A/N: I want to warn everyone now, I'm going to be taking a few liberties with this story, such as how Stiles and Malia interacted when she was a coyote and in general how her mental state gets dealt with. I hope you enjoy this story, I know a lot of people are upset with how Malia's character is being handled/was introduced/just don't like her. This story is about how I think she should have been written, while still giving her a strong connection with Stiles. Why Stiles, because he's my favorite and he is the one that she connects with in Canon! Remember, this is a PLATONIC relationship, this will not turn into a dating thing.
Edit 1/4/17: I'm hoping to finish this story soon, I really liked the direction I was taking it and it was fun to write. I have to say that Malia has grown on me as TW has gone on but I still like this version of her as well :D Since I'm hoping to come back to this story though, that means I'm revamping it! Like wow, this was posted back before I had an editor and it shows! So many mistakes o.O I also don't like how I used to cut chapters in half by events and not by days but... I don't want to change the chapter line-up this late in the game so those are going to have to stay the way they were... ugh. Past self, why you do this?
Also, I started writing this right as she was introduced back in Season 3B so I was going off the idea that she had shifted uncontrollably and had caused the accident to happen by attacking her mom and sister. I won't be including the fact that Malia is adopted at all, or that it was the Desert Wolf that caused the accident. I feel like that would create too much change in the story.
Setting/Background: Scott has just recently 'shocked' Malia back into her Human form; she's been reintroduced to her father but things aren't quite working out at home so she spends much of her time in the woods (and not in Eichen at all). It's on one of those trips that she runs into Stiles. In this story, Stiles is not going to be affected by the Nogitsune and I'm not sure if I want to write any of the Nogitsune drama into this story… Since the story will be focusing on Malia, and also Stiles, I figure they really don't need any drama going on.
Malia couldn't believe that she was stuck at home again, it was painful. How come no one else had realized that she didn't want to be there? She was surrounded by all those old memories, memories that had almost faded… Her hands clenched into fists as she ran them through her hair- her mother, her sister… all that blood. When she was a coyote, at least she could pretend to drown them out, or she could cry her heart out and the creatures of the forest joined her. Her howl had been beautiful and now she was stuck with this raspy human voice she barely even remembered how to use… Dad said she used to love singing, and that maybe with time she'd pick it up again. But no sounds she made were like her coyote howls. The worst part of all was that she couldn't tell her dad what had really happened to her. Sheriff Stilinski said he wouldn't understand, and that it would just be easier to tell everyone that she had been lost in the woods all this time-that by some miracle she had been found. 'Some miracle' her tail! Life back then had been easy, after awhile of course.
It had taken her some time to learn how to cope with all the differences, the world was so strange when you started roaming around on all fours. She had missed her thumbs for awhile, and now that she had them back… she wished she didn't. Everything was so cold now too, that was probably the worst part of it. No matter how many layers of clothes she wore, it just wasn't the same as her nice fur coat, and they smelled funny too! Malia sighed, dropping down onto the forest floor, laying her head in the fallen leaves. She breathed in deep, letting the smell of the wild calm her; her fingers drew small circles in the loose dirt, the dark material easily burying itself under her fingernails. As she started to calm down, she heard the chattering of the birds stop, everything went silent for a moment. Malia sat up, straining her ears to listen, ready to run away at the first sound of danger. Her human ears felt almost useless! But she could still hear things well enough, and she trusted her instincts so when she heard a faint sound of footsteps, she got to her feet.
Not many people wandered in the woods, it wasn't particularly safe, especially after people had started dying. Malia shivered as she remembered the dark force that had been wandering around a few months ago; even now she could feel her skin prickling at the thought of coming into contact with it. But these footsteps were clumsy and erratic, and if she listened closely enough, she could just make out someone mumbling under their breath.
"Damn it Scotty, why am I the one that's out here? I don't know anything about finding a Werecoyote! It's not like I'm the one with super wolf senses, what good am I?"
Malia ducked behind a tree even though the person was still yards away- he was looking for her? And Scott, that was the boy that had changed her back! Everyone had been expecting her to be thankful for being human once more- they didn't understand! What was this Human doing out here anyways, what did they want with her? The noises came closer.
