aefenglom | Network: May, An Inauspicious Arrival

You’re not. This is real.

[ Despite how surreal and terrifying the situation must be for her, Stiles can’t help the expression of raw joy that twists his face upon seeing her. God has he missed the pack. ]

I can explain – [ The background blurs as he starts moving, haphazardly pulling on shoes. ] Where are you? I mean, can you describe the area you’re in? I’ll come to you.

[ Honestly, she'd be a lot happier to see him if she wasn't so distracted by the off the charts levels of what the holy hell is going on. It's been a long time since she's seen Stiles in person. Longer, even since the last time they talked which had been via FaceTime. She hasn't maybe been a very good friend in the months since the breakup, what with school eating her alive. ]

Um...I don't—I don't know. Hang on...

[ The video swings around, away from Lydia and instead pointing outward, panning slowly around where she's standing. A moment later, the picture swings back to focus on Lydia. ]

Does that look familiar at all?

[ Recognition lights up his countenance as he studies the surroundings she shows. ]

I know where you are. Hang tight, okay?

[ He thunders down a set of stairs in his haste to get going, flying out the front door of the cottage he shares with Jonas and nearly forgetting to lock the front door. ]

Soooo, [ he begins distractedly, patting down pockets for his keys, ] do you want the good news or bad news first?

[ It is, admittedly, somewhat reassuring to see that instant look of recognition on Stiles's face. At least that's sorted and he's officially on his way, so hopefully, she won't have to wait too terribly long in this spot from which she doesn't dare move because God only knows what happens if she does. She'd hardly expected to end up here in the first place and she has no idea what she might have done to trigger it in the first place, so it's best to just...not move and wait, she thinks. ]

Yeah, I'm not going anywhere, don't worry.

[ To his question, Stiles gets a reproachful look. ]

...bad, I guess. Then maybe the good news will soften the blow a little after the fact instead of ending on a bad note. I don't know, Stiles, just...whatever.

Maybe I wanted the good news first. Uh, alright. Okay. So. Bad news? We’re stuck in an alternate dimension with no way home.

[ Front door locked, Stiles is now booking it down the block toward the Residential District, which is where Lydia has found herself. ]

Good news? According to the Coven – think, a bunch of Deatons, forever holding out on pertinent information until the last convenient moment – you won’t be staying long. It’s just a matter of time until you get spirited back to Beacon Hills.

[ Stiles doesn’t know any better; naturally, he assumes she must have been in Beacon Hills before coming to Aefenglom. ]

Any immediate questions?

[ In spite of herself, Lydia sighs a little. Yeah. She's kind of gathered that part seeing as how, one minute, she'd been at school and the next, she's here with no explanation as to how. Without knowing how she got in, obviously, she's not able to get back out. ]

Yeah, okay...that's bad, but also I kind of put that together already.

[ The good news, though, is good. Mostly. There are two things wrong with it and Lydia latches onto them immediately. ]

Yeah, it won't send me back to where I actually was, you don't think?

[ Because honestly...neither she nor her mom can afford a plane ticket all the way back to Boston with such little notice; she'd have to drive it and miss tons more time. ]

...and what about you? What do you mean I won't be staying long? Can't you and Derek just come with me? We're going to the same dimension...

Okay, listen here, Ms. Smartypants, [ he begins with an amused huff, not at all fazed by the dismissive response despite his words. ] I’m just setting the scene for our magical abduction, alright? Work with me.

[ It’ll be another ten minutes before he reaches her; Stiles tells Lydia as much as he half-jogs through the Haven. ]

Usually, any Mirrorbound – that’s us, as opposed to a local – would be stuck in this dimension for an indeterminable amount of time. But the Coven announced that all recent arrivals are basically a magic experiment gone wrong. You’re not tethered here properly, like Derek and I are.

[ God does he wish he could leave with her, though. He misses his dad so damn much. ]

Anyway, it’ll return you to wherever you were before this. You weren’t home?

[ Huffing a soft laugh, Lydia rolls her eyes. ]

Yeah, okay. Sorry, please go on.

