[ derek is on time. it's not really difficult to find her room, not when he can track her scent and just arrive. it's probably invasive, but tyke knows what he is and what he's capable of. derek doesn't have to pretend he isn't more than what meets the eye.
he's leant up against the wall next to her door waiting, hunched into his jacket. when she comes out the door his entire body shifts, straightens up, nose wrinkling when he catches reaper's scent. there's something like irritation, like distaste, but derek swallows the remark. she isn't pack. she can spend her time with whoever she likes, though derek remembers reaper, remembers the snap of his comments.
there's no hello, just the incline of his head, the way his posture opens up, hard angles and tension softening a little. ]
[Taylor needs the thirty minutes to get back to her room from the gym, to change into something less suitable for dancing and more suitable for walking the ship. Used to be her jumpsuit, worn it like a uniform, but after the lockers went creepy on her a few times she's got jeans and tanks, hoodies, boots.
She senses Derek arrive and really just assumes he hadn't asked for her room because he got her number off the network, steps outside still almost absently slipping one of her guns into the concealed holster in the back of her jeans, Chubbs tucked under her right arm.]
Hey.
[A tip of her chin, almost a mirror of him, but she doesn't get to say anything more before AT-AT, Windsor and both the Dobermans trot past her and towards him, apparently deciding that this time, Derek definitely needs to be greeted and investigated properly.]
[ dogs don't do this with derek. dogs smell him, smell predator and threat, and they snarl and they bark until derek's eyes flash. dogs know derek for what he was. but tyke's dogs aren't afraid. for a moment it throws him, confuses him, before he crouches, takes his eyes off her and looks at them, sizing up the dogs as he offers them a hand. ]
[The dogs don't rush at Derek, don't jump forward to greet like they might another dog. He still smells of something bigger and more dangerous, even with Taylor's promise he isn't a threat, won't hurt them or her. They approach like they would one of the Starks' direwolves, careful, respectful, noses pushed into his palm for a long moment before any tail wagging starts up. But it does, eventually, and the way he's crouched and the outstretched hand are taken as permission to start snuffing at the rest of him.
Taylor watches all of it, ready to jump in if she needs to, doubting that she will.]
Don't really go anywhere without them.
[They're as much of a protection as her guns, and keeping them with her keeps them safe, too.]
[ there's a joke somewhere in here. if stiles were here he'd make it, but he's not and derek doesn't bother trying to think of what might be said. tyke and her dogs and derek hale going for a walk. comedy gold, he's sure, but he ignores that as he straightens up, looking from the dogs to her before shaking his head. ]
It's fine. I don't mind dogs.
[ he tries not to be awkward about it, about the way the dogs push into his space to sniff at him like they're trying to pin down his scent, figure out just what he is ]
[She looks like she might say something more about that. Because with the way the dogs initially reacted to him, the way he's acting now, she doesn't think he's ever dealt with them enough to know if he minds them or not.
But that can be worn down with time. He's said it's fine, and she isn't going to argue.]
Okay.
[She gives the dogs a mental tug, a small motion of her hand next to her thigh, and they stop crowding around Derek, coming to settle at her feet instead. Ready to go.
She tips her head slightly, indicating down the corridor towards the elevators.]
[ it's a fair assessment. but derek's not going to admit to any of it, not willingly, so it's probably just as well she calls them away. he trails along beside her, leaving room for the dogs. ]
Yeah.
[ maybe he should have explored more earlier. but it hadn't seemed necessary, not with so many other things going on. there's a pause, because conversation should be provided, but derek is notoriously bad at small talk.]
[She's walked the corridors enough that she doesn't really feel the need to pay particular attention to her surroundings. That might be a mistake, considering how the ship liked to fuck with people, but the dogs were essentially an extended sensory range for her. She could rely on that.]
They're not pets.
[It's not a particularly defensive correction. She's had to make it too many times to get snappish about it anymore. People saw her with dogs, pets was the first assumption.]
They're field trained. Like police dogs. [A pause. She's pretty sure Derek of all people will be able to guess all the various skills a dog has, the tasks they can deal with, but she still gives half a smile, adding,] But better.
[There's some pride in that, because her dogs and their training were the only thing in her life she accepts she's actually good at, allows herself to be proud of.]
[ scott would have liked her. derek wasn't particularly good with animals, too much of a predator even before he was an alpha. scott though, derek knew enough to know that scott would have been fascinated. derek's gaze moves over the dogs again, appraising, before back to her. ]
[There's a mental nudge at the dog in question, and he gives a little jump and a bark, letting Derek know which one she means. She hasn't told him their names.]
He was Mouse's. [A pause, a glance at Derek. The first time he'd really talked to her was after Tommy had gone. But the list was a lot longer than that.] Guy that roomed with me here, 'til he went.
[And maybe it would've been better if the dog had gone with him, because fuck knew Mouse couldn't watch out for himself.]
