Tempest smiled as Jay babbled away. He was telling her all about the village and where everything was. He came across as a little clingy to her, which was odd, but she liked how he doted on her.

"Are you hungry?" Jay asked after the tour. "Cause I can get you something."

"Sure." She put her finger under his chin. He swallowed thickly and heat rushed to his face. Tempest leaned close to his muzzle, "impress me." She whispered, words sweet like honey dripping from her lips. Jay nodded. She let go and moved away.

Jay shook his head and the redness faded from his cheeks. "Come on, I know a good place to hunt."

"Your village is very nice," Bella said looking at the buildings. There wasn't a market or anything of the sort there. Just houses. "How do you get your food?" She asked.

Finn quirked a brow, "we hunt. Didn't your pack?"

"Yes." She absently played with her long braid. "But we had markets too. Traders came from all over. There were so many things to try. It was wonderful." Her voice grew wistful at the memory of her home. "Oh. Sorry," she wiped her eyes, "I didn't mean to be..."

"Don't worry about it," Finn shrugged. He scuffed the sand with a black boot, "this place never felt like home to me anyway."

Bella's mouth made an o shape. She felt bad he was so lonely. Her small hand rested on his upper arm, "I'm sorry Finn. It must be hard being an outsider."

Quickly, he shrugged away, "what makes you think that?"

"Your mother told me not to get close to you, if your own family treats you that way, you must be alone here." She stepped close to him, "it must be hard."

"If you must know," Finn huffed, "I have an older brother, and younger half sister that care about me."

"Oh. Well that's good." She cleared her throat, "but still, when most everyone is against you," she touched his arm, "I'd like to be here for you."

"Hmm," he almost smiled.

Just then, Jay came bounding back into town. Two roadrunners dangled from his paw, "hey Finn." Tempest was right behind him. "Wanna go down to the climbing rocks with us?" He held up the birds, we're going to eat."

Finn glanced sideways at Bella. She smiled, "sounds good." Then she hurried over to Tempest and took her arm.

As they walked, Bella and Tempest were a few paces behind the boys. Bella watched Finn's tail drag through the sand. "So," she asked, "you and Finn's brother. Funny he doesn't seem your type."

Tempest smiled, "I thought he'd be fun to fool around with." Bella gasped in horror. "Relax," laughed Tempest, "the more time I spent with him, the more I like him." She sighed. Her fur ruffled and she became hot and bothered thinking about him. "I hope he'll choose me."

Bella nudged her arm, "of course he will. He caught those birds for you. And that's no easy feat."

Jay dropped back to join the females. "What are you ladies talking about?" He smirked.

Tempest lowered her eyelids, "funny, we were talking about you."

His face flushed and his eyes widened, "m-me?" He stammered.

"Uh huh," she licked her lips. "It was so sweet of you to get those roadrunners for me." She put both of her arms around his neck since he'd stopped walking. "How did you know they were my favorite?" She giggled a little bit and stood on her tiptoes. Her nose brushed against his a little.

"Uhh, umm, I uhh." His face felt like it was on fire. Jay still couldn't believe that a jackal like Tempest would be interested in him. She was strong, beautiful, she knew how to get him ruffled, and he loved every second of it.

"Jay!" Finn shouted, "come on! We're wasting time!"

Jay grumbled a bit and pushed away from Tempest.

"Finn!" A little girl's voice shouted. Bella and Tempest turned to see a small pup running towards them. She stumbled and muttered under her breath. Brushing her bangs out of her eyes, she ran past them up to the multi colored eyed jackal. "Finn!" She squealed as he scooped her up. "I've been looking for you."

The jackals had reached the climbing rocks, and Jay was starting a fire. "What are you doing so far from home Keelie?" Finn asked, "you know Butch won't be happy with you running around by yourself."

"Oh, that big meanie can just stuff it." She said while dismissively waving her hand.

Jay bit back a laugh at her rude remark. "Don't let your papa hear you say that about him. He won't be merciful."

"Relax Jay," she said trotting over to him, "papa won't know. Unless you tell him." She accused while placing her hands on her hips and glaring.

The mohawked jackal ruffed her hair, "secret's safe with me."

Bella frowned. "Why do you dislike your papa Keelie?" She asked while seating herself on a rock.

"He's mean to Finn," she said, "and Finn's my brother. We stick together." She grabbed Finn's arm with her paw. A determined look was on her face. "No matter what."

Some time later, all the jackals had finished eating. Tempest leaned against Jay, curling her tail around his waist. His face was red as she ran her finger up and down his chest.

Finn shook his head as he stirred the fire. Jay had better make a move, that girl was literally throwing herself at him. He could tell she was tough, perfect to keep their father's bloodline strong. "Jay," he called, gesturing for him to come over.

Jay detangled himself from her and went join his brother. "Do you like her?" Finn asked quietly.

Jay nodded while not making eye contact. "I really like her Finn." He looked up, his gold eyes met Finn's multi colored ones. "Do you think she'll want to be my mate?"

"With the way she's acting?" The two males looked over at her. She smiled and waved her fingers at Jay. Finn smirked, "definitely."

Jay grinned. "I'll ask her soon."

"You'd better." Finn said poking at the fire, "before she decides to go after someone else."

Jay nodded grimly. "So what about you and Bella?"

Finn frowned, "what about us?" He stopped stirring the fire. "She's not exactly what I'm looking for."

"Not like your in a position to be picky," the elder jackal muttered.

Before Finn could respond, footsteps entered the area. "Guess who Finn," Gaia's voice asked as she put her hands over his eyes.

Quick as a flash he grabbed her wrists and flung her off. She landed on her back and laughed up at his scowling face. The red wolf jumped up and dusted off her khaki pants, a smile resting on her face. She yelped as she was knocked off her feet and pinned to the ground.

Tempest held her wrists above her head. "What are you doing here wolf?" She growled.

Jay pulled her off, "stop Tempest. She's a friend."

She looked at him with surprise, "you're friends with a wolf? Why? They'll kill you."

"Gadget and Gaia won't," he said firmly. He folded his arms across his chest.

"She just attacked Finn." Protested Bella hopping down from the rock and going over to them.

"No she didn't," Jay stated, "that's just how Gaia plays. She's just fooling around."

"Way to make a first impression Gaia," said Gadget with a smirk. Gaia glared at him and stuck out her tongue. Then Gaia seated herself next to Finn.

Bella frowned, Finn and Gaia seemed awful close. Tempest set her hand on Bella's shoulder, "it'll be ok." She whispered.

Gadget walked over to Finn and stood in front of him. "So," he said with a smirk resting his grappling hook in his hand, "are we gonna train or what?"

Finn chuckled and got to his feet grabbing his sword, "only if you're ready to lose."

Thanks for all the views everyone. I want to take a moment to say that I will be changing the title and updating the summary with the next chapter. This story is going to be heading in a different direction than I originally intended. I am very excited about it, and hope y'all will enjoy reading it. The new title will be: Suffer so keep an eye out.

And a very special thanks to the one guest who always reviews. Your last one gave me some inspiration for a future chapter. Let's just say we will see what goes on in Nia's mind at some point. Thanks again!