The lull of night

Survivors

Oh darling didn't you know that you and I could be
Simply a thing of eternity.
And you and I can run until the sun gone
And all that's left of us is a broken dawn.
For when we dream of things that we can only wish
There is a world ahead-and a broken kiss.

But when we wish for things that are more than dreams
You and I can find that it's more than it seems.
Instead of wondering how and where and when and why
You can simply leap and you can touch the sky.
And swim until we find the treasure sunken down
Darling we will never ever touch the ground.

-Never Touch the Ground by Katherine Martin-

3 Months Later...

Stiles stretches out, pressing his hands up against Derek's furry wolf belly. Derek wakes up right away, morphing right into his human form and pulling Stiles back against him. Nobody else is crammed into their cave with them, now... Scott and Allison have their own cave, Erica and Boyd are taking up their own again, and Isaac and Cora finally got together about a month ago and now have their own as well-and they're not the only ones. Danny and Ethan started hanging out and they just never stopped.

"Good morning," Derek says, kissing his forehead.

Stiles hums, pressing up against him more. It's getting cold out now, so their cave has more furs and things in it, but mostly Stiles just crams himself underneath Derek's wolf form and he's fine. The caves are always pretty cold anyway, though, since the sun never reaches it. Stiles hates that. He likes the sun, but being stuck in the caves means that he's getting even more pale than usual.

At least all of the tunnels now have torches attached to the sides. There are more humans that can't see in the dark, now, so it was basically mandatory. Over the last three months even more of the humans from the city have come out (some of them being Rafael and even Robert) to live in the caves, and by now there's hardly anymore extra caves left at all. Some people are working on carving out more, currently.

And Stiles' mother? She got bit by Talia (apparently only alpha's can give someone the bite) after the very next full moon, and while she had to be kept in solitary confinement for the following one, she took to learning to control it very fast and can now interact with anyone at any time of the month. She's all better-she's going to survive.

A few people were a little scared of Stiles for the first couple of weeks after hearing about the whole Gerard thing, but they gave that up pretty quick when they heard all of the specifics. Stiles favorite part of the day is still telling stories around the campfire, though they've had to bring it down from every night since there are so many more people that need food, water, and clothes. But now everyone participates in the stories... Scott and Allison, Alan and Marin, Robert, and so many more-even Rafael did one at one point, but that was just once. Stiles himself has gotten pretty good at them, and sometimes he does them alone, but a lot of the time he gets together with a friend to throw out an idea that they can do together when the time comes. Mostly he does them with Derek or Scott, but once he did it with Claudia on how she survived, and another time with his father and Derek about killing Gerard.

"Want to go get something to eat?" Derek asks, pushing his fingers through Stiles' hair.

Stiles nods, pushing into a sitting position.

It's when they're about halfway down the hall to the main cave that Stiles feels a little shake, and he and Derek stop dead, grabbing each other's hands, when the shake becomes much greater, shaking dust and dirt from the ceilings and causing others to come out of their caves.

"What was that?" Stiles says, looking back at Derek.

His blue eyes are glowing and wide. "Do you think...?"

"It can't be."

"It might be."

"Let's go see!"

Almost everyone in the caves has the same idea that they do, everyone pouring out of all the exits so that they can get up to the surface. Stiles just hops onto Derek's wolf back so that they get to the Wall even faster, and it's true. It's really true.

"Oh my god," Stiles says, eyes wide as Derek shifts back up into his human form.

Three entire sections of the Wall have been collapsed, revealing the city inside and the humans living from it. There are some standing up on the rubble and others up on the standing parts of the Wall, everyone staring as the wolves and other humans come into the clearing.

"They're taking it down!" somebody yells. Other voices echo, everybody amazed that it's finally happening.

As they're standing there, more of the sections on the other side are collapsed after a large explosion. Stiles recognizes the feelings of those. The explosion was the first little shake, and then the actual collapsing was what shook the caves. It shakes them now, too, sending a few of the children that came with to their knees.

It's Chris that Stiles sees first, making his way towards them. "We decided that this is for the best," he says, actually smiling the slightest bit. "Victoria and Kate are still a little on the skeptical side, though, so be gentle with them. Especially you"-he points at Stiles. "Kate is never going to forgive you for killing our father no matter how badly he needed to die. Careful around her."

Stiles nods. He's about to say more, but he hears Allison yelling "father!" from behind them, so instead he and Derek just move closer to the rubble as Chris darts passed them to where his daughter is.

"It's really happening," Stiles says, stopping about halfway through the broken stones of the Wall.

"It really is," Derek says, squeezing his hand.

Stiles looks up at him, smiling. "No more caves?"

Derek smiles, pulling Stiles closer to him. "No more caves."

And so they walk into the city, hands held tight, and survive along with everybody else.

-THE END-

Once, in time, round Walls did rise
And humans hid behind their lies
The wolves were feared of, hence why banned
And humans called them far from man

But as time passed, and born wolves reigned
Two boys of young looked for the slain
They knew of how to flee the Wall
To look for one cast out from all

A dangerous feat in such a time
Proved when met with eyes that shine
But though evil, with fangs and claws
The wolf morphed up from fur and paws

Too scared to move, the boys thought death
Was all that'd come from heavy breath
But never it came, from wolf or other
For howls ripped through, calling each other

And off he ran, back on all fours
So sprint they did to live some more
Except, in darkness, on following night
The boy in red went back, no fright

The wolf was waiting with eyes of blue
To show the red of love he knew
And little red returned some more
To fall in love and gain his lore

And days and nights passed like the sun
Where people learned what he had done
But red refused to give up blue
Which brought along what thought was doom

Ten days it took to learn how wrong
The humans were, in crowds and throngs
And though a single man did die
Down came the Wall and all the lies

Now pureblood men are myth of age
And wolves are free of caves that cage
With sickness gone thanks to a bite
All love is free to the lull of night.