Stiles drags himself away from the massacre leftover from his killing rampage.
The sun setting through the trees allows him mercy, lighting the path to a lake nearby. He dives in without hesitation, happily ridding himself of the blood and gore from his night's most recent human indulgence. When he swims to the surface, he sighs deeply, his exhaustion felt deep within his bones but as he's wiping the wet hair from his face he freezes in shock.
A maroon cloaked figure stands motionless, looking off into the distance and past him at the tree line. He cautiously moves closer, his head duct down and eyes just above the surface in case he needed to dodge from any oncoming attacks, he swims closer trying to get a better look at it. His eyes narrow in and widen all in the same succession as he sees the fox shaped mask made of a silver medal peering over him as he moved, its stance remaining defenseless.
He takes his chances swimming from out of its line of sight testing to see if the figure will follow his movements, yet it sits still neither looking at him nor moving to defend itself from his oncoming form. So he approaches slowly, realizing with dread as he reaches the shore that the figure is slightly transparent, the bottom of its cloak disappearing into the ground.
But just as he's about to open his mouth and say something the cloaked figure turns suddenly, causing Stiles to startle back in surprise, but he quickly recovers struggling to keep up with it.
"Shit…" His heart pounding as he stalks its form, swearing under his breath and hoping his mind wasn't playing tricks on him, the ghost like figure seemingly disappearing and floating through the forest.
Though the longer he followed the worse his perception of reality got, feeling almost compelled to follow the fox, his instincts screaming at him that if he didn't catch up something really, really bad was going to happen.
The air was changing now tense and heavy as if plagued with humidity after a rain shower in the late spring afternoon. The sudden chill running down his body has him looking around suddenly, making him stop short as he notices a black shadow moving alongside him from his peripheral view.
He gasps noticing that he's not alone, stilling in his tracks as the silver Crow cloaked figure continues to glide along through the trees, following the direction in which the Fox leads. So Stiles continues to follow mentally naming all the animals he can see from where he is surrounded.
Crow, Ram, Snake, Owl, Bear, Wolf, and Fox.
The group is silent, the only noise coming from his quickening breaths and footsteps. The last remaining light from the sunset has him silently freaking out the longer they walk into the preserve.
But just as he's about to make a run for it the group stops short, the cloak figures passing him to stand next to one another, side by side. Stiles heart almost loud enough to drown out the whispered Latin chants that shouldn't sound this close to him from where he's standing.
The hair on the back of his neck stands on end, the chanting unable to be deciphered even with his nearly perfect understanding of the Latin language. His brows forward as he closes his eyes trying to pick up on different dialects or tones but he's unable to recognize any specific words or phrases.
A gust of wind picks up from in front of him, causing him to shield his eyes, the brushing of trees and earth cracking sounds all he hears before he straightens up, the whispers now just distant echoes.
"What..?" He whispers but when he opens his eyes he's alone…
"Holy shit! Oh my god. Yup totally freaked out now!"
He says to himself as he stands there unsure of what to do. Looking around him he realizes he's standing in a forked path that wasn't there before, one path cut off by a stream and the other continuing further down the hillside.
He closes his eyes again concentrating on his inhuman hearing to listen to the forest for any oncoming threats or signs. Then he hears it, the stream of water is colliding with something, the object creating a slight blimp in the flow of water as if swerving around an object, so he turns left, towards the stream and hoping to god it's not a body.
He follows the small stream, looking ahead of it to see what it's blocking when he gapes. The cave's entrance blocked off by another large moss covered rock standing in the way. The fireflies around it and pretty purple, white shrubs make him feel like he's just stumbled upon a quest, a quest to finally finding Derek!
"But first things first..." Stiles makes quick work of getting rid of the annoying rock standing in his way and tosses it to the side, swallowing hard, he stares into the cave's dark ominous entrance.
"Derek! Are you there?" His voice echo's back at him with no response, slumping in disappointment he makes his way slowly down, the fireflies helping light his path, but just enough for him to make out his feet. He has to hunch most of the way until his feet kick a small rock on his path that echoes off the walls, signifying the sudden elevation in the cave's height.
He straightens his back, his mind contemplating whether or not he should shift into his Vampiric form but the fear of what new powers lie within him stop him from doing so, though what catches him off guard is the flash of light that goes off in front of him just a few feet away. The sudden draw of fireflies drawing his attention to the white flower blossoming right before his eyes, the flower looking as if its lit from within.
He walks closer to expect it when the nearing fireflies suddenly light up with the same light source, their wings looking almost like wings of small birds, or dare he say it… fairies.
