new york wolves } { of werecoyote burritos and cranky wolves

[wildkingdom]

Malia: [is sitting there, watching another episode of Phineas and Ferb or whatever cartoon Derek had put on for her, and she can't help but shiver a bit in the cool air of the apartment. She still has trouble getting warm, even though she's bundled in a hoodie, jeans and slippers. She glances over to where Derek is engrossed in his practice test, and then over to where that Peter guy was passed out on the floor on a pile of pillows and blankets. Frankly, he was looking like a bit of a hog, as far as Malia was concerned. After one last glance to Derek to make sure he wasn't looking, she quietly eases off the couch to make her way over to try and steal one of the blankets out from under him. He's unconscious. He totally won't mind.]

Peter: [he's actually not as unconscious as one would guess, and he picks up the smell of the strange shifter approaching. Instinct kicks in and there is a soft growl of warning to keep them away from the hurt wolf on the ground]

Malia: [freezes at the sound of the growl, keeping her distance and then glancing over at Derek to see if he heard. The whine that comes with it is instinct more than anything else. The coyote in her still wants to try and see if there's a way around him, but she doesn't miss the fact that the wolf is bigger than she is]

Derek: [nope, he hears it and he turns to look at them] Peter?

Peter: [two yellow eyes open, his heartbeat speeding up as he is fighting through the pain to look at what the threat was, then stops when he sees Malia] Who are you?

Malia: Malia. [because technically that answers the question.]

Derek: She found Cora after the fire and protected her until we could get to her. [and he's out, moving to Malia's side to make sure she's okay] She's not going to hurt us.

Peter: [he looks at Derek and there's anger there. Anger and hatred that he can't hide before he squeezes his eyes shut to the screams and pain in his head] Where's... your sisters?

Malia: [she's fine. She's just cold] I just wanted a blanket. [more to Derek and Peter, because that angry look is probably because of her, since she doesn't know the context] I didn't mean to make him mad.

Derek: [no, he knows what it actually is, and looks down and away from his uncle] They're trying to get Cora enrolled in school. We're in New York now. You've been out a week this time.

Peter: [he focuses on Derek's voice over the noise in his head, and then Malia's. He relaxes a bit] I'm not mad at you, sweetheart. [she is just a child, after all. He winces in pain, shifting to free a blanket from around him, and with a shaky hand holds it out to her]

Malia: [hesitant to trust Peter's word on that and looks up to Derek instead, almost as though to determine whether or not it was really okay]

Derek: It's okay. He won't hurt you. He's our uncle.

Malia: [looks back to Peter again, before darting forward to take the blanket from him, and taking a few hurried steps back again. She's about halfway back to the couch when she remembers that she's supposed to say something and blurts out a quick:] Thanks. [but after that it's back to the couch and turning herself into a blanket burrito with werecoyote filling]

Derek: [watches her go, and then crouches down]

Peter: Don't. Just... get out of my sight, Derek.

Derek: [and his face drops, but he nods] I'll text Laura that you're awake.

Malia: [well, this is not the greatest first impression, Peter, considering Derek is currently her favorite person. So she's just going to stay on the couch and ignore him in favor of the TV, letting herself get drawn into whatever the cartoon world had to offer.]

Derek: [text to Laura] Laura - Peter's awake and asking for you.

Laura: [it comes about ten minutes later] Just finished meeting with the principal. Tell him I'll be home in twenty minutes. You okay?

Derek: He hates me.

Laura: [sighs heavily] He's in a lot of pain. It'll take time. Just give him some space for right now.

Derek: He also scared Malia. She's okay now though. I'll tell him you two are coming back.

Laura: I'll talk to them both when I get back. See you soon.

Derek: [puts down phone, not moving] They're on their way back. Laura said she should be here in twenty.

Peter: [his only response is a painful whimper as he moves to shift in his little pillow nest, the burns still painful and hot to the touch, but thankfully no infection and the muscles and bones under it all were in various stages of healing.]

Malia: [just glances to Derek in acknowledgement that he was speaking and ignores the whimper from Peter. Part of her is curious about him, but she's curious about everything, so she's not chalking it up to much at the moment] Can I watch Lilo and Stitch? [it's quickly becoming her favorite]

Derek: Yeah, sure. You figure out how to put Netflix on yet on your own?

