canon au } { post-408, of first aid and weapon training

[ooglyboogleys]

Dawn: [she wakes up in the morning to find herself quietly cuddling her ... books. And not that she doesn't love her books in a very special way, but she loves her boyfriend more, especially when it comes to cuddling. He is warm and comfortable and doesn't have hard corners that like to jab you in the stomach. Ow. This sets her off on an investigation as to the whereabouts of said boyfriend, which leads her to the main area of the loft where he seems to be passed out on the couch.

Odd.

She quietly makes her way closer, crouching down next to him and letting her hand rest against his shoulder gently. It's a moment after that that she notices the red spot on the white of his shirt, and she's pushing the wife beater up to get a better look.]

Derek: [and without even opening his eyes, his hands are just going to clamp down on them to stop her] Don't.

Dawn: [she's giving him a pointed look but she doesn't fight his hands] You're bleeding.

Derek: It's fine.

Dawn: If it's fine then why are you sleeping out here? [also if it's fine, why won't you let her see it, hmmmm?]

Derek: Because your books took over the bed again.

Dawn: [there's a look at that] If it's fine, then you won't mind my having a look at it.

Derek: [he gives one right back, acting all of the age of 12] It's just slow healing. [and he goes to roll over in the couch so you can't see. Even if there is a bit of a red spot on the back too. Oops.]

Dawn: [except she knows what's been happening to him, and that choice of phrasing doesn't really inspire confidence] Derek, let me see.

Derek: Dawn, I'm tired. It's fine.

Dawn: You're actively bleeding. I don't think it's fine. [she's just putting that out there] But if you're tired come to bed. I'll kick out the books.

Derek: [just sighs, pouting into the back of the couch]

Dawn: [okay. She's done with you behaving like you're twelve. She tugs on his shoulder hard] Derek, show me your eyes.

Derek: You already saw them.

Dawn: You know what I mean. [her patience for this is wearing very thin]

Derek: [sighs and rolls back over at her, because he can't hide it any longer from her. And he just looks at her, hazel eyes not changing, no matter how hard her tried]

Dawn: [she waits for a moment, and it's just what she's been worried about. She sighs softly, before pushing up to her feet] I'm gonna get the first aid kit.

Derek: [he scowls, but nods and sits up, trying not to wince at the pain he's not used to feeling]

Dawn: [she sees that scowl but she'll explain as she goes] I know it's probably not bad, but I don't know how solid your immune system is right now. A little infection could go a long way if your body doesn't have the antibodies to fight it. [a little overcompensation now won't hurt him]

Derek: Fine. [his shoulders slump though, because he doesn't like this at all]

Dawn: [she fishes out the kit, before coming back to sit on the couch next to him, reaching for the bottom of his shirt again, tugging up to get a better look at it] Sit up a little more?

Derek: [looks down at the wound, then just pulls his shirt off and sits up obediently]

Dawn: Thank you. [she places the kit on the table and flips it open, grabbing the bottle of peroxide and a cotton ball first. The top of the lid comes off and she coats the cotton ball in it, before leaning in closer] This is going to sting. [she doesn't give him much time to think about it before applying it, however, so he doesn't tense up]

Derek: [he hisses, squeezing his eyes shut]

Dawn: [and once that's done there's a bandage and presto!] All done. [she presses a kiss to his shoulder in return, a reward for being good] Want me to get you another shirt?

Derek: No, I can get it. [he moves to stand, then winces and holds onto the arm of the couch in pain. His face shows just how frustrated he is]

Dawn: Easy. [she doesn't dissuade him, or try to help him unless he seems like he needs it, just keeps her voice gentle] I know it sucks, but it's something you're going to have to get used to until we figure this out.

Derek: [he turns to look at her, his eyes sad] It's all gone.

Dawn: I know. [she pulls back shifting against the couch before gesturing for him to come closer] Come here. [he can get a shirt later]

Derek: [He turns to her, his sad puppy eyes, slumped shoulder. He's defeated, angry, and scared but trying to mask it all behind a face of indifference for everyone's sake]

Dawn: [she takes his arm, tugging him towards her gently as she stretches on the couch like he had earlier, She moves slow so as not to jostle his side, but once he's close enough she'll tuck his head against her shoulder and tangle her legs in his, keeping him close]

Derek: [he hesitates, because damnit Dawn he just stood up and that hurt and you want him to lay down again? But he does, going slowly until he's all cuddled up in her arms]

Dawn: [hush, she changed her mind. He needs this more. She presses a kiss to the nape of his neck. She's been trying to be a little more fragrant lately - a more floral shampoo, a little perfume - things she hasn't really done since before they started dating, but at least it's still a scent he can identify her by. She's tried to keep things as close to normal as she can, but that only seems to be getting harder the more human he gets ... or rather, the more human he now is]

Derek: [finally, softly] I don't know what to do.

