( stargazing )

[honestypolice]

the stargazing meme

oo1. comment with your characters
make sure to put names, series, & preferences somewhere!
you can use < ! > sans the spaces to make the comment "blank"
oo2. reply to others in character
oo3. use the rng and enter 1-10
oo4. play out what happens—anything goes!
oo5. profit? oh yeah!

prompts

one → meteor shower you just saw a falling star! and another! make a wish!
two → aliens what was that? was that really? omg no way a ufo!
three → lunar eclipse you've been sitting out for hours, waiting for this. it's so cool!
four → comet does it move fast or slow? either way, it's amazing.
five → full moon the moon is so huge! just don't look too long, it's really bright too.
six → star dust anything can happen in space. make up your own plot!
seven → solar eclipse this might be happening in the middle of the day!
eight → planet sighting is that a new star? nope, just a neighbor in the solar system!
nine → constellations do you know the stories behind these odd patterns?
ten → deep space normal stargazing isn't that much fun. you got a telescope!

Comments

[teenyoda]

Exactly.

[He said that with a small bit of satisfaction, looking up at her and smiling before he went back to cleaning her foot. New wipe and he used it to give it one last thorough wiping, careful around any nicks.]

There. Good as new. Well, almost new. Look, if your shoes aren't comfortable, we can go to a sports center and get you athletic ones. They have lots that are for professional runners and I'm sure we can find you something good.

[instincts]

New to me.

[ That’s a joke. Or, an attempt at one. Her sense of humor is a work in progress too. She looks back down at him and takes the wipes, bundling them all up and stuffing them into her jacket pocket because some people have run around in those woods and don’t support littering okay. ]

I don’t want special shoes. It’s fine, okay; I’ll deal. [ She huffs, bringing up her other foot so she can sit cross legged. Scooting back, she pats the hood beside her. ] Come on. My feet are off the ground—I’m not gonna catch anything. [ So he can stop worrying and just sit here. ]

[teenyoda]

[Right. Sure. Stop worrying. Like that would ever happen while he was in this town. But he hopped up to sit beside her, tipping his head to look back up at the sky again.]

You know, I used to wonder about all the things that might be out there, like aliens and other worlds and stuff. Kind of silly when I had no idea what actually existed down here, huh?

[instincts]

Werewolves are real. So what? That doesn’t mean aliens aren’t too.

[ Sorry that she isn’t taking your existential crisis seriously, Stiles. ]

I never thought about it. I was too busy focusing on what was going on down here to spend a lot of time looking up.

[ Lying down beside him, she stares up into the black expanse of space, treetops intruding at the corners of her vision. ]

[teenyoda]

I just mean that it's stupid I was busy thinking about everything not here when there's so much here that's... you know.

[He looked over at her as she lay down, curious.]

What was it like? I mean, being a coyote. Was it really all that different?

[instincts]

Everything was right now.

[ After another moment of allowing her gaze to linger on the sky, she turns onto her side, folding her hands under the side of her face and watching him. ]

We follow our instincts. We don’t worry about tomorrow, or next week, or get caught up thinking about things like aliens and other people’s problems or guilt. [ That had been the appeal, originally. ] We never had time because we had to focus on surviving.

It was completely different.

[ Now she thinks about guilt; she thinks about whether or not she's saying the right thing; she thinks about tomorrow, and a week from then; she thinks about Stiles and if he's still trying to fight the nogitsune spirit; she thinks about when people aren't going to twitch over the name Allison anymore. ]

Animals are easy. People are complicated.

[teenyoda]

No arguing here.

[He gave her a small smile, then turned his head back to look up at the sky. It was strange, just lying here with her. Usually they were over at his house or Scott's and she was getting her werewolf training. Scott asked him to come over since she seemed to concentrate better around him? Which made no sense, but hey, he got to spend time with Scott and a girl he'd...

Let's not go there. He'd learned to start cutting his brain off at the path when Scott had informed him that every time he thought things, anyone with a sense of smell around him could tell. That was mildly embarrassing.]

Do you still hate us for it? For... for changing you back?

[instincts]

[ That causes her to shift, rubbing her thumb over the dull edges of her nails. They’re not sharp or strong or pointed. They’re flat like flimsy crescent moons, and they can hardly leave red marks. ]

I don’t hate you, but it still sucks.

[ A scowl accompanies her verdict, nose crinkling. Her gaze lifts back to his face and she tilts her head up just a little, leaning off her hands. ]

… What was that? [ Her eyes dart down to his chest. It nags at her. ] What did you just think about? [ She heard a very distinct jump in his heart, but she's still teaching herself how to read humans with that kind of thing. As a coyote, the only really useful biological cue was fear. ]

[teenyoda]

[Shit.]

Nothing?

[God, he sucked at lying. He sucked more when he was taken by surprise by someone that could smell his lies. And other things. Nope. No thinking of other things ever. Not even by himself.

Which he was clearly going to have to do later when he went home.]

