2019.02.04 - Tempers Flare

*While the Seattle expedition is underway, those at home are showing signs of strain.*

Concurrent with the Seattle Expedition

Rowanwood House - Great Hall

Rowanwood House created a nice outfit for Ethan tonight, soft jeans and an even softer cashmere sweater. He skips down the stairs two at a time, then heads into the Great Hall, looking around. "Hello? Anyone here?"

Stiles is sitting in a chair at the table, books splayed out here and there around him. His feet are up on another chair, crossed at the ankles, and he's rubbing his face wearily. A moment later, he drops his hands, then shuts the book firmly and drops it into the table among the others stacked there. He looks up as Ethan arrives, blinking a bit, and says, "Huh? Oh, just me. I think. I've gotten to the point where I'm trying to read confusing books about... freakin' hell if I know what. Spells? Whatever they are, they're not helping."

Hearing noises outside Oz's room, the man himself walked out to see Ethan running down the hall and skipping down the stairs, so he followed, wondering just what news he had, so he arrives in the great hall soon after Ethan does. "Ethan, why do you look so excited?" He frowns, looking at Stiles. "Oh man, Stiles. You don't look too good."

Ryan eventually makes his way down the stairs, and looks around at Ethan, Stiles, and Oz. "Oh, hey. I didn't realize it was so busy here," he says, his attention drifting over to Stiles and his books. "Are you looking for anything in particular?

Ethan's chipper mood dampens when he notices the way Stiles looks. "Hey, when's the last time you slept?" he asks, moving around the table toward the young man. "Oh hey, Oz. Wanna help me get Stiles up to bed? He keeps forgetting he's only human." And then Ryan walks into the hall, and Ethan's eyes light up. "Ryan, hi. How's it going?"

Stiles scowls at Ethan. "I'm sleeping plenty," he grouses. "I'm just not protecting the house or going on trips to the the city or anything else. I'm just spending my time reading books and books and books." He reaches up, rubbing his face, and then drops his hands again, staring at Ethan with a more restrained expression. "I'm not exhausted, dude. I'm just sick of reading shit I can't understand and not being able to do anything to help."

Ryan blinks in surprise, though he waves to Ethan. "Hey, there." He would say more, but he's looking then to Stiles. "I don't think you have to do a big thing to help, though. There's always something to be done, even if it's just checking in with people to make sure they're doing okay, or taking notes of what's been going on, or...well...even just being present can help if it comforts others." Ryan's words are quiet, and his attention stolen by Oz's question. "What was that?"

Jace walks down the stairs sees the pack whom he remembers being friends with and takes a few hesitant steps that way, before he stops remembering the big deal with Isaac and bites his lip. HE just stands there awkwardly not able to get up the nerve to say hi. Torn by indecision.

Ethan frowns a touch, then begins closing and stacking the books, just out of Stiles's reach. "Okay, it's time for you to take a break," he says, looking up at Oz. "I haven't killed anyone...lately." Once the books are stacked, he dusts his hands and looks between Oz and Ryan. "Now let's think of something fun we can do to relax Stiles, before he has a nervous breakdown." He hasn't noticed Jace quite yet.

Stiles rolls his eyes at Oz, shaking his head. "Yeah, well, I'm trying to get better at understanding." He rubs his face again, then looks at Ryan snorts in frustration. "Yeah, great. I could be Alfred's sidekick. Just what I always dreamed of." He doesn't seem to notice Jace yet, but he does blink at snap his head back to look at Oz. "Wait. Killed? Who killed--what? What the hell are you talking about?" He glances back to Ethan, too, taking in his answer, and frowns. "Fun? Seriously?"

Oz nods in agreement with Ethan. "Yeah, we gotta find something fun for you to do, Stiles." He spots Jace, getting up and walking over, embracing the guy just standing there in the doorway. "Hey. C'mon, you don't have to be afraid of us."

Ryan frowns at Stiles. "It's the end of the world, so perhaps you should reevaluate your dreams. You might not have the luxury to complain tomorrow." Ryan's as quiet as ever, and surprisingly calm, all things considered. "Your friends are trying to help you, so count your blessings that you have them, because not everyone that made it here has their friends around." He turns to look away, blinking slowly at Jace. "It is good to see you, again."

"Hey. Um." He isn't sure how many people know him here really other than oz. He can't help but cuddle up to Oz just a little. "Uh I'm Jace... I remember kinda being a part of your pack... I think it cause I was with Isaac or something?" He looks hesitant. As if he's not sure he still has a place there. "I tried to get him to play strip poker or Strip twister, he wouldn't."

"Yes, fun," Ethan says, moving behind Stiles and beginning to massage his shoulders. "You're way too young to be this serious all the time, man. Okay, so it's the end of the world, but you know what? We've survived the apocalypse before, and we'll do it again." He leans a little closer, whispering in Stiles's ear, "Nobody has been killed. Oz is just being being weird." He looks over to Jace then, trying not to frown. "Oh hey...uh, you. How're you doing?"

