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Stiles looked at his phone as it rang. Huh. Right on time.
"Hey, Scott! What's up?" Stiles answered cheerfully.
"Umm... I'm kinda worried..." Scott said slowly.
"Oh? About what? Aren't you supposed to be working?" Stiles replied.
"Yeah," Scott answered. "And I'm at the clinic but, well, it's kind of weird."
Stiles grinned, knowing Scott couldn't see. But he kept the amusement out of his voice. "Oh? How?"
"Well, Dr. Deaton is usually here when I am. Or he tells me ahead of time if I'll be here by myself,," Scott said. "He wasn't here and still isn't."
"Maybe he went somewhere?" Stiles suggested.
"I.. I don't think so," Scott replied. "He didn't do the morning check on the two surgery patients we have, and none of the animals were watered or anything this morning."
"Did you call him?"
"That's part of what's weird," Scott said. "When I call his phone, it comes here to the clinic. He only does that when he takes a vacation. But he didn't tell me about a vacation."
"What do you want me to do about it?" Stiles asked patiently. "It's not like I'm his keeper."
"Umm... oh. Well. Should I call your dad?" Scott finally asked.
"What's going to happen if he doesn't come back... until Monday?" Stiles asked.
"Umm... the surgery patients need checking," Scott admitted. "They seem okay, but I don't know what else to check on. I can take care of the couple of boarding animals, but I wasn't scheduled to be in tomorrow at all."
"So animals are going to suffer if something is wrong with Dr. Deaton," Stiles said calmly.
"Umm... yeah," Scott agreed.
"So that means a call to the station," Stiles said. "Call the non-emergency line, since it's technically a missing person thing at this point."
"Okay, I can do that," Scott said firmly.
"Call me later," Stiles said. "We can still do some video games tonight, if you want. And I'll have food, if you need anything."
Once Scott called the station to report a missing person, he wouldn't get to leave for hours, Stiles knew. Scott would be hungry by the time he got to leave. And Stiles knew Melissa was working tonight, so there'd be no dinner at the McCall residence.
"Yeah, that would be good," Scott agreed.
Once Scott hung up, Stiles texted his dad.
heads up...scott will be calling the station about deaton missing
Stiles got a thumb's up back. He went back to prepping dinner.
Derek and Peter were out working on making Peter's apartment livable. The services had kept it clean and bug-free but it was musty and smelled of other people, mostly from the workers that had been coming in monthly. So it needed another cleaning as well as a good airing out.
And, there was no food. At all. The service had cleaned out the food supply completely over time, as things expired. Some enterprising person cleaned out the pantry, the spices, and anything in storage. So Derek and Peter were doing a combination of shopping and ordering to bring the kitchen back up to Peter's standards.
scotts calling deaton in as a missing person Stiles texted Derek and Peter, so they would know.
The phone rang.
"Will Scott still come to your house?" Derek asked.
"More than likely," Stiles replied. "I mentioned dinner and even if he goes home, there won't be anything good to eat there. So he'll come eventually."
"Don't do anything stupid," Derek said firmly.
"It's like you know me!" Stiles laughed. "I'll be fine."
"Let us know when he shows up, if we aren't there already," Derek said. "We should be done here soon. Either that or just stopping for the day. Peter has a boatload of things on order, some of it coming to your house."
"I can handle that," Stiles said.
"See you later," Derek said.
Stiles went back to dinner prep. He was making two pots of chili, one beef based and one chicken based. It would give them something for all of them to eat for a couple of days. Scott wouldn't notice the amount of food Stiles was cooking, since he knew Stiles regularly cooked larger quantities of meals on the weekend to have on hand during the week.
Sure enough, Scott showed up shortly after what might be considered dinner time. It wasn't quite dusk but the sun was starting to set.
Stiles sent off a quick text to Derek and Peter as Scott came inside without knocking.
"Geez!" Scott whined. "The deputies kept me at the clinic forever! They kept asking questions I had no answers to."
"Did you learn anything?" Stiles asked.
Scott shook his head. "Someone was going to go to Deaton's house, to see if maybe he was there. But I got to leave before I learned what happened."
"What about the animals?" Stiles asked.
"Deputy Black called the vet clinic in Memon City," he said. "They promised to send someone to check on the animals tonight. Since it's only six animals, they'll take them all back to the clinic tonight. So there's nothing for me to do. Black told me to stay away from the clinic until someone calls."
"Here," Stiles slid a bowl in front of Scott. He put a plate of rolls on the table. "Have some food. You're probably hangry."
