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tamingthemuseTitle: after the war [5/?]
Fandom: Teen Wolf
Prompt: 497 - cuirass
Warnings: AU (some kind of not-quite post-apocalyptic, slightly militaristic, maybe in-the-future, werewolves-become-known I don’t know). Derek/Stiles, with background Erica/Boyd and Scott/Allison.
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: ~880
Summary: Stiles’ team is finally found—but someone’s missing.
Disclaimer: It’s all lies and I own nothing.
-- = --
The following day, just after dark, Lahey howled from somewhere ahead of the rest of the team. Derek glanced back at Reyes and Boyd, who both nodded, before taking off after his beta. Lahey’s scent was as easy to follow in the darkness as a trail of light and Derek found him hanging out of the doorway of an old farmhouse three miles west. The scents were strong and muddled, but none of them were Stiles.
“They’re here,” Lahey said. “Well, most of them.” He led Derek inside to where Stiles’ team was huddled in the fortified living room. Both Scott and Stiles were missing. And two of the others had been bitten.
“What happened?” he asked Argent’s daughter.
She shook her head and shoved her hands through her tangled hair. “They ambushed us. Scott and I were scouting ahead and the rest of the team was attacked. We tried to fight them off.” She shrugged and shook her head again, fiddling with the ties of the leather corselet embossed with a fleur de lis in her lap.. “There were six of them and I know I killed one for sure. The rest were injured pretty badly. We didn’t exactly survive unscathed, but we all got away.”
“Where’s Stiles? And McCall?”
“We were trying to find a place to take shelter and better patch up our wounded when two of the alphas came back. They took Stiles.”
Derek reached for the wall to steady himself. “What?”
“Scott was bitten trying to stop them. We didn’t realize until we finally found this place that Jackson and Liam had been, too. They’ve all survived the bite and Scott goes out every night using his new senses to track Stiles.”
“Allison!” Argent cried, bursting into the room, dropping to his knees in front of his daughter.
Derek took a step back as they had their reunion, backed up another step, then another, and another, until he was nearly out the door. He looked at Boyd and Reyes where they stood guard outside. “Whittemore and Dunbar were bitten. Check on them and any injuries the others might have. I’m going to track down McCall.”
Reyes caught his forearm in a gentle grip as he passed. “You’ll find him. He’s going to be okay.”
With a curt nod, Derek pulled himself free from her grasp and stalked off into the night. McCall’s trail wasn’t as easy as Lahey’s to follow because it wasn’t as familiar, but his chemosignals were nearly overpowering and Derek found him fast enough because of them. Even if McCall hadn’t left a scent trail, the sound of him tromping through the underbrush surely would’ve led Derek to him. Not wanting to accidentally find himself at the end of McCall’s new claws or fangs, Derek announced his presence long before McCall could scent or hear Derek’s own, much quieter, footsteps. “McCall.”
A short distance away, probably no more than twenty or thirty yards, McCall turned, eyes glowing gold as he growled.
“It’s Hale. Stilinski sent us out to find your team.”
“It’s a pack of alphas,” McCall said, voice low and gravelly. “They took Stiles.”
The reminder made Derek’s chest ache. “That’s what Allison said.”
“You’re worried. I can smell it,” McCall said once Derek stood beside him.
“Have you had any luck tracking his scent?” Derek asked, ignoring the comment.
“The rain washed a lot of the trail away. Sometimes I’m not sure what I’m smelling, or I’ll pick up rabbit or squirrel and it’s distracting.”
Derek laid a hand on McCall’s shoulder. “I’ll help you figure it out.”
“Thanks.” After a few moments of silence, he offered, “I think they were after Stiles from the moment they jumped us.”
“What do you mean?” He stopped trying to scent the woods and focused all of his attention on Scott.
“I mean, there had been sightings of a lone omega around the area for weeks. I think they started about the time your team left.”
“There was never an omega,” Derek confirmed. “It was an alpha; their scout.”
“I didn’t even know an alpha pack was a thing.”
“It shouldn’t be. It shouldn’t exist.”
“And what would they want with Stiles?”
It didn’t take Derek long to come up with a theory: depending on how long their scout had been hanging around camp, it was possible Derek and Stiles had been seen together, often. They’d also had Derek’s sister, had left her for him—or someone who knew who she was to him—to find. And now they’d taken Stiles. It seemed as though they were provoking him, another alpha. “I think they’re trying to get to me,” Derek finally said.
McCall turned towards him, eyebrows pinched in confusion. “Why?”
“I don’t know. But they’ve taken Stiles, somebody that I— someone they might know I have a history with. They also had my sister. I didn’t even know she was still alive. They’d left her pinned beneath a boulder not far from where you had your run-in. Argent’s team found her when they went looking for you.”
McCall stayed quiet for a long time. “How do we get Stiles back?”
“I don’t know. I’ll do whatever it takes.”
“Even if they want you instead?”
