Who: Derek & Roxy What: A furry discover When: A good while back. Like beginning of last month because I'm a snail. Where: Everdale forest, close to Derek's place Rating: low, brief mentions of nakedness Status: Complete
Even though she was off work, she still had a lot of research to do. With the new appearance of a vampire, Roxy had been trying to get as much time in the library in as possible, reading up on supernatural creatures and, despite what many said against them, superstitions. She figured it was better to cover all grounds than to skip something it didn't seem important.
During the day she researched and read, but at night, she worked out. She usually trained at the department gym, but felt like going for a run tonight. She had been working on her night vision and how much she could see in the dark without any light to help. She thought it would be a good training mechanism, something that would help push her and prepare her for any sort of situation. The woods in Everdale were her favorite and she parked her car along the side of the road, moving to the outskirts of the woods to do a few warm up exercises. She kept her phone tucked in the back side of her yoga pants, a holstered gun around her ankle. You could never be too sure what would be waiting for you in the woods and she was always one to be prepared.
Looking out at the sloping hill into the woods, she scanned for the cleaned decent and started her jog, music lightly playing in her ears so she could still be aware of her surroundings.
It was hardly uncommon for Derek to be outside at any time of the day. The place he'd settled in was small, definitely smaller than anything he'd been used to, even during his time in New York with Laura. It was just enough to survive, but a part of him missed the large home of his family, even the wide openness of his loft. Outside was very nearly all he had, and he was intent to keep his territory to himself when more and more of his kind seemed to keep showing up, some friendly, others, probably not. Either way, he didn't want the confrontation of someone coming around without invitation.
He'd been rubbing his chin against a tree, eyes closed and relaxed with the knowledge that nothing strange had been around until he caught it. It had been little more than a whiff of air, a familiar scent, but one that didn't quite belong. Another deep breath and he was off, running until he heard the sounds to go with the smell then faster to cut ahead of the path that would have given less resistance.
He stopped in front of her, a good foot taller than some of the more average dogs, eyes cast up and taking her in. It was probably a good thing he didn't need the shine in his eyes, that this form made everything more easy, as that would have surely frightened her. Familiar. Just Roxy. His tail swished a few times with the excitement of a hunt, that wasn't actually, the slight thrill in all of it. After a moment, he shook out his fur, a gesture that probably seemed calm. He held no aggression for his trespasser to be her, after all.
Roxy was aware of something else in the woods, but the darkness only made it seem like shadows flying through the trees. Pulling her headphones out, she continued her jog, trying to listen to the underbrush and any sounds of something coming closer. She could hear it, but couldn't make out what it could be.
She stopped almost too late as the great wolf bounded in front of her, its dark fur blending in to the darkening sky. She didn't want to make any sudden movements, but her gun was at her ankle and she would need to bend down. That movement in itself could be costly, depending on the beasts intent. She squinted her eyes, watching as it shook itself and wondered if she would be able to outrun it. Don't be daft, you can't outrun a wolf! Especially one as large as that. She gnawed on her bottom lip, the options not great. She could either try and run, hoping the animal didn't care for her or shoot it. It wasn't barring its teeth or growling so Roxy was loathe to do it any damage.
But if it came down to it, between her and the animal, she might have to take it down. She took a step back, her senses alert to what the animal might do with her moving away from it.
Derek waited, breathing in deep as he watched her closely. She was anxious, he could practically smell that on her. It did make sense, though, and he couldn't fault her for that. He probably seemed far more intimidating than he might have liked in that moment, dark under the pale light and larger than just about any dog. She wasn't too tense, though. Non-threatening to him in her almost lack of reaction.
He was beginning to calm when she took a step back and for a moment his instincts flared at the prospect of a chase, tail twitching as his head lowered. She didn't move much past that, though, and they calmed just as quickly as they'd spiked and his ear twitched, listening, a small animal somewhere, far enough off that he wasn't interested.
