up," Stiles replied cheerfully. "And with that reassuring remark, I'm gonna take my leave. I've got to ask Derek for permission to plant trees, and then I'm gonna go to self-defence with Isaac. Oh, by the way, how about a barbeque on Sunday? I thought we could invite Jackson and his parents. The old ladies will probably love harassing him."

"Send me a grocery list and I'll go shopping tomorrow," the sheriff said. He shook his head. "This summer is one for the books."

"Isn't it just?" Beaming, Stiles gave his father a hug and a smacking kiss to the head. "Bye!"

oOo

After hearing what had happened at the station, Derek was only too glad to show Stiles a space on the Hale property where the preserve could do with some more trees.

"A storm last year felled a couple of old trees. It's got quite a bit of light and the soil is rich," Derek explained, showing off the large patch of young overgrowth that had sprouted up around the dead tree stubs. "Depending on what you want to plant, the saplings shouldn't have any problems shooting up. Do you have seeds ready?"

"Nah, I thought I'd let the ash decide what it wants," Stiles said. "Since they claimed the tree planting as their reward for invading law enforcement offices all over the country and all."

If Derek found it strange that Stiles was talking about the mountain ash like it was a sentient being, he didn't show it. Instead, he walked around the clearing and made notes on his phone of what needed to be cleared away and what he should get to support the growth and development of the new trees.

Afterwards, they spent some time around the dilapidated house where Derek had begun rebuilding his mother's herb garden. Stiles was amazed that Derek already had the first tiny offshoots to show for his hard work.

"It's a good thing I finally finished the ward stones for this property," Stiles said. "Let's bury them today and get the wards going."

Derek was quietly eager and gladly did all the shovelling. With every colourful stone vanishing in the ground of his family's property, a bit of tension left his muscular frame until at last, he seemed almost mellow in the slightly damp heat of the day.

"And now?" he asked quietly.

Stiles patted the remaining stone in his hand. "Now we plant the master stone in the centre and cast the magic. Come, since it's your property you get to hold my hand."

"It's not just mine," Derek murmured but he followed along willingly.

"Uh, yes, it is. Figures that Peter didn't tell you."

"What do you mean?" Derek asked.

Stiles stopped in the very centre of the warded-off area, which was close to Talia Hale's secret wolfsbane patches. "This is perfect." He held out a hand, the fingers splayed. "The radiating energy from all the stones around us is thickest here. Okay, swing that spade."

With half a dozen decisive delves of the spade, the hole was ready.

"Here." Stiles handed Derek the dark blue stone that the pack had adorned with gold speckles and purple stars. "Place it in the ground and cover it with dirt. Think about how this is your property, and that only you get to decide who is allowed to step foot on it."

"I can't," Derek retorted, shoulders hunched up a little.

"I just told you that you can," Stiles said patiently. "I dunno if Peter intended for it to be a surprise or something, but he already signed the property over to you. It's yours to do with as you please. All that's needed is your counter signature, but that's just a formality."

Derek's eyes widened and he stared at Stiles in utter incredulity. "Really. Why would he do that?"

"Dude, why wouldn't he? Being here makes you happy, and he wants you to be happy." Stiles placed a hand on Derek's arm and just held him. "Bury your ward stone and seal the deal. I promise that this is not a hoax or a dream. Come on."

It was heartbreaking how Derek's gaze flitted to Stiles every few seconds like he really couldn't believe his good fortune. Almost reverently, he put the dirt back into the hole and patted it until it was level with the surroundings.

Across from him, Stiles sat down and crossed his legs. "Give me your paws, this is the fun part."

Still overwhelmed, Derek also sat down and placed his hands into Stiles'. "I really just have to think about the security?"

"Yeah, whatever you think is necessary." Stiles grinned. "No words required."

Derek took a deep breath and settled down. For a moment he looked at the ward stone's hiding place but then he closed his eyes.

