From the Ashes

From the Ashes: Chapter Twelve

The trail Stiles finds himself walking along is one he's never been down before. "Where will this take us?"

Peter smiles. "You will see soon enough."

It takes a good hour but their conversation flows easily and it's as if the past decade and a half never happened. Stiles knows it did but well he won't dwell on that.

"Why am I the Alpha Heir?"

"What do you mean?"

Stiles chews at his lip brushing his fingers along the trees they pass. "Why me and not Cora or Malia?"

"Ah. I see. Well an alpha doesn't really choose the alpha heir. It wouldn't matter if we had wanted one of them–We didn't–but you were born to it, Mischief."

"Is it because I'm a guy? I mean Matka can be super scary if you hurt her kids or if you steal the last Reese's. So why couldn't it be one of the girls?"

Peter sighs and turns to face his son. "I know that this might seem illogical as I'm sure you're wondering what would have happened if we hadn't found you. I think the best way to explain it is to ask you which of the three of you would lead best and why?"

"Oh um..." Stiles trails off and looks up at the blue sky. Cora paints the sky so realistically. He hears a rabbit rustling the bush nearby. Malia would catch it quicker than one could blink. "Oh," he breathes.

"You see don't you?"

Stiles nods. "Strength varies from person to person. Strength is not just physical, but also emotional, mental and psychological."

Peter nods. "Which strengths do Cora and Malia possess?"

"They're both strong physically. Emotionally, Malia is not. Rather she doesn't feel enough." His eyes widen and he looks around as if she could have heard him.

"It's just us and I want your honesty. An alpha cannot lead a pack if they do not know the weakness and strengths of their betas. How else do they nurture them? How else could they teach them? How else could they protect them? How else could an alpha help them grow in their strength and how else could the alpha help them thrive?"

Stiles takes in his words like a flower deprived of water and Peter smiles proudly with fondness as his son's petals begin to bloom. "Malia's emotional weakness is something I can help with. I have before. I know that sometimes she just doesn't understand why and when I explain it, the look on her face is just..." he trails off putting his hand on his heart.

Peter squeezes his son's shoulder. "Exactly. There are very few things that feel as good as when a beta or packmate makes progress or grows more into themselves. Knowing it's because you were a good alpha is even better. I'm proud of you."

"Thanks dad," Stiles whispers.

With a nod Peter turns and continues walking. "Now, tell me about what you have learned in regards to an alpha's responsibilities in the area of nurture."

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

A grassy meadow stretches out in front of him as far as the eye can see. "Where are the flora and fauna, Matka?"

Claudia smiles at him. "Why?"

The younger spark tilts his head and walks forward kneeling down. He runs his fingers through the blades of grass. "This should be teeming with life and yet it's almost devoid of its lively countenance."

He sinks his fingers gently into the soil and it's as easy as breathing to coax flora to rise from the earth once more as the trees sway in the breeze. Smaller animals–chipmunks, squirrels, rabbits, hares, moles, birds and more–scurry and swoop into the meadow while larger animals–deer, elk, bears, bucks, sheep, goats and more–weave through the forest making their way to the clearing.

The elder spark's eyes widen and she chuckles softly. "Well done, Mój Mały Błysk."

Stiles's eyes fade back to amber and he looks up at her. "All I did was bring them home."

"Yes but don't you realize that you didn't even have to think about it? You just knew."

"I–" he stops and glances around seeing the meadow now teeming with life. "I didn't question instinct. My spark willed it because I knew it was supposed to be like this."

Claudia moves closer and kisses her son's cheek. "That is why you are so very special, Mischief. You listen not just to your head but also to your heart. You listen not just to your head and your heart but also to your instincts. They are as important as the other two. Calling upon your spark for protection when the need arises is a good thing but so is learning to use it even when the situation isn't life or death."

A small bunny slowly comes towards them, its nose twitching even as it struggles to hop. Stiles cradles it in his hand and winces at the sight of the mangled back leg. "Hey little one. You're okay," he whispers as he runs his pointer finger gently from the tips of the bunny's ears to his small fluffy tail.

When he sets the bunny down the little thing hops once, twice, three times and when it realizes its leg is healed it joins its family as they race through the flowers scattering petals as they go, making the spark and his mother laugh.

"Healing. One of your greatest strengths. You have many but your compassion and empathy are greater than most. Most would not see a bunny and think to heal. They'd most likely leave it or kill it but you my Mischief? That's not you."

They spend the rest of the afternoon in the meadow and Stiles embraces his spark fully. It's a part of him and he won't forget what he's learned today. He won't hesitate to hurt if it means protecting those he loves but if he can heal that which has been broken–especially knowing what it's like to be broken down to almost nothing–then he will.

After all, his spark runs on belief and the strength of his will.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Polish Translations:

Matka - Mother

Mój Mały Błysk.
My Little Flash.