[ Stiles is trying his best to do a damn good job of staying on a low radar. After getting yelled at and then receiving one of his dad's tightest hugs--not to mention an "I'm proud of you" that made his chest clench up at the thought--he's pretty determined not to ruffle any more feathers in the shatterdome until things have calmed down.
But things probably aren't going to settle. He's going to be training with Derek for the next week, with a goal of testing a drift on Sunday. Seven days from today, Stiles was going to Vulcan mindmeld with someone. Literally. The thought made him want to puke, from nerves or excitement or possibly both. At the moment, he's just trying hard not to think about it too much, and he's got his nose in a book of records on death from kaiju blue, and that's when Cora Hale slams her tray down.
Stiles jumps about half a foot in the air and locks eyes with her, going from comically startled to confused to slightly terrified all in one facial expression, and he manages to snap his jaw shut and mutter, ] Never thought getting a girl to sit with me at lunch would go quite like this.
Surprise. [ Cora doesn't pretend to be sweet like Laura does when she wants something, or when she's letting someone know they've fucked up. She's sardonic like Derek, tone dry yet amused as she focuses her attention on the wide-eyed stare that Stiles is offering. She calmly picks up her bread from the tray, tearing it in quarters with her fingers as she watches him, almost calculating. Sort of like a predator determining whether to consider something prey or not.
She absently dips her bread in her soup, finally looking down as she begins eating. She's in no real rush, though she's completely prepared to pin Stiles with a hard stare if he tries to go anywhere. There are questions she wants to ask, answers that she needs, for Derek. Before they try to drift, before he even enters training with him. ]
I'm not going to bite you. [ Looking up at him from under her brow, she pops the bread into her mouth. ] You can stop looking at me like that.
[ Oh my god he's so dead. He's staring at her ripping the bread up and just knows she's probably imagining rendering Stiles' flesh. Cora could kick his ass sideways, backwards and forwards, to be perfectly honest, and he'd probably be strangely okay with that.
Taking a tentative bite of his sandwich, he chews it like he's giving himself time to think and not say something completely stupid. This is a dangerous game here. These Hales are terrifying--even Laura, who seems bubbly and bright and is dating John, but has this weird way of looking at him that makes him think she's going to chew him up and spit him out.
Hales.
Swallowing, finally, he raises his eyebrows at her. ] Bite me, no. Kick my ass, probably. [ It is a joke, at least, and he manages a little smile, hoping to...maybe break the tension. ]
[ Allowing Stiles his moment to assess, Cora enjoys her food patiently. She's not exactly known for her patience, when interacting with people, but she gets it honestly. She's a fighter like both of her siblings, getting into brawls around the shatterdome because people talk, and sometimes they say the wrong things (whether they're true or not doesn't matter, sometimes they just say the wrong things). Derek could hand her her ass, Laura and Peter too, but she could throttle Stiles and she knows it.
And so does he, apparently.
She wants to smile cruelly at him, just to drive the point home, but instead she just seems amused. There's no wolfish baring of teeth like Derek is prone to doing, just... amusement, and she raises her eyebrows back. ] Probably. But that's going to be Derek's job for the next week, isn't it.
The biting or the ass kicking? [ Stiles you know how you said you shouldn't say stupid stuff--that's stupid stuff. He's just shoving his foot into his mouth today, so he just decides to tear off another bite of his sandwich and chew it loudly to push down the way he just made his own ears turn red. Christ.
Swallowing, though, he sets the food down and levels her with a stare, raising his eyebrows, even. Scared, a little, yes. Intimidated? Definitely not. ] Y'know you're like the second person to lecture me since this started. Third if you count Laura, but she mostly just laughed and told me she'd eat me for breakfast if anything went wrong.
[ Which is kind of weird. Because seriously, Stiles should be the one concerned for his safety here. It makes him wonder about Derek--makes the memory of what happened to Paige pop up in the back of his head. ]
The ass kicking. Unless he decides to tear your throat out with his teeth. [ All right, that's said very pleasantly, and Cora smiles candidly at him before she pokes another piece of bread into her soup. She files away his reaction for later, looking at him and taking in his face, all the details that make him Stiles. His nose, mouth, chin, cheeks, but most of all...
His eyes, and the smattering of spots all over him. She can remember Paige's sharp mouth, big brown eyes filled with a spark, the single mark below her eye.
