Kamakura leaned against the rented van, glancing at his watch every five minutes. It was not like the Silent Master to be late. Then again, he always had his reasons - good reasons, too.

He was considering going up the mountain when he caught sight of something gray through the trees. He straightened up, alert. "Master?"

Snake-Eyes materialized from the shadows, a large dog crate in each hand. Not far behind him, Scarlett appeared, two puffs of tired wolf puppy resting on suitcases as the third trotted at Snake's heels obediently.

Kamakura bowed deeply. "Silent Master. Red Mistress. It's an honor to escort you home."

Scarlett snickered. "Why are you being so formal? Is Tommy that tyrannical at the compound?"

The young ninja grinned, relaxing a little. "Nah, he has Mistress Junko to keep him in check. That doesn't prevent him from giving a disapproving glare to anyone eating sweets, though."

[Sounds like Tommy - a pain in the ass unless his wife is nearby,] Snake signed after placing both crates on the ground.

"He says the same thing about you." Kamakura watched as another wolf - this one full-grown - emerged shyly from the trees and make a beeline for the safety of the crate. "Wolves?"

[Yes.] Snake latched the grate closed and placed the crate in the van. Scarlett gently coaxed the three puppies into the remaining crate. Timber went in with little resistance, Romulus stubbornly clawed at the ground until he was lifted and set inside, and Remus whined heartbreakingly whenever Scarlett let go of him.

"It's alright, sweetie," the redhead crooned as she stroked the pup's head one last time before carefully closing the crate door. Remus' cries were instantly muffled by Romulus flopping on him. "We ready to go, Snake?"

Snake-Eyes nodded as he got into the backseat next to her. Kamakura looked a little puzzled as to why the Silent Master wasn't sitting up front, but kept quiet. Snake didn't like being questioned. He slid into the driver's seat and started the van.

About an hour's drive, Snake leaned over to the front seats and pointed to an exit off the freeway. "A detour? Alright," Kamakura switched lanes.

"Where are we going?" Scarlett looked at Snake-Eyes.

[To see an acquaintance.]


John Lowe was having a good day. The weather was nice, his lunch was delicious, and a sick wolf under his care was recovering nicely. Humming to himself, he tucked a file folder away neatly and closed the cabinet.

A soft knock drew his attention to the door. A second later, a man entered, followed by a large wolf, a gorgeous woman, and-

John stood up immediately. "Wolf puppies?" he chirped, staring at the three small tumbling figures as they played with each other, almost oblivious to their surroundings.

A quiet giggle from the woman turned his attention back to his visitors. "Oh! Sorry, how rude of me."

"It's quite alright," Scarlett smiled. "Are you Mister Lowe? The wolf specialist?"

He straightened up a bit. "Yes, that would be me."

Scarlett nodded towards the man with a hat and sunglasses. "I believe this man helped you locate a lost wolf once? Remember? He had a wolf called Timber with him?"

Realization dawned on John's face. "Oh! Yes, I do! The helpful man and his fascinating wolf friend! Welcome back, my friend!" He grabbed Snake's hand and shook it vigorously. "How may I help you?"

"We were actually hoping that you could... help check on our wolves?" Scarlett picked up Remus, who had been pawing at her leg.

"'Our' wolves? Are you two..."

"Married? Yes." Happiness shone through her eyes. "And all of these wolves are ours."

"Oh, how wonderful!" John squatted, looking at the puppies. "And you let them run free?"

"Of course. Once wild, always wild." She beamed.

"Incredible," John breathed. "Humans and wolves, living side-by-side with absolute trust in one another. Just think of how much we could learn about them!" He held out his hand for the curious Timber to sniff. "Helloooo... May I touch him?"

"Yes, you may," Scarlett said as she wrapped an arm around Snake's.

With a slight grunt, John set Timber on the examination table. "My, you're a big boy." He slipped on a pair of gloves as the couple watched. The pup turned in a circle, ears pricked with curiosity.