[ went. derek understands immediately what she means, and he nods, not saying anything at all for a long moment. ]
Sorry.
[ not that derek knows the guy, but he knows it must have hurt her losing him. he remembers her post, after losing tommy, knows what loss like that feels like. ]
[She says it immediately as the word's left Derek's mouth, but it's not snapped. Just steady. Sorries are always too small or too heavy; she doesn't know what to do with them, and she doesn't need them. She shakes her head slightly, hitting the button to call the elevator as they finally reach it.]
He's better off at home. And I don't have drop shit to keep his scrawny ass out of trouble all the time anymore.
[There was still a tattoo on one side of her neck for him, but Mouse's leaving hadn't hurt as much as Tommy's. Maybe because he'd gone before and come back, maybe because it had always been about looking after Mouse, not leaning on him. Maybe because he'd never promised to stay.]
[ derek snorts, suddenly sympathetic. it sounds like stiles and scott, although even derek knows that isn't really accurate anymore. that score's even out, more or less. ]
You got more free time now.
[ and then derek realizes that all of the dogs and the two of them is going to be a tight fit, but he gets into the lift anyway, expression going a little long suffering. ]
[That gets half a laugh, the dogs filtering into the lift to sit neatly along one wall in a manner that would probably look really weird if anyone seeing it didn't know about Taylor's pathos. But Derek does, and she doesn't want the dogs tripping him up.]
No, I've got security now.
[A whole group of people to watch and try to keep out of trouble. Except when they needed to get into trouble. Though that does remind her of how she even met Derek in the first place - if it could have been called meeting - breaking up the fight he'd been getting in with that other guy in the gardens, and she'd never really found out what that had been about. Except she was pretty sure it was something to do with what Derek was.]
What-- do you have a name for what you are? [Which is a weird question out of blue, standing in an elevator, and she rubs at the side of her neck slightly.] Just realised I never asked.
[ it is weird. it's weird because derek had just assumed she'd known after the garden, because what else could he have been? he shifts to look at her, appraising, like he can't decide if she's angling for something or not. ]
Werewolf.
[ derek says it slowly, strings the word out like he needs to emphasize it. ]
[Well that seems obvious. Which really just makes her feel stupid for not realising, only exacerbated by the way he'd said it, and she glares.]
You're not like the other werewolves, how was I meant to know? All the weird shit turns up here, you could've been some kinda canine themed fairy thing, I don't know.
[ it hadn't really been about making her feel stupid, though derek belatedly realizes that's how it comes off, but he doesn't apologize, just shrugs his shoulders. ]
[And then, because she still feels like she needs to explain against the way he'd told her,]
I can... [She lifts one hand, makes a weird kind of gesture up by her ear that doesn't really say anything at all.] hear you, all the time.
[Because it wasn't really about hearing, but she's never needed to vocalise how her pathos works before, and the word was as good as any for how she could sense him and the dogs, know their thoughts.]
The other werewolf I deal with, it only works when he's changed. I figured that was how it went.
[ alarm spikes right through him, immediate wariness because she'd been a threat, but not on this level. and it's not even the first thought, the first thing he thinks is, how much has she heard? ]
[She hears that, the immediate shift in his mood, the alarm. She thought he'd realised. Clearly they were both further on the back foot than they'd known.]
No, I--
[She cuts herself off, a sharp frown. She doesn't want to lie, even if it's by omission. He's got a right to know how and what she can do.]
I could. But I'm trying not to listen. You're loud sometimes and you're different to what I'm used to so it keeps... [Another stunted little gesture that doesn't mean anything.] catching, but. I'm not listening. And I'm not digging.
[ derek's immediate instinct is to get off the lift, put the entire ship between him and her. she can hear what's happeng inside his head, that's unprecedented. it feels like an intrusion, and he's a little panicky with it. but there's no beat of lie in her voice, so he squares his shoulders, tries to breath the panic out of his body. ]
I'll figure out a way to be quieter.
[ he does't say don't look, not specifically, but it's written in every line of his body, in the way he turns his gaze away from her. ]
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
SOME TIME.................
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Give me 30 mins.
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and then i realized i shoul dhave saved that first thing i wrote.
he's leant up against the wall next to her door waiting, hunched into his jacket. when she comes out the door his entire body shifts, straightens up, nose wrinkling when he catches reaper's scent. there's something like irritation, like distaste, but derek swallows the remark. she isn't pack. she can spend her time with whoever she likes, though derek remembers reaper, remembers the snap of his comments.
there's no hello, just the incline of his head, the way his posture opens up, hard angles and tension softening a little. ]
I still had the notif...
She senses Derek arrive and really just assumes he hadn't asked for her room because he got her number off the network, steps outside still almost absently slipping one of her guns into the concealed holster in the back of her jeans, Chubbs tucked under her right arm.]
Hey.
