darkest timeline } { of kidnapped wolves and learning to date

[impetere]

Stiles: [he had gotten the text from Laura Hale, wanting to know if Cora was there. She wasn't, and he didn't need to ask what the concern was about. Instead his cryptozoologist Price defender of the creatures hat was on, and he was checking in all the places he know she would go to get a timeline on when she had last been seen in case she was with someone else but out of touch with her family. When he couldn't find her on his own, he headed to the village to talk to the witch who ran the "hippie" store on one of the side streets.

They talked, and he got the items he needed for a few spells. She helped him work a location spell in their back room on a tourist map. The warehouse district was his next destination, and before he called in the reinforcements, he decided to run a quick surveillance. He cast a spell over himself, a temporary diversion spell that would make people look away from him so that they wouldn't see him sneaking around in the shadows. He watched the hunters guarding the doors, walking the parameter. Saw their boredom. He saw the lights flicker, wincing because he knew that that meant. Anger flared, but he kept it down until he saw three men walk out to take a smoke and chat with the door guards.

that was his opportunity. He ran back to the hasty salt circle he had made and focused on the magic for the spell. His grandmother did it all the time, so it shouldn't be hard for him. He held sweatshirt she had worn at his place that hadn't been washed yet, and focused on the image of her in his head. On his hip, he had the smoke screen potion ready, the other two protection spells ingredients and the second teleportation spell ingredients in pouches in his jacket. And the beretta against his spine in case he needed it.

He took a deep breath, and then reached into the bowl and grabbed the ground components, whispered the words and stepped through the crack in reality that appeared in front of him...

... and ejected in the warehouse twenty feet in front of Cora in a flash of blue light, stumbling into the room and instantly stubbing his foot on the table holding a lot of tools covered with blood that suddenly make his feel a bit faint]

Cora: [magic burns a bit in the air, and while she is exhausted and burnt out from not giving Gerard what he wanted, she's holding firm. She's not giving her brother up, no matter what. She's slumped against her bindings, tied to a fence to keep her in place, but she rouses slightly when she smells the magic and frowns] Stiles?

Stiles: [he will turn his head, unable to see in the half darkness. He whispered a simple light spell, his fingertips glowing enough to illuminate the area nearby. He saw Cora and smiled in relief, running to her] Damn I'm good. [no time for explanation, he's going to pull out lock picks from his jacket and get to work undoing these cuffs]

Cora: What are you doing here?

Stiles: I've always wanted to invest in a torture warehouse and thought I would check one out. [one arm free, going to the other one] What do you think?

Cora: [her arm drops, and it's almost as though her brain can't process the fact that he's actually here to rescue her, just because she doesn't expect anyone to anymore] You came for me?

Stiles: [and he will look over at her] Can we save the questions with obvious answers until I get you somewhere safe? [because yes, Cora, he is here for you]

Cora: [she would comment on that, but the second handcuff gives and she just pitches forward now that the handcuffs aren't there to support her]

Stiles: [and he will catch her quickly, not having expected her to be that wobbly] Hey, I got you. Can you hold yourself up?

Cora: Maybe. How far do we have to go?

Stiles: Just as long as it takes me to restart my teleportation spell. But I need both hands.

Cora: I can try.

Stiles: Good. [he will pull the potion vial from his pocket] If you hear them coming back, chuck this at the door. It will give us a smokescreen. [and he is going to grab the first pouch out of his jacket and start making a new salt circle in the warehouse.]

Cora: [and she will place one hand against the fence to help hold her up, keeping her eye on the door. she's not completely solid, but she's staying up for now.]

Stiles: [and he will grab the second pouch, and open it up to display the contents to the air. He will crouch down, closing his eyes and muttering his spell while letting Cora watch over them for the minute he needs]

Cora: [and she will hope against hope that Gerard was done for the night, and he won't be coming back anytime soon - or at least not soon enough for him to catch Stiles]

Stiles: [and luck will be on their side and he will finish the spell and stand up] Get in the circle with me. [he will hold out his hand to her]

Cora: [and she will take his hand and let him pull her in, just falling into his hold to lean on him since she's still not one hundred percent steady]

Stiles: [and with the other hand he will grab the spell components and toss them, making the door open again. He will grab his pouch and then pull Cora through it. A moment later there is the flash of blue light and they both stumble into Stiles' apartment living room]

Cora: [and it's all very dizzying and disorienting, and she already wasn't feeling great so ...] I don't feel so good.

