The afternoon of the next day found Agent North walking into the mess hall, to see Washington at the freelancer's regular table. The jaguar cub was with him, sitting on the bench next to him, closely watching him eat. North's husky trotted alongside him, tail waving.
"Hey Wash." North said, sitting down across from him. The husky went over to the jaguar, and attempted to sniff the shy cub.
"It's okay, Noca." Wash pushed the cub slightly toward the pup. Noca stretched her head out and sniffed the pup's nose, beginning to relax.
"Noca, huh?" North asked. "I call him Chukcha."
"Chukcha? Interesting name. Phyllis showed me some information about jaguars and I learned that part of their scientific name is onca. So, I call her Noca."
North nodded. "Chukcha is another name for a Siberian Husky." He explained.
There was a soft thud as Noca fell off the bench in her eagerness to meet the other animal. She quickly scrambled to her feet as Chukcha playfully nipped at her. The two began to play, making odd groans and whines.
"They get along well." North chuckled softly. "How is everyone else doing?"
"I passed York early. He and - Timber, I think? – are getting along fine, though he said that Wyoming is having issues with his lizard." Wash replied, thinking of the tan soldier and his serious seeming wolf pup.
"South is having some issues too. Apparently her orangutan didn't appreciate being called a monkey, or her attitude. It's refusing to listen to her, doing whatever it wants. She wouldn't listen to me though, so I think they go together fine." North laughed again.
"What about you and..Chuk…what was his name again?" Wash asked.
"Chukcha. And we're doing well, I think. He's really playful. How about you two?"
"Noca and I are cool. She's pretty shy at first, but she's all right. Oh, she does this. Hey, Noca." Washington pulled out a small laser pointer as the cub turned from where she was biting Chukcha's leg to look at Wash, ears perked curiously. He pushed the button and a red dot appeared on the wall behind North.
"Look, at the wall." Wash pointed with his other hand, and the small cub looked over, before darting beneath the table and jumping up on the wall, trying to reach the pinprick of light. Washington laughed and moved the light around, causing Noca to chase after it. Eventually it fell on North's armor. Noca ran forward and was about to jump on it when she realized where it was. She backed away uncertainly, ears against her head.
"Hey, it's okay." North said softly, holding still. Noca crept forward and sniffed him, before pouncing on the light that was still on his armor. North laughed again and reached out to pet her. She flinched, then relaxed as she realized that he meant no harm.
Chukcha, who had been watching the scene, took his chance and darted forward, grabbing one of Noca's legs and pulling on it. Noca whirled around and nipped at his ear. The quiet moment was over and the two began to wrestle again.
The four of them stayed there for a while, the animals playing, Wash eating, and North content to sit and relax. After a while though, he stood up.
"Well, we should be getting to the classroom. We have a lecture on these guys there in ten minutes." He said. "Let's go, Chuk. Coming, Wash, Noca?"
The two playing animals stopped at their names, and Wash rose to his feet, finishing off his banana. "Yup." He replied around a mouthful of food. "Come on, Noca."
All four left the mess room and turned down the hall, the soldiers ahead, Chukcha and Noca only a pace behind. The two continued to make occasional grabs and nips for each other as they walked to the classroom, enjoying their antics and sometimes bumping into other people or objects.
Just outside the classroom, North turned to look at them. "All right, that's enough you two. Time to focus."
The two stared back at him, and Chukcha waved his tail. North smiled beneath his helmet and turned to walk in, Washington behind him, then Noca, with Chukcha right on her heels. He nipped at her tail as they walked into the room, causing her to jump away from him. As the agents settled down in their seats to await the arrival of the Councilor and the Director, both jaguar and husky settled down near their feet, finding themselves quite tired now that they had lain down. Just as agents York and Carolina walked in, Noca found her eyes closing and was soon fast asleep, twitching occasionally as she chased after dream dragonflies.
She was roused by Wash's nudge. "Come on, Noca. Time to go, class is over."
Noca rose to her feet and stretched luxuriously. She trotted ahead of Agent Washington over to Chukcha. The two sniffed each other before he playful grabbed at her ear. She pawed at his face immediately after and just like that the two were playing. North, Washington, and York stood over them. York's wolf pup sat at his side, watching the two play.
York looked down at him. "Go on, Timber." He encouraged. "You can play." The wolf looked at him again before walking up to the rolling animals. They stopped and stared at each other for a moment before Chukcha whined and let his forelegs drop, butt wiggling in the air. Timber, tail wagging, pounced on Chukcha. Noca, not to be left out, leapt on top of Timber and was soon entangled in their game.
