peter & cora } { of lindworms and telling the truth

[impetere]

Cora: It's getting late. We should get them tomorrow.

Stiles: It'll only take us like, thirty more minutes.

Cora: [something doesn't feel right, and she can't just spit out and say it. Her eyes dart around as the woods begin to get darker] Stiles, I have a bad feeling about this.

Stiles: [that will get his attention because the line] Death Star bad?

Cora: [she's not looking at him, her eyes on the trees as she looks for a sign of trouble] Maybe.

Stiles: Okay, we can come back. Let's get to the bikes.

Cora: [nods and she will lead the way back to the bikes, when she hears the snap of something breaking in the woods and her head whips back over her shoulder, tense with what may or may not be out there]

Stiles: [he heard it too, and turns with the flashlight to look in that direction] Was that the bad feeling?

Cora: Yeah. [there's a bit of a dragging sound that comes with it, and before she can react a lindworm comes bursting out of the trees, rising above them] Oh crap.

Stiles: [looks up, his face paling as it towers over them] Holy shit...

Cora: [it snarls at them, and Cora wants to snarl in return, but she doesn't, using one hand to push Stiles behind her as her eyes flare gold back at the lindworm] This isn't your turf. [the lindworm does not seem to care, however, and keeps ambling closer]

Stiles: Cora, I think it's pretty big enough to like, say what it's turf is. [and he's reaching for her hand to pull her with him to run]

Cora: [she doesn't have a choice. She knows if they just run the lindworm will just chase them and they won't stand a chance. But if she slows it down, Stiles will stand a chance] You need to go and get my uncle, tell him it's a lindworm. [And before he can argue with her she's already shifting, the tiniest of werewolves up against something that's twice her size, but at least now she has the claws to fight back]

Stiles: [and what the fuuuuuuuuck???? He's just going to stare at Cora now]

Cora: [DAMNIT STILES WE DON'T HAVE TIME FOR THIS, she's just going to turn on him, eyes glowing] GO!

Stiles: [stumbles back, trying not to freak out as he goes for his bike. He doesn't want to leave her behind but he's off, riding at full speed for Cora's place and just pounding on the door, a hair's breath away from an panic attack]

Cora: [meanwhile Cora will just try and fight off the lindworm as best she can and hope Stiles brings Peter back]

Peter: [so yes, Stiles finds him and he's not even going to wait for Stiles, shouting at him to go home NOW and he will take off running at wolf speed since they would live near the edge of the preserve anyway]

Cora: [and when he gets there the worm has been scared off, a trail of blood leading from where Cora managed to get her claws into it. She's breathing hard, and there's some scratches, but none that won't heal] I didn't see it's mate. Just the one.

Peter: [sniffs the air] If it's scared off, the mate will probably keep it's head down and follow. Still, we should get out of here.

Cora: [she nods, before going down to grab her bike from where Stiles left it behind] How freaked out is Stiles?

Peter: I sent him home. Hopefully he will not slip into a full panic attack.

Cora: I'll call him later, after I get cleaned up.

Peter: Probably a good idea.

Cora: [she nods as she grabs her bike and starts to angle it back towards the house, leaning into Peter a bit as she does]

Peter: [and they can walk normal pace back to their home, and he will take the bike when they get there] Inside. Shower, rest.

Cora: [she nods her agreement and will go to do just that, making her way inside and going to get cleaned up]

Stiles: [and he was sent to do the same and his father isn't sure if the giant earthworm from outer space is real or not, so he's been told to just rest and stop thinking up stories]

Cora: [and once she's showered and curled up in bed she'll reach for her phone and send him a text] You okay?

Stiles: [and he will look at his phone, and then rub his eyes] Yeah. Just not sure if I was hallucinating or not.

Cora: [she makes a face because she isn't sure she wants to do this texting] Can we talk about this later?

Stiles: Um, okay?

Cora: Just we should do this in person. Not over text.

Stiles: Sure. [by tomorrow he will have firmly convinced himself that he was hallucinating and it was like, a really weird colored bear]

Cora: Okay. I'll meet you before first bell?

Stiles: Sure. See you then.

Cora: Night. [and with that she will curl up and try to sleep though how successfully is left to be debated, but she'll be waiting for Stiles outside the front door the next morning, rocking on her heels. Part of her wants to tell him - having Scott to confide in isn't enough, and it isn't fair to be keeping the secret from Stiles too but Peter probably told her to play it by ear, just to be safe]

Stiles: [and the fact Scott hasn't told Stiles yet is a miracle. But he hasn't and Stiles will show up the next morning like nothing happened]

Cora: [and she will dart out to grab his wrist] Hey.

