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Malia knew the woods better than she knew most people.
People lied. People said one thing when they meant another. They smiled when they were angry, laughed when they were uncomfortable, and asked questions when apparently they didn't actually want the truth. There were rules for conversations nobody bothered explaining until after she'd broken them, and somehow she was the weird one for thinking that was stupid.
The woods didn't do that. A tree didn't pretend it wasn't dying. Rain didn't apologize for getting you wet. A rabbit didn't tell you it was fine while secretly being pissed off that you'd eaten the last slice of pizza.
The wilderness was honest. That was probably why Malia had always understood it.
She stepped carefully over a fallen branch, barely looking down as she moved through the forest. The trail had disappeared nearly half a mile ago, but that didn't matter. Trails were for people who didn't know where they were going. Behind her, Kira stumbled over the exact same branch. "Ow."
Malia stopped. There was a pause. Then Kira said, "I'm okay."
"I didn't ask."
"I know."
Malia turned around. Kira stood several feet behind her, rubbing her shin and glaring at the offending branch as though it had deliberately attacked her. Her dark hair had started escaping the ponytail she'd tied it into before they'd left the Jeep, several strands sticking to her forehead from the humidity.
Malia looked at the branch. Then at Kira. "The branch was there."
Kira stared at her. "Thank you, Malia."
"You're welcome."
Kira's mouth twitched. Malia narrowed her eyes. "You're doing that thing."
"What thing?"
"Where you say something nice but you're actually being sarcastic."
Kira's smile widened. "I'm getting better at it."
"Stiles is a bad influence."
"Definitely."
Malia turned and continued walking. Kira hurried after her. They hadn't really planned on spending the afternoon wandering through the Beacon Hills preserve. At least, Kira hadn't. Malia had shown up at her house shortly before noon, announced that she needed to get away from people, and asked if Kira wanted to come. Kira had asked where. Malia had said, "Outside."
Apparently that had been the entire plan. They'd been walking for almost two hours. Kira wasn't complaining. Mostly. "Do you actually know where we're going?"
"Yes."
"Okay."
Another twenty feet passed.
"Where are we going?"
Malia glanced over her shoulder. "You asked if I knew where we were going."
"Yeah."
"I said yes."
"You didn't tell me where."
"You didn't ask that."
Kira stopped walking. Malia made it another three steps before realizing she was alone. She turned around. Kira stood with her hands planted on her hips. Malia sighed. "There's a creek."
"A creek?"
"And rocks."
"Wow."
"And a really big tree."
Kira blinked. "You're terrible at selling destinations."
"I'm not selling anything."
That made Kira laugh. Malia liked Kira's laugh. She wasn't entirely sure when she'd started noticing that. Maybe she'd always noticed it. Kira had a quiet laugh when something was only a little funny, but when she really laughed, her entire face changed. Her eyes crinkled. Her nose scrunched slightly. Sometimes she covered her mouth even though there was absolutely no reason to.
Malia didn't understand why anyone would hide something that sounded happy. So she waited until Kira caught up before continuing.
The forest became thicker around them, sunlight breaking through the canopy in scattered patches. Malia could smell damp earth beneath the dry leaves, water somewhere ahead, squirrels in the trees, and something dead several hundred yards east.
Probably a rabbit. Maybe a raccoon.
She tilted her head. Definitely rabbit.
Kira watched her. "What?"
"Dead rabbit."
Kira's nose wrinkled. "Do I want to know?"
"No."
"Great."
They kept walking. Eventually the ground began sloping downward, and the quiet trickle of water became audible even to human ears.
Well. Mostly human ears. Kira wasn't exactly human either. Malia sometimes wondered whether that was why being around her was easier. They were both caught somewhere between worlds.
Malia had been born human, lived as a coyote, and returned to a human body she barely remembered how to use. Kira had spent most of her life believing she was human before discovering something ancient and powerful had been sleeping inside her all along.
Neither of them had gotten an instruction manual. At least Kira seemed better at pretending she knew what she was doing. They reached the creek a few minutes later. Malia stepped onto a large flat stone near the water.
Kira stopped behind her. "Oh."
Malia looked back. "What?"
"It's beautiful."
Malia glanced around. The creek wasn't particularly large. Clear water moved lazily between moss-covered rocks, sunlight glittering across the surface wherever it slipped through the trees. Ferns crowded the banks, and an enormous oak stretched over the water, its roots twisting through the earth like enormous fingers.
Malia shrugged. "It's a creek."
Kira smiled. "It can be a creek and beautiful."