Malia: [nods as she extracts one arm from her burrito for the remote and goes to put it on. She empathizes with Stitch far more than they probably realize. But she figures that if Stitch can be good too, then maybe so can she. She's not sure what her badness level is (despite Cora and Derek alternating as her Lilo, neither of them have drawn it for her), but she's pretty sure that it's higher than it should be.]

Derek: [he finishes his test at the table and sighs, looking at the time. Instead of going to grade it, he's going to just get up and go to the couch, sitting next to the coyote burrito a moment before looking in the eye hole] Oh, there you are. [small smile]

Malia: [blinks up at him with a small smirk, before shifting and burrowing into his side to watch the movie]

Derek: [yeah, he's good with that. To be fair, after what just happened with Peter, he could use a bit of snuggling himself]

Peter: [the cunning wolf is watching them both, his eyes looking at one of the hall mirrors that he can see the couch from at his angle, just watching them quietly]

Cora: [and twenty minutes later, as promised, Laura and Cora return from their trip, Cora darting past the couch to drop down onto her knees next to Peter] Hi, Uncle Peter.

Peter: [opens his eyes and she gets a lopsided smile on the good side of his face] Hello sweetheart. Are you okay?

Cora: [nods, she's fine. She's been worried about him, though, and she's glad he's getting better] How do you feel?

Peter: Just a little burnt around the edges. Nothing too bad. [he's making light of it, knowing that they already know how bad it is.]

Cora: [she does, and she's still worried, but she can manage a bit of a smirk at the joke] Do you need me to get you anything?

Peter: Water. And a straw. [since he can't you know, actually drink it in a cup]

Cora: [ nods and gets up to head to the kitchen to do just that.]

Laura: [makes her way over after with a smile of her own, shifting to sit cross-legged on the floor next to him] There's a caladrius Verity knows in town. I could try and get you an appointment if you're planning on being conscious for a good stretch of time.

Peter: [looks up at her, and she's the one who gets to see how exhausted being awake is making him. He keeps his voice low, but it's futile in a house of wolves] If I slip back again... I may not come out of it. It's not healing as well as it should.

Laura: [nods] I'll call Very and see if they make house calls. If anything, maybe they can send over a booster or something.

Peter: [nods] Whatever you think is best. As long as I don't have to move much.

Laura: I can do that. [glances up as Cora comes back with the cup of water and the straw, playing the go between to pass it to him] I've been meaning to talk to you about Malia, but ... you've been unavailable.

Peter: [scoots to make just enough room for Cora to be closer] Derek said she was protecting Cora?

Cora: [will take that in an instant, scoot closer carefully so that she didn't accidentally cause him pain] She hid me in her den.

Laura: [nods] She's a werecoyote. She had shifted fully and gotten stuck that way.

Peter: Huh. [takes a long sip of the water to wet his throat] I'm surprised your mother never caught her scent before.

Laura: Me too. But she had been like that a few years, at least, so maybe it got a little ... hazy. I didn't realize she was a were until I saw her eyes.

Peter: No family?

Laura: [shakes her head, before glancing back to the burrito on the couch. It's her five millionth time watching Lilo and Stitch, but her attention is on the TV, soaking in every minute] I don't think they knew what she was when she did, but she was in a car for her first full moon with her sister and her mom. The shift started and ... [she's sure that Peter could fill in the rest of the blanks] I think that's how she went full shift and just ... used it to run away. She's a kid, I don't think anyone could blame her. She doesn't really remember her dad, from what I can tell.

Peter: [sighs softly] You did the right then then, bringing her here. No child should be left alone like that.

Laura: [she nods a bit] I'm gonna try home schooling her a bit to catch her up with the rest of her grade, but I was talking to the principal at the school and if she passes the placement test at the end of the year, she can start with Cora's class next year. And the next full moon isn't for a couple weeks, so I have time to work with her on the coyote of it all.

Peter: You're going to have all three to worry about. And to be honest, not sure how good mine will be.

Cora: [glances up at him] I'll be okay. Last full moon Mom said I was doing pretty well.

