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justlurkinghereAfter getting a call from Laura, Derek hadn't hesitated to book a portal out to California. Answering the call of his alpha and, more importantly, his sister was the only thing that mattered after the things Stiles had pointedly talked around.
It was already nighttime, wet and cold out by the time he found himself back in Beacon Hills. Her Camaro was parked out of the way near the ruins of their childhood home, but she was nowhere to be found.
He took off into the woods, following whatever sounds he could catch. Police--the sheriff's department--not too far away were discussing suspending the search for the night and the antics of the sheriff's son. He could feel that sense of panic bubbling up inside as one of the deputies laughed at something said over the radio. Search for what? For who?
Before he realized what he was doing, his head was tilted back and he was howling in earshot of half of the goddamn law enforcement of the county. When there was no answering howl in response, he balled his hands into fists to not allow that panic to drown him. He'd find her. He had to.
Inhaling deeply, he finally caught the scent of something that wasn't normal in these woods: fresh blood. Derek didn't waste any time to think about just where it might have come from, he took off in the direction it came from. Once he caught the scene of an unfamiliar wolf, he moved faster. Laura was a lot stronger than him, she shouldn't have had any trouble with any omegas that might have been in the woods here.
The putrid smell that came from viscera and the beginning of rot caught his attention, pulling him to a full stop as he tried to locate the source. And the scent under that rot-- "Laura."
Please no. He couldn't lose her too.
The moon was full enough that even without his eyesight, she was easily spotted on the ground, pale against the dirt and leaves. She was naked and the bottom half of her body was gone, the flesh ragged like it had been just torn away. He shrugged his jacket off, carefully placing it over her to preserve what little modesty she still had in death as he went to his knees.
He pulled a cell phone from his pocket, staring down at it for the moment as he tried to just think for a moment. There was another smell here, one that was almost familiar. The glint of metal just to his right caught his attention--an inhaler. Picking it up, he noticed that there was a name on the side: McCall.
The inhaler was shoved into his jeans' pocket and he made a call.
[[OOC: NFB of course, cut for canon character death and great emo. SORRY, DEREK]]
It was already nighttime, wet and cold out by the time he found himself back in Beacon Hills. Her Camaro was parked out of the way near the ruins of their childhood home, but she was nowhere to be found.
He took off into the woods, following whatever sounds he could catch. Police--the sheriff's department--not too far away were discussing suspending the search for the night and the antics of the sheriff's son. He could feel that sense of panic bubbling up inside as one of the deputies laughed at something said over the radio. Search for what? For who?
Before he realized what he was doing, his head was tilted back and he was howling in earshot of half of the goddamn law enforcement of the county. When there was no answering howl in response, he balled his hands into fists to not allow that panic to drown him. He'd find her. He had to.
Inhaling deeply, he finally caught the scent of something that wasn't normal in these woods: fresh blood. Derek didn't waste any time to think about just where it might have come from, he took off in the direction it came from. Once he caught the scene of an unfamiliar wolf, he moved faster. Laura was a lot stronger than him, she shouldn't have had any trouble with any omegas that might have been in the woods here.
The putrid smell that came from viscera and the beginning of rot caught his attention, pulling him to a full stop as he tried to locate the source. And the scent under that rot-- "Laura."
Please no. He couldn't lose her too.
The moon was full enough that even without his eyesight, she was easily spotted on the ground, pale against the dirt and leaves. She was naked and the bottom half of her body was gone, the flesh ragged like it had been just torn away. He shrugged his jacket off, carefully placing it over her to preserve what little modesty she still had in death as he went to his knees.
He pulled a cell phone from his pocket, staring down at it for the moment as he tried to just think for a moment. There was another smell here, one that was almost familiar. The glint of metal just to his right caught his attention--an inhaler. Picking it up, he noticed that there was a name on the side: McCall.
The inhaler was shoved into his jeans' pocket and he made a call.
[[OOC: NFB of course, cut for canon character death and great emo. SORRY, DEREK]]
Hale House
Date: 2012-12-30 09:02 pm (UTC)He also had a shovel.
This could only end in being arrested, Derek. Seriously now.
Re: Hale House
Date: 2012-12-30 09:16 pm (UTC)And he felt guilty and stupid that he and Derek had wasted most of the last month on a fight. Maybe I could have helped, he thought, and kept along that path of thoughts through booking the portal and getting back to California.
He parked a rented car on the side of the road and picked his way through the woods to the address, then beyond it, until Derek's scent and the headlights pointed him to the clearing behind the wreck of a house.
(Derek and Laura, and the stink of decay, and something else he couldn't quite place.)
"I came," he said, once he finally spotted Derek. "I -- what happened?"
Re: Hale House
Date: 2012-12-30 09:24 pm (UTC)Wow, that was helpful, Derek.
He offered over a shovel.
Re: Hale House
Date: 2012-12-30 09:32 pm (UTC)He took the shovel on reflex, then stared at it as if he wasn't sure what one did with it. "You can't call the police?"
Re: Hale House
Date: 2012-12-30 09:53 pm (UTC)He looked back at the house, teeth bared before grabbing his own shovel to start digging.
Re: Hale House
Date: 2012-12-31 01:22 am (UTC)He wanted to ask questions. What kind of monster could rip a healthy young werewolf in half. Where she'd been found. The detective he'd been trained to be was fighting with his respect for Derek's grief; for the moment, respect was winning.
He stuck the edge of his shovel into the soil across from Derek. "Do you think this is where she'd want to be?"
She likely wouldn't want to be dead at all, but he assumed Derek would know what he meant.
Re: Hale House
Date: 2012-12-31 01:38 am (UTC)Good or bad.
"We grew up here."