[ Her brow creases at that. ]

...so then we'll just untether you. We've got a little bit of time. Stiles, I've literally brought you back from being mildly dead. We can do this.

[ If she sounds confident, it's because she is. Stiles has risked his life for her; she's willing to do the same for him. They might not be as close now as they were before, but she's always going to have a special place in her heart for Stiles. ]

Oh...uh, no, I was at school. Why, weren't you?

[ There was a time he would have shared her confidence. In fact, at one point he’d even wished selfishly for Lydia’s presence in Aefenglom. If he couldn’t unravel the mystery of how to return home, he’d no doubt that she certainly could. She’s the brightest Beacon Hills has to offer, after all. But Stiles has since lost faith; this is beyond either of them. He understands that now. More importantly, given Jonas’ situation, his own priorities have shifted – Stiles refuses to leave until he can ensure his best friend has a future to look forward to, either here in Aefenglom or back on Earth.

Naturally, he says none of this. It’s too much to dump on Lydia so soon, especially when she’s only just arrived. ]

School… [ he repeats in slow confusion, brain already having reached the logical conclusion but refusing to accept what he’s being told. ] But not Beacon Hills High School…

[ Jackson had been nineteen. Just how much time has passed for Lydia? ]

Okay, next bombshell. This place? It sometimes brings people from different points in their timeline. We just started senior year when I’m from. But you’re…talking about college? Right? How…how old are you now?

[ It isn't lost on Lydia that Stiles neither refutes nor responds with fervor to the idea that, with effort, the two fo them can make this work and she can take him home with her. Rather than pressing it via a video chat, though, Lydia allows it to temporarily be shelved for discussion in person. For now, she'll just focus on what Stiles is trying to shift the discussion toward, instead.

Which, as it turns out, is Derek-turned-into-a-teenager level insanity. What the hell is this place?! ]

College, yeah. I just turned twenty, like two months ago. You...you're still in high school?

[ More importantly—

...oh. Stiles is missing some pretty important milestones in their relationship, namely the shift of it from platonic to romantic and then the shift from romantic back to platonic. Well, if they have to be from different times, she supposes, at least neither of them are from a time when they're a couple while the other isn't; that could get uncomfortable fast...

Lydia lifts a hand to her forehead, looking a little overwhelmed. Does she tell him everything he's missing in between? Maybe it'll motivate him to get back home and that renewed sense of motivation will get them out of here faster. But what if telling him means that things won't unfold the way they're "supposed" to and all she manages to do is make things exponentially worse for everyone, herself included, back home with a nasty butterfly effect?

She lowers her head and slides her hand from her forehead up into her hair briefly before sighing softly and lifting her head again, hand falling back to her side. ]

This is insane...

Tw-twenty!?

[ Shock has him skidding to an abrupt halt, staring at her image on the display of his comm watch. Last month he celebrated his eighteenth birthday in Aefenglom (“celebrated” used loosely), but he was originally taken from a point in their timeline when he was seventeen. The idea that Lydia is that far ahead of him is daunting. They’re in college. Well into college. With an incredulous noise, he forces himself onward to the Residential District. ]

Jackson was here briefly. He mentioned that Gerard returned to Beacon Hills. I’m guessing everything turned out alright? Uh, I mean…

[ A pained expression crosses his face. In a much smaller voice, he asks, ] Lydia, how’s my dad? He’s okay, right?

Yeah, I heard.

[ There was a time when hearing that she'd missed Jackson would've upset her, but she's well past it now. They haven't spoken since that run-in back home and Lydia can almost get lost down that rabbit hole but then Stiles pauses and the brief silence jars her out of it in time to see that pained look.

Lydia, for her part, returns a soft smile and nods. ]

He's good, sweetie. I mean, I haven't seen him since Christmastime when I was home last, but...he was good. Don't worry.

