Though the den they have taken up residence in is quite small, the Jackal Squad's territory stretches for miles beyond their rocky home. It ranges from the border of the Oasis, to the outskirts of the jungle, and even all the way to the shoreline bordering the desert. They are very protective of their desert, and attack anyone that attempts to invade their home.
"My siblings want to meet you." "Oh, that's great! Won't your dad be mad though?" "He is away with my aunt and uncle right now, he'll never know." "What about your mom, does she hate outsiders too?" "She...isn't around either."

═━┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈━/ Ǒ̶̢̨̞̻̀̆̆̂ṉ̵̙̻͝l̵̛̲̳͂̇y̵̨̹̏ ̶̧̯̭͎͎̇̐̾S̴͈͉̀c̴̢̩̯̹̩̈́̄̑a̵͚̓͐̿̀̒r̴̡̖̜̺͋̇̕s̷̡͕̟̎ ̶̳̠̓̓̚R̵̫͒͗́ȩ̵̞̮͕̼̔m̴̫̤̓̐͐͛̓å̵̢̼̭̹͠i̴͚̐̈́̆n̶̳̫̏̄ /┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈━═

That was it, the last straw, the poor wolf didn't think he could make it another step. Finn had invited Gadget to meet some of his family at the den later today. However, there was a predicament they found themselves stuck in, the wolf had never left the oasis before. The heat in the desert was much worse than any weather in the oasis could dream to be, and there was no lake to take a dip and cool down. There were only miles, and miles, and MILES of sand. "Finn, I can't go on any longer!" the wolf whined as he dragged his feet and continued forward behind his jackal friend in a sluggish motion. Finn just laughed at his friend's antics, before stopping dead in his tracks, causing the wolf to bump right into him. They had arrived at the den, it was nothing impressive but it was what his family had called home for as long as he could remember. The entrance was a sheer drop below them, with a winding path going downwards towards the mouth of a cave system. The caves had a number of different sized holes throughout them, some going right through the roof, and some leading to higher levels of rocks and cliffs. There was a center area where three tall boulders with flat tops sat, looking kind of like a makeshift staircase. Around those boulders was a wide, clear open space free of debris. Littered throughout the shallow caves were small makeshift tents, old campfires, and LOTS of crates full of random stuff, most of which looked fairly valuable.

Gadget looked around, noting the absence of the siblings they were supposed to meet up with. Finn sensed his concern "They're here somewhere, they just don't like the daytime very much." he assured. "I can see why." Gadget muttered in response. It had been two years now since they'd first met and become fast friends. In all that time Finn had never once offered to bring him here, heck half the time he lived at Gadget's house nowadays since he was too young to go on his family's "errands" as he like to call them. However, today was a special day, today Finn turned 12, which marked the day that he was finally allowed to join them. Gadget was of course very happy for his friend, this meant a lot to him, but he couldn't help feeling a bit sad that they wouldn't be able to see each other as much. Finn didn't attend school, so as it was now he would wait outside the schoolyard lounging under the shade of the palm trees until Gadget was released for the day. They spent almost every waking moment together, and now that Finn was able to join his family they may not see each other for weeks at a time. He shook his head, trying not to think about it.

═━┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈━/ Ǒ̶̢̨̞̻̀̆̆̂ṉ̵̙̻͝l̵̛̲̳͂̇y̵̨̹̏ ̶̧̯̭͎͎̇̐̾S̴͈͉̀c̴̢̩̯̹̩̈́̄̑a̵͚̓͐̿̀̒r̴̡̖̜̺͋̇̕s̷̡͕̟̎ ̶̳̠̓̓̚R̵̫͒͗́ȩ̵̞̮͕̼̔m̴̫̤̓̐͐͛̓å̵̢̼̭̹͠i̴͚̐̈́̆n̶̳̫̏̄ /┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈━═

He was truly honored that the jackal finally trusted him enough to take him here to meet his family for the first time while his father was away. Finn's father didn't approve of his relationship with the outsider, so the jackal had done a good job of hiding it for now. His siblings had sworn not to say a word, but wanted to meet the infamous wolf that saved their brother from the big bad bear. Finn made his way down the winding path and down into one of the shallow caves, the little cubby was completely shaded. It was significantly less cluttered than the others, and much more organized. It also featured a hammock hung a few feet away just underneath the opening in the ceiling, granting a nice view of the stars to whomever laid in it. Something the jackal had installed to stargaze shortly after their promise on the roof two years ago. You could definitely tell this was Finn's 'room'. Gadget helped himself to the comfy looking hammock, intending to relax after a long trek across the desert from the oasis.

Before he could get any true rest though, a shadow loomed over him, startling the wolf and making him lose his balance in the hammock. Another shadow, then a paw grabbed the side of the hammock and proceeded to spin it around as hard as the mystery person could muster, trapping poor Gadget in a jumbled mess of rope. Frenzied giggling could be heard as the two broke out into uncontrollable laughter, one tried their best to form an intelligible sentence "T-this is the guy." the voice said, sounding like they were in tears from their giggle fit. Finn rolled his eyes before snarling at the two jackals currently torturing his friend. "Knock it off you two!" he shouted, grabbing the hammock and helping Gadget get himself untangled. His glasses had fallen at some point, or so he thought. However, when he reached around on the ground to find them, they were nowhere around. "Looking for these?" one of the voices said, still trying not to giggle. "Thanks." the wolf said, relieved that he hadn't lost them.

