threeisapattern | maybe the real supernatural magnet was Stiles all along

maybe the real supernatural magnet was Stiles all along

The thing about kanimas is that they're supposed to be super-rare, maybe one-in-a-generation. Most people, if they get the werewolf bite and their body rejects it, they die. It takes a special kind of mental unwellness to turn into a kanima instead. And Stiles has already been there, done that when Jackson transformed into one back in Beacon Hills.

So someone explain to him why he's staring one down in the middle of an otherwise deserted park. (So he was practicing some soccer drills on his own and it got late. So sue him if he kind of doesn't want to suck when he has a cute guy and the cute guy's family in addition to his dad vowing to watch him play.) For a second, he genuinely wonders if this is some kind of waking nightmare, and he glances down to count his fingers as a check (ten, no more and no less). In that time, it gets in way too close, and Stiles straight-out sprints for his bag to grab his phone and the little vial of emergency mountain ash he keeps with him at all times.

He has Billy's number dialed and his thumb on the top of the vial to flick it open when he feels a slash against his back, meaning he has a few seconds before his body stops responding. He hits the call button and throws the opened vial in the air as his muscles go slack and he drops to the ground. He doesn't think anything breaks, but he lands on his shoulder painfully hard and that's something he's going to have to deal with if he survives the next few minutes. Through some miracle of luck, desperation, and probably magic, the ash lands in an unbroken circle around his body, and he squeezes his eyes shut and believes with all of his might that a handful of wood ash has the power to protect him from the supernatural.

It works. The kanima hisses as it slashes at the barrier a couple times, and as Stiles watches it, he realizes that there's a voice trying to talk to him from his phone. It landed about a foot from his head and he must've managed to hit speaker before he dropped it, thank god, because there's absolutely no way he could pick it up right now.

"Hey, Billy? I really need your help right now, like - SOS."

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"I'm just glad one of us knows what's going on."

On top of everything else Stiles has experienced, it doesn't surprise Billy he's already been here, or a place like this. He files it away for later to ask Stiles about the other mind readers he's been in contact with.

"Okay, focusing on the kanima." He takes Stiles hand before they start walking. Stiles might have been here before, but he's still not really sure what might happen and he doesn't really want Stiles getting lost somewhere in his mind.

"In your experience, is this like a safe space or are people still dangerous here?"

“Still dangerous,” he says, thinking of the Nogitsune. “Maybe not, like, murder dangerous. But keep an eye out.”

He nudges Billy’s shoulder with his own as they start walking. “Have you done anything like this before?”

"Well if he's still dangerous here, then so am I."

If he's going to be a superhero, he might as well have the quips to go with it.

He smiles, "What? Dragged other people to a place that I entirely made up with my own mind? Shockingly, this is a first for me."

“I know my stories somehow usually sound more insane, but figured I’d ask.”

It’s not like this is the first time Billy’s ever used his mind powers, after all. “Yeah, Mr. Dangerous? Is that why you’ve got the superhero outfit going on?”

"I didn't exactly know what I was going up against, I wanted to be prepared."

And it gives him the added bonus of being able to show off in front of the guy he really likes. Win-win.

As he turns forward again, he notices in the distance, a tiny speck that shows up against the white. A person, or being, still far away from them, but getting closer.

"Uh-huh. My hero," he says, but there's more than a bit of affection in the teasing sarcasm. Billy actually is being his hero right now, so it's not like he can begrudge him a superhero costume.

Stiles picks up the pace a bit when he notices something in the distance and then nearly trips over the root of a giant tree stump that wasn't there two seconds ago. It was huge once, and even cut down, it radiates a kind of ancient power that curls out towards Stiles.

"Nope!" Stiles says immediately as he tugs Billy sideways to walk around it. "You are three thousand miles away, you are not my problem anymore."

Even if he is teasing, it still makes Billy blush. He wouldn't have minded continuing that line of conversation but apparently their minds have other ideas. And Billy is quite literally pulled in a different direction as Stiles runs away from...a tree?

They get a bit off track to avoid the root that rattled Stiles, by the time Billy turns around to look back where the speck they saw was, it's gone. He's not sure if it's because it ran off, or because Billy's attention slipped. Either way, it seems like they have time again.

"Should we talk about that? It can also wait, but if you wanted to talk about it..."

"It's a sacred tree. The beacon in Beacon Hills, pretty much." Yes, he hears how weird the phrase sacred tree sounds. It's not like he can change how weird his life is at this point. "It's what attracts the supernatural to the town. It used to be a lot more powerful, or something?"

And it's somehow in front of them again. Maybe because they're talking about it, maybe because the Nemeton itself didn't want to be ignored. "C'mon, man."

"Okay, sacred tree that calls to supernatural beings. Got it."

The idea of a powerful beacon isn't that unheard of. It actually even makes sense that it would be a tree, historically nature has always held more power than people realize. What is weird is that it's here right now.

When the roots show up in front of them again, Billy stops, what's the point in running if it's going to keep following? Maybe they need to face it to continue. It reminds him a bit of the road.

"Did it usually follow you around before?"

“I think it’s… in my head?”