Malia considered that. "Okay."
She sat on the rock. Kira lowered herself beside her. For several minutes, neither spoke. That was another thing Malia liked about Kira. She didn't always need to fill silence.
Stiles filled silence. Isaac sometimes filled silence because he thought silence meant someone was upset. Lydia filled silence when she had something important to say. Kira could just sit inside it.
The water moved steadily past them. Malia picked up a pebble and tossed it into the creek. Kira watched the ripples spread. "You come here a lot?"
"Sometimes."
"When?"
"When people are annoying."
Kira nodded thoughtfully. "So... a lot."
Malia looked at her. Kira tried not to smile.
"You're getting way too sarcastic."
"I'm learning from the best."
"Stiles?"
"Lydia."
"That's worse."
Kira laughed again. Malia picked up another stone. This time she turned it between her fingers instead of throwing it. "I lived near here."
Kira's smile faded. Malia stared at the stone. She didn't talk about those years often. People always reacted strangely. They looked sad. Or horrified. Sometimes both.
Malia didn't understand why. It hadn't felt horrible while she was living it. It had simply been life. Cold winters were cold winters. Hunger meant finding food. Danger meant running or fighting. Sleep meant finding somewhere safe enough to close your eyes. There wasn't anything complicated about it.
"I don't know exactly where," Malia continued. "Coyotes move around. But somewhere around this part of the preserve."
Kira looked toward the trees. "Do you remember much?"
"Everything."
The answer came immediately. Kira looked back at her. Malia tossed the pebble. "It wasn't like being human. Not really. I didn't think about things the same way."
"What did you think about?"
"Food."
Kira smiled slightly.
"Safety. Territory. Weather. Other animals." Malia shrugged. "Surviving."
"Sounds exhausting."
"It wasn't."
Kira frowned. Malia searched for the words. Words were still sometimes annoying. "You know how people think about tomorrow all the time?"
Kira nodded.
"They worry about things that haven't happened. Or things that happened yesterday. Or five years ago. Or something somebody might say next week."
Malia plucked a blade of grass beside the rock. "Coyotes don't."
Kira listened quietly.
"If you're hungry, you hunt. If you're tired, you sleep. If something's dangerous, you leave. If you're safe..." Malia shrugged. "You're safe."
"For that moment."
"That's the only moment you're actually in."
Kira went very still. Malia looked over. "What?"
"Nothing."
"You're staring."
"I know."
"Why?"
Kira smiled softly. "Because that was surprisingly wise."
Malia frowned. "No, it wasn't."
"It kind of was."
"I was talking about being a coyote."
"Exactly."
Malia shook her head. "You're the wise one."
Kira blinked. "Me?"
"Yeah."
"Why am I the wise one?"
Malia stared at her as if the answer should have been obvious. "You went to the desert."
Kira laughed. "That automatically makes me wise?"
"You trained with Skinwalkers."
"That mostly made me sore."
"You learned how to control your fox."
Kira's smile weakened. Malia noticed. Kira looked down at her hands. "Sort of."
"More than before."
"That's not saying much."
"You didn't kill anyone today."
Kira stared at her. Malia shrugged. "Progress."
A surprised laugh escaped Kira. "You're terrible at encouragement."
"I'm being accurate."
"I know."
Kira looked toward the water again. The amusement slowly faded from her face. "My mom always talks about wisdom like it's something that comes with age. Like eventually you've lived long enough that you're supposed to understand everything."
Malia snorted. "Peter's old."
Kira covered her mouth. Malia continued, completely serious. "He doesn't understand everything."
That did it. Kira burst out laughing. Malia grinned. "Don't tell him I said that."
"I think he'd be more offended that you called him old."
"He is old."
"He's going to hear you somehow."
"Then he can fight me."
Kira shook her head. Eventually the laughter settled. She leaned back on her hands, looking through the trees.
"I don't feel wise."
Malia studied her. Kira's voice became quieter. "Most of the time I feel like I'm guessing. Everyone thinks because I'm a kitsune I'm supposed to understand this ancient supernatural stuff, but I don't. My mom had centuries to figure herself out."
She looked down. "I've had, what? A few years?"
Malia said nothing.
"I'm still learning what I am. What I can do. What I shouldn't do. Sometimes I think I've figured something out, and then something happens and suddenly I realize I don't know anything."
Malia picked up another pebble. She threw it.
Plop.
"That's stupid."
Kira turned toward her. "Thanks."
"No. Not you." Malia frowned, trying to arrange the thought properly. "The idea."