"Well, he seems a bit... odd," Scarlett whispered into Snake's ear as she rested her head on his shoulder.

[Odd, yes. Knowledgeable, yes. He's a former veterinarian. Now he looks after wolves. He's friendly enough, so I thought we should have him take a look at the wolves before going to Japan.]

She tilted her head thoughtfully. "That makes sense." She grinned and nudged him playfully. "Did you really take a few hours out of your oh-so precious time to track down a wolf of his?"

[It was a good investment. I help him, he helps me. He gets his wolf back, and I get someone I can go to if one of my wolves suddenly falls sick.]

"I knew you didn't do it out of the goodness of your own heart," Scarlett teased.

"This one's all clear," Mister Lowe interrupted. "Have they gotten their shots yet?"

"No, they haven't." Scarlett glanced to Snake questioningly. He signed a few words. "Dojo hasn't either. We can repay you, I know it's pretty expensive."

"No need. I owe you, and besides, I'm not doing this for the profit. Anything I can do to help these little guys." He ran his fingers down Timber's back before going to fetch the needle from a drawer. "He seems okay with me. Do you think he'll hold still?"

Snake gave a thumbs-up. Timber stayed perfectly calm under the man's steady hand. When he was done, Mr. Lowe lowered him to the floor and the pup ran off after his brothers no worse for the wear.

"If I didn't know better, I'd say that one's a dog. Where'd the others run off t-"

Romulus and Remus tumbled over his feet, yipping and snapping. He reached down, and the puppies darted off in opposite directions, Remus to Scarlett's legs and Romulus to a skidding halt beneath a metal rack in the corner. Snake caught a few containers that had been balanced precariously on the shelves and held the entire structure steady as Romulus wormed his way back out to pounce on Timber.

"I have the sneaking suspicion that the easy part's over," the veterinarian chuckled as Scarlett placed Remus on the examination table.

"He's just a little shy," she explained as Remus scrabbled at the slick surface, trying to escape the unfamiliar man. As soon as she released him, he made a dash for her arms again.

"Ah. I see." John cleared his throat. "Uh, would you mind holding him? It'll help keep him calm and still."

"Not at all." Scarlett kept at least one hand on Remus through the entire examination, petting him whenever he whimpered or shook a little.

"Poor little guy," John mumbled as he picked up a syringe. "He's so scared. Could you distract him?"

Scarlett bent at the knees so she was at Remus' line of sight. "Remus! Cutie! I'm over here, look at me!" Remus looked at her, ears perked. "You're a brave little wolf pup, aren't you? ... There. That's a good boy." She scratched behind his ears and crooned words of praise as John set the syringe down.

"And there was a third one, wasn't there? The one having fun with my shelves?"

"That's Romulus." Scarlett laughed nervously. "Romulus, come on. Where are you?"

The sound of tearing paper from beneath the examination table quickly answered her question. The pup tumbled out of a box, the end of a roll of paper clenched firmly in his mouth. Both John and Scarlett reached for the mischief-maker, but received only papercuts as he tore free.

Snake clicked his tongue and gave two short, sharp whistles. Romulus paused, ears twitching guiltily, before pouncing on the shreds beneath his paws. He was immediately and unceremoniously scooped up and placed on the examination table, where Snake easily pinned the wriggling pup on his back with one hand. Only when the wolf whimpered and tucked in his tail and snout did the man lift his hand.

"So that's how you command such obedience. You've established yourself as Alpha," Lowe observed. Snake simply nodded once. "But how do you keep control of the full-grown ones? It's never worked for me. They challenge as soon as they sense weakness."

"You should see him," Scarlett chuckled. "He wrestles with them."

[I don't show weakness,] Snake added. [I don't have weaknesses.]

He earned a playful slap on the arm from his wife. "Sure you don't."

"A-ah, a little help here?" John interrupted awkwardly. "This little rascal's a bit stubborn." Romulus was gnawing determinedly at the man's wrist despite the firm hand at his neck.

