[It's the last thing she sends, and it's dead-on precise for how long it takes her to get there. Fuck Derek Hale's timing, she'd been swimming again, hastily dried off before heading up here, hair still damp and the hoodie she's pulled on at least four sizes too big for her (because it isn't hers, it's Tommy's). Close enough, she can tell exactly which storage locker is the one containing Josh even if Derek wasn't waiting outside. There's a moment where she hesitates, and then as she approaches the last few metres, her dogs stay behind.]
Can't promise this is gonna work.
[Because that's the best way to start this off, right.]
[ his eyes linger on the sweatshirt for a moment, but he doesn't say anything. derek remembers when tommy left, even if he'd never known him. ]
I know.
[ derek's tendency to throw himself headfirst into any plan available means he's used to failure. even in situations like these, where he isn't sure what he'll do if nothing works. ]
If it doesn't, I'll just have to keep him in there until I figure out something else.
[Taylor nods, even though it isn't actually something she wants to be on the same page about. She wants to be able to say this will work, for definite. But if Derek wasn't expecting whatever this was then her own limited experience wasn't going to be any better. She looks at the door for a moment, then glances back over at Derek.]
Last full-shifted I dealt with, I could barely control him. Had to... hold on, the whole night.
[She'd never needed to use her pathos like that before. It had totally drained her, left her exhausted for two days afterwards. And it had barely been enough. Mason's wolf had been pure, fierce rage, constantly prowling the lines of her control, looking for any tiny give, slip of concentration. He'd broken through at one point, almost ripped her throat out if Reaper hadn't stepped in, taken the blow himself.
There's an edge of that memory as she looks at Derek, wariness, almost like she's looking for some reassurance. She's left her dogs behind. Left them safe, but it means she's alone.]
I'm gonna see what I can do through the door.
[Her pathos didn't need line of sight. She could hear Josh just fine.]
action; idk if we need melissa for this part casually does this instead
[ they're all different. it's just the nature of this place, no two werewolves adhering to the same set of rules. derek nods, takes a step closer to her, protective even if he didn't really want to admit that. ]
Just see if you can push him back. If not, I'll figure something else out.
[ not that derek knew of any other options, but. ]
[ the wolf can hear them outside. he's not scratching at the door, but there's a low growl building; casual, relaxed, mostly just for the sake of scaring intruders off.
there's also the recognition that comes with derek's scent, and the wolf hasn't exactly forgotten how that went last time. ]
action; no this is worse weird power shit here we go
[She nods, again, then turns her attention to the door - to the space beyond it. The sense on her pathos isn't the same as Derek, as Mason, but it isn't like a normal wolf either. Something angry, but not the same deep rage as Mason. More just annoyance at noise, at-- Derek.
Taylor frowns slightly, pushing a little. If this was a case of meeting a new wolf, a dog, she wouldn't go for control from the beginning. It'd be communication. Greeting, giving an impression of friendliness, a weird two-tone of herself (dog, human, something that was both). She doesn't know if that's going to work here. It isn't what Derek wants her to do.
She pushes calm instead. A basic sense of safety, no threats. She wants to see if it sticks, exactly how much force she's going to have to put behind any other commands. Any attempts to get him to shift.]
action; best you mean. also oh my god i need to start drinking for these tags
[ the wolf's thoughts aren't exactly rocket science. the breakdown is easy: there's pack, and then there's everything else. the everything else is a threat, a cause to be wary and hostile. that natural instinct is always amped up by the sense that he's been in a cage for the majority of the month.
that means the wolf is hostile, of course, but it's a very normal, animal response. there's nothing supernatural in the anger. if you keep a wolf in a cage and then drop it into a strange environment, there's a tendency for it to react badly, to want to play it safe and get rid of or avoid potential threats. it's the reason josh got away with shifting in the woods and not hurting anybody. if the wolf can keep to himself, he will.
the feeling of calm is enough to offset that tense edge. there's still no sense of trust, but his irritation at derek's presence starts to give way to a wary curiosity as he tests the air for the new scent. ]
action; no I definitely meant worst please pass the alcohol
[It takes. It takes easy, like it would a dog, like one of the Stark's direwolves. Spreads through his consciousness slowly and naturally, allows space for adjustment, acceptance. There's no real effort on Taylor's part; he isn't fighting it, and it's without much thought that she slips into the same behaviour she would with any other. Softening it out, allowing a sense of herself to bleed through while starting to build more on the things the wolf wants in order to feel better, safer and more content in this strange storage locker he's found himself trapped in.]
