[open]

[duelo]

WHO: Derek Hale & YOU
WHERE: Around De Chima and an option in Heropa
WHEN: Mid-September
WHAT: At a cafe, at work in a pet store, running in the woods, and basically prowling but with good intentions?
WARNINGS: TBD?



Downtown De Chima; cafe

Today, Derek wants to know everything in the file they'd given him when he'd arrived. He hasn't actually had time to read it all, but he figures he really ought to. For the first time since arriving, Derek wanders for long enough to find a place to sit down, order something to eat and some coffee whose effects he will barely feel for more than a few seconds. For some people with independent wealth largely settled into assets, it might be jarring to suddenly have no financial safety net and be left with a first job — at age thirty, he's got his first job, something with which he has no experience — and a small stipend, but he's at least a minimalist, so it shouldn't hurt too much. Derek's focus and concern, instead, is on his file.

It's concerning that these people have so much information about what he can do and who he is. It's concerning that he'd just sort of shown up in this place and he still doesn't remember how he got here, even after over a week of trying. Only Derek Hale could experience that and wryly think to himself with no irony at all, well, at least I'm still 30 this time. A part of him wants to know how they know so much, but another part of him almost feels...relieved? He's been assured that imPorts are revered here and, while some people have pointed out that that's not across the board, he figures it never will be anywhere and the majority will outweigh the minority enough that he can just be himself. That suggests he doesn't have to fear for his life just for being a werewolf. That suggests there won't be people like Kate and Gerard here who'll stop at nothing trying to ensure that he's the last generation of Hale in the world.

The little cafe is kind of crowded, which creates a loud but dull buzz of conversation in the background of his focus. He's reading the file and picking at his plate absently, popping French fries in his mouth as he goes over all the information. It's a lot. He hasn't completely decided whether he wants to Register or not, yet and yet the nanites suggest he's already made his decision. He's got a little longer before he has to swear in, if he does decide to, after all. Derek doesn't think that their default display is coincidental, but that doesn't bother him as much as it might've a few years back. He'll wait until the swear-in and make his decision officially then. Until then, he wants to learn everything he can about this place, the people in it, and where the hero imPorts really stand.

The sound of a voice right beside him asking whether the seat is taken has Derek suddenly looking up. He notices, for the first time, just how full the cafe has become and that the source of the voice is actually asking him.

"Huh? Oh, no. Sorry, you can sit," he replies, gesturing toward the empty chair on the other side of the table and closing his file, sliding it closer to his side of the table. "I'm almost done and then you can have the table to yourself."

Downtown De Chima; big box pet store training center

He isn't teaching right now, honestly. Derek is still learning. The idea is not to do this here, he thinks. He'd rather do the training more freelance, eventually, but for now, he's observing more experienced trainers who may or may not have noticed that their classes are going much smoother with Derek's presence.

Derek doesn't actually say anything, but now and again when a pup gets problematic, Derek's eyes will do a quick flash of glowing blue and he'll smile a little, nodding silently as if communicating with the animal. In a way, he sort of wordlessly is. Derek can't talk to dogs, but he can understand their urges and it's easy for him to let them know he's the Alpha dog in the group. The smell of him is almost definitely enough to get their attention, being he smells more like a wolf than a person, but there's also an air of confidence he has that might not be as perceptible to humans as it is to dogs.

Between classes, he wanders through the store, straightening up the displays and picking up dropped toys or cleaning up puddles left behind by dogs whose owners have chosen to be willfully ignorant of the cleaning stations all through the store that implicitly suggest that they clean up after their own pets' messes rather than making the staff do it.

If Peter could see him now... If anyone from home could. Jesus, he hopes neither of those things ever happens...

De Chima; in the woods

The one thing Derek can say about living in De Chima is that he's beyond appreciative of the fact that their housing is close enough to the woods that he can go for a run almost every morning. Most of the time, he does it in human form — usually dressed in a pair of basketball shorts and no shirt — just to be on the safe side, but every now and again, he'll stash his clothes — so as not to lose them to the ether in transition — and he'll transition into his full wolf form to tear through the woods and burn off some energy before starting his day.

As a wolf, he runs with abandon, zipping through the woods and stopping only if a particular scent of another person or animal catches his attention. He goes at full speed because why bother if not? That means he'll be hard to run with for most people. But as a human, he mostly jogs because it gives him more time to soak in the fact that he's in nature where he'd really prefer to be most of the time. Maybe someday, if he's here long enough to build up a wealth of any significance, he'll buy or build a house out here, pushed back from the other residences; private and quiet and hidden like his old family home before it had been burned into a shell of itself and finally demolished by the town.