Scott grinned. "Yeah," he admitted. "I didn't get much for lunch since mom hasn't been grocery shopping in the past couple of weeks. There was pb&j and that was it."
Melissa discovered early that Scott in a grocery store was a financial disaster. Even with a list, Scott wouldn't buy half of what was on the list but then add expensive cuts of meat, more snacks than any teen-age boy could eat even before he was a 'wolf, and odd things that caught Scott's attention. Even Stiles could follow a list and appreciated the cost of what he was putting into the cart. But Scott was essentially forbidden to be in a grocery store unless Melissa or Stiles would go with him.
Stiles had fed himself earlier but had a bowl of the chicken chili with Scott, to keep him company. Scott had taken the beef chili, turning his nose up at the chicken.
"Mom makes chicken something all the time," Scott said. "I feel like I need to eat more red meat."
"Huh," Stiles replied thoughtfully. "That's something I'll have to look into." Actually, he'd ask the Hales, but that wasn't -- yet -- any of Scott's business.
Scott nodded and had another large bowl of the chili, and ate most of the rolls. "This is good!"
"Come on, finish up, and we can play World of Warcraft," Stiles said. "We haven't done that in ages. And tell me what questions you have about the reading, so I know what to tell you."
Scott's eyes went a little wide. Yup. Stiles didn't need to be a 'wolf to know Scott hadn't read any of the book.
"Scott!" Stiles sighed. "Did you even look at the reading list? I kept reminding you about it!"
"I was going to but then, okay, I didn't," Scott defended himself. "I was busy practicing for lacrosse. Making first line is so cool!"
"Yeah, and if your grades tank, you won't stay on the team," Stiles replied patiently. "You know they check your grades and your attendance closer when you're more likely to play."
"Tell me about the book," Scott whined. "Please?"
Stiles sighed. "All right," he reluctantly agreed. He started outlining the basic plot, knowing that without that, the things their teacher would ask wouldn't make sense. As he talked, he also set up the game for play.
They had not played WoW in a while, so they started a new game. After a while, Stiles noted that Scott would occasionally go still for a moment, before continuing with the game. Paying closer attention, Stiles realized a specific tone would happen in the game when Scott would freeze. But it was a brief tone, and Scott would shake it off.
"I gotta piss," Stiles said at one point, pausing the game. "Let me do that and grab some snacks."
Scott beamed. "Sure," he agreed. "I can take a leak while you're getting food."
Stiles rolled his eyes. Scott never volunteered to help get the snacks but would be ready to eat more than his share.
While he was in the kitchen, Stiles texted Derek and Peter.
scott reacts strongly to what I'm pretty sure is a b-flat tone... a brief sound makes him freeze... maybe a longer one will put him under
There were bubbles for a moment, then a reply.
we can do that... be there in half an hour
Stiles nodded. That was good. It wasn't too far from when his dad might come home, so Scott would ignore the sound of someone coming into the house. Even for a human, Scott's hearing and attention span were crap. As a 'wolf, it was abysmal.
Stiles brought up ice tea and a large bag of chips, setting everything between them.
Scott instantly reached in for a handful of chips.
"Oh, man," Scott said. "Mom never buys chips anymore."
Because you inhale them as soon as they get through the door, Stiles didn't say.
"Enjoy," Stiles said patiently. They played as Scott essentially ate the entire bag of chips. Stiles had to fight for a couple of handfuls for himself.
Stiles heard the door before Scott even reacted.
"Huh," Stiles said. "Dad must be home on time for a change."
Scott's head went up and listened. "Is someone with him? I can hear more than one voice."
Stiles shrugged. "I guess we'll find out," he replied.
Stiles heard his dad come up the stairs and imagined Peter ghosting up the stairs behind him.
As his dad stood in the door to Stiles' bedroom, the b-flat tone went off.
Scott stiffened and seemed to fight it. But the tone went on. It was more than kind of annoying and pretty close to the alarm sound in the high school.
As the tone played, Scott slumped forward, the game controller dropping from his hands.
Stiles made what he hoped was a 'go on' signal. He had a gut reaction that the sound needed to go on for a bit to put Scott fully under whatever influence this was.
When Stiles thought Scott would remain unresponsive, Stiles gave a thumb's up. The sound stopped.
"Thank fuck," Stiles breathed. "That was annoying."
"What happened?" John asked.
