Chapter Text
Wolf paused at the bottom of the stairs. From her vantage point, she was able to stare through the wide open door. Lio and Song sat beside each other by the kitchen table. She couldn't make out their words, but Lio said something that made Song smile. Her face lit up as she pressed a hand against her mouth to giggle. Their demeanour was the complete opposite of her wolf-parents. Lio and Song didn't worry as much about proper etiquette or making sure that everything was properly done. They encouraged making mistakes to learn and praised Wolf's imperfections. Lio liked to say that it was those that made her human. Wolf's eyes darted between them. They looked so happy. Almost carefree. Wolf didn't want to interrupt them. She squirmed on the spot and contemplated returning to her room until dinner was ready.
Song noticed her before she had the chance to follow through. The second their eyes met, Wolf tensed up, shoulders by her chin as her hands clenched into fists. Song tilted her head to the side and Wolf bit her lip. She expected Song to call her out for staring, to say that she was being nosy and rude and should go to bed without dinner. Instead, Song beckoned her over with a wave of her hand.
“Come sit, honey!” She patted the seat next to her.
Wolf forced every muscle in her body to move her forward until she managed to pull out the chair on the opposite side of the kitchen table, out of arms reach just in case. Lio eyes her with an expression that Wolf couldn't read. Song spoke up before he could make a comment.
“Are you hungry yet, sweetie?” she asked. She stood up to stir the noodles. The air smelled of the frying pan filled with cooking meat and vegetables that drowned in a reddish sauce.
“I guess?” she replied. She hadn't meant for it to come out as a question. She was hungry, but nothing good came out of admitting to your weaknesses. If Lio and Song decided to kick her out on the spot, it would be a while until she found something to eat. She recalled Lio taking out the trash in Timbercat Village a day prior. If she was sneaky enough, maybe she could get her hands on some scraps.
A few minutes of awkward silence later, Kipo and Benson burst through the front door, laughing like a pair of maniacs. Wolf flinched at the sudden loudness, against her better judgment. They were ringing the dinnerbell!
Kipo rushed to Wolf's side, hands landing on her shoulders for support as she almost kneeled in front of her on the floor.
“Wolf!” Kipo exclaimed between giggles. “You should have been there. Troy just tripped over his own feet and faceplanted!” She burst into uncontrollable laughter once again and Wolf's eyes widened.
Dave appeared in the doorway and tears welled up in his eyes. “It sounded like SPLAT when he fell! Ahhh, hilarious.”
Kipo melted into a puddle of laughter on the floor. Tears ran down her purple cheeks and Wolf couldn't help the hint of a smile that tugged at her lips. Her heart warmed at the sight of her friends’ happiness. It proved that they were safe. Then, her smile dropped. She wished that she could join them. That she could enter a house with muddy sneakers like Kipo and not worry about being yelled at. She wished that she could allow herself to relax and just be. It felt like she couldn't. She was different from her friends. She was a survivor. Despite the fact that Kipo had turned Las Vistas into a safe zone, it couldn’t undo years of being alone, years of only having herself to rely on, years of forcing the childish part of herself away so that she could focus on surviving. Wolf was aware that she'd been distancing herself from the family she'd made for herself. It became all too obvious with each time that she declined Kipo's invitations, Lio and Song's affection, and returning Benson and Dave's teasing.
Wolf jolted as movement passed her, only to realize that they'd already begun setting the table. Wolf scrambled to stand up, rushing to the box of cutlery. She couldn’t just sit there while everyone else prepared to eat dinner. She refused to be seen as lazy. It was definitely a one-way ticket into being kicked out. After gathering as many forks that were needed, Wolf reached for the knives in the second box. Song stopped her before she could even touch them.
“I'll handle the knives, sweetie. You can give the forks to Kipo,” she said, grabbing a handful of knives herself. “You just sit down. We're almost done anyway.”