If he sees anyone else out in the woods jogging or running as well, he's likely to offer a welcoming smile and nod as if inviting them to join him so neither has to run alone if the other party would prefer company.

HEROPA; creeping around the resident area and around town

While Derek never means to be a creep, sometimes it just sort of happens? If Scott were here, he'd be looking after Stiles. Derek knows that. And if Cora were here, for example, and Scott was instead of Derek, Derek would want Scott to look out for his sister. With that in mind, Derek assumes that Scott would appreciate Derek doing the same for Stiles in Scott's absence. And, well. Maybe Derek likes Stiles, all right? It's sort of like having a little brother that he loves and hates in equal measure. Even though Stiles has abilities here, they're not the sort of abilities that will protect him in a bind. So Derek figures it's his responsibility to sort of...just take care of the kid without him really knowing. Mostly because if Stiles finds out, Stiles will probably shut that down almost immediately and Derek will have to try exponentially harder not to be detected in the future, which honestly is kind of enough of a pain in the ass as it is.

He might be noticed walking around the general area between the government housing and the native residences more than a few times like he's sort of lost, mostly when the sun goes down because he figures it's less likely that Stiles will be out and about on his own. Whether that's true or not, Derek has no idea, but he's just kind of hoping. The fact of the matter is that he's trying to make himself painfully familiar of the surrounding area because if Stiles ever needs him, Derek wants to know exactly how to get where he needs to be.

Derek makes himself familiar with the locations of the hospitals, police and fire stations, and any areas that he thinks might be magnetic to the sort of crazy they're both used to at home in Beacon Hills because, let's be honest, if there's going to be that sort of nonsense in Heropa, Stiles is likely to wind up tangled up in it somehow because he's from Beacon Hills and they're somehow predispositioned to get themselves into trouble.

Comments

heropa creeper

[threeisapattern]

The danger of creeping around Heropa, trying to get the lay of the land, is that - well, Stiles lives there. He doesn't spend all his time there, sure, but his home away from home is there, and he works nearby, and he has a dog who needs exercise whether it's light out or not.

And, unfortunately for Derek's plan of being sneaky, he happens across one of the parks that Stiles and Derek-the-Husky like to frequent, where Stiles feels pretty comfortable letting him off the leash because there's not much dangerous around and Derek can be trusted not to run off on his own too far. So Derek-the-Husky has free reign to meet new people, especially new people who smell familiar, like something Stiles smelled like a while ago.

The point is, Stiles may not have caught Derek (yet), but Derek is rapidly approaching to investigate the new-familiar person/smell.

[duelo]

Businesses are getting ready to close up and Derek's deciding that it's time to head back to De Chima when he catches an approaching scent that's got just the vaguest familiarity hanging in it. He turns his attention toward the source in time to catch site of a shadow trotting out of the park and into the light from the nearest streetlamp. A Husky.

"Oh, no..." he moans to himself as it continues toward him. That familiarity makes sense now. Dog with a hint of Stilinksi. Shit.

Derek's eyes shift toward the park again as the dog makes its way toward him, assuming Stiles will be not far behind. When, by the time the dog is right in front of him, he doesn't see Stiles, Derek crouches down. "Hey...Derek," he says, the name coming out with a touch of resentment. "Did you escape, buddy? You should go find your dad..."

[threeisapattern]

Derek noses at Derek, not quite as enthusiastic as he usually is to meet people, possibly because Derek doesn't smell entirely human and he doesn't know what to make of that. He's close enough for Derek to definitely confirm his hunch, though, since Derek's wearing a collar with a tag giving Stiles's name and address, in case Derek should ever develop Wandering Dog Syndrome.

Once he's decided... something about the werewolf, he barks a couple times, causing Stiles to appear from where he was hanging out while Derek explored. " - Derek. I see you've met Derek."

Which Derek is he addressing? He's not telling.

[duelo]

This is really the last thing Derek would've wanted to happen. Literally the actual last thing. But all the same, Derek flashes his wolf eyes at the dog which he hopes suggests...something...inhuman about himself to explain the strange smell he knows the canine will have picked up. The puppies at work certainly do. Most of them initially cower briefly before settling when it registers, but Stiles's dog, who Derek refuses to refer to by name any further than he just has, is older and probably isn't as intimidated by it as he is just thrown off.

It hadn't really surprised him when the dog had barked, probably for Stiles, and then Stiles had predictably appeared in the streetlight next. Derek looks up from the dog, frowning flatly, his eyes a second away from rolling with annoyance. It was bound to happen at some point, but it would've been a little less strange to try to explain if it had happened in the daylight.