Mice: [and they hear that and a plastic bowl is being pushed across the floor quickly]

Cora: [which is good because it's not like she has much to throw up, but her stomach is really unhappy so she will reach for the bowl and mostly dry heave, but there's a good amount of bile in there too]

Stiles: [and he is going to groan, pushing himself up to his feet and going to the kitchen to get them both a bottle of water, and then collapse back in the couch next to her] Here.

Cora: [she places the bowl to the side when he gives that to her, and will take the water, though she doesn't try and drink it yet] You came for me. [less a question, more a statement - she's still confused]

Stiles: Yeah. Your sister called looking for you. I checked a few places and got a feeling you were in trouble, so I did a location spell and figured you weren't going to just hang out in a warehouse for fun, and planned a quick rescue.

Cora: All by yourself? Just for me?

Stiles: Well, I had some help from a witch I know, but otherwise yeah. [and he will pull out his phone and hold it out to her] Call your sister.

Cora: [she takes the phone from him with shaky hands before doing as she was told, calling Laura and having a very brief conversation where Laura was relieved, she was okay and safe and told her to stay put until the situation with Gerard was more permanently resolved. Basically, rest up and heal. She then handed the phone back to him before asking the question she wanted to ask him before he changed the subject] Why?

Stiles: [and now that the danger had passed, the drainage from the spells is hitting him. The mice are silent, watching carefully] Because you're my friend. That's what friends do.

Cora: [that's not what friends do. that's not what people or even family do. that's what Derek did, once, a long time ago, but no one had really cared enough for her to do it since. She just watches him for a moment, and maybe it's the exhaustion or the pain she was in, but before she can think better of it, she's leaning forward and kissing him softly]

Stiles: [and he will open his eyes up wide, because kissing? why was there kissing? Not that he was complaining and he will kiss her back, but he is so confused]

Cora: [don't worry, she won't be kissing him for long, and she'll just pull back after a moment before ...] Sorry. There's just ... not a lot of people who would.

Stiles: I find that hard to believe.

Cora: Only one other person ever has.

Stiles: Seriously?

Cora: Last time Gerard had me for a year. If Derek hadn't come for me then, Gerard would probably still have me now, or ... [or she'd be dead, because she tried to get away too many times and was not worth the effort anymore]

Stiles: I'm sure if I had told your family I was trying to find you they would have come.

Cora: It shouldn't ... [she pauses as she tries to find a way to articulate it that made sense] You shouldn't have had to tell them.

Stiles: They were trying... [because they had to have been. They wouldn't just abandon her to them now, right?]

Cora: [she honestly doesn't know, but she certainly doesn't believe that they wouldn't] Maybe. I don't know. But why should I trust that they will, when they've never done it before.

Stiles: That's probably something that you need to talk to them about. But that's not how I work. Someone hurts my friend, and I help my friend.

Cora: Thank you.

Stiles: You're welcome. Feel free to shower or anything. I'm going to just... lay here for a while.

Cora: [nods, before] I ... don't have anything to ... [change into]

Stiles: [points to his bedroom] Take whatever you want.

Cora: [nods and she goes to do just that before showering off and heading back out again]

Stiles: [and the mice will come down to check on him, bringing him chocolate to help with the magic drain, and getting him covered with a blanket once he pulls himself up onto the couch]

Cora: [and she will also be in need of a nap, but not really know where to sleep. but if Stiles is out, she might just curl up in his bed again and hope for the best]

Stiles: [nope that is exactly where she should sleep. The mice will watch over them both]

Cora: [okay then! she's going to pass out there, because it feels like a safe place and sleep hard as her body tries to heal finally]

Stiles: [and eventually he will stir and get up to go and check on her, and thinking she is asleep, going to strip out of his shirt and pants and looking for something to change into after he showers]

Cora: [she is totally asleep because Stiles is a safe person at this point, so him moving around would not trigger her delicate werewolf senses]

Stiles: [good, but not like she hasn't seen most of him anyway from his uniform at work. But he will then go into the shower, taking a nice long, warm shower]

Cora: [and she will just keep sleeping, she has a lot to heal from]

Stiles: [and he will let her sleep as he goes to make himself a meal, and then sit down and talk to the mice about what happened for their records. They are in awe and so excited that their god saved the priestess from the Racist Werewolf Holes of Ass!]

