potosi | and I know the call of my unborn sons colors all I've done.

[As the alpha, it was Laura Hale's responsibility to take care of her pack; it was her choice to admonish the right combination of affection and level-headed strength that she'd often shown in raising not only her younger brother (already a sour pain in the ass, but her precious, sour pain in the ass) but Scott Hale, the sweet baby of her aunt, who'd died in the fire.

Derek got his own brand of attention, but Scott was a different story. Scott hadn't known the trauma that had left a scar deep on their mental tissue, and while Laura wasn't going to sugarcoat a thing, it didn't mean she was ready to have him turn into a shell, either. So, most of her attention, beyond working a job in the sheriff's department at Beacon Hills, was devoted to Scott, through presents, or simply, constantly being in his presence, an assuring alpha Thing. Laura worked with both his wolf side--underdeveloped, just a pup--and his human, and one of her simple methods of doing so had come through communication.

Sitting on the couch with Scott in her lap, she gently worked her hands over his small ones, forming them into small shapes--four fingers out, making a biting motion.]

Wolf. Just like that.

[As the programmes suggested most children were, Scott took quickly to these signs. It was a great way to communicate; at almost two years old, Scott could understand much more than he could express verbally or vocally. It was easier on the moon cycles; wolves never had words in the first place and howling was much easier to manage than words.

Signs, however, were wonderful, playful, and engaging. Mimicking Laura's motion, Scott grins and giggles, his wee tail slipping from under his elastic waistband to give a good wiggle. He can't keep himself from letting out a wee puppy howl.]

Aaoooo!!

[Laura smiles, close-lipped and warm, and ruffles his hair, tactile as always--behind him, she can see his tail, and a little giggle bursts out of her mouth. Scott is obscenely cute nowadays, and it's almost unfair to her to think that someday she'll see him so much bigger than this. Being a teenager.

She's already got one of those to deal with right now, and that's more than enough.

Leaning back a little as if scoping him out, she gives another command, gentle, but firm.]

Show me Derek.

[It's a teasing command, however. One of their special signs.]

[This is Scott's favourite sign, he won't lie. He giggles when she gives him the command, wiggling a bit as his tail wags.

Putting his hands over his head like wolf ears, Scott makes a little 'raaahr!' sound before puffing out his cheeks in a pseudo pout he can barely hold onto.]

[Immediately, a laugh bursts forth from her mouth and she ruffles her fingers into his hair, working his head gently with her fingers, a playful motion, appeasing his wolf side as much as his two year old side. Her acute hearing picks up the sound of tries crunching in the leaves; mimicking Scott in the sign for "derek", she tilts her head to the door. ]

Why don't you show him? Sounds like he's home.

[Laura lets go of Scott and lets him clamber off of her lap, looking towards the door. There's something indelibly adorable about her brother's disgruntled face.]

[ Derek doesn't bother announcing his arrival, knowing that at least Laura will realize the moment he's coming up the drive to the house. Scott will follow suit when he opens the door, working on toeing his shoes off as he drops his backpack down next to them. Overall, he's quiet-- in both demeanor and movement-- and makes quick work of routine, ears trained for the other two residents in what has become a too-big house for three people.

The idea sinks guilt further into his chest, weighing down so that it almost bows into the pit of his stomach. But he rolls his shoulders in a tense shrug, trying to shift his thoughts elsewhere. Like to the fact that he's home, he's with his pack (small as it is), and he's got a pup waiting for him.

So he turns from the doorway, and towards Laura and Scott. ]

[Scott's a fit of happy sounds and tailwags as he picks up the sound of Derek's footsteps. His hearing is still young and sensitive, acute in ways that Derek and Laura's isn't- and dimmed in certain other respects.

As Derek approaches, Scott attempts the silly sign- but his pouty face is quickly covered by giggles. He can't help it- Derek's home!]

[Getting up slowly after Scott, Laura leans against the doorway, watching her two boys interact. It's taken some time to get used to the silence in the huge house; between the three of them, they can barely fill up the spaces where pack and noise and family used to be. But they're working past it--patching up the holes in their relationships with Scott as the thread. ]

Next time, you'll have to keep your ears in, Scott. [Finally, she pushes herself off the wall and leans over to put her hand in his hair, a reassuring, tactile gesture, and matching eyes with Derek.]

[ As Scott is a flurry of excited activity in front of him, Derek can't help the faint huff that leaves him. It's not surprising to see the sign, or the attempt at it, but he still flicks a quick look up to Laura before he shakes his head.

His expression remains fairly level, for a moment. It's the look of someone considering something, rather than a frown he'd shoot at his sister for the sign. After so long, in the quiet of the house and the weight of his guilt for that silence, he hasn't actually been the sign in a long time.

He crouches down to Scott's level, before allowing himself a partial shift for the first time in months, ears flicking up and towards Scott before his face scrunches at him. ]

Hey, pup.

[Scott makes an excited squeal, reaching up to pat his hands against Derek's cheeks. He hasn't seen Derek do that in ages and he can barely remember him doing it, but it still excites him just as much- especially since Scott can do very little to keep himself from partial shifting.

He tries to reach up to touch Derek's ears and then gives up, remembering that he has yet to greet Derek. Throwing his arms around Derek as best he can, Scott grins.]

Hi, hi, hii!!

[Laura's eyes widen a little in surprise--it's been ages since Derek's last shifted, and she tries to keep her expression muted, despite the way her lips pull into a small smile.

