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Stiles stood on the outcropping of rocks, staring down at the wall beneath him. He’d heard the yips and whimpers a few times throughout the morning. At first, he thought it was an animal passing close to his campsite, but he decided to investigate when it continued beyond. He’d visited the small cliff earlier in the day to eat his lunch while looking out over the small stream running below him.
Now, halfway up the cliff between where Stiles stood and the water, an animal curled. “Hey,” he called softly. The animal lifted its head and snarled at Stiles. He noticed blood on the leg the head had been covering, and he frowned. “You’re hurt,” he said, getting the same reaction. He knew better than to reach for an injured animal, but he didn’t want to leave it there to die.
A gleam caught his eye, and looking up, he spotted the ranger lookout tower. The glint came again, and he noticed someone standing on the balcony, looking in his direction with binoculars. Waving his hands over his head, he shouted out a greeting. The person raised a hand in a wave. Stiles started pointing over the edge of the rocks, hoping that the ranger could see the animal and perhaps lend some assistance.
Unfortunately, in his eagerness to draw the ranger’s attention to the animal, he neglected to pay attention to his own position and slipped off the edge of the small cliff. His life flashed before his eyes, and he was convinced he would die there in the middle of nowhere when he was jerked backward and landed against someone.
Instinctively, Stiles jerked his elbow backward and whimpered when it connected with an abdomen that felt like a brick wall. When the grip on him loosened, Stiles whirled around with his fists up, ready to fight. “Odd way to react to someone saving your life,” the man in a ranger’s outfit commented.
Dropping his arms, Stiles glared at him and then noticed the binoculars hanging around his neck. He looked over his shoulder at the lookout and found it empty. “Were you- No...couldn’t have been.” There was no humanly way that the man could’ve made it to him that quickly. “So, the animal is there,” he said when the guy only stared at him.
Dark eyebrows rose on his forehead, and Stiles waved towards the cliff again. The eyebrows rose higher. “Look, dude. Animal in trouble there.”
The guy closed his eyes and breathed loudly out of his nose before pinching the bridge between his fingers. “Derek. Not dude,” he said before dropping his hand and opening his eyes. Stepping forward, he gripped Stiles by the upper arms and lifted him off the ground, and shifted him sideways before setting him down again. “Now, I can get to the animal,” he said before kneeling and glancing over the side of the cliff.
“Hey, at least take me to dinner before manhandling!” Stiles scoffed once he’d recovered from the strength of the hands on his arms. He could still feel the warmth no matter how brief the contact.
Derek snorted as he stretched out on his stomach, reaching over the edge. He whispered softly and Stiles strained his ears but couldn’t make out the words, but they sounded a bit chiding instead of reassuring. He started to suggest Derek be a bit nicer when Derek sat up with a small coyote in his arms. Derek’s hand held gently to the muzzle as the coyote struggled slightly.
“Is it okay?” Stiles asked, studying the blood in its fur.
“She’s going to be fine,” Derek said, rising to his feet with ease. “I’m going to take her to the vet’s office just in case, though.”
“That’s smart,” Stiles said, watching Derek head back towards the trees.
“It should only take about ten minutes to get there and back,” he said.
“Okay,” Stiles responded, heading back to his campsite.
“Make sure to put your fire out so we can get that dinner,” Derek said, not turning around, and Stiles gaped at him. "You know so that I can manhandle you later.”
Stiles sputtered out a laugh as Derek disappeared. Stiles shook his head at himself. “He’s just joking, moron. There’s no way he’s seriously interested in you.”
Derek’s voice floated back to him through the trees from a distance that Stiles could barely hear him. “I’m completely serious.” Stiles gaped for only a minute before scrambling to put the fire out.