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Fantasy Finding Pack and Finding Home

BurntCook

Adulting is soup and I am the fork
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Wolfy_Mandalorian Wolfy_Mandalorian

The day began with a dim light as the sun could barely go through the dark clouds. That night was filled with showers that had no mercy on anyone without a home. The sun tried its best to greet the small town and forest beneath it, but not a singular ray could begin to caress the ground until the clouds could dissipate. At least anyone who looked up at the sky could see a rather beautiful, bittersweet beginning to the day. Where the clouds weren't their strongest, a bright pink hue would shine through while the other clouds would be hues of purple and blue. And the sounds of water dripping off trees, street lamps, and gutters made their symphony along with the crickets and tweets of birds.

While the morning birds that walked on two feet had already began their day with their strong coffee and jackets, the rest of the towns' lights weren't on at this time. If you weren't a first shifter person, a kid getting ready for school, or a parent regretting having kids due to the early alarms; you had the gracious gift of a slumber. As the clouds still made their mark in the sky and the sun continued to rise, the fog starts moving throughout the forest area. Unless you were a naïve hunter, some reckless teenagers, or a hiker, these forests are fairly untouched by humans. Not having the funds to make any resort or camp in the spacious but lively grounds, most of the animals in it are capable of being at peace from humans. That is, except this morning.


"Get her Dawn!" a man yells as his German Shephard bolts from his human. The dog barks furiously through it's throat that holds a collar with the bold words "POLICE K-9". Men with shotguns that carry their golden badges follow behind the dog, all of them huffing through their heavy bulletproof vests and belts full of supplies. The German Shephard is the only one to keep the scent of the creature it's catching. It doesn't have to depend on light to caress the forest floor, all it needs is the smell of a monster and the thunderous sounds it makes while running.

Fesle is able to keep a steady pace despite this on and off chase, she can't remember when it even started, only knowing it happened in the pitch black of night; then a flashlight was shinned in her face. Vapor huffs out of her muzzle like a urgent train as she practically flies through the leaves underneath her. Concentrating on the noises around her, she can hear that a dog is now on their side. Dammit, I almost lost them too. A quick growl forces it was through her teeth as she also hears the sound of something new. Waves. Have they really took me to the edge of the mountains?

After a few seconds of focusing on the sounds of rushing water, she takes a sharp left to go towards it. Maybe, just maybe, she can jump into the water and get the dog off her scent, also get the cops from finding her. A few minutes is all she needs to make it to her destination, which then she forces herself to come into such a blunt halt that bits of ground fall off the cliff beneath her. This cliff isn't really too high, maybe three stories, in some situations she's had to jump down far worse. However, what makes this a bit risky is that because of the rain and the time of day, the tide is not only crashing onto the rocks, but the water seems higher than usual. Some specs of water almost hit the ledge she's at, she'd get better control in the water if she was in her human form. So, she turns back, and finally notices that her legs wobble from the ongoing run and lack of food.

"Stay right there!" A voice behind her commands a few moments after her transforming. I shouldn't have hesitated to jump, she scolds herself before slowly raising her hands and turning towards the policeman. There were five of them now, one of them holding the growling dog by the collar. Despite it sounding vicious, she also had her tail between her legs, Fesle had to refuse the temptation to growl back at her. The man the spoke first lowered his barrel at her, seeing her at some random young woman. A young woman in a thick denim jacket, a hoodie underneath, and blue jeans that looked a size too big for her. He wondered why she was gasping for air.

"Why are you out here this early?" he questions with weariness. Fesle blinks a few times before furrowing her brows, "I'm cliff diving, you've never seen a college kid before?" her tone sounds offensive, pretending to be some wild youngling that does crazy things like this regularly. The cop was about to lower his gun more, but noticed how Dawn never stopped growling at her. When he looks back up at her, he clenches onto the trigger, which Fesle notices. As she summons the courage to just free fall, her shaking foot backs up to the ledge. Her heel no longer on the ground floor makes the cop raise his gun up again, "I said stay right there!"
 
Maxwell had rolled out from under his older sister Sarah, whom had a tendency to sleep on top of both him and their brother. Maybe it had to do with how they were before birth, he had no actual idea, he just knew that he had to roll out from under her every morning when he woke up. Stretching out his body and shaking out his fur, he set off to hunt down something for them to eat because he knew it wouldn’t be long before his siblings woke. He was just about to pounce on a large rabbit when the sounds of barking and running, and men shouting came to his ears. Turning his head, and his ears on a swivel as he listened and tried to figure out what it was. Something large was on the run for its life, and it sounded like far too many men were following after. They sounded like a pack, but there wasn’t any sport in the sound he was hearing, he knew that because he could tell that they were nearly all humans. Whatever was going on, it wasn’t good, so he decided to go and wake up his siblings.

Nudging them both awake, he told them about what he had heard and after making sure that they had their things before they ran after the sounds that were fading into the distance. They kept low, and they kept in a tight formation as they ran, cutting through the underbrush with ease. Leaping over a few fallen trees, they neared the cliff that they had been trying to avoid when they finally found all that was going on. They didn’t know who this other girl was, but she was caught, she was cornered, and she was about to go over the edge alone.

Max tilted his head and not knowing what else to do, he glanced at his siblings before he gave them a nod that said that he wasn’t about to let another wolf face this alone. Packs were so few and far between, but they knew that there were none in this area, they had been searching for nearly a week. They’d had hopes that they would be able to ask questions about a few things but had no luck. He wasn’t about to let some wolf, face things alone. They had seen her shift, all of them had, the humans too. So, as she began to fall backwards, he put on a burst of speed and ran for her. As she went over, he leapt after her and he shifted during the fall. He straightened his body to try and hit the water first so that he could help the woman get to the far edge first. Their best bet for escape was to get to the other side and run.

Behind him, his siblings did as he did. Leaping over the edge to follow and shifting mid-fall. They too straightened out their bodies to streamline their fall. They broke the water, one after another and Max’s head broke the top as he pushed off the bottom of the freezing, rapid moving water. He swore aloud and reached an arm out to so that his hand could snag the other wolfs overly large coat. His plan had been to get to the other side and run. But that was quickly out the window as he felt the thinner arms of his sister wrap around his neck, and the strong hand of his brother grab tight as the thick waterlogged sweater that he wore. “We need to work with the current, get to shore!” Max shouted over the rushing water, spitting some out of his mouth as he went under for a moment.

Every tug and pull of the water, Max’s energy went into keeping the others up and above the edge of the water. They traveled down stream far, and they traveled fast before he and Lucas were able to finally get back onto land. Each of them was soaked to the bone, and while Lucas looked over Sarah and this other female wolf, to make sure that they were okay. Max moved away from them all, coughing hard before he was spewing out water. He’d nearly drowned, keeping the others heads above as the undercurrent dragged him under. He was exhausted and tired, moving away from where he had gotten sick, he collapsed on the ground, panting for air as he lay like a star fish. “I hate water.” He said, his eyes closed. “That’s the second time I nearly drowned.” He added, not bothering to try and get up. Everything hurt, and even though he was cold, he just didn’t have the energy.

“To be fair, the first time was my fault.” He heard his brother say from wherever he was to his left. “Doesn’t matter, we all learned to swim after.” His sister added, and he could only give a half-hearted growl before giving up. He just wanted to curl up and sleep, but he couldn’t even summon up the strength for that. “Lucas… Start a fire?” he asked, somehow struggling up into a seated position. “Sarah… You got any uh… Energy?” he always forgot the name of the medicines.

“Oh! Yea, if it didn’t get wet, I think we got a bit.” She said, stopping how she was wringing out her hair as she sat beside the other woman. She dragged the duffle from around her back to the front to dig through it and find what she kept her herbs and medicines in. Something learned from their father. “Did you need anything? I got things for pain.” Sarah offered to the other woman. “I’m Sarah, by the way. And those two are my younger brothers. Lucas, and Maxwell.” She offered before getting up and walking over to give a small vile to her youngest brother.
 