As he placed the back on his head the figures came into view, they looked very similar to Finn. They had the same striped markings and semi dark coats, though their darker fur was more brown, and their white markings weren't quite as bright as Finn's were, they were more of an off-white. The smaller of the two sported a mohawk, wore a faded green headband, and had a notable scar spanning across his snout. The other, larger jackal wore a bright red barrette that hid his mane, but didn't really have any other defining markings aside from being quite tall. "These are my little brothers, the runt is Jay, and the other is Pierce." They both waved enthusiastically, before the group was joined by two more serious looking jackals, that looked a bit older.

"Hello there, wolf." They greeted, Gadget noticed Finn step a bit closer to him folding his ears down in a sort of protective stance. "We are Finny's older siblings, I am his sister Tempest, and this is Lance." Lance wore a slicked back mane, and a red bandanna around his neck, and Tempest wore a tank top and shorts printed with faded green camouflage, her mane up in a high ponytail. "It's very nice to meet you all!" the wolf grinned, "My name is Gadget!" He held out a hand to Tempest, who looked at Finn somewhat astounded. This kid wasn't the slightest bit afraid of them. She took his hand and shook it with a sly grin. "Gadget is it? The pleasure is all ours, so tell us how did you meet my cute little brother?" She patted her little brother on the back as she spoke to the ginger, hard enough to make him lurch forward from the impact. Finn sighed, this was going to be a long night.

═━┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈━/ Ǒ̶̢̨̞̻̀̆̆̂ṉ̵̙̻͝l̵̛̲̳͂̇y̵̨̹̏ ̶̧̯̭͎͎̇̐̾S̴͈͉̀c̴̢̩̯̹̩̈́̄̑a̵͚̓͐̿̀̒r̴̡̖̜̺͋̇̕s̷̡͕̟̎ ̶̳̠̓̓̚R̵̫͒͗́ȩ̵̞̮͕̼̔m̴̫̤̓̐͐͛̓å̵̢̼̭̹͠i̴͚̐̈́̆n̶̳̫̏̄ /┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈━═

It was well into the midnight hour when the wolf finished recounting the story of their first meeting, and how they became friends afterwards. Finn's two younger brothers taunted them singing the familiar, childish song "Finn and Gadget sitting in a tree, K.I.S.S.I.N-" they only got so far before Tempest threatened them with their lives if they didn't shut up and behave. They roasted marshmallows by a bonfire, and shared stories of their travels through the desert and beyond, and some of the amazing things they'd found. Gadget looked over to Finn whose eyes were ablaze with wonder. Soon he would be able to join them on their adventures, and experience these wonders for himself. Gadget smiled, happy his friend was finally able to be free.

The fire was dying down, and the two younger siblings had already curled up on either side of their brother, sleeping in a literal dog pile with Pierce on the bottom, followed by Lance, and Jay lying on top of them both. Tempest smiled at her brother's silly antics, and got up to put out the dying fire. As she passed she ruffled Finn's messy hair, causing him to grunt in annoyance and attempt to fix the mess she made of his fur. Once the fire was nothing more than coals she whispered her good-nights to Finn and Gadget before heading to her own little nook off in the corner of the den, out of view. Gadget stared at the dying embers in fascination, wondering what it would be like to go with Finn and his family on one of their adventures. Maybe one day they'd invite him along.

He must've been daydreaming for longer than he'd thought because he felt a head fall lightly onto his shoulder, and a soft snore come from his friend. Finn had dozed off in a similar manner to his brothers, right on top of Gadget. The wolf smiled and leaned back, adjusting the jackal's head so it lay on his chest instead. He kept his paw resting in his friend's mane, petting circles in the soft fur while he folded his other arm behind his head as a makeshift pillow. He was glad he came out to meet the jackal family, tonight turned out to be a great night, despite the circumstances. He stared down at his companions sleeping face, noting that he looked much more peaceful when he slept. He smiled and looked back up at the stars. "Happy birthday Finn."

═━┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈━/ Ǒ̶̢̨̞̻̀̆̆̂ṉ̵̙̻͝l̵̛̲̳͂̇y̵̨̹̏ ̶̧̯̭͎͎̇̐̾S̴͈͉̀c̴̢̩̯̹̩̈́̄̑a̵͚̓͐̿̀̒r̴̡̖̜̺͋̇̕s̷̡͕̟̎ ̶̳̠̓̓̚R̵̫͒͗́ȩ̵̞̮͕̼̔m̴̫̤̓̐͐͛̓å̵̢̼̭̹͠i̴͚̐̈́̆n̶̳̫̏̄ /┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈━═

/ A/N: So I saw a post on tumblr the other day about possible names for Infinite's squad in the Sonic Forces final comic issue, and immediately fell in love with them. Props to tomaturtles, good-tails, caydebug, and blubipboplove over on tumblr for coming up with perfect names for these cute little guys. /