[ start of the fox and the wolf ]

WHEN ELEANOR AWOKE from her dazed unconscious, she knew immediately that her superstition had been proved correct. The night before, she was so sure that something was wrong and that her gut feeling was trying to desperately to tell her something; something bad was about to take place that she had no control over.

  No control was exactly the problem.

  As soon as Eleanor's eyes flickered open and endeavoured the morning sun, she wasn't herself. Bestowed in her own body with nothing to do but watch as the nogitsune took over her completely, trapped and suffocating in the diety's presence. Previously, the nogitsune had flittered in and out of her body, teasing her with its phantom. This time felt different.

  Void Eleanor, she named it. Void Eleanor had wrapped and tangled itself in the weeds of Eleanor's mind and this time, there was no way of cutting Void out. Nogitsune had dug into her roots and was there to stay, for good.

  Eleanor dreaded to think what this meant for Stiles. She dreaded to think what Void Stiles and Void Eleanor we're capable of together with no restrictions. The young Hale was terrified.

  Void Eleanor held the upper hand in this scenario. Eleanor's friends were yet to find out about her mirroring situation of Stiles' and therefore, the demon would find it painstakingly easy to hurt the people closest to her with only the embodiment of Eleanor to help.

  And so whilst Eleanor begged and pleaded and cried with all her might to fight against her own body, Void Eleanor made her way to the Sheriff station. Surrounded by the people Eleanor loved so dearly.

  But this wasn't to hurt Eleanor's friends and family; nogitsune would save that for a later date. The one thing that the trickster needed to focus on was not being caught out; the demon needed to continue acting like Eleanor would have. So, what best way to do it than help try and find Stiles.

Upon arriving at the Sheriff station, Void Eleanor's wishes had been fulfilled. Standing there, in plain sight in front of Noah was Eleanor's beloved brother Derek, along with Argent. Feigning a relieved smile, Void entered the room silently in the midst of Stilinski talking to the pair of them. He didn't even spare her a glance as she entered, too engrossed in the conversation at hand.

  "The specialist I saw in LA told me the thing that every doctor says when he's trying to avoid a lawsuit. 'We can't say for sure'. And then I spoke with Melissa. These are brain scans. My wife's and Stiles'. I knew they were similar but those are the same. Exactly the same."

  Void Eleanor peered over the desk as he finished explaining his troubles and stuck a obnoxious frown upon her lips, stimulating her 'sadness' for all to see, her eyes clouding ever so slightly as she looked to her older brother for answers that she knew he wouldn't have. Void had to fight back the urge to smirk, honestly.

  "And I'm guessing this isn't possible?"

  Eleanor pulled her bottom lip between her teeth. "Not even remotely."

  "So the trickster is still playing tricks. But why this trick?"

  Noah sighed in unearthed frustration and lay his hands flat out on the desk, just beside the brains scans of his wife and child. "When I was in the Army, an officer told me, 'If you want to defeat your enemy you don't take away their courage, you take away their hope'."

  Argent crossed his arms tightly across his chest in a swift manner and raised an eyebrow at Noah's underlying message. "You don't look like a man who gives up hope easily."

  Eleanor shook her head, claiming to catch on to what was being said by Noah. Void knew exactly what game he was playing with her head. "But Stiles might. If this thing inside him, if it's using his mother's disease as some sort of psychological trick, then this isn't just a fight for his body. It's also a fight for his mind. Right?"

  Void bit down on Eleanor's lip in an attempt to hold back a deep laugh. The only reason as to why he was giving these people any sort of information or help was because he knew that they wouldn't be able to beat him. You couldn't fool a trickster and finally, Nogitsune would win. So in the meantime, why not have a little fun?

  "You know, he's left people severely injured." Argent commented firmly, his eyes never leaving Noah.

  Derek turned to look down at his sister. "And others severely dead."

  "That's why I need the two of you." Noah spoke, his voice held some type of tone that screamed motivation whilst simultaneously begging for help. "I need people who are experienced in this kind of thing. I need you to help me stop him."