Derek: [nope, he's listening to all this and just snuggling Malia close. Great way to be made to feel like the retard in the family when your baby sister has better control than him]

Cora: [gosh Derek, that wasn't what she was trying to do. Stop making this all about you!!!!!!! Though Malia is not opposed to the increased snuggles]

Derek: [in Derek's world, it's always all about him]

Peter: [since it's his bad side that's not on the ground at the moment, he can't reach far, but it's enough to rub her arm] You were doing very good.

Cora: [smiles, pleased before turning back to Laura] I can do it. You don't have to worry about me.

Laura: [smiles a bit] I'm sure I don't, kiddo. [she then shifts to get to her feet] I'm gonna call Verity and see what we can do. You good for right now?

Peter: I'm good. [he feels a bit better with Cora close. Sorry, pup, you're helping him heal and he's going to curl around you just a bit]

Cora: [totally does not mind. She was given a book to read before class on Monday so she'll curl up with him, and work her way through that]

Laura: [will get up and go call Verity, where there will be aimless chatter followed by eventual actual business]

Malia: [still being Derek's werecoyote burrito]

Peter: [and he will be content to doze while Cora reads, until it's dinner time and he is going to try and uncurl himself for the first time in a week to try and take a shower while the kids eat]

Laura: [which is good and progress, and around the time when Laura will sit and talk with Malia about Peter, and the whole situation there. Malia is not impressed still, but she's fine with it, and she will just give Peter a wide berth until he's not cranky anymore.]

Peter: [yeah, the shower is painful, but he needs to get the dried blood and skin off to try and keep the healing going. But by the end of it, he's sitting on the shower floor, exhausted] Derek!

Derek: [ears perk, and he's up and running to the bathroom. He goes to get Peter clothes because yeah, the girls probably don't need to see Peter naked and in some way, peter wants Derek to see what he looks like so he learns a lesson. He then helps Peter get dressed and half carries him to the couch]

Cora: [resumes her place with her book at his side if he'll let her, just nestling into his side a bit]

Malia: [sits on the complete opposite end of the couch, legs crossed Indian style under her, and blanket tucked up over her head]

Peter: [looks at the little girl, taking in her scent to let it become memory] You look like a little eskimo.

Malia: [turns to face him, her brow furrowing in confusion] Is that another kind of shifter?

Peter: [gives her a small smile] No. It's a Native American who lives in Alaska. It's so cold there that they cover every inch of their bodies with clothing except a little spot to see out of.

Malia: Oh. [she shrugs] I have a hard time getting warm.

Peter: Probably from the lack of a fur coat. You'll get used to it. [thinks] Is there a dryer in this apartment? [he's been awake 3 hours...]

Cora: [glances up and nods] Yeah. In the back.

Peter: Show her how to use it. Put the blanket in for three or five minutes. A sweatshirt too if she has on. That may help more.

Cora: [nods and puts her book down to take Malia's hand. The other girl looks confused, but she follows anyway.]

Laura: [waits until they disappear into the hallway before taking Malia's empty seat] Not a bad idea. Our electric bill is probably going to shoot through the roof, but we can deal with that.

Peter: I have a hundred and seventeen million in bonds in the vault back in California. We'll be fine.

Laura: [nods a bit] I talked to Verity, she says she's going to try and convince the doctor to make a house call, but if she can't they'll probably send one of their nurses to assess your condition.

Peter: Okay. And if they won't... we could reach out to other packs. Find an emissary.

Laura: [she nods] I've been trying to stay under the radar so far. I don't know how well it's working.

Peter: If the Argents come... we need allies.

Laura: I know. [she does] I just ... I'm not sure who to trust.

Peter: Your mother... she had a contact here. Something Kirsanov. I think they are uptown more. Michael.... he did business a few times with some wolves named Ivanov based in Brooklyn.

Laura: [nods a bit] It wouldn't be such a big deal if the girls were older, but they're still kids. She needs to be sure that the pack they get sanctuary from is a pack they can trust] I'll ask Verity what she knows about them. Maybe she'll be able to help make a decision.

Peter: As long as we can make it. If one of them finds us first, they may force your hand.

Laura: [nods a bit] I know. I know, I won't waste time. I just ... I want to keep the girls out of it. At least for right now.

Peter: No, keeping them far from it is the right play. You're not going to be able to keep Derek out of it though - not with those eyes of his.

Laura: I know. [a beat] Malia's are blue too.

