"We'll be arriving in a week if nothing goes wrong"

"A week? One week? I won't survive that long without food? I'll have you know that I haven't eaten in three, no make that four, days. I need food!"

Allison looked put out by Stiles's complaint while Jackson merely sneered

"If you think that we'd be stupid enough to travel without any food you're even dumber than you look and that's no easy feat. So yeah, we have food but I don't want to waste any of it on a guy that's probably gonna die sooner rather than later."

With these words Jackson sauntered to the far front of the group leaving an enraged Stiles to demand a share of the food.

Allison was about to tell the boy that she was willing to give him something to eat in the instant if he agreed to stop complaining but she stopped when she saw Scott's pleading look. He was begging her not to say anything to his brother. She tilted her head, silently asking him why she shouldn't bargain with Stiles. Understanding the question, Scott went to stand by Allison to talk, Stiles didn't notice his friend's movement, too busy cursing, what he considered, the douchebag extraordinaire.

"Look I know how Stiles seems at first. He's loud, obnoxious and never stops complaining, but I think that the only reason he talks so much is to help him ground himself. With silence he easily loses himself and forgets that he's not alone. I think that before he found me, he had no one at all so he talked to himself to not go crazy. Talking to me keeps him sane like me having him around keeps me human. He anchors my humanity while his voice anchors his sanity. So, please let him complain if it makes him happy, plus, after a while it becomes amusing to listen to."

Allison looked away and bit her lower lip in concentration. Scott nodded to himself, pleased that had made the girl understand his friend a little further. The both of them walked on in companionable silence while the other two boys quibbled. Stiles was trying to persuade the older boy to give him whatever snack he held in his bag until the blonde punched the brunnette, or to be more accurate, tried to punch him. Stiles ducked just in time, and while Jackson was in an unstable position, he took the blonde's bag and ran back until he hid behind his friend,Jackson, furious, followed him until he was blocked by Scott, who although exasperated by his friend's antics, didn't think he deserved to be pummeled. He turned around facing Stiles, held out his hand and said

"Give me the bag"

Stiles stuck his lip out but did as he was told. Once the bag in his hand, Scott turned around and gave it back to the glowering blonde as he said grimacing

"Sorry about him, when he's hungry he goes even crazier than usual and doesn't think before he acts. Honestly, I think the whole thing would be smoother if you just gave him a small piece of whatever you have."

Allison, who had found the whole thing incredibly amusing, took out some dried bread from her bag, cut it in half and handed a piece to Stiles with a dimpled smile. She then took the other half and gave it to the werewolf who beamed at her.

"Oh thank gods, I'm not going to die."

Jackson growled at the smaller boy, doing a passable imitation of a werewolf. In response, Stiles stuck his tongue out and chewed on the bread with his mouth wide open letting Jackson have a clear view of the food getting digested. The blonde grimaced in disgust and stalked away from Stiles. The brunette jumped in the air allowing all the world to see that he had won this round in their two man war.

The rest of the day was uneventful, all they did was talk and get to know each other. Scott and Allison spent the majority of it learning about one another while the other two worsened their relationship. Stiles made sure to annoy Jackson as much as he could while the largerboy held back, unwilling to have a confrontation with the werewolf. In hope of detaching himself from the other boy, Jackson told Allison that half the group should go hunt to bring back provisions while the rest made camp. His hopes were dashed because even though Allison agreed she thought it best if Scott and her were to go hunt as they were the best hunters. Stiles grinned evilly knowing that he would have more opportunities to bother the strongerboy. The small group split up and a couple hours passed before the hunters came back with the dead animals. Upon their arrival they found that the camp hadn't been made and instead the two boys were fist fighting.

The werewolf's reaction was instantaneous, he walked toward the two boys, separated them and started shouting at Stiles.

"What the hell Stiles? You've annoyed people before but you've never gone this far! What were you thinking? They're the first people we've met in the last three years, why are you acting this way?"

Stiles shrugged and said

"He's a douche."

Scott looked at him intensely before turning his back to Stiles and going towards Jackson

"I'm sorry about him, the only way to handle Stiles is to ignore what he says"

Jackson sneered and told the werewolf

"Keep your bitch on a leash. I can handle myself."

Scott looked taken aback and Allison glared at the blonde.