She swallows down the memory behind a drink of water, but never drops her eyes from their impromptu staring contest. Whatever aggression in her fades just a little, but Cora is a Hale with burns in her files, and what's left of her family is hers to protect. ] I'm not here to lecture you. I'm here to find out what my brother is getting himself into, and to warn you.
[ A pause, and then, wryly: ] Although he'll probably warn you twice as much before you go through a drift test.
Oh, that's comforting. [ Stiles rolls his eyes with a jerk of his neck, but comes back to stare glumly at his sandwich for a minute. This is kind of an opportunity for him, too--maybe he can get a little information about Derek, because everyone here is just Mean Girls levels of rumors about him and it's mostly proven to be useless. Even John didn't say much. The guy's a big huge secret, and Stiles is pretty keen on learning secrets. ]
You make it sound like a bad thing! It's a good thing! A capable thing. Very, very capable. [ Continuing to dig his grave in deeper. ] Warn me.
[ Cora smiles at him again at his reaction, all wolfish amusement before she pokes the piece of bread around, soaking up more of her soup with a sort of lazy intent. She's come to appreciate the fact that the shatterdome has a constant stock of bread, compared to how things were in Beacon Hills towards the end. Getting as much out of it as she can is the major goal. ] I'm sure you'll live. I think he likes you.
[ Well, he thinks something of Stiles, and that much is evident in the way her expression shifts. She's not sure what Derek thinks of Stiles, to be honest. He's been pretty close-lipped since the matches. Not that she's surprised. ]
He and Paige were still drifting when she was killed. [ Blunt and to the point, though Cora doesn't know the whole truth: that Derek had to kill her himself. Derek opted to never tell her. ]
[ ...oh. Any sort of reaction's taken out of him as he ponders that. Stiles had heard stories, about Derek bravely piloting Loup Garou out of the ocean and into safety, about Paige's death, and he'd put two and two together, but Cora simply confirmed it. It had to have been hard on Derek, to say the least, and Stiles tears a chunk out of his sandwich and chews on it, thinking it over. ]
Yeah. [ There's not much he can say--he knows. He wishes he could help. He will try his hardest not to get either of them killed. ] He's...taking a big risk with. [ Awkward gesturing at himself. ] Yeah. I get it.
You're both taking a big risk, to be honest. [ Gauging his reaction, Cora scans his face, chocolate eyes bright but sharp. Whatever she sees in his expression, silence, or reaction, she seems satisfied with it and taps her finger against the table. ]
I've never drifted before, so I only know how it works in theory. But taking that kind of emotional baggage into the drift isn't safe for anyone, because either of you could wind up chasing the RABIT, or triggering further damage for the both of you. [ She's not sure who he is, but Derek saw something in Stiles. Even if she's skeptical, she's going to respect her older brother's choice and try to understand him. ]
But Derek's willing to try this with you after years.
[ There's a moment of quiet as Stiles looks down at her fingers, then to his hands. He's not sure why he's trusting Cora so suddenly--maybe it's that same attachment with Derek, but it's something he's only really mentioned to one person here in the shatterdome, and that's John. ]
My mother died from Kaiju Blue when the first attack hit my--our--hometown. I was the only one there when she died. [ His voice is uncharacteristically quiet, and Stiles swallows, then levels Cora with a surprisingly even gaze. He's perceptive and his gaze belays exactly that--he knows about Cora and where she came from, about Derek, the rest of their family as well. ] I get baggage, believe me. I don't want to make his life any worse going through my screwed up head, and I'll step away from it if I have to.
[ It isn't hard to connect what he means by our, and Cora watches him closely, looks back at him without hesitation as he speaks and brings his gaze back up to her. But rather than the uncertainty and previously calculating stare, there's an understanding that enters the exchange between chocolate and amber.
She purses her lips just slightly into a thin line, remembering K-Day well despite the fact they were both so much younger. But what really strikes her is the sudden trust that she's being given, and above all else she can understand not wanting to share that with anyone.
Slipping her hand across the table, she reaches out to set it over Stiles'. ] I don't think you'll have to.
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no subject
But things probably aren't going to settle. He's going to be training with Derek for the next week, with a goal of testing a drift on Sunday. Seven days from today, Stiles was going to Vulcan mindmeld with someone. Literally. The thought made him want to puke, from nerves or excitement or possibly both. At the moment, he's just trying hard not to think about it too much, and he's got his nose in a book of records on death from kaiju blue, and that's when Cora Hale slams her tray down.
