The werewolf makes a small noise of agreement and leaves it at that. Even if he wanted to explain the connection, he wouldn’t know where to begin or how to actually go about doing it. No, it’s easier this way. He’s reached a settled agreement with Stiles and he’s perfectly capable of dealing with Isaac’s departure on his own. Their lack of actual interaction within the city will speed up the so-called healing process. He’ll take a day to reflect on it and then move on.
The news about Scott is a little more unsettling. If he hasn’t gone home and no one has seen him recently then that either means he’s dead, kidnapped or voided. Process of elimination then. As far as Derek can tell, Stiles doesn’t appear to be overly concerned about his best friend’s disappearance. So that potentially rules out a kidnapping. And given the amount of time he must have spent in the graveyard recently, surely he'd have found Scott's grave if he were dead. Which leaves one answer, “You think he’s in that void place?”
"Yeah." Stiles sighs, running a hand through his hair, before giving a shrug. "It's the only logical answer I can come up with." He starts to walk, figuring that Derek will follow him. "Which means it's just a matter of waiting. I got shoved there twice, and there isn't anything you can really do about it." But sit and wait, and hope they come back okay.
It goes without saying that Derek ends up following Stiles’ lead. That’s how things tend to go when it’s the two of them wandering around for whatever reason. One of them leads, the other follows. It’s a well-established routine by this point.
He gives the teenager a look over but doesn’t utter the dreaded question of, ‘are you sure you’re okay?’ Like Stiles said, there’s nothing they can do if Scott’s truly stuck in the void. They can sit around and wait and hope, or they can carry on and attempt to do something productive. Time for change of subject then, “Are the cultists raiding all of the stores or just a few of them?”
"It seems they are raiding all of them--or at least the ones that are open. I haven't actually studied it much yet, so I could be wrong." He's been trying to make sure everyone still is alive and exists, and waiting for Derek to wake up. "Basically clearing shit up. Something is coming that has them going into some sort of hoarding mode."
He shakes his head, "I haven't been to the library yet, either. But I'm starting to think there isn't any more to learn for us, there." Which is probably not what Derek wanted to hear.
Derek gives a short nod of understanding and leaves it at that. The stores had been relatively bare before their trip to Infect London; it’s unlikely that they’ve been filled in their absence. If the cultists are desperate enough to go scavenging through clothing and hardware stores, something potentially game changing is about to happen. Specifically ‘game changing’ in the misery, chaos and pain variety. And it’ll probably involve their god of choice attacking the campus at some point. Why go COMPASS when you can go for their test subject first, right?
As if that wasn’t disheartening enough, the topic of the library is brought up. It’s not as though he can really dispute Stiles’ claim, there simply isn’t enough relevant information within that place. Even the recently decoded books are slim on actually useful points; it’s mostly embellished tales that serve very little purpose. “There has to be something.”
"Maybe? I mean, we've probably overlooked something but," Stiles sighs, glancing back at Derek, before giving a shrug. "I'm burned out, man. I know I need to keep working at this, but it's just getting harder." Probably not something Derek needed to hear; he just got back from the dead, last thing he needs is Stiles whining. But it's true. Taking a break to wait a grave had been nicer than spending his time in the library--which is saying something.
“Take a break then.” It’s the common sense answer but Derek’s making a point of it anyway. He fully intends to go back to the library, he has his mind firmly set on heading there as soon as possible. He’s not going to force Stiles to join him, if the teenager wants to spend his time doing something else that’s entirely his choice. Someone needs to be on the those books though, they’re running out of time and those tomes have the best odds for a few scraps of relevant information. Derek might as well put his free time into re-reading them.
“We’ll part ways at the campus.” The werewolf will head towards the library while Stiles can go and do whatever he feels like doing.
"Wait--seriously?" Stiles blinks for a moment. Because hey, what did he really expect? He--well he isn't really sure. He rolls his eyes at himself and nods. Because yeah, it makes sense. "Right. You'll let me know if you find anything, right?" Because yeah, he really does need the break. Not that he has anything else to do, actually, but the past week has pushed his attention disorder management out of sync, and it's taking some time to get back into some sort of control.
