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[abrightboy]

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[abrightboy]

“That isn’t what I’m talking about, either,” Malcolm says evenly, his expression going carefully coolly neutral. Well, as much as that’s possible for him. Something wounded by the accusation might have slipped through on the way. But his demeanour has changed. It’s guarded now.

“And I said it’s sorted out now. We sorted it out on our own. Without you. Because you were gone.”

Why did he think, back in the moment, that Lark would have handled it differently than Iris did? Of course he was kind and soft to him before. He was wooing him. He has him now. He can say stuff… like that.

“Anyway. Welcome back. Let me know what the program is if… there’s a program.” Was he supposed to get any training? Will he still? He doesn’t know. He lingers uncertainly.

[ukan]

He studies Malcolm, his expression softening a little. "What are you thinking right now?"

[abrightboy]

Malcolm holds his gaze for a moment, but he can’t hold it and keep it steady. He looks down. He clenches his hand into a fist when he realizes it’s shaking.

“A lot of people here take everything I say in the worst light, no matter what. And now you are. So I’m thinking… what if I made a mistake?” His voice shakes just a little before he’s done.

There’s a pause.

“I was hoping you’d come back,” he adds quietly. “I thought being part of the pack meant I would automatically feel like part of the pack. It’s been better lately, but I struggled, because it didn’t work like I thought. The sense of belonging wasn’t… inherent. I thought it would be.”

He looks up from under his brow cautiously.

“Are you going to kill me?”

He’s a failed experiment, right?

[ukan]

"I'm sorry, Malcolm. No, I didn't mean to take it in the worst light, it's...been a concern I've had since Iris was turned. That people are using me for what they think the change is like, because I've put the work into managing the downsides to it." That's not on Malcolm.

"I'm not going to kill you. I'm going to help you. You're my pack. And you're part of my Los Angeles pack, not just this one. The sense of belonging is more inherent with them than it is here where things are...different. If I'd been here I think it might have been easier; I didn't want to leave. It wasn't up to me. But I am back now, and you are part of the pack. Both packs. The first in a long time I've wanted to bring into both worlds."

[abrightboy]

Malcolm watches him for a moment.

You’re the one he chose, Will had pointed out.

He takes a risk.

“But Will can come too?”

[ukan]

"Of course." A small smile. "Male wolves are monogamous, Malcolm. I wouldn't dream of separating you two."

[abrightboy]

A flicker of a smile crosses his face. He shifts his weight.

“That’s what I told Maggie, you know. When she asked me. I said I didn’t see the point of joining the pack to not be part of the pack. If she just wanted cool dog powers, she could ask the Admiral for that.”

[ukan]

Lark grins. An honest grin, a surprised one. "Yeah?" It feels good to hear that. To know that something that means everything to Lark was being protected while he was gone. "Thank you."

[abrightboy]

Malcolm blinks surprise.

“That was right? It just felt right. …I think she thinks I’m a bit of a loser for choosing it just to… belong. But I think the belonging is the fundamental core of it.”

[ukan]

He shakes his head with a wry smile. "The Barge pack is a different thing than a real pack. A normal pack. Everyone in LA chose it to belong. It's why I chose it. It's why my maker chose it. Of all the people I've turned here, only you and Zinzi have made it back to LA. Even if you don't stay there, it's something different about you."

[abrightboy]

“We do want to travel,” Malcolm admits. “But I can see it being our base. Our family.”

[ukan]

"I'd like that. A lot," Lark admits. "I think you'll like the pack. You'll fit in. I wish I could take you both to meet them now but..."

But Will needs to graduate.

[abrightboy]

“I can’t leave the Barge until Will can leave.”

In case something happens and he can’t get back.

[ukan]

"I understand. It's the same reason I'm going home on the weekends." To see Alec. Just in case.

[abrightboy]

“…You’re not worried about getting stuck again?” Malcolm asks.

[ukan]

He shrugs. "It's only happened once in fourteen years. We're not being chased by the Authority anymore, which means the reason it happened last time is moot. So no, not really."

[abrightboy]

“Is there… training that we’re supposed to do?” Malcolm asks cautiously.

[ukan]

He shrugs. Training is part of everyone's everyday life in a way. "Yes but it's not like military drills. I'm just going to teach you how to really use your new senses."

[abrightboy]

“What about… the rules? I’ve been basically guessing about them,” Malcolm notes.

[ukan]

It reminds him of when he'd been a pup, only he'd been gleefully testing the rules as soon as he learned them. It's how he learned which ones were unbreakable.

"Most of them are instinctive. And they're a little looser around the Barge, since we don't have to hide what we are in order to survive. Which ones do you know already?"

[abrightboy]

“…None of them. Except that apparently if I turned Will without permission, you’d murder him. And probably me when I got in the way,” Malcolm says. “And… I guess I was right about turning being about the community….”

[ukan]

"Wolves use violence in ways humans don't. It's a part of our language. I want to transcend that but some things can only be solved with teeth. You are part of how we're going to learn to do things in less bloody ways." But where to start now?

"We call lone wolves 'coyotes'. They don't live long. The pack helps channel your instincts; alone they run amok. Humans don't trust us, animals hate us. It's hard to hold down a job with your instincts running wild and your boss instinctively lashing out at you, so the pack is where we all want to be. You never want to be a coyote."

[abrightboy]

“I don’t want to be a coyote,” Malcolm confirms earnestly. “You really want my help to make the pack less violent?”

[ukan]

"I do. I want better for our people than scraping by in black market deals. I want our people to have options." And Malcolm's training means maybe they have a shot at that.

"I have one pup who's going to make a great governor if I can get him through some of his trauma, I have another who wants to go back and get a high school diploma so he can go to college, but he has to learn to control himself first. Trauma, again."

[abrightboy]

“Trauma’s my specialty,” he gushes, like Lark doesn’t know; like Lark isn’t detailing that that’s why he chose him. It’s a clue he’s starting to feel excited about it again.