wildkingdom | cuddle city } { ic inbox

[Oh that's a can of worms she's not going to open beyond the barest of details. Donovan isn't really something she should be telling this Scott about. She's not even really sure if she could give him the whole story.]

He dumped me. He didn't really explain why? I just think I wasn't what he actually wanted.

[translation: he wanted to date Lydia.]

oh. im sorry.

[because it's far too easy to get what she isn't saying. stiles has been fixated on lydia for so long now that they idea of him even thinking of anyone else like that feels weird. he's wanted the impossible for far too long now to let go.]

but youre still friends though right?
i mean if were all pack, you two get on still dont you?

Yeah. We're still friends.

[Way too much of her humanity is tied up in Stiles for her to try and cut him out completely - as the Riders proved way too easily. And honestly, Stiles and Lydia seem really happy and she loves them both and therefore wants them to be happy.

It's just ... hard sometimes.]

Can we not talk about this anymore?

yeah. sure. sorry.

[because he gets it. sure, he may not have ever actually...dated anyone before. but while he may still be in the early stages of that with allison, the idea of her rejecting him now, of then having to talk about that with anybody-- there's nothing easy about that.]

so. the shelter just got a pair of collies in and they havent been able to get a real run in all week.
do you want to come with us?

[Thank you, Scott. You're a sweetheart.]

Yes! I can be there in ten minutes.

[This sounds like a much better use of her time than talking about Stiles.]

awesome. well be waiting outside

[because it's not like he's actually working today. he just happens to spend most of his free time there too.]

See you there.

[And honestly, who wouldn't want to play with a bunch of dogs, even on their day off. She'll show up as promised, in her usual cut off shorts and layered shirts combo and flashes him a smile when she sees him.

Or maybe it's the dogs.]

Hey.

[when she arrives, scott is in the middle of trying to wrangle the two, far too overeager dogs. they've been for walks, of course. but even they seem to realize that this time is different. so pumped full of energy, scott is stuck crouched on the floor, arms wrapped around the shoulders of one of the pair as he tries to calm her down. it unfortunately (or perhaps fortunately) means that the other dog is free to slip out of the grip scott thought he had on his collar. but with malia there, she becomes the object of his attention as he runs off to give her a sniff.]

Man, I am so glad you're here. [because he can't do this on his own. he isn't old enough to be a father.]

[She grins as she drops down to give the puppy some love, scratching him gently behind the ears as he comes over to say hello. She has no problem with overeager dogs, as it's not like they can hurt her too much - at least not anything that she can't heal from.]

They seem excited. Guess they're ready to go?

I think so.

[or at least he hopes so, given that he finally deems it safe to let go of the other dog. who promptly bounds over to malia's side too. apparently they've both already chosen their favorites.

standing up again, scott smiles back at malia, glad at the fact she'd come in the first place. sure, there may be years of unshared history between them, but he can't deny the fact that he does actually enjoy having someone from home here who he can talk to. someone who isn't derek hale.]

Its been a while since I've gone for a run, so go easy on me? [you know, what with the whole asthma thing. it's the one good thing that's come from all this.]

[She laughs a bit as the other dog joins them, doing her best to give some love to them both, before nodding.]

Don't worry. I'll make sure you can keep up.

[She's teasing.]

Do they have leashes or are they good at staying with the pack?

They're pretty good at staying close. I don't usually need a leash when we go for walks.

[though he does end up having to call them back a lot. or hold on to at least one of their collars to keep them close. but knowing just how...clingy they can also be, he doesn't doubt that they'll find their way back to them in the end.]

Unless, uh-- If you're asking cause you want to shift or something, that's fine. I don't mind.

Are you sure?

[Because Scott hadn't seemed so sure about the were-ness of it all, but if he's giving her the option to run around in coyote form, she's probably gonna take it.]

I'd need somewhere to stash my clothes.

Edited 2017-10-10 19:29 (UTC)

Your... Oh! Well, okay. Alright. You can, uh--

[he's just going to take a moment to try and get his brain back online again. don't mind him.

an uncomfortable pause later and he's nodding to himself, glancing back towards the shelter again. the changing rooms may be meant for the staff who work there, but given that the two of them are technically helping the shelter out right now, he doubts they'll mind.]

I've got a locker in there if you want? Or I can go grab my bag and carry your...clothes...for you.

[and remain hugely embarrassed by the whole naked part of all this.]

Whichever's easier is fine, so long as I can get to them when we're done.

[Like if they're going to stop in a park or something and Scott ... actually wants to talk to her because she can't do that as a coyote. But she is a little confused about him being weird about her being naked, so she provides this helpful bit of commentary:]

You know, you see me naked a lot. You should get used to it.

[ ... Malia, no. Even if it is true, just ... no.]

[and if that last pause wasn't awkward enough, this time he all but freezes up, eyes wide while he tries to...process that. tries to remember that they're both adults (technically) here. there's no reason for him to be embarrassed about the way this conversation has gone, right?

yeah, no. he's still a teenager no matter what. complete with hormones. naked women will likely be his kryptonite until the day he dies.]

I'm just gonna-- [a point towards the building, and he's stumbling over his own feet as he heads off to collect his bag. and a towel. and if he happens to stink of both embarrassment and arousal, well, teenage hormones. never forget.]

[Okay, the embarrassment she feels a little bad about, but the arousal brings up a whole different bag of Complicated Feelings that she doesn't really know how to handle. If they were back home and that came up, she would have likely already tried to test that line.

But this isn't Scott - not her Scott anyway. She never thought that would make a difference but there is history and emotions there that were gone the minute she realized Scott didn't know who she was.

So when he gets back, she looks appropriately apologetic.]

Sorry. Sometimes I forget that you're not you yet.

[the "i'm still me" is bitten off before it's aired. while he may understand what she means, the disagreement is still there. whether he gets his wish here or not, he refuses to believe that remaining a wolf will change him that dramatically. that he won't make the same friends he'll supposedly make if nothing changes.

he also knows how naive that belief is. but it's an attempt at optimism that he doesn't want to give up on yet.]

It's okay. I, uh-- I've got my bag. We can go.

[which seems to be enough of a prompt for the dogs, given that they take it as a cue to trot off ahead of them.]

[For Malia, though, it is that complicated. As much as they don't talk about it, Malia likely wouldn't be standing here if it wasn't for Scott. If Scott wasn't an alpha, she would still be stuck as a coyote in the woods, no friends, no family, barely even human. Scott being a werewolf is the lynchpin for how much she's managed to change and how much she's been able to impact other people.

Her dad probably would have killed her with one of his coyote traps if it wasn't for Scott. The difference exists, even if he doesn't want to think it.

So she nods and takes off after the dogs. As much as she wants to shift, this feels like a situation where it's better for her to be human for a bit.

Besides, she can still give them something to chase like this.]

[there's another brief pause before scott sets off after the group, a look of confusion crossing his face at the fact that malia hasn't changed yet. but he's assuming that she's waiting for a little more privacy first. that she plans on changing out of her clothes before she shifts rather than risk damaging them.

it's why he stays silent at the beginning. why he just focuses on trying to keep up with the others. it's only once they move from the city streets and to forest paths that he finally slows down to break that silence.]

Aren't you going to shift?

[She glances back to him for a moment, before giving a small shrug.]

I didn't want to make it weird.

[Which she may have just done by not doing so. She pauses for a moment, before turning to face him more.]

Do you want me to?

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