Stiles raced up the river bank as fast as he could, scrambling on all fours to reach the top. Once he crested the embankment he ran as fast as he could, his breath coming out in gasps. He'd like to think the crashing sound of the angry water monster chasing after him was the only thing he was running from, but let's face it if his friends caught up to him he was just as dead anyway.
Stiles sometimes wondered why he acted before thinking, but then again thinking could be difficult. A guttural roar sounded closer behind him and he tried desperately to urge his legs faster as he dodged through the trees. How could he help it? Wait around while Scott tried to weigh the risks, Derek glaring at everyone and snapping, all while more people got hurt? No, instead, Stiles went ahead with his plan to distract, enrage, and play bait and hoping his pack would catch on.
For something that lived in rivers and had only two legs, this beat was fast. Stiles glanced around and regretted it immediately, because he could easily see the snapping jaw with thousands of teeth only thirty or so feet away. Oh god, Stiles thought, this is really it this time.
Just when Stiles felt his lungs screaming for breath, he felt a hand grab his arm and suddenly he was up, his feet dangling. Another hand grabbed under his other arm and he was hauled up and up until he had to be forty feet up in a tree. "Wha-" a hand clamped down over his mouth and the other sat him on a thick branch. He started to struggle but froze when an arm wrapped around his waist tight, and he felt something pull him against a warm body.
"Shh!" a quiet voice growled into his ear. He could see the slimy, snake like monster rush past him below on the forest floor. Stiles and his rescuer held very still as he listened to the monster move farther away.
Stiles glanced down at the hand still covering his mouth. The clawed hand covering his mouth. The small, clawed hand with a hemp bracelet around the wrist. When his eyes went wide, the hand clamped down even tighter. "Stiles, hold still. I'll let go if you don't make a sound," Ana whispered. Stiles nodded, and she let her hand slip away. Stiles felt her slip around behind him on the branch, barely causing the limb to move. He looked over, trying not to move so he wouldn't fall, and got an eyefull.
Almost every werewolf Stiles knew looked sleek and muscular, but Ana was a bit different. She was crouching on the branch looking in the direction the monster had run off in, but he could tell she had a slighter build. Looking at her it seemed unlikely that she could've hauled his flailing ass up a tree.
His rude staring was brought to an abrupt end when she turned to look at him with gold eyes. She pointed at him, gesturing for him to hold onto the trunk of the tree. Confused, he obliged. She then narrowed her eyes at him and in a low, growling voice told him to sit and stay. Stiles, mouth agape with indignity, watched as Ana stood up and leapt off the branch, tucking and rolling onto the forest floor below.
He watched as the river dragon thing came roaring back into view, heading right for Ana. She was crouching low with her back to an old oak. The monster barreled toward her and Stiles almost shouted when Ana leapt up to grab a low branch and haul herself up just as the wyvern smashed into the trunk of the tree. The collision shook the tree and splinters flew everywhere, and Stiles watched in amazement as Ana dropped from the branch like a gymnast sticking a landing.
Stiles shuddered at the horrible groan rattled out of the river monster, but sighed in relief when he heard familiar answering howls close by.
"Stiles!" Scott shouted, searching for him after Derek finished off the mysteriously incapacitated worm-thing. "Stiles!"
"Uh… hey Scott."
Scott looked up, and up, and spotted Stiles sitting on a sturdy tree branch waving down at him. "Stiles… why the fuck are you in a tree?"
"Well, you know, the view is just so lovely up here, thought I'd check it out."
While Scott and Stiles bickered, Derek took a closer look at the cracked skull of the river beast. He looked up, trying to pick up a scent teasing at the edge of his perception. He let out a low growl, his eyes flashing red.
"Hey, can you help me get this loser out of the tree so I can kill him?" Scott asked glancing in Derek's direction. Derek closed his eyes and took a deep, deep breath. What did he ever do to deserve this.