Stiles watches them fly over to the nearest closed bud and as if pollinating the flowers themselves, the fireflies set off all of the other flowers, and like magic they bloom, white and sparkling with their glowing golden cores and large white petals. Stiles finds himself unable to keep the small smile off his face, the cave slowly coming to life around him as he watches in amazement the true beauty of the cave unveiled in the darkness.
"Wow…" Stiles stares in awe at all the ethereal flowers and vines wondering how such beautiful things were able to thrive in such a destitute place. He's looking around, walking over and grazing his hand over a thick spot of blossoming flowers when he steps on broken glass.
Luckily for him, his shoes were very much intact but he couldn't say the same for the lantern he finds tucked underneath the vines and flowers. He pulls it out with little effort, its metal frames caught between the vines that seemed to have grown through them over time. It's smaller than he would've expected, almost childlike when he notices how the black handle is stained with a red substance. He expects it some more, turning it over when he spots the two initials marked on the bottom with a black sharpie.
"M.S…Who do I know with those initials?…Literally no one. I mean…" He could consider himself but that wouldn't be possible, he'd stopped using his real name centuries ago, especially after he got turned.
"No way…"
His mother used to put his initials on his things but….yeah no, that couldn't be possible.
Stiles has had a lot of weird experiences throughout his life and he's pretty sure he'd remember finding a cave with glowing flowers in it.
There was just no way.
He looks around some more, squinting and then getting annoyed he couldn't see well enough before saying, "Fuck it," under his breath and transforming into his Vampiric form, his night vision now able to look around properly. He's looking around the cave, its rigid walls almost sparkling under his gaze as he walks a little further down until he spots it.
The Fox mask lies half heartedly on its front side like it's been tossed and forgotten about for a few years. He picks it up examining its inside for any initials or clue of its former owner but finds nothing. He brings it up to his face, placing it over his eyes when he spots the circle, the magic rune symbols carved into the ground.
Walking around the bend, Stiles gasps when the full casting circle comes into view. Its exaggerated symbols and runes are super detailed even to Stiles's inexperienced eyes. Chills break across his skin when he steps into the casting circle, the lantern and masks clutched tightly into his hands, unsure of the consequences of his actions as he continues to make his way to the center. His heart starts pounding when he spots the detailed drawings equally spaced out in a circle around him.
" Fox, Crow, Owl, Ram, Bear, Snake, Wolf …" The words whispered through his lips as he looks at each one appreciating the detailed work that it took to create their realistic profiles. Bending down he runs his hands along the fox symbol under his feet when he hears his name.
"Stiles? What are you doing here?" He jumps, the lantern flying from his hand in surprise and landing in a loud clatter as he freezes, eyes widening and breaths becoming instantly shallow.
His head involuntarily turns around slowly to see her.
The casted circle around him blazing to life, each magic rune glowing golden in color, he stands slowly, tears welling up in his eyes as he takes a deep shuddering breath.
He hasn't seen her face for so long a part of him wanted to question if it's really her, the details of her face almost messing up the blurred out version he has saved of her in his mind.
Seeing her like this now ...it's like he's truly seeing her for the first time and shit…it, it hurts.
"Mom?…" He says falling to his knees in disbelief.
He can hear it echoing through the cave, the distorted sound of his younger and older voices overlaid on top of each other. The ghost of his younger self-ripping itself out of him like a band aid, leaving Stiles bleeding out and raw with emotion as he watches the heartwarming reunion he knows he'll never be able to have again.
His mind choosing this moment to show the worst sides of himself that hide right underneath the surface, the mad analyzing thoughts come flowing out now, no longer able to stay inside the lines of the pretty scene happening right in front of him.
The blooded lantern handle now stands out stark against its metal surface, his initials on the bottom of it, the ghost of his younger self continuing to bloody up the back of his mother's maroon cloak. He walks around their tight embrace looking at his younger tear stained face, at the soot and blood of his blotchy skin, the fox masks tucked behind his mother's head. Her brown curls are wild and loose. Her slight tremble starting to make sense the more he takes in her bloody sooted fingertips and the pink burned off flesh from right under the collar of her sleeve.
"Mom…I…I'm sorry!"
"No, shush you have nothing to be sorry about! You did great! Everything's going to be fine."
"No mom…I didn't mean to hurt them! I…I don't remember how…he was hurt!"
"Shhh, baby. It's ok. Mommy's got you ok. No one will know. Promise. They are safe now. You just have to be strong for me ok? Promise me you'll be strong…"
Her trembling hand comes out to wipe at his tears as her own fall freely now.
"No one is going to hurt you. Ok? Mommy will make everything alright."
"You…You promise?"
"Yes…now shhh come here." Stiles gasps as he sees her hand come up to caress the back of his head, the golden veins in her hands zapping him so fast Stiles eyes have a hard time adjusting to the light before his younger self falls limp in her arms, knocked out. Stiles watches her layout his body, her soft sobs echoing off the walls and settling heavily deep within his stomach.