Stiles gives Oz a mellow look, but he shakes his head. He rolls his eyes at Jace, but he starts to relax a little when Ethan rubs his shoulders. Then, just as he seems to be giving in, Ryan speaks, and Stiles' expression hardens. His feet hit the floor, and he practically leaps up from his chair as he stands. "Yeah?" he says to Ryan. "I should count my blessings, like that apparently I'm only useful if I decide not do a damn thing but worry about bringing people tea and shit? How about *fuck that*. You decide what to do with *your* dreams, and I'll worry about mine." He heads for the door, then, very clearly no longer in the mood to stick around.

Ryan doesn't seem amused by Stiles's tantrum in the slightest. "You should count your blessings that you're here, still, and that you have the privilege of self-pity. You should be thankful that you have friends here that care about your well-being, physical and otherwise. You're *still alive*, which means you have the potential to do *anything*, as opposed to those who didn't make it and who aren't protected here." Maybe Ryan is more affected by what's going on than he's let on, as he's barely gotten the words out before heading back upstairs to his room, his face fallen.

Jace blinks as he sees the drama unfolding, and is glad that he's not the cause of it this time. He watches Ryan go then heads to Stiles or as he calls him porg underwear man. "Dude.. I I don't really know you. But I I think you need to chill. This is the apoclypse. It might be the end. IF it is... do you want your last days spent trying to do things you can't and worrying your friends you're making yourself sick. Or focusing on what you can do and enjoying the time you have with your friends? Having fun bonding with your pack helping make each other smile and get through this. That's just as important if not more so than anything that is in one of those books."

Ethan scowls, starting after Stiles. "Hey, what the hell?" But he stops when Ryan takes off as well, his scowl deepening. "Oh for...Stiles! Ryan! What...?" He sighs then, shaking his head as he sinks into a chair. Looking over to Oz and Jace, his voice lowers, "What the hell just happened? One minute we were thinking of something to take our mind off everything, and the next...." He scrubs his hands over his scalp as Jace speaks, then shakes his head. "We're going stir crazy here."

As Ryan turns to go, Stiles shouts after him, "Hey, *fuck you*! You're not the only one who has missing friends, asshole, and being *fucking frustrated* with not being able to do more to help the people I care about who're *risking their lives* to help save everyone isn't 'self-pity.' It's goddamn frustration, and I'm not sorry about that, so you can just piss off!" He whirls to face Ethan, pointing at him, and says, "Believe me, I'd *love* to just be able to relax and have fun, but that's not how I work. I've got to *do something*. If that's not cool with you, then that's *you*." He shoots a look at Jace and says, "What the hell do you think I've been *doing* for twelve hours a day? I've been *doing what I can do*. So freaking sorry if that's inconvenient for you people." He shoots Ethan a look that might be an appeal for understanding, but it's not clear. Either way, he turns and heads through the door to the library, since there's no way in hell he's going to head in the same direction that Ryan did.

"What's up with him?" Oz asks, frowning, and taking a deep breath. "Damn. Poor Ryan, was only trying to help..."

He shakes his head he doesn't know either of them enough to help. "I dunno I was just trying to ... Like ... I get it I feel helpless that's why I'm trying to distract people make them smile. And Not dwelling on drama. I'm trying to make the most of the time we have, and if I can cheer people up a little atleast I'm not useless. You guys should probably go cheer up your friends. I seem to just make a mess of everything."

Ethan suddenly leaps from his chair and follows after Stiles, quickly catching up with him. He grabs Stiles around the waist, then sweeps him into his arms, carrying him back to the table. "Stay put," he growls, depositing Stiles in a chair, then looming over him. "You're frustrated, I get it. We're all frustrated. We're trapped here in this luxurious prison, while all hell breaks loose outside, and there's not a damned thing we can do about it." He waves a hand at the stack of books. "At least you have books and research, even if you don't think you're making any progress. But at least you can *try* to understand what's going on. And Ryan, why'd you have to yell at him like that? He was only trying to help. He's frustrated too, ya know. We all are. But we can't go turning on each other now. We're all in this together, and we need to stick together. Help each other, not tear each other down."

Stiles glares at Ethan, bristling at being manhandled in that way, but what can he do? He's not got the strength to fight it, so he doesn't try. Instead, he slumps in the chair and just glowers. He draws a deep, angry breath, and then speaks in a more controlled, if clearly pissed off tone, half the time having to do so through his clenched teeth. "If you *get it*, if *they* get it, then why the hell is everyone giving me *shit* just because I'm frustrated that after hours and days of work, I've got nothing to show for it? Fuck, Ethan! I don't know what the hell Ryan's problem is, but he wasn't *helping* by telling me I have stupid dreams and I'm not allowed to complain, to fucking 'count my blessings'? No. Just fucking *no*." He sets his jaw, then says, "Now. Let me fucking go."

"Ever think maybe Ryan's right?" Oz asks, looking at Stiles. "Ever think maybe you should, instead of being upset at what you can't do, be happy about what you can? Ever think about the people you do have here, instead of the ones you don't?" Oz takes a deep breath, giving that a chance to settle in.

