Stand Still // [tw/spn/sh/twl] [HIATUS]

Chapter 39

I know I've been gone for a month with this book 💀 but I'm back so hush

Italian in Italics
Jiskra in Bold Italics
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SIX MONTHS LATER

VATICAN CITY, TUESDAY, 3:04 P.M.

Six months passed by relatively quickly, which Stiles was thankful for because it didn't make him feel like he was spending years away from his friends, family, and home.

Surprisingly, it only took him a couple of weeks to learn Jiskra completely. He supposed that, due to his spark genes, the language felt like second nature after only a few lessons. Italian was another story. He didn't perfect it until about four or so months in. This wasn't a long amount of time at all for learning any language, but he would've liked to have it down sooner for time's sake.

His magic training was on the right track as well. According to Mirabel, he was learning much quicker than the average spark. He had the ability to perform every spell out of his grandfathers book perfectly now that he could actually read Jiskra. However, he still had some difficultly making his magic his own when he wasn't following any written rules. Still, he was making much more progress that originally assumed for only six months.

The spark adapted quickly to the such a new lifestyle, and, soon enough, he was walking around and interacting with people like he was born in Vatican City. Italian may as well have been English.

"Morning, Roberto," Stiles said, greeting the man behind one of the many market stands littering the town. Mirabel had sent him out to get some necessities while she cleaned around her home, which had slowly become Stiles' home.

"Hey, Mieczyslaw," Roberto began with a grin. "What can I get for you today?"

"Two loaves of bread," Stiles replied as he pulled out the respected amount of cash, already knowing how much it'd cost, "one plain and one with seeds."

"You got it," Roberto nodded shortly. He proceeded to get to work on packing the bread in clear wrapping, so it'd be protected on the journey home. Stiles looked around to pass the time as he waited.

The town was busy. It was right around the time when touring was popular, and when crops were harvested, so vendors had plenty of goods to sell.

His eyes scanned the crowd, and he blinked when he thought he skimmed a familiar face. He came back to it, narrowed his eyes, and leaned back in shock at the sight of a familiar strawberry blond girl.

Lydia Martin.

There was no mistake. It was definitely the banshee. Stiles would recognize her anywhere, but why was she in Vatican, and was she alone?

The spark scanned the area around Lydia, and he mentally cursed upon seeing Malia, Kira, and Scott hovering around her. All of them had backpacks strapped to their backs, and that's when he remembered.

'Fuck,' he thought. 'Junior Spring Trip.'

Some teachers had been taking about taking the junior class to Italy, but they hadn't decided on an exact location when Stiles was still back in Beacon Hills. Of course, out of all the places, they had to choose Vatican.

"Here you are," Roberto said, causing Stiles to avert his attention back to the man, who was now holding out the bread the spark had purchased, bagged and secured.

"Thanks," Stiles began, slowly taking the bread. "Hey, you see those four over there?" he nodded his head toward his friends and made sure Roberto knew who he was taking about. "They're the people I left to protect. I think they're here on a trip for school, but I'm not done with my training. They can't see me. Spread the word, okay?"