“Yes, seriously.” And there’s the patented ‘you’re being an idiot’ look from Derek. It’s not as though Stiles will be of any use if he’s bored with reading the same tomes over and over again. His mind will inevitably wander and he’ll start looking for other, more distracting, methods of entertainment. Things will go a whole lot smoother if Derek takes responsibility of the reading task, just until the teenager is ready and willing to give it another go. Assuming that the world doesn’t end within the next week or so, he really wouldn’t put it past the power of a god to cause something like that.
Regardless, he gives Stiles a short nod. As though that question really needed to be asked, of course he’s going to share any information that he might find. Disregarding the fact that the last time he shared information the whole thing ended in his death. “If I find anything, I will.”
Stiles keeps walking, moving to shove his hands in his pockets, to keep them from flailing about. He knows Derek is right, that he has a point, but Stiles feels nearly bad for not actually joining him in research. He just wouldn't be any good right now, and he figures Derek probably wants time to decompress alone, without Stiles underfoot.
The campus is in sight, meaning that they are nearly done with their little walk, here. "Thanks. I'll keep doing some talking, see if anyone found out anything new." Because Stiles is more likely to talk to people than Derek.
The werewolf spares a quick glance towards the distant campus grounds before his attention is back on Stiles. It’s a little strange how there’s something clearly off about their conversation today and yet Derek has no solid idea of what exactly is wrong. He can make assumptions and claim that it’s due to people leaving or the circumstances of his own death but, he doesn’t want to assume the wrong thing. Nor does he really want to ask. So he does what he does best, he tries to ignore the problem, even if it does make him sound crankier and generally more distance than usual.
“Okay. If you haven’t done it already, take those notes to the people you mentioned.” He can’t imagine that anyone has made a break through recently but it is worth asking around. And it’s certainly better for Stiles to do the talking given Derek’s apparently natural ability to offend people in a few seconds flat.
Derek dying has something to do with it, but on a whole, Stiles is just a bit tired, this week. Especially after the debacle with the Gods, he feels like he's hit a brick wall. It's frustrating, and he doesn't want to take that out on Derek. He's just--he's just happy that Derek's alive, at all, and still here. With Isaac leaving, Scott disappearing, Stiles had been half worried that Derek wouldn't come back at all, either.
At least he's been proven wrong with that. At the mention of the notes, Stiles blinks, shaking his head. "Shit--I forgot. I'll do that today." Of course he forgot; his memory is shit lately, and with the mess of zombies the last week, it slipped his mind. Doesn't mean he's not annoyed at himself.
Derek’s half tempted to play the whole note thing off, say that it doesn’t matter and leave it as that. It’s obvious that Stiles has been distracted over the recent weeks, he can’t be blamed for forgetting something that was only mentioned in passing, but what’s to say that he won’t get distracted again during this week? The kid has enough on his mind without needing to hunt a couple of people down to ask them a series of questions. Not only that but a research related task seems like a roundabout way to lure Stiles back into helping when he should be taking a complete break from it all.
“Do it when you have a bit of time to kill. There’s no rush.” That’s a bold-faced lie; there is an element of speed needed in this sort of thing. The sooner they can get hold of relevant information, the better their odds of surviving whatever plans the cultists have set into motion. “
"Oh yeah, no rush at all." Because life or death is really no 'rush'. Stiles snorts, waving it off, "It's fine, really. I should check on the guy anyways." It's an excuse, really; he doesn't like talking to Alan that much, but he will over this. Besides, he will have to give Alan time to read the stuff anyways, so he'll get a break while that happens.
Reaching the edge of the campus, he sighs glancing over at Derek. "So uh...I guess I'll see you?" He knows they have to part ways, now, but it just feels wrong, somehow. Giving Derek another quick look, he smiles weakly, "I'm--I'm glad you came back." He's already expressed that, but feels like he should again. Because he is, as selfish as that sentiment is.