A couple of minutes passed and the tension between the four decreased slightly Allison ordered all of them to finish the camp preparations. They did this in silence and the rest of the night was uncomfortable for all of them. Scott and Allison had tried to make conversation but the sullen behavior from the the other two quickly put a stop to their effort. Once they were ready to sleep, the hunter once again took charge and told them that they would have a sentry rotation of two hours each starting with herself, then Jackson, Scott and finally Stiles. They all nodded their agreement

The next morning was still awkward but it lacked the testosterone fueled anger that half the group had carried the day before. All four of them helped unmake the camp, and once they had all eaten pieces of the rabbit that Allison and Scott had caught the day before they were ready to leave. Since they had all calmed down, conversations resumed although not at the easy beat that they had held when they had first met. Allison made sure that Stiles was unable to further antagonise Jackson by asking Scott to distract him. Scott nodded and solemnly promised her that he wouldn't allow anything like that to happen again.

Allison held back her laughter upon seeing his serious expression, and instead smiled tenderly at him. Scott blushed when he noticed her amusement but didn't feel too uncomfortable, after all if she smiled like that it must mean he's doing something right. In fact the second he left Allison's side he went to Stiles and asked him what he thought. His best friend cooed at him and said

"Awwww. Look at my little baby, growing up so fast. I remember it like yesterday when you were talking to me about Batman."

Scott looked unimpressed with what his friend said and repeated the question but this time asking Stiles if he thought he had a chance with Allison. It was then that Stiles realized just how deeply Scott would one day fall in love with hunter, so he told Scott seriously

"To be honest I'm not sure I'm the most qualified person to talk to you about that kind of stuff, but I honestly think that the feeling is mutual"

Scott looked at his friend eagerly, as though he was a puppy and was being handed treats.

"You really think that?"

"Yes Scott, now, let us make music"

Scott was about to roll his eyes but before he finished the movement he smelled something familiar. Stiles was whistling away next to him while the other two of their small party were ahead talking quietly.

"Guys! I can smell something!"

The three members of the party turned towards him, Jackson and Allison looking confused while Stiles looked worried. He asked the werewolf

"What are you smelling?"

"Same as yesterday"

Jackson then added commentary to the conversation

"Why should we be so worried about what you smell, last I recall Allison and I had been able to ambush you guys without your nose picking up anything."

The blonde then smiled smugly remembering just how stupid the other two boys had looked when they had trapped them. Stiles hadn't even had time to open his mouth before Allison had threatened to put an arrow in his balls if he even said one word.

"There had been another smell masking yours then."

Jackson looked disbelieving at what Scott had said while Allison shared a look with Stiles asking him if he knew what the werewolf was talking about. The boy shook his head, biting his lips in worry.

"Dude, are you sure it isn't just Jackson's sexual frustration?'"

Jackson glared at Stiles, but he was ignored, the latter concentrating fully on the werewolf. Scott shook his head again and said

"No. I'm sure that it isn't Allison and Jackson. It's something else"

"Fae?"

Allison was the one that asked the question this time. Scott looked helpless for a moment, and then whispered.

"I'm not sure. I've never been close enough to one as a werewolf to be able to fully differentiate smells."

The Hunter then asked

"Does it smell sweet, dangerous but sweet? Some of the werewolves in the Community described it as being similar to nectar."

Scott paled visibly before answering the affirmative.

"Shit."

Jackson looked like he was about to be sick while Allison remained stoic, prepared to fight to the death

"We should hide somewhere"

As he said this, Stiles was turning on himself looking for a place to hide. He wasn't having much luck thus far but he wasn't giving up. Scott, seeing his brother's survival instinct kicking in started to do the same thing. Allison on the other hand was looking for a higher vantage point. If the Enemy was unaware of their existence she might be able to kill it with her arrows. A few minutes after Scott's revelation Jackson shouted out loud, and much to Stiles' horror, the blonde had found a good place to hide. It was a largish animal's abandoned nest, it was perfect. It was underground and leaves would cover the entrance. Although they wouldn't be able to see anything, with Scott's super hearing and smelling hey would be able to tell when it was safe. The only drawback was only two of the four would be able to fit in it.

Scott as sacrificial as always was about to say that one of the three could have his spot, emphasising Allison's and Stiles's safety, the both of them being the smallest would be the most comfortable. But, before he could tell anyone his fantastic plan Allison interrupted him by saying

"Jackson, Scott, the both of you enter the nest while Stiles and I will be in the trees supervising everything. If something goes wrong I'll shoot and I might be able to kill one of them before we all get killed"

She then turned towards Stiles, waiting for him to acknowledge the plan. He first glanced at Scott. He saw that the werewolf was about to complain and say something along the lines

"But I'm the stronger of the two, it makes more sense for me to be out there."