Cora: [and eventually the deep, hard sleep of healing will transition into something softer and more restful, and probably sometime early the next evening, she'll awaken to the rumbling of her stomach, as her body goes okay, you slept, NOW PUT SOME FOOD IN ME PLEASE.]

Stiles: [and he will be sitting on the couch, earbuds in and playing World of Warcraft on the laptop. He called out of work to be able to watch over Cora. His magic was still depleted, so best they stay behind his already existing wards on the apartment]

Cora: [she groans as she slowly pushes herself into a sitting position, glancing around as she tries to find some kind of clock] Stiles?

Stiles: [nope, can't hear her]

Mouse Sentry: Hail, Priestess. He is playing the War of Crack in the main room.

Cora: [nods as she starts to slowly push to her feet to go find him, still wearing his clothes, with the comforter from her bed draped around her shoulders for a little extra warmth]

Stiles: [and when he sees her over the top of his laptop, he will look up and smile, pulling his earbuds out] Hey, you're awake.

Cora: Yeah. What time is it?

Stiles: Um, six. p-m.

Cora: Sorry. I didn't mean to sleep that long.

Stiles: I am actually surprised you're up already. How are you feeling?

Cora: Better. Starving. I'll probably sleep again after but right now, I am in desperate need of some food.

Stiles: Food I can do. I can order pizza, Chinese...?

Cora: Pizza's perfect. [you can order a large amount of it without looking completely suspicious]

Stiles: Alright. I'll get extra protein too. How many do you think you can eat?

Cora: One and a half? Maybe?

Stiles: I'll get you two. Give you breakfast in the morning. [and he will pull out his phone and call in for two meatlovers and one Hawaiian pizza, and a bag of garlic knots with marinara to dip it in, and two Cokes]

Cora: [yes, good. precious calories. while he does that, she will move to settle on the couch next to him, wrapping the blanket around herself to create a blanket fort of sorts] What are you doing?

Stiles: I am working to take down an orcish empire.

Cora: ... At least you have goals?

Stiles: Yeah. I've got a good team, so they are squad goals.

Cora: Good. [a beat as she glances over] I have no idea how this game works.

Stiles: Want me to show you? It takes some time to learn, but you get addicted quickly to it.

Cora: I don't want to interrupt you.

Stiles: You're not interrupting at all. [and he will shift so that she can watch him play, explaining things as he goes, though sometimes needing to talk to his squad]

Cora: [that's fine, she's just mostly observing, and she won't have too many questions]

Stiles: [and then the pizza will come and he will have Cora step into the bedroom out of sight while he pays for it. Just in case. And the mice will sniff it and declare it safe and take their garlic knots in offering]

Cora: [and then she will ... scarf down a lot of her pizza. she'll start slow at first, just to make sure her stomach doesn't revolt again, but once she's sure she's okay, she's just consuming all the calories]

Stiles: [and he will put away about half his own before he goes to put it away for breakfast. He had a sandwich earlier so he wasn't a pit of hunger]

Cora: [she'll slow down when she reaches her second pie, and just lean back with a sigh] Have you heard from my uncle or sister at all?

Stiles: Just checking in, making sure you were ok. Your brother was relieved to know you're safe. Peter says to stay here until I have enough power up to teleport you home to prevent going outside for now. He thinks the penthouse is being watched.

Cora: I didn't tell him where Derek was.

Stiles: He knows. He believes that they know where the penthouse is, but they won't go in because they won't get past the building security.

Cora: [she nods, picking at her pizza for a moment, before] Are we ... still okay?

Stiles: Yeah. Why wouldn't we be?

Cora: I did sort of ... [kiss him]

Stiles: Kiss me? You think I'd complain about a hot girl kissing me? I'm bi, not gay.

Cora: Yeah, but we're friends. [and friends don't just spontaneously kiss each other]

Stiles: And it was just a kiss. Unless you meant it to be more than just a kiss? [his eyes show that he was confused now]

Cora: [she shakes her head because honestly she doesn't know what she wanted there. feelings are hard] I was kind of out of it. I don't really know what I meant.

Stiles: Oh. Well, then it was a thank you kiss. Between friends.

Cora: Okay. I just ... don't want things to be weird. You're one of the few real friends I actually have.

Stiles: Nah, it's only weird when you use tongues in places tongues aren't supposed to go. [smirks, trying to relax her nerves]

Cora: [she shakes her head] Not intending on doing that.