"Cute, Stilinski," he deadpans to express his lack of amusement.

[threeisapattern]

"Isn't he?" Stiles agrees cheerfully as he approaches and kneels down to give Derek congratulatory scritches for Finding the Werewolf. Not that they were looking for the werewolf, but you know. It also kind of helps settle the dog down after Derek's trick with the eye flash freaked him out a little. "I knew you'd like him."

Don't pretend you don't, Derek.

"So what brings you to my neck of the woods?"

De Chima Woods

[rebelarrow]

Judd had been enjoying the peaceful quiet of the night, listening to the familiar sounds of the woods when something else catches his attention. He sees the black wolf come bounding by, and catches the look he gives them as their eyes meet.

Finally, something that makes sense.

Shrugging off his leather jacket and caching it in a nearby tree, he runs. He's faster than the average human with a natural grace, and smirks slightly at the wolf before darting off in another direction. Come catch him.

[duelo]

The scent of someone catches Derek's attention and he looks over as he runs through. If the other person is perceptive and interested, then maybe he'll come along. If not, it's just as well, he thinks to himself. What he doesn't necessarily expect is a challenge and the wolf inside him can't resist it.

He skids to a stop, eyes lighting up a glowing blue, before he takes off again, this time giving chase.

This guy is faster than most people would be and it is, in fact, a challenge, but Derek especially likes that sort of thing when he's in full-wolf form. It takes him a little bit to start to catch up, largely because the other man gets a head start for himself by taking another direction, forcing Derek to stop, turn, and move in the opposite direction, which naturally slows him down by killing his momentum.

[rebelarrow]

Judd waits for the wolf to begin to catch up before turning and smiling, ever so slightly, then teleporting several hundred feet ahead, only to dart off in another direction. This man, who smells of ice and that of another wolf, begins to lay down a series of false scent trails, utilizing his 'porting abilities, the downwinds, and a nearby stream to make things interesting.

Someone has definitely done this before, and done it often.

[duelo]

The evasion takes Derek off his guard and he stops again, the human part of his brain taking a second to process what it's just seen and when he scents the air to take off again, he realizes the new duplications of it jutting off in different directions. The human part of him wants to forfeit because he can already tell that he'll never win this one.

The wolf part, on the other hand, isn't ready to give up so easily and he takes off in the direction of one of the scent trails. It takes him a few minutes to realize that it's the wrong one because the scent neither fades nor grows stronger as he moves, but he turns again, tearing back through the woods in another direction to try his luck with another trail.

[rebelarrow]

Realizing that the changeling wasn't on his tail anymore he slows down, makes the trail less complicated--though not insultingly so--before leading him back towards the beginning, where he stands leaning against a tree.

"Your tracking skills could use some improving," he says to the wolf with a hint of a smile.

De Chima Woods

[helpdesk_hero]

Staying in shape when you can't go to a public gym is definitely a bit of a problem, especially when you're working on endurance running and would rather be left alone. Which, of course, was what made living in De Chima great for people that weren't just the new werewolf resident. It also makes the woods good for one of Derek's neighbors and frequent visitor to Derek's assigned residence, thanks to David being friends with one of his housemates and thus not infrequently showing up there.

The woods tend to be cooler, quieter, and better for running in situations that aren't the smooth, easy paths of city sidewalks. Which is why David heads out running in them early every morning and late in the evenings. This is one of the former runs, the man moving through the trees at a ground eating jog in workout gear that covers all of his skin, and even a pair of gloves. Not comfortable for jogging, but he's learned to adapt.

And he's definitely enjoying himself, listening as much to the sounds of nature around him as to the podcast he's got playing in a single earbud. Of course that means he's definitely not paying attention to the noises around him enough to pick up the approach of another individual, human or wolf. Which means either way he might be in for a touch of surprise.

[duelo]

"Oh, shit...sorry, man," Derek apologizes when he realizes as he runs past that the other man hadn't heard him approaching and he'd startled. That's something that seldom happens to Derek, but he remembers that short period of time after whatever the hell Kate had done to him down in Mexico that he'd started to lose his werewolf senses. He'd startled at sounds that were too loud too close when he should've been able to hear them well before they'd reached him. He hadn't meant to do that to someone else.

He slows his run to a jog and then a walk. "I didn't know anyone else was out here. I didn't mean to sneak up on you," he apologizes, sounding as sincere as he feels.

He'll have to pay more attention. Sometimes, when Derek runs, he gets tunnel vision and even though he probably absolutely heard the other man's heartbeat and caught the other man's scent, he probably just hadn't registered it in the moment.