  "And by stop him, you mean trap him."

  And that's all it took to convince Argent and Derek to help. They gave the hunter time to call his daughter, who arrived only 10 minutes later accompanied by a fatal collection of weaponry that they could only hope and pray would euthanise the dark spirit that lingered in Stiles' soul. And whilst Allison displayed the array of swords and tasers, Void Eleanor pushed her tongue into her cheek to stop the natural habit to grin because she knew that they had no chance in stopping nogitsune. Not when he was this far buried into both Stiles and Eleanor. There was no saving them.

"This is everything non-lethal I could find. Take all of it."

Void leaned forward with her palms resting on the table and glanced at her people before her, feigning curiosity. "What's the plan here?"

"Our best shot right now is for Derek to try to pick up Stiles' scent at Eichen House. Especially if he went through something stressful there."

Void knew very well that she needed to buy nogitsune time in Stiles' body to make their plan work, to continue this suffering and pain upon the people the duo loved so dearly and so she grimaced at Argent's words and rose a plucked brow. "Should all four of us be going to the same place?"

"Where else has Stiles been showing up?" The Sheriff was curious and on the edge of desperation, searching their faces for answers that would relieve him of the ongoing stress reeling through his head.

Allison bit her lip. "School, the hospital."

"Okay, hold on." Derek interrupted, his calloused hands outstretched in an attempt for those surrounding him to listen intently to his point. "We did this already. He disappeared. We started looking for him and then walked right into a trap at the hospital. He's getting us to repeat the same moves."

Noah crossed his arms over his chest firmly and shot a Derek a pointed look of disbelief. "So, what do we do? Wait for him to come to us?"

"We can't." Eleanor spoke boldly, as if she terrified of losing Stiles. Void was getting good at filling Eleanor's predictable, love-sick shoes. "Not if the Oni find him when the sun goes down."

Allison gave a swift nod, almost confirming Eleanor's point. "Scott's working on them right now, with Kira."

"That's the problem. We're all trying to outfox the fox."

Noah tore his gaze away from an obviously bothered Chris and turned to look each of his friends in the eyes individually, a brief gaze to gage exactly how many of them were willing to fight for his son. "Listen. I'll understand if anyone wants to back out."

"It wouldn't be the first wolf to run from a fox." Derek spoke determinedly, no sign of hesitation on his part.

The broody man turned to look at the equally as broody hunter counterpart, am expecting look planted in his swimmingly dark eyes. "Apparently I'm carrying the lightsaber."

Void grinned and nodded her head, immediately reigning the decision to split up their group and figure out who would go with who. She knew all too well that Eleanor needed to stay with Stilinski for Nogitune's plan to perform appropriately which left Derek, Chris and Allison to scope out Eichen House which would buy Void more time.

"Der, you Chris and Allison hit Eichen House. Noah, it's you and me in the hospital. We all meet in the school. Sound like a plan?"

All five gave a swift courteous nod and Eleanor looked up alarmingly to find Argent cocking his gun upward and installing the contents of a magazine, a hard, cold gaze buried within his greyed eyes. The girl herself shot him a question look, as if she were worried for Stiles' wellbeing.

"Making sure you have a few lethal options just in case?"

Chris just grinned, but it was monotonous and dull. "I like to prepare for the worst."

 
...

  NOAH and Eleanor walked in a comfortable silence, nothing to be heard with the exception of scuffling feet against the laminate of the hospital floors as the pair approached the ground floor elevator. Eleanor leaned forward and with a dainty finger, pressed gently on the cold metal of the elevator button, her eyes nervously glancing every which way as she waited impatiently; Noah stood unmoving and firmly in place, his arms dropped at his sides with a cautious hand hovering over his gun holster.

  The loud chime of the arriving elevator and the electronic sound of the vaulted doors opening encouraged the elder Stilinski and his daughter figure to step inside, swivelling swiftly on their feet to watch the doors close promptly as they began their journey to the second floor. The duo had already departed ways to intently search the first floor and reunited at the understaffed front desk when they returned empty handed, no sign of Stiles' familiar face; Void Eleanor was conscious to the fact that this was a dead end plan, one that would buy Void Stiles just that extra bit of time that would execute their upcoming plan perfectly, and so she prolonged their search as much as she could.

