While most of the ground was covered in snow, the pack had found a bunch of displaced tree trunks that had collapsed in a previous storm. When they were pushed aside, they'd left behind a massive patch of clean dirt.
By the time they'd gotten done hunting, it was afternoon, with the sun hanging high in the cloudless sky above them. All of the pack members had shifted back and were all sitting in a circle on the ground. The two caught elk were in the center, having been torn into pieces.
No shifter Biscuit had met had been very picky about eating their food raw, even in their human form. This group was no different; Max had first torn a piece off for himself, and everyone else dove in. Biscuit had gotten food last, tearing into it with his teeth as the others talked.
"Fuck, that was so difficult," Fluffy sighed as he picked at his teeth with a stray bone, Sparky sitting close by him, "I'm so damn tired from all this running around."
"We'll have to do that a lot for now," Gunner said, "Maybe we can ease up on all of the travel once we get somewhere where there's more food in one spot."
"Oh, please. You wouldn't know difficult if it jumped up and bit you," Rambo interjected, jabbing a finger in Fluffy's direction, "When I was your age, I had to chase down a rabbit and fight off fifty other wolves to survive. They were twice my size, and I barely escaped with my life before their pack leader attacked me and spit into my eyes. And he had rabies! Why do you think I'm blind now?"
"That didn't fucking happen, you crazy old man," Fluffy bit, "There's no way you fought off fifty wolves by yourself. You can barely fight off one."
"Okay, maybe I'm fudging up the numbers," Rambo scratched his head, "But that's how it felt in the moment."
"It was real to you, and that's what matters," Sparky said. Fluffy turned his head slowly in his direction, confusion evident on his face.
Biscuit struggled to bite his food as the others spoke - or, rather, bickered among themselves. Eating raw meat was much better as a wolf. The tastebuds were not as adept at dissecting flavor as they were to rot and sickness, which made the minimal taste of the raw flesh more flavorful. However, as a human, it was tough and chewy and metallic. Biscuit stood up and walked to the edge of the patch, collecting sticks and rocks as he did.
Max watched from his seat, chewing slowly. Then, finally, he nodded his head at Sparky and Fluffy. "You two. Go see what the prisoner is doing over there. I think he's trying to light a smoke signal. We don't need any extra attention coming our way."
"What?" Fluffy protested, "But I'm eating."
"I-" Sparky started to join him but then sighed. "Fuck, alright, fine."
Fluffy rolled his eyes. He began to stand up, but Sparky held a hand to stop him. "No, it's cool. I'll do it."
"Hey, Biscuit. What are you doing?" Sparky asked the question cheerfully, in a tone that tipped off that he was clearly suspicious.
Biscuit had gathered the sticks into a pile and was now rubbing the two pieces of flint he'd found together. "Making a fire."
"Oh. Why?"
Biscuit looked up at him. "I'm cooking."
"Cooking?" His eyes widened, his green eyes glinting in the glow of the sparks. "Why?"
Biscuit shrugged. "Elk tastes better when its cooked."
Sparky paused, wringing his hands together nervously. "Here's the thing, though; Max is suspicious of you being over here by yourself. He thinks you're trying to light a smoke signal to the rest of your pack. I'm sure you can tell he's kind of paranoid."
"No kidding," Biscuit grunted as the sparks flew out from between the rocks, lighting the pile. "Don't worry. I'll keep it small."
"Can you not eat it as it is? I mean, isn't this too much effort?" Sparky gestured to the flames.
"Uh, no." Biscuit stood back and looked at his work. The piece of elk was skewered with a sharpened stick and held aloft by two large branches over the crackling fire. He finally sat down, turning the handle, time and again. Sparky sat down next to it, sighing.
"Hey," Both shifters turned to see Fluffy walking toward them. "What's with the fire? Are you cooking?"
"Yes." Biscuit replied, standing up.
"Good." Fluffy held up his own piece of elk, and handed it to the younger shifter. "Whatever you're doing, do it to this."
Biscuit blinked as he held it. "What?"
"Fluffy," Sparky looked up at him, "Don't-"
"I even got some stuff to help you get started." Fluffy reached into the pouch attached to his belt, and handed them to Biscuit.
Biscuit looked into the bag. "Herbs? How'd you even get these? They're like, impossible to find in this weather."
"Cause I'm a goddamn genius, that's how." Fluffy triumphantly placed his hands on his hips.
"Fluffy," Sparky repeated, "Max will be pissed."
"So what? What's he gonna do, kick me out? Besides, you're just sitting here watching him cook, so you're not one to judge."
"Well, yes, I am," Sparky said, "But I'm not just watching. I'm supervising."
"Whatever. Besides, you said you'd keep an eye on him. So, if we get into trouble, I'll just blame it on you."
"You-what-?!" Sparky's cheeks and ears burned red before he shut his eyes.
"I'm just kidding," Fluffy held both hands to placate him, "You gotta relax. Nothing's wrong with a little cooking. Besides, all three of us know that we're not doing anything wrong, right?"
Fluffy looked over at Biscuit as he said that last part. Biscuit paused before nodding his head. "Uh, yeah."
"He's gonna make smoke signals," Fluffy said, mimicking Max's tone before chuckling to himself, "You've got to be shitting me."
Biscuit started cooking Fluffy's piece, hanging over the fire with his own. Fluffy leaned over and ruffled Biscuit's dark hair. The younger shifter jumped at the touch.
It'd been... quite a while since he'd been shown any affection. It was definetely strange. Not bad, just unfamiliar.
Fluffy laughed. "Look at him. He's like a puppy. What the hell is Max so worried about?"
The smoke from the cooked meat strengthened with the addition of the cilantro and thyme Fluffy had given him.
