recklessthings | ℳ malia tate

Scott tells her that she'll always have a pack, and she believes him. It's hard not to believe him. He's Scott. That being said, when it becomes clear that she's not going to college like the rest of the pack - which is fine with her, she hated school anyway - she decides to go wander for a bit. While the rest of her friends go on to higher education, Malia goes back to her roots.

She takes her car and drives out towards the Rockies, trying to find a town with plenty of woods for her to run around in, but also enough people that she doesn't seem like the weird new girl and draw too much attention. She gets a job at a bar as a bouncer (the owner was skeptical at first, but then he saw the way she could slam a guy down to the ground, and he came around), and spends the rest of her time camping out in the woods. It's very rustic, very low tech, and very much designed to drive Stiles crazy when she doesn't respond to his texts right away because she has no signal. Or, occasionally, no thumbs.

(Learning to shift full coyote again is probably the best decision she's ever made, and one she takes advantage of every day. She'd probably live the rest of her life as a coyote if she could, but if she did, Stiles would probably have a heart attack. And she wouldn't want to do that to her dad.)

It's on one of her long morning runs that she picks up a scent that she hasn't caught in a long time - wolf. And not just any wolf, either - it's werewolf. She dips her nose to the ground and starts to pad her way closer, sniffing out the source of the scent and hoping it hasn't hurt anyone in the process.

What she finds on the other side is a very naked boy, passed out cold in the middle of the woods. She can't pick up any aggression or tension so she inches forward carefully, cold nose brushing against his skin as she sniffs to make sure he's okay, if nothing else.

Tyler has never had a pack. Not of his own. Well, he had one of hybrids briefly but he got them all killed so maybe it's for the best he hasn't had one since. He's not good at being a leader or a pack member really. He just messes everything up.

But he feels like he's found his place these days. Leaving Mystic Falls is the best thing he ever did, honestly. Traveling with Jeremy and hunting vampires is fulfilling. It's a purpose. It gives him an outlet for all that anger and rage built up inside of him.

Now that he's just a werewolf again Tyler can't transform at will. Not that he ever took advantage of that, considering how terrible his transformations are. He doesn't expect any other shifters to be out here -- not that he knows that's what approaching him.

Are coyotes always so friendly?

He groans a little, opening his eyes at the cold of her nose.

"I'm fine. Mostly."

The coyote whines softly, studying him for a moment, before darting off back into the woods again. She's only gone for a few minutes before she runs back again, this time in human form and fully dressed, sans shoes. Tucked under one arm is a scratchy wool blanket that she drops down on top of him, though she's clearly not bothered by his nudity. The blanket is more for him than her, as is her clothes.

She knows that that much is a human thing.

"You were giving off a whole lot of pain and fear. I wanted to make sure."

Oh. The coyote was a girl. That was different. So was the controlled shifting -- that was an ability reserved for Hybrids, at least as far as Tyler knew anymore. He doesn't doubt there's a lot of shit out there he doesn't know about.

He takes the blanket and wraps it around his waist, tucking it into a wrap for now. At least he can pretend to have some dignity this way.

"Full moons aren't exactly a fun time for me."

All things considered, it seems dumb to try to pretend he had another reason for being naked in the woods.

"I don't think they're a fun time for anyone." She can remember the times she found herself struggling for control, rehashing the memories of the night she lost her mother and sister. It's not her favorite time of the month, by a long shot.

She sits down cross legged across from him and gives him a small smile. "I'm Malia."

"Not for people like us, anyway." Shapeshifters, werewolves, whatever you want to call it. Tyler has always hated his transformations, and though it's not as bad as it was at first it still sucks a whole lot.

"Tyler. I've never seen one of us who could turn into a coyote before."

"There aren't a lot of us," she admits before giving a small shrug. "The only other one I've ever met was my Mom, and ... " There's a beat as she tries to find the best way to explain it. "Well, there's a reason there isn't a whole lot of us."

Because they don't like to pass on their power when they decide to procreate.

"Enough said." He's not going to pry about his parents -- he gets it. Some are really shitty. His dad had been, even if he never triggered the werewolf gene like Mason and Tyler did.

She nods in agreement, before jerking her thumb back over her shoulder. "I've got a camp not too far from here, if you want something to eat? I'm always starving after full moons."

All that effort and energy to keep control of her inner beast. And maybe part of her is missing her pack and wouldn't mind a little company.

"Yeah, food sounds great." The physical exertion of the turn tends to make him starving. "I have some clothes stashed nearby I can change into first."

You know, common decency and all.

"Cool. Do you want me to wait or can you sniff me out?" Be proud of her that she didn't just automatically assume the latter, because she would think that most werewolves have noses worth their salt but Scott's taught her that it's at least polite to offer.

You stuck your entire fist into a full jar of peanut butter and starting assaulting people

My mouth feels like I've been chewing on leather and firecrackers for the past 3 days

I want my own midget army. I think I would be a good midget army leader.

Because a midget army is the only kind of army you could beat up?

[She loves you Stiles, but you have zero upper body strength.]

...Way to crush my dreams.

And, no, they'd probably kick my ass.

You could probably take them if you bulked up more.

Yeah, sadly, it doesn't work like that for me. I've tried but I'm not exactly built to bulk up.

It's not all about literal muscle. You know how strong I am - do I look like a body builder?

No, but...well.

It's different for you. And I've been kind of busy with school and everything anyway.

It's not that different. I had to work at it, same as you.

...You did? [Because it hadn't seem to be anything Scott had to work at. Or Liam, for that matter, aside from the control issues.]

I was a coyote for eight years. Werecoyote or not, I had to compete with the other actual coyotes and predators in order to survive. I had to make myself stronger.

...Yeah, I didn't actually, I mean... [Forget texting, here's a phone call because this is probably better done without the whole lack of tonal cues.]

I wasn't trying to downplay that, I mean, you guys are all pretty badass and I'm an idiot.

Sorry.

[She picks up the phone when he calls and she frowns.]

I know. But you're not the only one who gets that wrong.

"Yeah, it just feels like..." Stiles trails off, clears his throat. "Anyway, I'm sorry for that... You know, not thinking thing."

"It's okay." She then looks over and gives a small shrug. "It happens, I guess. Even to you." Since Stiles is the one who usually does most of the thinking with his and Scott's shared brain cell.

"Even to me, yeah. Foot in mouth is a pretty common occurrence, actually." He drops his head back onto the pillow, shifting his phone slightly.

"If you ever want to talk about that stuff, I'll listen." Because it's not like she can just drop that on anyone anyway.

"Okay." Malia's never really been all that good at talking, because communicating her feelings is for losers, but at the same time, she knows that sometimes it helps. Even if it's just to help people understand her better. "I'll let you know."

ℳ malia tate | teen wolf

whoops, i sent it to cora first

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