Derek raced through the Preserve, following Scott and Isaac. As he moved, he was reminded of Stiles's words in the brewery, the way he'd demanded to finish his work before helping. Would this be how things would go now? Would Stiles insist on not being involved all the time? Why did he come back at all if not for the pack and his father?
Scott led the way down a steep embankment and the car came into sight.
The scent of coyote was strong and fresh, laced with terror, sorrow, and guilt.
"Malia?" Scott asked, kneeling to peer into the car.
There was a whimper and a scrambling sound.
"Malia, are you okay?" Scott pushed. "I need to know you're okay. Will you at least come out so we can see you? Whatever happened, it will be okay."
Derek looked at Isaac, and then knelt down to look at the cowering coyote. "Malia, you need to come out. We're not mad at you; we just want to know you're okay."
After a long moment, a whining coyote crept out from under the car, staring at them with soulful eyes. After a moment, a human woman crouched shivering before them. "Malia, sweetie," Scott said, "come here."
Malia crept up to Scott, whining anxiously as Scott pulled her into a hug. "Scott," she said, "I did it."
"What did you do?" Scott asked gently.
"I caused the wreck." Malia whispered.
Scott looked at the car but Derek cleared his throat, "Not that one Scott. There was a bad wreck earlier this morning. Stiles mentioned it to me."
"It's my fault," Malia whispered. "I ran in the road."
"Oh honey," Scott murmured, pulling Malia in close. "It's okay. It's going to be okay."
Derek was suddenly reminded of Scott with his little cousin Elizabeth. The girl had come to stay with Melissa and Scott for part of the summer while her parents were negotiating their way through her mother's remarriage and what that would mean for Elizabeth. Something had happened, Derek had only arrived in the aftermath, when Elizabeth had hidden herself under the guest bed and Scott had talked her out from under it. Melissa and Scott had never mentioned the full story, but Derek had always wondered.
"Malia," Scott said, "you need to put some clothes on. Then we're going to go to Derek's loft." Isaac handed Derek the backpack. "Isaac, I want you to go by the station and see if you can learn anything."
"I can do that," Isaac agreed. "I'll meet you back at the loft." He turned and ran.
Derek pulled out Malia's clothing from the backpack and passed it to Scott. He'd never been as hesitant about body modesty as the rest of the pack, but Scott had learned to adjust after Malia and Cora had both proved themselves willing to walk around the loft half-dressed, if not naked as the mood struck them.
Malia pulled on her clothes, allowing Scott to rest a hand on the back of her neck or on her back as she did so. "Let's get back to the loft," Scott said. "We'll figure it out from there, okay?"
Malia nodded even as she buried her face into Scott's shoulder for a long moment. Scott slipped his arm around her and urged her to start moving. Derek settled the backpack over his shoulders and followed, senses alert for trouble.
SSSSSSSSSSSSSS
Stiles was pacing with agitation outside the loft when Scott and Derek pulled up. "Are you all okay?" Stiles blurted out as soon as the doors to the truck swung open.
"We're fine, but this might not be the best moment," Scott said as he eased Malia out of the truck.
"Malia?" Stiles said, quietly. "You okay?"
"I will be," Malia replied after a moment.
"I need to talk to you, Scott," Stiles said, "when you have a moment."
Scott eyed Stiles, noting the agitation, the rolled up paper gripped in one hand, and the odd smells that surrounded him like fumes. Then he glanced at Derek, who was frowning at Stiles. "Sure, if Derek doesn't mind you coming up smelling like that."
"Like what- oh, never mind," Stiles shook his head, "I've been making beer all day, I smell like a brewery."
"Let's get upstairs," Derek said.
Scott nodded and urged Malia into the building. He had never been as grateful as when he realized that Derek's neighbors had a different elevator and entrance than the one Derek used. Derek's went straight up to his loft while the other elevator was more public. He still wasn't sure if Derek rented or owned the building, but no one had yelled at them for redesigning the loft so he assumed all was well on that front, and if it weren't, Derek would have let them know.