"What the hell are those boneheads doing over there?" Max said, sniffing the air and staring over at the three shifters around the makeshift fire.
Gunner was leaned against a log, fast asleep and his leg kicking absently, as if he were running around in his dreams. Ollie was curled up on his side, sleeping on a patch of grass that had dried in the afternoon sun. Rambo had fallen asleep mid-rambling, so he snored deeply in a sitting position. Titan sat next to Max, gleefully chewing on the femur bone of the elk he'd caught, oblivious to the suspicion and animosity of their pack leader.
Diesel lay on his back, his hands tucked under his head. Though his eyes were closed, he was still awake, though not for lack of trying. He groaned. "Dude, just leave it alone. Whatever he's doing, it can't be that bad."
"You don't know that," Max defended weakly, "I think he's trying to alert someone that we're here with a smoke signal."
Diesel sat up slowly, sighing. "You know spies are usually smarter than that, right? I mean, if he was trying to signal someone, surely he'd do it when's he not in our direct line-of-sight."
"Unless that's what he wants us to think," Max said.
"Can you two not do this right now?" Both shifters turned to Gunner, who had woken up and glared in their direction. Both of them quieted, and Gunner rolled over and went back to sleep.
The brief silence was broken when Titan spoke up.
"Hey, Max!" Titan said, beaming up at him, "Who is the tiny guy following us around?"
"Shh," Max held a finger to his lips, "That's Biscuit, remember? The lone wolf we caught? We all voted on whether he'd stay with us?"
Titan looked at him blankly. Max sighed. "It doesn't matter. You shouldn't trust him. He's not staying long, anyways."
"...Why not?" Titan asked innocently. Before Max could answer, Diesel whistled.
"Titan!" Diesel shouted, and the bigger shifter immediately perked his head in his direction. "Want to play fetch?"
He grinned, his blue eyes shining. "Yes! Yes!"
Diesel grabbed a stray bone, raised his arm, and tossed it overhead. "Go get it!"
The bone landed thirty feet away, soaring through the air and landing at Biscuit's feet. Titan immediately bounded after it, leaving a cloud of snow and dirt.
"Why'd you do that?" Max asked, waving the air to get the dust away from his face.
Diesel pointed. "Just watch."
"Damn, this is really good," Sparky said, biting into some of Fluffy's elk.
"Hey, come on! Get your own," Fluffy shoved his face away. Sparky smirked, and maneuvered his head around Fluffy's hand to get another bite. It seemed it was now his turn to mess with him.
Biscuit smirked, a rare feeling of pride in his chest as he ate his food. Cooking it correctly was always a treat, and being complimented for it was... unusual for him, to say the least.
When a bone landed at his boot, his smile fell to a curious look. Then, loud footsteps got even louder, and Biscuit barely looked up before getting tackled to the ground.
"Ow..." Titan rubbed his head, but quickly forgot about his pain in his search for the bone. "Where- where is it?!"
Biscuit had accidentally landed on top of the bone in the scuffle, hiding it from view. The wind had been knocked out of him, and he laid on his back for a few seconds to catch his breath.
"Titan, what the fuck?!" Fluffy yelled, standing up and shielding his food from the cloud of dirt.
"No!" Sparky scolded as he stood up, wagging a finger, "Bad Titan! You don't jump on people! It's rude!"
Titan looked up at them as he was scolded, his brows furrowed and eyes shiny with unshed tears. "I'm really sorry."
Biscuit stared at him. Despite his larger size, the bigger shifter had this strange, almost puppy-like aura to him; he certainly didn't seem to act with the same intention and methodicalness that the rest of his pack did, not that there was much to begin with.
He stood up, brushed the dirt off himself, and picked up the tossed bone. He whistled to get Titan's attention. "Hey."
Titan swerved around, his eyes trained on the bone immediately. He almost looked like he was about to go back on his apology and tackle Biscuit to the ground once again, given his ready stance.
"You want it?" Biscuit waved the bone, and Titan's eyes widened and followed its movement.
A smile grew on Biscuit's face. "Go get it!"
He tossed the bone into the snowy bank close to some pine trees at the edge of the clearing, and Titan zoomed after it.
A few moments later, Titan raced back, tossing it overhead, and Biscuit jumped up and caught it in midair. Then, he ran forward, waving it as he did so. "Catch!"
Diesel and Max sat up and watched the pair of wolves continue their game from a distance.
Diesel smirked. "See? I don't think he's all that bad."
"He and Titan are getting along pretty well, I guess," Max said, his eyes wide as he watched them.
"Anyone who gets along well with Titan can't be much of an asshole." Diesel looked over at his friend, an eyebrow furrowed cheekily.
Max frowned and looked at the ground. His eyes hardened. "You're right. But Titan gets along well with everybody. I still don't trust him."
"Of course you don't," Diesel laid back down, his arms tucked under his head, "I didn't expect you to. But maybe this is a sign of something good."
Max sighed. "Whatever."
They heard a groan and looked over to where Ollie was lying down. He brushed his long black hair out of his face and rubbed his uninjured eye. "What's with all of the noise?"
Ollie looked up to see Biscuit and Titan playing fetch, and his eye widened, a thoughtful look passing on his face.
Up until now, Biscuit had been quiet and cautious, silently trailing behind their pack and never giving more than a few words at a time. Seeing him smile as he bounded after Titan, his short dark-brown hair dancing wildly and his dark eyes shining in the sun's afternoon light - Ollie felt his heart warm up and his cheeks burn. Even in the chill of winter, Biscuit's presence looked warm and sweet.
To think this was the same shifter who took his eye. Ollie touched his injury, staring after the lone wolf in awe.
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