"I swear Scott, you owe me big time for this! I mean, it's not like Malia even knows me! So even if I do run into her, she's probably going to just disappear on me because I'm a stranger. This wasn't well thought out…"
Malia bit her lip, she had caught most of what this boy was saying, the time spent at the police station, the hospital, listening to Dad- she remembered a lot of the language. And listening to it was a lot easier than speaking it but he was talking a bit fast. She did catch that this boy was looking for her, because Scott wanted him to. She peered out from behind the tree and finally caught sight of who was speaking. It was the other boy from the station, the one that had been with Scott and the sheriff. She smiled; he was the one that had made her laugh when he made a comment about curly fries. Apparently it was a surprise to everyone that Malia knew what curly fries were, but then again a lot of people forgot that coyotes were scavengers, eating whatever they found. Malia wasn't above admitting that she'd picked through some garbage during her furry years. So when she smelled the fries she had whimpered and grabbed a handful, stuffing them in her mouth- they were her favorite human food, but they weren't easy to find on the outskirts of the forest.
'See, curly fries are so awesome, even a Werecoyote can appreciate their deliciousness,' he had said. She had laughed because it was true, the first time she smelled them she thought they were amazing. Oh, and the taste, even better than the smell, if that was possible.
The sound of a sudden gasp and the ceasing of the footsteps brought Malia back to the present- the boy had spotted her. Her fingers pressed into the bark of the tree, suddenly afraid to be seen.
"Hey Malia," he called out softly, knowing that she could hear him. "I'm Stiles, do you remember me? I was at the police station with everyone. The sheriff is my dad."
Instead of answering him, she ducked further behind the tree, only peering out with one eye, making sure that he didn't try to sneak up on her. She didn't know what he wanted with her and she wasn't going to risk him coming any closer until she did know.
Stiles sighed, "Maybe I should have brought food with me…"
"Food?"
Stiles's jaw dropped, he'd been expecting her to have run away by now… but there she was, poking her head out from behind a tree, eyes wide. "I can go get food if you want? Are you hungry Malia?"
Shyly, the young teen nodded her head, she had barely eaten anything this morning. She had just wanted to get out of that house, with its strange smells and instead be out in the forest again.
"What would you like? Hamburger?"
Malia bit her lip, hamburgers were nice, as long as it didn't have everything on it, but how could she tell him that?
Seeing that she was troubled by something, Stiles crouched down and eased back onto his butt. He wanted her to know that he wasn't going anywhere while she tried to figure it out, nor was he going to get any closer than she was comfortable with. Just by looking at her, he could tell that she was having a hard time transitioning; she had that 'wild' look in her eyes. Not the typical kind you hear people talk about, referring to serial killers or anything, but just the look of a wild animal, full of wariness and curiosity. Again he realized that he was probably the worst person Scott could've picked to come and look for her. Everyone knew he wasn't great at patience or sitting still. But he made a concentrated effort in order to keep Malia calm.
"Maybe not a hamburger?" he proposed.
"Hamburger yes, no… no stuff," Malia croaked out, waving her hand in frustration. What was the word she was looking for?
"You don't want fries?" Stiles asked in disbelief.
"Fries, yes fries," Malia assured him, eyes widening in dismay- of course she wanted fries! She let out a small breath of frustration through her nose. Why did this have to be so difficult?!
"Okay, let's see, you do want a hamburger and fries, but no… stuff?"
"Only meat on hamburger," Malia cried out, figuring out a way to tell him.
Stiles smiled, finally understanding, "Okay, so you want a plain hamburger, meat only, with the fries."
Malia collapsed against the tree in relief, nodding her head; talking with others usually took a lot of out her. "Yes… please," she barely remembered to add on.
Slowly Stiles stood up, holding out his hands when Malia started to back away from him, "It's okay, I'm not going to come any closer. I have to go back to my Jeep, is that okay? I promise I'll come back with your food."
Hearing his steady heartbeat, Malia gathered that he was calm around her, and calm usually meant honest. Unhonest people were usually nervous and were sweaty and their hearts raced. So she nodded and watched him as he scratched the back of his neck.
"Um, would you maybe want to come with me? Not, not to go get the food-" Stiles quickly added on, seeing the fear in her eyes. "It's just that, well, I don't know if I'll be able to find my way back here. So if you follow me to my Jeep, you'll be able to see when I come back. Then I won't get lost out in here in the woods."
Malia tapped her fingers against the tree, should she follow him? What if he was leading her into a trap? But he was calm, and calm meant honest. So she slowly came out from behind the tree and nodded once, she'd follow him. Stiles smiled at her and turned around, talking slow but sure steps. He didn't seem too worried that she was always about 10 feet away from him; she wanted to be able to run away if something unexpected happened.
