triskehale | bff bday bash

Derek sent Kate a message yesterday on her actual birthday to let her know that her present would be a day late, and that it was a surprise and he won't tell her what it is so don't even try. He wanted to wait until after her actual birthday because his gift will require privacy and her full attention, so he wanted to wait.

He finds the small, ornate box that Magnus had gifted him with so long ago tucked safely into his closet and extracts one of the small vials, looking down at the precious few he has remaining. They'll go to Barry, most likely, but maybe Magnus will make him more.

Kate is worth it, in any case.

With the vial tucked safely into his pocket, he heads towards Kate's place. There's a small bit of guilt nagging at him for not including Newt, but there might be time for that later. Today is for Kate. And for Derek a little, too.

He knocks on the door and grins when Kate answers, hands tucked into the pockets of his jeans. There isn't a gift bag in sight. "Hey. Did you clear your schedule for the afternoon?"

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At first she thinks they're going to his cabin, which is fine, it's probably some kind of surprise party, but at the last second Derek changes direction and goes off the other way, away from the cabin. Kate frowns briefly, looking back over her shoulder at where the path goes toward Derek's place, then shrugs and presses on, following him into the woods.

She's not much of a hiker, really, but this place is pretty awesome. It's quiet and the sunlight being filtered through the trees makes the air a little cooler and somewhere in the distance she can hear a really pretty birdsong, although if he asks her, she's not going to own up to a single bit of that. And it's not like Derek can give her a meadow as a gift either, but she likes this place, likes how private it is, and she turns to look at him, but without her usual expectation.

"It's not just nature?" she asks. "Or like, a picnic?"

"Because we're both such the picnic-ing type," Derek says dryly, smirking at her as he reaches into his pocket to find the vial. He pulls it out, holding it hidden in his fist for a moment before reaching out to display it on his palm.

"This is your present," he tells her quietly. The sun shines down on the green liquid in the glass, and Derek hopes that she'll like it. "It's a potion that a warlock friend made for me. Anyone who takes it turns into a wolf for a few hours."

He shrugs, looking a little shy as he meets her eyes. "And I wanted to share that with you."

At first, when he produces the bottle of green liquid, she wants to make a joke about Derek getting her high, but for what might be the first time a very long time, Kate keeps her mouth shut. Instead she reaches for it, looking at the way the sun hits the liquid inside, and she lets him explain.

Then her eyes widen, her gaze flicking from the bottle to Derek and then back again as she processes what he's just told her. It's kind of a huge thing. In reality, Kate has never been truly normal, not by the standards most people use to define the word, not with her crazy ass family, but when it comes to Darrow, she's pretty much as boring as they come. No powers, no abilities to turn into things, no weird world saving abilities, and definitely no monsters trying to destroy her world. Totally normal. But what he's offering her is a chance to be something else, even for just a little while.

Something like him.

"No fucking kidding?" she asks, just to be sure. "I'd be for real a wolf? But like... still me?"

"You would be a for real wolf," Derek confirms, smiling a little at the wording. She seems excited about it, and Derek's shoulders relax a bit. "Barry and Bitty have both taken in, and they retained all their thoughts and memories. It'll still be you, just in a different form for a little while."

He takes a breath and steps forward, taking her hand and setting the vial in it before making himself meet her eyes. "You're my family. You're pack no matter what form you're in but I thought maybe you'd like to see the world like I do for a little while."

"Uh, yeah," she answers. "Obviously."

It's utterly insane. Totally nutso. Her family is literally the most fucked up thing she'd ever dealt with, but even they had never once truly held a candle to all the crazy shit she's just accepted as part of her life in Darrow. Her best friend is a werewolf, that's not weird at all, and now he's offering here the chance to actually physically change into a wolf herself and she doesn't even hesitate.

It should be way stranger than it is, but she never even considers that.

"Dude, let's do it," she says eagerly.

"Okay," Derek replies, laughing at her exuberance and his relief that this is going as well as he dared hope. He takes a step back and pulls his shirt over his head, tossing it aside and reaching for his jeans. "I'm going to shift. And you'll need to undress too if you don't want to ruin your clothes."

He toes out of his shoes and socks before pushing his jeans down his legs, balling all of his clothes up and smirking at her. "I won't peek. Once you're ready, just drink the whole thing. It won't hurt. Might feel a little weird, but they told me it didn't hurt."

After leaning forward to give her a kiss on the forehead, Derek turns to stash his belongings at the base of a tree. He pushes down his underwear as he lets the shift take over him, shaking his fur out once he lands on four paws. He turns to trot back into the clearing and sits down, tail thumping excitedly against the grass as he waits for Kate to join him.

It's undeniably weird, undressing outdoors, but she goes to find a private place to do so, slipping behind a tree and undressing quickly before she carefully folds her clothes and hopes to all of the holy wardrobe gods that no one steals her outfit. The jeans and tank top might not be the fanciest thing she could have worn, but they're still not exactly cheap, and the jeans themselves are perfectly worn and torn in all the right places.

"I'm naked outside," she calls with a laugh, knowing Derek will appreciate her amusement. "This is fucking weird!"

But it's not as weird as the feeling she gets after she drinks what's in the bottle. For a second, she wonders if it's doing anything or if Derek is playing a trick on her, but then suddenly it's like she's both smaller and bigger all at the same time. She's closer to the ground, but her back is broader, her muscles heavier, and she tries to speak, but all that comes out is a weird sort of whine.

Am I a wolf? she wants to ask, but she only manages another whine, then turns to look at herself and finds a tail. There's a fucking tail. Surprises, she sits down on her haunches, then realizes she has furry fucking haunches, too.

bff bday bash

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