The Druid

Chapter 30

To say Derek was proud of Stiles was an understatement. He hated seeing how hard it was for Stiles to try and access his magic and failing the first two attempts and sensing the disappointment and discomfort of not succeeding. But he knew with just a little bit of encouragement, Stiles would tap into it. And once he did, seeing the pure joy and hope written into his face brought a huge amount of happiness (and some slight relief) to Derek. When Stiles looked at Deaton with honey-coloured eyes shining with excitement, Derek's heart had swelled one hundred times more than it did whenever Stiles looked at him.

Lunch was filled with eating and laughter paired with small talk about random things, allowing everyone the chance to decompress. About an hour later, lunch was finished and after the pack cleaned up, they headed back outside and took up the positions they were in before.

"The next step we're going to take is trying to produce fire." Deaton instructed. "This will be a little more difficult since fire can be very unpredictable and has a history of being linked to anger. So, when trying to conjure it, try not to think of anything that will anger you. Try to conjure it with a happy memory. That way you'll have more control over it. If it's conjured out of anger, there will be disastrous consequences."

Stiles nodded. "Understood."

"Good. I want you to focus on this branch." Deaton picked up a new, medium-sized branch and set it on a huge rock. "And I want you to try to set it on fire."

'Set a branch on fire? In the woods?' Derek thought. He didn't like where this was going.

"Um, isn't that a bad idea to set something on fire in the woods?" Liam asked, echoing Derek's thoughts.

'Are we sure he isn't a mind reader?' Derek thought.

Deaton chuckled. "I trust Stiles not to cause a forest fire. That's why he's only focusing on this branch."

Liam nodded and settled, looking over at Stiles. Stiles stared at the branch, feeling a little uneasy. He swallowed and took a deep breath and began focusing on it, trying to generate just one lick of flame.

After a few minutes went by, nothing seemed to happen. Stiles took another deep breath and steeled himself, calming his mind. He tried again, intensely focusing on the branch. Another couple of minutes went by and nothing happened.

"Your concentration is great, Stiles." Deaton said softly. "But don't psych yourself out. You're still new to this so it'll take time. Go slowly."

Stiles nodded. He closed his eyes and centred himself again, breathing slowly before he opened his eyes again. This time, when he focused on the branch, the world fell away again. However, this time he didn't even feel Derek standing beside him. After about a minute, small flames appeared on the branch. Stiles couldn't help but smile to himself, feeling extremely proud.

"I knew you could do it."

Like at the snap of fingers, Stiles' focus was gone and the flames disappeared as he looked around wildly, frowning. 'Was that............ Did I just hear my mom?'

"What is it? What's wrong?" Derek asked, quickly surveying the surrounded area before looking back at Stiles.

"I......... I thought I heard something." He said slowly, bringing his attention to Derek. "It's nothing. I'm fine." He said and looked back at the branch. There was a little scorch mark left from where one of the flames had been.

"Well done, Stiles. That was good. And your focus was great. I think that's all we're going to do today. You need to rest." Deaton smiled.

"That's it? You're only going to teach him to do a few basic magic tricks?" Jackson asked, an unimpressed look plastered all over his face.