Like Photosynthesis

The Darkness

Sties froze as he heard a clatter from outside, a cookie halfway to his lips. He sighed, putting the cookie down, before going to see what it was. If it's one of the betas causing trouble, he's going to kill them. He walked on to the deck that wrapped around the house, looking from left to right. He didn't see anything, but he flinched as a huge gust of wind hit him. The wind continued, not resting for a second. Stiles, no matter how suddenly cold he was in the middle of summer, still had to figure out what the noise was. He continued around the house, holding his arms around himself for warmth as he walked. Towards the right side of the house, lying on the porch floor, was a tree branch. The wind must have carried it over, causing the ruckus. Stiles went to pick it up, but flinched away from it as soon as his hand made contact with it. The feeling of death was strong around it, nothing but black coming off of it. It made Stiles' whole being cold. Stiles got closer to it, trying to inspect it further. The wind picked up, sending several smaller sticks flying onto the porch at Stiles' feet. He had the urge to step back, the morbidity too much to handle, but he didn't. He picked up one of the twig-sized ones, looking over it. Nothing was different about it to differentiate it from the others, it looked like a perfectly normal stick. Stiles put it down, walking off the porch and towards Isaac's tree. He put his hand on it, trying to get a read on it. It seemed fine, life was still flowing through it, magic rolling off it in waves. Stiles went to a tree only a foot away, putting his hand on it too. He did step back this time, the intense feeling making him sick. Something was wrong, death shouldn't be this potent, especially not here. Not like this. Stiles backed away slowly, his eyes still on the tree, before turning and going back inside. He grabbed his phone from where he left it by his forgotten cookie, and called Derek. After several rings Derek finally answered. "Hey, babe." "Derek, something's wrong." Stiles could hear rustling in the background. "What? What's wrong?" "I don't know, but it's not right outside. It's freezing cold and windier than usual for a summer. And the trees, Derek there's something wrong with the trees." "Wait.. you're calling because of the trees?" "Derek, I'm being serious. Please just get here as soon as possible." "Alright, alright. I'm leaving now, I'll be there soon." "Okay, I love you." "I love you too." The line went dead, Stiles putting his phone down. He stood there for a couple minutes, just staring out the kitchen window. The trees swayed in the forceful wind, bending towards the house. They all seemed to be gravitating towards the house, almost reaching out to Stiles. He finally moved away, trying to get away from them. He went to the library, seeing if there was any information on this he could find in a book. The front door slammed shut shortly after, Derek calling his name. At that point Stiles was sprawled out on the floor, books surrounding him. He wasn't moving. "I'm in the study." Stiles listened to Derek's footsteps as they got closer to the door, before his boyfriend finally walked through it. "Have you been outside lately?" "That's why I called you." Derek maneuvered through the maze that was the books, basically melting onto the floor next to Stiles. "I had a hard time closing the front door because the wind is so strong." "I know, and that's not the only thing. Derek, the trees are dying." "All plants eventually die, Stiles." "Not all at once, and not like this. Look, come here." Stiles got up, moving to the floor to ceiling window. Derek sighed, before getting back up. "What?" Stiles reached back out the tree he touched earlier, pulling some of the death from it. Derek watched as his tattoos swirled, but it was different than normal. The light, captivating energy it normally gave off, wasn't there. Stiles swayed as the dark energy made him feel nauseous and light headed, but he held it together. "Come here." Derek did as told, moving closer to Stiles. The younger man pressed his palms to Derek's forearms, pushing the energy out of himself. Derek coughed, a cringe running through him as he took a step back. "What was that?" "That's what is going through the trees, but far more drastic." "All of them?" "From what I can tell, yes." Derek shook his head, sitting down at the desk. "What does this mean?" "I don't know. I was in the middle of doing some research, but I haven't found anything useful." "Obviously it's a force of magic." "Yes, the trees wouldn't do this on their own. I think they're calling our for help, Derek. I think the wind is their way of warning us, of letting us know something's wrong." "What should we do?" "I think we should stick together until we find out who, or what is doing this." "And why." Stiles nodded, agreeing with Derek. "Call the pack, tell them to get to the house asap." "Sir, yes sir." Derek left the room, going to make the phone calls. Stiles sighed, getting back to work with the books.