The scent catches his attention first, once he processes it, and the visual recognition kicks in a few seconds after. "Oh...hey. I've seen you around, but I don't think we've ever actually been introduced. I'm Derek."

[helpdesk_hero]

Sneak up on him? That was definitely something David deserved. He should have been paying more attention than he had been. But he jumps and then turns his attention to the voice and David relaxes as much as he can as he tries to keep his original pace up.

"I should have been paying more attention. I'm not used to other people in the woods. Suppose I should accept that things change a lot here."

But being seen around? David raises a curious eyebrow at that. He doesn't tend to pay attention to the housemates of De Chima 001, instead either taking over the kitchen or hiding out in Marco's room for a time.

"David. Please tell me that whenever you've seen me around I've managed to be a bit more dignified than coming just short of yelping when someone comes up on me all of a sudden."

You'd think he'd be used to it, knowing multiple teleporters, speedsters and people who could fly. Nope. Not used to it.

[duelo]

"I know that feeling," Derek agrees. Back home, for many years, he'd gotten used to being the only one out there. Or maybe he and his sister or he and his uncle or he and his mom, or maybe the lot of them. Typically, until Scott McCall's turn, the Hale family were really the only ones that spent time in his neck of the woods, so if someone was out there, he knew who they were. He'll need to adjust, too, now that he's here.

Derek laughs a little and shakes his head. "I've just seen you in passing on your way to Marco's room. I probably wouldn't have noticed if I wasn't so reflexively hyperaware these days. Totally dignified, don't worry," he replies with a grin. "Nice to meet you, David."

With a little look around, Derek glances back at the other man. "Do you run here a lot?"

[helpdesk_hero]

He's got to keep going, keep up the light jog, because he doesn't want his pulse rate to fall. Exercise is more effective when the heart is pumping, working on things. Still, he's definitely able to multitask. And to process what the guy says. Which earns a brief chuckle.

"Oh, you live at one. I'm over at four. Nice to meet you too, Derek. And I run here most every day. Just not, you know, always the same time."

Work makes life slightly less predictable. And David has so much he has to do most of the time.

cafe

[eloquentness]

"Oh, no," Iris says, waving her hand away as if it's no big deal, "You don't have to leave on my behalf. I won't be staying long myself."

This month had been particularly busy, and not because of anything imPort-related (for once). Work negotiations had been long and arduous. Now that things on the business side were slowing down, she could finally breathe. Grab a quick pastry and cup of coffee she didn't summon from thin air, and actually be.

She pauses, glancing down at the file - boy, does that look pretty familiar. Like hers had, back when she had first arrived, but she's not sure she should point that out just yet.

So she settles for, "You know, I don't think I've ever seen this place so packed. Word must've gotten out."

[duelo]

It isn't until she goes on talking that Derek actually looks up enough to get a decent look at her. His rush to leave slows to a near stop and he offers her a hopefully charming smile. "No?" he asks, looking around briefly before settling his eyes back on the woman. "I've never been until today. I just sort of assumed it was always like this," he replies.

Then, Derek gestures at the empty chair across from him to encourage her to take it, since he never actually welcomed her into it in just so many words. "Please, have a seat. I'm Derek," he offers. Derek realizes that what he had said might only have prompted her to hover and wait for him to go.

"Have you lived here long?" Lived here, not been here, because the former is a little more vague and the latter suggests imPort and he doesn't want to do that. If she isn't, it could draw attention to the fact that he is and he'd really rather pass on that.

[eloquentness]

His assumption's a fair one; Iris would've guessed the same thing, if it was her first time here. Either the imPort-fandom has snuffed her out (doubtful) or the food here really is just that good.

"Thanks," she says, sliding into the empty chair and setting her food down on the free space. "I'm Iris. It's good to meet you, Derek, and well.. I've been here for two years now. Hard to call anywhere else home."

He's really easy on the eyes, now that she's getting a good look at him. Cute, friendly, even okay with some small talk. Selfishly, she can guess why, but she can pretend that friendship is on the agenda.

"What about you? New to Heropa, new to Florida, new to..." Earth? "New to the cafe and its honestly too-good cafe?"

[duelo]

Derek lifts an eyebrow at her response. Two years. So there's hope that he might actually get to build a life here and not have to worry about settling in only for it all to be ripped away from him and forgotten. That's actually weirdly nice to hear. Derek's got nothing really waiting for him back home. He'd been visiting Cora and he does that now and again, but they're not close. How can they be when a decade apart ended only in her disappointment in him? He nearly got her killed. No wonder she'd rather live on a completely different continent than him. She'll probably be even safer while he's here.

