Here's the next chapter guys! I'm going to try my best to post more frequently now. AP tests are next week, then things should slow down in school. Enjoy the chapter!

We were on the road again, finally on the way home. It feels like forever since I've been home, even though it's only been a couple of weeks. I miss them, but it will only be a couple days till we get there. I have no idea how I'm going to explain the gash on my muzzle; my mom will freak out, that's for sure. I still have the gauze on it, and it still burns, but I got used to it.

The van was beginning to get crowded: we had seven people in here and five in the back. We had room for one more person, but we had no plans to pick anyone up, so we should be fine.

It was silent for the first half hour in the van, but conversation started when Jupiter started talking about the pictures. Thinking about the pictures sent a shiver down my spine. They looked so gaunt and lifeless; it was not a beautiful sight.

Hunter told me that his dad apologized later that night after he calmed down. I accepted his apology, but he doesn't know that. Next time I see him I will tell him, but that might be awhile.

"So, are you excited to be going home Luke?" Jupiter asked. I nodded. Now that we were all together, it sucked that I couldn't talk. I felt limited and restricted. My instincts were telling me to rip off the gauze, but I knew that the gauze was helping, so I controlled my instincts.

"It'll be a while till we go home," Hunter pointed out, "but I'm glad I joined you guys on this journey." I nodded again.

"It will be an interesting one," Joe said. "I know my grandpa told me about this when I was a pup, but I never would've thought it would actually happen."

"I had no idea it would happen," Shane put in, "but I'm glad that it happened. It's nice being around other anthros."

"Yeah," Joe agreed.

It went silent again. After a bit, Shane pulled out his 3DS and started playing games. Hunter and Joe watched him while Jupiter looked out the window. She noticed that I was looking at her. "It's so beautiful out there. You live in woods like this in Jasper."

I nodded, see it everyday, and the beauty still never ceases to amaze me.

"That must be awesome. I had to live in the Fort my entire life, so I didn't see much. I was pretty sheltered." It was silent for a quick moment. "How's your muzzle?"

I shrugged. Still hurts, I wanted to say.

"I'm sorry for what my uncle did. That was so uncalled for."

I shrugged again. He was trying to protect his mate, so I kind of understood, but it was still uncalled for.

A long time has passed. We made some conversation, well, I listened. "Hey," Leo said from the driver seat, "we're going to be stopping at the next campsite so we can rest and eat."

"How long have we been driving?" Hunter asked.

"About seven hours," he answered.

"Seven hours!" Jupiter exclaimed and looked out the window. The sun wasn't setting, but it was on it's way.

"What time is it?" Joe asked.

"5:13," Jordan answered.

"Wow," Hunter said, "It didn't seem that long."

"That's because you were watching Shane play Pokemon the entire time," Jordan explained. "It's a great time waster."

"And addicting," Shane put in. "I finally beat the last gym, though."

"Okay guys," Leo interjected, "I'm gonna need you to cover up the windows so you won't get caught. We're almost there."

We sat in darkness for about twenty minutes. It's a good thing us anthros have good eyesight even in the dark. We talked at a whisper until we passed the park rangers and Leo was granted access to camp here for the night. We were now in the clear.

The van came to a stop and I opened the door. I was the first one to get out. My legs felt weird for sitting a long time, but that eventually faded away. The other came out through the door as well, having the same problem I had. It was funny to see how Hunter and Jupiter reacted: they've never been on a road trip like the rest of us.

Leo and Jordan came out of the van. "Okay," Leo started, "time to get food," he said to us.

"What do you mean by 'get'?" Hunter asked.

"Hunting," Shane explained, "so grab your gladii."

"For hunting," Hunter asked. "No, I'd rather use my bow." He brought a bow? He went back into the van and came out with a longbow. How did I not notice that. Hunter turned to me, "Now what?"