Stiles jumps about half a foot in the air and locks eyes with her, going from comically startled to confused to slightly terrified all in one facial expression, and he manages to snap his jaw shut and mutter, ] Never thought getting a girl to sit with me at lunch would go quite like this.
no subject
She absently dips her bread in her soup, finally looking down as she begins eating. She's in no real rush, though she's completely prepared to pin Stiles with a hard stare if he tries to go anywhere. There are questions she wants to ask, answers that she needs, for Derek. Before they try to drift, before he even enters training with him. ]
I'm not going to bite you. [ Looking up at him from under her brow, she pops the bread into her mouth. ] You can stop looking at me like that.
no subject
Taking a tentative bite of his sandwich, he chews it like he's giving himself time to think and not say something completely stupid. This is a dangerous game here. These Hales are terrifying--even Laura, who seems bubbly and bright and is dating John, but has this weird way of looking at him that makes him think she's going to chew him up and spit him out.
Hales.
Swallowing, finally, he raises his eyebrows at her. ] Bite me, no. Kick my ass, probably. [ It is a joke, at least, and he manages a little smile, hoping to...maybe break the tension. ]
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And so does he, apparently.
She wants to smile cruelly at him, just to drive the point home, but instead she just seems amused. There's no wolfish baring of teeth like Derek is prone to doing, just... amusement, and she raises her eyebrows back. ] Probably. But that's going to be Derek's job for the next week, isn't it.
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Swallowing, though, he sets the food down and levels her with a stare, raising his eyebrows, even. Scared, a little, yes. Intimidated? Definitely not. ] Y'know you're like the second person to lecture me since this started. Third if you count Laura, but she mostly just laughed and told me she'd eat me for breakfast if anything went wrong.
[ Which is kind of weird. Because seriously, Stiles should be the one concerned for his safety here. It makes him wonder about Derek--makes the memory of what happened to Paige pop up in the back of his head. ]
no subject
His eyes, and the smattering of spots all over him. She can remember Paige's sharp mouth, big brown eyes filled with a spark, the single mark below her eye.
She swallows down the memory behind a drink of water, but never drops her eyes from their impromptu staring contest. Whatever aggression in her fades just a little, but Cora is a Hale with burns in her files, and what's left of her family is hers to protect. ] I'm not here to lecture you. I'm here to find out what my brother is getting himself into, and to warn you.
[ A pause, and then, wryly: ] Although he'll probably warn you twice as much before you go through a drift test.
no subject
You make it sound like a bad thing! It's a good thing! A capable thing. Very, very capable. [ Continuing to dig his grave in deeper. ] Warn me.
no subject
[ Well, he thinks something of Stiles, and that much is evident in the way her expression shifts. She's not sure what Derek thinks of Stiles, to be honest. He's been pretty close-lipped since the matches. Not that she's surprised. ]
He and Paige were still drifting when she was killed. [ Blunt and to the point, though Cora doesn't know the whole truth: that Derek had to kill her himself. Derek opted to never tell her. ]
no subject
Yeah. [ There's not much he can say--he knows. He wishes he could help. He will try his hardest not to get either of them killed. ] He's...taking a big risk with. [ Awkward gesturing at himself. ] Yeah. I get it.
no subject
I've never drifted before, so I only know how it works in theory. But taking that kind of emotional baggage into the drift isn't safe for anyone, because either of you could wind up chasing the RABIT, or triggering further damage for the both of you. [ She's not sure who he is, but Derek saw something in Stiles. Even if she's skeptical, she's going to respect her older brother's choice and try to understand him. ]
But Derek's willing to try this with you after years.
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My mother died from Kaiju Blue when the first attack hit my--our--hometown. I was the only one there when she died. [ His voice is uncharacteristically quiet, and Stiles swallows, then levels Cora with a surprisingly even gaze. He's perceptive and his gaze belays exactly that--he knows about Cora and where she came from, about Derek, the rest of their family as well. ] I get baggage, believe me. I don't want to make his life any worse going through my screwed up head, and I'll step away from it if I have to.
no subject
She purses her lips just slightly into a thin line, remembering K-Day well despite the fact they were both so much younger. But what really strikes her is the sudden trust that she's being given, and above all else she can understand not wanting to share that with anyone.
Slipping her hand across the table, she reaches out to set it over Stiles'. ] I don't think you'll have to.