The House Of Wolves (Derek & Nell)

Nell looked at Derek with a frown on her face. "I never saw a sign that said 'Private Property'!" she said, sounding a bit defensive. "Anyway, I thought it should be even safer to walk on provate property, shouldn't it?" she said, feeling a bit confused now. Or was he suggesting it was dangerous for her to move around on his property? Her headache was getting stronger again and she should probably take her medication but she didn't really want to take out all her pills in front of Derek.

Derek chuckled. "There's a sign right before you enter the Preserve." He shrugged. "I guess." His voice was a little exasperated, but not angry. He bit his lip, and got up from his seat. He walked over to the table, where a bottle of water was sitting. Picking it up, he walked back over to Nell, handing it to her. "Here, you might want this."

Nell looked at Derek as he handed her the bottle of water, a confused look on her face. Was he a mindreader now? She hesitantly took the bottle from him with a soft nod. "Why do you think I need this?", she asked, not sure if werewolves might actually have the power to hear the thoughts of people.

Derek chuckled. "Because your a person.. and a person kind of needs water to survive." He sat back down, and smiled a little at her. "It's not poison or anything." He said sarcastically, along with a little laugh.

Nell wiped the sarcastic look off her face and smiled, feeling a bit embarrassed. "Sorry! I'm just a bit on edge!", she said and took a sip from the bottle. Nell looked at the muscles on Derek's arms and wondered if all werewolves were this muscular.

"Nah. It's okay." Derek said with a shrug. 'She always seems so happy, even at the worst of times' he thought. He saw her looking at his arms and he laughed a little. "If you need to ask something go ahead." He simply stated.

Nell shook her head and blushed a bit. "I was just wondering if all werewolves are as strong as you!", she said truthfully. She wondered how it felt like to be strong as she'd always been weak. Her cancer and the people around her had always made her feel weak, nobody ever wanted her to do something that required even a bit of strength. Her doctors and parents had always told her that she couldn't do this and that and they had always felt so scared for her

He glanced down at his arms, then back at her. He hadn't really given much thought to it. Yeah, he did work out.. like a lot.. but he never really considered himself to be strong. Maybe he was. He shrugged. "Um, we are all different. I just happen to work out on a daily basis, which adds to my strength. I guess." There was an awkward look on his face.

Nell leans back in her chair and looks up at the ceiling. She'd never been allowed to do any form of working out, or any kind of sports. She imagined it must feel good to be so strong and have a lot of independence. "Is a werewolf who doesn't work out also very strong?", she asks

Derek nodded. "Strength isn't just physical, it's mental too." He wondered if she was implying herself into her question Was she considering what it would be like to be a werewolf? Was she saying that she was weak? "The strongest of people could have weakest of souls, and the weakest of people could have the strongest of souls."

Nell chuckled and had to hold back laughter. "That just sounded like something you'd find in a fortune cookie!" she said and held a hand to her mouth trying to become serious again. She hoped she hadn't offended Derek, but the way he just said that phrase with a serious look on his face just seemed so funny to her. "Sorry, I just couldn't hold it in!" she says with an apologetic look, a bright smile still on her face.

Derek chuckled and rolled his eyes. "It kind of did.." He ran his fingers through his hair. "There goes my serious, meaningful comment.." he mumbled, sarcastically, trying not to sound offended, "Nah, it's fine." He stood up, and walked towards the train car, leaned up against it.

Nell pulled herself together, but still couldn't wipe the smile off her face. She looked around the room and saw dripping pipes and cobwebs in most of the corners. "Do you really live in here?" she asked, trying not to sound too disgusted. She takes another sip from her bottle of water and puts it down on a small table next to her.

Derek's eyes gazed around the room. He slowly let out a sigh, and shrugged. "It isn't that bad.. I mean considering the circumstances.' he said a little defensive. This place really was a dump, but he's gotten used to it. Sun began to shine through the only window, and he realized how long he had kept her here. "Um Sorry I didn't realize how late it was. You can go if you want. I guess."

Nell still felt a bit intimidated by this tall and strong young man, but she also felt safe being around Derek as she was sure noone was going to get past him if he didn't want them to. He didn't seem like someone who'd feel bad being by himself but she still didn't want to leave him here all alone. "It's okay, I can stay a little longer! I don't have anything to do at home anyway!" she said with a little shrug of her shoulders.

Derek nodded. "Well," He paused, a bit his lip. "I actually have to go do something. So um.. unless you want to stay here by yourself, which I highly doubt, you should probably go." He didn't really mean it in a mean way, but it kind of came out that way. "Sorry." He didn't know why he was apologizing, it just kind of seemed like a less mean thing to do.

Nell felt extremely awkward about not getting Derek's first hint which should have told her that he wanted her to go. "Oh, yeah sure!", she said and blushed as she got out of the armchair. She put the strap of her bag over her shoulder and walked towards the door. She was already opening the heavy steel door when she remembered something. "Could you just point me in the right direction for the way back into town?", she asked awkwardly as she had no idea where they were.