Stiles: [bright smile] Hey!

Cora: So ... you still wanna talk?

Stiles: Nah, I mean, you're not hurt, right?

Cora: No, I'm fine. [she eyes him for a moment] You don't want to talk about what you saw?

Stiles: [shakes his head] Nope.

Cora: ... You sure?

Stiles: [nods] Yeah. Unless you want to talk about it?

Cora: [shifts awkwardly for a moment] I mean ... especially, with what you saw me do, I figured you would want to.

Stiles: I mean, I still think you were kind of crazy trying to distract a bear while I ran for your uncle, but you don't look like you were hurt so I guess it worked.

Cora: [okay, Peter said she shouldn't but she doesn't want to lie anymore] That wasn't a bear, Stiles.

Stiles: Well, of course it was. What else would it be?

Cora: A ... it was a lindworm.

Stiles: They don't exist.

Cora: Yes, they do. You saw one last night.

Stiles: No, I saw a bear.

Cora: And I'm guessing what you saw me do was just a trick of the light? [but she won't give him a chance to answer that, just glance around for a moment to make sure no one was looking before she lets her eyes glow werewolf gold]

Stiles: [licks his lips] Yup a trick. Just like that.

Cora: [her eyes fade] It's not a trick, Stiles.

Stiles: Eyes don't glow.

Cora: They do when you're a werewolf.

Stiles: Yeah, right. You're not a werewolf.

Cora: Yes, I am.

Stiles: No you're not.

Cora: [sighs] Yes, I am.

Stiles: No you're not because I am not hallucinating because otherwise I am getting frontal temporal dementia and I'm going to go insane, go to Eichen house and then die and I don't wanna die! [totally close to a panic attack]

Cora: [oh god she hadn't even thought of that] No, Stiles, Stiles you're not hallucinating. You're not. You're not going to die. Just breathe.

Stiles: [trying to, putting his bag down and trying to find his inhaler]

Cora: [and she will reach down to help him and trying to get him to sit]

Stiles: [sits but can't find it] I can't... I can't breathe...

Cora: [and now she feels bad for getting him into a panic attack so she will just take the bag from him and find it, before placing it in his hand] Here.

Stiles: [and he will take the hit, focusing on breathing]

Cora: [and she will go to sit next to him, waiting for him to calm down and feeling really guilty]

Stiles: [and when he is calmer, he will lean his head back against the wall] I don't want to die.

Cora: You're not going to die.

Stiles: But you're talking crazy and I don't know if it's real or not.

Cora: [she glances around again to make sure no one's coming, before she takes his hand, gently bringing it up to her face. Very slowly, she'll start to shift, showing him the tiny gremlin wolf she is, but keeping his hand close so that he can feel the ridges that come with it]

Stiles: [and he will watch, biting his lip a bit because this is not normal] How are you doing that?

Cora: I'm a werewolf.

Stiles: Werewolves are big scary men who can only shift during a full moon.

Cora: In the movies. It works a little differently in real life.

Stiles: I don't understand.

Cora: [she pauses to shift back to her normal face with a sigh] I was born a werewolf. I've been a werewolf my whole life.

Stiles: So you've been one this whole time?

Cora: [she nods] Yeah.

Stiles: Does Scott know?

Cora: [she nods] Only because his mom knows. Peter told her. I didn't want to keep it a secret from you, but after the fire, Peter was paranoid.

Stiles: So I'm the last to know. Great.

Cora: If Peter wasn't dating Melissa, he probably wouldn't have found out either.

Stiles: [nods] But you would have told us eventually...

Cora: Probably. You can't hide it forever, even if you want to.

Stiles: Well, you're really good at hiding it.

Cora: It's one of the first things they teach us. How to control our shift so that it doesn't expose us.

Stiles: Yeah, but I'd be like "hey guys, guess what I can do."

Cora: Yeah. That's exactly what they don't want us to do. That's the kind of thing that draws hunters.

Stiles: Hunters?

Cora: Yeah. As long as there's been werewolves, there's been hunters. They say they're just trying to protect people from the bad wolves, but not all of them follow the code.

Stiles: Code? Like in secret society?

Cora: Like the rules they need to follow as hunters. "We hunt those who hunt us." [she makes a face] But my family wasn't hunting anyone and they still burned our house down anyway.

Stiles: [shifts] Wait, you're telling me you know who killed your family and they killed them because you were werewolves?

Cora: We don't know who exactly. Or ... maybe Peter does. He told your dad a name. [the Argents] But yeah. It was because we were werewolves.

