Part I: Following an encounter with one of Safe Haven's most polarizing residents, an exchange student named D'kala N'chaba, Koko begins to struggle with her identity and beliefs. Haunted by a persistent hallucination, she finds herself searching fo...
From this point on (set during and after "Ep. II: Division, Pt. II" in "P E A C E K E E P E R S"), Koko will be referred to as male in accordance with the transformation that takes place in the aforementioned text.
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Koko stared down at his paws, his breath coming in quick, short pants. "Wh—I—I'm—" He tried to say more, but he started to hyperventilate as he put his hands on his face, tears brimming in his eyes. Then, unable to hold back, he fell on his knees, sobbing uncontrollably.
As he cried, he heard someone approaching quickly behind him. He lifted his head and, through tear-filled eyes, made out his sister kneeling next to him, shock written all over her face. "Koko?" she breathed in disbelief.
Koko couldn't reply or even nod—he was in a state of shock as well, his body shaking violently as tears rolled down his face.
Mint hesitated a moment before throwing her arms around her brother, embracing him tightly. "Why?" she whispered, tears filling her own eyes. "Why give it all up?"
"I—I don't know!" Koko blubbered, squeezing his sister. He felt a hand land on his shoulder and opened his eyes again.
Addison met his gaze, his eyes filled with wonder. "That's amazing," he said quietly. "It looks like your prayer... was answered."
"What do I do now?" Koko said in a pleading tone. "Please—tell me!"
"I can't tell you what to do, Koko," Addison told him. "What you do next is between you and the One Who healed you. But... there's one thing I can do."
"W-What?"
Addison smiled. "I can pray for you again. And then maybe you can start reading a little more. As for what comes next... you'll have to play that by ear."
Koko nodded reluctantly as Mint gave his arm a light, encouraging squeeze. "Okay. O—Okay." Koko reached out with one arm and pulled Addison close, hugging him. "Thank you," he whispered.
"Don't thank me," Addison replied, his smile widening as he pointed a finger upward. "Thank HIM."
Koko opened his mouth to speak again, but then started looking around as the shouts of surprise that emanated from the protesters transformed into indignant mutters and grumbles. "My clan," he murmured. "How do I... what do I say to them?"
Before Addison could respond, a paw rested on Koko's back. He looked over his shoulder and saw Robin standing there, an unreadable-but-solemn expression on her face. She gave him a nearly imperceptible nod before turning around, cupping her hands around her mouth, and shouting, "HEY! All of you, SHUT UP!"
The protesters fell silent at the sound of her voice.
"Look, you jerks," Robin started angrily, "I know you're all confused, and I know you're probably p----d at Koko right now. I get that! But she—but HE made a choice, and you've got no right to judge him for it! I told him last week that his Pack would ALWAYS have his back, so don't you DARE make me a liar! We support our family, no matter what! Right?"
The protesters remained quiet, some scowling but most shamefaced.
Robin gripped Koko's shoulder and hauled him to his feet, turning him around to face the protesters. "Look at him," she ordered. "Like it or not, he is your brother. You can either keep b---hing about it, or you can shut up and deal with it." As she spoke, she turned pointedly to JayJay and Raven, the former of whom looked away while the latter continued to stare at Koko in shock.
"Thanks, Red," Koko said to Robin in a quiet voice.
"Don't mention it." Robin gave Koko a pained look and added, "But do both of us a favour and don't run your mouth about... whatever just happened. Alright?"
Koko cracked a small grin. "No promises."
"Yeah, that's what I figured." Robin and Koko embraced, and the former whispered in the latter's ear, "I wouldn't've yelled at you if you'd told me you were even hotter as a guy."
"You're a riot," Koko whispered back, rolling his eyes.
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"Where're you going?"
Koko turned around as Mint entered his room and leaned against the doorjamb. He was hunched over a travel bag, which was stuffed with clothes. "Oh. Um... I'm takin' a trip," he responded, his voice seemingly hoarser than usual. "I just gotta... be alone for a bit."
"You're leaving the haven?" Mint asked quietly.
Koko swallowed hard. "Yeah. But not permanently," he added quickly. "I'm not tryna break a Pact or anything."
Mint hesitated. "When... when will you come back?" she asked in a small voice.
Koko shrugged. "I dunno. Not for a while."
Mint nodded, half to herself and half in response to Koko's answer. "Okay. Well... be safe," she said, walking up to Koko and hugging him. "Watch out for hunters. Don't let anyone see you... y'know... like this." She gestured to his body, which was currently in wolf form.
"Got it." Koko shifted into to human form and gave Mint a sad-but-reassuring smile. "I'll miss ya, sistah," he told her in what was meant to be a teasing tone but ended up sounding pathetically miserable.
Mint laughed as tears sprang into her eyes. "I'll miss you too, Koko."
The siblings embraced one more time before Koko grabbed his bag and left the house. He tossed the bag into the trunk of his Corvette and slid into the driver's seat, driving off into the night.
I don't know where I'm going, he thought as he streaked toward Safe Haven's border, or what I'm going to do... but I've got cash. I've got faith. And I've got a Pack that's got my back.
Not to mention my friggin' Corvette.
A wide grin crossedKoko's face as he drew closer to the barrier. Oh,yeah. This is gonna be fun.