Re: Hale House
Date: 2012-12-31 01:56 am (UTC)Re: Hale House
Date: 2012-12-31 02:12 am (UTC)Could it be possible that Derek was even more closed off than usual? Yes, yes it was.
Re: Hale House
Date: 2012-12-31 02:18 am (UTC)He shrugged and did as he was told. Digging a hole. Right. He could do that. The trick was not thinking about what the hole was for.
Re: Hale House
Date: 2012-12-31 02:31 am (UTC)Re: Hale House
Date: 2012-12-31 03:16 am (UTC)He had no idea at all.
"What will it do?" he asked. "I've only seen it used once, and that was to summon and bind."
Re: Hale House
Date: 2012-12-31 03:24 am (UTC)"It will return her to the alpha form," Derek muttered in response, carefully picking up the bundle and a coil of hemp rope.
Re: Hale House
Date: 2012-12-31 03:38 am (UTC)Jack frowned harder. "You're burying her as a wolf."
Re: Hale House
Date: 2012-12-31 03:47 am (UTC)"Yeah." He hopped down into the hole, carefully setting her down into the grave before starting the loops of rope around the fabric.
Re: Hale House
Date: 2012-12-31 03:57 am (UTC)This was Jack's I think that is totally insane, and by the way you're probably destroying any evidence we might have, but it's your sister expression. He hopped down next to Derek and started helping him with the rope.
Re: Hale House
Date: 2012-12-31 04:03 am (UTC)Derek pointedly ignored any sort of opinion on the matter Jack might have had. It might have been a curse for him, but they'd both been born like this. There was no other way to be.
"I should have come with her," he finally said, looping the rest of the rope into a spiral around her in the grave, moving outwards with every swirl.
Re: Hale House
Date: 2012-12-31 01:57 pm (UTC)"You couldn't have known," he said. "She told you she was coming?"
Re: Hale House
Date: 2012-12-31 02:52 pm (UTC)She'd still be alive.
Because Derek, you see, was an expert at assigning blame to himself.
Re: Hale House
Date: 2012-12-31 02:59 pm (UTC)"And what makes you think if you'd been able to warn her, she wouldn't have come back here to confront whoever -- whatever -- killed her and had the exact same thing happen?" he asked. "You might have helped. You might have also made it worse and ended up dead yourself."
Re: Hale House
Date: 2012-12-31 03:26 pm (UTC)Because how did you tell someone maybe it would have been better if he had died with her? That was some seriously messed up thinking, Derek.
Re: Hale House
Date: 2012-12-31 03:53 pm (UTC)"I'm glad I met her," he said, both to fill the silence and because it was true. Laura, the little he'd seen of her, had been sharp and friendly and brought out the best in Derek. "She was wonderful. She shouldn't be gone."
Re: Hale House
Date: 2012-12-31 04:01 pm (UTC)Re: Hale House
Date: 2012-12-31 04:10 pm (UTC)He cocked his head. "Do you have an idea about -- what got her?"
Re: Hale House
Date: 2012-12-31 04:23 pm (UTC)That's what didn't make any sense.
He carefully dug into the earth at the head of the grave, placing the sprig of wolfsbane into it like he was gardening.
Re: Hale House
Date: 2012-12-31 04:36 pm (UTC)He reached down to pick up a small round stone. After Derek stepped away, it was going next to the flower. Derek had his rituals, and Jack had his.
Re: Hale House
Date: 2012-12-31 04:44 pm (UTC)It was possible his comment held more meaning to it than he could express. Because he was so very emotionally stunted.
Re: Hale House
Date: 2012-12-31 05:00 pm (UTC)He placed the stone, picked up his own shovel to help fill in the dirt over what he assumed was now the body of a wolf. "Still would."
Re: Hale House
Date: 2012-12-31 05:20 pm (UTC)Re: Hale House
Date: 2012-12-31 05:48 pm (UTC)He wasn't precisely happy about how things had gone Friday, or about their spat earlier in the month. But Derek had control, and a grasp over abilities Jack had still barely experimented with. That wasn't the only reason Jack wanted to keep Derek around, but it was a start.
Re: Hale House
Date: 2012-12-31 05:55 pm (UTC)"I have to find who did this."
Re: Hale House
Date: 2012-12-31 06:29 pm (UTC)"I know," he said, and closed his eyes in thought. "Let me help."
Re: Hale House
Date: 2012-12-31 06:33 pm (UTC)Then just nodded.
Re: Hale House
Date: 2012-12-31 07:09 pm (UTC)"I mean it," he said, and stepped back a little to check his work. "Are you staying here until you find them?"
Re: Hale House
Date: 2012-12-31 07:15 pm (UTC)Re: Hale House
Date: 2012-12-31 07:30 pm (UTC)"You have a job at home," he pointed out. "And a dog. And our Stiles might at least point you in the right direction, even if he won't say much."
Re: Hale House
Date: 2012-12-31 07:35 pm (UTC)Re: Hale House
Date: 2012-12-31 07:43 pm (UTC)JUST A FRIENDLY REMINDER.
Re: Hale House
Date: 2012-12-31 07:49 pm (UTC)Re: Hale House
Date: 2012-12-31 07:58 pm (UTC)He patted down the earth again, wiped his hands on his jeans. "What now?"
Re: Hale House
Date: 2012-12-31 08:01 pm (UTC)OOC
Date: 2012-12-30 09:03 pm (UTC)Re: OOC
Date: 2012-12-30 09:07 pm (UTC)Re: OOC
Date: 2012-12-30 09:17 pm (UTC)Re: OOC
Date: 2012-12-30 09:25 pm (UTC)Re: OOC
Date: 2012-12-30 09:18 pm (UTC)I'm being inappropriate to counteract the feeeels, don't mind me.
Re: OOC
Date: 2012-12-30 09:25 pm (UTC)