[ With just a few words, Lydia manages to reassure two prominent, niggling fears that have kept Stiles awake at night: First, that his father might have relapsed in the hospital following his surgery, and second, that his father might have been affected by the hunter versus supernatural war Gerard allegedly machinated. While it’s possible that she might be lying to him, Stiles isn’t so paranoid as to start second guessing her; maybe it’s arrogant, but he likes to think he could tell if she was being dishonest. He only spent most of their childhood and teenage years obsessing over her, after all. ]

That’s…great. [ Voice thick with emotion, he drops his wrist for a moment so the video capture doesn’t show just how affected he is by relief. ] Thanks, Lydia. I’ve…I’ve needed to hear that.

[ It’s tempting to ask about the rest of the pack, yet he can’t quite manage to get Scott’s name out past the lump in his throat. ]

I’ll be there soon, [ he says, bringing the camera level once more. ] So, uh… Wh-where did you end up? For college, I mean.

[ When Stiles's face disappears from view briefly, Lydia's own smile slips away into something a little more drawn with sympathy. She realizes belatedly that she hasn't actually asked how long Stiles has been here. So when he appears again she shrugs, a small smile that falls just shy of her eyes pulls up the corners of her mouth, just a little. ]

MIT. Stiles, how long have you been here, anyway...?

[ She's curious how exactly he can be here when she doesn't recall him ever going missing back home. Although, actually...she never did ask him what happened when the Ghost Riders took him; it was just one of those things they didn't talk about and probably never would. Like the nogitsune. But he'd been taken by the Ghost Riders senior year, too. Yeah, he'd said that they'd just started, but had they just started or was he still in denial about just how close they all were to scattering to the winds and they weren't just starting so much as well into the year? Part of her doesn't want to ask that, either and that part wins out. For now, at least. ]

Long enough to turn eighteen. Guess who’s officially legal?

[ Not unlike her smile, the humor doesn’t quite reach his eyes. ]

It’s been four months, [ he admits wearily. ] So, not nearly as long as some of the oldest Mirrorbound here, but still four months too long for me.

[ Stiles has never been away from his father for such an extended period of time. Or Scott, though he doesn’t dwell on that thought. ]

But, hey! MIT. That’s amazing, Lydia. They have no idea how lucky they are to have you.

[ The Plan had involved everyone in the pack going to more local schools in California, yet it comes as no real surprise that said “plan” failed spectacularly. Maybe it was always destined to. “Control is overrated” – isn’t that what he’d told Malia? Speaking of… ]

How’d things work out for Malia? I, uh… [ An awkward pause. ] I know we broke up – I mean, I experienced that in the timeline before coming here. I just want to make sure she did okay with school.

I'm sorry I wasn't here for it.

[ Her brow creases at that, trying to figure out how long Stiles was gone in the Hunt. It definitely wasn't that long, but it could still account for some of the time, maybe... Or maybe it was the Hunt and it just felt like time was moving differently for Stiles. She wants so badly to ask for a more specific timeline landmark to go by but she also doesn't want to alarm him if she's right and Stiles just doesn't know what's happening, yet.

Instead, she opts to let Stiles push the conversation in a more comfortable direction for her, for which she feels guilty, but it is what it is. ]

Thanks, sweetie. She's fine. She had to go to summer school, but I was never going to let her have to repeat senior year all alone. I had plenty of time for it since I finished my credits pretty early in the year.

[ She pauses and looks concerned when she looks back at him. ]

...are you okay? Here, I mean...?

[ A soft, warm look eases the lines of stress from his face at the news about Malia. While the decision to break up with her may have been spur-of-the-moment, Stiles still stands by it. Despite that, he cares deeply for her even now. Knowing she didn’t struggle through senior year again without the majority of the pack around helps to settle something in his chest. He didn’t like the idea that she would be left behind – abandoned – as the rest of them moved on.

Stiles isn’t quite sure how to answer Lydia's question, but is saved from having to do so when she comes into sight. Barely remembering to turn off the comm watch, he calls her name. Then he’s racing over, long legs eating up the distance in seconds before he sweeps Lydia up into his arms in a hug. ]

God, it really is you! [ he exclaims into her hair, spinning the young woman around in his genuine joy. ] L-look at you! Holy shit.

[ Lydia is carefully placed back on her feet, though he’s reluctant to release her – like he’s afraid she might disappear if he doesn’t keep her. ]

I can’t believe you’re actually here.