  "You know what?" Noah's voice cracked the stiff and unsettled air, his heavy jacket swaying against his shirt as he turned to look sympathetically at Eleanor. "I don't know how you guys do it. You're all so strong. You're fearless. Hell, you even manage to keep your grades up."

  Eleanor wanted to cry, trapped inside her own body, because she wasn't strong or fearless or any synonym that came close to what Noah Stilinski was describing. Eleanor was defeated, she was hopeless, terrified of losing everyone and her feelings were proven through her failing grades in two subjects that she used to adore with a passion. Eleanor had lost the passion that drove her motivation and it dated back to the sacrifices all those weeks ago.

  Surprisingly, all of the thoughts that resurfaced Void allowed to slip Eleanor's lips and for the first time in what seemed like forever, Eleanor was saying what she wanted to say and expressing how she truly felt.

  "I am failing History and Maths."

  The blurted statement stuck in the air like cement and Noah felt himself tense at the painstakingly obvious anxiety residing in her tone, sighing in sympathy for the young girl as he couldn't even begin to imagine what she must be going through.

  "Who teaches those classes? I'll make to have a talk with them-"

  The Sheriff caught himself before he continued as he watched Eleanor's face morph into one of genuine heartbreak and stress as her nose crinkled, her eyes squeezed tightly shut and her hands balled into fists at her sides. Eleanor felt free with her movement, like she wasn't under the influence of the nogitsune and she hated it. She understood his game plan: by using her own thoughts and predictable actions, he got more and more comfortable playing the role of the youngest Hale, making it that more believable to everybody else that it was truly her.

  "Hey, Els. Are you okay?"

  It seemed that her words got caught in her throat as her eyes glossed over and she choked out an answer. "I'm - I'm not fearless or any of those things. I'm so terrified.

"I've been terrified for so long and I act like I know what I'm doing because everyone expects me to know more and do more and be more; I don't. I don't know anything. I'm worried out of my mind that Isaac isn't getting any better, I feel like I can't breathe when I remind myself of what's happening to Stiles and I can't help but blame myself.

"I don't know anything and it scares me."

  Blindsighted by a whirlwind of empathy, Noah enclosed the gap between the duo and engulfed the trembling, teary girl into a warm and loving embrace as she rested her head on his shoulder, allowing him to gently rub her back in a soft, calming manner. The manipulated girl smirked happily into his gesture and Eleanor wanted nothing more than Void to leave her loved ones alone.

  "You know what's funny?" Eleanor shook her head into his neck and she could sense his lips hinting at a smile. "You sound just like a cop."

  Eleanor settled on a feigned look of sadness as she chuckled half heartedly and sniffled, stepping back from the embrace and back to where she was before, a vacant and empty demeanour weaved into her features as she focused her attention on the elevator buttons.

  "Hey." Noah nudged her softly. "You're gonna be okay, okay?"

  Eleanor attempted a small smile and opened her mouth to thank him for the comfort, but stopped herself short as a chime sounded from deep without Noah's pocket. Fishing his phone out to check the notification, the Sheriff's eyes darkened as he glanced at the screen and whilst he was engrossed on the device planted in his calloused hands, Eleanor let a gleeful grin pass his lips. Nogitsune was executing their plan perfectly.

  Although the smile was wiped from her face and replaced with feigning obliviousness seconds later as she peered at the device. "What's that?"

  "Someone's breaking into my house. After Stiles started sleepwalking, I had some security precautions put in. Motion sensors. Cameras..."

  But his list trailed into silence as the said camera appeared fully on his screen, presenting Stiles sat casually atop his bed, staring directly at the camera as it broadcasted to his father. A ghost of a smile haunted his lips and he raised a skinny hand, waving slowly and sarcastically at the camera as though he knew he would be watched; he knew very well he was being watched.

