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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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