After a brief wait, he stepped forward, head high until he got closer and he lowered it slightly, just a show of submission, even if she might not understand. His tail twitched again, some part of him excited that she wasn't completely scared of him. He knew better than to show it, because sounds or quick movements when she was already on edge wasn't going to help. Derek certainly could retain his humanity while shifted enough for that.
Roxy stopped moving as she saw it only triggered the wolf to move forward as well, it's head lifted and tail wagging. Not good, not good. But the actions didn't seem aggressive and it didn't charge her, didn't snarl. Instead, he started to walk towards her, head down now and Roxy continued to stand stock still. Hopes of a domestic dog that was just on the larger size seemed to grow as it come closer and she remembered to exhale. She did so slowly, eyes never moving from the large beast in front of her. Her hand still griped the gun, but it was still lowered, ready to be aimed if need be.
Her heartbeat spiked as the wolf stopped right in front of her and she had to remind herself to breathe again. "Easy," she said, not sure if she was talking to herself or the animal in front of her. She gave a little 'eep' as the wolf came close enough to nudge her free hand with its nose and she began to wonder if she was being completely mental.
She wasn't sure what possibly possessed her to give in, but she slowly knelt down to drop her weapon, if only to show her submissiveness to it. "You're not going to attack me, yeah? You're just a nice, friendly...wolf." She frowned a little as she said it, her heart still beating a mile a minute.
The 'easy' had little effect on him, but his motions were slow, measured even. He didn't want to scare her probably any more than she wanted to scare him. It was just a matter of putting himself in a position she might trust, maybe. He didn't exactly approach people as a wolf. This was all new to him.
When she seemed to give in his tail swished with a bit more enthusiasm. He gave a small snort, thinking a sharp bark might be a bit too much for her. She was still scared, and she should be. Derek or even a regular wolf, weren't exactly the sort of thing you wanted to find in a dark place.
He simply moved a little bit closer, licking her hand as she knelt before turning his head touch his nose to her shirt then up near her neck. He breathed in her scent, giving a small whimper sort of sound before tipping his head up to lick up her cheek. Nice. Friendly. He could do that, he thought, ducking his head back to her hand to give it a small push with his muzzle.
The small snort made her jump, causing her to fall the short distance to the ground. The movement made her pause, wondering if it would cause any sort of duress or intimidation from the wolf. She was pleasantly surprised when it began to get even closer and she closed her eyes as the rough tongue came out to lick her. She actually laughed, a bit nervously, moving her hand slowly to caress its head, petting it as if it were a normal dog.
"You're a friendly type, aren't you?" she asked, only vaguely aware her hand was shaking a bit. "Good to know the wolves are friendly around here...at least you." She glanced around, wondering if there were others that would be with it. They usually stayed in a pack...right?
"Feel like going on a run with me?" She slowly stood up, still not wanting to take many chances, but feeling a bit more at ease with this animal. "Still got a bit more to go!"
For a brief moment, Derek paused, but Roxy seemed all right with the attention, maybe even amused. So, he took it upon himself to get in a few more licks while she pet him, shifting his front legs to find a good place to stand.
It didn't seem to last long before she was moving and he stepped back to let her up, tail still swishing excitedly at the offer to run with her. It had felt like a long time since he got to properly run with someone. He let out a sound, something akin to a bark, but not quite as he turned to step ahead of her, then back around to look, ears perked and alert as he waited for her to move.
Roxy only paused momentarily as the wolf barked and she shook her head as she stood up, trying to shake off the feeling of nervousness. This was ridiculous, was she really going to go for a run with a wolf? A wolf that seemed to understand her no less. If it wasn't for Preya I'd think I was going mental. After a quick stretch, she glanced down at the wolf.
"Ready? You lead the way, I'm sure you can see through the trees better than me."
It was slightly remarkable that Roxy seemed to take to him so easily. It wasn't hard to imagine a situation where being approached by a large dog of any breed would have been intimidating for someone of her size. He watched her stand, gray eyes following the motion before he tipped slightly onto his hind legs before turning to get a bit ahead of her only to stop and look back. He tail moved, just a twitch while he waited to make sure she was going to follow before taking off at a slow trot. No point in taking off into a full run if she couldn't keep up.
