#darling redacted

6 year old darlin being introduced to the other kids of the pack and being seen as so cool for having lived in another state as if they just moved from another country.

Their family being begged come to everything from barbecues to birthday parties to movie nights by children and then being whisked away by the other children.

Darlin going to spend holidays and some summers in Washington and being asked to write or send a postcard.

Darlin with thick as thieves friends who stand up for them when school starts and older kids try to make fun of them or exclude them for being new.

Darlin and the other pack children mimicking pack runs before they can shift, everyone giggling and chasing each other around.

Darlin who has a sibling relationships with almost all the other kids, being seen as the cool older sibling figure to younger children.

Said younger children following them around and calling them ‘my sibling’ even though they aren’t related.

Hear me out: I feel like despite being mates to the Shaw packs alpha and beta angel and babe are pretty unbiased to most members of the pack.

Like yeah, they’ll form their own opinions on members ofc but won’t be inherently biased towards anyone because of the influence their respective shifter holds towards people (With exception to Christian. It was on sight the minute they could put a face to the name)

Like when Darlin first started coming back to the pack I feel like these two would be the first ones to offer genuine kindness and be positive towards them. This naturally sketches Darlin out. With all they’ve done and been through, why are these people treating them this nicely for no reason?

Pretty sketchy if you ask Darlin.

So of course Darlin acts aloof and distant from them because who knows why they’re actually being nice to them and want to get to know them? Surely David and Asher told their mates all about them and how terrible of a person and pack member Angel and Babe must think bad of Darlin.

So it’s weird when Darlin is forced invited to David and Angel’s place for coffee and they see Angel and Babe there.

Needless to say it’s awkward at first. Despite not being shifters they’re surprisingly intimidating together and puts Darlin on edge.

It gets them on the defensive when the two start to asking questions but when it devolves into cheesy, typical questions to get to know them which is far from any interrogation Darlin thought they’d be getting. Darling also able to let their guard down more as Angel ensures David’s not in the house or aware of their coffee meet up although they do still remain guarded

This ends still pretty awkward but the three end up slightly closer than before and the two get to see a slightly different side to Darlin than what they heard and get more insight into them.

What if they were the most loving, attentive, understanding parents someone could have? They thought moving to Dahlia would be best and that Darlin would thrive and be happy in this new environment once they got comfortable? Trying to slowly encourage them to make friends, giving them anything they wanted or needed whether it was materialistic or not.

Taking Darlin out to explore Dahlia and bond with their child, trying to help Darlin understand that this move isn’t all bad and they’ll end up loving it. Their parents big into helping with the pack and but always willing to make time for Darlin regardless of the consequences and making sure that as much as humanly possible Darlin comes first.

When Darlin starts to distance themselves their parents encourage them to find their own path in the world and that they’ll always have their parents in their corner no matter what and their door is always open to Darlin and that they love Darlin no matter what. Even as Darlin starts to rebel and lash out and it breaks their parents hearts their parents can’t find it in them to hate their child or be mad as Darlin struggles.

When they see Darlin run around with Quinn they express their concerns and wish for Darlin’s safety, Darlin pushes them away further and even as they cry from the cruel words manipulated into Darlin’s mind from Quinn they can’t hate their child even after the unforgiving words spat at them.

It can be one of the hardest decisions in their life but they will become robotic, shutting their emotions and empathy down. This worlds survival of the fittest and they’re going to be the one on top even if they lose everyone around them. They can’t win the fight? Well time to cut the dead weight loose and keep going. Not worth it to keep that person around if it’s going to be their downfall.

They’re always ready to up and leave even when they start dating Sam. They have money from doing minor gigs with the security company in a separate account no one knows about. Even when they live with Sam they have barely anything, just enough to shove in a bag and leave.

With a mate whose settled and not looking to constantly migrate and fairly happy to be where he is Darlin wants to stay in one place more, be more connected with Sam and their pack but the nagging voice in their head demands they stay on the move, keep hunting Quinn, that they are being selfish and reckless ‘abandoning’ their hunt.

There have been times after a rough pack meeting or job they’ll fill that bag with their belongings and leave. They never go far away but far enough they can either talk themselves out or hype themselves up to skip town, leave dahlia in the dust as a faded memory. Recreate themselves, new identity and all but everytime they come back

When Darlin was still in Washington with their family when they left unexpectedly it was because they were kicked out of their parents house and the government wouldn’t grant custody to any of the pack members when their extended family was very willing to take them in. (I see Darlin as a couple years younger than the rest of the pack here and left Dahlia when they were 17 and had a couple months until their 18th birthday.)

When they originally got kicked out no one knew for sure, they and (mostly) their parents covered it up to protect their image in the pack and not face repercussions from the older and/or more influential members like Gabe.

Darlin never made much of a effort to keep in contact with the Shaw pack, most of their family doing that in their stead. Gabe understanding and giving them the space never pushed for direct contact with them unless they wanted it or if there was valid reason. He’d also call/text them inviting them back to dahlia, with their extended family, for holidays like the winter solstice. Each time they declined or didn’t answer

(If I’m not wrong) Darlin was canonically still thought to be in Washington when Gabe died. When they got the news through a call with Marie they felt sad. Not necessarily distraught as they weren’t ever close to the pack, but sad. They didn’t know why they felt any strong emotion towards his passing, why they had to hold back the slightest tears for a man they were never close enough with to warrant such emotions. When they went to bed that night all they could do was cry silently and stare at the ceiling trying to stop and justify a reason for their sadness.

One thing though is with darling probably my second or third fav y/n in the redacted universe I have headcanoned with their character is that they need glasses but stopped wearing them/started wearing contacts when they ended up running with Quinn bc he made them feel insecure about them/would break them as a ‘punishment’ and another aspect of financial control because glasses both the frame and lenses aren’t cheap.

With faceless characters like the boys it’s hard to see what if think they’d look like because admittedly I’m heavily influenced by others designs for them. I like everyone’s designs too much and what everyone’s universally agreed are features for certain characters.