Having a private elevator was useful for when people came in bloody, upset, or traumatized because there was no one to ask questions.
In the loft, Scott hugged Malia tightly. "Go get a shower, Malia. I'm going to see what Stiles needs while you're getting cleaned up."
Malia hugged him back, "All right." She hurried for the bathroom without looking back.
Stiles had unrolled his paper and put it on the table where Derek stared at it, eyes wide. "That is what I think it is, right?" Stiles asked.
Derek nodded slowly.
"What?" Scott asked as he hurried over to join them. It was a picture of a wooded forest with something flying over it. Scott's mind first called it a bird, but birds didn't have that sort of wingspan or body. They certainly didn't have a tail like that. "What is that?" He asked, glancing at Derek.
"How did you get that?" Derek asked Stiles.
"I couldn't scry," Stiles said, "but Neverland has an impressive computer set up with idiot-friendly user interfaces. I used our satellite uplink after you left. I wanted to see if I could spot Malia and make sure she was okay. Instead, I found that flying around. The satellite is tracking it, but I wanted you to see it firsthand."
"What is it?" Scott repeated a bit louder.
Stiles and Derek both jumped as if they'd forgotten Scott was there. "It's a gryphon," Derek said.
"It's nesting somewhere in the Preserve," Stiles added, "but we're not sure where, though. We've seen it go to ground a dozen times, always at a different place."
"Is it a threat?" Scott asked after a moment.
"Mostly they're not," Stiles said. "Karyna phoned a friend and got some information. Gryphons are intelligent, they often speak several languages and they mostly exist on a diet of fish unless preparing for mating season. We should be able to go talk to it and find out what it wants."
"You have a friend who knows about gryphons?" Derek asked.
"His girlfriend doesn't like me," Stiles said, "but she likes Karyna, so Karyna called her."
"What is that?" Malia asked, wrapped in a towel with her hair wet.
"That's a gryphon," Scott said.
Malia pointed a shaking hand at the creature, "That's what chased me last night. That's why I ran into the road." She stared at it for a long moment, "I thought I'd stumbled into a nest or something."
"Do you know where?" Scott asked after a long moment.
"No," Malia said, "but it chased me for a long time. I even forgot where the road was."
"That's not right," Stiles said, "Ch- our friend told us that gryphons ignore humans and such unless they actively attack the nest. They're smart enough to tell the difference between and attack and an accident. It shouldn't have chased you."
Scott knew Malia was obsessed about knowing all the roads that ran through the Preserve. She avoided them if she could and was very careful about crossing if she couldn't. Causing another wreck had almost sent her into shock.
"Derek, take Danny and track Malia in a bit. You know Danny's the best tracker out of all of us," Scott said. "We need to have a chat with this guy, and soon. If nothing else, Malia can apologize if she stumbled over its babies."
Stiles nodded slightly, "Look, Karyna's keeping an eye on the satellites. I need a shower, among other things. I'll be back at full power the day after tomorrow if you need my magic."
"That bad?" Scott asked. If Stiles were that weak, they couldn't let him magic them out of every situation. It would be too dangerous.
"Not really," Stiles said, "It's just that I did a number of difficult things in rapid succession against a fairy court. It requires twice the energy to fight the Fae that way. Most of what I can do is barely noticeable, in terms of energy cost. Dealing with the gryphon is probably going to require a fraction of the energy the Fae did. I also left a message for my friend about what happened to Lydia. We'll have to wait and see what he says."
"Thanks," Scott said. "I appreciate what you've done to help, Stiles. Call us if you find out anything else."
"Call me if you need me," Stiles replied. "I can't work magic, but I can fight if you need me to."
"We will," Scott said. "We'll call if we need you."
Scott was grateful Stiles couldn't detect a lie. He wouldn't call the other man for a few days, just to give him a chance to rest up. Stiles never did learn when to take a break.