Title: Traditions
Author: Kylia
Fandom: Teen Wolf
Word Count: 565
Stiles sank his consciousness further into the Earth than was probably wise. He knew he wasn’t alone out here. He could feel the presence of others out in the preserve. Wild animals, and his watcher. He could feel the call of all the wild things that lived in the preserve, but he wouldn’t let them distract him, not yet. The days he’d spent out here were done with purpose.
Today was the sixth day of Sukkot and this had been his mother’s favorite time of the year. What better time to remember her and her traditions than in a place little more than wild itself?
Though he knew as a child, the Sukkah’s his mother had taught him to build were different from what he had created with magic. This one was made from the trees in the preserve. In the past few years, his magic had started to seek synchronicity in the surrounding energies.
It was how he found balance. It was also how he hunted when things were unsettled in Beacon Hills, but those thoughts had no place in a celebration of Sukkot.
Stiles could sense the movement of the trees as a breeze moved through them and feel the sun just starting to crest over the horizon. He could feel it as it shone. His senses told him that he was still being watched, but his focus was on his mother’s ritual.
His fingers reached out unerringly to the sack he had brought with him from the attic. It still smelled of his mother and the earthy combination of sandalwood and clay. His eyes glistened with unshed tears as pulled out the traditional items. The lulav, hadass, aravah, and etrog, each representing a specific part, spines, eyes, heart, and mouth respectively.
He whispered her blessing and shook the items in the correct directions, just as she had taught him, his throat tight.
Stiles had never been good at this part. He remembered his mother’s lessons, and he loved her stories, but he didn’t have her faith. Now he was left behind, performing a custom that was close to her heart, in the place where his own faith been born.
Here, in the heart of the preserve, where the wild things dwelled, he felt there was some blending of both his mother’s old traditions and his new ones. Maybe his mother was watching him even now and knew he was still honoring her beliefs.
Stiles felt a shift in the wind, and a whisper in the air. For a moment, he felt as if someone was touching his very soul, but then it was gone. A sound behind him drew his attention and he turned his head.
His watcher had moved out from behind one of the trees and came closer.
“I have soup.”
Stiles lips twisted in a sardonic smile. “Is there Challa?”
“Of course, darling.”
Stiles allowed the smile to reach his eyes as he stood, allowing Peter to draw him close.
Peter kissed his forehead and moved back into the Sukkah. “Come. I also made some Kugel.”
Stiles raised an eyebrow, but he wasn’t surprised. Peter was an excellent cook and he had been poring over Claudia’s cookbooks. “I’m sure it came out perfectly.” He leaned into the wolf. “Thank you, Peter.”
Peter nodded but didn’t comment as he led the mage into the Sukkah for a somewhat traditional dinner.