Stiles: Well, that's just speciest.

Cora: [she smirks] Well, they just see it as ridding the world of monsters.

Stiles: Well then, these hunters are jerkfaces.

Cora: And really dangerous. So you can't tell anyone about us, okay?

Stiles: Lips are sealed.

Cora: Good.

Stiles: [looks at the school doors] We should probably get to class...

Cora: Yeah. You okay, though?

Stiles: Yeah, I think so.

Cora: Okay. Then I'll see you at lunch.

Stiles: See you at lunch. [and he will get back to his feet and offer her a hand]

Cora: [and she will let him help her up before heading off to class]

Stiles: [and he will head off to class, but he's totally going to stop in the library first and grab a book on werewolves and he will hide it in his textbook while he's supposed to be doing class work]

Cora: [and she will be waiting at lunch at their usual table, figuring he and Scott will show up eventually]

Scott: [shows up first, and he gets his free lunch and goes to sit next to her] Hey.

Cora: Hey. [a beat] So Stiles knows.

Scott: [give him a sec] Oh, about the whole full moon thing?

Cora: Well, not all the details but he sort of saw it last night. I had to convince him he wasn't hallucinating.

Scott: Ah. Well, it's better he knows. I kinda hate keeping things from him, you know?

Cora: Me too. But now we're all on the same page.

Stiles: [and that is when he is going to enter, dropping down like five mythology books on the table with his lunch bag as he sits down] Sorry I'm late.

Cora: [her eyebrows go up at that before glancing back to him] Class project?

Stiles: No, research.

Scott: Dude... no.

Stiles: What, I have a lot to catch up on!

Cora: You could just ... ask me.

Stiles: I have to figure out what questions I want to ask first!

Scott: [is just facepalming] This is like when I got asthma all over again.

Cora: [sighs] Well, I can tell you right now that the stuff in there is heavily biased.

Stiles: Yeah, I mean you're not a big dude with a shaving issue, so I'm going to take like half of this that is all contradictory and not bother. But I'm taking it you got like the enhanced senses, right?

Cora: [she nods] Erica's mom gave her fajitas for lunch again. I can smell the peppers from here. [and Erica is seated with Boyd on the complete opposite side of the cafeteria from them]

Stiles: [looks over his shoulder and sees them] Okay, that's kinda cool.

Cora: It's easier in a place like this to focus on one that's really strong. It helps drown everything else out and makes it less overwhelming.

Stiles: So it's like the same with hearing and seeing and everything?

Cora: [she nods] Yeah, pretty much.

Stiles: Awesome. [he grins. totally not planning evil at all]

Cora: [just squints at him, because Stiles no]

Stiles: So what now? I mean, since we know do we become part of your pack? Are you going to bite us and make us into wolves too?

Scott: Stiles!

Cora: [she shake her head] I can't do that. Only alphas can turn people and I'm not an alpha. But you don't have to be werewolves to be pack. [and in a lot of ways, they kind of already were]

Stiles: [looks at Scott] Dude, it would totally help your asthma I bet. [looks at Cora] So is your uncle the alpha then?

Cora: [she shakes her head again] My mom was the alpha. When she died it went to either Laura or Derek, depending which ones survived the fire, but we don't know where they are.

Scott: But it does mean then that one of them is alive to find, right?

Cora: [she nods] Otherwise, I actually would be.

Stiles: Is there like some way you can send them an all clear, time to come home signal?

Cora: [she shakes her head] Not if they're too far. But Peter is checking with allies we have in other cities.

Stiles: Dad could always help?

Cora: I don't know what Peter has been doing. He may already be.

Stiles: I'll ask.

Cora: Okay.

Stiles: [and he will go to eat a bite of his sandwich and then] So do you like, howl at the moon and turn into a wolf when it's full?

Cora: [she shakes her head] We feel the urge to turn, but we learn to control it so we don't have to. We can turn whenever we want.

Stiles: But no naked waking up in the woods?

Scott: [facepalming] Stiles.

Cora: [and that gets him a look] No.

Stiles: It's a valid concern!

Cora: [she shakes her head] No. I don't even grow when I shift.

Stiles: But you do get that little gremlin look.

Scott: Wait, what?

Cora: [she makes a face at him] Yeah. I guess.

Stiles: It's cute.

Cora: It's cuz I'm so small. Hard to be scary when you're short.

Stiles: No, you have your scary moments.

Scott: [shrugs] He's not wrong.

Cora: Oh really?

Stiles: Yeah. You have a look. A glare, like you want to punch me in the face.

Scott: In all fairness, it's usually only him you give it to.

