laography | who's that i see walkin' in these woods

[ It wasn't uncommon for members of the Hale pack to wander the Beacon Hills Preserve late at night-- a good chunk of it was their property, after all-- and even the youngest of the family could go out without fear of being in danger. Not when everyone was there and would come at the first sign of trouble. So Derek isn't afraid as he goes out into the woods, tracking the movement of the wildlife and how the plants have grown since the last time he decided to explore.

But there's a new scent, deep in the preserve, that shouldn't be there. He frowns as he catches it, lifting his head and trying to figure out where it came from. He's smelled it before, but that was on the boundaries of the inner territory, as well as in town. It shouldn't be here.

So, he follows it.

He finds the little girl quick enough, and can't help but look around as if he's trying to find where she belongs. But it's just her, and the surrounding woods and wilds. At first, he's not sure if he should answer her or not. If he shows himself, she might ask questions about what he's doing out there, and Laura's always said that he was a bad liar. Maybe he can shift, guide her out that way.

But there haven't been actual wolves in this area for a long time now.

As he frowns, debating, he missteps and winds up snapping a branch, giving away that something is there, at least. ]

[The sound of a branch snapping makes Stiles jump about a foot and grab onto the fabric at the bottom of her too big sweatshirt, looking around frantically as her heart rate skyrockets. Bravely, she reaches down and grabs a stick, brandishing it in front of her like a sword.]

Stay back, I'm armed!!

[ She's always been precocious. Even when she grows up, she will continue to be so. ]

[ Derek can't help but cringe as she jumps, feeling guilty for startling her when it's obvious she's already on edge. So he thinks quickly, shedding his clothes while he's still hidden in darkness and foliage-- he just ripped a new pair of pants the other day while shifting and got scruffed for it, he'd rather not repeat that again.

He lets the change take over him, falling onto all fours and flicking his ears once everything's settled in. A random boy out in the middle of the woods is... strange, to be sure. But something like a very large dog? Not quite so out of place.

Lowering his head, he cautiously steps out of hiding, trying to look unassuming despite his size. Though he's mostly gangly limbs at his age, he's surprisingly big in this form compared to the rest of his family. ]

[Her breath catches in her throat the minute the wolf comes out of the brush, and Stiles freezes with her hands wrapped around the stick, staring at it with shocked, wide amber eyes. That's the biggest dog she's ever seen in her entire life, and instead of running away, as instinct should probably tell her to do, she cocks her head to the side and stares at him, before taking one small step forward.]

...Uhm. Who's a nice dog...

[This puppy, she really, really hopes.]

[ Rather than continue approaching, Derek lowers his head further and twitches the tip of his tail in a little wag. He's the embodiment of awkward dog trying to please someone, only the wolfish instinct and dignity ingrained into him keeping him that solid step up from rolling over and asking for belly rubs. This isn't someone that's part of his pack that he's wanting to appease, it's a young girl that he just wants to trust him.

His ears flick back, and he lets out a quiet sound, close to a whine. He's a nice dog, he just wants to help. ]

[Stiles stares at him for another couple of seconds, then takes a slow, tentative step forward again. It doesn't look like it's going to hurt her. In fact, it kind of looks..friendly?]

Are you one of the K9 dogs? What are you doing here...?

[That would make sense, right? She takes another step, and then another, her bravery starting to overcome her fright.]

[ There's a quite chuff in response, but Derek remains exactly where he is as she comes closer. It should be on her terms, not his, despite this being his family's territory. If she's going to feel comfortable enough with him to let him lead her out, he needs to do this instead.

If she wants to believe he's a K9 dog, he'll let her. But there's nothing that looks even remotely house dog about him, save for how placid he's acting. ]

[No, that can't really be right, either. This dog is huge. She keeps walking forward though, seemingly unafraid of the dog--maybe it's a wolf? it kind of looks like a wolf--and as she stops just a couple seconds in front of it, she tries to regard it a little, before slowly holding out her hand, palm open.]

You're really, really big.

[ Bringing his head up as she holds her hand out, he sniffs at her palm before bumping his nose into it. It's cold and wet and big, snuffing at her and then licking at her fingers. She definitely smells familiar, and he has to wonder about the connection to the K9 unit.

He thinks he knows who she is, but rather than focus on that, he turns bright eyes up to look at her. ]

Oh! [She definitely wasn't expecting to get snuffled at, or licked, for that matter, and Stiles pulls her hand away, wiping it on her red parka.]

Ew, gross! [But she pauses and looks at him, tentatively reaching up and putting her hand on top ofhis head, giving a little scratch.] I guess you're not a mean big dog...

