Liquid Snake came to FOXHOUND last.
He found it barely holding together. Campbell wasn't a strong leader, especially considering how he never took to the field, so these wildly different and incredibly warped individuals were finding it difficult to find a reason to not kill each other. Worst seemed to be Psycho Mantis and Revolver Ocelot, who both seemed ready to level the garrison if it meant the other would be crushed under the rubble. Poor Vulcan Raven was trying to be the team's anchor and voice of reason, but only Sniper Wolf seemed to listen to him and even then only sometimes. The whole base seemed to be entrenched in a cold war, just waiting for an excuse to tear itself down.
Campbell had no interest in fixing the sorry state FOXHOUND was in– as far as Liquid could see, he preferred to follow than to lead, and he thought the members of FOXHOUND little more than a freak show. As long as he was kept out of the line of fire he'd be all too glad to see them tear each other apart. Though Raven was trying, he wasn't truly built to be a leader and seemed close to a psychotic break. And, as previously stated, at least three of the other four were itching to kill each other. So it fell to him. Liquid wasn't exactly sure what to do, he'd never really been in a leadership position before (technically he wasn't even in one now), but at the same time Liquid had come up with decent results from far less.
Liquid started small, with Octopus. The master of disguise claimed he was away so often because his vastly different skill set lead him to taking vastly different assignments– assignments that didn't really need five other soldiers tagging along. It didn't take much digging for Liquid to learn that was only half-true. Octopus took many solo assignments, but on most of them he had haggled with Campbell to make sure they were indeed solo. He was putting himself and FOXHOUND at risk just so he wouldn't have to depend on his comrades for anything.
Octopus wasn't a social sort by nature, but Liquid was a persistent sort himself. He made it clear to Octopus that not only was he not hostile, but he had some skills that could be useful by Octopus' side. Nobody ever believed him when he said he was trained for stealth and espionage, and at first Octopus was the most skeptical. He changed his tune when, on a mission he'd insisted on taking as well, all Liquid needed to blend in was a shirt. Once he had proved himself to Octopus, his trust came easier than expected.
Second came Ocelot. Despite (or perhaps because of) the history Ocelot had with his father, the man was distant. And in hindsight Liquid could clearly see that distance was never really closed. Ocelot just didn't get close to people, not really. Not even to Big Boss. And he especially would never get close to Liquid, the warped mirror of the man who meant everything to him. But Ocelot did respect two things: Competence and conviction. Liquid never faltered when Ocelot was stationed by his side, and didn't back down when Ocelot tried to goad him into a fight over tactics. That got incredibly hard when Ocelot revealed he knew Liquid's sorest spots.
So, at the same time, Liquid worked with Mantis. And despite all the myriad plans he dreamed up, winning the psychic's loyalty was simpler than he thought. So simple, he didn't even know he was doing it (which perhaps may have been the only way to convince a psychic). Liquid just treated Mantis normally. He didn't ask questions outside of what he needed to know in the field, especially not about the mask. Liquid was awed by his powers the first time he saw them, but once he adapted, they were just like any other weapon. It probably spoke more of him than of Mantis that he didn't see much odd about the man.
Earning Mantis' respect and trust came part and parcel with gaining at the very least the cooperation of Ocelot, and defusing the biggest bomb under the garrison's roof. Having footholds with them both gave Liquid somewhere to leap in when they set at arguing, and saw that his attempts at mediation didn't just make things worse. Though usually all he really had to say to get them to stop was that FOXHOUND had a job to do and their fight would get all of them killed. With time he was able to put out the fire, though the hot coals still remained, and he suspected always would. In doing so, he seemed to gain Raven's trust as well– after all, if Liquid could get Mantis and Ocelot to at the very least be civil, imagine what else he could do.
And then there was Wolf.
She was… difficult. Not just to reach, but to read. She spoke little, and her face betrayed even less. Most of the chatter around base said her eyes were odd, alien– almost like windows to a different soul than her own. Liquid didn't see that; the most he could say about her eyes was that they were a pretty shade of blue. There was little opportunity for Liquid to simply talk to her– on the field, usually she was somewhere high up and far away. The same seemed to be true when they weren't on the field. And even when she was forced to come in for mission briefings the minute she was told who she was supposed to shoot and when, her mouth went on lockdown. The most he could drag out of her were monosyllables.
According to FOXHOUND, she'd been even worse at some point. Liquid found that hard to believe.
But beyond that, there were odd things about her. Things the others made a point of not talking about. Things like her spotting far away enemy men without her scope. She would know their numbers, what weapons they were carrying, how many were male and how many were female. All this, and half the time she wasn't even physically looking at them. Things like the way dogs behaved around her; certainly they liked her, but it was more than that. Trained guard dogs would abandon their posts and follow her, and she would sit with them– sometimes petting them or rubbing their stomachs, but often just… sitting there amongst them like she belonged. Things like how she would tug slightly at the choker around her neck– the only sign Liquid ever got when she was less than pleased.
