spamalot } { of twenty questions and small reassurances

[impetere]

[After Cora came home and announced that there was a non-pack werewolf at her school, Talia investigates and brings Scott into the fold. Naturally, where Scott goes, Stiles follows and it leads to Stiles cornering Cora to get some answers.]

Stiles: So... how many werewolves are there around this place, and why did they bite my best friend?

Cora: Usually there's just my pack. My mom didn't turn him, so ... I don't know who did. But she'll find out.

Stiles: Is he going to be okay though? I mean, is he going to be all... grr and stuff on full moons?

Cora: We'll teach him to control it. Once he finds his anchor, he should be okay. It'll just take ... practice.

Stiles: ... Anchor?

Cora: Something that you can hold onto that helps you move on to your humanity. For everyone it's different, but it can be a certain person, or an emotion - it keeps you grounded. In control.

Stiles: Oh.

Cora: Once he figures that out, the full moons should be no big deal. [she gives him a small smile] He'll be okay, Stiles.

Stiles: He's just my best friend and all. I don't want him going all crazy killer on me one night, you know?

Cora: He won't. My mom's really good at this. She doesn't want him to hurt anyone just as much as he does.

Stiles: Cool. Good. Thanks, Cora.

Cora: [nods, watching him for a moment] Are you okay?

Stiles: Just... werewolves are real. Kinda makes you wonder what else is out there.

Cora: Lots of stuff. Not all of it good.

Stiles: [lip bite] So should I be investing in like, a taser or something from now on? I mean, can't be too safe.

Cora: [eyes him skeptically] I'd worry about you carrying any weapon.

Stiles: What? My dad's the sheriff. I can totally handle a gun type thing.

Cora: [just gives him a bit of a look at that]

Stiles: What?

Cora: [she's so going to regret this] Electricity can do the most damage to a werewolf. So a taser would work - provided you use it properly.

Stiles: Why electricity?

Cora: It keeps us from shifting.

Stiles: Oh. That's... not in anything I've read so far.

Cora: [smirks] Not everything is on the internet, Stiles.

Stiles: Yeah, but... there's a lot on there.

Cora: I'm sure there is.

Stiles: [is nervous and twitchy because not sure what else to do/say because he just found out his friend has been a werewolf the entire time]

Cora: [she picks up on that, the anxiety, and her attention drops to her hands again. Yeah, this isn't the ideal way she thought of telling him, but it's how it happened. And now she has to deal with it] Anything you want to ask me? [not about Scott, necessarily]

Stiles: Yeah, like ten thousand questions but I just don't even know where to start or if you'd feel weird answering.

Cora: [she shrugs a bit] Consider me an open book. I don't really ... get to do this so ... whatever you want to know. [she figures the more honest she is now, the less weird this will be later]

Stiles: Well... um... do you want to go somewhere else? [looking up and down the school hallway]

Cora: [glances around before nodding.] Yeah. Where to?

Stiles: Um... I don't think anyone is in the chem lab right now...

Cora: [nods, waiting for him to lead the way]

Stiles: [does so, making sure Harris wasn't in the room before slipping in]

Cora: [follows behind him and closing the door. She makes her way over to one of the lab set ups and sets down her books before sliding onto one of the stools] Okay. Ask away.

Stiles: [sits across from her. And then pulls out a notebook and pen] Okay, so what's it like? I mean, how long have you been one and what can you do that we can't do beyond howling and the teeth and stuff?

Cora: I was born a wolf. Stronger senses. Strength, speed, I heal faster. [a pause] I can take someone's pain, if they're hurt or sick.

Stiles: [that last part gets him to stop writing and look at her in shock] Wow, really? That's possible?

Cora: [shrugs] It's not permanent, and it doesn't heal them, but it ... makes things easier for a little while. [there's a beat] Remember that time in fifth grade where you fell off the jungle gym and broke your arm?

Stiles: ... Yeah.