[ Whoops. He chuffs amusement up at her, his ears flicking up as he watches her rub her hand off on her parka-- okay, that's a little too much irony right there-- before they flick back again wit the scratch.

Human in mind he might be, but no faoladh can resist scratches. He tilts his head up against her hand, the tip of his tail giving a small wag. Yes, he is definitely a nice big 'dog.' ]

[Her face breaks into a bright smile and Stiles scratches his ears a little harder, obviously enchanted.] My name is Stiles. Do you live here in the woods? It's really, really huge out here, really, really huge! I was s'posed to be playing hide and seek with Scott but I don't know where Scott went, have you seen my friend?

[And she babbles. A lot.]

[ Tilting his head into her touch, Derek tries to keep from straighten too much, guessing that he'd be almost as tall as her if he did. Better to appear smaller, so as not to alarm her. It's fairly easy to do, though, as her touch and her chatter cause him to relax more.

With her questions, he nods to the first and shakes his head to the second. But then he looks at her with interest, ears perking. Immediately after he looks out at the woods, back to her, the woods again, then her one last time.

Does that mean she's lost? Does she want to be shown out? ]

Edited (s2g i'll get the right icon.) 2013-03-01 20:23 (UTC)

[...Is he answering her?] Can you understand me? [FASCINATED] Whoa--that's so cool! Oh my god, okay, um. If you don't know where Scott is then maybe you can help me, I got really, really, really, really lost, and my mom's gonna be real scared if I don't get home in time for dinner, plus she's making macaroni and that's like my favorite thing in the whole world.

Can you help me...?

[ Twitching his ears at her exiplanation, he listens attentely before he moves, nudging his nose into her hip to turn her around. Another nudge to the small of her back to encourage her, and he starts walking forward to lead her along.

When he gets a few paces ahead, he lets out a low chuff, then jerks his head. Follow him. ]

Oh--um, okay.

[Wow, it even looked like he listened to everything she said. Stiles lets the wolf push her around a little, giggling when he pushes his nose in her back, and she takes a couple of steps forward, still talking.]

I don't think you're a K9 dog, I think you're a wolf! I mean, you gotta be a wolf, cause you're like huge. Mom taught me about wolves in my kindergarten class and she said they're pack animals but you don't have a family, do you? Maybe they do and they're really far away! Do you have brothers and sisters? I wish I had a sister. Or a big brother. But Scott's like my brother!

[ This girl definitely talks a lot. Derek, however, remains charmed by it rather than annoyed. When she gets on her tangent, he cocks an ear towards her to listen, and make it obvious that he is.

When he answers, it takes him a moment to decide how to go about it. Now that he's got an idea of who she is, he can think of who her mother is as well. There's a slight bob of his head-- yes, definitely a wolf-- but then he pauses and regards her as he walks slowly, making sure she keeps up without any trouble. To answer her question about his siblings, he noses at her, once, before offering a nod. ]

[Talks a lot is kind of an understatement. She stares at him as he responds to her, dropping her left hand to curl slowly in the fur at his ruff, giggling softly at the way he noses at her.]

You have a big family...a pack! A big pack. I guess if I had a pack, it'd be me, and my dad, and my mom, and Scott, and Scott's mom. [And she makes a face.] But not Scott's dad. I'd kick him out and we'd be a big happy family, together. And my dad'd...[What's it called...] he'd be the alpha! Rrrrr.

[ Not in the least bit bothered by her fingers curling in his hackles, he continues along, making sure that the path he takes is as even as it can be. He's fast, and could catch her, but he doesn't want her to trip anywhere if she snags on a root or a rock or some errant hole.

There's a nod in response to the pack comment, but then he lifts his head a little to look up at her as she talks about her own pack. With a soft snort, he rumbles back at her in confirmation. He's sure the officer would be a good alpha. ]

[...Which is a thing she would do, to be completely honest. Stiles keeps her fingers curled in his fur and even reaches her other hand forward to scratch him behind the ear once, fascinated by her new companion.]

Scott's dad is a butt. [Decisively.] But Scott's like the best ever. I bet he'll be so mad when I tell him I got to hang out with a real live wolf!

[ Cocking his head back against her hand, he briefly lets his eyes fall half-shut with the scratch, grumbling a contented noise at her before she pulls back.

The grumble turns into a derisive snort at the comment regarding her friend's dad, but he figures he'll take her word for it. And then he puffs up as if he's preening, showing off for her so she has a good story to take back later. ]

who's that i see walkin' in these woods

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i was so confused HELLO BITTY DEREK

IT IS SO HARD TO PICK ICONS ON THE PHONE

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	ʟɪʟ' ʀᴇᴅ ʀɪᴅɪɴ' ʜᴏᴏᴅ i don't think even big girls should go walkin' in these spooky old woods alone