A day of traveling had passed uneventfully. The pack trekked through the morning and into the night, and Biscuit mostly spoke to the back of the pack, although they weren't exactly giving him any biting information; most of it was Sparky and Fluffy bickering occasionally, or Ollie shyly pointing out interesting things he saw, like a bluebird making a nest or a family of rabbits.
Finally, they were able to rest by the next sunrise, and everyone spent the whole morning sleeping.
In the evening, Max told them to look for any resources they might need for the trip before they start hitting the road again. Ollie apparently had some minor practice in medicine, and wanted to look for herbs and roots that would help.
Ollie smiled. "Biscuit, can you come with me to look?"
"Um, sure-"
But before they could agree, Max grabbed Ollie's jacket sleeve. "Actually, I need Ollie's help for something."
After some bickering, the group split up briefly; Max, Ollie, Titan, and Gunner were salting the elk for the road, while Diesel, Sparky, Fluffy, and Biscuit dug through the snow, looking for any herbs that hadn't been killed by the chill of winter.
Rambo did not assist any of them. Instead, he sat on his ass under a tree. "Come on, you ninnies, can't you dig any faster?"
"I don't see you doing anything to help, you old fart," Fluffy bit back.
"I'm too old. You boys are more suited to the heavy lifting. My bones are too brittle." Rambo scratched his ass.
Fluffy snarled and rolled his eyes, completely unconvinced. "Apparently, your brittle bones don't have any problems fighting off thirty-foot-tall grizzly bears."
"Oh god, you two cut it out," Sparky sighed, "It's too early for this."
Biscuit watched the argument from his spot several feet away, and didn't hear Diesel walk up behind him.
"They're in love, you know," Diesel whispered, a smirk on his face.
Biscuit blinked. "Who?"
Diesel jerked his head in Sparky and Fluffy's direction. "They're crazy about each other. Fluffy tries to deny it, but he's a bad liar. It's why they hang out even when they're having a screaming match. It's exhausting, but really funny."
"And, I think that Fluffy's story yesterday was about them, somehow. That one about the wolf and the human? He's not subtle. And he's not very creative."
"I see," Biscuit said. He didn't really see, but he'd take Diesel's word for it.
Biscuit soon handed Ollie the conifer needles, chicory and Oregon grapes they'd collected.
"Here you go," Biscuit handed the filled small satchel over to Ollie, "I hope that's everything you needed. We couldn't find any cattail roots, though, so sorry about that."
Ollie smiled brightly. "It's fine. This is more than enough. Thank you."
Biscuit couldn't help the small smile he gave back. It's been quite a long time since he'd met people who'd thanked him for anything, and Ollie seemed to be full of "thank you"'s to give. "It's nothing."
The two marinated in peaceful, awkward silence as Ollie put the satchel inside his pocket. Ollie looked back up at him, as if he wanted to say more.
Biscuit had never been one for small talk, so he stood and looked back at Ollie, their eyes holding contact. This is what it means to... be friendly, after all.
Ollie chuckled. "Why are you staring at me?"
Biscuit blinked. "Weren't you going to say something else?"
Ollie laughed a bit harder, scratching the back of his head, a few stray black hairs poking loose out of his ponytail. "I was, but I decided against it."
"What were you gonna say?"
"It's nothing important." Ollie placed a hand on Biscuit's shoulder. "I just like your company, is all."
It was Biscuit's turn to be grateful. "Thank you. I- you too."
Smooth.
Before any more words could be exchanged, Max whistled from behind a tree and beckoned with his hand. "Ollie, I need you for a second before we leave. Come here."
Ollie briefly smiled at him before nodding at Max. "Sure."
Biscuit saw Max shoot him a glare before they walked a bit further away.
"What do you think you're doing?" Max crossed his arms, much like a disapproving parent.
Ollie looked at the floor as Max closed the distance. "What do you mean?"
"You know what I mean. I-" Max sighed, running a hand down his face. "Look, I get it. I've had the hots for someone before, too, you know."