Yet, he continues watching her closely as she takes the Fox mask and slides it over her face, taking in a shuddering breath she places both her hands on the ghost of his stomach, the whispered Latin spoken so softly he has a hard time hearing her. The ground starts to shake, the glowing magic runes on the ground brightening in intensity as they shift right before Stiles eyes, crawling up the walls of the cave and through the slight opening at the top. His eyes widen when he sees the full moon at its focus, glowing back at them.
He looks back at her and gasps again, the sleeve of her cloak pushed up to reveal an entire sleeve of magic rune tattoos on her arm, glowing an array of colors, the mask's eyes glowing gold in contrast. He takes a step closer to get a better look at them when all of a sudden a pulse of energy comes out from her hands, it's so strong Stiles falls to the ground, the ground creaking so loudly he assumes if any of this were actually happening it would crack its very foundation.
The rune rings slowly come flooding back into its source, the casting circle no longer glowing with what he assumes is his mother's magic, her shallow breaths coming out labored. She falls back from exhaustion, her hand coming up to rip the Fox masks off and revealing her sunken face, her eyes rolling back in her head as she spasms on the ground.
Stiles runs over then, frantically wanting to see as much of her as possible, the blood seeping out her mouth almost black in color as he watches the golden hue of her brown eyes become dull. Her hair graying at certain places around her face and there she was. The haunting image of the women he knew as his mother, dying of frontotemporal dementia.
"Mom!"
He falls on his knees in anguish.
"Mom…I…I'm so sorry it's all my fault…" He tries to caress the ghost of her face but watches with misery as his fingers brush through thin air. The self-hatred he feels towards himself at this moment…there are just no words.
There's nothing that he can possibly describe it with and to be honest he's just so fucking done.
He decides that he's had enough, no longer wanting to be apart of this sick game anymore.
Transforming he yells out to all the animals one last time, their drawings once again glowing in response to his commands before he takes a deep breath, fists clenched tight as he yells out,
"Go fuck yourselves!"
Slamming his hands down over and over again with as much strength as he can muster, the ground audibly groans, the cave visibly shaking with the force from each blow. Too preoccupied with destroying the casting circle to notice the fox cloaked figure stand, watching him in silence.
Big chunks of rock from the ceiling come falling down from above, Stiles making sure to crush every last magic rune he sees before making a run for it, jumping out of the way and using the piles of rock to maneuver his way up through the opening on the ceiling.
He makes it to the surface just in time, making one last jump to land on the neighboring hillside next to it, watching as the cave falls into itself. The dust mists his vision but not enough to deny his view of the fireflies and magic, gold shimmer that undeniably glitters in the aftermath.
He stands ready to leave the dust behind that's finally catching up to him from where he stands when he feels it, the particles in the air sticking to him. The grainy substance felt in his throat as he swallows hard, trying to clear his throat but it causes him to choke, his airways too irritated by the grainy substance to allow him to breathe through it.
Then he feels it slide up his arm, the tail visibly disappearing behind his sleeve,
"Oh god, no! No! No! No!…"
Panic consumes his being when he slides his sleeve up to reveal the fox tattoo making its way up to his arm, curling itself around his bicep and stopping right into the crook of his neck.
"Fuck!" He yells, his knees hitting the ground in defeat, hanging his head as he feels like he's about to cough up a lung.
His skin tingles as his breathing becomes more labored; still choking the sudden feeling of nauseousness hits him all at once.
Drool falls from his mouth, gagging as he feels a sharp pain on the left side of his chest, it makes him double over again, but then the sharp pain slowly bleeds into a sort of vibration, his right arm's muscles twitching and trembling uncontrollably. He feels the energy travel down his arm, pooling down into his fingertips and charging the tendons there with so much force he lifts his hand, looking down in amazement as the gold veins strain in his hands, and before he knows it's lifting on its own.
The ball of energy pulsing through him and out from his fingertips, the light source zooming up through the smoke and clouds of the night sky. The symbols and runes blooming before his eyes like fireworks, sparkling gold and bright in the darkness, the sky used as a canvas to proudly show off the casting circle illuminated for the entire world to see.
He gasps spotting the new symbols, the fox and wolf on opposite sides, the Triskelion swerving curved lines extending from its center. It's beautiful. It almost makes him want to cry, from horror or relief he's not sure but he honestly can't believe he just did that, his right arm still trembling with the force from it. Then he hears it, the howling. He shakingly stands.
"Derek!" He cries out.
He strains his hearing trying to make sense of the sound, the howl faint enough for him to have possibly mistaken it for the wind.