Cora: And I sat with you until your dad got there to take you to the hospital?

Stiles: Yeah. Scott had gone to get the nurse and you sat with me telling me jokes.

Cora: How'd your arm feel?

Stiles: Like a broken arm?

Cora: [a bit of a look] How'd the pain feel?

Stiles: I don't know, that was like, five years ago. [thinks] I mean, I guess I thought it would hurt more than it did.

Cora: [nods a bit, waiting for him to put two and two together.]

Stiles: So how do you do it?

Cora: Through touch, usually. I'm not really sure how it works but I just sort of ... pull the pain to me instead.

Stiles: Is it bad that I'm tempted to stub my toe on the desk so you can show me?

Cora: [gives him a look that says he's being ridiculous, but she's not going to stop him if he really wants to know]

Stiles: Or not. Cause that would be a bad idea because I'd still have a stubbed toe after that.

Cora: [nods a bit in agreement] As I said, it's not a permanent fix.

Stiles: Well... um... okay. What else?

Cora: I don't really get sick. My uncle says we don't age as quickly as humans do, but I don't know if that's true or not.

Stiles: Your uncle Peter, right?

Cora: [nods]

Stiles: Okay, well he looks like thirty. How old is he?

Cora: About that? I don't know. My brother's twenty-five, and they were close when Derek was younger, but Peter was older than him by a couple years.

Stiles: And Derek's the one who just came back from college?

Cora: [nods] Yep.

Stiles: And so... like everyone in your family is a wolf?

Cora: [nods] We were all born wolves, but my mom is the alpha.

Stiles: I've seen all star things with Peter and Derek's name in the trophy case. Isn't that like, cheating then?

Cora: Just because we're werewolves doesn't mean they're automatically good at everything. I mean, yeah, we have certain advantages, but they played just as hard as everyone else out there. [there's a beat] In fact, it's almost harder for them, because they can't play at full force. They might hurt someone. Besides, sports are good for us. They ... help with predator instinct.

Stiles: Oh. Well, yeah I could see that. Huh, didn't think of it that way.

Cora: [shrugs] We're still just kids, same as everyone.

Stiles: You just have kinda awesome powers.

Cora: [nods a bit]

Stiles: What are the things that suck about being a werewolf?

Cora: It's not like we can really talk about it. There are hunters - some claim to have a code but not all of them follow it. A lot of them just see us like animals, not people.

Stiles: You look pretty people shaped to me. But hunters. Really?

Cora: [she nods. She pauses for a moment, wondering if she should say anything but Scott should know.] Allison's family is pretty notable, actually.

Stiles: Wait, Allison Argent? Like the girl my werewolf best friend is drooling all over Allison?

Cora: [nods slowly] Our pack is ... okay with them for now? But I don't think my mom fully trusts them.

Stiles: [facepalms] So basically if Scott pisses her off or breaks her heart, they would literally kill him.

Cora: [her eyes narrow] No. But if he wolfs out in front of them? They might.

Stiles: Great. Just great.

Cora: [sighs] Look, I don't know how much she actually knows about her family. My mom doesn't exactly keep me in the loop on everything - her parents might do the same.

Stiles: Well, that could be a good thing until you know, Dad decides he doesn't like the boyfriend and just decides to go all hunter on him.

Cora: Does he know Scott's a werewolf?

Stiles: No. Not yet. But Scott's really not good at being subtle.

Cora: Well, he'll have to learn. That's how we survive. And if he wants to be part of my mom's pack, he needs to keep his head down.

Stiles: As long as you teach him that. And his mom and your mom should be friends. His mom is, like, totally cool.

Cora: [she smirks a bit] I'm sure they will be. My mom tends to be pretty hands on.

Stiles: Ever since my mom died, she's totally been a mom to me. You'll love her.

Cora: [nods a bit] Good to know.

Stiles: So um... does silver hurt you? Or like, wolfsbane? [yup, back to questions and his research] I'm sure the whole beheading and fire stuff would kill you. It kills like anyone really.