Kira waited. Malia pointed toward the creek. "You said this was beautiful."
"It is."
"But you've never been here."
"No."
"You didn't need to know everything about it first."
Kira blinked. Malia gestured toward the forest. "You don't know every tree. You don't know where the creek starts. You don't know what animals live here or where every trail goes."
"Okay..."
"But you still know it's beautiful."
Kira stared at her. Malia shrugged. "You don't have to know everything about something to know something about it."
Silence. Malia frowned. "What?"
Kira's eyes had gone suspiciously shiny.
"Oh, no."
Kira laughed softly. "What?"
"Don't cry."
"I'm not crying."
"You're doing the eyes."
"What eyes?"
"The wet ones."
Kira laughed harder, wiping beneath one eye. "I'm fine."
"Good."
Malia bumped her shoulder against Kira's. Kira bumped back. They sat quietly again. A breeze moved through the canopy. Malia closed her eyes. She could hear everything. Water, leaves, birds and the faint heartbeat beside her.
Kira's heartbeat was calm. Malia liked that too. After a while Kira said, "Maybe wisdom isn't knowing everything."
Malia opened one eye. "Probably not."
"Maybe it's knowing that you don't."
"That sounds annoying."
"It kind of is."
Malia closed her eye again. "Then I don't want wisdom."
Kira smiled. "What do you want?"
Malia thought about it. The answer was easy. "This."
Kira looked around. "The woods?"
Malia opened her eyes. "The quiet."
Something in Kira's expression softened. Malia looked toward the creek again. "And you."
The words came naturally. They weren't dramatic or planned. Malia didn't understand why Kira suddenly stopped breathing for half a second. She looked over. Kira was staring at her. "What?"
"You said me."
"Yeah."
"As part of what you want."
Malia frowned. "That's what I said."
Kira's cheeks were turning pink. Malia could smell the sudden shift in her emotions, too. Happiness. Nervousness. Something warmer that Malia recognized but wasn't going to mention because apparently humans got embarrassed when you pointed those things out. Even supernatural humans.
Malia tilted her head. "Do you not want me here?"
"No!"
The answer came so quickly that Malia smiled. Kira cleared her throat. "I mean... yes. I want you here."
"Good."
Malia reached over and took Kira's hand. Kira looked down at their fingers. Then back at her. Malia shrugged. "What?"
"Nothing."
"You're doing that thing again."
"What thing?"
"Thinking too much."
Kira laughed. "Probably."
Malia squeezed her hand. "Stop."
"Just like that?"
"Yeah."
"Wow. Why didn't I think of that?"
Malia narrowed her eyes. "Sarcasm."
"A little."
Malia smiled despite herself. They stayed beside the creek until the sunlight began turning gold between the trees.
Eventually Kira rested her head against Malia's shoulder. Malia leaned against her. Neither needed to explain it.
There were things Malia had learned from the wilderness that people seemed determined to forget.
Stay close to the ones who made you feel safe. Rest when you found somewhere peaceful. Don't abandon warmth simply because you were afraid it wouldn't last. And when something good existed in the moment, don't ruin it worrying about whether it would still exist tomorrow.
Maybe Kira was right. Maybe that was wisdom. Or maybe wisdom was Kira, patient, thoughtful, always searching for meaning even when she doubted herself. Malia didn't really care what they called it. Kira could have the wisdom. Malia would keep the wilderness.
And somewhere between ancient foxfire and wild coyote instincts, between thinking too much and simply existing, between everything Kira had learned and everything Malia had survived, they had found a place where neither one needed to be anything other than exactly what they were.
Kira's fingers tightened around hers. "We should probably head back before it gets dark."
Malia glanced toward the lowering sun. "We can see in the dark."
"You can see in the dark."
"You're a kitsune."
"That doesn't automatically give me night vision."
Malia frowned. "It should."
"I'll bring that up at the next kitsune meeting."
"There's a meeting?"
"No, Malia."
"Oh."
Kira started laughing again. Malia rolled her eyes, but she didn't let go of Kira's hand when they stood. She didn't let go when they crossed the creek. She didn't let go when they started back through the trees. And when Kira nearly tripped over another fallen branch, Malia caught her around the waist before she could fall.
Kira stared at her. Malia stared back. "The branch was there."
Kira's mouth fell open. Then she laughed so loudly that a flock of birds scattered from a nearby tree. Malia smiled.
Yeah, people were complicated. The wilderness was easier.
But Kira? Kira was worth learning.