some guys think they can't be winners

[beanchaointe]

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[impetere]

At least your homicidal tendencies have purpose.

[Vampires need to eat after all, not that she's sure it'll make him feel better.]

Mine are just ... mindless violence.

[phonetically]

Is that how you see it? Mindless violence? Because, you've saved me before, saved Derek. Saved yourself. You may not have - the smoothest of manners, but what you lack in etiquette, you make up for with everything Cora. And you wouldn't be you. It's how you were born. And, I like that you.

( Well, that wasn't planned. But, here it came. He has liked her since junior year. Though, that was more a one-sided crush turned problem turned Cora escaping for Brazil. He's not a kid, anymore, though. )

[impetere]

[Her eyes lift up at that, watching him as though she's trying to read between the lines of it. There's a reason she's here after all, rather than in New Orleans worrying over her brother. But she didn't actually think there would be any reciprocation in that.]

And you also forget that the night I met you all, the rest of the pack spent the better part of the night trying to keep me from giving in to the worst of what being a werewolf is.

[She pulls another one of the fries out of the pile.]

But I like you too. And I never want you to know what it feels like to lose control like that.

[phonetically]

Because, you were kept in the vault. You were driven to the brink of insanity, to violence. And, at that very same time, Jennifer Blake was sacrificing virgins. You didn't hurt anyone that night, Cora. Yeah, you cut Derek to ribbons, but he recovered - and you two reunited.

( Boyd was calmed, too. )

And if you need an anchor, if it's not already your brother. Make it me.

[impetere]

[Her eyes snap up at that, and she can't help but wonder if he realizes what he's offering. What he's asking. She has to assume that he can't because if he did, she doubts he would toss it out so casually.

So she holds his gaze, trying to see what he's getting at (17). She doesn't say anything, as though it might break the spell.]

[phonetically]

( He's being sincere. But, she's more vulnerable now than he thinks he's ever seen her (when not unconscious) and he doesn't want to screw that up. So, while it is a promise, he wants to give her a window of an out. Or, a second door. )

At least while I'm in town. If not after.

[impetere]

[He backpedals, and he knows it's more for her than it is because he's realizing what he said. She weighs her response, and while it may come off as dismissive, it isn't. There's a heaviness to the words that indicates she is thinking about it.]

I'll keep that in mind.

[phonetically]

And in the meantime, it will be there. ( Let's group backpedal. ) Besides, today's about me, right? We don't want a vampire carnival massacre because the crew of the Mystery Science Theatre disbanded and one is a fictional robot.

( Of all people, Cora wouldn't understand that. )

I just have to go to the bathroom first. And, I promise, just the bathroom.

[impetere]

[Yeah, she looks incredibly confused because what are your pop culture references, Stiles. But she since she's not going to monitor him while he pees:]

Yeah, okay. I'll be here.

[phonetically]

( And as he takes his leave, Scott returns to the table, phone in hand and thumb to his lips. He had a great call just now. How cute is that.

"Where's Stiles?" )

[impetere]

[The bathrooms are not the most cleanly establishment, but this is a carnival and a moving one at that. However, they do have the local rest stop-esque bathrooms available for patrons to use as they see fit.

Naturally, the men's side of the line moves much faster than the women's side does and Stiles is in and out quickly enough. But as he finishes doing his business and makes his way out of facilities, something off catches his attention.

Make a perception check, Stiles.]

[phonetically]

( Vampire or no, Stiles is sure to make the least amount of physical contact with anything inside besides the soap dispenser and the sinks.

Coming out of the bathrooms, he wipes his hands on his pants, casually glancing around him (19). )

[impetere]

[It's not so much what he sees as what he smells. While some might have been able to tune it out, someone in Stiles' position can't, as the craving that he's been fighting to keep at bay all evening bubbles up again. The copper tang in the air bypasses his nose and rests heavily on his tongue, reminding him just how much that human food he was trying to eat earlier wasn't going to cut it.

His eyes are drawn to the tree line as the evening wind brushes past his face.]