After a few moments of silence, he decided to talk to her, still keeping his voice low. "I'm sure you're wondering why I'm out here looking for you," he started, figuring that she had probably heard him talking to himself. "Your dad is worried about you is all, he doesn't know what to do to help you. Scott overheard him talking to some of the nurses at the hospital when he was visiting his mom. So of course he said that we- which meant me, should come out here and look for you."
"Where's Scott?" Malia asked quietly.
"With the rest of the gang, trying to figure out what to do with Derek. Allison figured that you wouldn't be comfortable around the Wolves so between her, Lydia, and me, I got selected to come and search for you. I wouldn't have been helpful with that other conversation anyways… I'm not good at that sort of thing- it's been eight years and I still don't know how to deal with my mom being gone…" Surely Derek was feeling something even worse, if Scott's answers were halfway right about what it was like to lose a Packmate. What could he say to Derek right now? Stiles cleared his throat and forced the topic from his mind. He didn't want his emotions to get the better of him and then confuse Malia. "Anyways, they are figuring out what to do with Derek since he's an Alpha with no Betas now and Isaac has 'swapped sides' as it were… I don't know how much you know about Pack and stuff but the dynamics are super confusing so you should be glad you aren't having to deal with that stuff."
"Pack… right." She didn't know how to interact with others, how could she ever be in a Pack? That just wasn't what coyotes did. Malia only ever needed to depend on herself and she valued that freedom.
Stiles decided to tell Malia a little about his rag-tag group of friends that were basically a Pack; he figured she probably wasn't really interested, but it gave him something to do. After all, he wasn't really known for being a quiet little church mouse… nor did he really want to dwell on Derek and his loss. Malia didn't know him anyways, didn't know any of them, so he was sure that she didn't want to hear about that sad new. But listening to him blabber on was probably good practice for her, and she hadn't told him to shut up yet. It was maybe another 30 minutes at their slow pace before Stiles came up to the side of the road he had parked at. "Okay, that's my Jeep, so I'll head into town and get us some food okay, then I'll come back. You don't have to stay right here next to the road, I know the cars are probably really loud. I'll call out when I get back, so you know it's me."
"'K."
He waved as he climbed into his blue vehicle, Malia backing off as he started it up, torn between wanting to cover her ears and not wanting to appear weak. As soon as the Jeep was out of sight, she backed further into the trees, letting the familiar surroundings comfort her once more. She found a mossy log to sit on while she waited, closing her eyes and letting the sounds of the forest fill her head. Occasionally a car would zip by and startle her, making her jump to her feet and preparing to run. But they all kept going so she'd sit down once more to wait. She didn't have much of a grasp of time yet, so she had no idea how long Stiles was actually gone but it didn't feel all that long before she heard the sound of a door slamming shut. She felt relieved when she heard him calling out her name, it was Stiles and not some other random person. Malia called out to him so he could find her, doing her best to stay seated at her log to wait. As he came closer she stood up and started fidgeting though, feeling nervous about having him come close.
Of course Stiles noticed just how nervous she was and he wasn't going to risk it. Scott would be pissed if he scared her off because he wasn't paying attention. "I'm just going set your food down by the log okay? Then I'll come sit over here, is that okay?" he asked.
A quick nod, her hands wringing together, that should be fine- it was only a few more steps. As he took small careful steps closer, Malia bounced from foot to foot. When he was about 4 feet away she whimpered and took three quick steps back, she couldn't take it. Thankfully he stopped right there and placed her bag on the ground, along with a water bottle. Then he stepped back and managed to find a spot for himself a little further away. Malia licked her lips as the smell of the food wafted over. Her eyes moved from the bag, to Stiles, and back, uncertain. Her hesitance only lasted a few moments before she bolted to the log and sat down, pulling the bag into her lap. She started to pull out the food, barely getting the wrapper off before biting into the burger. As she chewed her food, she could suddenly hear her mother, back when she was 5, chastising her for not remembering her manners. Now that she was human again, all sorts of memories had been coming back to her. Another reason she was mad at Scott for everything. "Th-thank you," she managed to say, looking down at her food.
"No problem, I know what it's like to be hungry for a good burger every now and again," he answered nonchalantly. Stiles watched as she tore into her burger, eating the whole thing before even reaching for the water. She struggled a bit with the cap, but she didn't look to Stiles for help so he didn't offer any. He understood how much of a pain it could be when you wanted to do something on your own and have everyone think you needed help. He smiled when she yipped in triumph, opening the bottle and raising it to her lips.
