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tamingthemuseTitle: after the war [6/?]
Fandom: Teen Wolf
Prompt: 505 - nuance
Warnings: AU (some kind of not-quite post-apocalyptic, slightly militaristic, maybe in-the-future, werewolves-become-known I don’t know). Derek/Stiles, with background Erica/Boyd and Scott/Allison.
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: ~630
Summary: Derek teaches McCall how to use a couple of his new senses.
Disclaimer: It’s all lies and I own nothing.
-- = --
Derek already had a basic plan of action in mind once he and McCall made it back to the farmhouse. “McCall and Dunbar will be joining Reyes, Lahey, and myself in the search for Stiles. Boyd, I want you to accompany Argent’s team and the rest of McCall’s back to Beacon Hills. Parrish, it’s up to you whether you continue on with us or return home.”
“I’m with you,” Parrish said, adjusting his pack on his shoulders. “Stilinski’s probably going to need a medic when we find him.”
Derek nodded. “Okay. I’ll take first watch. I suggest the rest of you try to get some sleep. We’ll move out at first light.”
Nobody argued. Derek followed Lahey from the room to find a place to drop his pack before heading back outside. Not a minute later, McCall joined him. They walked the perimeter of the house for a while in silence, McCall’s scent slowly turning bitter with his anxiety.
“What is it?” Derek asked.
“Do you think you could help me? With my senses, I mean,” McCall finally said. “Unless it’s not a good time?”
“No. Now’s fine.” Derek stopped and turned to face him. “Controlling your senses is a lot like exercising a new muscle. The more you practice or train with it, the easier it’s going to be to use.” He waited for McCall to nod in understanding before continuing on. “Right now, what do you hear?”
“A lot of noise. Bugs and heartbeats, mostly.”
“Try focusing on one thing at a time. I’m sure you’re familiar with your own heartbeat and breath sounds, but what about mine? They’ll be louder because of my proximity.”
He watched McCall close his eyes, eyebrows pinching together in concentration as he focused. After a couple of moments, he started tapping out the rhythm of Derek’s heartbeat on his leg.
“Good. Now stretch you hearing towards the house. All the heartbeats are different. The ones that are slightly elevated are likely other werewolves. I know Reyes, Boyd, and Lahey’s, but I can pick out Whittemore and Dunbar, too.”
“I can hear Allison’s,” McCall said, eyes still closed, goofy, besotted smile curling his mouth. “I recognized her breathing.”
“Good. Now,” Derek said, stretching his hearing north beyond the house and into the woods where he could hear what he was certain was a family of raccoons. “North of the house, there’s rustling and what sounds like trilling.”
Again, McCall went quiet as he listened, eyes closed. They opened wide, eyebrows raised as he looked at Derek. “What is that?”
“Raccoons. You hear them around base a lot at night.”
“Crazy. How far can you hear?”
“It depends,” Derek told him. “From here, maybe five or six miles. But if we were out on an open plain without any densely wooded areas, it could be as far as ten.”
“So, if Stiles were nearby, within five miles or so, we’d be able to hear him.”
“We should be able to.”
“But we can’t.”
“No. So he’s not close.” Derek didn’t tell him that he’d be able to recognize Stiles’ heartbeat as easy as he’d recognized Allison’s, wasn’t sure how much of their relationship Stiles had told him about. If it was anything at all.
“How are we going to find him?”
“With our senses. The alpha pack had to have left some kind of trail, scent or otherwise. If they were injured—if Stiles was injured—there will be traces of blood. As dense of some of the woods around here are, we might get lucky enough to establish a direction. Lahey is great at following a scent trail. He’ll be our best bet of finding one and determining direction.”
McCall nodded along. “Okay. Can you teach me how to scent?”
Fandom: Teen Wolf
Prompt: 505 - nuance
Warnings: AU (some kind of not-quite post-apocalyptic, slightly militaristic, maybe in-the-future, werewolves-become-known I don’t know). Derek/Stiles, with background Erica/Boyd and Scott/Allison.
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: ~630
Summary: Derek teaches McCall how to use a couple of his new senses.
Disclaimer: It’s all lies and I own nothing.
Derek already had a basic plan of action in mind once he and McCall made it back to the farmhouse. “McCall and Dunbar will be joining Reyes, Lahey, and myself in the search for Stiles. Boyd, I want you to accompany Argent’s team and the rest of McCall’s back to Beacon Hills. Parrish, it’s up to you whether you continue on with us or return home.”
“I’m with you,” Parrish said, adjusting his pack on his shoulders. “Stilinski’s probably going to need a medic when we find him.”
Derek nodded. “Okay. I’ll take first watch. I suggest the rest of you try to get some sleep. We’ll move out at first light.”
Nobody argued. Derek followed Lahey from the room to find a place to drop his pack before heading back outside. Not a minute later, McCall joined him. They walked the perimeter of the house for a while in silence, McCall’s scent slowly turning bitter with his anxiety.
“What is it?” Derek asked.
“Do you think you could help me? With my senses, I mean,” McCall finally said. “Unless it’s not a good time?”
“No. Now’s fine.” Derek stopped and turned to face him. “Controlling your senses is a lot like exercising a new muscle. The more you practice or train with it, the easier it’s going to be to use.” He waited for McCall to nod in understanding before continuing on. “Right now, what do you hear?”
“A lot of noise. Bugs and heartbeats, mostly.”
“Try focusing on one thing at a time. I’m sure you’re familiar with your own heartbeat and breath sounds, but what about mine? They’ll be louder because of my proximity.”
He watched McCall close his eyes, eyebrows pinching together in concentration as he focused. After a couple of moments, he started tapping out the rhythm of Derek’s heartbeat on his leg.
“Good. Now stretch you hearing towards the house. All the heartbeats are different. The ones that are slightly elevated are likely other werewolves. I know Reyes, Boyd, and Lahey’s, but I can pick out Whittemore and Dunbar, too.”
“I can hear Allison’s,” McCall said, eyes still closed, goofy, besotted smile curling his mouth. “I recognized her breathing.”
“Good. Now,” Derek said, stretching his hearing north beyond the house and into the woods where he could hear what he was certain was a family of raccoons. “North of the house, there’s rustling and what sounds like trilling.”
Again, McCall went quiet as he listened, eyes closed. They opened wide, eyebrows raised as he looked at Derek. “What is that?”
“Raccoons. You hear them around base a lot at night.”
“Crazy. How far can you hear?”
“It depends,” Derek told him. “From here, maybe five or six miles. But if we were out on an open plain without any densely wooded areas, it could be as far as ten.”
“So, if Stiles were nearby, within five miles or so, we’d be able to hear him.”
“We should be able to.”
“But we can’t.”
“No. So he’s not close.” Derek didn’t tell him that he’d be able to recognize Stiles’ heartbeat as easy as he’d recognized Allison’s, wasn’t sure how much of their relationship Stiles had told him about. If it was anything at all.
“How are we going to find him?”
“With our senses. The alpha pack had to have left some kind of trail, scent or otherwise. If they were injured—if Stiles was injured—there will be traces of blood. As dense of some of the woods around here are, we might get lucky enough to establish a direction. Lahey is great at following a scent trail. He’ll be our best bet of finding one and determining direction.”
McCall nodded along. “Okay. Can you teach me how to scent?”
