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The snow laid over Beacon Hills like a thick blanket. Most of the creatures laid in hibernation for the winter, among those were the Hale pack. The normally noisy town was now quiet. Giving room for the creatures that were normally hidden to crawl out into the open.
Of the Hale pack Cora was one of the first to wake up in spring, second only to her uncle Peter. She wasn't certain he even hibernated sometimes, as he was always last to go to sleep and first to wake. She looked out the windows and there was still a fair amount of snow out. Cora liked snow, more specifically she liked pelting snowballs at her siblings and friends. "It might be a while until he arrives." She turned to look at her uncle with a scowl. "I have no idea what you're talking about." Peter just hummed with one of his signature smug looks on his face and took another sip from his tea. As much as she wanted to book out of here, to see if anyone else was awake, a cup of warm tea would be good now. She normally didn't care much for tea, but for some reason it was always good after hibernation.
"Wonder who will wake up last? Derek or Laura?" Peter mostly muses to himself, though Cora still answers confidently "Laura." though it depends entirely upon circumstances. "Unless he comes back early." her uncle voices what she didn't want to bring up. "He won't." Cora tries her best to sound apathetic, she's not sure she can fool Peter though. People might deny it, but most people look forward to the spring day when he arrives. Peter, the master of apathy towards other people, even unashamedly admits to it. It throws people off, which is definitely partly why he so easily admits it.
After finishing her tea and some snacks they stole from her mother's 'hiding place', Cora heads out to see if anyone else is up yet. She's not surprised to see Allison and Isaac up, throwing snowballs at each other. Isaac is clearly losing against the huntress. They haven't noticed her yet so she packs two snowballs and throw them in quick succession. Allison manages to dodge enough so it mostly just graces against her side, while Isaac falls over from the force of it. To be fair she threw the first one at him.
"Is anyone else awake?"
Isaac looks annoyed up at her from underneath his curls, but there's a smile hidden beneath it.
"Are we not good enough for you?"
"Nah."
"Only my dads so far." Allison replies and that's to be expected, they always have been up early. Though according to Peter, Sheriff Stilinski used to be a late waker when he was younger. She doesn't want to know why or how Peter knows that.
"Wanna go wake up some people?"
"Do you feel like dying today Cora?"
"Don't worry. I'll use you as a shield, Isaac."
As the days go by and the snow melts people start to get anxious. Her cousin Malia, who for some reason refuses to hibernate in the house and instead makes a den in the woods, is easily irritated now that she's awake. Sheriff Stilinski manages to calm her down though. Probably because he reminds her of him, Stiles. He is his son of course, but takes after his mother in so many ways. Instead of hibernating he always sets out on a journey instead. It probably wouldn't matter if other people were awake, she's certain he would still have the need to travel. In a way it's kinda nice. Because his arrival means spring arrives… Yet, spring is arriving and he's still gone.
Laura, who did wake up almost a whole week after Derek, is immensely disappointed when she finds out that Stiles is still gone. Some dramatic spiel about how she should just go back to sleep. Cora doesn't get it. Sure, maybe she misses him a little too. But it means Stiles is finally listening to his own needs and wants instead of his friends. There have been times where he has returned and she could definitely tell he hadn’t really satisfied his need. Still looking at the horizon, longing to go somewhere else. She almost punched Scott in the face the other day when he was mad about Stiles still being gone. She's sure he's just upset and missing him, but it annoys her that he can't set himself in his best friend's shoes a bit more. A solitary creature who still needs friends and family. Malia gets it. Her irritation isn't directed towards Stiles even if him being gone is the reason for it. Peter is also extra insufferable with people, though by the way he looks when he comes home late at night he definitely got something out of it. She definitely does not notice the smell of Stilinski and Argent on him.
At night Cora climbs out of her window up to the roof, finding Laura already sitting there. She's staring towards the direction Stiles usually comes from. "Careful. Your eyes might pop out from staring so hard." Laura laughs and turns to look at her sister. "Now I know how you early risers feel every year." Cora rolls her eyes so hard it almost hurt a little.
"Oh please. Not everyone is waiting around for Stiles like he literally carries spring with him."
"Is spring the same without his arrival?"
Cora doesn't answer, but it's clear by Laura's face that she still got the answer she wanted. They sit there for the night with Laura getting visibly disappointed every time a movement amongst the trees turns out to be an animal. While Cora mostly watches the night sky, she too looks to the trees when there’s a sound or movement that could potentially be Stiles.
They sat until the sky started to brighten from scattered sunlight coloring the clouds in oranges and pinks. Laura is resting her head on her knee, half asleep. Most of her family and friends don’t really sit to take in the view of the early morning, and she’s sure she wouldn’t either if it hadn’t been for some of her moments with Stiles.“Nice view huh!” A voice says loudly enough for Cora’s hearing to pick it up. It’s from the opposite direction they’re facing and when she turns she sees Stiles walking towards the house with a smile. Laura turned around so quickly it was a surprise she didn’t hurt herself in the process. She moves as she’s about to jump down the roof, but Cora holds a hand out to stop her. “He’ll want to come up.” Stiles puts down his backpack at the porch and climbs up the rope ladder to a loft window. Laura reaches for him and helps him up to their spot. Once he’s sitting between them she hugs him and Cora wouldn’t be surprised if he’s going to have a very clingy Laura attached to him for a while. “Welcome back. You better have some good stories when you’re this late.” Cora says with a grin. “Am I late or is spring just early?” He replies with a grin of his own. To which Laura grumbles out a quiet “You’re late.” that both Cora and Stiles laugh at.