thepicketfencecliche | darkest timeline } { of curveballs and surprise alphas

Stiles: [so after he left the Hale house, he makes his way to the crime scene. The scene tape is up and there's a cop in his squad car watching the entrance. Carefully, he moves along the alley from the rooftop and carefully lowers himself down. Making sure he is out of the cop's line of sight, he sets up his tiny pouch of spell components and runs the normal gambit of forensics that he does with any case he works on. He gets a lot of answers he was already expecting - it was a werewolf, no magic used, etc. But when he tried an aura read to see if he could identify the wolf, he couldn't... but he sensed a third person at the scene: another alpha.] Shit. That's not good. [and he's going to quickly pack up and head back up to the rooftop]

Cora: [is still up when he returns to the penthouse, having a cup of tea before settling into bed. The rest of the house is quiet, and she's taking some time to herself before the craziness starts up again in the morning. When she hears the knock on the door, she gets to her feet, checking the peephole before opening it] Stiles, what are you doing here?

Stiles: [and hi Cora, he's going to just come into the penthouse, having tried to figure out the implications of what he discovered and then escalating the danger in his head and yeah his Adderall has faded in his system.] This isn't good. It's way worse than I thought. Who did you guys piss off?

Cora: [squints] Excuse me?

Stiles: [stops, breathes] Sorry, restart. I did my own examination of the crime scene and I'm not liking what I found.

Cora: ... Should I get everyone else for this?

Stiles: [nods] Yeah. Can I grab a soda from the fridge while you do that? I ran all the way here.

Cora: Yeah, of course. [and she'll go knock on some doors to rouse everyone except Malia. This doesn't seem like the kind of thing she needs to hear. Laura makes her way down soon after, and presumably Elena is still with Derek?]

Derek: [yeah, and they'll both come down. Peter will be right behind them] Stiles?

Stiles: [has downed half a Mt. Dew] Hey Derek. Sorry to wake you all, but this couldn't wait.

Elena: [crosses her arms in front of her chest] Did you find something?

Stiles: Yeah. So I tried to do an area aura read to see if I could figure out who the murderer is. I couldn't get a name, sorry, but I got something else. The killer wasn't alone. There was a third wolf in the alley... another alpha.

Laura: ... So you're saying another alpha helped a beta kill mom?

Stiles: Yeah. So who the hell had a beef with you guys?

Laura: [eyes widen as she shakes her head] I have no idea. Nothing came up at the conference with the other alphas.

Peter: We've had some tense moments with the Ivanovs while we've lived here, but they're very strict on their power structure. Beyond that, I don't know of any.

Cora: ... You don't think that Deucalion would have?

Stiles: Oh no, it wasn't his signature. I know the aura signatures of the alpha pack and it was not any of them.

Cora: [glances to Derek] Was there anyone trying to move on to her turf?

Derek: [shakes his head] No, especially since people knew that if they took us out, they'd have to take on Satomi's whole pack before they even left the property.

Cora: This doesn't make any sense.

Derek: [and something pokes at the back of his head and he looks at Elena and whispers] ... Would he?

Elena: [her eyebrow rises, confused, before she realizes who he means and shakes her head] No. No, he wouldn't.

Peter: Who wouldn't? [because he's nosy]

Elena: [presses her lips together] Damon. He wouldn't because that would mean competition for who's in charge of his pack, and that's the last thing he wants.

Stiles: What if he was helping someone start their own pack?

Elena: Why would he do that? [she shakes her head] Damon Salvatore only does things that benefit Damon Salvatore.

Peter: Damon Salvatore? Where have I heard that name before?

Elena: He's the current alpha of the Mystic Falls pack.

Peter: The one who bit you. [he remembers now]

Elena: [she nods] Tyler's father was the alpha, but Damon killed him and stole his power.

Stiles: So he has experience killing alphas. Yeah, that doesn't make him a suspect at all.

Elena: We still don't know what it would gain him. Damon may be dangerous but he's not stupid. He's not going to help arrange the death of another alpha - especially an alpha like Talia Hale - when Tyler has been up here gathering allies. Not unless he had a very good reason.

Derek: [looks at Elena, then closes his eyes because no, no this isn't his fault. It can't be Damon, because if it is...]

Cora: [narrows her eyes] Why did you think it would be Damon in the first place?

Elena: [crosses her arms in front of her chest] Because Damon doesn't approve of our relationship. As though he has any say over it.

Derek: And if he's someone who would bite you and kill Tyler's dad, and if he thinks I'm in the way of what he wants with you...