Cora: Silver, not really? The Argents use silver but that's a family thing. [because of their name] Wolfsbane is deadly, though. If we get poisoned with that, we're dead in two days, tops.

Stiles: Okay. Silver is okay, wolfsbane is bad. [taking notes]

Cora: Most of the time, though? A hunter will just cut you in half.

Stiles: Seriously?

Cora: We can't heal from that. Arrows and bullets we can take. Even losing limbs aren't so bad, but if you cut us in half, we're not getting back up again.

Stiles: No, I mean seriously, people will just cut you in half?

Cora: I heard one of the other members of the pack saying that one of the Argents carries a broadsword.

Stiles: ........ Okay, start making you and Scott some medieval corset type armor to protect your midsections.

Cora: [she smirks] That'd be impossible to wear.

Stiles: Nah. totally do like chain mail. You can bend around it and everything. I wore it for Halloween and it's heavy but you guys can manage.

Cora: When wolves shift they get bigger, Stiles.

Stiles: [thinks.] I can put elastic in on the edges? Measure you in wolf form... give me some time, I'll figure it out I swear.

Cora: [laughs] I think we're okay without it. Besides if they get us to hold still long enough to be able to cut us in half, we're probably already immobile. The armor's only going to weigh us down.

Stiles: [frowns, not liking that]

Cora: [she sees the look on his face] One of us would also have to have done something to get the hunters to realize something was wrong. Like murder.

Stiles: Well, don't do that then, okay?

Cora: I wasn't planning on it.

Stiles: Good.

Cora: [nods a bit] Anything else?

Stiles: I think so. For now.

Cora: [nods] Well, if you think of anything else, you can text me or something.

Stiles: Sure. [and he may just be stalking the Hale House for awhile too]

Cora: [they'll know you're there, Stiles. Also her brother is home, that might not end well for you.] Okay. [and the bell rings] And that's the end of my free period. I should go ... [do the school thing]

Stiles: Yeah, me too. Catch you later?

Cora: [she nods, gathers her books, and off she goes]

[And later, Stiles follows Scott back to the Hale house and gets yanked out of the trees by Derek, dragging him back to the house for Scott and Cora to deal with.]

Derek: This belongs to you?

Stiles: I was just... hiking. Totally hiking.

Derek: This is private property.

Stiles: Oh. Well, they need to put that on the map...

Cora: You could have just asked to come over, you know.

Stiles: I didn't want to interrupt Scott's training.

Derek: [raises an eyebrow]

Scott: Stiles, go home.

Cora: [sighs a bit] Did you drive here?

Stiles: Well, to the place where I started my hike.

Cora: [nods before moving closer and placing a hand on his shoulder] I'll walk you back.

Stiles: But...

Scott: Stiles. [a look]

Stiles: [sighs] Sure. Fine, I'll go.

Cora: [and with that she nudges him out the door and back towards the woods] You can't just lurk around my house.

Stiles: I wasn't lurking, alright? I was just making sure Scott was okay.

Cora: [eyes narrow just slightly] So you don't trust us?

Stiles: Did I say that? I didn't say that. It’s just Scott's first time out here and I... [is way too dependent] ... just worry.

Cora: Scott's part of our pack now. It's our job to take care of him too. You don't have to worry so much.

Stiles: Scott and I have been best friends since we were kids, Cora. He's like my brother. I can't not worry.

Cora: I know. He's adjusting to all of this too. But he's okay. And with lacrosse coming up, he needs to be in control if he wants to play.

Stiles: [sticks his hands in his pockets] I guess.

Cora: [she glances over at him for a moment] He's not going to just up and abandon you. You mean too much to him for that - and if anything, you keep him human. That's important.

Stiles: For now. He may find you guys a lot more fun than me.

Cora: I'm pretty sure he would much rather be hanging out with you than us.