Wolf couldn't help the frown that formed on her forehead as she sat down in her preferred seat. She had handled far more dangerous and difficult things than knives. Her weapon had been a Deathstalker stinger after all. Why was Song doubting her ability to handle knives? She had to know how strong she was. Was it that she wasn’t good enough?
Song lifted the pot from the stove and placed it in the middle of the kitchen table. The rest of the family took their seats before Song began to serve their portions. Kipo chatted excitedly with Benson about their day's adventures, Song chatted with Lio about work, and Dave tried to keep Mandu from jumping onto his seat to steal his food. Wolf picked at her food as she avoided looking at her family — at their happiness. Her mind swiveled with thoughts that threatened to bring her food back up with every swallow. She was just so different from them. They had basically nothing in common except for their connection with Kipo. She was a surface girl through and through, and they were burrowers — mole people. Despite the fact that Benson had grown up on the surface like her, he was far more peoply and fit in without trouble. Wolf was so deep in her thoughts that she didn't hear her family call her name until Kipo waved a purple hand in front of her face. Wolf dropped her spoon in her soup, splashing droplets across the table.
“I— I'm sorry,” Wolf apologized immediately, eyes wide.
Song rose from her seat to grab a paper towel to wipe up Wolf's mess. “It's okay, darling. Accidents happen.”
Meanwhile, Kipo's mouth formed a slight frown. “Wolf? Are you okay?” she asked.
“What?” Wolf asked, noticing how everyone stared at her. Is it that obvious?
“You weren't answering me,” Kipo clarified.
“Yeah!” Dave tsk'ed from across the table, shaking his head disapprovingly. “Rude child.”
Kipo gave him a look before she returned her attention to Wolf. “Are you okay, though? You've barely touched your food.”
Benson inclined his head. “Third rule of the surface, remember? Never pass up a meal.”
Not even Benson was a stranger to Wolf's lessons about the surface, having heard them countless of times when he annoyed her. Wolf almost regretted it at that moment.
“I'm fine,” Wolf replied, picking up her spoon. She took a couple bites of the vegetables and meat to prove her point, despite the way her stomach churned in protest.
Kipo didn't look entirely convinced, but she let the subject go. “So, what do you think of your room?” she asked.
Wolf was glad that her older sister chose not to push. “It's great,” she glanced at Lio and Song, “thank you for letting me have it!”
Song beamed. “Of course, honey. You need your own space. You're an Oak now!”
Wolf swallowed down a couple more bites before she asked to be excused. With Song's permission, Wolf took her plate to the sink and returned to her room. Song's words repeated in her head. Was she an Oak? Like, a part of the family? For real? She never got to use the wolves’ last name, and she didn't remember the one she went by. She'd come to realize that it was because they didn't consider her one of them. This time, she was treated like a child — yes, they acted like she was a vulnerable and weak child — but she was their child nonetheless. She wasn't just some stray kid who Kipo had dragged home, she was a part of them.
Wolf changed into Kipo's old pajama set from when she was Wolf's age that Lio had kept around. It was pink and had a smiley cartoon star on the stomach, and the fabric swallowed her small frame, but it was hers. They wouldn't have given it to her if she wasn't meant to stay. If they didn't consider her a daughter. She once again repeated Song's words. Maybe it was worth a shot? She'd never be able to guarantee that they wouldn't abandon her, but she wanted to try. She wanted to have a family. She wanted to not have to care for herself and be alone. She was terrified of the control she'd have to give up in order to experience all of that, but when had she not been terrified when she lived on the surface? Back then, she hadn't known why she kept going, why she kept fighting to survive. This time, she knew why she wanted to stay and why it would be worth it in the end. Avoiding it, despite how much easier that felt, would never help her trust people again.
Wolf climbed into her bed, feeling it sink slightly underneath her weight. She laid her head down on her pillow, squirming until she found a comfortable position. She wrapped a thick blanket around herself instead of the thin skin of her wolf-pelt. She hugged a stuffed bat to her chest instead of a weapon. Her eyelids began to flutter as a smile grew on her lips. As sleep took her, she came to accept her new name.
Wolf Oak.