She couldn't let out a yelp from the shock factor of falling, thinking she wasn't that close to the edge. The last thing she saw on the ledge were the policeman's eyes widening, the closest one trying to save her; and a figure running towards her. For a split second, if her eyes weren't already widening, they were when she saw that wolf. All her life, she's either seen a werewolf from afar or her own reflection. But never this close, actively trying to run towards her. That's the only thing she can calculate before her back hit the cold water, smacking against her back as if she just fell on the floor. As her back tingled from the impact, the rest of her body was feeling the icy water engulf every part of her. Sure, she can swim, but it was harder to find out where to swim when you have this nasty current tossing you as well as all this clothing weighing you down.

As her arms tried to stabilize herself in the water, something suddenly grabbed her hood. The pull in a certain direction made her retort with bubbles leaving her mouth but she was confused when the pull actually made her reach the surface. Gasping for air, she made sure that if she were to go under again she would be ready. Though the water clouded her vision, she can at least see that the pull that gave her oxygen wasn't in fact some branch, but that werewolf. It have to have been, out of the furious attempt to keep breathing, he smelled the same as that wolf. The questions she had prepared for this moment never reached her mind in this moment, a moment of survival.

The more werewolf clang onto him, the harder it was for him to swim, and after he went under she knew she had to do something. Freeing herself from his grasp on her, she took one last breath before going under. The water was foggy from dirt and debris, luckily there wasn't anything too big that could cause them damage. In haste, she used the bottom of the floor as momentum to push the man and others back up. She did this a few times until she finally had to swim back up for air. When she went back up, the only person she saw in the water was the female that plummeted after she did. Using the last bit of her adrenaline, she pushed the girl onto the back before digging her fingers into the dirt. The anchor alone was enough for her not to get swept away from the current again. With desperate shaking hands, she crawled onto the bank beside the girl she just helped.

The morning wind didn't help with their situation of freezing, and Fesle knew that she can't keep these clothes on. She looks up when she hears the excessive coughing of the man who helped her, her lips parted to say something but they stopped. Something about his aura feels so....powerful, like he's the one who makes the decisions. Asking if he was okay would just be a foolish question and she looks away. Her eyes met with another man that she didn't see jump into the water, a man with brown hair and eyes to match. He wasn't as big as the man that helped all of them, but Fesle could tell that this man also did some work to keep them all above the current. They are all now soaked to the bone, gasping for air, and now at some random bank in the woods....for her.

Fesle hugs her knees as she watches the werewolves bicker between each other and to her assumptions being correct, the other male started making orders for a fire. She took that time to get her breathing back to a regular rhythm and to figure out how to get back to her little campsite, if the police haven't found it. There were a few things she really needed and she spent hard-earned money to get them. "Oh, no-no," she stutters towards Sarah as she places her hands by her sides, "I-I should probably get going, I've already troubled you guys-" She has to stop talking through her chattering teeth when she couldn't even lift herself off the wet moss. Barely having the strength to do what she wants, she needs food and rest.

Plopping back down onto the ground, she sighs as a headache comes from her excessive effort to stand. Embarrassment fills her cheeks but at least the cold has already made her face flushed. I can at least stay here and get some strength back. After all, she's with people that have not only helped her and she owes, but also are her kind. Why should she leave anyway? With that, she crisscrosses her legs and begins to take off her denim jacket. It drops to the ground with a soggy thud and the literal weight on her shoulders are already lightened. It doesn't feel so tight around her body anymore and taking off the hoodie would help but she can't bring herself to do it. Not in front of these werewolves, they would think she's a small, frail thing.

"My name is Fesle, Fesle Demonoke." she responds cordially with a light smile. Her head lowers to do a slight, tired bow, "Thank you guys for helping me back there, I would probably still be swimming away from pigs if you three didn't show up."
 
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Max nodded as she told them her name, unable to help his smile. He had spent so much time trying to keep them all above water that he had nearly missed it when she began to help. But she swam better than they did, and he was by no means light, it took a lot out of him to swim, in either form. "What pigs?" he decided to ask as he laid down and rolled himself closer to the fire because he couldn't find it in himself to get up and walk the few steps. He tugged off his thick, drenched sweater to show the grey shirt underneath that clung to him and showed off every bit of definition to him. His shoulders were broad and from years of travel, it was easy to see he was mostly muscle. He hadn't said anything to his siblings, but both were tying a bit of rope between two trees over the fire before taking the discarded jacket and sweaters to hang on the line. Max was sitting there, undoing the laces of his boots that had obviously seen better days, to pry them off and stick them and his holey socks as close to the fire as possible.

Lucas watched for a moment, his own thicker hoodie on the line before he was sitting down to try and pry off his own boots. Sarah had sat practically with her back in the fire as she kept her own sweater on and was digging through their bag to pull out the things that were going to need drying. They were used to emergency escape situations and had a few things tucked away for such instances. Like dried meat. She tossed each of them a small baggie of it and was munching away happily as she organized their things into little piles.

"So, why were they chasing you? I didn't think that there were any hunters or other wolves in this area." Max decided to say, stretching out his legs along the side of the fire and crossing one ankle over the other to warm up one foot against the fire. "We've been in the area for over a week, we never found any signs or traces." he added before a large piece of dry meat found its way into his mouth and stopped anything else from coming out as he had to chew with some force. With whatever he had taken from the small vile earlier, it was starting to show in an improved posture and in his tone. He no longer sounded like he was about to fall asleep at any moment.
 
Watching Maxwell rolling towards the fire made her giggle lightly, producing such a low but smooth sound. Watching him with such amusement, plus being a bit tired, almost made her not notice that he asked a question. That's when her smile drops and look away with a scowl, how human can you act Fesle. She doesn't know if all werewolves are up to date with that human slang, but she just clearly gave away that she knew some of them. Will they be mad if she knew them? Do werewolves not like being in the city? So many questions started spinning in her head on how she should act when she's never been around other wolves.

"In a lot of towns, it's common to call police force 'pigs', it's been like that for as long as I can remember." she explains, afraid to look back at him to see his reaction. What will happen if she doesn't look him in the eyes, is that a form of weakness to them? Deciding to face him rather than cower, she turns her head back towards him and her lips automatically part once again. Is that what being hot is like? I mean, she hasn't ever met a man that was so tall and toned as the one in front of him. While he was taking his boots off, she hoped that he didn't notice her staring at him and copies his actions. If she has any hope to get dry and warm soon, she has to take off her hoodie. With hesitant hands, she grabs the bottom of her hoodie and pulls it off.

Due to the wet clothes, her black shirt underneath snags and reveals some of her stomach to which she shoves the shirt down once feeling the cold air. For some reason, she can't look at Maxwell after that happened but can look at Lucas and Sarah just fine. At least she wore a black t-shirt today so that her bralette doesn't show through, but she does pull at her shirt to get it to stop clinging onto her. She thanks Sarah and Lucas for taking her jacket and hoodie as she unties her tennis shoes. She doesn't even bother with her hair that's still in a ponytail, a now messy, dripping one at that. "Do you think that I can have any of that energy stuff too?" she asks Sarah in a polite tone, hoping she's not crossing any boundaries. She crosses her arms from the insecurity of her body compared to the triplets'.

Fesle didn't expect her to get a bag of meat as well and for a moment she stares at Sarah in disdain. "Thank you, again." she opens the bag of dry meat and has to fight the urge to maul it down. Instead, she takes the biggest piece in the bag and bites down on half of it. Right as she started chewing, her stomach growled in anger that it's just not getting a meal. It could be pigeon meat for all she cared, to be able to finally eat makes this meat the best in the planet. She swallows the food before answering Max's question because she's not a barbarian.