Jace stays quiet he said his piece and it wasn't helpful so instead he finds someplace close by to sit and pulling out a deck of cards starts to play solitare while keeping and eye on the others wanting to help to be there, for them but not really knowing how. This was a lote deeper and more commited than his friendships ever got.

Ethan moves even closer, placing his hands on the chair's back, one on either side of Stiles. "Stilinski, I'm going to say this as nicely as I know how, because you're pack: Get over yourself. Nobody's saying your dreams are stupid. No, not even Ryan. But you have to stop feeling sorry for yourself. You're not Superman, and you're not gonna solve all the world's problems in a week or a month or even a year. You wanna complain about that? Fine, complain all you want--but keep it to yourself. Stop bringing everyone else down--we're all on the edge already. We're about one bad snack away from a meltdown, and the last thing we need is to be throwing gas on the fire. So the next time someone says you need to relax for a few hours, do us all a favor? Try it. What could it hurt?"

Stiles leans forward, meeting Ethan's gaze, and bites out each word, far more quietly and carefully than one might usually expect from him. "If you think I can just sit back and relax while Derek's out there trying to help us and while that Michael guy is out there planning to kill us, then you don't have a clue who I am. Superman? *Look at me*, Ethan. *You guys* have the super powers. *I'm* the one who has *one* thing I bring to the table, and you know what that is? I *figure things out*. When this is over, and we get to go home? Then I will relax like *crazy*. It'll blow your damn mind. But for now, I'm going to keep doing *everything I can* to help, which means I'm going to *read these books* and try to see something that maybe everyone else missed. Because that's *all I can do*. If anyone has a problem with that, then they can tell it to somebody else." He draws a deep breath, nostrils flaring, and then says in that same quiet, un-Stiles-like tone, "And in case you missed it, I said let me go, or when Derek gets back, you can explain to *him* why I've broken something trying to get you off of me."

Jace looks over at Oz and motions him over picking up the Solitare and dealing out a hand of poker instead. Again doing the little he can to help. He does snort at the super power comment. As if becoming invisible or punching people was any help at all in this situation.

A smart wolf would back off now and give Stiles his space, especially with the threat of his alpha's ire looming on the horizon. But nobody's ever accused Ethan of being especially smart. Instead, he leans in closer still, almost nose-to-nose now. "You *will* figure it out," he says, his voice very low. "You *always* figure it out. But first, you give yourself an ulcer and pull out all your hair. And I know you're stressing yourself out, worried about Derek, but guess what? He always comes home, doesn't he? You always solve the mystery, and Derek always beats the snot outta the bad guys and comes home to you. Every. Single. Time. Just for once, will you *try* to relax a little? You're gonna figure this all out, but not if you collapse from exhaustion. When's the last time you ate? I made fudge this afternoon. You like fudge, don't you?"

Stiles' jaw muscle twitches several times before he answers. "I *can't* relax. Get over it. You can't handle me being a little frustrated with the books and the situation? *Get over it.*" He pulls in a deep breath, then relaxes fractionally. "But I'm trying to leaves so I can take a break. If you get out of my face now, I'll go do that. I'll even have some fudge along the way. That's the best I've got." Then, he reaches up, and firmly pats Ethan's face twice. "But I'm completely fucking serious. Get outta my face, or I'm gonna bite you."

"Hrm if a wereferret bites a werewolf does the werewolf turn into a ferret?" Jace says Idly as he plays cards with Oz. Acting totally innocent and un involved. "Is this regular poker or are you gonna strip me naked again?" OKay innocent is a stretch.

Ethan's lips curl into a wicked grin. "Well, now you're just flirting with me," he says, voice rather husky, but he does stand up and step back, freeing Stiles. "One of these days, I'm gonna give you the tension relief you need. But not today, not while your mate and my alpha are out there in the wilderness. But someday." He turns to Jace and Oz then. "Strip poker? Deal me in. But first, I'm gonna go rustle up some food. You guys hungry?" And with that, he heads toward the kitchen.

Stiles stands, giving Ethan a long look, now more haunted than angry, and snorts out a soft, almost humorless laugh. "One of these days," he says with only an echo of his customary snark, "I might even let you. When Derek's home. When everyone's safe. When this shit's over." He doesn't even look at the others. He just heads out of the room, moving quickly, taking his opportunity to escape.

Oz chuckles. "I'll only strip you naked if you want me to," he says, shrugging. "Well, guess we're getting Ethan too. How much you wanna bet you're getting stripped naked like last time?"

"We should probably take this to my room then." He says loud enough that he knows Ethan will here. And we could play until he gets there and then start over... Or well.. Just cuddle until he gets there? Either works for me." HE says softly and smiles at Oz in an oddly shy way, he might maybe have just a tiny crush on Oz after last time.

Oz nods, smiling at Jace. "Of course. Even cuddling is fun, so it really doesn't matter. I'm sure he'll be back soon."

Jace takes Oz's hand picks up the cards then leans in to hug Oz then takes him up to his room. with a smile. Well Atleast he seems to have one firm friend ... That'll be a start.