Watching them both for a moment longer, Laura pushes off the doorway as Scott hugs Derek, then kneels down beside them, cracking her neck--by the time she's done so, a pair of ears perched up from her hair, dark brown, and her eyes shone a faint, light red, the alpha watching over her pack.

Folding her arms over her knees, she looked at Derek, smiling like she knew something. (Which, she did--it was great to see how much her little brother'd fit into the role of a dad, even if he wouldn't admit it.)]

How was school?

Hey, hey. Hey.

[ Derek started to smile the moment Scott touched at his face, but the hug gets a full, if quiet, one onto his face easily. Reaching, he scoops his forearm underneath Scott's tail, supporting him on it as he hugs him against his chest. It also makes it easier for him to reach at Derek's ears, which he knows will be inevitable.

As Laura goes to join them, he looks up at her from Scott for a second. There's a faint sheen of electric blue that flashes across his eyes, but it's more in recognition than anything else. When he sees her smile, though, he looks back down and hides his own against Scott's dark hair, one of his ears cocking to the side.

He knows that look. ]

Slow. There was a pop quiz in math, but I'm pretty sure I passed it.

Edited 2012-12-21 05:23 (UTC)

[Scott squeezes Derek around the neck quickly before reaching up to pull gently at his ears, grinning as hard as he can. He hasn't seen Derek's ears in forever and he's so excited he nearly starts bouncing in Derek's arms. His tail wags, at least, and his own ears perk.

Looking back over his shoulder at Laura, Scott points at Derek's ears excitedly, and then notices Laura's. Beaming, he points at hers too before giving a little tiny howl- and signing the word for 'wolf'.]

Edited 2012-12-21 05:30 (UTC)

[Scott and Derek are apparently conniving together to melt Laura's heart into a goddamn puddle. Flicking her ears forward in response to Scott's excited grin, she lifts her hands and turns her wrists in an arc, then turns one inward--the slang sign for "pack". Werewolf terms weren't exactly covered in the ASL dictionary, after all. ]

Good. Are you hungry?

[ Rather than joining Scott in a howl, Derek simply watches his sister sign to the pup and lets out a subvocal rumble, straight from his chest. Ever since Scott was born, he'd always made sure to make the not-noise while holding him, just to give him something familiar to focus on every time he started to get upset or needed to sleep.

The vibration peters out when Laura questions him, but it's mostly so that it doesn't lead him to growling out his response instead of speaking it. ]

A little. [ He bounces Scott to get his attention, but lets him play with his ears. ] What about you, Scott?

Pack!

[Scott knows that word, too, and he signs it as he lets go of Derek's ears. At the sound of his rumbling, however, Scott leans back against Derek's chest and smiles contentedly, signing the word 'pack' to himself, as well as other little signs.

When Derek bounces him, Scott looks up at him, head still against Derek's chest. He signs, 'hungry' with the tell-tale tilt of his head that marks a question, and then nods.]

Yes.

[Pointing to himself as if to imply 'me too', he nods again.]

Great! I guess I could cook...[The way she says that is leading. Laura knows she's kind of a crappy cook, even she'd go to her grave saying otherwise.

Reaching over to ruffle Scott's hair between her fingers, she leans away from them and takes an exaggerated step towards the kitchen.]

[ There's no way Derek could stop the smile on his face as Scott leans back against him, signing to himself and repeating pack again and again. It warms something in him, the part that hurts more days than it doesn't, and soothes away the burn that nestles itself in his ribs. Despite how much he protests to Laura calling him dad, there isn't any other way to really describe the feeling he has when he holds Scott.

He feels like a dad.

He also feels like he's being played, the moment that Laura says she could cook. His head snaps up, and he knows that she's playing him, but he still scoops Scott up against his shoulder and makes a quick rush towards the kitchen to cut Laura off. ]

Oh, no. No, you've been working so hard today, why don't I do that? Whatever you want, even.

[Scott can't keep himself from making a comically panicked face at the word 'cook' coming from Laura's mouth. He still keeps his head against Derek's shoulder, putting his hand over his mouth to hide a few shy giggles.

Dad and aunt Laura are being silly.

He leans toward Laura as if to stop her, waving his little hand.]

[Laura breaks into laughter at Derek's rush to get up and mimes throwing something at him before sitting back on the couch and propping her feet up, looking back over the back of the couch with a smile on her face.]

If I flash my eyes at you, can I get you to rub my feet, too?

I'd rather you didn't.

[ Yeah, that's right, Scott. You tell aunt Laura. Derek props him on his hip, ears swiveling backwards before he sticks his tongue out at his sister, retreating into the kitchen before she can throw something at him.

He still calls back, though. ]

What do you want?

[Scott reaches up to tug gently at one ear before he reaches for the counter, wanting to sit on it to watch. Watching dad cook was always lots of fun- he seemed to enjoy it, anyway.

And happy dad was best dad.]

[She leans back over the back of the couch and watches the boys unfettered for a moment; it brings a quiet smile to Laura's face to watch her little brother be so natural with Scott.

However, she's not above wrapping him around her finger, adorable or not.]

Mmmmmmm. Mac and cheese, maybe? Surprise me, Master chef.

and I know the call of my unborn sons colors all I've done.

YOU GUYS ARE GOING TO HATE ME AND I'M NOT SORRY.

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