[instincts]

[ Her furrowed brow makes no secret of her scrutiny. She props herself up on one elbow, studying him with big, prying brown eyes. ]

You’re lying.

[ That's not even the super senses engaged; it's common sense. The hearing had been an accident to begin with—she's not good with control yet. Being around Stiles helps her relax; it gives her clarity. Clarity helps her reach deep into herself. ]

[teenyoda]

I'm... not?

[Yes he was. Goddammit.]

Just lay back and look back up at the stars. Hey, what were you planning on doing for Christmas?

[Distraction plan 2: topic change.]

[instincts]

[ Huff puff. Stiles you are so not helping her get her werecoyote shit together right now. She just wants to flex her powers!! ]

Hell if I know. We don't exactly have a family tradition. Most of the family's dead.

[ Pretend she said that in a less crass way. ]

[teenyoda]

Yeah, well...

Maybe we can have a sort of... huge get together? Get all of us and our families together? Maybe?

[Maybe not. As much as a part of him just wanted his happily ever after it's a wonderful world life, he knew better by now.]

Or, you know, we could just stay in and watch stupid Christmas movies.

[instincts]

Who’s us?

[ She has the sneaking suspicion he doesn’t just mean present company. Which is why she doesn’t bother mentioning that her dad probably isn’t stable enough to have any kind of get-together, let alone with the Sheriff. Love/hate doesn’t even begin to cover that wackiness. ]

[teenyoda]

For the get together? You know... all of us. Our families. Scott's. Kira's. Lydia's. I know, it's a dumb idea...

[Didn't mean he didn't still want it. He sighed, closing his eyes for a moment, then opening them and turning to give her a smile. See? Totally normal Stiles here.]

Christmas is overrated anyway, right?

[instincts]

Is this about Allison?

[ Total lack of tact moment for the day is … due right now. That seems like the easiest guess for why he’s acting weird. The name has been total taboo; Malia had been forced to ask Kira to get anything resembling a straight answer, and even that seemed like it was missing pieces. ]

I haven’t celebrated Christmas since I was 8. If stupid movies and tons of people is the way to do it, fine. [ Stop being sad. Nuzzling isn’t socially acceptable when she’s person-sized. ]

[teenyoda]

Not really. I mean, I guess a little? It's... Christmas is a time for family and loved ones and, yeah, it makes you remember the ones you miss. I guess I'm worried it's going to be hard on Scott.

[instincts]

Because she was his mate.

[ A long beat follows. Wait. She knows this one. ]

Girlfriend.

[ #NAILEDIT. Damn she is proud of herself. Look at how human she is; what a pro. That’s some—oh this isn’t a moment for cheering. She stops … straightening up with self-satisfaction and adopts a more appropriately neutral expression. It’s as close to somber as she can get. ]

I don’t like being around a lot of people. They’re noisy. And my dad’s probably going to freak out.

[ At least she's saying it like this is a definite. It seems silly, but she's accepting it. ]

[teenyoda]

Ex girlfriend, but yeah. You don't really get over your firsts, even if you both move on. Kind of sucks.

[For both Scott and Kira since they were in that weird limbo.

But he did notice that moment of pride and he smirked because of it. She was trying, he'd give her that. It was taking time, but he couldn't really blame her. But she was putting in an effort and that mattered.]

Well, if nothing actually happens in an apocalyptic kind of way and you feel like being around at least one person, maybe you could come over. If you wanted.

[instincts]

[ She hasn’t ruled it out. Watching stupid movies sounds like a good way to spend the holiday. Her dad would probably cry a lot. Or come with, and just make things awkward for the sheriff. Talk about complicated. ]

I’m not your family.

[ There was only one other thing on the list of what Christmas is about. Malia is just pointing it out. ]

[teenyoda]

You're my friend, Malia. Kind of thought that was obvious. I mean, if you don't want to, that's cool, but... I just thought maybe you would. If that was a thing that you were interested in doing.

[Great, Stiles. Babble a bit more. Not like he was nervously sweating or anythi-- Shit. He was nervously sweating. Think about lacrosse. No, shit, don't think about lacrosse. People would hurt him once the break was over. Goddamn sports.]

[instincts]

[ He’s not going to tell her why he randomly started spazzing out. Loser. This is what she meant about people being complicated. Instead of getting herself worked up about it, she simply shrugs. ]

Sure.

[teenyoda]

Yeah? Cool.

So, um...

What sort of gift would you want? If someone were to get you something...?

[instincts]

[ shruuuuuuuuug. ] The other coyotes only brought each other something if they were injured, or pups. It was usually a dead animal.

[ She literally has no idea. What do you get a person??? What do people need ??? The longest awkward pause in the history of awkward pauses. ]

… I like food.

[teenyoda]

[He laughed. He couldn't help it. Laying his head back down, he looked back up at the sky and grinned.]

Food. Yeah, okay. I can do food. Do you like sweet stuff or just, um... meat.

[Stop. Stop, Stiles. Don't let your mind go where it's--

You idiot.]