justlurkinghere | Lingering Levels of Creepy Mansion on Phoenix Way, Friday Night (Reply)

Derek	There was nothing at all awkward about this full moon. Nothing awkward at all. Just, you know, two werewolves who weren't on speaking terms, a teenager, and some wacky magic ash. So. You know. Normal day all around.
Jack	Jack was going to be mature about this. He was on speaking terms with Derek, as far as he was concerned; he just hadn't especially felt like seeking him out. So there. "Here I am," he said, appearing at the door at the appointed hour. "Ready to be bound or shut in a closet, or whatever we're doing with me this month." So maybe he was still a little annoyed.
Derek	"Cute," Derek replied with a little sneer. "Mountain Ash. Should keep you in without needing chains."
Jack	"Good," Jack said, sounding grateful if still annoyed. "I don't like waking up confined."
Stiles	"It works like an invisible barrier for the supernatural," Stiles said, either unaware or ignoring the fact he was walking in on some sort of testosterone-filled werewolf growl-off. "I'm pretty sure it's completely painless, but Derek's the one who did the bird hitting a window act when I tried it on him before so he would know for sure."
Derek	That earned Stiles the sneer this time. Because shut up, Stiles. "Just do it." So that they can have their totally mature tiff while all wolfy. Maybe they'd hug it out after ruining a shirt with blood. Who knew?
Stiles	"I don't think I can do it if you're looking at me." It took concentration, okay? Don't stare at him while he does magic things!
Jack	"Just get it over with," Jack said, rolling his eyes at the entire thing. "Show me where to stand, and I won't watch you after that."
Derek	"It's going around the whole room." That was aimed at Stiles going by the uniquely annoyed look that accompanied it. "Stand anywhere."
Stiles	"He's right, just keep away from the edges. And you don't have to turn around if you don't want to," Stiles clarified. "It's Derek's judgmental face I don't want looking at me."
Jack	"Then I'll watch," Jack decided, pointedly ignoring whatever face Derek was making. He didn't need to get undressed just yet, and he was always curious to see magic done -- especially has he had no spark for it himself. He went to a relatively central point in the basement and sat cross-legged on the floor. He was curious if the barrier would hurt him or just stop him, but he wouldn't deign to ask Derek. "Was this in one of your books?"
Stiles	"No, it was taught to me by a friend of Scott's," Stiles said as he pulled a glass vial out of his pocket. It didn't have a lot of ash in it, but it wasn't really needed. "Don't think I would have really understood it if I got it from a book. It's one of those things where you need to believe in yourself or else it won't work blah blah blah..." He looked at Derek and whirled his finger around. "Avert your eyes, Der-Bear."
Derek	Derek manfully resisted the urge to flip Stiles off for that. "Only a few humans can manage it." It was a vague sort of compliment. If you looked at it long enough.
Jack	"Same at home," Jack shared, sounding more clearly complimentary and trying not to snicker at Der-Bear. "Magic ability runs in families, and I have no talent for it."
Stiles	"Aw, you two are gonna make me blush." Stiles uncorked the vial and started spreading it around around the edge of the room for a couple feet before closing his eyes and letting the whole "You're the spark, Stiles!" thing do the rest of the work. No need to waste ash. "Done." It was quite the letdown if you were expecting something dramatic.
Derek	"Now is the time you leave, Stiles." That was Derekese for 'Thank you so much for your help, but it's dangerous for you here.' It was a subtle language.
Stiles	"Yeah, yeah, I'm going upstairs to hog the bed." Puppy Joe will surely be happy to spend time with his mommy. "You two kids have fun, call if you want any snacks." He will make you pizza rolls.
Jack	"Bet you'll have more fun than us," Jack said. "Thank you." He rolled his neck, eyed Derek. "Can you give me some privacy?" Not that he normally minded Derek seeing him change, but he felt unusually vulnerable. It was going to be a bad month.
Derek	Derek's mouth pulled down into a tight frown and he turned away. Oh, he was just so mature about this. You can just tell. "Fine."
Jack	"Fantastic," Jack replied, already stripping his shirt over his head. He frowned once he'd set it aside. "Moon's on its way up, isn't it?"
Derek	"Yes." You could tell by the tension in Derek's posture. That and the tiny windows in the basement.
Jack	"This" --the words came out through gritted teeth -- "is going to be a bad one." He stared at his hands as they began to twist, claws emerging. [OOC: Will fix icon later]
Derek	"They always are," Derek muttered, forcing muscles to relax despite all the moon influenced aggression flowing through him right about now.
Jack	"Worse," Jack said, and swore, loudly, as the change began to twist his limbs. He tried to hold on, to remember his anchor, but it was too much for him. His eyes flashed ice blue, and he snarled "Get. Away." Half of that was to protect Derek.
Derek	Derek carefully backed away, but was just as stuck down there as Jack was, thank you very much. "Stop fighting it."
Jack	"But I don't actually want to kill you," Jack said. Or tried to say. Mostly what came out was a garbled stream of half-howled syllables. It didn't matter, anyhow. The change was progressing rapidly now, so much that Jack had no choice about fighting it. His eyes stayed just as icy and trained on Derek as he became fully lupine.
Derek	"You won't." YEAH. THAT'S SOME MASCULINE SHIT THERE.
Jack	Jack seemed to be considering this. Then, in a flash, he was across the basement with his teeth aimed at Derek's throat. It seemed the best way to prove his point. Or maybe he just felt like killing something.