“Yes,” Derek said without hesitation.
Fandom: Teen Wolf
Prompt: 497 - cuirass
Warnings: AU (some kind of not-quite post-apocalyptic, slightly militaristic, maybe in-the-future, werewolves-become-known I don’t know). Derek/Stiles, with background Erica/Boyd and Scott/Allison.
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: ~880
Summary: Stiles’ team is finally found—but someone’s missing.
Disclaimer: It’s all lies and I own nothing.
The following day, just after dark, Lahey howled from somewhere ahead of the rest of the team. Derek glanced back at Reyes and Boyd, who both nodded, before taking off after his beta. Lahey’s scent was as easy to follow in the darkness as a trail of light and Derek found him hanging out of the doorway of an old farmhouse three miles west. The scents were strong and muddled, but none of them were Stiles.
“They’re here,” Lahey said. “Well, most of them.” He led Derek inside to where Stiles’ team was huddled in the fortified living room. Both Scott and Stiles were missing. And two of the others had been bitten.
“What happened?” he asked Argent’s daughter.
She shook her head and shoved her hands through her tangled hair. “They ambushed us. Scott and I were scouting ahead and the rest of the team was attacked. We tried to fight them off.” She shrugged and shook her head again, fiddling with the ties of the leather corselet embossed with a fleur de lis in her lap.. “There were six of them and I know I killed one for sure. The rest were injured pretty badly. We didn’t exactly survive unscathed, but we all got away.”
“Where’s Stiles? And McCall?”
“We were trying to find a place to take shelter and better patch up our wounded when two of the alphas came back. They took Stiles.”
Derek reached for the wall to steady himself. “What?”
“Scott was bitten trying to stop them. We didn’t realize until we finally found this place that Jackson and Liam had been, too. They’ve all survived the bite and Scott goes out every night using his new senses to track Stiles.”
“Allison!” Argent cried, bursting into the room, dropping to his knees in front of his daughter.
Derek took a step back as they had their reunion, backed up another step, then another, and another, until he was nearly out the door. He looked at Boyd and Reyes where they stood guard outside. “Whittemore and Dunbar were bitten. Check on them and any injuries the others might have. I’m going to track down McCall.”
Reyes caught his forearm in a gentle grip as he passed. “You’ll find him. He’s going to be okay.”
With a curt nod, Derek pulled himself free from her grasp and stalked off into the night. McCall’s trail wasn’t as easy as Lahey’s to follow because it wasn’t as familiar, but his chemosignals were nearly overpowering and Derek found him fast enough because of them. Even if McCall hadn’t left a scent trail, the sound of him tromping through the underbrush surely would’ve led Derek to him. Not wanting to accidentally find himself at the end of McCall’s new claws or fangs, Derek announced his presence long before McCall could scent or hear Derek’s own, much quieter, footsteps. “McCall.”
A short distance away, probably no more than twenty or thirty yards, McCall turned, eyes glowing gold as he growled.
“It’s Hale. Stilinski sent us out to find your team.”
“It’s a pack of alphas,” McCall said, voice low and gravelly. “They took Stiles.”
The reminder made Derek’s chest ache. “That’s what Allison said.”
“You’re worried. I can smell it,” McCall said once Derek stood beside him.
“Have you had any luck tracking his scent?” Derek asked, ignoring the comment.
“The rain washed a lot of the trail away. Sometimes I’m not sure what I’m smelling, or I’ll pick up rabbit or squirrel and it’s distracting.”
Derek laid a hand on McCall’s shoulder. “I’ll help you figure it out.”
“Thanks.” After a few moments of silence, he offered, “I think they were after Stiles from the moment they jumped us.”
“What do you mean?” He stopped trying to scent the woods and focused all of his attention on Scott.
“I mean, there had been sightings of a lone omega around the area for weeks. I think they started about the time your team left.”
“There was never an omega,” Derek confirmed. “It was an alpha; their scout.”
“I didn’t even know an alpha pack was a thing.”
“It shouldn’t be. It shouldn’t exist.”
“And what would they want with Stiles?”
It didn’t take Derek long to come up with a theory: depending on how long their scout had been hanging around camp, it was possible Derek and Stiles had been seen together, often. They’d also had Derek’s sister, had left her for him—or someone who knew who she was to him—to find. And now they’d taken Stiles. It seemed as though they were provoking him, another alpha. “I think they’re trying to get to me,” Derek finally said.
McCall turned towards him, eyebrows pinched in confusion. “Why?”
“I don’t know. But they’ve taken Stiles, somebody that I— someone they might know I have a history with. They also had my sister. I didn’t even know she was still alive. They’d left her pinned beneath a boulder not far from where you had your run-in. Argent’s team found her when they went looking for you.”
McCall stayed quiet for a long time. “How do we get Stiles back?”
“I don’t know. I’ll do whatever it takes.”
“Even if they want you instead?”
“Yes,” Derek said without hesitation.
