[ Those broken, stammered attempts to say “I can” – because what else could she be trying to say? – legitimately terrify him. Forever prone to overreaction from losing his mother far too young, his first thought is that Lydia must be suffering a stroke. The idea, nonsensical as it is, is abandoned quickly when she seems to finish the thought a moment later by admitting, “I can’t remember.” Breathing a heavy sigh of relief, he clasps her opposite shoulder and gently squeezes it. The fact that she can’t recall is definitely concerning, but at least Lydia doesn’t appear to be physically unwell. Either something happened in their world that messed with her memories – likely, knowing their luck – or there’s strange magic afoot in Aefenglom. The latter possibility feels like a stretch; Stiles has never known Mirrorbound to experience memory alteration during their time here, after all. ]

I trust you, [ he tells her firmly, because he does. ] I guess it’s not a big deal right now. We can look into why you can’t remember later. Does anything else feel wrong or weird?

[ Suddenly, it occurs to him that Lydia might be a Monster. ]

Are you…uh… [ A delicate pause. ] Okay, don’t get mad at me for asking, but…are you…growing anything? Anywhere…?

[ PLEASE DON’T SMACK HIM. ]