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“I am never going to live this down.”
Stiles allowed himself only one quiet grumble out loud, well aware that he wasn’t alone in this side of the forest. It wouldn’t do him any good to be caught this far away from home, even if he was still on Hale land.
From his perch in the branches of a rather strong tree, he could clearly see the bobbing of lights in the near distance. Every once in a while, the sound of heavy footsteps, loudly crunching on fallen leaves.
A ‘ thunk ’ caught his ears. Not from afar, but from below. Carefully, Stiles leaned forward and glanced downwards.
Seeing a hunter leaning against the base of the tree he was hiding in wasn’t on his bingo card for the week, let alone the year. The man was decked out in what Allison would call “standard hunter gear”, mostly all back with enough body armor to hold off a pissed off werewolf for about three seconds. (Okay, he was being generous. It would slice like butter.) The thunk had come from the man setting down his backpack next to him on the exposed roots of the tree.
Mentally cursing, Stiles spared a glance at his phone, willing it to turn on. Of course, considering that the screen was shattered and it had taken a very quick back in a creek, that was a lost cause. He was on his own.
While Stiles was contemplating exactly how he was going to get out of this mess, the hunter coughed, shifted, and then stood up. The man looked at the backpack, then pointedly right up at Stiles, then back down.
“Take it and get out of here, Stilinski. Don’t you dare die tonight. Keep low.”
Stiles carefully clambered down the tree, making as little noise as possible. He shouldered the backpack, making note of the cheap phone on top. He gave a quick mock salute and darted off into the darkness, away from the circling hunters.
Behind him, he heard the hunter’s voice call out. “They must have gone further north. Expand your canvassing in that direction!”
Only once he was out of earshot did Stiles slow down and pull out the burner phone. He quickly sent off two texts. The one to Derek was simple - “I’m alive, on my way home.”
The other?
“Thanks Chris. I owe you one.”