Cora: Mmmmm. [takes a bite of her sandwich]

Scott: [and he is going to start eating]

Stiles: [flipping open a book] So are you in an endless battle against vampires for control of your land?

Cora: Vampires aren't real.

Scott & Stiles: They aren't?

Cora: [she shakes her head] Wendigos are though. They're gross.

Stiles: [his eyes widen, and yup, he's going to start flipping through pages of the book while he holds his apple in his mouth]

Cora: [and she will wait for him to do that while she eats her lunch]

Scott: You know you created a monster.

Cora: He's going to have to find out sooner or later. Without my mom here, others are going to start creeping back in. He'll be safer this way.

Scott: Like that lindworm?

Cora: [she nods] Some of them are harmless - they're part of the world just like humans and other animals are. But some are dangerous, so it's good for him to know the difference.

Scott: I guess I'm lucky to have you and Peter looking out for me.

Cora: [she smiles softly] We're happy to.

Stiles: So when are they getting hitched anyway? I mean, they've been dating forever.

Cora: [she shrugs] I don't know. That's Peter's job to figure it out.

Stiles: But then you'd be what, cousins?

Cora: [there's a pause as she plays with her sandwich] Technically? Stepsiblings.

Scott & Stiles: [blink]

Cora: [she glances up at them before looking down at her sandwich] Technically Peter's my dad.

Stiles: Wait, how did that happen?

Cora: [she shrugs] We don't ... actually know. But when we were in the hospital after the fire there were some DNA tests done and ... my mom isn't my biological mom, but Peter is my dad.

Scott: Whoa. So why don't you call him Dad then?

Cora: [she makes a face] Because it's ... weird? I don't know.

Stiles: Well, at least he's not both your uncle and father in the weird and creepy way.

Cora: [makes a bigger face] Stiles.

Scott: Yup, that's the face.

Cora: [glances back to Scott and shakes her head] It's just ... we don't even know who my actual mom is, so I'm trying for things not to be any different. [it might not work out that way but Peter is still Peter. Him being her father doesn't really change the fact that he's all she has]

Stiles: Well, just because she's not your bio mom doesn't mean that you Mom isn't you Mom.

Cora: I know.

Scott: Stiles' Dad is pretty much more of a dad to me than my own.

Cora: Yeah, but I still have more questions than I might ever have answers.

Stiles: Yeah, we don't have your situation.

Scott: I just have a deadbeat Dad and Stiles...

Stiles: [nods] Yeah.

Cora: [she nods] Anyway. It's fine. [it's not but she doesn't want to talk about it anymore]

Scott: [he will reach over and rub her back a bit, comforting]

Stiles: [and he will go back into reading, not sure what to say]

Cora: [glances over at Scott with a smile, before looking over at Stiles] Anymore questions you got for me?

Stiles: Not at the moment.

Cora: Okay. Well, if you have more all you have to do is let me know.

Stiles: Well, I know where you live. [smirks]

Cora: [she laughs] You do.

Scott: Things my mother has wished he forgot.

Cora: I don't think she wishes that hard.

Scott: No, but sometimes very loudly.

Stiles: I'm a pleasure to be around.

Cora: [pats Stiles' shoulder gently] Yes, you are.

Stiles: [grins, and is about to say something but the lunch bell rings]

Scott: Guess it's back to the grindstone.

Cora: [she nods as she gets up] See you after school?

Scott: Yeah. I will cheer you guys on from the sidelines and hold your water bottles.

Stiles: Seriously, think about it. No more asthma.

Scott: [laughs] Shut up, Stiles.

Cora: I'll see you later. [and off she goes to class]

Stiles: [and he will go too, carrying his ridiculous pile of books that he will end up returning by the end of the day except for one that he really likes written by some Price guy]

Cora: [and eventually there will be soccer and they will head home!]

Stiles: [and he will probably just be glued to his new book all evening while eating dinner and everything]

Cora: [And Cora, just to keep Peter in the loop will track her uncle down for:] I told Stiles today.

Peter: How did it go?

Cora: Good. Once he got past he panic attack.

Peter: Scared of wolves? [small smirk]

Cora: Scared he was hallucinating.

Peter: [nods, and goes to take the pizza out of the oven] I can see that being a worry of his. But he is better now?

Cora: [she nods] And is now studying everything he can.

Peter: [laughs] He doesn't really have a middle road when it comes to learning something, does he?

Cora: Nope. Scott said he was the same way when he learned Scott had asthma.

Peter: Should we be worried?

Cora: I don't think so? I told him to run everything by me first.

Peter: Not sure that was the wisest decision. You will never be free of that.