Dawn: [brushes a hand against the back of his head] You adapt. You figure it out. And you don't have to do it all by yourself.

Derek: [he's not going to say what he's thinking. That this may not be where it ends. That he's going to keep losing something. His age will catch up. His body can't handle it...]

Dawn: [nope, this is a pessimism-free zone] I just keep thinking ... it can't have just disappeared completely. It had to go somewhere. So when we find out where that somewhere is, we'll get your wolf back.

Derek: [if it's not too late] Okay.

Dawn: [PESSIMISM FREE ZONE. She dips her head a bit to press a kiss to his shoulder]

Derek: [good luck on that. But he does nuzzle her neck, taking in her perfume because it was the only scent he had now. Not her real scent.]

Dawn: [not her real scent. But close enough] I'm still contemplating the pros and cons of wrapping you in bubble wrap. [she's teasing. mostly]

Derek: I need to breathe.

Dawn: I would make sure there were air holes.

Derek: [he's rolling his eyes]

Dawn: [yep, that doesn't stop her] Oh! Or maybe one of those protective bubbles.

Derek: [and he's pulling back to give you a look]

Dawn: [remember you love her. That is what her smile says as she looks at him] I hear they're very in.

Derek: [sighs through his nose, and moves to get up again] I'm getting a shirt. It's cold.

Dawn: [nods as she gives him room to sit up] Want to just go to bed?

Derek: [sits and thinks a moment] Shirt first, then bed. [still so tired.]

Dawn: [nods and goes to follow him to the bedroom to clear away the books]

Derek: [goes and finds a shirt, pulling it on and after a moment, decides to swap out of his jeans too for something more comfortable]

Dawn: [books away, covers pulled back, she slides her legs under the edges and waits quietly for him to join her]

Derek: [He stands looking at the closet a moment, the just goes to bed and curls up carefully next to her]

Dawn: [she shifts a bit to accommodate him, careful of his side, before letting her head rest against his shoulder. She would tell him it would be okay again, but it seems a little redundant.]

Derek: [thinks to himself] If worse comes to worse... I could see if Scott can turn me. [even if it risked not taking. Because he can't be human.]

Dawn: [.... there's an idea.] Maybe. He probably would, too.

Derek: I'd have to join his pack at that point. [which left Peter as an omega on his own - that wasn't going to fare well]

Dawn: I don't think Scott ever considered you not part of his pack, Derek.

Derek: I didn't. Peter needs someone on his side.

Dawn: Peter doesn't think anyone is on his side. In fact, the only one who thinks you're on Peter's side is you.

Derek: That's why he needs someone on his side.

Dawn: [shifts a bit so that she's facing him more] In order to be on someone's side, they have to acknowledge you're there.

Derek: He knew, Dawn. Why do you think he was always here? Took me in when I was a teenager? Helped with everything he did. It's not all for his own purposes, he just does it that way because he doesn't know any better. But if I give up on him - we're going to lose him. I can't, not now.

Dawn: [watches him for a moment, softly, before nodding] I just hope all this faith you have in him isn't misplaced.

Derek: I hope so too. Because I really don't want to have to watch someone kill him again for good. He's in there somewhere.

Dawn: [she nods. she doesn't want Derek to lose him any more than he does, she doesn't want to see Scott or Buffy get pushed across that line] I hope Buffy sees that too.

Derek: Me too.

Dawn: [sighs softly, before curling up into him] Just ... if you're wrong? Don't let him drag you down with him.

Derek: If I'm wrong, Dawn... it's going to end very badly for all of us.

Dawn: That's why I'm hoping you're not wrong ... but still want to be prepared all the same.

Derek: [nods, and just goes back to snuggling against her for warmth. He's a cold human]

Dawn: [pulls up the blankets over them and tangles herself in him, making sure they can collect as much warmth as possible]

Derek: I hate this. [not her, or the snuggling. the human feeling]

Dawn: I know. But I can help you manage it. I happen to be excellent at being human.

Derek: Problem is, Dawn - me being human doesn't take me off the deadpool. [realities]

Dawn: [sighs] No it doesn't. But there are ways you can protect yourself too.

Derek: We've already said no to the bubble.

Dawn: I was thinking more along the lines of a knife. Or a crossbow. Knives are easier to conceal though.

Derek: I'm not a big fan of weapons.

Dawn: Yes, well, you can't magically create them anymore. And unless you're just going to stand there and let them kill you, you need to do something.

Derek: [he just looks away, not comfortable with the topic]

Dawn: [she sighs softly] It comes down to if you want to run or if you want to fight.

Derek: I'm not going to run. [he hasn't before, why should he now?]

Dawn: Then you have to learn how to fight - human style.

Derek: [nope, still not happy about any of this]

Dawn: [Yeah, she doesn't expect him to be.] We could start with hand to hand stuff first.