Stiles: Is there anything you do want to do? [and his eyebrow will go up]

Cora: ... No?

Stiles: Oh. Okay. I mean, just asking because friends can also have sex so if you wanted that I wouldn't turn that down either.

Cora: Oh. I know that. [she has friendships like that, but it doesn't ... feel right to do that kind of thing with Stiles] Not about the you wanting to but about friends doing that. [a beat] I'm really bad at navigating stuff like this.

Stiles: Yeah, I'm not any better. I tend to just say what comes in my head and that whole brain to mouth filter is not there.

Cora: I've done friends with benefits before, but ... it was with an incubus so it was literally biological imperative. Other than that ... I haven't really been with anyone.

Stiles: So you just do it for the release, not really for the fun?

Cora: Basically, yeah.

Stiles: Well, that sucks. There's a lot more to it than that. Your incubi friend needs to up his game.

Cora: [her eyebrows go up at that] I don't know. He's pretty good at getting the job done.

Stiles: Yeah, but sex is more than just the orgasm. It's the ride. The having fun and playing. Teasing.

Cora: I just don't want to think.

Stiles: Oh. Well, hopefully some day that will change for you.

Cora: [she shrugs. she's never really met someone she wanted it to be different with, she's never really seen the point. she's just not made for that stuff] Maybe.

Stiles: I hope so. You deserve more. No one should just float through life trying to get by. Everyone needs to be made to feel special, even if it's with just one person.

Cora: [tucks her hair behind her ear] I just don't think I relate to people that way.

Stiles: Why not?

Cora: I just ... don't. I don't know how to trust them.

Stiles: Do you trust me?

Cora: Yeah.

Stiles: So, that means you have the ability to. People just have to work really hard to earn it. [ smiles] You're not as hopeless as you think you are.

Cora: Do you honestly think that people will wait around that long if they're just looking to date me?

Stiles: If they really think you're worth it... yeah. I think you're worth it.

Cora: You're probably the only one. [she doesn't even think she's worth it]

Stiles: Well, like I said, sometimes you only need one. [and he is going to get up to clean up because now he's feeling a bit awkward showing his hand a bit]

Cora: [and she glances over to watch him as he does, feeling ... conflicted because she doesn't know if she's reading this right and she doesn't want to screw this up and lose her friend, but at the same time ...] Did you like it? When I kissed you? Aside from the whole ... hot girl thing.

Stiles: [and he will wash his hands, thinking a moment.] Kinda.

Cora: ["Kinda" is sort of non-committal, but ...] Do you want to be that person?

Stiles: [and he will turn around, bracing his hands on the counter] I won't lie and say I haven't thought about it. You just never really seem interested in wanting something like that, so I just never said anything.

Cora: I wasn't. [interested. now she doesn't know one hundred percent how she feels] But I'm also not good at like ... recognizing when I'm being flirted with either. Unless the guy is being gross about it.

Stiles: [laughs] Yeah I'm not good at flirting. I'm awkward at it.

Cora: [she pauses again, reaching to pull the blanket around her shoulders again as though it's some kind of armor] I did like the way kissing you felt though.

Stiles: Once I stopped being confused about it... I liked it too.

Cora: I don't really know what that means. I don't know how to ... do this.

Stiles: [and he will come back over to sit next to her, facing her] We don't have to do anything if you don't want to. I'm not going to stop being your friend if you decide you don't want to do anything.

Cora: I don't know what I want. I just don't want to lose you.

Stiles: You're not going to lose me. I don't get rid of friends like that. Once we're friends, we're always friends.

Cora: Okay. [she still doesn't know what she wants, but that's comforting] ... Do you want to try it again? With me less of a ... mess?

Stiles: [and he will smile] Sure. Whenever you want to.

Cora: [she hesitates for a moment, not really sure how to do this again, but eventually she'll push up on her knees and lean into him, kissing him softly]

Stiles: [and he is ready for it this time, his hand going to hold her cheek as he kisses her back]

Cora: [she won't push it much, and does make an effort to make it nicer than the last time, so she just leans into his hold, even if she's keeping the blanket wrapped around her]

Stiles: [that's fine. He's going to try and lure her closer, shifting to lean back a bit but not losing her lips on his, the other hand going to her hips and nudging her closer into his lap]

Cora: [that does seem like it would be a more comfortable position, so she will do that, yes. she slips forward and slides one leg over his hips, letting her hands rest against his chest]

Stiles: [good girl. And he will smile and let his fingers comb through her hair as he deepens the kiss]

Cora: [she hums into the kiss a bit as she settles against him, just following his lead as best she can]

Stiles: [and he's not going to push her too far. But his hand will just gently caress her, sliding down her back, along her arm, his thumb along her cheek. Just focusing on her and showing her affection instead of just raw need]

Cora: [it's different from what she's used to, that's for sure, but it's nice, in it's own way. She'll just follow his lead until she needs to pull back and catch her breath]

Stiles: [and he will let her, leaning into the arm of the couch and reaches up to tuck her hair behind her ear gently] You okay?

