empathicfault | IC Inbox

[ Will can see the wolf and the human in Malcolm at all times, it feels, but he always loves it when he sees some sort of tic or behavior on both versions. The scritches continue happily until Malcolm moves.

He's sitting up by the time Malcolm headbutts his leg- and being well-versed in the language, Will smiles and starts pushing himself up to his feet. ]

All right, all right. What's up?

[Malcolm dashes off in the direction he’d come from, but not so quickly that Will can’t keep up.

He leads him through the forest until the space ahead of them opens up into a pond and Malcolm wades right, watching the water, then ducking his head in before running back to Will with a fish in his mouth, not clutched tightly enough to kill it. Its tail flicks. He sets it down at Will’s feet and then looks up at him, pleased with himself. Look! Fishing!]

[ Will follows until they find the pond. Just as he's realizing there's signs of fish in it, Malcolm grabs one out of the water like he's at a grocery store. Will stares at the flopping fish with an almost disbelieving chuckle. ]

That- that was amazing! Perfect form, and it's... [ It's still flopping around on the ground. ] Oh, we're gonna have a good time here.

You mind if I throw it back in? I assume that's why you were so careful.

[Malcolm looks at him, then points his snoot towards the pond. Yes. Put it back in. Please.]

[ Will wouldn't have minded making a trophy dinner out of it, but he knows that's not really how Malcolm thinks about these things. So he nods and scoops up the fish, sliding it back into the water with a practiced hand at these things.

It's nice to watch them slip away back into the darkness of the water, too. ]

I would've figured the fish would be more...farmed, here. Nice to know there's some wild ones.

[Malcolm tippy taps a little. He's excited. He made a good find, right? Will's happy.]

Yeah, this is great.

[ Will is very happy. It's the sort of place he'd imagine if he needed an escape. He finds a flat rock close by and stands on it, looking over the pond. ]

I'll mark this place down. We can come back and fish. And I could get your help with catch-and-release...we could collect some of these in our Barge pond, too.

[ After Will's fishing lesson, it's been in slight need of restocking. ]

[Malcolm dances to the edge of the pond and back. He agrees. He might have to be a human again for that, though. He looks up at Will. What does he want to do now?]

[ Will stares at the pond for a long moment before looking over to see Malcolm staring at him. He chuckles. ]

I was drifting again, huh? Let's see what else we can find. C'mon?

[ It's phrased as a question, but Will kicks off the rock and starts running again. This is more the pace he'd take with his dogs, not the flat-out run-for-your-life dash he tried before, but he has to go slower to avoid rocks and twigs.

There's a whole lot of open woods here. They could run through the whole port and still not see it all. If feels freeing. ]

[Malcolm dashes after him, to run alongside Will, at his pace, tongue hanging out.]

[ They run for a long while, coming across a stream and another pond along the way, a couple of small hills and- this is a lot more like real nature than Will expected. Maybe not all of it is the nature he's used to, but he loves it.

He finally stops in a little clearing, after having to fight his way through a blackberry bush that he didn't see. He breathes heavily as he leans down, hands on his knees, then rolls to a seat on the grass. ]

Damn...it just keeps going! [ He says it with a laugh in his breathless voice. ] Should've packed a lunch...

[As soon as Will sits, Malcolm flops down beside him and rests his head in Will's lap. When Will mentions lunch Malcolm lifts his head and tilts it back towards the last stream with a faint questioning whine: want him to get you a fish?]

[ Will looks at Malcolm's wolfy face for a moment, then chuckles. ]

Nah, but thank you for the offer. I'd rather eat with you, and I didn't bring anything to cook it besides. You feeling ready to shift again yet, or would you rather stay like this for a while?

[ He strokes his hand over Malcolm's head while he says this. It is a comfortable way to rest. ]

I did bring some Twizzlers, for when you have human tastebuds again.

[Malcolm sets his head back in Will's lap, but when he mentions the Twizzlers, his ears perk up. Maybe he'll be a person again for a bit. Will did bring clothes....

His eyes close halfway as Will strokes his head.

In a minute or two. Or five.]