"You wouldn't get any of my tracks because I just got here today, around two a.m., by bus," she responds, setting the bag in her lap to focus on his question, "I tried to check into a motel but there was no one at the desk, so I took up camp in the forest." Another meat piece is popped into her mouth and she continues after she's done chewing. She points across from the water, about where they had to jump in and save her, "I set up under a hollow in a tree not far from here. Apparently someone thought I looked 'suspicious' and called the police. I was trying to hunt when they found me in my other form and it's been a chase for hours." On the bus had to have been the last time she slept, no, napped. After finishing her bag, she crumbles it up and shoves it in her pants pocket before looking back up at them. "You said that you guys have been here a week, what brings you in this town?"
 
“Hmm, oh yea. Sure.” Sarah said, needing to turn around and look through all the things she was organizing to find where she had safely put the medicines and herbs. She found them in her lap under the duffle bag and turned to stretch out and place it beside the other woman before she was standing up to hang the rest of their clothes, tugging off her faded and worn pick sweater as she did. Her shirt under was as lightly coloured and showed her bra, but she didn’t seem to care as she tugged it down and moved to sit back beside the fire while hugging her legs.

Lucas had eaten the drive meat fast before he started to pull his wet hair back out of his eyes and was fixing it out of his face. His own shirt was clinging to him, but he wasn’t as broad as his brother, but just as toned. He was bored but didn’t want to leave the warmth of the fire either as he reached over for another dead log in their area to add to the warmth.

Max had munched thoughtfully on his dried meat as he watched Fesle with very careful eyes, the light of the fire in his steel grey eyes. Every move that she made he watched, until he saw that she was cautious about taking off her sweater, so he turned his eyes away. He did his best to focus them on the fire instead because he didn’t want to make her too uncomfortable. But he couldn’t help but feel like he was meant to be closer to her than sitting across the fire. He didn’t move though, listening to her soft voice as she spoke and feeling almost calmed by it. “We uh…” he reached up to scratch at his bearded cheek “We’ve been trying to find out parents.” He told her, giving his shoulder this casual shrug like it was nothing, but they had been traveling for eight years. “You said you took the bus? Those big things, right? Hold a bunch of them and seem to go between towns and cities?” he asked, before letting out this sigh. Max turned his head back the way that they had come “Your camp, it still has your things?” he asked, stretching his back and sitting up taller as she answered.

“Lucas, keep the camp. Keep them safe and warm. I’ll go hunt us something.” Max said, though he was lying. He shifted, shaking out his fur. “We don’t know where the humans are, so be prepared.” He said before trotting off into the woods away from the water, but he wasn’t going to tell them where he actually had planned. Something inside of him said that they needed to all stay together, and the protective instinct was in overdrive, so he needed to go and retrieve her things to make sure that the humans didn’t have a chance of finding her. He’d hunt something on his way back, but for now, he needed to make them think that he was only out to hunt. When he got far enough away, he cycled back around to the water and running as fast as he could, leapt back across to the other side and started to find his way back. Following hints of her scent, it was so easy to pick out for him and he trailed back towards her camp as cautiously as he could.

Sarah and Lucas both moved over so they all had even space along the fire to stretch out and warm up as they also dried off. Sarah crinkled her nose when she realized Max’s boots were right by her head and she moved them by her feet as she turned them around to start drying the other side. “Think he’d get mad if I stuck herbs in his boots? They smell horrible.” Lucas laughed “Don’t go near mine then.” Sarah scoffed, and then realized she was the only one who hadn’t taken her shoes off, but she was scared they’d finally fall apart of she did.
 
Felse thanks Sarah once again, feeling like a broke record at this point, she needs to turn the tide and do something for them. Hopefully this weird small vile will help, a vile that she takes from beside her and stares at. When she twists off the top, she gives it a sniff, causing her instincts to kick in and twitch her nose. Instead of it seeming to be like a wolf, she looks more like a rabbit at the moment, curious but cautious. However, Maxwell took it and is still alive, so it's not poisonous...right? Remember what foul-smelling men at the bar said, she took it like a shot and took it all in one gulp. She bites her inner cheek to prevent herself from making a face, it tastes a lot different from the coffee she would get at motels. At this rate she would have taken the instant coffee pouches that she has at her camp....man, she doesn't know whether to be happy or sad that she didn't take anything with her. Though it's only one big beige bookbag that's covered in dirt marks, it's filled with things that she's collected for herself.

The index finger and thumb do most of the work of loosening her shoelaces, but her mind is everywhere but that. Some reason, she feels like a pair of eyes are on her, but she can't bring herself to look up at them. Not after staring at Maxwell like an idiot, she needs to get better composure of herself. This isn't like her at all. Her legs were sprawled out so the fire can dry her jeans, after all, she'd take soaking shirt than soaking pants any day. Fesle listens to Maxwell intently, elbows laying on her thighs to support her, and nods in silence. Their parents are gone too? How long have they been gone? It's odd that all of them have no parents, could they maybe have been part of the same pack? No, that would mean they were siblings. There was a part of her that wanted to ask him to explain, but by the way his shoulders shrug with no care, it might not be a topic to touch on yet.

Fesle nods with confidence this time, "That's right, they also smell horrible, always of gasoline and cigars. I taught myself a long time ago that sometimes that best way to travel is by doing in a way no one thinks a werewolf would do it. In a big piece of metal that goes slower than their other form, and yes, it's boring." she tries to joke a the end to appease Maxwell and them. They're learning more about her experience with humans that she wants them to know, but they also hit the right questions. Rather them be ashamed of her for the truth than of lies. Besides, even if they would be embarrassed of her way of living, it's how she has survived; and she wasn't going to let nobody make her feel bad about it.

Maxwell leaves before Fesle could reject him hunting alone but it's hard to speak when him transforming makes her stare again. She doesn't take her eyes off of him until he's fully gone, having the trees camouflage his earth-toned fur. Her muscle tense back up when he's finally gone, only have his scent being left behind. Which does bring a laugh out of Fesle when Lucas joked about the odor coming from Maxwell's boots. "Like yours smell any better," she teases, "though I doubt not even a bush of peppermint could cover the two of your smells. While the pigs were pointing their guns at me, I could smell you guys." Finally deciding to do something about her hair, she roughly pulls out the small black scrunchie from her hair. It slaps against her back, coating it in another layer of water, making her sigh. Her hair slings in front of her as she whips it all forward to ring it out. The smell of lake water and campfire smoke already marking into her clothes.

Ruffling her hair to make it not stick to her head, she starts braiding it, starting from her forehead. Doing a French braid on herself isn't hard anymore, having to have done it alone most of her life. While her fingers work through the strands of hair, almost like choreography, she notices that the sun is finally started to come through the clouds. It'll hopefully get brighter and a tad bit warmer in an hour or two, and hopefully those cops have something better to do. She looks over at Sarah as she finishes her braid, "You're not going to dry your shoes off?"
 
Sarah had laughed at the look on Lucas’ face when someone other than her had told him that he stunk, but that Max did too. She absolutely loved having another girl around. “Peppermint is a great idea.” She said, trying to remember if she had any. She then looked across at Felse and sighed as she sat back up “I don’t think that they’ll hold up if I take them off.” She said, lifting her left foot up to turn it so that she could see the large gash along the side where the sole met fabric, but it was stitched roughly with sinew to keep it together for a little longer. Putting her foot back down, she crossed her legs and reached out to grab her herbs and dug through the little bag that was keeping them dry as she tried to find peppermint or a vile of the oil. “I’m sure he’s going to get mad at me for this, but I did say his boots stunk.” She said, dropping a few small drops of oil into each boot.

“He’s gonna get mad for sure. Better hope he catches something big to bring back.” Lucas said, taking the oil from her to drop some in his own boots. They were all going to need to get new footwear soon, to fit in when they went in towns to be among the humans. Handing the small vile of peppermint oil back to his sister he turned his back to the fire to start drying his backside off as he asked Felse “Hey, you’ve been among the humans, do you happen to know what month it is?” he was curious to know how much time had passed since the last time they had checked.