Peter: [blinks] She's a baby. How?

Laura: The accident killed her mom and sister. It was her first full moon, she couldn't control it.

Peter: [shakes his head] Life is very unfair sometimes to us. But we'll find a way to give her a better life. [he hopes]

Laura: We can definitely try.

Peter: How are your siblings doing otherwise?

Laura: Cora is withdrawn. She and Malia are pretty much joined at the hip, but she's not really talking to anyone else. She's having nightmares too, but she doesn't think I notice. [she can't fix everything for her, and nightmares are a natural part of it.] Derek is ... equally withdrawn but more sullen, guilty. He's stepping up, though. I wouldn't have been able to get all of us here without him.

Peter: Derek has every reason to be guilty. [anger there, but he pushes it back] I can see if I can help with Cora though.

Laura: [she notices that, but won't read into that now. Things are too fresh, and they need more time. And maybe she'll try and pry it out of her brother] She's been very worried about you. I think now that you've joined the land of the living again, she'll come out of it a bit.

Peter: [nods] And if Malia is joined at her hip... I'll see if I can help you with schooling the child.

Laura: I would appreciate that. You were always better with history than I was. I think I can keep her on top of the math and science, at least.

Peter: I can do history. Derek can do English.

Laura: There. Teamwork.

Peter: It takes a village to raise a child.

Laura: That is what they say.

Peter: So... how are you doing?

Laura: Who me? I'm great. [she's absolutely not great] I'm ... dealing. Keeping busy, more than anything else. It's good, having stuff to push you forward.

Peter: [one eyebrow goes up, and he sighs and reaches out to pull her to lean into him. Because she was still his niece]

Laura: [and she'll go, curling into him and closing her eyes for a moment] I'm glad you're getting better. [because she was worried for a little while there that he wasn't, despite what she had asked him to do.]

Peter: Sometimes being stubborn has it's benefits. [he kisses the top of her head] I'm far from good, but I have something to push forward to.

Laura: [nods a bit, before looking up with a smirk] That's what I said. You got something pushing you forward, you can probably get through anything.

Peter: Look at you, already dispensing alpha wisdom upon your pack. [small smile] You're doing good.

Laura: [sighs] That's good to know. I still feel like I have no idea what I'm doing half the time.

Peter: Your mother still felt like that half the time.

Laura: Really? I find that hard to believe.

Peter: No one is infallible, Laura. Not even your mother, hard as it may seem.

Laura: I know. I mean ... I know she made her mistakes. But she always seemed like she had the best advice.

Peter: She did. That's why people were drawn to her.

Laura: I miss her.

Peter: [just pulls her close and kisses the top of her head, but he keeps his eyes open because all he can see if he closes them is the last time and he can't go there. Laura would be able to pick up the pain though]

Laura: [she curls in closer on instinct, almost as though she's trying to will some of it away with her presence. she's not her mother, but she can try to be, in little ways]

Peter: [give him a moment, and then he's going to mentally check his internal clock and...] You didn't put her in the dryer, did you? [towards Cora because they have been gone awhile now]

Cora: No! [the dryer stopped running a while ago] We went to my room. [since the adults were talking]

Peter: Okay. [and fine, he will just go back to snuggling his alpha niece on the couch then, pulling her strength to help him heal a bit more]

Laura: [take all you like, Peter. She is happy to help.]

Peter: [and he's going to eventually slip off into sleep. But it's lighter - his heart beat hasn't slowed to coma speed, just a normal sleep]

Laura: [stays there with him for a while and will probably doze off herself. She doesn't want to pull away from helping him heal and it was a long day. so whenever Derek or the girls return, that's the picture they'll find]

Derek: [wanders back in from having gone to get some supplies - and having taken longer than he needed because oh look, he found the Y! and goes to put the stuff in the kitchen quietly so not to wake them]

Laura: [rouses just enough to see it's him, before settling again] Hey.

Derek: Hey. I got everything on the list but the bananas. They didn't smell good.

Laura: That's fine. I think we can live without them for a week.

Derek: [is putting things away, and he knows he has to tell her] I um... there's a YMCA down the street. They had signs outside for basketball teams.

Laura: [she pauses for a moment] I don't know, Derek.