I think you can open the door.
[She says it absently, the majority of her attention still already inside the storage locker, focussed on the wolf's mind. But she's been trained to multitask, isn't completely lost from the reality of the corridor, standing next to Derek.]
action; you guys can skip me a bit if you want since i'm gonna be otu of town
[ derek's expression is skeptical, but he listens to her. this isn't his arena, whatever tyke's doing, and if josh lunges then derek can deal with that. which is why, when he starts opening the door, he nudges her just so, putting himself between her and the wolf.
if someone gets clawed, then derek's the one with the capability to heal. ]
[ the door opening changes things. it's enough to put the wolf on edge again, though he doesn't lunge for them as soon as the option presents itself. he was content enough to stay sitting before, but he stands now, letting out a warning growl. and that's it - just a warning. otherwise he stands his ground, watching them cautiously.
derek's already proven to be an issue, if only because they can't seem to sort out who's in charge. tyke's new, and the wolf finds her distracting enough to put up with derek being here. for now. she's not pack, but the sensation is the same; familiar and easy to understand, despite a lingering confusion as to why she looks human. ]
[The wolf doesn't attack. Taylor's fairly certain he isn't going to, either - or, if he is, it's going to be Derek anyway. There's some animosity there, while the threads she's been guiding in have made her presence more acceptable. It gives her enough confidence to move forward, laying a hand on Derek's back for a moment as she steps past him, coming to a stop a short distance from the wolf, slowly dropping down into a crouch.
She doesn't reach out, keeps her body language open but not invasive, hands hanging loose over her knees. She reaches with her pathos instead, an impression of greeting - another wolf, safe, friendly, that it doesn't matter that she looks human.]
[ tyke's touch is brief, her hand there and gone again, pressing over his tattoo. he doesn't shake her off. he doesn't pull her back either, even if he wants to tell her that he tried that, that he nearly got his face bitten off doing it. but he doesn't. he waits though, every muscle tensed, ready to grab josh the second things went bad. derek didn't mind a few claw marks if it kept josh from biting off tyke's face. ]
[ the wolf doesn't appreciate her approaching, but he doesn't attack. he watches, and when she's settled in front of him, he lets out another low warning growl and a snap - but it's light, just a gesture in the air between them to see how she responds.
the wolf's used to negotiating space with teeth and body language; tyke's got the latter, but the rest of it's confusing. the feeling of familiarity isn't one that comes from the usual signs, and the wolf's having a hard time placing it, though he's not exactly fighting it either. ]
[She has the thought that maybe this would've gone better if she'd convinced him she was entirely another wolf from the start. It was usually enough to give the impression of both human and canine - dogs tended to get over it fast as soon as they decided she was a new friend, easily accepting any strangeness as simply new and therefore exciting. But Josh is too wary for that, instincts on territory and dominance heavier both for what he is and the unfamiliar place he's woken up in. Trying to build a different construction about her form now would probably only break on what she's already got him accepting, so she just needs to keep moving forward. Which means staying exactly where she is, not flinching as he growls and snaps, and then very simply just turning her head and looking away.
All of the combat training she's had drilled into her screams at her not to take her eyes off the threat, but that's entirely the point. To a human it might just look like disrespect, but the gesture of ignoring his posturing says more that she isn't going to rise to it or threaten him, that she isn't at all interested in fighting.]
DELETES IT links clip of how to train your dragon in lieu of this thread
[ it's confusing, for a second - she's not submitting, but she's not rising to the bait, either. the wolf holds his ground for another moment, eyeing her with a low edge of hostility, but then he gives a short growl - more of a snort, really - before his posture shifts.
there's a glance towards derek, just to make sure he knows he's being watched; then the wolf's approaching tyke again, this time hesitant and curious, and if there's tension in his movements it's just in preparation to back away quickly if needed. there's a drawn-out pause as he moves in to sniff the air directly in front of her, but he doesn't attempt to make contact. ]
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
text, auggielocked;
text -> action;
[It's the last thing she sends, and it's dead-on precise for how long it takes her to get there. Fuck Derek Hale's timing, she'd been swimming again, hastily dried off before heading up here, hair still damp and the hoodie she's pulled on at least four sizes too big for her (because it isn't hers, it's Tommy's). Close enough, she can tell exactly which storage locker is the one containing Josh even if Derek wasn't waiting outside. There's a moment where she hesitates, and then as she approaches the last few metres, her dogs stay behind.]