Max kept low as he ran through the woods back to where her glorious pine cone like scent was leading him. He was as cautious as he could be, making sure that the humans didn’t find it, or find him. But it was hard, they seemed to be scanning the area to find a den. He was thankful for the training their parents had put them through, it was how they got away so many times, why they were always on the move now. He ducked into the spot she had chosen and shifted back to human to make sure that everything she had was there in her bag before he put it on his back and shifted to wolf so that he could get back to their little camp. He was never more thankful, and annoyed at the sun as he was when it began to show itself. It meant warmth, but it also meant the humans could track easier. So, he made his way to leap back across the river sooner.

Max got lucky, on the way back. Large game crossed his path, the hard part, was taking it down alone. But it was a little too far to drag it back alone, so he howled for Lucas to come and help him. His brother, who had been getting cozy enough for a light nap, jolted to his feet and shifted without a thought as he ran full speed into the woods with a quick “Stay here!” over his shoulder. Sarah puffed in annoyance, before she looked at Felse “Sorry about them. So, um... How long have you been alone? If you don’t mind my asking.” She asked, needing to pass the time until her brothers came back and learning about the other woman seemed like a great way to do so.
 
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Fesle couldn't help but laugh with Sarah, covering her smile with her long palms and fingers, with nails that still have dirt and moss lodged into them from crawling onto the bank. It's nice to be able to laugh in a situation like this, a situation where they're freezing cold, hungry as hell, and on the lookout for humans with guns. Fesle can't stand to be in a grim perspective for too long. That's why she can't believe that Sarah and them would continue to wear worn-down shoes, like those that are about to fall off. "I have sandals back at my camp that I use as a spare or for when I'm fishing, do you need to borrow those for a while?" she offers, already seeking ways to help them like they've helped her. Especially since she drank that strange vile, she feels like she actually can do what she gives to the table.

She leans over at pats Max's boots lightly, as if she was scolding a spoiled child, "I'll take the blame if he asks, then again he might be able to snap my body like a twig." though she's joking, she can't get Max's appearance off her mind, especially since she practically saw more of him than she thought. Maybe the only thing she could surpass him in was speed or agility, but if they ever went toe-to-toe, it would be an easy match for him. Would he try to fight me if I went out of line? The image of his teeth snarling at her gives her goosebumps. Lucas has to bring her out of her thoughts again, tilting her head at his question. What month is it? It makes her wonder how long they go without being near any humans, how lucky. "It's August, August 16th to be exact, a boring Monday; on the other hand, 'boring' might not be the word I should use for today. It certainly started with an interesting, long morning, and to think all I wanted to do was get in a motel and take a shower." she giggles, though it's not like the alive one of before. It's a giggle of just being...tired, tired of the chasing and having to hide who she was. Just one point in her life she would love to just know who she is, that would be enough.

Max's howl barely made it to her ears but it was very livid for Lucas and Sarah, is that a pack thing? Felse watches him leave before looking back at Sarah with a smile, finally, women talking. Her question makes her a bit self-doubt to answer, but knows that Sarah might be of good company to give her this information. "Depends on the context really," she shifts her position towards Sarah, "alone from humans, alone from werewolves, or alone from my own parents." She thinks for a few seconds, humming while playing with her dry but rough fingers, "Let's see, from humans, maybe an hour; from werewolves," a pause fills before she hesitantly answers, "it's the same answer if you were to ask of my parents. Completely vacant from me since I was a toddler, about three years old maybe. I think the only time when I have seen a werewolf is when I was teen, it might have been a bear though. Maybe my imagination was too wild for such a dream to see another one of me....to get answers." she speaks calm and not distant but friendly, shocking for someone that talking about never being with her own kind.

Though her eyes emerge the sorrow and fear of never knowing herself, she continues to smile at Sarah, still thinking this is a dream as well. "What about you guys? Where are you all originally from? The way each of you speak to one another and act, I know you're close, do you guys function like a pack?" She tries to keep her questions few but she can't help but to ask a handful, just in case they were to part ways...
 
Sarah wasn't sure how to feel when Felse told her that she had been away from their kind since she was only three. Sarah was able to see the look in her eyes, but chose to follow the others lead when she didn't seem to want to dwell on it, but she would still tell her brothers, in time. "Pack? I'd say we're pack, though we're all we have now. Our parents vanished about eight years ago, so we're only missing two pack members." She told her, seeming to hesitate telling her where they were from. But she didn't remember where they were. "We uh, we're from the rocky mountains and a small cabin." She told her, figuring that was the best way to do it.

Lucas tore through the woods on swift paws to his brothers side, going so fast he bowled right over their breakfast and tumbled across the wooded floor before he came to a rest against a tree. If Max could have laughed, he would have but that didn't mean you couldn't see the amusement in his eyes. "Come on, help me drag this back so we can dig in." Max said, checking his brother over for any injuries. Together, they began to work on getting it back to the girls as quickly and as safely as possible.

"So, you never got to learn about our medicines or how to cover your scent when hiding? Hunting can be learnt through instinct, but efficiency is taught." Sarah said after a few moments of silence. She didn't know how much Felse had been taught, since she and her brothers were old enough to walk and talk, they had been taught how to survive alone and how to protect one another at almost any cost.
 
"Eight years?" she repeats with eyes widened, from how Max put it it didn't seem like they were gone for that long. On the other hand, if Fesle was looking for her parents since she was three she wouldn't put much emphasis on it either. "I'm sorry," she corrects herself, looking away, "I can't imagine what that's like, to search for your parents that long...I bet you have fond memories of them." Trying to bring some light into some bad news, she can only imagine what it would be like to not only raise triplets, but also werewolves as well. The thought brings a warm smile to her face, "I can only think of the types of arguments you three would have, especially when it came to odors."

After that, she didn't mind if Sarah was quiet, not really having much to say about her own predicament when it came to being with other werewolves. She was actually surprised when she spoke up again, this time it was a question that made her wonder as well. There's medicine besides Ibuprofen and Tylenol? That question should probably stay in her head since Sarah probably isn't mentioning those types of medicines. Ah yes, human things, things that werewolves probably shouldn't know how to do, like taxes, having a nine to five job, identifying car troubles- all of that human. Am I more human than wolf? The question that has plagued her mind all of her life has never seemed so loud as it does now. Of course, she knew that if she ever got to speak to another of her kind that she would probably not know a lot about her own species. Then again, Fesle has to remember that she bring things to the table as well. That she's not weak and she shouldn't hide her tail between her legs for anyone.

"I may have not had the best deck of cards in my hands, never have," Fesle straightens her posture, "but I have made it to where I'll never lose, I refuse to lose." In a normal wolf pack setting, what she would be doing is threatening, but she isn't. It's not in her nature to want to intimidate people for no reason, not to Sarah. Instead, even though she might sound like a fool, a werewolf fool that's never been tutored, she'll stand by her deck of cards and make the most of them. "I do know how to hide my scent, and to hunt; from fishing, making traps, creating my own hideouts and cooking. Some of that knowledge was from humans I'll admit, but I crafted it into my own." There's not a second that Fesle hesitates anymore, staring at Sarah in the eyes with confidence and a small smile to prove it. "Am I true werewolf, probably not, but I am the wolf I am today because I studied through nature, her own instincts, and years of being alone in the woods."

Noticing she just rambled, she adjusts herself back to a more relaxing position, feeling bad for speaking so much. She could never be an alpha, even when trying to protect herself. "I'm sorry....I think my tongue flickered more than I wanted it to," she scoots closer to Sarah's side, "I always dreamt that if I ever belonged to a pack some day that I wouldn't be the burden on their shoulders, the 'omega'." Looking up at the morning sky brings a warm smile to her face, "If you guys need to leave after eating you can, I have taken up time that was meant for searching for your parents. But please, at least let me help you guys in some way before you go, it's the least I can do from this morning alone." Fesle looks back at Sarah, "After all, women have to help each other at least."
 