Stiles followed suit and began his mantra of, Protect Derek's land, protect Derek's land, protect Derek's land …

They were both silent for long minutes, Lou crawling over their arms to connect them further, but at last Derek exhaled again and murmured, "I think I'm done." More vulnerable than Stiles had seen him in quite some time, he added, "Thank you, Alpha."

"You're welcome," Stiles returned, pleased as punch. He grinned. "If it weren't so reckless, I'd love to see Deaton's stupid face when he realizes that he can't trespass anymore."

Derek returned his wide smile with a tiny one of his own. "Imagining it is good enough for me."

For just a second longer Stiles' squeezed Derek's earthy hands. Then, he stood and brushed off the dirt from his pants. "There's one other thing I wanted to talk to you about. Is that okay? Or do you want to, you know, wallow some more in your contentment?"

"I can wallow any time I want, now," Derek retorted, a bit of his sass returning. He stood as well. "What is bothering you?"

"It's not really bothering me, I've just been thinking."

They returned to the house side by side and went around to the front entrance.

"Okay," Stiles said with a gusty sigh. "The thing is that I don't really know what you're thinking about all of this." He gestured at the ruined house. "But I do know that it is important to you. You probably won't want to level it, even though most people might think you should."

"I …" Derek's mildly happy expression cooled and wariness tensed his formally loose shoulders. "I'm not ready."

"And I totally get that," Stiles assured him. "What I want to know, as your friend, is whether being around here will hurt you more in the long run, or make you better."

"Are you truly asking as my friend, or as my alpha?" Derek asked stiffly.

Stiles shrugged. "Fair question. Both, I suppose, because I can't really help myself. Just to be clear, I have no intention of taking any choices away from you. This is your property. I just want to know what your plans are so I can be there for you."

Derek's light eyes flicked back to the house and he swallowed. "I don't know. Almost all of my family died here. Laura's buried here." He took a shuddery breath. "It's like they're still here, somehow. That's not … that's not normal, I know, but I can't let it go. Not yet."

"Okay," Stiles said easily. He was no stranger to wishing so hard for his mom that he sometimes could hear her voice even now, after so many years. That Derek wanted to be close to his lost family in the only way he could wasn't unusual to him at all. "Although … you got any plans on improving the structure?"

"What?" Derek asked, confused.

Stiles pointed at the sooty walls and the broken staircase that was visible through the open door. "If it stays, you might as well use it, at least for storage and stuff. Or would that be verboten?"

Flabbergasted, Derek stared at him again. "Uh, I don't know. I honestly haven't thought about it."

"Well, maybe you will, now that it's all yours." Stiles gently bumped against Derek's shoulder and then took a few steps back. "I'm gonna head back for my martial arts class. You have a good time, and if you wanna join us at the drive-in cinema tonight just call so we can reserve you a spot."

A little roughly, Derek whispered, "Okay."

Stiles smiled at the overwhelmed werewolf and turned to begin the two-mile trek back to his Jeep.

oOo

That night, Stiles invited Peter over again and did his best to fudge the security system so his father wouldn't have a reason to read him the riot act. How he hadn't noticed lizard Jackson until after the fact was a question for another day, but that just proved that both mundane and magical protections were needed now to be able to sleep with both eyes closed.

Just before midnight, Peter entered through the window and stood in the far corner of the room, as directed by Stiles.

Not ten minutes later, the kanima slithered in as well. His yellow eyes took in Peter's still, red-eyed form before he turned his attention to Stiles.

"Hey you," Stiles greeted him. "Sorry for calling you like this, and thanks for coming. I didn't know if it would work, but you obviously heard me, because magic. Cool. So, there are a few things I … we … need to go over with you. Is that okay? Do you have some time?"

It couldn't speak, but the kanima was more than capable of conveying his readiness to attend Stiles' wishes. In a sleek move, he perched on the desk chair and chirped a little when it turned slightly with the momentum.

Stiles smiled anxiously. "Great. So, let me introduce you to Peter, the other alpha in Beacon Hills. We're friends and partners. He's got one beta, his name is Isaac, and he's also sort of co-adopted my friends Erica and Boyd. I have one beta beside you named Derek. Those guys know of you and are looking forward to meeting you soon."