"While we were playing, Scott would react to the sound," Stiles explained. "He'd freeze, just for a second. Because the sound was brief or part of something else, he could shake it off. The longer sound put him into some kind of an unconscious state?"
Peter stepped into the room. "Let's start by laying Scott on the bed. I'm thinking the sound was part of a hypnosis process. A b-flat tone is relatively common but the extended playing is not. So it's relatively safe to use as a trigger."
"Now what?" John asked as Derek peeked into the room.
"Check him for... something..." Derek blurted. "Umm... I don't know why I said that."
Stiles snickered. "We're all learning a lot here."
With Peter's help, they quickly had Scott stripped down to his underwear.
"I don't..." Stiles started, then stopped. He held his hands over Scott's torso and moved down his body. He dropped one hand on a spot high on Scott's thigh. "Something... here."
Stiles touched it, and lines appeared. A hidden tattoo.
"A rune," Peter said. "Damn. I need a reference for this."
Stiles tilted his head as information appeared in his head.
"I can take it away," Stiles said. "Would that help?"
"Are there more than one?" John asked. "Would one rune do... whatever?" He waved a hand.
Peter shook his head. "Likely not. We need to check for more."
"Umm... take a picture or something? So we can research it later?" Stiles suggested. "We should know what we're dealing with."
"Good thought," Peter said. He brought a brand new phone out of his pocket. "Good thing I can help with that."
Stiles snickered.
He reached out to remove the rune when more information came into his head. "Oh. Fuck. There's a... control rune somewhere. Not taking that first will... not be good."
"Figures," John sighed. "Do what you have to."
It took them an hour to map out a dozen runes on Scott's body. They finally found what Stiles was pretty certain was the control rune on the bottom of Scott's foot. Most of the runes were in places that would normally be covered by clothes but there was one in Scott's hair and two tiny runes on his ankles.
"This took years to do," Peter said when they figured -- hoped -- they had found all the runes.
"Scott's been working at Deaton's for years," Stiles nodded. "Deaton's always been able to put tattoos on animals, for identification purposes. This is a variation on that."
"And Deatong didn't need to do anything special, since they were done before Scott became a 'wolf," Peter replied.
"I don't want to be a party pooper here, but how long will Scott stay unconscious?" John asked. "I don't want him to come aware while you're working on him."
"I think he'll be under for a bit," Peter said. "That's an educated guess, mind you. But once a person is under hypnosis, they generally stay that way until brought to awareness."
"Do we know what that is?" John asked.
"Deaton was pretty lazy," Stiles decided. "Probably a sharp noise, like clapping hands, and calling Scott's name."
"Hope you're right," John said with a small frown.
"As Peter said, educated guess," Stiles said.
"Are you ready?" Peter asked Stiles. "Once you start, you should keep going."
Stiles took a breath. Then another. "I'm ready."
Stiles started with the rune on the foot. He worked his way up Scott's body and finished with the rune on Scott's head.
"That's it," Stiles said, taking a deep breath.
"Sit," Peter directed. He looked up. "Derek, Stiles will need something to eat."
"Cold chili is fine," Stiles said.
Derek nodded and quickly brought a bowl of the beef chili to Stiles. Stiles ate it, knowing he needed the calories.
"Do we wake him now?" John asked.
Stiles stopped to consider. "No. In the morning," he said. "His body needs time to... adjust."
"That will also give us a few hours to research the runes," Peter said. "It would be good to know something about what we just did."
"You know, I hate to say this, but, well, we can ask the Nemeton," Stiles suggested.
Peter considered. "It can't hurt."
"What do we need to do for that?" John asked.
"Derek can go with Stiles to the Nemeton and I'll go and get a book that I'm sure will have information in it," Peter said. He turned to John. "I'll like to suggest you stay here with Scott, just in case."
John nodded. "I can do that."
Stiles looked at Scott. Unconscious, he looked innocent. Like the teen he was. But Stiles was concerned about leaving his dad alone with Scott, who could possibly come up swinging. As a 'wolf, Scott could easily overpower his dad.
"I'm gonna out a mountain ash circle around Scott," Stiles said. "Dad, you can still get to him but he can't get to you. It'll keep you both safe."
John nodded.
Stiles put the mountain ash circle around the bed. He then finished the ice tea he had brought up earlier and changed into clothes to go back into the Preserve. Before he left, he hugged his dad.
"What..." John didn't protest but was confused as he returned the tight hug.
"Just because I can," Stiles grinned.
"Let's go, so we can bet back," Derek prompted. "I... have an itch."