Sarah laughed “Scents are, interesting. Sometimes we fully agree, and other times we don’t agree at all. We don’t like each others stink, but there’s a comfort in my brother’s scents. Remind me of safety and home. But then, I’ve been smelling them all my life, so that might be why. We’re… We’re triplets, you know. Not everyone can tell.” She said, before deciding to get comfortable, stretching out her legs along the fire to the point her feet were nearly in it as she set another log on it. She was still fairly wet and cold, she had yet to even do anything with her hair, it was still in its soaking wet braid down her back. Get comfortable by the fire, she slowly arched her brow as she listened too and watched as Felse began to tell her about what she knew how to do, and how she learnt. But it was different, it wasn’t quite the same. But it was enough, she knew that much at least.

“We don’t really have an Omega. We never did. But you can hunt and survive, you know how to shift and follow instinct. I don’t know what we’re going to do when they get back, but I don’t think we’ll be leaving just yet. I think that it would be great to have you with us, if only to not be the only girl anymore.” She said, leaning her way and finally picking up on the distinct scent that Felse had. “Medicines are, mostly mad up of herbs and berries. Things we find in nature. Depending on how they’re mixed and made, depends on what they do. Give energy when its lost, help mend or heal pain. It takes a little magic sometimes, but they work. Sometimes, if I’m lucky, I can change the taste too so they’re the best damn thing you’ve ever had, but I’m not always so lucky.” She said with a smile, before she reached out her hand and snagged her little bag. “I’m starting to forget their names, because Max can’t remember them when he asks.” She said, pulling out a few small vile’s. “Energy comes out yellow or orange. Pain, a nice deep green. Um, nausea is usually red or pink. These are only a few.”

She didn’t get to show anymore as Max and Lucas came backing into view tugging a large deer with them. She sat up quickly, scrambling to put everything away to get up so that she could shift and eat. She was just shifting as they got close to the fire, whereas she moved to stand beside her brothers, it was easy to see that her markings were nearly identical to Lucas’ in his wolf form. But she was not as tall as either of her brothers.

“Breakfast is served.” Max said, standing to his full height with his tail wagging and holding himself up to his full height as he turned to look at them. “Oh, wait.” He said, making his siblings whine softly as he shifted back to human to get the bag off. He took a few steps towards Felse and held it out to her, his clothes still soaking wet. “I think I got all of your things. They were looking for your camp.” He told her, waiting for her to take the bag from his hands before turning and shifting again with an absolute ease. He headed over to the deer to have the best parts, the ones meant for an Alpha, before he was moving over to make room for the rest of them to join him in their first real meal of the day. Fresh and still warm. He kept pausing to look at Felse to make sure that she was okay, and that she was getting her share of the meal. Even with their meal in front of them, he could still smell her and he wanted to be closer to her. But he wasn't sure why and edged his way to be a little closer to her. His tail was wagging as more of her scent filled his nose.
 
"An autimatic bond..." Fesle mumbles to herself, it's true that they don't look too much alike, but by the way they acted she guessed they were at least siblings. Their smells, though unique in the own way, had a link through all of them, she found that through Maxwell. His scent still infests her mind and Sarah's is similar. Why she still thinks of his scent she has no idea yet, maybe she's just really hungry and every scent is distracting her. "I'm glad that you guys have each other at least, this world can get pretty lonely."

There's a sort of relief over her to know that they don't do the whole Omega aspect. No doubt she has a lot to learn if they decide to stay for another day, but how they'll respond to her ignorance she won't know. Felse's eyes dart toward Sarah with a sparkle, "Me with you guys, in your pack?" the offer is extremely tempting, in fact, there's no reason for her to say no. Like she said previously, the odds have never been in her favor, not even toward her own species. Everything she's learned has been through experimenting. To at last be in a pack and to find out who she is...she should have came to this town sooner. "Isn't it not up to us to decide that, like it's the leader's call, Maxwell's? Do you think he'd think about it?" her worry mixed in with child-like faith in the universe. Just this once, she hopes that it'll give her a chance, even if short, to not be alone anymore.

Her child behavior strove right through to Sarah's knowledge of medicine, as if a kid eager to learn in school. If she were in her other form, her tail would surely be wagging as Sarah had her full attention. As she leans closer to look at the viles, she also takes in Sarah's scent more. This whole mini camp they have right now is filled with their scent, especially Max's. The whole river could down this bank and she'd still be able to smell his. "Maybe I can try making some? I can't guarantee it'll taste the best, I mean, you are talking to someone that drinks their coffee black." she jokes. "I do have a lot of knowledge in different types of plants, so there's a start!" even if she failed at it, Sarah could tell that the experience alone would make her grateful.

The smell of deer clogs her nostrils as both the girls jerks up to see what Lucas and Maxwell have brought back. They haven't been gone for long, so for them to find prey and take it back in this amount of time is impressive. She watches Sarah leave her side and into her form, but Fesle doesn't move from her spot in front of the fire. After all, she's not part of their pack, isn't it a rule that if they did decide to share that she would get the scraps? Not that there would be any complaining from her, if she could get just a bone it would be enough for her until next hunt. A smile, unbeknownst to her, grows on her face seeing Maxwell happy in his pride, she's staring again, like a fool.

It's only when he shifts to his human form does she notice the very familiar, scruffy bag on his bag, making her stand up. He holds it out to her and it's still a shock for her to see it, wanting to say so much but can't figure out how to. Her eyes shift from the bag to his own steel grays and she begins to relax. Something about the silver reflection in his eyes, seeing herself in them, made it an experience she won't forget. To exist the same time as he does is truly a blessing. Her hands hang in the air for a moment before taking the loaded bookbag into her hands. Noticing that she still hasn't thanked him, she hurries over towards him after he shift and places her hand into the fur on his neck, behind his ear. Her hand is practically engulfed in his fur and the feeling of it instead of her own gives her a sense of euphoria. That's all this man has done to her so far, constant trips to a utopian in her heart.

"Thank you Maxwell." she says only to him, having already thanked the rest of them, forgetting to say thank you to the man that's done the most for her. Her hand reluctantly lifts away from him, assuming she stepped over a boundary, but she doesn't step away. After cracking her neck, she shifts and raven black paws hit the floor. Shaking some water off of her, she also tries to wake herself up to eat, waiting for Maxwell to let others have some. She goes for the part that she's always enjoyed, the side, it's away from the stomach and near the lungs, giving her a mixture of nutrition and fresh meat. The blood coats her muzzle but it's hard to tell since it's so black around her face. With a good few shakes, she's able to rip the meat out from the muscles and skin.

Seeing Maxwell get closer to her made her drop some meat that landed below him. Ears perk up as she looks up at Maxwell, thinking he didn't notice. So, in a discreet manner, she lowers her head and gets the meat below his neck. In that moment, their necks touched for a second but it was enough for Fesle's tail to start wagging as well. Laying a paw on the carcass to give her stability, she starts prying out meat deeper into the cavern she made in its side. Occasionally, she's bump into Maxwell, but she didn't mind, if anything each bump gave her the assurance that he's still there. His height, strength, and power doesn't affect her as of right now, is this what being in a pack is like? That you want to be close to each other, the thing is that she doesn't feel that way toward Sarah or Lucas...yet? She tries to look at the others as she eats but it doesn't feel the same when her cognac eyes meet the bullet silvers of his.
 
Sarah had chosen not to answer about deciding if Felse was pack, being left up to her brother, because she knew that there was very little chance of him saying no. During their travels, running into other werewolves had been few and far between. They only encountered a few packs and none of them had known anything about their parents. She was alone and there had to be some safety in numbers. She did just barely get to agree to help her try to learn some of the medicines, though few could pick it up, her brothers had not the talent or interest to learn how to be a healer, so that was what she was and she had learned everything she could from their father in the time that she had, had with him.