Derek	Yeah, this could only end with rainbows and sunshine, boys. Derek bared his teeth at that, crouching down to add to the natural strength he possessed in order to shove Jack back.
Jack	Sunshine, rainbows, and showers of unicorns. It was fate. Derek's shove knocked Jack out of his path of attack. He twisted in the air, briefly confused, and scrabbled his razorlike claws for purchase on the cement floor before lunging to try to knock Derek down.
Derek	Why did Derek's life have to involve unending pain and torment? Oh right, he was on a show that aired on MTV. He was lucky that he didn't have a kid at sixteen or live in New Jersey. The horror. Derek growled in return, wincing as he hit the floor. "Jack. Calm down."
Jack	The use of his adopted name didn't force Jack to transform back immediately, or even suddenly domesticate him. It did, however, catch his interest. He slunk back and walked around Derek in a wide circle, as if daring him to make a move.
Derek	Derek took the moment to huff out a mature little sigh. "Good. You know your name." AT LEAST THERE WAS THAT.
Jack	Jack did, at least, have that. He also had spotted two high cellar windows that did not have mountain ash anywhere near them. He reared back on his haunches and, almost in one motion, launched himself through the opening, barely feeling the glass as it shattered in his fur. The night called.
Derek	Mountain ash didn't care about that! Mountain ash, you sucked when it came to supernatural creatures outside of Derek and Stiles' messed up little world! You are the Britta of warding! Derek rushed after him, repelled only by the line Stiles had created. Oh, this could not end well. "Stiles!"
Stiles	Why couldn't they ever have nice things? Stiles had left Puppy Joe in the kitchen with Mike and wasted no time stumbling down the stairs with all the grace of an elephant. "What's wrong--hey, where's Jack?"
Derek	"Break the circle." This was becoming a thing, Derek.
Stiles	"Very informative, Derek, thanks." Stiles bent down and broke the circle, however. He didn't want another "Scott's dying" situation on his hands.
Derek	"The ash doesn't work on Jack," Derek gritted out, teeth lengthening and eyebrows disappearing. Those poor, poor eyebrows. "Keep Mike inside."
Stiles	"You mean you want me to stay inside." Come on now, as if Mike was the one who ran headfirst into horrible situations here.
Derek	Well, if that was one of the side effects of keeping Mike indoors... "Sit," Derek muttered, already rushing up the stairs. "Stay."

Mike	There may have been supernatural shenanigans going on in the basement, but upstairs, Mike was having a completely normal evening. Or, he was just on a snack run in the kitchen, with the intention of heading back to his bedroom shortly so he could continue spending his perfectly normal evening on his own.
Stiles	Stiles came into the kitchen shortly after making the circle of ash with Puppy Joe tucked under an arm. "You are now safe from psychotic canines. Save for Puppy Joe."
Mike	Mike glanced over at him from his all-important task of putting nachos on a plate. "Yeah but Puppy Joe's not psychotic." As far as Mike could tell, he just didn't know how to handle the sound of laughter. "Everything cool in the basement?"
Stiles	Hey! Puppy Joe was a vicious, vicious animal! "In a sense. Jack and Derek are still being bitchy at each other, but it hasn't come to fisticuffs," Stiles said. "Might change later. Hope your basement is sturdy."
Mike	Puppy Joe was a ball of fluff. Mike sighed despite himself. "Well, I trust it to hold together better than the second floor would." Where he still didn't really go, for fear of falling through the floor. "I'd still prefer no massive property damage."
Stiles	"Well they're trapped in the basement, so I think you're safe from massive property damage," Stiles joked. "Are those nachos?"
Mike	"These are indeed nachos," Mike confirmed, because that was a topic he was actually equipped to handle. "Want some?" Best reward for protective magic ever.
Stiles	"Hell yes." Who would say no to nachos? "Me and Puppy Joe are gonna watch movies on my laptop until I need to break the circle." So your bed is gonna get nachos in it, Derek.
Mike	Mike nodded approvingly. "Sounds like a plan," he said. "Actually, sounds a lot like my plan." A pause. "Except mine involves an actual TV." And only getting nacho crumbs on his own bed.
Stiles	"A much better plan than the werewolf smackdown in the basement," he said with a firm nod. "Isn't it great to not be completely insane on full moons?"
Mike	"It is pretty sweet," Mike had to agree, even if it didn't mean they were completely unaffected. "In my experience, there's usually enough insanity to be found even without the moon getting any crazy on, so. I'll take nachos and bad movies instead of the basement, thanks."
Stiles	"Same," he said. "I'll yell if anything goes wrong. But that should be a sign to lock your door rather than trying some heroics." Yes, the skinny little kid was telling you to stay in your room if things go wrong.
Mike	Mike made an amused sound. "I'm not even gonna point out how ridiculous it is that you are telling me to do that, Stiles." Except by saying that. He meant it with something like affection, though. "But yeah. I won't be attempting anything heroic with pissy werewolves, trust me."
Stiles	"Good, that's smart." You were officially smarter than he was, Mike!
Derek	"Stiles!" Well, that shout from the basement couldn't be good, guys.
Mike	That really couldn't be good at all. "Uh, guess you better go check up on that?" Yeah, what had Mike just said about heroics with werewolves? He wasn't going anywhere, thanks.