Malia figured there were some things that were better now that she was human again- it was much easier to drink water efficiently for one, and it was everywhere! She put the cap back on the bottle and started eating her fries. It wasn't long before she could hear Stiles snickering, mouth and nose hidden behind his hand as he watched her. She tilted her head, wondering what was so funny.
Stiles couldn't help but laugh, she looked like such a little kid the way she ate- truthfully he probably looked about the same when it came to those fries but hey, they were good! She had no qualms about being dainty or dieting, it was refreshing to see. Stiles knew that Malia wasn't normal in a lot of ways; she'd spent most of her crucial 'feminine' years alone, as a coyote. So of course she didn't know anything about carbs and fatty foods, or that stuffing 13 fries into your mouth all at once was 'un-ladylike'. It was nice that someone ate the same way he did… he just didn't have the handy excuse of being a wild forest child. And when she looked at him, with that small tilt of her head, he flashed back to the first time he had seen Malia, back when she was fully shifted.
-Two weeks previously-
Stiles and Scott were out in the woods, looking for the old crash site now that his dad was sure there was something supernatural about the case. When they had found the car, Stiles immediately spotted an old tattered doll and had bent down to pick it up. He had showed it to Scott but it was old and he hadn't been able to get a scent off it; he continued to wander around the area, hoping to find some other clues. As he was crouched down, digging around some of the brush, he heard a growl- right above him! Looking up he came face to face with a coyote, teeth bared. Stiles slowly stepped back as Scott came flying around the car, ready to protect his friend. Stiles stopped him with an open palm, the coyote wasn't attacking, just a little growling- no reason to get riled up yet. Besides, he knew that there was no way a wild coyote would've even come this close to them, well Scott, under normal circumstances. He was intrigued, if also frightened, and wanted to see what would happen next. "Easy there little guy, no one wants to hurt you."
The coyote snarled, clacking its teeth together and shook its head; it kept looking at the doll in his hands, then looking back at him with angry eyes. It didn't take Stiles long to realize that the coyote wanted the doll, so he placed it carefully on the ground and backed away. If the creature wanted the doll, Stiles wasn't going to get in the way.
Within moments the coyote ran forward and picked up the doll before dancing away. As it climbed to the top of the small ravine, it looked back at them and its eyes flashed blue.
"Malia?" Stiles asked, dumbfounded. He watched as she whined and tilted her head, almost as if she recognized it. Then she shook herself and ran off. Stiles looked at his friend- the missing girl was a Werecoyote?!
-Back in the woods-
"Sorry for laughing Malia, it's just nice to see someone who eats food like I do. Most people consider that rude, just stuffing your face like that. But I mean, it's delicious, how can you not put as much into your mouth as you can?"
Malia's eyes brightened, glad that he wasn't going to get mad at her like her dad did; in the wild, you didn't have time for niceties, not when someone might come and take your dinner. Her shoulders dropped as she relaxed, watching Stiles stuff some of his hamburger into his mouth and moan. She was sure that she looked much the same when she ate, if her dad's complaints were anything to go off of. The meals she had at home were awful, Dad ate everything so slow and the food tasted funny. Malia was used to some Human foods, but there was a lot that she didn't get her paws on as a coyote, so heavily seasoned foods were still strange to her. The 'lemon pepper chicken' from that night was definitely too much for her.
They sat in silence while they finished their food, the slight rustling of wrappers was the only noise. When she finished, Stiles gently reminded her to put all her trash together, they didn't want to litter. As she stuffed all of the trash back into the original bag, she watched Stiles from the corner of her eye; he was drinking something different and it intrigued her. Slowly she maneuvered herself closer, hands fidgeting with her bag of trash as she stopped herself from bolting. Stiles must have noticed her coming closer, all of his movements were slow, really only breathing and twirling his soda cup in his hands. When she was about a foot away, she finally pointed at his cup, "What's that?"
"Soda, it's called Pepsi. Do you want to try it? It's very different from water," he explained.
Malia put her bag down next to Stiles's pile and carefully lowered herself onto the log next to him. "I smell?"
"Sure," Stiles nodded, reaching up and popping the top off. He held the cup out for her to take, watching as she held it up to her face and sniffed.
Her noise twitched at the bubbles as they popped and splashed small amounts of the liquid onto her face, she had no idea how to describe this substance, so she turned to her companion, "Taste like?"
"Um, that's… really hard to explain… It kinda tastes like Coke… but you don't know what that is either, never mind. It's sugary, and sweet, and the bubbles tickle your mouth. You can try it, see what you think."