I pointed to Shane, then to my nose. Shane has the best nose, so I always put him in lead. Shane understood what I meant, so he started sniffing. It didn't take too long for him to pick something up. He started walking east, a tomahawk in hand. I grabbed my sword and Joe grabbed his composite bow. Jupiter decided to stay back with Leo and Jordan.

We silently followed Shane until he stopped and put up his hand. We must be close. The team looked to me, and I realized: this was my first time leading my full team. This is so exciting! Though it would be better if I could talk, I thought to myself.

I decided that I wanted to see Hunter's bowmanship, so I pointed to him then pointed to the direction that I smelled caribou. Let's hope Hunter has experience with his bow. I'm hoping we can just get an easy kill so we don't have to worry about a stampede. Hunter took the lead.

We kept going straight until Hunter stopped this time. He pulled an arrow out of his quiver and lined it up with his bow, not pulling back yet. He spent a minute spectating the herd, looking for his target. I saw him pulled back his arrow, and for only a few seconds, aimed, then let go.

The arrow wizzed across the air and landed straight into the caribou's neck, but it wasn't enough to kill it. Hunter quickly fired another shot, hitting it in the haunch. The caribou fell to the ground, crying in pain. The other caribou fled the scene. Within minutes, the caribou was dead.

"Nice shots, Hunter!" Shane complimented. I gave him a thumbs up.

"Thank you. I've worked with bows since I was a kid, so I'm pretty good with them."

"I can see that," Shane said. "Better than Joe," I heard him mutter. Joe didn't hear him. Looks like Shane is still holding a little grudge.

"Let's head back and cook this thing up. I'm starvin'," Joe said.

"Yeah," Hunter agreed, so did I.

We dragged back the caribou back to the campsite. It was really heavy. Leo and Jordan started a campfire to cook the caribou; starting the fire took about ten minutes. While they were doing that, Joe showed Hunter and Jupiter how to prepare it for being cooked. It took about an hour before there was enough food for all of us to eat.

I started pulling off the gauze that was around my muzzle; I yelped in surprize at the pain. It seems that the longer it's on, the more it hurts to take off. Jupiter walked up to me. "I can help you take that off," she offered. "My mom taught me a thing or two about medical attention."

She put her hands on my muzzle and started gently unwrapping the gauze around my muzzle. I whimpered slightly as she pulled it off.

"Oh quit being a baby," she said in a motherly tone.

I heard Shane, Jordan, and Hunter snickering behind her.

After a few moments she finally got all of the gauze off. Her ears flattened when she saw the gashes that were concealed by the gauze. "I'm so sorry that you had to get that," she apologized.

"No," I said, wincing at just moving my muzzle. "It's not your fault," I finished, deciding to not talk anymore. It hurts too much.

"I know, but I still feel bad. Is there anything else I can do?"

I nodded then walked to the van, grabbed a water bottle and rubbed some water on my muzzle. It stung at first, but felt better after a bit. I then sat down with the others to eat.

Eating itself was painful, but I was hungry, so I forced myself to eat. It wasn't that hard; caribou was my favorite!

After dinner, things started to wind down: Hunter and Jupiter were cooking marshmallows, Shane was cleaning his tomahawks, Joe was sorting through all his swords, and Jordan and Leo were playing some sort of board game; I was lying down underneath a tree. I finally get to keep the gauze off; Jupiter said that it wasn't necessary anymore, "Just don't do anything to make it worse," is what she told me; I just nodded.

I could see the red of the wounds in my peripherals. It did look pretty bad; I didn't really want to look at it in a mirror though. Maybe when it gets a little better.

"Huh?" Joe said, breaking the peaceful silence. He was looking at something in the case of swords.

'What?" Hunter said, quickly popping his marshmallow into mouth. He got up and walked to Joe, Jupiter following him.

"Look at this," he said as he pull out a gun. A gun! I exclaimed in my mind. I flinched as he pulled it up. I really hate guns.

Out of nowhere, Jupiter screamed and ran away, crying. Joe went to get up, but Hunter stopped him. "Let her be by herself to calm down. It's worked before. We'll get her soon."

