Chapter 6: First Training
The next morning
[The sky, a soft blend of orange and pink, begins to spread over the city. The first rays of sunlight shine through the window of Scott's room. The sound of birds singing and the soft rustling of leaves in the breeze create a calm atmosphere, though filled with tension.]
Scott's room
[Scott wakes up in bed, rubbing his eyes before getting up to look at himself in the mirror. His eyes flash yellow for a moment before he closes them and takes a deep breath to calm his mind.]
Scott: (muttering) "Just a nightmare... or is it the truth I have to face?"
[There's a knock on the door.]
Styles: (shouting from outside) "Hey, Scott! You didn't forget we have an appointment with Derek today, did you?"
[Scott gets up and opens the door. Styles stands there, backpack on, looking eager as always.]
Scott: (sighing) "I didn't forget... but I'm not ready, Styles. Everything's moving too fast."
Styles: "You can't afford to not be ready. Did you hear what Alex said yesterday? If that alpha comes after you again, you have to be ready. If not, it won't just be your problem, it'll be all of ours!"
[Scott nods, though his face still shows concern.]
Scott: "Okay, I'll try. But I don't know if I can do it."
School parking lot
[Alex stands waiting for them, leaning against his car.]
Alex: (waving at them) "Scott! Styles! Right on time, good job. Are you ready?"
Scott: (hesitating) "I'm not sure if I'm ready, but I'll give it a try."
Alex: "Good. Your mind has to be strong. If you hesitate, it'll make it harder. You have to believe in yourself... if you don't, who will believe in your power?"
[Derek steps out from the shadowy corner of the parking lot, his cold gaze locking onto Scott as if assessing his abilities.]
Derek: "What are you waiting for? Let's go, I don't have all day."
Suburban forest
[They arrive in a clearing in the forest. Derek stops walking and turns to face Scott.]
Derek: "This is the right place to start. You need to learn to control your basic powers first, before we talk about fighting."
Scott: "But I've never done this before. I don't know where to start."
Derek: "Start with your fear. Fear is the most important trigger, but you have to learn to rise above it."
[Derek steps closer to Scott, locking eyes with him.]
Derek: "I'm going to test you. We'll start by triggering your wolf powers. Show me who you really are."
Styles: (eyes wide) "Wait, wait, he's new to this! Don't stress him out too much!"
Alex: (speaking quietly) "He needs to learn on his own, Styles. No one can help him forever."
[Derek smirks slightly before letting out a low howl. The sound is powerful and makes the surrounding atmosphere feel heavy.]
[Suddenly, Scott begins to pant. His eyes turn a deeper shade of yellow, his nails lengthening. His wolf instincts start to take over.]
Scott: (shouting) "I can't control it! Help me!"
Derek: "No! No one can help you. You have to control it yourself, Scott!"
[Alex walks closer but keeps his distance, speaking in a calm voice.]
Alex: "Remember, Scott, fear doesn't control you. You are the one who should control it. Breathe deeply... control it."
[Scott takes a deep breath, struggling to suppress the fear inside him with all his might. Gradually, he starts to shift back into his human form.]
Derek: (nodding in approval) "Good. That's the first step. You've done it, but there's still a lot to learn."
[Scott pants, but his face shows a little more confidence.]
Styles: (grinning widely) "You did it! See? I told you, you're stronger than you think!"
Scott: (smiling slightly) "Thanks, guys... I won't give up."
[After the morning's hard training, everyone stopped at the stone platform near the stream. The sound of flowing water helped ease the tension, but the atmosphere still had a hint of anxiety.]
Stiles: (Crossing his legs, biting his sandwich and talking) "You know what? These guys are like in the movies! Heroes who have to train hard before facing their big boss. I think we should make a team shirt. By the way... What should we call the team?
Derek: (Squinting) "This isn't a game, Stiles."
Stiles: (Smirking) "I know, just try to relax. We're under so much pressure, I just don't want everyone to get stressed out and explode."
[Scott looked at the clear water in the stream, and touched the cool stone floor with his hand. His face still showed a heavy thought.]