The werewolf wisely decides to keep his mouth shut for the first part. He’s just woken up in a grave after a less than pleasant death; he doesn’t need to get into an argument with someone right off the bat. If Stiles wants to head off to whoever it was he was planning on seeing, that’s his decision. He’s been given a choice and Derek’s made it clear that he isn’t expecting an immediate update on the matter.
He absently nods as he looks up at the familiar walls of the campus. This time around parting feels different but it’s not necessarily a bad feeling. It’s not as though they’re never going to see each other again, and Stiles will know where he is if his help is needed for anything. Derek spares the teenage a glance with a small quirk to one side of his mouth, “Thank you. For waiting.” For hanging around in a creepy graveyard even though there was no guarantee that he’d wake up any time soon. He appreciates that Stiles took the time to do that, he really does. With that said, Derek pauses for half a second before turning to walk away.
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The news about Scott is a little more unsettling. If he hasn’t gone home and no one has seen him recently then that either means he’s dead, kidnapped or voided. Process of elimination then. As far as Derek can tell, Stiles doesn’t appear to be overly concerned about his best friend’s disappearance. So that potentially rules out a kidnapping. And given the amount of time he must have spent in the graveyard recently, surely he'd have found Scott's grave if he were dead. Which leaves one answer, “You think he’s in that void place?”
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He gives the teenager a look over but doesn’t utter the dreaded question of, ‘are you sure you’re okay?’ Like Stiles said, there’s nothing they can do if Scott’s truly stuck in the void. They can sit around and wait and hope, or they can carry on and attempt to do something productive. Time for change of subject then, “Are the cultists raiding all of the stores or just a few of them?”
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He shakes his head, "I haven't been to the library yet, either. But I'm starting to think there isn't any more to learn for us, there." Which is probably not what Derek wanted to hear.
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As if that wasn’t disheartening enough, the topic of the library is brought up. It’s not as though he can really dispute Stiles’ claim, there simply isn’t enough relevant information within that place. Even the recently decoded books are slim on actually useful points; it’s mostly embellished tales that serve very little purpose. “There has to be something.”
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“We’ll part ways at the campus.” The werewolf will head towards the library while Stiles can go and do whatever he feels like doing.
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Regardless, he gives Stiles a short nod. As though that question really needed to be asked, of course he’s going to share any information that he might find. Disregarding the fact that the last time he shared information the whole thing ended in his death. “If I find anything, I will.”
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The campus is in sight, meaning that they are nearly done with their little walk, here. "Thanks. I'll keep doing some talking, see if anyone found out anything new." Because Stiles is more likely to talk to people than Derek.
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“Okay. If you haven’t done it already, take those notes to the people you mentioned.” He can’t imagine that anyone has made a break through recently but it is worth asking around. And it’s certainly better for Stiles to do the talking given Derek’s apparently natural ability to offend people in a few seconds flat.
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At least he's been proven wrong with that. At the mention of the notes, Stiles blinks, shaking his head. "Shit--I forgot. I'll do that today." Of course he forgot; his memory is shit lately, and with the mess of zombies the last week, it slipped his mind. Doesn't mean he's not annoyed at himself.
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“Do it when you have a bit of time to kill. There’s no rush.” That’s a bold-faced lie; there is an element of speed needed in this sort of thing. The sooner they can get hold of relevant information, the better their odds of surviving whatever plans the cultists have set into motion. “
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Reaching the edge of the campus, he sighs glancing over at Derek. "So uh...I guess I'll see you?" He knows they have to part ways, now, but it just feels wrong, somehow. Giving Derek another quick look, he smiles weakly, "I'm--I'm glad you came back." He's already expressed that, but feels like he should again. Because he is, as selfish as that sentiment is.
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He absently nods as he looks up at the familiar walls of the campus. This time around parting feels different but it’s not necessarily a bad feeling. It’s not as though they’re never going to see each other again, and Stiles will know where he is if his help is needed for anything. Derek spares the teenage a glance with a small quirk to one side of his mouth, “Thank you. For waiting.” For hanging around in a creepy graveyard even though there was no guarantee that he’d wake up any time soon. He appreciates that Stiles took the time to do that, he really does. With that said, Derek pauses for half a second before turning to walk away.