"Hey!" Scarlett's hand immediately clamped down over the pup's snout, pulling his mouth open. "No. No biting. He's a friend."

Romulus whimpered pitifully and licked at her fingers until she released him.

"I just didn't want to hurt him," John explained.

"No, go ahead and push him around a bit until he stops nipping at you. Then I'll hold him for the shot."

"I thought I was supposed to be the expert," he chuckled, reaching for the pup again. When Romulus answered with a rather high-pitched but nonetheless determined growl, he was pushed down to the examination table firmly. His paws flailed wildly, pushing at the hand on his neck, but the growl eventually petered out. John rewarded him with a thorough belly rub and answered another playful nip with a hand over his snout as Scarlett had done. From there, he inspected his mouth, much to the pup's discomfort and squirming.

"Ah, there we go. If I were you I'd watch my back when he gets a little bigger. I can already see he's nothing but a ball of mischief. A healthy one, it seems. I'll try to be quick with the needle."

It took a minute of stroking for Scarlett to calm the excited wolf down enough to hold him relatively still. He still wriggled every few seconds, making small frustrated noises.

"All done," John announced after his third attempt to make the injection. As Scarlett released the pressure on the puppy's back slightly, he began trying to wriggle out from beneath her hand, his paws sliding in every direction on the smooth table. Before he could go diving off the edge, she set him gently on the ground, where he shot off toward his brothers like a gray, furry rocket.

"And is this one, 'Dojo?'" John watched the large wolf leap onto the table at a simple hand gesture by the mute man.

"Yes. He is the original Timber's son." Scarlett watched as Dojo breezed through the examination without so much as an ear flick. "He can be quite... relaxed."

"I can tell." John gave him his shots with zero resistance and petted his head. "Good boy." He looked at Scarlett almost pleadingly. "Do you two have an hour to spare? I would really like to ask you a few questions about these guys."

Scarlett gave an apologetic smile. "Sorry, but we need to catch our flight." At the man's disappointed expression, she added, "However, we may have time when we return in a month or so. How does that sound?"

John smiled. "That would be excellent." He squatted and stroked Timber, who had wandered over to him. "Thank you for bringing the puppies."

"Thank you for helping us." Scarlett scooped up Remus as Snake whistled for the rest. "Bye! Have a nice day!" She waved as she walked out the door."

John sank into his chair. "Amazing," he breathed. "Calling wolves by distinctive whistles!" He pulled out a file labeled "Timber" and scribbled down a few notes.


Scarlett had fallen asleep on Snake's shoulder as soon as they returned to the van. Kamakura made a turn as gently as he could, but a slight bump in the road still woke her up. Groaning, she stretched out as much as she could. "Are we there yet?" She blinked blearily at her husband.

[Yes.] Snake stroked her hair fondly as Kamakura helped unload their belongings.

Yawning, Scarlett stepped out of the van, and blinked. "... Wow. A private jet? All the way to Japan?"

"Yup. Just for us. Tommy called in a big favor." Kamakura went up to the pilot and rolled up his right sleeve to reveal his tattoo. Snake-Eyes did the same. Eyes widening in recognition, the pilot bowed deeply. "Alright, we're cleared to board." The ninja picked up Dojo's crate with a slight grunt and carried it onto the plane.

Scarlett looked at the pilot curiously as she and Snake boarded the plane. "Wouldn't he be... worried about us bringing animals on the plane?" she asked Kamakura, who shook his head.

"As long as nothing on this plane is a threat to him, the pilot won't mind."

Snake-Eyes set one of the crates down gently as Scarlett sank gratefully into one of the plush seats. "Ohhhh... this is nice," she murmured as she closed her eyes. "I owe Tommy one." She smiled at Snake, who took the seat next to hers.

"Seatbelts," Kamakura said as he made his way to his seat. "We'll be airborne soon. I'll contact Phoenix Master and tell him we're getting ready for take-off."