Lydia kept staring at Stile's back as she walked behind him. Her mind was bustling with clusters of thoughts and questions; each of them just as important as the other. She deemed only fair to prioritize the ones that concerned the man that stood in front of her at that specific moment. Although that worked well for her convenience, him being her boyfriend and all.
She watched as his head followed the stretchers carrying the patients past him, most of which were heavily injured deputies. His mind being obviously as busy as hers, she didn't want to pile more onto his plate. Yet, she still felt that urgent need to talk to him about whatever was pulling her whiskers.
She was so focused on Stiles, that she was able to drown out any and all the noises surrounding them. She wasn't distracted by the tumult caused by the medical staff racing time through the hospital hallways, to help as many souls as they were able to; neither was she distracted by the voices screaming for attention in her head. Thinking about it, she imagined that if she'd gotten a minute to breath, she'd have patted herself on the back for the control she'd gained over her banshee powers, despite the tight spot she found herself to be in those days.
She was so focused on him in fact, that she barely even noticed that they'd both stopped. She didn't realize it, but her body automatically stopped in response to Stiles halting in front of her to talk to someone.
"Where's Scott?" said Liam, his eyes shifting between Stiles and Lydia, as Hayden stood a few inches to his side.
"With his father, he'll be here in a few. So, you said you found a way to track the enemy?" said Stiles.
"Yeah, sort of... Well, Hayden did," Liam answered.
"What did you find?" Lydia's gaze flickered towards Hayden when she asked that question.
"Well, you already know that I have some sort of connection to berserkers, and earlier when I was out with Liam I... Felt them, I felt their presence. It was like they were calling out for me," said Hayden.
"Did you follow their trail?" Stiles asked.
"No, we thought it'd be better to talk about it first with you guys," said Liam.
"I still think it would have been a good idea to go find them first," said Hayden.
"Liam was right. For all you know, it could have been a trap. You did the right thing by coming back here," said Lydia.
"Besides, once we talk with the others, we will follow the berserkers' trace to check what it is about before making any plans. There is no need to put yourselves in danger without back up like that," Stiles added immediately after Lydia, emphasizing how much he agreed with Liam's approach and how dangerous it could have been for just the two of them to venture out, chasing a lead on their own.
The four of them stood there, undoubtedly going over what they'd just talked about seconds earlier. The silence was a comfortable one, they all seemed busy listening to their own inner voices. Although, they did shift around occasionally to not obstruct the passage in the corridor. Eventually, they just stuck their backs to the walls, unsure of where to cast their gazes.
Lydia's mind found its way back to the cranny it dug deep into before Liam and Hayden had gotten there, and her thoughts drifted towards Stiles once more. Everything around her that wasn't Stiles, was blurred out of her vision. Only that time, there was a difference. She was no longer walking behind him like she'd been doing a few minutes prior. No, she was standing right beside him for a change, "What is it?" he muttered her way.
"No, nothing," she immediately retorted when she snaped out of her daze, realizing he'd caught on to her stares.
"Lydia, I may not be a werewolf, but I can still tell when something is off with my girlfriend," he said.
She sure did have something to say, but she couldn't really find a way to broach the subject. That, and she didn't want to keep sitting on the questions she had for him any longer either, "Stiles, earlier when we were face to face with the nogitsuné... I," she'd started to speak, but she trailed off, immediately regretting the fact that she hadn't picked the right words to express herself beforehand.
"Lydia...," Stiles pressed his elbow against the wall to rest his weight on his arm instead of his back. He carried on once he had a better view of her face, "Please, you know you can talk to me, and frankly? I don't think that now is the time to hold your piece on whatever you need to say," he said. Stiles sounded more confident, but he still communicated in a soft tone, nonetheless.
She mulled her thoughts over for a while, appearing reluctant at first but relenting at last, she sighed, "I... don't really know how to explain it or where to begin,"
"Just try and start. I think you'll find the words along the way," Stiles reassured her.
She still took a few seconds before speaking, "Earlier, when we were at the station, I... Was talking to Scott while you were with your father and... I had this feeling that... I really couldn't wrap my head around. It wasn't anything like my usual premonitions, it was more like I felt the presence of someone or something that didn't belong in that space,"
"And that was how you knew the nogitsuné was there," at his words, her eyes snapped up towards him in surprise, even though, she knew Stiles well enough to not be surprised by then. But the look she gave him carried more than that initial shock; it translated relief, for the fact that she didn't have to painfully spell everything out for him. It was more than that, it was gratitude she felt at that moment.
"Yeah, I guess so. But I don't know what it means yet, or how I was able to do that," she said.
"I think it's an upgrade," he said. Then he added after considering the puzzled look she gave him, "I mean, your powers could be evolving. If before, you were able to sense death coming, then maybe now you can do more than that,"
"Actually, it did happen before," Thinking back, she realized the station wasn't the first place she'd ever gotten that sensation at, "I was at the lake house when I had the vision about the bomb. At first, I was in there alone. But then I had the same feeling as the one I just told you about. Only that time, the presence was welcomed. I did feel like I wasn't alone in there anymore, but I still felt safe,"
"And since you showed up at the station with Mason, Cory and Nolan, I am guessing they were the presence you felt while you were at the lake house," said Stiles.
"Yeah, in fact I probably would have never had the vision without their help,"
"Then it stands. Your powers are evolving,"
"But this doesn't fall within the range of banshee's powers. Banshee are supposed to predict deaths. Tracking people and their localisations aren't supposed to be included in the package,"
"I think we should look at it from a different angle," he paused before adding, "You can not only predict death but also feel it. Now, what is the closest thing to the concept of death in this world?"
"The concept of... Life," she muttered.
"Yes. I think that just like you're able to feel death, you can feel all forms of lives and existences around you. Right now, you can't tell because this place is chaotic but... I guarantee you that if one of our enemies showed up here, you'd sense it,"
"Because it would be a very hostile form of life," she said.
"Well, that and they probably would be here to cause a lot of deaths so...,"
Lydia went silent after that. She had thought of that as an explanation, but it seemed that consulting Stiles on the matter and having his input came as a great help.
"Was that all you wanted to talk about?"
Once again, her eyes snapped in his direction. For a moment, she wondered if he was secretly able to read her mind, but then she remembered that he wasn't her boyfriend for nothing. His acute perspicacity was one of the many qualities she fell deeply in love with him for. Nevertheless, she'd already changed her mind on talking to him about what she originally had in mind, before bringing the subject of her powers up, "Yeah... It was really clouding my mind. I didn't know how to go about it,"
One look at him and she already knew, he wasn't buying it. He clearly knew something else was up, but it seemed like he didn't know how to drag the words out of her either. So, they awkwardly stared at each other until Scott's voice hit their ears, "Hey, I just texted the others. They'll be here soon,"
They all turned his way, noting by the same occasion that Rafael was with him as well. Relief and gratitude were again the feelings that Lydia had felt. Relief, for not having to confront Stiles with what she really had in mind, and gratitude towards Scott, for not having to find another way out of what would have undoubtedly been a painful conversation.