ataraxionlogs | ( CLOSED )

puppydogeyes) & Derek Hale (

altercate)
LOCATION: The new base camp
WARNINGS: Swearing
SUMMARY: Tyke finally has the majority of her memory back, which means she has some questions for Derek
NOTES: Backdated to shortly after the jump

[Taylor hadn't had that much to move, when the alarms had started crying. Her tent had really only been canvas slung over supports, two cots underneath - she'd preferred the sides open for reasons she hadn't been able to quantify until recently, that she wanted to be able to see out to the jungle and in to the camp. Watch her back on all sides. Fleeing from the jump, she'd mostly been carrying supplies others hadn't been able to shoulder and Colt in her arms. It had made it easy to turn back once the jump had passed. And it made it easy, now, setting things back up.

She's picked a spot at the edge of the camp nearest the jungle, again, some urge in her to guard as much as being able to slip away into the trees quickly. Structural supports planted firmly into the ground, she's busy unfolding the canvas, getting it ready to throw over the top. Her jump suit is open to her waist, arms tied to keep it in place, the grey tank underneath already damp with sweat between her shoulders and down her chest in the fierce sun. There are four dogs waiting in the shade nearby, now. Windsor, Jabberwocky and Chubbs all recently rescued from the wreckage of the Tranquility, settled alongside Colt. Throwing herself into the work makes it easier not to think on how grateful she is to have found them, and how many it means she's lost in turn.]

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[ the dogs always know when derek's coming, no matter how he approaches, whether he's on four legs or two. today he's upright, wearing a tied-off jumpsuit and singlet as he watches her work. he doesn't approach immediately, not until the dogs ears prick up. derek finally closes the last distance between them, arms crossed as he surveys her work. ]

Need an extra set of hands?

[ he's trying not to be overbearing. there's a line he won't cross, not while tyke's memories are still piece-meal. derek's wary of influencing her recovery of them, and uncomfortable with initiating anything between them until she's remembered every last piece of their relationship. ]

[The dogs see him coming. Taylor isn't sure if that's a good thing or not, the little advance warning that gives her time to think on how she's going to react, when maybe just reacting would be the easier way. She remembers him. She's been remembering him, bits and pieces, over the last month - but now it feels complete. The way she feels when she looks at him matched against memories, time they'd spent together, larger incidents that stand out as important marks on a long history, woven full and bright. She straightens to look at him now, and she doesn't know how to put any of it into words. She wants to reach for him. Wants to make up for lost time, for the other side of the see you later in the shuttle bay, when everything started going to hell. How she can hear him now, and what did that mean? What had happened?

It's a lot. She doesn't know how to say it. So she tips her head, instead, smile briefly crooking the corners of her mouth.]

You got some to offer?

Two. [ derek replies, sardonic, holding both of them up. ] I'm pretty good with them.

[ more so now than he had been for the last stretch of time on the ship. it's awkward to consider the difference a few weeks had made. it's even harder to consider how best to approach the topic with tyke, though derek thinks he can settle for just waiting for her memory to reassert itself fully, and reconnecting with her as much as possible in the meantime. ]

[Somehow it makes it easier. The soft flare of amusement that has a light huff out of her, the familiarity of his tone, the easy confidence in knowing how to bat it back to him. She remembers his hands, and how good he is with them.]

Yeah? Wanna come here and show me?

[The fact he doesn't know she remembers isn't discarded, but she thinks maybe he'll figure it out from this. Or she'll reach a point where she cracks and tells him.]

[ tyke flirts the same as she always has, and it pulls a smile out of derek in response. his body language goes loose with it in spite of himself, conflicting emotions aside. ]

Yes.

[ simple and honest, stepping closer. ]

What do you need me to do first?

[ it's indicative of the bigger picture. derek lets her take the lead, order him around. illustrating the trust he has in her through actions is easier for him than trying to explain it. a demonstration, even on this small scale, is unavoidable. ]

[It's the canvas that needs to go on next, thrown over the top of the frame she's built, then secured into place. The two cots she'd taken need to be assembled, a stump of wood that'll work well enough as a table. It's simple, nothing more to add than that. Not yet.

But she doesn't look to any of it, doesn't seem to consider where he could actually help with the work. She tips her chin up a little instead.]

You usually start out okay kissing me.

[ derek's blatantly caught off guard. he doesn't even have the presence of mind to posture in the face of that statement. ]

You're right. [ he admits finally, acquiescing. ] You remember that?

[ she has to be able to feel the uncertainty in his thoughts. for a moment he worries about her seeing braeden before she's ready and drawing her own conclusions. it's a sticky situation. it's not the way it had been when he'd come back in jennifer's wake, sick with heartache that felt out of place, conflicting with his relief at their reunion. ]

[Not listening is a habit near as ingrained as her pathos itself, snapped back into place alongside much of the rest in her mind. But she hears it, like an ugly buzz of static overlaying the sound of his mind. Her confidence dips, tension gathering in the line of her shoulders even as she shifts one, half a shrug.]

Think I remember everything.

[Derek's uncertainty came from having dealt with her without any memories for a month, but it was still right, because how could she know if she had all of it back? Even if it felt complete, there could still be holes, pieces missing that she wouldn't recognise.]

( CLOSED )

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