As they ran through the forest, she couldn't help but start to loosen up a bit more, wondering if she was being completely mental now. First off, she shouldn't be running with a wild animal. Secondly, she shouldn't start to feel more at ease with it. It could turn at any moment and she kept her ears perked for any noises of its pack around it.
But none came and they went further into the forest, Roxy finally turning on the light from her phone to see the ground in front of her. When the wolf finally stopped, she bent over, gasping for breath. "You...set...a good pace," she managed, standing up and stretching. "Need a running buddy?" She twisted around, the light swinging out around her and she saw they'd come to a home.
"Hey, I know this place." She squinted up at it, thinking it was quite a coincidence. "My friend lives here."
Running through the forest was easy enough for Derek, especially once he was back into his own territory. Roxy seemed to be more calm around him, her heart sounding far more the usual push from exercise than the rabbit fast flutter it'd been when she'd first gotten scared of him.
He rounded back to her once she came to a stop as well and gave a heavy sort of lean against her leg, partly expecting attention, however briefly.
Soon enough his tail gave another swish, ears perked for a moment before he gave a sharp bark and took off for the house, around to the back. He'd need to get changed, and that involved the plastic outdoor box by the back door with his clothes and shoes. The shift was easy and painless, but it had distracted him just long enough that when he heard the foot steps as he was opening the box it startled him and he jerked around, eyes wide before he moved to duck down and grab something out of the box to cover himself with.
"What are you doing? You were supposed to stay out front where I left you!"
Roxy smiled down at the wolf as it leaned against her, every action it did surprising her. She reached down to pet it, scratching at his neck and petting along its back. Yeah, this is totally normal.
The bark still startled her and she watched as it raced around to the back of the house. Did it know Derek too? Frowning, she hesitated for a moment before taking off after it, wondering if Derek was actually home.
Well...yes, yes he was. And deciding it was a good idea to be outside naked? "Whoa, sorry!" She turned to give him some decency, shielding her eyes with her hand. She frowned, thinking on what he had said.
"What do you mean suppose to stay out front? How did you know I was even here?"
The towel had not felt like enough to cover himself and Roxy almost immediately turning helped. It still didn't feel like enough to shake the jarring surprise. He took a deep breath and turned again, trying to at least pull on some pants from the box as quickly as he could, clearing his throat while he grabbed a shirt to pull on.
It wasn't exactly like he could pull it off as some sort of that being his dog and it ran out into the woods again. She would have just as many questions about why he was hanging out naked in the backyard. People didn't really do that, especially not late at night.
"Because I asked you to." There was really no simple way to say it, was there? But after the run, he was always calm in a way. Letting himself run as a wolf always seemed to bring a sense of clarity. Once he had his shirt on he skipped the rest, tucking the towel back and moving around to the step up to the house. "Wanna come in? I can get you a drink at least, then take you back."
When she heard him clear his throat she dropped her hand, crossing her hands in front of her chest to look at him. "You asked me to?" She frowned at his nonchalant way of asking her inside for a drink. "Derek, what are you talking about?" She still wasn't putting two and two together, how could she? Of course she knew of werewolves, the idea of them, but the thought that Derek could be one?
Well, she was still working on her supernatural observations.
"I'll explain inside. I want a fresh shirt." He said, offering a small smile he hoped was encouraging enough before letting himself in, stepping on the mat and leaving the door open for her. He doubted that she would leave for her car in the dark. He could loan her a flashlight if nothing else. Stepping around to the fridge, he grabbed a bottle of water for himself and looked up when she finally came along. "Okay. Name your drink and we can sit and talk."
He wasn't too well versed in this sort of conversation, but it was better, given her work, that she found out from him rather than some other way. He was fairly certain that she would keep what he was secret, after all, unless something happened.