Side Effects

House Fire

Home wasn't the best place for Stiles right now, but if that's where he has to go to get away from here, from them... so be it. Stiles felt he already revealed too much about himself. The only not-so-bright side is that they are hunters, which means they won't call him crazy and have him committed. The downside is, knowing hunters, if they think the Nogitsune is still buried somewhere within him just like the which seemed to think, they could see him as an active threat. Stiles was conflicted on whether that would be a good or bad thing. If the Nogitsune really did still live within him, wouldn't it be best that these hunters take care of it? The last thing he wants to do is bring the Nogitsune back to Beacon Hills. He can't do that to them again.
The Winchesters decided that it was best to move on from this scene, the witch was taken care of, she isn't their concern anymore. Because of the secluded location of the house, the cleanup routine was easier, they'd just torch the place. While Sam wanted to get out of there as much as anyone else, he took a few pictures on his phone and quickly collected the note pages for future reference. The question of the witch's purpose here was nagging at Sam, more specifically the combination of him and Stiles. At the very least he now knew Stiles' connection to the supernatural, but his concerns will have to wait, they should get moving.
Stiles and the brothers walked back to the impala together. Stiles and Sam took their seats inside the impala while Dean went directly toward the trunk, grabbing lighter fluid, salt, and a pack of matches and went back to the witch's house. Stiles got comfortable in the backseat, sensing that they most likely wouldn't be stopping soon. Stiles laid his head against the window, vowing to himself to not let out another word relating to Beacon Hills again.
"Stiles... how did you get rid of the nogitsune? What makes you doubt it's completely gone?", Sam asked carefully. There went Stiles' vow. Stiles internally groaned, he didn't want to think about the whole ordeal, much less retell it. Despite his feelings, Stiles sat up and thought of the best way to phrase part of one of the worst times of his life. Without including the fact that his friends had to travel into his mind, Stiles kept it brief,
"I broke from its mental hold and it separated from me and created its own physical form, to be later trapped where it can't escape ever again, I only doubt it's gone because why else would I be here?". Nothing has happened that directly indicated the nogitsune is still within him at all, but Stiles also acknowledges that he isn't the same, nothing is the same. He remembers researching online weeks after the nogitsune, trying to find out about repercussions of demon possession, afraid that he felt different because he became different.
Sam nodded, it didn't seem possible, at least based on previous experience, that a spirit or any part of it would stay within Stiles. If that wasn't why the witch wanted him, why else? The connection to the nogitsune was seemingly the only connection that mattered to the witch. He looked back at the only clues they had, the papers they found, and flipped through them. Other than the one they've already asked Stiles about, there were others with writing on them, one with a description of what a nogitsune is, another with a list of four towns, all crossed until the last one, the town in New Mexico that him and Dean last stopped in. It was basically a list of Sam and Dean's last four known locations, extending to about a month ago. He finally landed on the page that explained his own worth to the witch. In his hand was a page with his name connected to Satan. Sam paused for a moment, not knowing how the witch could even come near this information or what she could possibly gain from it.
Stiles took the silence with gratitude, he couldn't blame Sam or his brother for having questions about his experience, they were hunters and that specific experience seems to be the reason why he was sitting in their car in the middle of nowhere.
Stiles looked back at the house, the house escaped from, snuck back into, and escaped again. He was amused at how familiar these situations were to him, how he knew he will get over this quickly. He watched Dean come out of the house, the light of the flames barely visible through the windows from this distance. The sight made him cringe, reminding him of the Hale's tragic backstory, of how ruthless hunters can be. As of yet, these hunters are proven to be less organized than the Argents, they're mainly on the road and carry their weapons in the trunk of their car. Their differences from the Argents could either mean they're more compassionate due to lack of a cult-like mentality or worse due to lack of a code to follow. Currently, there's no reason to get out of the car and make a run for it, as if he had a chance anyway.
As Dean grew closer, the fire grew and began to collapse in on itself. Dean reached the impala and got behind the wheel, he turned in his seat to face both Sam and Stiles,
"Are we good to go?", he was was clearly asking Stiles a silent "are you okay?" with the the look he was giving him and Sam joined in with turning around enough to give him the same look. Stiles appreciated the concern, but he hated being treated like a victim, he bit his tongue and responded,
"We're good." Dean kept his gaze on him a second more then moved it towards Sam and nodded, he turned back to the steering wheel and turned on the engine,
"Alright, let's get going." And they were off, leaving a blaze of fire in the aftermath.