Eating side-by-side with Felse, Max has a hard time forgetting the feel of her hands in his fur as he tore fire into the tender underside of the deer to strip bits of away so that he could have the liver and the heart. Parts he’s grown to enjoy in their long travels. The feel had been unlike anything else ever experienced and it brought him an immeasurable sense of joy. He had felt like nothing was missing when she did that, which had raised his tail higher as it wagged. And her voice, as she thanked him unnecessarily had brought him contentment. But it was nothing compared to when her head had been under his and their necks had touched for only a moment. That moment had been bliss. Every single chance he had, he was finding a way to brush against her, or bump into her as they eat, sharing in the sweet tenderness of the side.

They’re a mess of blood when they finish their meal, all four of them. Max knows this because he can smell it on Felse even though her fur is so black that it hides the traces of it. Between the four of them, the deer was practically all gone, save for a few pieces underneath that would make a great snack for later. His siblings, looking to get clean head for the wide rushing water of the river they were all in hours earlier as Max instead makes his way over to Felse. With an overly large and imposing frame, he hopes she isn’t afraid as he starts to groom her. Its an instinct and a feeling he can’t fight or resist. No, its not that he can’t, its that he won’t. He refuses to ignore it so that he can be close to her as it promise’s and he starts to lick and groom her muzzle clean of the blood hidden by the darkness. His eyes not a hardened steel but a soft and welcoming grey as they gaze into the earthy hue of her eyes.

Max doesn’t know what causes him to give Felse a nuzzle after he’s finished grooming her muzzle, but he’s affectionately rubbed his head into her neck and over one shoulder before he steps away from her and starts stands there almost expectantly, like its his turn to be groomed. But he can’t expect her to do that when he probably shouldn’t have even done it to her in the first place. So, he forces himself to half turn away from her and take a paw step towards the fire, towards the speeding waters and his siblings. He doesn't know that they'd cleaned up quick and were watching his every move with careful and curious eyes.
 
Usually it takes Fesle about a day or two to finish a carcass of this size, but with all four of them, it barely took half an hour! Her tongue flickers around her canines, getting a random piece of muscle out from being stuck. She watches Lucas and Sarah make their way to the river and she should do the same. Usually she'll just wash this off in human form, but she really needs to do things different now that they're around. As she walks over the river, she stops when she notices Maxwell going towards her rather than the water. Not knowing what else to do, she sits her hind legs down at gives him her full attention.

Feeling his tongue his her muzzle makes her hair stand up, not in anger but in alarm, but she doesn't flinch. Just like that, her heart stops as her body refuses to move. The longer he does it, she can't help but to let out a whine in gratitude. What am I doing? she questions but doesn't fight it either, no matter how much her heart races. Those cognac eyes look into his silvers before she closes them, just enjoying the moment as her fur slowly falls back onto her skin. When he finishes, his head collides with her neck and she's tempted to just lay down for them to huddle together. It's so cold that it would only make sense to. She nuzzles into the top of his head as he moves across her shoulder, not doing too much to distract him but still showing him that she greatly appreciates it, her tail wagging.

Her head follows him as he moves away before she stops, realizing whatever just happened is done with. Those vibrant honey eyes look up at him and notices that he's just standing there. Oh.....OH! The thought of doing the same to him, licking the area around his mouth, made her unconsciously shift back into her human form. With her face clean of blood but his smell almost engulfing the area around her face, she just stares in awe but hesitance. Her blasted arms even hug each other in a self-conscious manner, never having done anything like that with anyone. I mean, she wants to, but would she do it right? She's never cleaned up another wolf's nuzzle before...and vice versa.

Seeing him get her vibe and turn around makes her heart ache, not from the intense beating but from the disappointment she must be to him. Is it really her fault for not knowing what to do or how to do it? I mean, he cleaned up her nuzzle with such ease, which makes Fesle lightly touch her own face, still gazing at him. The same face that's flushed with a chest that's forced to take deep breaths to calm itself down, it's like her heart is beating in her ears. "Wait Maxwell." she blurts out before rushing to her bookbag. Half of her arm drowns in her supplies before she finally pulls out what she was trying to feel, a rag and a small bottle. She hurries to dip the rag in the rushing water, not being able to look Lucas or Sarah in the eyes, and goes back to the fire. Then, she sits sideways to the fire and pats the ground in front of her, "Change and come here." her voice quivers, not being a request but a begging demand.
 
Max has taken a few paw steps towards the river when he hears Felse say his name, asking him to wait. He pauses as a shiver goes down his spine and slowly turns his head to her, watching as she hurries back to her bag, and to the waters edge before asking him to join her at the side of the fire. She isn’t asking, he can hear the hint of a demand in her voice that hints at her hidden strengths. He’s not sure what to think or what to do, but he moves slowly and goes to seat himself beside her while still in his wolf form as he gazes at her and studies her with very careful eyes before he’s shifting back to human. He’s still damp, but not as soaked as he was when he first left the camp to retrieve her bag and hunt their breakfast. “I’m sorry… I’m not sure why I did that.” He told her, looking away from her as she was holding onto that wet bit of cloth.

Sarah and Lucas moved away from them and moved to leave them alone, softly talking amongst themselves. Max as ever, was clueless. And he wasn’t listening as they whispered to each other about bonds.

Max gave a bit of a start when Felse started to clean him with the clock, it was different from what he had done with her, but she was still washing him gently. He hadn’t actually expected her to return the favour of what he had done, washing him clean of the blood from their meal. He turns his body towards her so that she has better access, tilted his head one way and then the next for her as she wipes at his bearded face and neck. The orangish red hues shining in the light of the fire and the slight beams of the sun that peek their way out from behind the clouds. “I’ll ask next time, instead of just doing that.” He added, closing his eyes as he remembered the feel of her fur, that moment when her neck brushed his or when he actually got to nuzzle her. It was all still there fresh in his mind, just as much as it was how well her wonderfully fresh piney scent went with his.
 
All Fesle could do was make a soft chuckle leave her lips, "I don't know why you did either." she agrees as she pops open the tiny bottle with its cork. What's inside is immediately the smell of rosemary and peppermint, not too overbearing, but enough to hide subtle smells like blood. She only adds one drop, knowing that it can be really strong if used generously, and begins to wash his face. "So much for a big scary Alpha you are." joking lightly, she continues to gently wash around each feature. She's not using a lot of the cloth, just enough to wash out the blood and then blot out the excess water. Her fingers can feel each facial feature it passes, giving her literal goosebumps on her arms. "Then again, so much of a werewolf I am."

"I told Sarah already, I couldn't tell you the last time I've been around a werewolf. As for my parents," you can see in her eyes that she tries to remember them, but it's tiring to try, "I can't even recall their faces, only the emotions that they gave me when I was with them." Instead of letting it be word of mouth, there has to be honesty towards the Alpha. Even though it's not the best thing to tell him, it's something he should know. The final decision on if she should stay with them or not. Each word she speaks is with sincerity but also hesitance, not wanting to hear him say to leave them alone. "I know it's obvious what species I've been around all my life, I can't even bring myself to give back the grace that you just gave me." she sighs, "Instead, here I am, having to wash yours' as a human, not even feeling worthy of even doing this." her tone changes to one of bittersweet, like dark chocolate. He could see the self-loathing in her eyes as she looks down at her own body without the positivity that she so freely gives to others.

Finally, she looks up at him, "But I've done all I could do alone, learning my instincts, how to hunt, living out here instead of in towns- years to try to be an ounce of what you, Lucas, and Sarah have been raised to be." The hand that washes his face rests at this time, just her looking deeply into Maxwell's, "If you could handle the burden, I wish to go with you guys, even if it's just for a day. But you can also say no, I can't make you agree to anything, whatever you say goes."
 