"Always respect that itch," Peter nodded. "I will be quick. I know exactly where the book we need is. I'll start researching as soon as I get back."
Stiles led the way as he and Derek walked toward the Nemeton.
"I think my issues have issues," Stiles said as he waved his hands. "A week ago, I didn't know anything about the supernatural. Now, Scott is a werewolf, I'm evidently Emissary to the Hale Pack -- and we haven't even had much of a chance to talk about that, mister -- I have magic information in my head that I have no idea where it comes from, and I'm walking in the woods with a werewolf to go and talk to a tree!"
Derek snorted something that could be a laugh. Stiles would take it.
"Umm... the Emissary thing is obvious," Derek said. "Emissaries are usually magic users, and so that makes you the best option for that. Peter is easily the Left Hand, so your Dad is the Right Hand. Since, really, it's only the four of us that make up the Hale Pack right now, that's how things shake out."
"Left Hand? Right Hand?" Stiles asked.
"Left Hand is the protector," Derek explained. "The Left Hand protects the Pack, sometimes at any cost and usually behind the scene. Peter did that for my mom, and he was very good at it. Right Hand is the public defender. Your dad fits that nicely. The Emissary is sometimes the public face of the Pack. That involves negotiating with other Packs, protecting the Pack magically, keeping Pack lore, and, well, whatever else the Alpha might need help with."
Stiles stopped and stared. "Du--" He grinned as Derek glared at him. "Derek! That's a lot to trust to someone you just met!"
"I think the Nemeton had a lot to do with it," Derek admitted. "We've kind of, I don't know, bonded because of it. It's not because you're the only option. Never think that. You're the best option there could be. But the Nemeton helped that along."
"Huh," Stiles replied. It was something to think about.
"Uncle Peter likely has things he can share with you, once we're settled better," Derek added.
"Yes!" Stiles nodded. "I'm all about having information."
Derek hesitated before saying, "I'm new at this, too. I wasn't going to be the Alpha. It was Laura and then her kids. I wasn't even a backup. So there are a lot of things I don't know, either."
Stiles looked at Derek, who looked decidedly uncomfortable.
"Then we will figure all this shit out together," Stiles said with confidence he didn't quite have.
Derek nodded, relieved by that.
They got to the tree stump. The woods were quiet around them, but in a good way. There were no immediate threats, nothing that would distract them from their mission.
"How do we do this?" Derek asked.
"I'm just going to climb up there and see if it will talk to me," Stiles shrugged. "You... you're on watch since I may get distracted."
Derek nodded. "Go ahead. I'll be here."
Stiles scrambled to sit on the stump. He sat cross-legged near the center and put one hand on the tree. He thought about the control rune.
The world went white.
"That is a bad thing," Greenie said baldly. "Where did you find it?"
"It was put on my friend," Stiles replied. "We think by Dr. Deaton."
"Were there more?"
Stiles nodded. "Give me a minute and I can picture them." Stiles ran through the images in his head.
Greenie looked appalled. "It was good that we took care of the Darach already."
"We removed the tattoos," Stiles said, "and we kept my friend unconscious. What we don't know is what will happen when he wakens."
Greenie looked worried. "There is no telling," he admitted. "Those runes were not meant to be used in that combination, and not on a person."
"He's a werewolf now, if that makes any difference," Stiles added.
"It may be what saves his life," Greenie said slowly. "He will have the physical strength to withstand the withdrawal of the runes. But... he may be sick for some time."
"We can work with that," Stiles nodded. "If he's physically weaker, that will give us time to see what has been done to him."
"I cannot help with that," Greenie said. "Your friend must learn to manage his own abilities. One of those runes was to make your friend resistant to learning new things. With its removal, you should have better luck in teaching him how to function in his new world."
"Oh, that makes so much sense," Stiles sighed. "Peter said he has a book about runes that might be helpful."
"Somewhat, but the combination is... unusual. And could be deadly," Greenie said. "Be careful with your friend."
"I will," Stiles nodded. "Thank you for your help."
"I look forward to working with the Hale Pack." Greenie grinned as he disappeared and the whiteness faded away.
Stiles opened his eyes to find he was laying on his back on the stump. It was still dark as he sat up.
"Are you okay?" Derek asked.
"Yeah," Stiles nodded. "Damn. Should have brought some water and something to eat."
"Next time," Derek said.
Stiles looked at him.
"You know perfectly well there will be a next time," Derek said patiently.
Stiles laughed. "Of course there will be!"