Scott: "If we train a little harder... will we have a chance?"
Derek: "It's not about chance, it's about how ready you are to face it."
Alex: "And you have to remember one thing... If Alpha wins, it's not just your life that's at stake, everyone around you will be at risk."
[Alex's words made the atmosphere quiet down. Scott felt the weight of responsibility weigh even more on him.]
Stiles: (Trying to change the subject) "Okay, okay. What else should we do? Or should we meditate?"
Derek: "You need to learn how to use your wolf senses better."
Scott: "Do you mean smell, hear, or what?"
Derek: "Everything. Wolves' senses are more subtle than humans'. You need to use them to discern things you can't see... or even things that are hiding."
[Derek takes a black scarf from his pocket and hands it to Scott.]
Derek: "Blind your eyes, and follow my scent."
[Scott hesitates for a moment before finally reluctantly tying the scarf over his eyes. He takes a deep breath and focuses. The wind blows, dry leaves rustle beneath Derek's feet, but everything is still vague to Scott.]
Scott: "I can't hear anything... just the leaves..."
Derek: "Don't just use your ears. Use everything. Smell. Use your instincts."
[Scott tries to calm down. A certain scent starts to become clearer. It's like Derek's faint sweat mixed with the smell of wet wood. He slowly starts walking in the direction of the scent.]
Stiles: (Whispering to Alex) "Does he look like a zombie looking for prey?"
Alex: (Looking at Stiles' face blankly) "If you won't help, don't bother."
[Scott walks for a while before he trips over a branch and falls.]
Scott: (Irritated) "It's too hard! I can't do it!"
Derek: (Standing beside him) "You can fall as many times as you want, but if you don't get up, you won't go anywhere."
[After Scott finishes his training, Derek turns to look at Stiles, who is sitting on a rock, happily biting an apple.]
Derek: "Stiles, it's your turn."
Stiles: (Eyes widening, choking on the apple) "What? Me? I don't have the werewolf power. I'm just... a normal person."
Derek: (Smirking slightly) "Ordinary people have to train too, if they want to survive."
[Stiles looks unhappy, but he follows Derek to the open field full of rocks and logs.]
Stiles: "Okay, tell me. What do I have to do? Run across the fire? Jumping through the trees?"
Derek: "No, you need to practice mindfulness and problem solving."
Stiles: "Sounds like a high school math test..."
[Derek sets down a wooden box in front of him, opening it to reveal a rope, a dull knife handle, and a small metal weight.]
Derek: "You have to build a mechanism that will set the trap in 15 minutes, using what's here."
Stiles: (Gasps) "Are you kidding me? I'm a problem solver!"
Derek: "Your time is up... 15 minutes. Start."
[Stiles grumbles, but starts looking through the contents of the box. He wraps the rope around the weight, trying to find something to use as a lever.]
Stiles: (To himself) "Okay, think of it like in the movies... You pull the rope here, and the weight will release, and..."
[As he tries to arrange it, the log Derek has prepared rolls down the path. Stiles jumps out of the way and rolls to the other side.]
Stiles: "You just told me to build a trap. Didn't say there was a real trap chasing me!"
Derek: "Real life never gives you any warning."
[Stiles gets up in frustration, but he's not giving up. He starts thinking faster, grabs a rock and makes it a weight, ties it to a string wrapped around the pendulum, and positions it appropriately.]
Alex: (Looks from the side) "He seems to have figured something out."
Scott: (Nods) "I've never seen him this serious..."
[After 12 minutes, Stiles grins. He tries pulling the string, and the mechanism he built kicks in. The pendulum swings out and hits a simulated target, knocking it down.]
Stiles: (Raises his hand to the sky) "I did it! See? I'm a genius!"
Derek: (Nods in satisfaction) "Not bad, but there's still a lot to learn."
Stiles: "Yeah, but next time, give me an extra toolbox!"
[Scott and Alex chuckle as Stiles walks back to his seat with a small, proud smile on his face.]
Derek: "Alright, that's enough rest. You need to train your whole body."