Max crinkles his nose slightly when she pops the stopper on her little bottle, but he doesn’t object because Felse is there right beside him and she’s still cleaning him of the blood, part of it still stuck in his beard. But he can’t help cracking a smile at her, laughing lightly “Big and scary? I didn’t know I was big and scary.” He told her, unable to stop smiling. Until she started to tell him more about the type of woman she was, how she didn’t really seem to think of herself as a wolf due to the way she had grown up. He let her go on about it, how she didn’t feel enough to even return the favour of washing him, though as a human would. He didn’t want to interrupt and tell her that they washed this way too, often enough that it wasn’t that odd. Just that washing another was a bit unusual, that he had not even have expected to do so to her either.

“We… You…” Max isn’t sure what to say and he reaches out to take her hands into his and keep her there, to keep her close to him as he looks back into her eyes. “Our parents raised us to survive. Alone, in a cabin so far from anyone, it took days to get to the nearest town.” He told her, soft grey looking into her warm cognac eyes. “It wouldn’t be a burden. Pack is safe, numbers are safe.” He told her, giving her hands a squeeze before letting them go. “I’d love to find out how you hunt sometime. For now, I think we shall continue to linger here until everything is dry and then we can continue on our way.” He told her before he was reluctantly pulling himself away from her to go and find out if his boots and socks were dry enough to wear. As soon as he picked them up, he growled “Sarah!!”

“They smelled foul!” his sister quickly shot back from where she was sitting beyond the deer. “You stink, but you smell like home!” she added with a smile, but she at least knew he wouldn’t do anything to her. Lucas was snickering in his wolf form from where he was as well, trying to sit and keep a bit of an eye on his brother and their newer pack mate.

Max grumbled as he sat himself down to start putting his socks and boots back on, mumbling softly about smelling like candy. His beard carried with it the scent of what she used, but he wished it smelt like her as he got up and retrieved a large knife from the bag that was lying by the fire. He trudged towards the deer and Sarah and Lucas both scampered back towards the fire as he got to breaking down what remained of the deer to have for later. Sarah decided to talk loudly as he worked, and she turned to Felse as she said “So, you never got a chance to learn about Bonds, did you? About family, or other bonds?”
 
The rag drops from her hands when Maxwell grabs them and she looks into his eyes to see her reflection in them again. It was a little nerve racking to tell Maxwell things about her past, things she wasn't prepared to tell them yet. But with Maxwell, at least with the emotional aspect, it feels as if it's safe to tell him. He's the Alpha, his last word is final, so why wasn't she scared of what he had to say? Maybe it's the sound of his laughter or his gentle touch that makes her think, deep down, he might not say no. Nonetheless, she respects him enough to hush and listen to what he has to say.

Fesle smiles at him as squeezes her hands, nodding in relief at his response and even letting out a breathily sigh. All that tension on her shoulders roll off, "Yeah, I think that would be a good idea, wouldn't want to run away from police if they can hear our jeans soggy." she says as he walks towards his boots, hiding a growing snicker behind her hand. Then, the outburst causes her to laugh out loud, one that's not afraid to be loud. Her body rolls back onto the ground, not helping her back getting dry but she also needs to lay down a bit. All of this running and conversations on the line made her need to take a breather for a second. But her smile stays on her face as her heart has yet to calm down due to Maxwell.

As she watches him tear apart the remains of the deer, she flickers her eyes toward Sarah and raises her brow. "Bonds? Like relationships or blood, right?" she's clueless to these of course, not many humans in her life are exceptionally close to her. Many have tried to but to no avail, her instincts always told her to keep a safe distance between those. Only very few humans are able to be called friends in her book. "Is that what you're speaking of or something else?"
 
"Bonds are usually between packs and families. Its how you can tell when the others are safe. We aren't sure how deep they go, just that they exist. We think you're meant to be pack." Sarah said, making sure Max heard. He paused what he was doing to half look towards them but then kept working, dividing up the cuts as Lucas shifted to put his boots back on and join him to help dividing it up. "Our parents told us that bonds were important, that they would help us stay safe." Sarah added as she stretched out her body along the fire and got comfortable as it warmed her skin. "You might want to try and take a nap before we start traveling again. Max doesn't like to stop."

"Only because we stay places for too long." Max said without turning around, saying it over his shoulder as he handed his brother a large chunk of deer to prepare for later. He was careful with how he cut the meat, wanting to keep the remainder of the hide that had not been ruined by their teeth. He knew Sarah's shoes were not going to last much longer and she needed something on her feet, so he planned to make something for her while they walked. If he was lucky, he would be able to make something. But it meant travel as a human for a bit. He and Lucas worked in silence together as they prepared the meat for travel before tying it up in a small bit of its hide before they were walking back towards the others. Lucas sat started to find out what was dry and clean, folding them and put them back into their back. Max cleaned himself in the rushing water, rubbing the blood off of his hands before he was helping his brother prepare for travel as they let their sister sleep.

After a few hours and everything was dry, they were packed and ready, with Max sitting on a log as he prepared sinew for sewing. He was still doing so when he nudged his sister gently with his toes to wake her as he cast a glance towards Felse. "Time to go. We try to head for the next area." he said, waiting for the others to be ready and make sure the fire was well put out before he was standing up to start leading the way. He was choosing a direction to go in that they hadn't gone in before on their way there but still not going back the way that they had come. He kept a slow and steady pace as he led them along with continued glances towards Felse, as if to make sure that she was okay and still there with them.
 
Felse tilts her head, "Really? It's a gut feeling to know when someone is safe?" she confirms to herself before glancing at Maxwell. If she's meant to be in a pack, does that mean this feeling she gets with Maxwell, this feeling of safety, is that it? She looks away before he notices and gives a small smile to Sarah, "Well then, prepare to be impressed for what I can do, or let down. We'll see." Deciding to embrace the future instead of be scared of it, confidence does its best to beat the self-doubt in her mind. Like Sarah said, Fesle might have meant to be here. That's all I need for now to keep going, I'll fight for that.

"I don't know if I can go to sleep," she closes her eyes, thinking that the vile's energy is still affecting her, "I doubt I can sleep after...all...that happened." she yawns, letting the rushing water be her white noise. Living by herself in the forest for so long, she's learned when to sleep if her surrounding is safe. The only thing she smells are the siblings and the deer meat, no important scent lies beyond Maxwell- I mean the campsite. Birds chirping, trees brushing against each other, and the occasional fish that jumps across the water give off that nothing of threat is nearby. Besides, even if there was, it's not to her own devices anymore, there's three more people that surely can detect things as well. Will she ever be able to adjust to that?

She turns over on her side, letting her arm be her pillow, raising her heavy eyelids to Maxwell one last time due to him speaking. Nodding with a hum, closing her eyes as her conscious slips away, "It'll be just a quick nap Max." almost in a whisper. It doesn't take long for her energy-ridden body to pass out near the fire. It was so easy for it to thank to the warmth of the amber's glow and the clean smell of Maxwell still all over her. There were a few times while she was asleep that a smile would twitch on her face.

The sound of things shifting and Maxwell's voice woke her up, well, more like jolting. Her body is so used to being startled awake at voices that her fists were even bawled up and her teeth were grit together. Waking up to still see that her dream come true is still reality made her quickly start breathing again after that. The first thing she notices is the sky, it's not warm anymore but it's plain crystal blues. There would maybe be a few white clouds that flow by the sun, but luckily it doesn't touch the ball of fire. Unless it's in the shade, most of the forest ground isn't drenched in water. "I'm sorry, I slept longer than I needed to." getting up and stretching makes a few of her bones crack. She walks over to get her now dry rag and bottle and shoves it into her bookbag. "Where are we going?" she asks as she slings the bookbag over her shoulder, shoving her arms through the straps. She walks up to him without hesitance like she had before sleeping. Thankfully she was able to get more sleep to be wide awake and more logical.
 
