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[abrightboy]

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[ukan]

Something dark crosses his expression. "Really." A faint twitch of his lip. "Then you're the only one who had the real ritual. It's a private matter."

[abrightboy]

“I preferred it with just me and Will. I don’t really like getting undressed in front of everyone. Or eating red meat,” Malcolm says making a bit of a face.

He’d gone along with it, though. He really wants to feel like Pack.

[ukan]

"I normally wouldn't have even allowed Will to be there, but I knew he'd want to take the change, too." You adapt or you die. That's the way of things. "Iris didn't know better. I didn't turn her the way I turned you, it was an experiment with her, test tubes.... But no, Sweeney isn't Pack, and I wouldn't have let him be there. It would have been a smaller affair."

[abrightboy]

“I think he enjoyed the… spectacle of it, though. Iris has a really cool hat that she saves for it,” Malcolm tells him.

[ukan]

Does he like hearing about his culture being made into an entertaining spectacle?

No. Not even a little.

But it's done.

"Good for him," Lark drawls. "I'm sure he'd love if we all gathered to gawk at his rituals, too."

[abrightboy]

Malcolm’s face falls. He said what he was saying wrong again.

“No,” he says, though there’s uncertainty in the way he fidgets again. He clears his throat. “No. I didn’t mean Sweeney. I was just trying to say that I don’t think Will feels cheated by getting Iris’ made up version of the ritual. Which was. Very ritual-y.” He shifts his weight uncomfortably.

[ukan]

"It's hard for me to see the pack change," Lark admits softly. "To have what I have at home and then see it here where it's...so different."

Adapt or die.

"Will's happy? Really happy?"

[abrightboy]

“Yeah. He loves being a wolf. He’s better at it than I am. But he’s always spent a lot of time with dogs.” He pauses. “If Iris is supposed to be in charge when you’re gone, why didn’t you train her?” It’s curious, not accusatory.

[ukan]

"Is Will thinking about life after the Barge yet?" Lark asks, and might have left the question unanswered. In Los Angeles he would have. He ignores the questions he doesn't feel like answering there. He does that on the Barge sometimes, too.

But Malcolm's pack, his last chosen pup, so he deserves an answer. "I don't always know what traditions she'll respect. They don't mean as much to her--she's very nontraditional. I don't want to pass along something that matters to me to someone who can't appreciate it."

[abrightboy]

“Will and I talk about our future a lot,” Malcolm admits, but he doesn’t elaborate.

[ukan]

He eyes him curiously. "And you still see yourself solving murders?"

[abrightboy]

“We want to do a lot of different things,” Malcolm tells him.

[ukan]

He hums. "Give me some examples?"

[abrightboy]

“Travel. Stop killers. Visit friends,” Malcolm lists.

[ukan]

"No home base?" Some people don't have one. Iris doesn't, and neither will B and Steve as far as Lark knows.

[abrightboy]

“I kind of thought our base would be the pack in LA. Because you invited us,” Malcolm says.

[ukan]

Lark grins. "Yeah. I'd like that. There are different homes you can choose from."

[abrightboy]

That piques his interest.

“What are they like?”

[ukan]

"Well what kind would you like? Beach house, house in the suburbs? House in a trailer park?" He's got a little of everything.

[abrightboy]

He makes a bit of a face at 'trailer park'. Lark, he's from Upper East Side old money.

"Something with an open floor plan. I like... a nice open space."

[ukan]

"The beach house," Lark decides. "The one near Alec and me. You'll like it, it's a new build, custom designed for wolves. All the handles are friendly to paws."

[abrightboy]

Malcolm watches his face for a second.

"...Just like that? We can just... have a beach house?"

[ukan]

He shrugs. Yeah, just like that. "You're pack and I want you nearby so I can help you both adjust to city life."

[abrightboy]

"Where does the money come from?" Malcolm asks curiously. "Does the pack have investments?" His mother is a shrewd investor. Especially in real estate.

[ukan]

He nods. "Investments, real estate, the law firm, grants from the government for the nonprofit interests. It's all pretty above board now. My second pack was made up mostly of lawyers and that got the money rolling in; the pack since then has mostly been veterans so I had to look for outside resources."