Malia bit her lip, it smelled strange, and she had learned to stay away from strange things, strange usually meant dangerous. But she had watched Stiles drink it and he was fine, so maybe this stuff wasn't dangerous, just new. As she stared into the cup, she tried to remember if she'd ever encountered this before, back before the furry years. She could vaguely remember begging her mom to try something called soda but she didn't recall anything tasting like what she smelled so her mother must have refused. But Malia was older now, and no one was around to tell her that she couldn't have it. So she brought the cup up to her mouth and drank; she almost spit it right back out. The bubbles surprised her, even though Stiles had said they'd tickle, she hadn't been expecting it to feel so strange. She held it in her mouth, letting the bubbles pop while she tried to figure out the taste. When she finally swallowed, the bubbles continued to tickle all the way down.
"Good, or bad?" Stiles asked.
Malia licked her lips and pondered the answer, finally deciding on, "Different."
"Yea, that's understandable, and Pepsi is only one kind of soda, there are many other flavors. All of them have the bubbles in them, but some taste more like fruit, others just taste, like everything. Dr. Pepper is definitely hard to pin down on the flavor scale," Stiles rambled on, not wanting her to feel weird about the new drink. He watched as she took one more small sip, hearing her swish it around, causing him to smile. "The bubbles are really interesting aren't they?"
"Yes, is new feeling." She handed the cup back and looked down at her hands, not sure what to do now.
"You like it out in the woods don't you?"
"This is home," Malia stated simply, looking around at everything.
"Is that why you spend so much time out here? Is being in the house with your dad scary?"
Malia shrugged, "Not scary… just… different. Can't hear birds or crickets, can't smell air."
"Maybe we can talk to your dad about getting you a tent?" Stiles suggested. Malia gave him a blank stare, not really understanding what he was talking about, so he hastened to explain, "They are like portable, fabric… caves. You set them up outside and they give you shelter, but still let you be in the fresh air."
"Yes, tent, will try!" Malia exclaimed.
Stiles tried to hold back his smile, he could tell that every time Malia got excited, she started to cut out some of her words, sticking to the bare minimum to get her point across. The vocabulary she had now surprised him and it was interesting to hear which words she decided to leave out when she was in a hurry. "Let me call Scott and let him know that I found you, that you're okay. Then maybe I can walk you home?"
Malia snorted, "Big girl, walk alone."
"I know you can walk alone, but if I walk with you, then I can help tell your dad about the tent thing." Stiles could see her thinking it over, slightly torn from the embarrassment of being walked home like some kid, to having help talking with her dad.
In the end, his point won and she nodded her head, "Yes, okay." She waited for him to stand, garbage in hand before she followed him; he seemed like an okay person, but she wasn't going to just turn her back on him. They walked in silence, Malia too busy listening to the words of the forest to participate in any conversation.
It took them maybe a half hour before they reached her yard. Her dad could be seen just inside, pacing around the house through the windows. He must have seen movement because he glanced up and saw them both walking up to the house and he ran out the back door. "Malia, there you are!" he cried out, hurrying over to them.
His sudden movements startled her though and she dove behind Stiles, hands tangling in his shirt as she growled softly.
"Hey Mr. Tate, uh-" Stiles called out, hoping to slow him down. He could hear Malia growling and was thankful that she decided to hide behind him instead of charging forward to attack. The growl was probably instinctive, stemming from her surprise and not because she didn't recognize her father. He prayed that her eyes weren't glowing.
Shit," Mr. Tate muttered under his breath, "Sorry Malia, I forgot fast movements startle you. I was just worried- you keep disappearing on me, you don't tell me where you go. I keep getting scared that I'll lose you again."
Malia whimpered and looked up at Stiles, "Too fast."
Stiles held up a hand to slow her father down before shifting to look at the girl hiding behind him. "When you disappear all of a sudden, he worries. You don't tell him when you go outside and he thinks you might get lost again. It scares him, understand?"
She blinked a few times, not really understanding why she needed to tell him when she left. But she did understand that he was scared for her, and that next time she was supposed to tell him when she left. "Sorry. Will tell next time Dad." There was a moment of silence as Malia slowly came out from behind Stiles, although she still held onto his shirt with one hand, a tad uncertain. When it appeared that her dad had calmed down, she moved on to the next subject, "Get tent, outside."
"What?"
"Get tent, stay outside," Malia repeated, smiling.
"She wants to buy a tent, so that way she can be outside more, where she's comfortable," Stiles explained.