"Don't know. This way. Away from the way we came, and hopefully somewhere we haven't been. Sometimes we end up cycling around without meaning too." Max said, tucking the new thread he'd made into a pocket before moving the duffle around to dig in it for that hide of deer he'd kept. "We don't really have a means of keeping track of where we've been other than remembering where we were." he told her, walking slowly in the direction still. "We don't know know where human towns or cities are, but we try our best to avoid them. We only go in when we really need something, usually new clothes or shoes. We might actually need to head into the next one." he said with a glance over his shoulder towards his sister before his eyes went back towards Felse. "We've got no idea where our parents might be, so we don't actually know where to look, so we just go. They were all we had for pack." he told, her with a soft sigh. "I can't imagine growing up without a pack." he said as they walked, carefully stepping over a large dead tree. He stood with a foot on either side of it and held out his hand to her to help her across even though he knew that she didn't need it, he couldn't help it but want to help and protect her. He still didn't understand it, but she was pack now, he knew that. He wanted her closer though and he didn't know why.

"Where do you come from? Where was the last town you were in?" Max decided to ask as they walked, using the same large knife he used to break up the deer to start cutting its hide into careful sections. He kept glancing back at Sarah's feet as she and Lucas trailed behind, carefully looking around and listening to everything that was going on around them, like a guard that was protecting them. "You lived among them right, what are they like? We only ever run into the hunters, the ones that try to kill us but we still don't know why. Our parents said that very few humans could be trusted."
 
Fesle listens to him with furrowing brows, wanting to speak a few times but letting him say all that he has to say. It must be very confusing, even frustrating, to try to get everywhere but not know where you're going. She watches where she walks so that nothing could trip her and gets an idea that could help them out. When he said how he couldn't imagine being with a pack, she looks up at him with a sort of painful look. When she did look up, she notices that he has her hands out to her to try to help her over the dead tree. Trying to push back that painful gaze, she grabs his hand firmly, "Well, I can," she says half-heartedly, "the universe becomes your pack basically." Carefully, she steps over the dead tree, brushing against Maxwell when she landed on the other side.

"The direction of the stars and the weather become your teacher. Predators and poisonous plants become your lessons. The water and the caves become healers. The day is a expresser and the night is the compressor." She goes on, and as they walk her hand is still in his, not as firm as before because of the unconsciousness to be close to him. "I lived in a town hundreds of miles from here, a simple cottage town called Yorks. It was in big financial ruins for years after a damn broke and flooded it, that's where I came in, washed up like a rat. I suppose that's why I'm so used to them and know how to blend it." A giggles breaks out her mouth along with an eye roll, "Oh man, humans, they're certainly something to watch. While I can't put a label and the billions of lives, I can certainly say they have the heart to keep going....even if they have no one or nothing." the last part is quiet, looking back on her memories on all the humans she's met. "For a while I was with a group of humans that traveled town-to-town, camping for weeks and living off barely any food. Everyone called them "hippies" because they believed in the power of the universe and, honestly, some talk funny. But they were the ones who showed me a foundation on how to survive in the forests."

Remembering her idea and that she has his hand still in hers, she lets go to turn her bookbag closer to her. "But I have a map, I just got it from the bus I was riding. Plus human rest areas usually have a map there too." After unzipping the bookbag she pulls out a crinkled, thick pamphlet and starts unraveling it. It unfolds into a big map that shows all the roads, rest areas, towns- the basics of the area they're in.

A hum erupts in her throat as she lets Maxwell see it, "The cops put me on bit of a chase, but I started near the town and I think we're here, at Chesterfield Forest." Trying to hold the map steady, she points near the bottom right of the map before reaching into her bookbag for something else, a compass. Flicking it open with her thumb, she reads the needle, "We're heading east right now, but if we go west we should hit a town, looks like the one I was trying to go to yesterday." With a hopeful smile, she looks back up at Maxwell, "What do you think?"
 
Max moved when Felse when she didn’t let go of his hand, more than happy to do so as she began to speak. He loved the sound of her voice, but he wasn’t sure he fully agreed with everything that she said. Or maybe he just didn’t understand it as he walked easily with her through the trees, the hide that he’d been so carefully cutting and fixing into footwear had gone back into the duffle because he was unwilling to let go of her hand to continue it. But he could admit that he was utterly fascinated by what she had to say about humans, about how some of the ones were basically Lone Wolves, who found ways to keep going without pack around them. Like she had, had too. Max had to admire the strength it must have taken, to form a pack out of the unwanted of the humans. The ones that he hated the smell of, because they’d met a few here and there when they had no choice but to venture into the cities.

When Felse let go of his hand, Max felt disappointed but hid it well before he was stopping at the fascination of her showing him a map. He knew very little about such things, but he could remember being told about them and what they would show. Reaching out, he took one side of it as he moved to stand so close that their sides were touching as he gazed down at the paper. He couldn’t believe how accurate it was, showing all the ranges and terrain that he and his siblings had already traveled over. Max then dropped the paper and reached out to take the small thing she had looked at before declaring what direction they had been going on, he’d never seen such a thing before and examined it with a critical eye.

“Not East, we’re going South East but your map says we should start actually moving further South instead. “Not West, not yet.” Max told Felse as he held the compass up to the light to try and get a better view of it. He cringed when sun light went hit his eyes and he growled in annoyance at the light that hit his eyes as he held out the little thing back to her.

“We can’t go to the town you were heading for. We got chased out by a man with a shotgun.” Lucas said as he was walking across a fallen tree that had once been tall. His paws were sure with each step, despite being led higher up off of the forest floor.

“Yea, because you stole an arm full of chips.” Sarah said from where she had knelt to pick some herbs. “They were good though.” She added, standing up and looking to them as she waited to be on the move once again.

Max let out a sigh, scratching at his bearded cheek before he yawned and waved them off “We can make the next one by nightfall if we keep moving.” He said, having picked up the other side of the map again to look at it and scanned it with critical eyes before he was looking up and around them to find out where they were before he started walking again, adjusting his direction just enough that they would be going into the direction of the next human population.
 
She nods at his direction, knowing that there's not much she can do to change his mind since he's the Alpha. However, it does make her laugh when he tries to figure out the compass. Her hand tries to take it while he held it up in the air but it was no use, he's way too tall to try to get it back. It would be like hiking up a tree. Listening to them all go back and forth keeps the smile on her face as she puts her compass away, thinking Maxwell will just chuck it. Perhaps the compass work should be up to her until he asks for it.

Fesle looks over at Lucas and Sarah, watching them do each of their body movements and how their so specific to themselves. Lucas being bold and Sarah being observant. "I don't know if a shotgun shell is worth the carbohydrates." she teases as she lets Maxwell take hold of the other side of the map. It's way easier than her trying to hold it herself, usually she has to stop each time she had to look at it. Unnecessarily big but worth it. "It sounds like the same man who called the police on me early this morning." Pondering for a few seconds while listening to Max, she agrees with him.

"It would be a stride to go to the city after that but we'd be better off, especially since it's bigger...." Fesle started with a strong assurance but trails off when she stares at the city's name, Queens. "That's odd...I think I dreamt of this place," pointing to the symbol it had next to the city, a saxophone, "last night, I had a dream that had jazz in it, jazz next to a train station." There were railroads connected to Queens, most likely for being the big city that it is to be used for trading and transportation. She shrugs, "Maybe we're supposed to go there." Wanting to put the map back into her bookbag, she trails her hand across the map and over Max's. Fingers grazing his knuckles before gently taking the map out of his hand, smirking at him. "If you like it so much then I'll get you one with my signature on it." Folding it back up and shoving it in her bookbag, she on purposefully bumps her shoulder into his arms.
 

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