Emotional Support | Stiles Stilinski

5- Camping

Stella jumps out of the moving jeep and the boys scream in panic. She internally laughs at their reactions as she climbs up a tree to get some high ground. She felt like she was being watched- and not the boys watching her... But maybe it was just her paranoia.

The boys yelled after her to get down and she jumped down and landed on her paws. She trotted after Stiles and jumped onto his back, climbing with her claws to sit on his backpack. He laughs, gaining Scott's attention who was a bit away.

Stella has grown to love the way he laughed- grown addicted to hearing it. She wanted to hear it come out of him more often.

"You silly girl," Stiles laughs reaching behind him to pet her. "Do I need to put that leash on so you won't run away?" he asks her, jokingly scolding her. She meows a no, jumps off, and walks next to him.

-

The boys had arrived next to the waterfall Stiles had talked about. Scott was confused as to why they had to set up camp near the water but when he saw Stella trotting around in the stream and scaring the fishes he understood. She caught a small fish and brought it to Stiles as he was sitting down grumbling about how he wished he brought snacks. He held it to Scott and asked, "Do you think we can cook this on that portable grill I have?"

Scott nodded a yes. Stella did her happy dance and went to the river again to kill some more fish. She didn't think the boys would eat the fish but she wanted to have fun. That was until Stiles started gutting the fish she caught and began to cook it. That made Stella somewhat surprised but for how long she knew Stiles it seemed such him thing to do.

While they were cooking Stella kept hearing branches snapping. Now she thought it was just her paranoia. Scott was also on edge, pointing it out to Stiles so he could stay close to the tent for safety. Stella wondered why only one of the boys needed safety but she had a feeling that Scott had a weapon of some kind. Did he have a gun or just a standard knife?

She soon discovered that there was a pack of coyotes nearby. She heard the howling in the far distance; They all did. So, she stayed next to Stiles the whole time, guarding him like a guard dog. She never sat- she stood on all fours waiting for anything to dare come near them. She was using her other senses, listening to every sound in the forest. She heard a few bird chirps, a few squirrels, and many branches breaking far out from what she assumed was to be a pack of dire coyotes.

Scott sat next to her and started to rub her head; He scratched her forehead just between her ears which they learned she adored. He could sense the anxiety seeping from her. She doesn't respond to him touching her, so he stops.

She didn't mean to ignore him. She would never ignore someone out of spite, she found that to be a cruel punishment... She was trying her best to stand guard for her friends.

She wouldn't let any coyote claw harm her friends, especially Stiles. She had grown too attached to him to bear anything to happen to such an innocent soul. Not even Scott, for he was her friend as well.

A snap brought her out of her thoughts, causing her to snap her head in its direction. She hissed in the direction. A coyote peeked from behind a tree. It started to growl at her, testing how far it could get. She ran at it with full force.

Stiles cried for her to come back. But when he saw the next thing he was shell-shocked. The coyote had friends; Many friends.

Not only that- But Stella was no longer a small cat; she was a huge black leopard of a cat. The Leopard roared and scratched at a coyote's neck. Her mouth biting the next foe's neck that dared to help its pathetic friend. She scratched and roared at the pack, killing multiple in seconds after scratching and tearing the necks off with her teeth.

Stella heard a roar from Scott. She glances at him, seeing his red-glowing eyes and claws out. That explained a lot, she thought. Her eyes glowed a brighter yellow against its will, her glowing eyes staring at his red ones. The pack of coyotes scattered away when they heard Scott's bellowing roar.

Stella stopped in her tracks. She recouped herself quickly, running across the water fountain to get away. Stiles was running after her, she roared at him to stop him. He didn't listen and tackled her. "Don't leave! Please! I don't care if you're not a cat! Just don't leave me please!" he was on his back, holding Stella as she was. She let out a small whimper that sounded like a whining cat: she was still the leopard.

Stella doesn't move, rather she cuddles up to Stiles. He grimaces and shoves her face away from his face. "You have blood all over you, Stel."

She turns and wipes the blood off of her snout. Then she bites his shirt and slings him onto her back.

Scott caught up with them. "I scared the pack away again," He says jerking a thumb to the direction he came from. He then smirks. "Can I get on?" Stella shakes her head, as she no longer needs to pretend anymore. Stiles was cradling her as she walked back to the camp. Stiles was laughing the whole way, trying his best to stay on the leopard's back.

Once they were back to camp, which took a few minutes from how long Stella ran. She wondered how Stiles had caught up so quickly- but she was cut out of her thoughts by a question by Stiles.

"Do you think I can see your actual form?" Stiles asks in a small voice. He was now sitting in front of her, cradling her leopard face. She nods, going to the tent briefly to grab a blanket. She came back and he secured it around her. Then she formed back to human, which took her more focus because it had been a while. Her human body fell limp in Stiles' arms. Her spine had to relearn how to hold herself up: She hadn't been in this form for months.

He holds her close, appreciating her warm body heat for a bit. He admired her silky pasty skin. She had long straight black hair that reached the bottom of her back. Her hair was thick, thicker than the cat fur she had just earlier.

He holds her up, admiring her face for once. She smiles at him, her eyes fluttering open to reveal a light shade of brown. It wasn't even close to brown- they looked to be yellow if you looked hard enough. They looked almost identical to the ones when she was in either cat form.

"Wow," he whispers under his breath. She giggles and hides her face with the blanket. He doesn't let her, holding it back to look at her ethereal-looking face longer.

"You're staring, Sti." Her voice was smooth, sounding like the personification of her car form if that was possible. It was on the deep high-pitched side, sounding similar to the meows that she had always given him before today.

He smiles at the nickname. His eyes went soft as he continued to examine the way she looked. "You sound just as good as you look," he whispers.

Scott stifles a laugh. "I'm a very but did you just flirt with your cat?" His eyes were wide, his hand over his mouth; he was trying his best to contain the burst of laughter he wanted to release.

Written: 12.27.23
Last edited: 12.27.23
Published: 12.27.23