It was silent for a few minutes. I got up and walked to the others. "Shit," Hunter said, his eyes on the gun, but he didn't look focused on it.

"What is it?" Joe asked, looking into the woods where Jupiter ran.

"It's a gun," Leo explained blandly.

"I know that," Joe replied, frustrated.

Shane smirked; he looked proud of himself. "It's a-"

"M1911A2 pistol. Standard issue pistol in the United States Army," Hunter interrupted.

"...Until it was replaced by the Beretta M9," Shane finished quietly, kind of awkwardly.

"What's so bad about it?" Joe asked.

Hunter was silent for a moment, his eyes not focusing on anything. "Have you guys wondered why Jupiter doesn't live with her parents?" We all nodded. "That's because they were killed...by this same gun." His eyes teared up a bit.

"What?" Joe asked, a painful look in his eyes.

Hunter swallowed, "When she was five and I was seven, she went out exploring in the woods with her family and mine. And...and when we were on our way home...they were shot right in front of us...by humans." He paused for a moment. "That's why my parents never let us leave. Some of the guards back at home are armed with that pistol, and Jupiter always freaked out whenever she saw that gun."

"Oh my gosh," Joe said, somber, his tail drooping. He looked back at the gun, then into his case. "There's a note," he pointed out as he picked it up and read it out loud: "Dear Joe, I forgot to tell you I packed up this pistol for you. It has served me well, so I hope it will serve you well, too. I put a few magazines in your case as well. Enjoy!"

He looked back at the gun then towards the direction Jupiter went in. His ears flattened. "I don't want it," I heard him mutter.

"What?" Shane asked.

I heard a growl escape Joe, "I said I don't want it!" he exclaimed, chucking the gun across the forest along with the the extra magazines. "Not if it scares Jupiter." He quieted down.

"But it was your grandpa's special pistol," Hunter argued.

"I couldn't care less," Joe stated, "it scared Jupiter enough for her to run away, it's not worth it." He turned around and ran towards where Jupiter went.

Shane, Hunter, and I looked at each other. "Let's go find them," I said, ignoring the pain.

"Yes," Hunter agreed.

I looked to Leo and Jordan, "Set up tents," I ordered them, trying to use the least amount of words as I could.

"Okay," Leo replied.

After that, I ran to catch up with Hunter and Shane. I caught up with them shortly; they didn't go too far. Shane followed Joe's scent. After a few minutes, I started to hear talking. Shane, Hunter, and I quickened our paces until the voices grew near.

The first thing we saw was Jupiter clinging on to Joe with him hugging her back. She was crying on his shoulder.

"It's gone. I threw it away," he told Jupiter, rubbing her back, "and it's never coming back." She cried on his shoulder for a bit more before he started speaking again. "You're safe with me. I'm sorry that I scared you."

"You didn't scare me," Jupiter replied, her voice muffled since her face was buried in Joe's chest, "that gun did. You didn't know."

"But I do now, and it's gone. It's safe back at camp. You'll never have to see it again."

"Jupiter…" Hunter walked out into the small clearing Joe and Jupiter were at.

"Hunter!" she exclaimed and ran to him, hugging him tightly. "I'm sorry. I ruined our trip."

Hunter chuckled lightly, "You didn't ruin our trip. We've barely begun." He looked her in the eye, "There will be hardships on this trip, and you know it. This is just the beginning. We'll get through this together as a family."

"Yes," I said, coming out of the foliage, "if you're going to be part of this team, that means you're family."

Her eyes watered up as she let go of Hunter, "Thank you, all of you. You have no idea how much this means to me." Joe walked up to her and put a hand on her shoulder. She turned back to him, "And thank you for comforting me, Joe." She hugged him again.

"Anytime, Jupiter." Joe hugged back, "you are safe with us; I promise."

So a lot has happened this chapter: Luke led his full team for the first time, and you learn about Jupiter's past. I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter. I appreciate reviews, and I'm still open to any OCs. Just PM me. See you guys next time!