Mr. Tate sighed, "Malia, why do you want to be outside? You've been lost in those woods for years. You barely remember how to be a girl, I'd think that you'd never want to step foot in there again!" As he spoke, his voice rose of its own accord, his frustration mounting, and Malia shrank back again.
"Mr. Tate, I-" Stiles started, before being interrupted.
"And another thing, who are you to just come walking into the yard with my daughter? I know you're the sheriff's son, but that doesn't give you any right to go traipsing through the woods with my innocent little girl!"
Stiles gaped, mouth opening and closing, this was not how he had hoped the conversation would go. Before he could say anything in his defense, Malia spoke up, angry.
"Stiles is nice! He feed me, talk with me! Do nothing wrong! I like outside- air, birds, crickets… Inside is… inside is… strange! No like! Want to stay outside! Tent!" Why was her dad yelling at Stiles when they needed to be talking about her tent!
Stiles reached out and grabbed her hand, calming her down, "Easy Malia, it's okay, no need to yell. Use your words, complete sentences."
Malia huffed, she really didn't understand why she had to use 10 words when 3 would suffice! Humans' mode of speaking was just not efficient at all, she missed being a coyote! But she knew Stiles was trying to help and she was supposed to learn how to communicate properly…. If she threw a fit, then she might not get what she wanted- she wasn't in the wild anymore. Even if it didn't really feel like it, this was her home now and she'd have to adapt. So she started again. "I like outside, outside is, is like home for me. I like the air and the birds talking and the bugs- all of it. Inside house… is too quiet, too…" she gestured with her hands, making them press in on herself, "Too close! Outside there is space!" She punctuated her statement by opening her arms wide and spinning in a circle. "Tent let me stay outside and in shelter. Please."
"I really think it would be a great compromise Mr. Tate. I can't imagine how the last few days have been for you or Malia. After 8 years… that's all she remembers. She's used to being in the woods, as hard as it is to understand, that was her home- can you imagine living in such an open space for years, then being told you have to stay in one spot, with walls around you that don't sme- feel like home? At least with a tent, you could know that she's safe and where she's sleeping. And Malia, do you promise to always tell your dad when you want to go for a walk in the woods?"
"Promise," Malia nodded. "Please tent," she asked beseechingly.
Mr. Tate dropped his shoulders, "I'll talk to the therapist about it. If she thinks it's a good idea, then we can get you a tent."
Malia yipped in excitement and jumped around the yard, she'd get to stay outside! Maybe things really could get better!
As she was jumping around, Stiles's phone went off, causing the teen to curse. "Damn, I forgot to call Scott, I bet that's him." Stiles pulled his phone out and answered it. "Hello? Hey Scotty, sorry I didn't call sooner. Yea I found her, she's back at her house now. No, she was perfectly fine, just felt like going for a walk and didn't tell her dad she was going out. Yea, I'm surprised she didn't run away from me either. Is Dad with you? Could you tell him I'll be home in a bit, I've got to walk back to my Jeep and then I'll be on my way. Thanks man, see you in a bit."
As he was putting his phone away, Mr. Tate walked over to him, "You were out looking for her?"
"Yea- not to like intrude or anything! Scott was at the hospital and he heard you talking about how Malia is always disappearing and you were worried about her. So being the good citizens that we are, we split up and looked for her. You know, just to make sure she was safe."
He nodded his head, "Well thanks… sorry for what I said a moment ago, I'm just… stressed and worried. What if… what if someone else had found her… some predator?" He hated to think about someone hurting her just because she couldn't understand a situation.
Stiles turned and looked back at Malia as she ran around. He knew something Mr. Tate didn't- that her primal side was just under the surface. She was way more dangerous than any Human predator that he could imagine. "I think she can take care of herself- she did survive all those years on her own. She's a tough girl Mr. Tate."
"I know she is, but she's still just a girl, still so innocent; there is so much she doesn't understand. Hell you're the first person that she's really even talked to besides me. And I get the feeling she only talks to me is because she has to. So it's all short, clipped sentences, like talking is such a hassle. She doesn't talk to her therapist, just sits there and, growls. Not only did you get her to talk, you got her to use full sentences. How?"
The younger man shrugged, "I honestly have no idea. Like I told Scott, I was half expecting her to run off as soon as she saw me coming. And she would have heard me- it's not like I'm all that quiet. But for whatever reason, she didn't. I… did kind of bribe her with food though."
Mr. Tate laughed, if only it were so easy for him! "Well hopefully this means she's starting to make progress."