Stiles wasn't going to let his brother do something stupidly heroic as he would be prone to do if he saw one of the Fae and so nodded. Scott was about to argue, but Allison said

"Scott, it's the best plan, Stiles and I are the lightest of the four of us so we're going to be the least noticeable if we're staying in the trees"

Scott deflated, understanding that that was the best course of action. He resigned himself to having to be worried but not do anything if he didn't want to jeopardize everything. Whilst this argument had occurred Jackson had put himself in the nest and wasn't willing to move a centimetre.

Once Scott and Jackson were hidden from view, the other two found themselves a tree and climbed on it. Both were well hidden in the foliage but Allison made sure to have an opening in the leaves large enough for her to be able to shoot an arrow. Stiles on the other hand was trying to put as many leaves between him and the outside world. The both of them stood completely still for several minutes, Stiles was about to lose patience when a soft breeze that carried a sweet smell appeared. The both of them knew exactly what this meant. A Fae was nearby. Both young adults stiffened but apart from that they didn't move.

Out of the shadows a lone figure stepped out. He, judging from it's physical appearance, was clearly inhuman. He had human proportioned Ice blue butterfly wings. They were intricately designed, with darker blue spirals flowing throughout the wingspan, confusing whoever looked at them directly. The wings looked delicate, as though a mere puff of wind would rip them to shreds but the humans knew that they were far more powerful than they seemed. Due to the large surface area of the wings the Fae were very slow, compared to humans, when they had to turn 180°. When people had found this out they had tried to use bullets from behind but their magic stopped them but didn't stop physical attacks and so knife wielding people had had jumped at them from behind. Although they couldn't turn around to defend themselves the wings were more than sufficient. Just moving them backwards and forwards ripped those foolish humans to shreds. The edges were so sharp that it could cut flesh and bone.

The rest of the Fae's appearance was as otherworldly as the wings. In the eyes of the humans he was perfect, his features were sharp and feminised, his body lithe but powerful and his eyes were large, his irises were night blue but his pupils were cat slits. Although his shape was human his skin had a bluish tint, his ears were tapered towards the end his teeth were pointed and he had small claws at his fingertips. Even his shortish hair was blue, a slightly darker shade than his wings. He wore clothes that seemed to have been flowers and bushes grown directly to become clothes and they covered his torso down to his thigh but everything else was bare even though it was cold outside. The Fae's arms were covered in black tattoos that showed a leafless tree from its roots to its branches.

The Fae wasn't aware that there were humans hidden in the trees and he stayed where he stood clearly waiting for something to occur. Stiles held his breath while Allison slowly cocked her arrow and waited patiently for a moment when she could shoot. When she saw that the Fae was distracted she was about to release the arrow but before she let go she noticed another Fae. This one seemingly female. Her purple hair was longer and she seemed to have breasts although small, they were visible. She wore the same clothes as her male counterpart but where he was blue she was different shades of dark purple. She was the same height as the male Fae but her figure was softerand her butterfly wings didn't have the circular design but rather jagged lines. The humans were aware that the males and females of the Fae were as ruthless and powerful as one another. It seemed as though with this species evolution hadn't given extra strength to the men.

The two Fae talked to each other in their strange musical language for a couple of minutes until they both nodded and flew away. In a matter of seconds they became small in the day sky leaving the two humans hiding in the trees to breath out a sigh of relief. They both climbed down their trees and went to meet up with the other two that were hiding in their hole.

"Everything is fine." Allison said at the entrance of the burrow "The Fae didn't even realise we were there and they flew away a while ago".

Jackson and Scott left the hole, and before Stiles was able to insult the way both boys looked Scott held him in a bone crushing hug.

"I was so worried you were going to get killed, and I thought for sure that you were going to die and I don't know what I would have done. Thank God that you're okay."

Stiles laughed cheerfully and hugged back. When their moment passed Scott then rushed to Allison but he held himself back from hugging her and instead just gave her a smile.

"I'm glad everything went well"

Allison looked at the werewolf gently and said

"I am as well"

They stared at each other in awe and tenderness until Jackson coughed and said

"Right, well if we're all done with the relief and stuff we could maybe start going back, because I am so sick of the forest and I need to go and get away from Stiles."

Stiles pouted and asked

"Don't you love me Jackson?"

In reply to this question Jackson snarled and walked away from the smaller boy. Stiles laughed and ran after him.