Their so similar, the wind whipping his face distorting his ability to hear clearly. Yet the howling travels through him, through one ear and out the other like a whisper, crawling through his mind, echoing off into the distance. Stiles sucks in a sharp breath trying to hold himself together.
He closes his eyes listening to his heart racing in his head, the lone howl ringing through his ears, he knows that this isn't real but its as if it's coming from some other plane of existence, like Derek was close enough for him to touch but just far enough from his reach.
He knows he sounds crazy but he focuses on it, the hair on his neck standing on end as he hones in on the sound, the sensation of his limbs tingling has him rolling his neck, trying to adjust his body to this new shift of focus. When he opens his eyes again, his sight is sharp, hearing on a sonic level so finite that he can hear the wings of fireflies whooshing in the wind, his nose picking up on the underlying smell of earth and Octarine in the air.
Stiles only has time to register the sensation of something from behind him before making a run for it.
The realization of his new form only registering when he feels his hind legs kick out from behind him, paws digging into the ground, pointy ears flat against his head as his tail flicks with a jolt, golden slitted eyes trying to take in everything while on this new smaller level of perspective.
The trees blowing in the air intimidating from where he runs, the forest unsettling quiet, smaller rodents scurrying away to hide, and he just knows that this time it's not from him but from the dark figure following behind him. Its presence is both quiet and too large to conceal, he can feel it in the way his orange fur stands on end, prickling and moving from foreign gusts of wind. Whiskers twitching from its huge mass shifting and zip lining through the trees, nearly matching his movements to a T.
But then there's a sudden dip in the forest floor that he uses to his advantage concealing himself under the thick roots, shrubs, and large rocks that allow him a few minutes to recuperate and see what he's been running from. His fox body freezes in place, not a tail or paw out of place when he senses it, the black form stands from right above him. After a tense few minutes of silence, it leaves and for the first time, Stiles gets a sense of what it might be when he hears the loud sigh of annoyance from above.
The sound of the harsh sigh too inhuman to consider it to be anything but part animal, which he silently curses at himself for thinking it could be anything else, other than the obvious bear or friendly neighborhood coyote. Though the longer he hid, the more his instincts were telling him something was off, it's not until he catches the flickering light a few feet away moving through the trees, that the cloaked figure appears, the lantern's embers lighting up the profile of the ghost of his mother.
But from where he's hidden her face looks distorted, the smile on her face so wide her gums and rotten teeth glow in the dark like a predator baring its teeth. Unsure of what to do he's frozen there watching as she gets closer and closer now only five feet away.
"Stiles…" His head lifts automatically at the sound of Lydia's voice, her voice nearly right next to his ear, though the sudden movements cause the shrubs above him to shake, and oh my god, it's as if a bomb went off its so loud.
Stiles heart skyrockets as the ghost of his mother stills, her dead eyes landing right on his secret hiding spot. And as if her smile couldn't get any wilder her lips peel back, even more, smiling in excitement at him though this time illuminated from the lantern now clearly showing off its disguise, the demon's true form tucked behind his mother's dead eyes. Stiles snarls dashing out in rage before making a run for it, the demon laughing as it lunges after him.
"Stiles over here!…."
Lydia's voice calls after him but he's too busy trying to lose the demon to pay much attention. It's not until he's reached the edge of a cliff that he listens.
"Quick! This way..." Stiles ears turn towards the left, his smaller fox body able to run along the sharp edge of the cliff easily.
Approaching the trail to the point of the rocky cliff he spots her black Victorian gown, its white ruffles and corset back making her look as if she'd just come from another place in time, her red hair pinned back allowing him to finally see her face. Her eyes are completely grey, the pupils gone and blind in appearance. She looks behind him, her gown disappearing into the ground as she holds her skirt with both hands. She's transparent he realizes, her skin stark white in color from the moon's light reflecting off of her.
"Hurry, we don't have much time!"
The reality of being in a higher dimensional world is starting to set in as his fox eyes narrow in trying to see through the fog accumulating from being this high up off the ground. He moves with sure steps now, his newfound confidence gained from simply having Lydia around even if she's not actually there with him in her normal form. Though he assumes from what he's experienced so far that this won't be the last of tonight's surprises.
"Stop."
Stiles stills, looking up at Lydia who's staring straight ahead at an opening of trees leading deeper into the preserve, the path covered in a dense fog.
"He's there…" Stiles looks ahead again choosing to move slowly with his head bowed low, trying to mentally prepare himself for what he's about to see next.
The sound of a crackling fire is what he hears first, followed by their small chimes and soft whispers, the wind blowing through his ears continuing like white noise in the background making everything dull in comparison. He walks until he reaches the end of the small opening, trying to keep an eye out for any fluttering, quick movements.
"Shhh..the boy…"
"The boy is here"
"Mischief…"
"The boy has returned…"