Derek: [Looks down at his hands, and nods] I know, I know we need to keep our heads down.

Laura: Yeah. [she sighs as she gets up and moves towards him, placing her hands on his shoulders] Look just ... until we're sure no one's looking for us. There's a lot of pack politics we need to negotiate right now, and we don't want to draw any attention. You can go down there to play, but no teams, alright?

Derek: [nods] Okay. [he can sneak in so that he doesn't have to get a membership] I just can't sit in here all day.

Laura: No, and you don't have to. Just be careful, okay?

Derek: I will. I won't put the pack at risk. [again]

Laura: [rubs his shoulders a bit, pulling him closer] How're you doing?

Derek: I got a nineteen eighty three on the practice test. I should be able to pass easily. [which isn't an answer. He doesn't know how he's doing]

Laura: That wasn't what I asked you.

Derek: [looks over his shoulder to make sure Malia and Cora weren't there, then shrugs them] I don't know.

Laura: That's okay, you know. It's okay to not be okay.

Derek: I never heard Peter be that angry at me before.

Laura: [she sighs as she glances back to Peter] He's angry at a lot of things right now.

Derek: I know. I just... I think he hates me.

Laura: He doesn't hate you. If he hated you, it'd be easier.

Derek: Easier?

Laura: Hating someone is easy. It means you don't care. If he didn't care he probably wouldn't be half as angry. [rubs his shoulders again] Whatever you feel guilty about that you won't talk to me about, whatever he's mad at you for? If he hated you he would have expected it. If he's this wounded, it means that he loves you and he doesn't know how to reconcile the two. He probably wants to hate you - but he can't.

Derek: [he looks up at his sister, wondering how much their mother had told Laura about who he was dating. She was mom's second, after all.]

Laura: [she doesn't. whatever it was, Talia kept her out of it]

Derek: Things aren't going to be the same anymore.

Laura: No, they're not. But that was kind of a given. You can't ... go through stuff like this and expect it to be the same. But not all of the changes are going to be bad ones. And some changes aren't going to last forever. [she pushes up on her toes and pulls him into a hug] He'll forgive you one day. It might take a long time, but he will.

Derek: [leans down to hug her] I hope so. [blinks] When did I get taller than you?

Laura: [laughs] A while ago. You got tall.

Derek: I guess so. Kinda weird.

Laura: Yeah, well, get used to it. I ain't growin' anymore.

Derek: Any bigger and I can fit Cora in my pockets.

Laura: [laughs] Probably true.

Derek: [small smile] I love you, you know.

Laura: I love you too. Even when you're a giant idiot.

Derek: Get used to it.

Laura: Oh, I already am. You've been a giant idiot for a long time.

Derek: [small grin]

Laura: [smiles back before placing her hands on his shoulders] You good for right now?

Derek: Yeah, I'm good for right now.

Laura: Okay. I am going to take a shower and try and get some actual sleep. Keep an eye on the girls for me?

Derek: I can do that.

Laura: Thank you. [and one more hug and she's off]

Derek: [and he's going to put the rest of the groceries away, then look over at where Peter is sitting. He sighs, then opts to leave him alone and goes upstairs to his sister and Malia's room] You two okay?

Malia: [is out on top of her own blanket nest in the corner. They may have shoved all of them into the dryer so she had a nice warm nest to curl up into]

Cora: [is on her bed, book that she's supposed to be reading for school open] Yeah, I'm good.

Derek: [chuckles at the content look on Malia's face, then comes in more] Whatcha reading?

Cora: [holds up the cover so he can see the front of it] Holes. It's pretty good.

Derek: I read that once. It's a fun story. They made a movie of it too.

Cora: [she nods] We'll probably watch it in class when we finish the book.

Derek: Cool. Well... Peter is asleep and Laura is going to sleep too so I think I'm going to just... maybe go read too or something. But if you need me, door’s open, okay?

Cora: [nods] Okay. Night.

Derek: [and he's going to go to his room and lay down, reaching for his backpack and pulling out a book. He had cleared out his locker and had a few things of his life, and as he opened the back cover, he pulled out the small family photo he had of him and his sisters from a few years back before Laura had left for college. He sighed, and set it by his bedroom lamp before just curling up on his side and looking out the window, letting himself just get lost in his own thoughts]