[A tip of her chin, almost a mirror of him, but she doesn't get to say anything more before AT-AT, Windsor and both the Dobermans trot past her and towards him, apparently deciding that this time, Derek definitely needs to be greeted and investigated properly.]
well it's too late now :c
They coming with us?
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Taylor watches all of it, ready to jump in if she needs to, doubting that she will.]
Don't really go anywhere without them.
[They're as much of a protection as her guns, and keeping them with her keeps them safe, too.]
That alright?
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It's fine. I don't mind dogs.
[ he tries not to be awkward about it, about the way the dogs push into his space to sniff at him like they're trying to pin down his scent, figure out just what he is ]
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But that can be worn down with time. He's said it's fine, and she isn't going to argue.]
Okay.
[She gives the dogs a mental tug, a small motion of her hand next to her thigh, and they stop crowding around Derek, coming to settle at her feet instead. Ready to go.
She tips her head slightly, indicating down the corridor towards the elevators.]
Shuttle bay, yeah?
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Yeah.
[ maybe he should have explored more earlier. but it hadn't seemed necessary, not with so many other things going on. there's a pause, because conversation should be provided, but derek is notoriously bad at small talk.]
I never had pets. I'm not used to it.
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They're not pets.
[It's not a particularly defensive correction. She's had to make it too many times to get snappish about it anymore. People saw her with dogs, pets was the first assumption.]
They're field trained. Like police dogs. [A pause. She's pretty sure Derek of all people will be able to guess all the various skills a dog has, the tasks they can deal with, but she still gives half a smile, adding,] But better.
[There's some pride in that, because her dogs and their training were the only thing in her life she accepts she's actually good at, allows herself to be proud of.]
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You trained them?
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[There's a mental nudge at the dog in question, and he gives a little jump and a bark, letting Derek know which one she means. She hasn't told him their names.]
He was Mouse's. [A pause, a glance at Derek. The first time he'd really talked to her was after Tommy had gone. But the list was a lot longer than that.] Guy that roomed with me here, 'til he went.
[And maybe it would've been better if the dog had gone with him, because fuck knew Mouse couldn't watch out for himself.]
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Sorry.
[ not that derek knows the guy, but he knows it must have hurt her losing him. he remembers her post, after losing tommy, knows what loss like that feels like. ]
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[She says it immediately as the word's left Derek's mouth, but it's not snapped. Just steady. Sorries are always too small or too heavy; she doesn't know what to do with them, and she doesn't need them. She shakes her head slightly, hitting the button to call the elevator as they finally reach it.]
He's better off at home. And I don't have drop shit to keep his scrawny ass out of trouble all the time anymore.
[There was still a tattoo on one side of her neck for him, but Mouse's leaving hadn't hurt as much as Tommy's. Maybe because he'd gone before and come back, maybe because it had always been about looking after Mouse, not leaning on him. Maybe because he'd never promised to stay.]
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You got more free time now.
[ and then derek realizes that all of the dogs and the two of them is going to be a tight fit, but he gets into the lift anyway, expression going a little long suffering. ]
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No, I've got security now.
[A whole group of people to watch and try to keep out of trouble. Except when they needed to get into trouble. Though that does remind her of how she even met Derek in the first place - if it could have been called meeting - breaking up the fight he'd been getting in with that other guy in the gardens, and she'd never really found out what that had been about. Except she was pretty sure it was something to do with what Derek was.]
What-- do you have a name for what you are? [Which is a weird question out of blue, standing in an elevator, and she rubs at the side of her neck slightly.] Just realised I never asked.
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Werewolf.
[ derek says it slowly, strings the word out like he needs to emphasize it. ]
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[Well that seems obvious. Which really just makes her feel stupid for not realising, only exacerbated by the way he'd said it, and she glares.]
You're not like the other werewolves, how was I meant to know? All the weird shit turns up here, you could've been some kinda canine themed fairy thing, I don't know.
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I thought you knew.
[ like that encompasses everything. ]
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[And then, because she still feels like she needs to explain against the way he'd told her,]
I can... [She lifts one hand, makes a weird kind of gesture up by her ear that doesn't really say anything at all.] hear you, all the time.
[Because it wasn't really about hearing, but she's never needed to vocalise how her pathos works before, and the word was as good as any for how she could sense him and the dogs, know their thoughts.]
The other werewolf I deal with, it only works when he's changed. I figured that was how it went.
[And why Derek would be something else.]
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Everything?
[ it's bitten off, strained. ]
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No, I--
[She cuts herself off, a sharp frown. She doesn't want to lie, even if it's by omission. He's got a right to know how and what she can do.]
I could. But I'm trying not to listen. You're loud sometimes and you're different to what I'm used to so it keeps... [Another stunted little gesture that doesn't mean anything.] catching, but. I'm not listening. And I'm not digging.
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I'll figure out a way to be quieter.
[ he does't say don't look, not specifically, but it's written in every line of his body, in the way he turns his gaze away from her. ]
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