[ At the sound of her name in the short distance, Lydia looks up sharply, relief washing over her. It's one thing to be reassured by his presence on this network thing on the watch, but it's entirely another level to see him running toward her.

Stiles sweeps her off the ground and Lydia clings to him like she hasn't since...well, since the last time they got into a sticky situation with one another back in Beacon Hills. Her head dips down and against his head as he spins with her and it actually takes a conscious effort on her part not to fall into old habits — do not kiss him; that's not a thing for you anymore and it isn't a thing for him yet — just out of the wash of emotions that come with seeing him in person again for the first time in a while piled on top of the fact that she's in a strange place.

When he puts her back down, Stiles doesn't let go right away and Lydia's in no rush to get him to. Instead, she closes her hands around his forearms to reassure herself that yes, he's real and yes, he's right there in front of her. Her smile is about as watery as her eyes when she finally speaks. ]

You have no idea how good it is to see you... Oh, my God, are you okay?! What's the last thing you remember from home, exactly?

[ There are no words to describe the depth of his feelings for Lydia Martin, even disregarding his romantic attraction to her. Whenever there was trouble, no matter how high the stakes, they could put their heads together and figure something out. While the werecreatures in the pack depend on a system of checks and balances to anchor themselves to their humanity, Stiles and Lydia build each other up to their best potential. She’s an invaluable friend, one whom he’s missed almost as badly as his own father.

With a breathy laugh, blinking rapidly to clear the tears from his eyes, he tries to address her questions. ]

I’m fine. Back home…uh, [ a pause, because it’s not an easy subject and he’s as hesitant to let this moment slip away as he is to release her, ] Theo attacked my dad. Melissa told me Liam attacked Scott in the library. Last thing I remember, I was sitting in the waiting room at the hospital.

[ Hoping to see his dad, hale and whole. From that time point, Stiles has no idea that Theo technically wasn’t responsible for the injuries to the Sheriff – Noah had yet to start dying to the chimera bone marrow in his body. ]

Must sound crazy to you, right? That’s gotta be like, ancient history now.

[ Lydia, on the other hand, reaches up to brush her own tears away rather than blinking them back. It's a lot, seeing him again under this particular circumstance. She wishes she'd been a better friend in the past few months, but school has been so busy and he's so far away... She makes a mental note to reconnect with him at home...if she ever gets back home. She's supposed to be temporary but she's not going anywhere without Stiles and, she supposes, Derek, at least not if she has a say in the matter. ]

Wow...yeah, kind of.

[ Yeah, that's...definitely ancient history, it feels like; there's a lot more crazy to come for Stiles, that's for sure. Lydia opens her mouth to try to fill him in on some but it's like the words fall away from her tongue and no sound comes out. For her part, her brow creases with confusion and she realizes a second later that she doesn't even remember what she was about to say. So, Lydia changes tack. ]

Are we going to stand here and talk or are you going to take me back so we can figure out how to get us all out of here?

[ Lydia falters in the wake of his answer about the timeline, which makes Stiles more than a little agitated; she’s never been the type of person to struggle for words. Ever a prisoner to his overactive imagination, he wonders what she’s withholding about the future. There has to be something that’s on the horizon for him back home. He can’t think of any other reason she would trail off like that. When she pushes to change the subject, Stiles almost doesn’t let her – he’s prone to anxiety, after all, and knows he’ll obsess over what that silence must mean. But she’s already informed him that his dad is fine. Ultimately, it’s enough to settle his nerves. ]

Ha, don’t get your hopes up, [ he warns, trying to keep his tone light despite the grim pessimism. ] But yeah, I’ll show you where I’ve been living. Are you hungry? We can stop at a café. Or, y'know, Jonas makes a mean sandwich back home.

[ “…back home.” The word choice is so natural to him now that he doesn’t even realize how unsettling it might sound. Oblivious, he continues speaking, tugging on her arm before finally releasing her, walking in the direction he came. ]

He’s the guy I live with. I think you’ll like him.

Okay, Negative Nancy.