   The next ten minutes flew by in a blur of phone calls to Derek, Allison and Chris, a car ride filled with blue and red flashing lights and obnoxiously loud sirens that distracted from the Fast and Furious esque manner, as well as a panicked and fretting Sheriff. As soon as the duo pulled onto the driveway, they were met frantically by the three others and in a matter of seconds they were bounding up the stairs and bursting into Stiles' room in a search.

The room was empty of Stiles but a chess board was sat in his place, filled with different pieces that were branded with names via bright blue sticky notes. Eleanor recognised them immediately from when Stiles had tried to convince his father of the supernatural in a way that Noah would be sure to understand. It pained her to watch in what felt like 3rd person as the people she loved worked tirelessly to find Stiles, when part of her was hindering the process completely; a part of her that wasn't Eleanor, but a part of her nonetheless.

"What is all this? What are these sticky notes for?" Chris questioner, flicking the notes softly and leaning around to look at the full board.

"This is what Stiles used to try and explain to me about all of you."

"Maybe it's a message from Stiles." Allison offered, looking directly into Noah's eyes in a reassuring manner, hope highlighting her dainty features. "The real Stiles."

Derek raised an accusing brow and pointed to the King piece, dangerously close to checkmate. "You think there's any reason my name's on the king?"

"Well, you're heavily guarded."

Eleanor frowned and bit her lip in realisation, a look of pure worry crossing her features as she looked up in alarm at her brother. "You're one move from being in checkmate."

Chris sighed and took a small step back from the board, running a heavy hand across his tired, wrinkled face as he shook his head in disbelief. He was slowly starting to give up hope as the reason for checkerboard became daringly obvious. "It's not a message from Stiles. It's a threat from the nogitsune."

"He's at the loft. That's what he's trying to tell us and he wants us to come there." Derek voiced, his tone gravelly and gruff as his eyes lit up in realisation.

"Night's falling, this couldn't sound any more like trap."

"I don't think it is." Noah voiced boldly, his eyes that were trained on the board never once leaving the King pawn that represented Derek. You could see the reels in his head turning as a thought conjured.

Chris furrowed his eyebrows and drew his lips sideways, almost in belief that Noah was talking utter bullshit. "I think your opinion might be slightly biased, Sheriff."

And still, Noah shook his head and tore his gaze away from the pawns and the sticky notes, onto Argent as he bore his believing gaze into the man's eyes, full of desperation but also full of hope. "Hear me out. What we're dealing with here is basically someone who lacks motive. No rhyme, no reason, right? Meaning what? Our enemy is not a killer. It's a trickster. The killing is just a by-product."

Uncharacteristically, Eleanor continued her silence as she watched the men and Allison in front of her unravel a plan of sorts. A plan that void would then use to his benefit to warn Stiles of their impending arrival and tailor their plan to fit the one now being formed.

"If you're trying to say it won't kill us, I'm not feeling too confident about that."

Void held a smirk from trespassing Eleanor's lips as she spoke, firmly and with no hesitation in order to further manipulate the plan into one that would benefit the nogitsune. "It won't. It wants irony. It wants to play a trick. It wants a joke. All we need to do is come up with a new punch line."

"The sun is setting. What do you have in mind?"

Thus their plan fell into the hands of the one person they didn't want to find out and there was nothing anybody could do about it. They were completely oblivious.

 
  It didn't take long for everything to fall into place. Eleanor took Noah's hand in her own in a comforting gesture as they both shared a look of hope, giving one another a firm nod before turning the corner of the building and walking into the Hale's spacious and dull apartment where Stiles stood, staring idly out of the window.

  The sound of Eleanor's sneakers padding against the cold floor caused his attention to be shifted, his head craning to look over his shoulder, a look of sadness buried deep within his eyes. A sadness that only Eleanor could tell was anything but real; he didn't mean any sympathy or guilt, Void had become one with the teenager and Void never felt anything but happiness at the cost of someone's hurt.

  The nogitsune fastened a frown upon Stiles lips as he looked at