"What?" Ollie stammered, his cheeks burning. "I don't-"
"I know what it looks like have a little crush. I'm not stupid." Max looked up to the sky as he thought aloud. "You meet that someone who makes your heart race, and you want to hold them in your arms, and you want to fuck them against a tree-"
"Max! Please!" Ollie held up his hands, as if to physically stop Max from elaborating further. "It's not like that. I just think Biscuit is... nice. He's very easy to talk to, and really mellow, and-"
Max rolled his eyes and raised a hand. "You like him, I get it. But, let's remember that this is also the same guy who tore out your fucking eye."
Ollie frowned, getting angry for the first time in a while. "Now, wait a minute. That was an accident. He thought we were attacking him first. Besides, he apologized to me already. And it's not like we haven't done far worse. I don't need you to defend me, Max. I'm fine, and I can take care of myself."
"No, you need all of us," Max said, "because you can't tell the difference between someone whose actually nice and someone who isn't actively trying to kill you. Your standards are too low. And the truth is; you don't know this kid. You've only known him for four days. The only reason you like him so damn much is because he's the only person we've met in years whose around your age."
It was true. Ollie was the youngest member at nineteen years old; Max and the others ranged from twenty-four to thirty, and Rambo himself was well into his late fifties. It'd been a while since Ollie had met another person his age.
"That's not the only reason," Ollie argued, "I don't think he's as bad as you try to make him out to be. He's quite pleasant to be around. You just love to see the worst in everybody."
"Look, I'm not gonna tell you what to do," Max scratched his head, but walked closer to Ollie. He patted his hair, looking down with genuine concern. "But this guy is leaving in a week. Don't get too attached. That's all."
Ollie pulled away, looking at the floor. "I'll keep that in mind."
There was a tense silence, both men clearly wanting to argue more but holding back to maintain the veneer of peace. Max reached forward to pet Ollie's hair again, but the younger shifter sulked and leaned away.
Max pulled his hand back and sighed. "We should get going."
The group had shifted and were traveling yet again when Diesel had spoken up about something. Humans don't travel by scent, instead, they use these things called compasses, that tell them different directions.
That's ridiculous, Rambo said, Imagine being so clueless that you can't tell what direction you're going in. It's no wonder they almost went extinct.
It's kind of fascinating, Sparky added, To think they had to come up with these different stuff to navigate the world.
Eh, you two are giving them too much credit, Fluffy interjected, Humans are stupid. They make stuff they don't use all the time. They were probably just too lazy to use their instincts properly.
You sound bitter, Diesel teased. Fluffy only huffed in response.
Biscuit had to admit, Fluffy sounded more annoyed with this conversation than usual. He decided to change the subject. So, Diesel, if you were raised among humans, how did you find a pack?
Well, I just wandered around the woods for a while, until I ran into these boneheads, and the rest is history, Diesel said coolly.
Max snorted. Hey, these boneheads are the ones who've kept your sorry ass alive. If it weren't for me, you'd have been dead on day one.
Max, Gunner only said his name and nothing else, but it was all it took for Max to hush up.
Diesel continued. All of us have been pushed into this pack one way or another, some of us against their will. Isn't that right, Max?
Max huffed. I'm not dignifying you with a response.
See? He knows I'm right!
Biscuit nearly regretted changing the subject. There was seemingly nothing this pack couldn't turn into an argument.
Max turned around and growled. Oh my god, can you just-
Then he paused, standing perfectly still. Everyone else slowed to a halt and paused, too. Gunner looked around the clearing of trees they'd found themselves in.
Rambo sniffed the air. Another stinkin' wolf. A shifter.
There's four, Gunner corrected, hiding in the trees.
Max's tone shifted from his typical petulant anger to a serious, disquieting hush. Everyone, we're on alert.
It wasn't a request, but an order. With a cooperativeness Biscuit hadn't seen this group display before, everyone turned to face the edge of the clearing, ears and tails tucked in aggressiveness, and fangs bared.
Biscuit, over here! He felt sharp teeth grip onto the scruff of his neck as Sparky yanked him closer to the center of the loose circle they formed. Then, Sparky pulled Fluffy closer to him until the two were shielding Biscuit from sight.
They were... protecting him. Huh.
Next to him was Ollie, who was also closer to the center than the rest, with Diesel taking a step out in front of him.
After several harrowing seconds of pure silence, footsteps were heard. The snow crunched as a massive grey wolf stepped out of the trees.
Biscuit's heart stopped.
He recognized this wolf.
This was his uncle.
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