You all know Tsume's story. You all know how Tsume was exiled from his pack, and how he more than likely has some pretty deep thoughts going through his mind.

If you were Tsume, wouldn't you like to sink your fangs into something? To just rip and tear into something and relieve your stress?

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The particular day I'd like us all to peer into the Looking Glass to view would be the very day a giant seal type thing died at Toboe's paws. Kiba had insisted that Toboe would eat first, since it was his kill. So Toboe awkwardly edged forward, awkwardly sniffed it, then attempted to take a bite... The other wolves had to help break the skin.

Great job, Toboe. Killing a huge piece of prey that's more skin and blubber than it is meat.

Tsume voiced the above thought, earning him a long stare from Hige, whose ear twitched as Toboe quietly approached.

"... Tsume, he just saved all our asses..."

"But he picked a hell of a time to do so," Tsume grumbled, laying down and putting his paws on the bridge of his muzzle.

". . ."

"All eyes were on Tsume. The walrus' eyes glowed a little, Toboe imagined, in order to stare. The wolf growled softly, a warning. "What?"

"... Tsume, stressed? What has this world come to?" Hige snorted, turning to take another whack at trying to pierce thick and unyielding skin.

"Jeez," Tsume scoffed, irritated, standing up and bristling. This was too much. He was starving and exhausted and Toboe had finally, finally done something he could look proud of- and he was glad for that. Of course he was. The helplessness of having essentially unattainable meat was enough to drive him mad, however, and he felt more restless than ever. How much running would it take? How long would this stand? He was unable to voice his thoughts, shaking his head with a frustrated, anxious snarl. Hige looked up from his meal of skin to stare.

(And Hige wouldn't abandon food emthat easily/em, no matter how bland it was.)

Tsume, who had looked as if he were possibly going mad with the desolation of it all, with the claustrophobic expanse of pure white as far as the eye could see, lunged clumsily, stopping short before Toboe, who didn't heed Kiba's urging to run, to let Tsume simmer down or realize he was losing it. Whether he was frozen in fear or the idiotic determination that Tsume would never hurt him, Tsume would never know. He simply remembered Toboe lowering his head, ears flat, shoulder high and arm extended, as if he were about to paw at Tsume's face, to gently pat his head. In all likeliness, Tsume would tell himself later upon reflection, he was probably only trying to shelter his own face.

"And then, Tsume did it.

He opened his mouth, his cavernous maw gaping as his tongue lay low and ready, nose crinkled with hostility. He took a step, fangs closing down...

And Tsume proceeded to gently take Toboe's paw between his front teeth, relaxing immediately, even going so far as to sit down and absentmindedly lick kisses into Toboe's paw pads.

Toboe and the others stared, just watching. Tsume realized he was being watched, and promptly stood up, gruffly grunting and wishing now more than ever to retreat into the ice.

"... It's thick, Tsume," Toboe mumbled, uncertain what to do with his paw, which was dripping with Tsume's saliva. "You should get something to drink. You're really dehydrated."

There was sweet, eerie silence as Tsume's spit dripped to the ground, forming in a puddle on the ice, steaming before immediately freezing. Tsume flattened his ears to his head and his chin leveled with the ground. Nobody spoke.

And then, piercing the silence was Hige's exclamation of pride in finally making leeway, having finally broken through. Tsume flinched at the insensitivity.

"... Hey," Kiba spoke up. "Why don't we go help Hige break through the fat?"

"Sounds like a plan," Tsume rushed, nodding and slipping past Toboe, head low and tail tucked.


Tsume had had enough. His day had already been shit enough already, but on top of that, Hige had asked if Tsume needed to 'use his hand' three times in the last hour.

In other words, everything that anyone ever did ever pissed him off.

The most gorgeous she-wolf in the world- what was left of the world, anyway- could have walked right past him, flicking her tail and asking if he 'needed help,' and Tsume would emstill/em get pissed, so when Toboe nosed Tsume's shoulder, his regrettably empathetic nature automatically registered that Toboe was taking it upon himself to apologize, as if it were actually his fault, which pissed him off, because this was just Tsume being irritable and frustrated and unreasonable. There was nothing this pup did wrong, not really. He was even more angry at the fact that when Toboe tentatively whined his name, all he could do was respond with mock sweetness, words dripping with sticky sugar.

"Yes, Toboe, what is it?"

""I'd like to say... about earlier..."

Here it was. What Tsume didn't know was that Hige put him up to saying, "I... I-I just wanted to say, that... I-if you ever... feel, uh, stressed again... like that... y-you can..." He gulped. "Y-you can chew on me any time you need it, okay?" dipping out before Tsume could respond, nails scrabbling on the cave ground to retreat as Hige cackled, throwing his head in glee and rocking where he perched on a little inlay of rock.

Slowly, with control, Tsume stood, shaking a bug away from his ear. Heavy paws and graceful legs strode across the cave they were staying in, and Toboe ducked behind Kiba, who had no chance in Hell of protecting the little stress ball, in all honesty.

"Tsume!" Kiba, always the peace maker here, scolded. "What's gotten into you?"

Hige, on his side of the cave, hooted louder, and Tsume lifted his head to stare over Kiba and at the wolf neither member of the pack realized he was growling about until that moment.

The tension grew until Tsume stepped around Kiba, brushing shoulders with Toboe as he stalked past. Kiba looked back at Dead-Wolf-Walking, uncertain how to proceed. If he was the alpha, Tsume was a close second. Sometimes the roles were too blurred to challenge.

Of course, the wolves fought. They had scrapped before. This wasn't new by any means. Testosterone was at high levels and with a group of wolves, that wasn't very safe. It was never very serious, and in any case- above all, the four were family.

Despite Toboe worriedly licking his own paws, Kiba sitting beside him where he lay, it was almost an amusing scene. The wolves healed so fast and there was such respect in regards to boundaries, it was a smooth transition between Tsume shouting various profanities and Hige playfully pinning the other, tugging on his ear.

Tsume, his cheek now pressed into the sandy rock, let out a quiet howl, the tip of his tail twitching slightly.