Cora: [she nods, instinctually tipping into his hand a bit] Yeah. You?

Stiles: Never better. [his thumb will trace her cheekbone] You're really beautiful, you know.

Cora: [her head ducks a bit at that because that's a compliment she doesn't know how to accept]

Stiles: Has no one ever told you that?

Cora: [she glances up at him before shrugging] Not like that. [people have told her she's hot, or used cruder terms to tell her how much they would like to bang her, but ... beautiful is not one she hears a lot. Especially not the way he said it]

Stiles: Well, you are. [and he will smile and trace her face again]

Cora: ... Thanks. I guess. [she's still not good at complements, but it means something that he thinks that]

Stiles: Do you not like me telling you that?

Cora: No. I'm just ... not used to it?

Stiles: Well, get used to it. Because you are. In fact, the mice need to add that to your name so you always hear it.

Cora: [and that has her blushing a bit] Don't make them do that.

Stiles: Well, they wouldn't anyway. they have their own way of naming us. But it was worth a try. [his grin grows at her blush]

Cora: [she sees that, that he's enjoying making her squirm, and she pulls away to retreat back to her blanket] You're enjoying this.

Stiles: A bit. I like to tease people, but I'm not teasing you about being beautiful. That's the truth. But you were blushing and I wanted to make you smile.

Cora: [she shrugs a bit as she takes her personal space back] So that's what I would be in for if we were dating? A lot of teasing?

Stiles: Yeah. And reminding you that you're beautiful. Taking care of you, being there when you need someone there for you. Probably a lot of pizza and movies.

Cora: I've never actually dated anyone before. I don't know ... I'm probably not bringing a lot to the table.

Stiles: Well, what do you think dating is? [and he will sit up, watching her]

Cora: I don't know. [there's a pause as she tries to think back to what it was like when Laura and Derek were dating in the house] A lot of ... pretense.

Stiles: Pretense?

Cora: Pretending. Hiding things about yourself so that you seem more appealing, or pretending you actually care about getting to know the other person but you really just want to get laid.

Stiles: Well, I'd rather you not pretend with me. I mean, dating is supposed to be two people seeing if they can be in a relationship together. What kind of relationship can you have not being yourself?

Cora: [she shrugs] As I said, I haven't really done it.

Stiles: Alright, well how about this. We come up with our own way. What do you want out of dating me?

Cora: [she shrugs] I just like spending time with you.

Stiles: I like spending time with you too. Though I mean, we do have different kinds of lives, but that just means we have things to learn about each other.

Cora: But not too different. You already know I'm a werewolf and stuff.

Stiles: And you know I'm a Price, and that I can do magic.

Cora: So I guess with all the big stuff out of the way, the little stuff should be easy, right?

Stiles: Yeah. Though I do have to ask your opinions on Star Wars. This is very important to me.

Cora: [her brow just furrows in confusion]

Stiles: [eyes widen] You haven't seen Star Wars?

Cora: [slowly shakes her head]

Stiles: Okay, you're stuck here until I have enough mojo back to take you home. We're going to fix this. [because that is just cruelty that no one has shown it to her]

Cora: Oh ... kay?

Stiles: Stay right there. [and he will be up to make them popcorn and find his copy to introduce her to A New Hope]

Cora: [and she will settle next to him to watch it but the other downside to this that she's also still healing so if there's enough of a lull in the movie and she's comfortable enough, she may just ... pass out again]

Stiles: [which is fine. He will let her snuggle him as she sleeps, keeping her close and safe while watching Luke go off and destroy the death star]

Cora: [and she will take that snuggling because she's unconscious and her wolf loves a good snuggle]

Stiles: [and the Stiles loves a good snuggle too. And she is nice and warm so he may just nod off once the movie is over and the credits roll]