And then there were her disappearances. Not her fleeing to the remote corners of the base or the nearest treetop after each mission– these were different. One day, she'd spend the daylight hours fidgeting, nervous, alert. And when night fell, she would well and truly disappear. If the others knew where she went, they were refusing to tell him. She would be back the next morning, no different from any other day. This happened once a month. Every month, like clockwork.
Perhaps it was him seeing connections when they weren't there. But something in Liquid knew that if he could get to the bottom of these disappearances, he could finally reach Wolf.
Liquid used everything he knew about stealth when shadowing Wolf that day. Now more than ever, Liquid had to be wary of her uncanny senses. If she caught him too soon, he'd never be able to follow her when the sun set. Wolf didn't seem to catch wind of his efforts throughout the day, but Mantis did– well, of course Mantis did. Liquid was an open book to him. To Liquid's surprise, the psychic gave him a small warning against his course. Told him that what he thought might be a rabbit hole could hold a fox.
Liquid simply smirked; "Mantis, I'm English. Flushing out foxes is what we do."
Despite how careful he was, Liquid almost missed it when Wolf left the garrison. He'd glanced away for a second, and when he looked back he just barely caught a flash of golden hair disappearing out the door into the dark of the night. With a stifled swear Liquid raced to catch up, but she was gone when he got outside. The full moon at least gave him good light to track her by.
Wolf's boots had left clear prints in the dirt, heading towards the forest. But halfway between the base and the trees Wolf's boot-prints became prints of bare feet. Liquid furrowed his eyebrows– already this was getting weird. He followed the prints to the forest's edge and took a cursory glance up at the trees. Yet another odd thing caught his eye. Tied to a low– but not too low– branch was a gray bundle. He squinted up at it, trying to make out recognizable shapes. He thought he could make out the toe of a boot.
Before Liquid could investigate further, a growl deep enough for him to feel the rumbling in the soles of his feet echoed from the forest. From somewhere nearby. Liquid tensed up– he didn't take any chances, instead slowly backing up away from the tree line. The growling only grew louder as he backed up further. The moonlight glinted off a pair of striking blue eyes.
A roar tore out of the forest, and a flurry of gold leapt from the trees. Liquid leapt backwards, rolling just out of the way of two massive paws primed to smash into his shoulders. They landed heavily on the dirt as Liquid stopped on his knees, and the two blue eyes swung around to lock on to him. As the gigantic creature turned to fully face him, Liquid couldn't keep his jaw from falling open.
It was a wolf, standing perhaps six feet tall at the shoulder and eight feet long. Its mouth was probably big enough to tear his head off in one bite. The wolf had thick gold fur, sharp blue eyes, and a black collar around its neck. Liquid silently took stock of all the strange things about Sniper Wolf as the beast bared its fangs at him. All of those strange things would make a lot more sense if she were a werewolf.
Liquid grimaced as he slowly stood; Mantis was right. He'd gone in expecting to flush out a fox and had found a wolf the size of a horse instead.
Sniper Wolf let out a bark that rattled Liquid's eardrums and closed the distance between them, glaring directly into his eyes while her fur bristled. Liquid backed away, but Wolf matched him step for step; he had to wonder just how intelligent she was like this. And in the event that she wasn't just a snarling beast, he had to wonder what it was she wanted from him.
Liquid gulped down his primal fear and stared Wolf down; "Easy, Wolf. I don't think it'd be wise for you to bite your comrade's head off."
Wolf shut her mouth, but kept growling as she leaned in to sniff Liquid's face. He stayed quiet and tried to at least look calm. After a moment of sniffing him, Wolf's hackles went down and she pushed her nose into Liquid's cheek with a much friendlier-sounding 'whuff'. Liquid could only blink. Slowly, experimentally, Liquid reached out and placed a hand on Wolf's head. She didn't even flinch. He scratched behind her ear. Her tail started wagging.
Wolf let Liquid scratch her for a moment or two more before she turned away from him and started back towards the forest. She stopped at the tree line and looked over her shoulder at Liquid, tail wagging expectantly. Liquid blinked again, uncomprehending– did she want him to follow her? … Well, if she did, who was he to deny a big bad wolf like her?
Wolf stalked into the trees and Liquid followed.
That morning, two-thirds of FOXHOUND filed into the briefing room on what they thought was Campbell's request. They had expected to see Campbell, maybe Liquid, Wolf if it was a blue moon.
What they found in the briefing room was Liquid standing at the head of the conference table with his trench coat missing, several small leaves and twigs in his hair, his arms crossed over his chest and on his face a frown that said they were all in some sort of trouble. Wolf was in the nearest chair to Liquid, her clothes in a bundle on her lap, Liquid's coat covering her up to her chin, and the woman herself's snoring putting chainsaws everywhere to shame.
Liquid gestured to the chairs; "Gentlemen. Have a seat."
Raven and Octopus sat down with equal amounts of caution and politeness. Ocelot and Mantis just plopped down into chairs, Ocelot putting his feet up on the table. Liquid closed his eyes, taking a deep breath as he slowly paced across the head of the room.
After a moment, he spoke up; "So. I was told that Mantis is a psychic. I was told that Raven was a shaman. I was told about Octopus'… interesting methods of disguising himself. I was even told that Ocelot is an asshole."