It didn’t not follow him around before. Kind of. He remembers sitting on the Nemeton with the Nogitsune, when he heard Scott’s roar snapping him out of his own head. There was a connection made when he, Scott, and Allison sacrificed themselves to it to find their parents. Maybe it’s still there.

He sighs as he gives up trying to sidestep it, seeing as how it’s not working so well. “Like, it might - actually have a connection in my mind.”

The look on Stiles face whenever he talks about his history makes Billy want to figure out time travel just so that he can stop any of that from happening. He'd risk permanently changing the past forever if it meant making his guy smile. He probably needs to dig deeper into what that means for him. For right now he tugs on Stiles hand slightly.

"I could try to blast it but I'm not sure what that would do to your mind. Is there something else it could want?"

“Yeah, that’s definitely a bad idea. It’s not evil or anything, just - “

He ends up sitting down on it, because if they’re not moving past it then he might as well rest his metaphorical body. “I guess it could want power or worship or something. If it wants another sacrifice then it’s out of luck, because I’m not fucking doing that again.”

Again.

Good thing Stiles told him not to blast it, because now he kind of wants to. He watches Stiles sit on it, but keeps his own distance. As much as he wants to be near Stiles, he wants to be prepared if this is a trap.

"Why can't we just have a fun and easy trial? Why is it always something awful?" He's mostly talking to himself. This isn't the road. And this isn't a trial. Even if it is getting a little harder to remind himself of that. At least there doesn't seem to be a countdown.

"Do you think a gift would appease it? I can try to conjure up something."

“If you can think of something a tree would want, be my guest.”

It’s probably for the best that Billy keep some distance, given that he’s basically a powerhouse. Not that the Nemeton’s ever taken anything it wasn’t offered, but still.

"Is water too obvious?"

He could also see if the darn thing wants some Miracle Grow but most living things need water and it's not like there is an abundance of it in this weird mind space.

“It couldn’t hurt.”

The tree doesn’t exactly have dirt in this weird mind place, either, but maybe it’s the thought that counts. Literally, in this case.

He closes his eyes again, even though he really doesn't need to, it's kind of just become a habit at this point, and thinks about water. Wait, why do his feet feel wet?

When he opens his eyes, he's standing in a pool of water up to his ankles, thankfully at least the tree is also in it. He was trying to think of more of a bucket, but this works too.

"Any change?" Aside from his soggy shoes.

He shrugs before standing up, trying to avoid the water puddle. “Let’s try walking away again and see if it still follows us.”

He grabs Billy’s hand. “Maybe you should distract me, too. So I’m not thinking about it.”

Right, distracting Stiles since the tree is in his mind. Why did he think of water before thinking of that?

"This probably isn't the best time to talk about labels, but I don't know what could be more intimate than sharing a mind twice...do you want to be my boyfriend?"

There's not really a less cringey way to make that come out but somehow he is still embarrassed. "Ugh, I sound so lame, and this isn't the ideal romantic spot, but I really like spending time with you...I like you, a lot."

Luckily for Billy, Stiles is less focused on that question sounding as smooth as possible vs the question being asked and also, Billy looks very cute asking it. He puts a stop to any further rambling by tugging Billy forward for a kiss, then smirks. “Yeah, I want to be your boyfriend. But we’re not coming here again for dates.”

"It hasn't been all bad."

The imminent danger notwithstanding, this is the second time he has ended up in Stiles arms so he can't find it in himself to be too mad about it. If anything, he looks far too happy right now.

"But I wouldn't mind something a little more normal next time. A movie, dinner, hanging out at your house since your dad is never home..." He smirks slightly after the last one.

"Yeah." Okay, he knows Billy just means that they'd probably have privacy, but it does sting a little to be reminded that his dad spends so much time working, and it's basically impossible to hide that given that they're literally sharing minds right now. So - obviously, the only thing to do is move on and start walking again, because at least the Nemeton isn't in their way anymore.

The sting of sadness is not what he was expecting to feel after his suggestion, and even if he knows it isn't about him, it's hard to not feel a tad bit rejected. If Stiles wants to move on, then they will move on.

He's probably supposed to be thinking about the kanima, that's the whole point of this, but he's distracted. He can't tell if it's still Stiles sadness and loneliness or if they have just brought out his own, but he is entirely not surprised when a pair of shoes shoes up along their walk. Alice's shoes in particular, poised the way they were on the road, never collected, still waiting for her. He ignores them.

"How is the kanima even hiding so well? It's not like there is anything to go behind."

He still has Billy's hand in his, so he squeezes it when he feels an echo of what Billy's feeling. Being in each other's head is - not simple, definitely, especially given that they both of have plenty of issues to work through.

(The shoes are kind of a surprise, but if Billy doesn't want to talk about it - and he clearly doesn't - Stiles won't force anything.)

"I don't know the rules or anything, but I guess if you didn't want to be found, this is probably a pretty good place to hide. If all three of us are kind of contributing to this place, then he can probably make it really hard to find him."

It's helpful that Stiles is so understanding, or else this would be a hell of a lot worse. He appreciates that Stiles is letting him ignore his own contributions to this space, he's not sure he could deal with that on top of everything else. When they pass by Lilia's shoes, he holds Stiles hand a little tighter.

"If he is also influencing the space, shouldn't we start to see pieces of his mind? I doubt he's that good at holding back."

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