Third grinned as he crawled into the bed. It was only for the night, but Prime and Second both needed a break from being among wolves and Third was willing to step in for that. They were more careful about Third being in the village now that the mask seemed to draw attention from the wolves, though Prime and Second also wore the mask on occasion so it didn’t seem odd when Third did.

The room did have a single bug in the corner, but it was audio only and Third didn’t see any harm to leaving it. The wolves might get suspicious if he dismantled it and the only thing he planned to do was snore.

Two weeks he’d slept out in the sand, the comfort of his bedroll the only thing keeping him from getting scalded and barely more than a sheet against the hard ground. The sand seemed to shift so much when he stood and moved, but laying down to sleep on it was like trying to nap on a rock.

Third stretched and yawned, his tail perking up and waving as he rolled onto his belly and cradled a pillow to his chest. Compared to the sand, this bed was a cloud.

A knock at the door startled him. For a moment Third wondered if he could pretend to be asleep. Then he remembered that these were ninja and had probably heard him rolling around. He opened the door to find one of the other rookies standing there with a bundle in his arms. The rookie darted in on soft feet and Third waited for some sort of explanation. None came. Third, shrugging, closed the door and climbed back into bed.

“That’s it?” the wolf hissed. “You aren’t even going to look at the haul?”

Third had no idea what he was going on about. “I’m tired, and I don’t think I really care. Unless you’re about to bring the guards down on us. If that’s the case: it was all your fault.”

“Come on! Look, look!” the wolf was practically hopping on his feet. He had dropped most of his bundle on the floor and held up something soft and pink and almost see-through. After a few blinks, Third realized they were panties. “I got Sarah’s,” the intruder said with a grin.

“Don’t blame me if she blinds you,” Third yawned, collapsing back onto the bed. He smiled softly as he buried his nose and chin in the pillow. Pillows really were wonderful.

“You’re going to sleep in your mask?” the intruder asked. He’d come very close to the bed, practically standing on top of Third’s resting place.

Third sighed, dropping the smile so the wolf wouldn’t see it. He didn’t even know the wolf’s name, though the wolf obviously knew either Prime or Second. Third guessed Prime based on the panty raid. Sitting up, Third scowled and bared his teeth at the wolf. Glaring would have been more appropriate, but it wouldn’t work with the mask. “What part of ‘I’m tired’ was difficult to understand?”

“I think you’re just trying to get out of your part of the mission,” the wolf grinned with a leer.

Third thought hard through everything Prime and Second had told him. There hadn’t been any mention of a mission. They had been thorough, going through each conversation of the day. The closest had been - “That wasn’t a mission. That was a dare. I don’t take stupid baby dares.” At least he knew who this wolf was now. Ken.

“Come on!” Ken complained. “I got the panties, now you have to wear them!”

“He has to what now?” The angry rumbling came from the open door, which Third hadn’t locked when Ken came in. There, with their hackles raised, were at least five of the female wolves in the rookie classes. Third guessed the leader was the ‘Sarah’ Ken had mentioned. “Ken, you idiot, you’re dead!”

Third sighed, grabbing the pillow and wandering out into the hall as the fight broke out in his room. Glancing left then right, he decided his best bet for a comfortable bed would be the medical suite. It should be empty this time of night, and sneaking in shouldn’t be a problem. He’d slip back out before dawn and go back to his room to assess the damage.

Except the medical suite wasn’t as empty as he thought. Third avoided the notice of the wolf, who seemed to be talking to the air, and ducked behind a curtained-off bed. It was empty and clean, and Third happily dived under the sheets and snuggled the pillow he’d brought with him. Extra bonus: now he had two. The one from his room and the one from the hospital bed.

“How should I know?” he heard the wolf mutter on the other side of the curtain. “They’re rookies, they squabble all the time. Unless they’re halfway to dead they don’t wander over here.”

Third found that a bit amusing, since he was no where near that point and he’d wandered over quite easily.

“No - I -” the voice cut itself off, and a very obvious sniffing sound came from the other side of the curtain. “Oh, I might have found something. Strange. No, don’t. I think it’s okay. Send someone by in the morning. The troublemakers need to get some sleep, and that includes those two brats.”

Third didn’t know who it was on the other side of the curtain, but his voice was soothing. They were only meant to take light naps inside the village since it was enemy territory and a deep sleep left them open to attack, yet that voice felt safe and comfortable. And the bed was soft and the pillows fluffy. After a slew of uncomfortable nights on desert sand, such luxuries were too tempting to ignore completely. Third drifted lightly, still aware of the wolf but unconcerned with him. Third didn’t even open his eyes when the wolf peeked inside the curtain, then stepped in to tug the sheet up and tuck Third in. He just sighed and snuggled further into the pillows.

The wolf chuckled, stepping back outside the curtain and muttering about some ‘damned bastard’ that needed minding. Despite the words, Third thought the wolf sounded fond of whatever idiot was giving him trouble. Maybe it was a wolf thing.