It seemed he needed to calm down. Listening to the thoughts around him, he didn't feel any particularly focused on him other than those of the two who had just left. Putting his hands into his jacket pockets, he curled them, hoping the change would hurry up and disappear.
It seemed he might have had an oversight. He had assumed a stronger mind would be able to resist the effects of whatever control this creature had over him. However, the Mind's Gate was no different from fox fire, in the sense that an injury on his foot would also be healed along with an injury on his hand. There was no way to control how it acted. Sure, he could inject himself with it around the area, but that just meant it would affect that area first.
The Mind's Gate did not single out his own mind for benefits. It also benefited whatever other mind was present in his body. Which meant that as strong as his mind got while taking the potion, so did the creature's.
Did he need to find another potion to separate them? Or maybe, instead of using the potion, he could use a calming candle.
There was also something else. He hadn't been quite sure of it until recently, but continuously using his upgrade skill slowly strengthened the producer of the energy it was using.
It was like positive feedback. Originally, it would feed on his stamina, and he assumed the damage it usually caused outweighed the benefits. But there was a more noticeable change in his mind. The blue paths in his mind that represented his own thoughts had become brighter the more he controlled the energy to only go down them.
So perhaps all he needed to do to make his own mind stronger than the other mind was to continue upgrading stuff.
Just then, Eli noticed two brains entering the school. He immediately recognised them as Scott and Stiles and hid. After they walked past, he sighed, until he heard what they were thinking.
What was that thing chasing me? And why would I sleepwalk out into the forest? What if I do it again, and that time I won't be able to escape? Scott thought.
Following him, Stiles's thoughts were also worried.
I'm starting to worry about Scott. Why does he think he's a werewolf? Was he going into some sort of psychosis or something? Ahhh, where is Eli when you need him, man?
Eli, who was listening in on their thoughts, frowned.
Should I actually go to their game?
Then he noticed another familiar mind. It was Henry.
Henry walked into school, looking at his phone. Several dings came from that one group chat. He wanted to avoid it, especially because of last time, but what if it was actually something important?
Random Shifter: "That Eli kid pulled his claws out on me."
Other Random Shifter: "Yeah, if I didn't run in and get him out, he might have ripped off his shoulder. What's wrong with him? Isn't he afraid he'll get seen and hunted? The Argent kid is literally our classmate."
The other members of the group started typing, but Henry did not get to see what they were saying as he bumped into someone standing like a mountain in front of him. He nearly fell down, but then a hand stretched out and grasped his own like a vice.
Henry looked up to see dark shades looking back at him. It was Eli.
"I need your help."
Outside the school, just inside the woods, Eli held out his hand. It was covered in scales, and his claws were out.
"How do I change this back?"
Henry raised his eyebrows as he looked at Eli's hand.
"What do I get out of it? I think I've already provided you with enough help." Henry almost scoffed.
Eli looked at him, getting irritated.
"I can help you with your hunger problem."
At that, Henry's eyes immediately went white.
"Don't lie to me, you damn snake."
His voice overlapped, becoming sharp and jarring. Eli raised his eyebrows.
"According to folklore, the reason wendigos have an insatiable hunger is that the moment they eat, their bodies immediately transform that food into growth."
He paused for a second to ensure Henry was listening.
"Physical growth is a result of the replication of cells, so all we need to do is stop that, and you should be able to feel satiated, even if only for a bit."
Henry scoffed.
"How do you plan to do that, smartass?"
"It's already been done. What do you think cancer drugs are? If I can get my hands on some, I could stop the division of your cells, allowing you to feel satiated after a meal. I would need to make some changes to the formula first, but that should be enough for you to help me."
A bit of silence lingered between the two of them. Eli did not care much for it. From the moment he had said that, he could already hear Henry's mind screaming yes. He just needed to overcome whatever pride he thought he had and say it.
"For werewolves, this doesn't usually get better until after their first full moon. They usually do not undergo a full transformation until then. After that, one can start considering control. You usually require an anchor."
At that, Henry stopped and lowered his head as if remembering something.
"An anchor?" Eli asked.
"Yes, something so humanly important to you. It reminds you of your mortality, making you human once more."
Seeing his thoughts, Eli asked, "I thought your name was Henry, but it's David. Who actually is Henry?"
Henry snarled as he looked up at him.
"It's none of your business. Get out of my head."
After saying that, Henry walked off in the direction of the school.
Damn. Why would he bring that up?
Just as he was reaching for Henry to apologise, he had that strange feeling again. It was just like last time, like he was being watched, but different. As if realising Eli could feel when people stared at him, they had switched to using their ears to "look" at him.
Did they think he could not notice that too?
Though he could not tell what direction they were in, they seemed to be significantly farther away.
"If you're the one who messed with my mother…"
His voice had changed, taking on a dark and layered tone like Henry's. His canines extended into fangs.
"I will catch you, and I will KILL YOU!"
As if finally noticing that Eli was talking directly to them, they immediately stopped doing what they were doing.
Eli stood in that spot for a moment, still looking and feeling around, trying to find the direction of the thing. Unfortunately, he was unable to do so.
Some blocks away, Derek frowned. That kid could even sense him from here? He was just within the edge of his hearing range and far outside the range of a newly turned wolf.
If Eli were the alpha, he would already have found Derek's direction, and Derek would be running now. But he wasn't an alpha. He was even stranger.
"How did an alpha manage to transform another supernatural creature into a werewolf?"
He was certain Eli was that boy he remembered from that one hospital visit. And he was already a supernatural creature. Even if he was more human, like a banshee, he still should not have been able to become a werewolf or a shapeshifter. His own supernatural human spark should have fought it off, or the bite would have killed him.
What had he become?
As for his threat, Derek had been nowhere close to that boy's mother. And even if he had been, what could a newborn wolf do?
Back in the clearing, Eli looked down at his hands as he finally tried to act on what Henry had said. For him, his only anchors were the people he had before the event.
His father had likely been taken away by the government. His mother had somehow been altered by a supernatural creature. The same went for Scott, and then there was Stiles.
There was nothing that was the same. There was nothing that could anchor him. Even his ring had changed.
As his thoughts spiralled, the scales climbed farther up his hands, and he started to huff. But then he remembered that day he got home. Hadn't his mother left the place exactly as it was? Even though she had probably already changed, she was still the same, wasn't she?
And she still loved his tea, as always. Stiles was still smarter than Scott and probably still needed to be watched in case he became a serial killer.
Wasn't it the same for him? His whole body and the world around him had changed, yet his insides had stayed the same. So it was for his family and friends. He just needed to see them through the additions to their old selves.
He already could with his mother.
As he had that thought, the fangs in his mouth receded, and the scales and claws on his hands followed suit. Eventually, everything disappeared.
His mother would be his anchor for now. She was the only one close enough to the mother he remembered.