Can't promise this is gonna work.
[Because that's the best way to start this off, right.]
action;
I know.
[ derek's tendency to throw himself headfirst into any plan available means he's used to failure. even in situations like these, where he isn't sure what he'll do if nothing works. ]
If it doesn't, I'll just have to keep him in there until I figure out something else.
action;
Last full-shifted I dealt with, I could barely control him. Had to... hold on, the whole night.
[She'd never needed to use her pathos like that before. It had totally drained her, left her exhausted for two days afterwards. And it had barely been enough. Mason's wolf had been pure, fierce rage, constantly prowling the lines of her control, looking for any tiny give, slip of concentration. He'd broken through at one point, almost ripped her throat out if Reaper hadn't stepped in, taken the blow himself.
There's an edge of that memory as she looks at Derek, wariness, almost like she's looking for some reassurance. She's left her dogs behind. Left them safe, but it means she's alone.]
I'm gonna see what I can do through the door.
[Her pathos didn't need line of sight. She could hear Josh just fine.]
action; idk if we need melissa for this part casually does this instead
Just see if you can push him back. If not, I'll figure something else out.
[ not that derek knew of any other options, but. ]
He's fine in there.
[ well, for the moment anyway. ]
action; or i could tag at work idk. worst tag yw
there's also the recognition that comes with derek's scent, and the wolf hasn't exactly forgotten how that went last time. ]
action; no this is worse weird power shit here we go
Taylor frowns slightly, pushing a little. If this was a case of meeting a new wolf, a dog, she wouldn't go for control from the beginning. It'd be communication. Greeting, giving an impression of friendliness, a weird two-tone of herself (dog, human, something that was both). She doesn't know if that's going to work here. It isn't what Derek wants her to do.
She pushes calm instead. A basic sense of safety, no threats. She wants to see if it sticks, exactly how much force she's going to have to put behind any other commands. Any attempts to get him to shift.]
action; best you mean. also oh my god i need to start drinking for these tags
that means the wolf is hostile, of course, but it's a very normal, animal response. there's nothing supernatural in the anger. if you keep a wolf in a cage and then drop it into a strange environment, there's a tendency for it to react badly, to want to play it safe and get rid of or avoid potential threats. it's the reason josh got away with shifting in the woods and not hurting anybody. if the wolf can keep to himself, he will.
the feeling of calm is enough to offset that tense edge. there's still no sense of trust, but his irritation at derek's presence starts to give way to a wary curiosity as he tests the air for the new scent. ]
action; no I definitely meant worst please pass the alcohol
I think you can open the door.
[She says it absently, the majority of her attention still already inside the storage locker, focussed on the wolf's mind. But she's been trained to multitask, isn't completely lost from the reality of the corridor, standing next to Derek.]
action; you guys can skip me a bit if you want since i'm gonna be otu of town
if someone gets clawed, then derek's the one with the capability to heal. ]
actions; reaches for!!
derek's already proven to be an issue, if only because they can't seem to sort out who's in charge. tyke's new, and the wolf finds her distracting enough to put up with derek being here. for now. she's not pack, but the sensation is the same; familiar and easy to understand, despite a lingering confusion as to why she looks human. ]
action; or I could just be slow as shit
She doesn't reach out, keeps her body language open but not invasive, hands hanging loose over her knees. She reaches with her pathos instead, an impression of greeting - another wolf, safe, friendly, that it doesn't matter that she looks human.]
action; not as slow as me
oh hi my turn!!!!
the wolf's used to negotiating space with teeth and body language; tyke's got the latter, but the rest of it's confusing. the feeling of familiarity isn't one that comes from the usual signs, and the wolf's having a hard time placing it, though he's not exactly fighting it either. ]
action; reclaims subject line from melissa
All of the combat training she's had drilled into her screams at her not to take her eyes off the threat, but that's entirely the point. To a human it might just look like disrespect, but the gesture of ignoring his posturing says more that she isn't going to rise to it or threaten him, that she isn't at all interested in fighting.]
DELETES IT links clip of how to train your dragon in lieu of this thread
there's a glance towards derek, just to make sure he knows he's being watched; then the wolf's approaching tyke again, this time hesitant and curious, and if there's tension in his movements it's just in preparation to back away quickly if needed. there's a drawn-out pause as he moves in to sniff the air directly in front of her, but he doesn't attempt to make contact. ]