[ Will chuckles quietly, content to sit here and relax for a bit. He's still catching his breath a little, anyway.

He listens to the sound of life in the trees and watches an octopus climb and slide silently over the branches nearby, stalking a salamander twice its size. Undoubtedly weird, but still oddly natural.

He keeps petting Malcolm's head and can feel his own eyes drooping a bit after a couple minutes. ]

[That just makes Malcolm feel better about letting his eyes slide closed, focusing all his keen hearing on the comforting steady sound of Will’s heartbeat.

Until something grabs him around the neck and yanks him back. A strangled yelp manages to escape him before he can’t make sound anymore and he writhes, trying to grapple for a swipe at whatever has him, but he can’t reach it with claws or teeth.]

[ The yelp both pulls Will out of his doze and makes his heart drop down to his stomach. He's up on his feet instantly, reaching for his gun before he even sees that the octopus apparently decided that a wolf would be its next target.

Will's not exactly versed with shooting octopi and regrets not taking Shaw up on her offer for a 'safety' knife, silly as it sounded. So instead of backing up and getting a bead, he presses the barrel against the octopus' head, tilts it up, and fires.

A surprisingly strong tentacle grips his wrist, but there's nothing at the other end commanding it anymore. Instead, it's just a mass of rubbery flesh and blue blood, exploded outward.

Will finally lets himself breathe and starts untangling things. ]

I got it. Damn, your ears...are you okay?

[He whines as he shakes to help Will unwrap him. The shot so close did indeed hurt his ears, but he can breathe again and once freed he curls himself around Will’s legs.]

[ Will works on the tentacles, and they get increasingly easier to pull off over time. Once he's gotten them all, he flings the carcass as far away from them as he can. Then he gets to gently rubbing over Malcolm's ears. ]

I'm so sorry, sweetheart. I shouldn't have dozed off. I didn't have anything else on me.

[ He rubs Malcolm's back, only not hugging him because Malcolm's currently too wrapped around him to allow it. ]

Thank god the gun went off, at least. I couldn't remember if it only worked when there was danger or when I was in danger.

[ He rubs the ears again, and will go back and forth until they both feel a little more calm. ]

[After a few moments, Malcolm shuffles back a little bit and changes, still a little wide-eyed and flush from the adrenaline, but as soon as he’s bipedal again, he throws his arms around Will’s neck and breathes him in from human height, gasping a little when he speaks.]

Are you okay?

[ Will wants to keep his hands on him while Malcolm changes, but it's not really a doable with everything shifting so much. Will waits impatiently, fingers tapping his own thight, and he hugs Malcolm tightly as soon as he's human again. ]

I'm okay, I'm fine. Can't believe one of those things thought it could eat a wolf... Are your ears still ringing? Did it bite you?

[ His eyes are worried as he pulls back just enough to try and make an assessment of Malcolm's current state from his face. ]

[Malcolm touches his ear gingerly, but it doesn’t hurt.]

It hurt and they rang for a couple of minutes but the healing must be kicking in.

[He looks at Will.]

Can I have one of your shirts?

[And maybe some pants, but second. He doesn’t have fur to keep him warm now.]

Of course...

[ Right, clothes. They're not far from his backpack- he'd hand over the one he's wearing, but it's splattered with blue blood and octopus goo, which is probably not the best for Malcolm's nose. So he pulls out another of his own shirts from his bag, and also the remaining clothes that Malcolm had in his office.

He knows Malcolm, though, and hands the shirt over first. ]

Here you go.

[He pulls the shirt on hastily, glancing up at the tree branches around them, in case anything else is lurking up there.]

It wasn't your fault you know. [He reaches for his underwear and pants and starts pulling them on.] Falling asleep. I could have smelled it or heard it. I wasn't paying attention. I liked being comfortable for a minute, too.

[ There isn't anything in the branches right now. Not after that gunshot. It's a smart idea on behalf of the wildlife, too, as Will would probably shoot anything that looked like it was coming near. ]

Yeah. It was nice.

[ He gives Malcolm an extremely tired smile. ]

I should've remembered that neither of us can stay hurt, but- [ He shakes his head. ] I guess it didn't matter when it comes to you.

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