"Wow, two years..." he replies, sounding more interested than put out or shocked. "Are you missing people back home or are they here, too?" Beyond a gentle probe of whether she might be local, it's a subtle way of asking if she has anyone back home to miss. Derek sort of doesn't. Not really.

Derek smiles a little and shrugs. "New to everything, I guess. I've been here in De Chima for, I don't know, a couple of weeks? Something like that. I'm getting used to things. At least the weather feels like home, so that's one less thing to have to adjust to. I'm originally from California, but contrary to popular belief, it's not always sunny and warm in the whole state all year round," he explains. He sort of leaves it at that and lets her decide whether to make the jump between that information and whether he's local or not to this world. "I'm still sort of trying to decide what to make of it all." There, that ought to be a clue, he thinks, if she's like him. If she isn't, he doubts she'll pick up any significance to that. A part of him just wants to ask her if she's also an imPort, but the part of him that doesn't want any extra attention from locals is afraid of being wrong in thinking that she might be.

[eloquentness]

At his last sentence, everything clicks together. Iris's eyes widen and she purses her lips in realization, and she nods, all the tension leaving her body. Befriending locals was a regular, everyday occurrence, but imPorts – those are the ones who truly understand the surreal, ephemeral feeling of this Earth.

"It's a lot, isn't it?" She has to laugh, already relieved. "I love De Chima. It's where I work, actually, but Heropa is always going to be home. It's a lot smaller, though, so you'll meet everyone really quick."

She glances at the file, "Oh, and um - to answer your earlier question, I miss a lot of people. My dad, for example, and my best friends. But you make new friends, and I don't know... things get easier after a while. Not perfect. Not fully, totally easier, but enough that you adjust and figure out what home really is."

Heropa Creeper

[bifroster]

Jane likes to think that she is a very observant person. She notices little numbers in equations that explain the nature of the universe, so why not when someone is creeping around at night? One could ask her what she is doing out and about this hour too, but her telescope kind of gives her away. Regardless, she only notices Derek walking around once and due to the darkness, cannot tell that it is him. So she figures someone is just out for a stroll. Insomnia is a thing.

Then she gets turned around in the wrong direction (seriously, she should be better at this sort of thing, given her profession) and turns a corner, where she can easily bump into him.

lmao i love that "heropa creeper" is now a thing

[duelo]

He's about ready to call it for the night when Derek hears the familiar sound of a heartbeat. It's coming toward him, pretty steadily, but it's coming from around the corner. The scent is feminine, in his opinion, so it's not Stiles, which means it's fine with Derek if he ends up coming face to face with them.

Derek hears and smells her coming before she rounds the corner, so when she's about to run smack into him, Derek's hands move out to touch her shoulders to keep them from colliding. "Whoa, whoa...sorry about that," he says, even though he isn't the one that might've caused the collision.

It takes him a second, but he recognizes her. "Jane, right?"

that should be his hero name XD

[bifroster]

Jane blinks in the darkness. There really needs to be more street lamps around this neighborhood, but maybe she can pester someone about that later. At the moment, she tries to steady herself and hold onto her telescope. Derek grabbing onto her shoulders helps.

“Derek?” she asks. “What are you doing out here?”

yeah it sounds really heroic lmfao

[duelo]

Once she's steadied, Derek lets his hands fall away to his sides again, offering her a sheepish sort of smile. He's certainly not going to own up to what he's actually doing, lest the information get back to Stiles and then Derek will never hear the end of it. Instead, he shrugs a little.

"I've been trying to familiarize myself with all the Porter cities," he says. That's not untrue, entirely, but it's...a little exaggerated. "I'm kind of a night owl, so I figured between that and the fact that most of the locals are probably in for the night by now, it'd be the best time to be able to do it and not have to worry about the crowds."

It's not completely a lie, at least. There's some truth to it.

He notices the telescope and nods down to it, a little smile on his face. "See anything good tonight?" he asks.

hehehee

[bifroster]

Especially when there were better ways to look out for someone, like, check in on them directly. Or message them. Telecommunications was a wonderful thing.

Jane hums at his explanation. It does make sense, but she senses that there is a little more to the story. She supposes that if he wants to keep his business to himself, he should be allowed to.

"It would allow you to go around in circles without anyone wondering why."

She smiles back when he noticed the telescope and adjusts it in her arms. It's not heavy or anything; she's been carrying similar telescopes since she was a kid. But it was a good night for stargazing.

"Nothing unusual at the moment, but Jupiter is especially bright and the lack of a moon makes it easier to see more far-off objects."