"Hello," Peter said, a rumble following the silken greeting. "Nice to meet you."

The kanima cocked his head and rumbled back.

"That went well," Stiles breathed, relieved. "Okay, on to the unpleasant business we urgently need to talk about. You know how an alpha douchebag bit your human to hurt our pack? Well, we think that they might come back, despite me and Lou decapitating one of their members."

The kanima hissed, almost like he was issuing a challenge.

"I know that you could probably rip them to shreds, my dude, but that's not what we're going with right now," Stiles cautioned. "For now we'd like for you to check out your human's house and get acquainted with his and his parents' habits. Your job will be to protect them against intruders and attackers. If the alphas are dumb enough to try something, take them out. I won't be super fussed should you kill one or even all of them, but we've got my dad to consider. I'd like to spare him the shitload of paperwork that would cause. Plus, your human might get in trouble … or be squeamish." He paused. "Actually, I have no idea if he is, but I'll find out."

Huffing, the kanima curled his long tail around himself.

"It's boring, I get that, but that brings us to the second point on our agenda," Stiles said consolingly. "First, I'd like to know how aware you are of your human. He doesn't know anything about you, just that a few strange things have been happening to him."

The kanima hissed and chittered for a bit.

"I don't know what you got from that, but I believe that he is very aware of his human half," Peter said from his corner.

"Yeah, I think so, too." Stiles considered this. "If that proves to be true, we've got a huge advantage. Instead of blending two completely unaware personalities, we only have to reconcile Jackson with this new aspect of himself."

"That could still be more than we can handle," Peter replied. Slowly, he came forward and sat down on the bed. While his eyes never lost their red colour, he looked non-threatening otherwise. "How willing would you be to merge with your human, Kanima?"

Stiles grumbled in dissatisfaction. "We're not gonna call him Kanima, for fuck's sake."

"His human name is out for the moment," Peter countered. "Or any diminutives."

"Then we'll find him one that doesn't give away his identity." Stiles shook off his sudden anger. It wasn't Peter's fault that Jackson had been turned and he didn't want to make the mistake of using Peter as a convenient scapegoat. "But it's a good question. I promised Jackson to tell him what's going on, and to hold him off at least in the short-term from throwing himself into yet another sword of mental disbalance I told him that I'd make a game out of it for him."

"That was pretty presumptuous, if not condescending. I'm surprised he accepted this," Peter murmured.

"Well, he wasn't happy about it, but I guess he noticed how difficult it was for me."

"Hm, a point in his favour. I do understand your reasoning, though not everyone will."

"Do you?"

Peter touched Stiles' shoulder with his outstretched fingers. "Of course, I do. His parents gave that boy whatever he wished for, but they obviously somehow failed in giving him the kind of roots he needs to feel secure in himself. Dumping this on him without him having anything to ground him? That's a mental break in the making even for less challenged individuals."

"Yeah, that'd be so not cool with the powers the kanima has. The problem is that Jackson doesn't trust anyone," Stiles said quietly. "Not even himself. I just thought I'd, I dunno, engage his curiosity long enough for him to become friends with us while giving our Scalyboy here time to leave hints so Jackson won't feel like an actual Dr Jeckyll when he does find out. That is if he wants Jackson to know. I'm not sure what kanimas actually want out of life, except for pleasing their masters."

Both he and Peter looked at the kanima, who had been following their conversation attentively.

The kanima mrowled a little. Then, in the blink of an eye, he was in front of Stiles and offering his clawed hand again for a high-five. The look in his reptilian eyes was intent, yet the creature managed to somehow radiate hopeful contentment.

"Well, I think he does ultimately want to join consciousness with his human," Peter said a little breathlessly as Stiles pressed his palm against the kanima's. "Now we only have to devise a plan for that to happen sooner rather than later."

Stiles smiled at the kanima. "Let the games begin. I've always thought that co-op is the way to go."


End of chapter 66