[ It's a little troubling to see Stiles like this again. There was a time, specifically somewhere around this time in his life, where he had been more pessimistic and overly-cautious, but it had been short-lived. She'd almost forgotten how disquieting it is when Stiles isn't the perpetual force of cautious optimism to balance Scott's overly-optimistic point of view — one which Lydia finds herself taking on at the moment, in the Alpha's absence, picking it up as though she'd never walked away from it to go on with her life after high school.

Her brow creases slightly because she doesn't miss the way he calls wherever it is he's living "home." That's fair, if he's been here long enough, after all, of course he's had to settle in, but that makes her uncomfortable all the same. There's nothing about this place that feels like home except Stiles himself.

In the wake of his tug on her arm, Lydia reaches out instinctively and takes his hand when he starts to move away from her. Reflex. She lets go again and closes that hand into a fist for a moment before letting it relax again as she moves a little faster to keep up with him in lieu of continued physical contact for reassurance. ]

I talked to him while I was waiting for you; between texts with you. You're right. I like him. Stiles?

[ She gives him a look that can't quite decide whether it's worried or sympathetic. ]

We're going to get you home. But I need you to just...trust us. You got me out of—

[ Lydia stops again and looks confused again; the memory is at the tip of her consciousness but she can't quite grab it to put it into words. ]

Out of...

[ Frowning, she shakes her head, unable to remember. She changes tack again in order to at least get out the rest of her sentiment. ]

I just know we can do this if we put our heads together. You've managed some pretty significant feats without my giant brain to help you, so together, we'll be unstoppable. I just need you to believe that, okay? Please?

[ The “Negative Nancy” remark gets a wry smirk out of him, though the amusement doesn’t quite manage to reach his eyes as he begins to walk away. When she suddenly catches his hand in hers however, Stiles turns to peer at her questioningly. He recognizes the look she gazes at him with, one he might have resented from someone else but only elicits a faint, sad smile when it’s from Lydia. The next few moments, as she struggles to finish a sentence, sharpen his awareness to a fine point. That’s not normal – not for Lydia Martin. ]

…Alright, I’ll believe, [ he lies convincingly, even throwing in a longsuffering sigh for added effect. ] We’ll figure something out. Maybe Derek can pitch it for once and put that Cro-Magnon brain of his to use.

[ Continuing to walk, Stiles gives it a minute before trying to address what’s really alarming him. ]

So, what were you going to say? I got you out of…?

[ The question is asked casually, but he watches her carefully from the corner of his eye, worried. ]

[ Instead of apologizing or tipping Stiles off to why she grabbed his hand like that, Lydia pretends not to notice the questioning look at all. Issuing her own sigh, only half in response to Stiles giving one, Lydia shrugs to his suggestion that maybe Derek can help. She'd doubtful; Derek never helps with the logic stuff, he's always doing the brawn part, which Lydia isn't sure they'll need this time. ]

It wouldn't hurt to have an extra head trying to think it through.

[ For a moment, she thinks that he's going to let it go and she hopes that he does, largely because she's frustrated enough by whatever's happening; never mind trying to figure out how or why so that she can explain it to Stiles. That's wishful thinking and she knows it, though, and Stiles proves it a minute later as they walk.

More out of the reflexive desire to actually answer his question than the belief that she'll suddenly actually be able to get it out, Lydia tries again. ]

Ei—

[ and she stops again, mouth still open like the words are supposed to keep coming, only they just...don't. ]

Ei-ei-chan—

[ Once again, her voice stops abruptly only able to get out the first word and, even then, in a stuttering fight so that it sounds more like two words I can rather than the singular Eichan she means it to be. This time, her jaw snaps shut with a frustrated click of her teeth and her face goes red with a mixture of embarrassment and anger. In a lame attempt to cover and only half-lying because she remembers the word but whatever was supposed to come after it is gone again. ]

I can't remember. ...I don't know. I don't know what's...wrong. Listen, I just know you got me out, okay? And it took a lot, it had to have. Just trust me, okay?

[ When she looks back at him, her expression has softened into something more hopeful. ]

Can you?

[ 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. ]

Network: May, An Inauspicious Arrival

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/fin ❤