"Hey!"
"Not now, Ocelot," Liquid snapped as he turned to face the group and placed his hands on the table. "I was told all that…"
He stared them down for a moment longer before gesturing over at Wolf with his whole arm; "Why did nobody tell me she was a bloody werewolf?!"
Ocelot shrugged; "Didn't seem important."
Liquid narrowed his eyes and snapped, "Bullshit."
Octopus shrugged next; "Honor among shapeshifters– don't give away disguises."
"Also bullshit."
Mantis shrugged third; "You didn't ask."
"… Technically true but still bullshit."
"She asked us not to tell you," Raven stated. Liquid opened his mouth to say another variation on "bullshit", but stopped, instead just blinking in surprise.
Raven continued after a beat, "Many of the other FOXHOUND operatives lower down in our ranks fear her. Campbell specifically has silver bullets on reserve because he fears her. It's really not surprising Wolf would only want to reveal this information when she was sure she wouldn't be killed or worse for it."
Liquid frowned, mulling that over, before turning to the other three men and remarking, "Now I'm mostly just surprised you three actually respected that."
Ocelot retrieved his gun from the holster and lazily twirled it around as he drawled, "Women tend to get angrier than most when you reveal personal information about them. Werewolf snipers aren't an exception, and I'm keen on not getting eaten."
Mantis frowned behind his mask; "I can't read Wolf's mind. I try to avoid crossing people whose next move I can't predict."
Octopus gave another hapless shrug; "I like Wolf. It'd be dickish to break her trust like that." Liquid gave Mantis and Ocelot a pointed look. They just continued lounging, shameless as ever.
Liquid stood up straight and rubbed his temple; "Well, you all took the wind out of my sails. I was primed to rant at you, but I suppose all I can do now is let you go. Also, one of you remind me to have a long and unpleasant talk with Campbell about those silver bullets."
Everyone scattered, though Liquid did get Raven to carry Wolf back to her quarters. He returned to his own to pick the debris out of his hair and mull everything over. The first thought he had was that he was dead tired. Wolf had moved through the forest until sunrise, and the adrenaline rush of being beside a giant wolf had kept Liquid awake alongside her. The second thought he had was that he ought to actually speak to her about this. There were questions he still had that only she could answer.
There was a soft rap on the doorframe. Liquid looked over his shoulder; Wolf stood in the doorway, properly wearing his trench coat now with the bundle of her own clothes slung over her shoulder. She looked about as unreadable as always. But he could see a light in her eyes now, a window into the unguarded and wild half of her.
Liquid smirked; "Please don't tell me you're here to return my coat before putting your own clothes back on. Mantis would have a minor aneurysm if you walked back to your own quarters naked."
Wolf smiled– small, soft, but real; "No. I just…" She sighed, looking away. "I'm not sure why I'm here, exactly. I just thought we should actually speak about this."
"I was thinking much the same thing," Liquid mused, turning to face her completely. "To that end, let me share a theory."
Wolf arched a golden brow; "A theory?"
Liquid nodded; "I shadowed you all day, and you didn't notice me. Initially, I thought I'd just gotten the better of you. But now that I know some important details, I have another idea." Wolf didn't say anything, just stared at him with a gleam of anticipation in her eyes.
He paused, then stated, "A wolf's sense of smell is far too keen for you to miss me at the distance I was following you. You have to know my scent by now. So, I propose that you noticed me following you very early on. You let me follow you. You wanted me to learn about you in the rawest way I could."
Wolf looked at him for a long time, before smiling softly once again; "That's certainly plausible."
Liquid smiled back at her; "Well then, in the event that was what you did, why do you suppose you'd do that?"
The Kurd's fingers drifted up to her collar as she softly mused, "In that event, I suppose it could be that I wanted to trust you. That I had seen how you got close to the others and were genuinely trying to fix the broken mess FOXHOUND had become. That I had just been swayed by your charisma, and wanted so badly to trust you. But I couldn't. Not… not entirely. So perhaps I wanted to test you."
"You can trust me, Wolf," Liquid murmured.
She looked him in the eye with the widest smile he'd ever seen on her face; "I know that now."
Liquid and Wolf would walk together under the moon for many nights after that. When she was on two legs, she told Liquid of her journey from the desert to these woods while resting her head on his back. When she was on four legs, he would rest against her stomach and tell her of his own time in the desert. Each for their own reasons, they avoided talking about Big Boss. Slowly even this changed.
With Liquid by her side, pieces of who she had been came back. Smiling became easier. She would start conversations, sustain them, even make the odd joke or playfully flirtatious remark. She could actually pay attention to the full plan again, and speak over the radio to her comrades. She started to really see them as her comrades again. She wasn't fixed. No one man could do that in so short a time.
But Liquid did make getting out of bed and putting her best foot forward not just easier but possible. And that was a small miracle to her.
As they drew closer, the collar around Wolf's neck began to feel tighter and tighter. As Liquid planned revolution, Wolf would absently feel at the buckle, think of the far-away person Raven had told her of, and wonder if perhaps it was time to truly be rid of this chain to the past.