Stiles: (Looks at his body) "Derek... Do you know what I'm best at? Watching movies and playing video games?"
Derek: (Smirking) "Those skills won't help in the woods. It's not the time to rest."
[Derek reaches out his hand, and Stiles knows what he needs to do. He shrugs and starts stretching.]
Derek: "Start with some stretching. You need to be flexible and not sore after a run."
[Stiles follows, following Derek's instructions, flexing his muscles intently, still a bit confused.]
Derek: "Okay, next we're going to run the full three kilometers."
Stiles: (Frowning) "Three kilometers!? You're going to die in just one hundred meters!"
Derek: "If you want to survive in the woods, you need to work on your endurance."
[The voice commands. Stiles tries to start running, but it's still quite slow. But after a few minutes, he starts moving better. He runs through big trees and rocks, but he's still a bit tired.]
Stiles: "Okay, let me take a break. I'm starting to feel like a wild boar right now..."
Derek: "I can only take a 30-second break."
[Stiles gasps for air, but tries to shake off the fatigue and continues running.]
[On the last lap, Derek challenges Stiles to increase his speed.]
Derek: "Last lap, go full speed!"
[Stiles grits his teeth, looks ahead, tries to push as hard as he can, even though his legs are shaking from exhaustion.]
Stiles: (Panting) "This is my full speed... I hope... there won't be any evaluations from here..."
[After he finishes running, he stops panting and lies down on a rock.]
Derek: "Good. Next time, speed up a bit. Try to train your leg strength more."
Stiles: "I... I need to go to sleep for a while... Thank you for not forcing me to run across the mountain..."
[Stiles lies on his back on the grass, looks at the sky, and starts smiling. Even though he's tired, he can feel the improvement.]
After the exhausting run, Derek doesn't stop training. But it seems he has more plans for Stiles]
Derek: "Just a quick break, it's not over yet, Stiles. We need to keep training."
Stiles: (Still panting) "What else do you want me to do? Prepare to run a marathon?"
Derek: (Smiling) "No, but next is training your reflexes and flexibility. You need to be quick on your feet and ready to dodge an attack at any moment."
[Derek takes out a long rope from his pocket and throws it on the ground. He starts practicing jumping over the rotating rope like an obstacle.]
Derek: "Now we're going to practice dodge. You need to jump over the rotating rope, try not to let the rope touch you."
Stiles: (Eyes wide open) "Are you crazy! I just ran three laps!"
Derek: "Push yourself harder, you'll improve your muscles and agility."
[Stiles stands up, shakes his head slightly, and steps forward. He feels so tired that he's starting to get discouraged, but he doesn't want to give up. So he started practicing following Derek's advice.]
[The rope starts spinning slowly and Stiles is determined to jump out of the way.]
Stiles: (panting) "Okay... Focus... Focus... Let's go!"
[He jumps over the rope for the first time, then the second, then the third until he's a little more skilled. The rope keeps spinning around in a fairly challenging range.]
Derek: "Good! Next time, jump higher and faster."
[Stiles starts jumping faster and higher as instructed. Despite feeling tired, he's getting better at it.]
Stiles: (Exhausted) "I'll tell you... This is harder than any game."
Derek: (Laughs) "Those skills don't help in real life. You need to have good agility and reflexes. That's the key to survival."
[After a bit of evasion training, Stiles starts to feel his body getting stronger. Although he's still tired, he's starting to understand the importance of serious training.]
Stiles: (Looks at Derek) "I didn't know I could do this well. It's like I've really got some energy."
Derek: "That's good! Keep improving yourself, you'll see the results soon."
[Derek throws a rubber ball to Stiles]
Derek: "Now, let's try some strong bone training by throwing a ball to practice catching skills."
[Stiles grabs the thrown rubber ball in his hand and starts catching it with a determined look.]
Stiles: "I think this is the hardest thing for now, but I'll do my best."
[The training that day was long and hard, but Stiles started to see his strength increase little by little. His body was getting used to the training more and more. Even though he was tired, he started to feel proud of himself.]