After we'd caught our meal, we made our way back home.

"You can sleep in my den for tonight," I say as we clear the tree line.

Sam's eyes flicker up to me. "Okay," he murmurs, looking down with his tail lank and ears flat.

It seems his adrenaline had worn out, because he'd been acting subdued ever since we had left the riverbank. Perhaps the trauma of being trapped in a small cage for lord knows how long was finally getting to him.

Flare splits off from the group, calling, "Don't wake me unless you're dead!" over his shoulder. Charming as always.

I lead the smaller wolf to my den and settle him down as best as I can.

"I'll show you around in the morning, but for now I recommend you get some sleep," I say calmly, laying my head on my legs.

A deep inhale, and a shaky exhale.

I waited a moment before closing my eyes. I had a feeling the kid was going to be a handful.

###

"DARRA!"

My head snapped up, and I scramble to my paws. "What?!" I gasp, blinking the sleep from my eyes.

Flare's head pokes through the tunnel. "Hunters," he chokes, clawing further into the den.

I frown, looking over to Sam, who blinks dumbly at me from his half-standing position on the floor.

"Where?" I ask, straightening up.

Flare nods to the entrance. "Out there," he breathes.

I tense, crawling through the tunnel to peer out at the clearing.

Sure enough, a party of hunters stalk through the clearing, crossbows loaded and knives primed.

Ah, it's those fuckers again. They're all young and ill-fitted, and although they're not completely inexperienced, they are incompetent. Still, they're just another group of idiots trying to hunt us for profit. I scowl at the thought.

I growl lowly, pulling back into my den. "Shhh," I instruct.

The other two nod.

We move to the further most part of the den, hiding in the shadows.

Hunters in my territory? I think, furiously. this has gone too far. We need to chase those accursed humans from this forest.

"How many?" Sam asks, ears shoved forward and hackles raised.

"Roughly half a dozen," I murmur. "I recognize the party. They're regulars," I joke, smirking.

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Flare beats his tail on my side. "Now? Really, Darra?" He hisses, glaring.

I shrug mildly, thinking.

"They must be rather idiotic, cornering a pair of wild beasts," I begin, a manic grin spreading across my muzzle. "Who knows what they'll do to survive, after all..."

Sam cocks his head. "Are you proposin' we kill 'em?" he asks curiously.

"More suggesting..." I tsk, crouching closer to the earth. "Problem?" I ask, glancing up at the brown wolf.

He shakes his head. "Not as such," he says, glancing toward the entrance. "More concern. I'm not exactly in fightin' shape, and there's only two of yeh..."

Flare chuckles. "Oh, yes, only two five-foot-tall wolves with five claws on each foot and a mouth full of teeth," he says with a cheeky grin.

Sam nods, slowly. "Touché,"

I roll my eyes. "Boys," I chastise. "Are we doing this or not?"

They look at each other for a moment, then nod. "After you, dear," Flare offers with a wave of his paw.

"Ass," I mutter in a low growl, stalking forwards.

I dart from the safety of the den, charging the nearest hunter.

I tackle them, sharp claws digging into soft flesh. I cut across his shrill scream with my gravely lit.

"Trrresspasserrs," I accuse, barring my teeth.

The next closest backs up, eyes wide in horror. "What the fuck..." he whispers, bumping into one of his fellows.

They all seem frozen, in both fear and disbelief. They stood, staring at me and hardly daring to breathe.

I growl low and deep, hackles rising. "Red," I call. My vocal cords protest the unusual words, unused to speaking in the human tongue.

Flare crawls out of the den, stalking along the length of the group. "Trespassers?" he asks in a much more controlled (yet still gruff) voice. He practices more then I do.

I simply grunt in affirmation. I hide my smirk, glad that Flare was adaptable to improv.

He growls, eyes wild and drool dripping steadily from his jowls. Gross.

I curl my claws in the whimpering huntsman beneath me, eyes dropping to him dramatically. "Shhhh," I growl at him, pulling my ears back in time with my lips.

"Humans in our territory...?" Flare growls with question, as though he doubted a human would be so idiotic -for them to roam directly into the wolves den, so to say.

I huff, pulling my claws from the hunter, and stalking over to the group of still petrified humans.

I pull my lips further back as the scent of human urine assaults my nostrils.

"Whho aree yyyou?" I drawl, snarling.

They don't answer.

"I think we broke them," I say in our natural tongue, eyes flickering over to Flare.

He doesn't respond, instead making a false lunge forwards. "ANSWER THE ALPHA," he roars, claws digging into the ground and lips pulled far over his gums. He looked like a rabid dog.

I admire the commitment, think in amusement.

The humans leap back in fear, trembling. I raise up to my full height of five-and-a-bit feet, glaring at the humans with all the ferocity of a hellhound.

"Alpha? You flatter me, dear pack-mate," I drawl, unchanging in my aggressive stance.

Flare (I assume) giggles. I say assume because he somehow managed to make a sound like a rolling snarl, which sounded terrifying. I was thoroughly uncomfortable at how good he was at this.

"W-we-" one of the human's stutters.

This was pathetic. I found I didn't care much who they were, I just wanted them out. Out of my territory, out of the forest, out of this country. Whichever, I'm not picky.

I step forward and growl out, "Leeeavee," 

They don't need to be told twice. They turn tail and scramble to rush from the clearing.

"Not exactly wha' was imagining," Sam chimes from the entrance of my den.

I shrug, frowning. That could have gone better, and would probably not end well... but at least they weren't in my territory anymore.

"Wha're we gonna' do wit' 'im?" The smaller wolf asks, gesturing to the abandoned and wounded hunter.

I shrug again. "Kill him, I gu-" I cut myself off, thinking. I slow grin spreads across my muzzle. "Actually, scratch that... he's going to help us prove a theory..." I drawl darkly, looking over to the wounded hunter.

Sam cocks his head, while Flare looks at me hesitantly. "Alrigh' then, let's get on wit' it" the brown wolf coaxes, disappearing back into the den.

"Are you sure, Dare?" Flare asks. Of course, he knew exactly what I was thinking. He usually did.

I tilt my head left and right, humming "No. But fuck it. He's gonna die anyway," I say.

Flare looks at me with unsure green eyes. "Alright, then," he says, trusting me to have made the right decision regardless of his doubts.