The agents laughed and turned, calling them to follow. The animals did so, still trying to snap and bite each other. Eventually, though, they were stopped after repeatedly bumping into the calves of those they were following. Noca, being the smallest, was picked up and held awkwardly in Wash's arms. It was then that she noticed York. Beginning to realize that these people meant her no harm, she nervously stuck out her nose in an attempt to sniff him. York laughed, startling her. Wash dumped the young cub unceremoniously on their table in the mess hall.
"Stay here," he told her. "I'm going to get something to eat." The other eight animals got similar words as the agents left to get their dinner. Noca looked around at them. Chukcha was scratching himself, groaning softly in content. The Komodo Dragon and the crocodile rested where they had been left; their thoughts were difficult for Noca to figure out. Connecticut's hawk was perched on the edge of the table, preening her feathers. Timber and the bear cub were both sitting alertly on the ground, staring intently after the agents. The orangutan was swinging itself around the legs of the table, making a game out of it. The young hyena was simply crouched underneath the table, her eyes reflecting light in an eerie way. Noca shook herself, settled down on the table and began to wash herself. The calm monotony of her tongue strokes made her feel sleepy, and by the time the agents got back, her eye lids were dropping tiredly. She was startled awake by being picked up and dropped to the floor as Wash returned to the table and set his tray down. She sighed and resumed her washing, only to be surprised once again by a dangling piece of meat. Tentatively, she reached forward and grabbed it. Her amber eyes lit up at the taste and she butted the hand that had given it to her. Noca's ears picked up Wash's soft chuckling, and the hand soon returned with more meat. She purred after eating it, the sound oddly high-pitched and coming in short bursts when she exhaled. Wash rubbed her head before resuming his own eating.
Above the table, the agents were talking about their new partners.
"How are you all getting along with the new ones?" North asked, addressing the whole table.
"Pongo is such a hassle!" South Dakota said, quickly and loudly. There was a corresponding screech from under the table.
"I'm sure you two will be fine together." North said soothingly. "It just might take a little time."
"Yeah, and Pongo?" Washington asked. "Where did you get that?"
"Phyllis recommended it. It's not like yours is any better!" She shot back quickly.
"You don't even know what it is." Wash replied, slightly smug.
"And what is it, Wash?" Carolina asked, wanting to avoid a fight.
"Noca. It's a variation on the jaguar's scientific name, onca." Wash told her.
"It's nice. My bear's name is Ursus. That's also part of the scientific name." She replied.
"It seems Phyllis gave us all similar advice. Vanar is similar to varanus." Wyoming spoke up. The other agents nodded.
"I named Timber after an alternate name of the grey wolf." York offered.
North nodded. "Chukcha is another name for a Siberian Husky."
"My crocodile's name is Atucus." Florida spoke up. "He's surprisingly affectionate."
"Teba likes to sit on me." Connecticut agreed. "She likes to be near to me."
"They latched onto us quickly." Carolina added. "What about you, Maine?"
Maine's voice was deep and gravely. "Her name is Crota." He responded.
Carolina nodded. "I heard that only some of the trainers will be here soon, and that they arrive once the animals are grown enough to train. I expect that Teba's trainer will be here soon, as well as maybe Vanar's. For some of us though, it might take more than a year."
There was a pause as that thought sank into the other agents. An entire year, at least, before even beginning to train the animals, longer to fight with them.
"That gives us lots of time to learn about each other though." York broke the silence with a shrug. The others murmured their agreement, and the conversation started back up once again.
Eventually, the pressing matter of feeding the young ones and letting them rest became enough of a deal that the group broke up to take care of their charges. Wash led the sleepy Noca back to his room, where he opened a smelly can of mushy meat product and set it on the ground for her.
"Here, eat up." He told her, waving his hand around to get rid of the smell and filling up a bowl with water for her before proceeding to take off his armor. Noca ate ravenously, hungry after a busy day of exploring. She then drank deeply. Once finished, she stared at him, water dripping off her messy, food covered face.
Washington shook his head and grabbed a towel. "Here, let me." He gently grabbed her head and began to wipe it clean. After a moment of shock, she purred again and leaned into his rubbing. He shook his head once more and tossed the towel aside. Noca batted at an old sock of Wash's whose partner he had never found. Wash himself lay down on his bed.
"Phyllis, show me some information about jaguars, please." He requested.
The two relaxed then, Noca eventually going over to her makeshift bed of blankets and curling up, sleepy eye lids closing once more. Wash smiled at her and continued looking through the information, before deciding to sleep. He turned the lights off, unknowingly waking up the jaguar cub. Soon though, both fell asleep, comforted by the steady breathing of the other.