Elena: What he wants is me being with Stefan. Which isn't going to happen, no matter how many people he kills. [because this Elena isn't that easily swayed] If he was trying to prove a point to us, he would have made a show of it. Or he would have gone after Derek directly. [she shakes her head] He wouldn't have helped another beta steal Talia's power.

Peter: If you're sure, we'll go another avenue. It's ok.

Stiles: [Um, no it's not ok are you all blind?!" is what his face says]

Elena: [she shrugs] I can't be sure of anything with Damon. But as far as I know, he wasn't here. He left two days ago and hasn't been back since. And while I would love to have a reason to string him up, it doesn't make any sense. I can't see him randomly agreeing to help some beta kill an alpha - specifically Talia - without some kind of ulterior motive that benefits him. The pieces aren't there.

Derek: Then what we'll want to do is have Stiles meet some of the local alphas and see if he gets the same aura feel off them.

Laura: Or he could just come to the funeral. [Laura considers carefully] It's going to be a line of dignitaries for a week at least. If the alpha is brazen enough to come pay their respects, he can check them. And if he doesn't find them, then we've narrowed down the list to who didn't show.

Stiles: That..... could actually work.

Peter: Alright, then we shall do it.

Laura: Good. Hopefully we'll be able to wrap this up by then.

Peter: Is that all then, Stiles? Can we go back to sleep?

Stiles: Um, yeah. That's all I really got that the police didn't know.

Cora: [nods, resting a hand on his shoulder] Are you staying, or should I walk you out?

Stiles: I, um... I could go home. [even if he's looking like he's hitting an adreneline drain]

Cora: You can stay if you want. [she was asking that as options, not implying that he had to choose one or the other]

Stiles: [thinks, then nods] Yeah. If you don't mind.

Peter: Of course we don't mind. Cora, you know where the spare bedding is to give him. I'm heading back to bed.

Cora: [she nods] Yeah, I'll handle it. [Laura nods and also heads back to her guest room, and Elena will wait for Derek until he's ready to go]

Derek: [and he's going to just talk softly to Stiles a moment, a few brotherly arm pats, and he'll go meet Elena to go back upstairs]

Stiles: [when they are gone] Nice to see them together.

Cora: Yeah, it is. It's good to see him happy. [and she jerks her thumb back over his shoulder] I'll go get the blankets and pillows. The couch should be okay, right? We're out of beds.

Stiles: Sure. I mean, Elena's taking my normal place, so couch'll work.

Cora: [her eyebrows go up. and her brow furrows. and then she turns to face him because ...] Elena's in Derek's room. Are you normally in Derek's room? [did she miss something?]

Stiles: Yeah. But, not like how she's using the bed. More like sleepover with friends and neither wanting to sleep on the floor way.

Cora: ... Oh. [gotcha. Okay. cool.] Blankets. Be right back. [and with that she will head to the linen closet]

Stiles: [and he mutters to himself about how stupid that was and might mention that it was her bed he liked being in but that was a different lifetime and bah time travel sucks sometimes]

Cora: [it does. and she also knows how awkward that was, and is making a face at her own reactions so when she returns with the blankets] I don't want you to think I was judging you or anything. I'm bi too. I guess I just wasn't sure if there was something Derek wasn't telling me.

Stiles: Oh, no. NO. I mean, I wouldn't say no, but he does NOT swing that way.

Cora: [she nods, passing the blankets over to him] Not that it would be bad if he did, but good to know.

Stiles: Oh no. If he did, he'd probably have half of LA moving to the Hills just to date him. [takes the blankets] But you probably didn't need that image.

Cora: No, I did not. [she goes to grab her abandoned tea, going to put it in the microwave to warm it up] But that doesn't mean I don't want him to have that.

Stiles: Yeah. [and he follows her] And hey, you're doing good too. Derek said you're with a guy named Hal?

Cora: With is a really loose term? [she shrugs] He's my best friend, and we mess around sometimes but ... it's not like that.

Stiles: Oh. So... theoretically, if someone asked you out on a date, you could possibly say yes.

Cora: Theoretically ... yeah. I could.

Stiles: I will keep that in mind. [small smile]

Cora: You do that. [the microwave goes off and she turns to get her tea out] Can I get you anything before bed?

Stiles: No, I'm good. Um, sleep well.

Cora: You too. [and with that, she will take her tea upstairs to her room and leave him to sleep]

Stiles: [and he will flop down on the couch and really try not to think about sleeping in Cora's bed]

Cora: [be patient, Stiles, you'll get back there eventually]

Stiles: [he's trying, alright!]

Cora: [take a few more times to bond and you'll be closer than you think. but she's going to head to bed and also not think about how empty her bed is, before shoving those thoughts away because still Derek's best friend]

Stiles: [he'll keep on it]