[phonetically]

( Someone is bleeding back there. Being a hero and being a vampire propels his legs forward, away from the bathrooms and the crowds he leaves behind approaching the tree-line. If asked, he wanted to help, but his baser instincts are kicking in, too. And his hunger he'd suppressed. )

[impetere]

[It takes some time to walk there, as the body is closer to the highway than it is to the carnival. But as he walks, the heavy iron scent of blood get stronger, combined with some of the other things that come with a dead body.

It's dark, especially with the lights of the carnival washing things out, but upside of being a vampire is that dark vision is a thing.

Make another perception check, Stiles. Also, a will save.]

[phonetically]

( The walk is longer than he anticipates. He should've turned back, should've called Scott and Cora, or the authorities, maybe a Winchester, or whichever Salvatore he's on good terms with. Instead, he goes it alone.

He doesn't try hard to see through the darkness, (5) because the iron-copper smell invades his nostrils the closer he gets, (1). He fought it off, he had Cora and Scott, and support, but here under the cover of night diving in seems harmless. Something has already been attacked.

Someone. He knows the smell of human blood. But, they're dying anyway, right? It doesn't matter what he sees. His eyes go black as his fangs drop. He drops down at the body's feet and bites. His 1 means he is not delicate, careful or frugal about the blood he does drain. Anybody would think he hadn't eaten that morning. )

[beanchaointe]

[The blood tastes bitter, but it's still warm, so the body hasn't been dead long. Stiles is so blinded by hunger that he doesn't think of the details he might be overriding, or the evidence he's erasing. All he can do is drink.

Fortunately, the body's already dead.

He's not so out of it, however, that he doesn't hear the footsteps coming up behind him, a steady, rhythmic sound that stops just behind him as he feasts.]

[phonetically]

( Between having his fill (and having eaten before) those steps do bring him out of his hunger-driven attack. (Can you attack the dead?) He freezes, looking up, but not back at the person who found him. )

You should get out of here. Forget you saw anything.

( And it occurs to him, he can do just that, speeding up and around to come face to face with -- )

-- L-lydia.

[beanchaointe]

[Lydia's not entirely there.

While she looks at him, it's more like she's looking through him. She lost awareness somewhere between here and the carnival. Her head tips, staring over Stiles' shoulder to the corpse behind him.

A moment later, her head tips back, and she screams.]

[phonetically]

( Maybe, this close, Stiles would crouch down and hold his ears as a human, but as a vampire, his eardrums burst, sending him to the ground. And when those eardrums form again, they burst. Again. )

Ly- Lydia!

[beanchaointe]

[She comes to not long after, and as her mind clears and she realizes where she is and what's happening, she sees the blood lurking from Lydia's ears and her eyes widen.]

Stiles? Oh my god, I'm sorry.

[She ducks down to try and get a better look at the damage done, and when she sees the blood and the body, she startles.]

What happened?

[phonetically]

( His ears recover again as her scream ends and Lydia comes to. It takes a second for her voice not to echo inside his skull, but her words finally make sense.

He shakes his head, remembers, and gets to his feet, facing the body and backing away. He rubs his mouth with the back of his hand. (14) clears his head. )

I - I smelled blood and found the dead body - he was already dead - and I - I couldn't stop -- he was dead, Lydia. I swear he was dead.

[beanchaointe]

[Lydia doesn't know much about being a vampire, but she does know Stiles (18). She's seen him lie about something like this before, and none of the signs are there. He's anxious, yes, but she doesn't think he would lie to her about this.]

I believe you.

[She shifts, reaching into her purse and rustling around to pull out a pack of makeup wipes.]

Here. Use it to clean up.

[Even if it won't do much for the blood on his clothes, at least he won't look like he just chowed down if someone none supernatural finds them first.]

[phonetically]

( He makes sure to wipe along his lips and around his mouth, presenting his results to Lydia, ready to wipe more blood away if he missed any. )

This is what they don't tell you about being a vampire. You're walking circumstantial evidence.

[beanchaointe]

[She nods as she takes the wipe from him, tucking it back into her purse. His face is clean, but she leaves his hands.]

If non-supernatural people show up, you were trying to save him, not eat him.

[And it is a him. Laying behind them is a man in his twenties, with his throat torn out. It's hard to say which damage was done by Stiles and what originally killed him, but he doesn't seem to have any other wounds beyond the throat.]