Derek: In the morning. [cold nose on neck]

Dawn: [she nods, her fingers coming up to brush through his hair softly] Morning sounds good.

Derek: [and he's just going to nuzzle there and fall back asleep]

Dawn: [and she probably won't. if she does it won't be well at any rate. too busy trying not to worry]

Derek: [and cold boyfriend probably doesn't help when he's normally the furnace]

Dawn: [no, not really, but eventually they manage to build a bubble of warmth under the covers]

[And Buffy and Argent show up later to help with training Derek to fight. Which then leads to Buffy and Argent having a difference of opinion over how to train him.]

Chris: Reloading time of a gun verses a crossbow for a beginner? And Throwing knives also need practice.

Buffy: He's not completely helpless. All that strength training he did when he was a wolf didn't just poof! away when he lost his bonus features. He just has to relearn how to use it which takes less time then having to train someone from scratch with a gun - or a crossbow, but the knives would take maybe an afternoon to get used to.

Argent: Right, but how much time? And you willing to take that risk with him being on a hit list?

Derek: [is really not a part of this conversation is he? Nope. He just looks at Dawn and shrugs]

Buffy: How much time would it take you to teach him a gun? There's more to it than just point and shoot.

Dawn: [facepalms, before leaning closer to whisper in his ear] Wanna spar while they figure this out? [and her sparring is way more fun than Buffy sparring, trust her.]

Chris: Less time than it would a crossbow. Trust me, I've done the teaching on both.

Derek: [he eyes them both, then just nods and goes to quietly move away. At least he's still good at that]

Buffy: The knives was the one that I was advocating for right now. No worry about reloading or having enough ammo, you just throw.

Dawn: [yep, they'll be over here, fight flirting. don't mind them.]

Chris: You can't carrying a large supply of throwing knives. What, six a most? As opposed to a clip where he can keep two more in his pockets?

Derek: [is touched Chris is trying to argue to keep him alive. Really. but no, fight flirting in the other part of the loft for the win. Except that his girlfriend is totally kicking his ass]

Buffy: It takes time to be able to reload a gun with that much finesse, and in that time, I could charge and disarm him before he can even get a round in the chamber.

Dawn: [pins him, straddling his hips as she does] You're psyching yourself out.

Chris: Which means he would have time to load a crossbow at that point? Or hunt for one of the thrown knives if he runs out?

Derek: [huffs]

Buffy: If he runs out of knives, it at least makes him ready to take a head on attack, not fumbling with a gun to try and keep a distance he's quickly losing.

Dawn: [sighs] Buffy isn't wrong about all that strength training. The muscles don't just magically disappear because you're not a werewolf anymore. You're still strong. Use that.

Derek: I am using them. [he may be holding back because it's Dawn.]

Chris: Then we'll give him two guns that he can carry so he doesn't even have to reload if he needs to.

Dawn: [eyebrow raise] Don't hold back. I can take it.

Buffy: [just ... squints. it's bad enough they're talking one gun, now two?] I still think they're more trouble than they're worth.

Derek: [Sighs, then goes to move her off him, tossing her away a bit and jumping up to his feet again]

Chris: Maybe so, but once we find the benefactor, you can teach him something else.

Dawn: [falls back and pushes to her feet, squaring her stance and waiting for him to come at her.]

Buffy: [turns back to ask Derek and ... his not there] ... We'll see what he ... says?

Derek: [goes at her, working through a series of punches that he normally teaches his betas when they are learning their strength]

Chris: [blinks.] Well, at least he still has that skill going for him.

Dawn: [dodges and blocks them as they come - habit after training Slayers for as long as she has, before getting some distance and turning into a roundhouse towards his shoulder]

Buffy: [smirks a bit as she crosses her arms in front of her chest] Werewolves are usually pretty good with the physical.

Chris: [nods] Maybe a gun with a good sized knife then. So he has both options for close and distance.

Derek: [leans back tapping her leg to get her off balance and drops low, sweeping at her other leg]

Buffy: [she nods a bit in agreement] That could work. Keep things interesting if nothing else.

Dawn: [she manages to find her footing when he taps her leg, but not enough time to miss his leg, falling back onto her back with a groan]

Buffy: You good?

Dawn: I've had worse.

Derek: [holds out his hand to help her up] So you two figure out a compromise for me yet?

Chris: Yes.

Dawn: [takes the hand and gets pulled to her feet]

Buffy: Gun for distance, knife for close combat.

Derek: [thinks] You know I don't like guns.

Chris: You've just never had to use one before.

Derek: No, I've been shot. Repeatedly. Mostly by your family.

Chris: Which only makes it right I show you how to use it.

Buffy: [holds up her hands] Guns are not my territory.

Dawn: Or mine. I think this is the part where we make popcorn.