Hey guys! Finally a new chapter, huh? I have a few things to say. First, TheAlmightyFireHawk has finished another piece of fan art for this story. It's the Reds' animals and it is here: thealmightyfirehawk. deviantart art/Red-Team-Animals-543228619?ga_submit_new=10%253A1435711301 Just remove the spaces. Next, is to I'm sorry it took me so long to reply, I just kept forgetting to post something here and I can't message you. I am currently not planning on doing this from a Blood Gulch perspective, although I was going to do some random little stories in Animal Bonds Side Stories, including how they met their partners and how they bonded. You are welcome to do your own version of that and I look forward to reading it! Last is that I think I would like to get to know my readers better. I honestly thought no one would read this story, and look how far we've gotten. I am seriously touched that you guys would read this and I think it would be cool if I learned a bit about you. So, I'm going to try to remember to ask a question on every new chapter. This one is simple: do you have any pets, or do you want pets? I'll go ahead and answer: I have three wonderful dogs, a lizard, and a fish. So, way too long of an authors note, onto the story!
Wash could feel it. Fira was about to go insane if Tucker's foot jabbed her side again, or Caboose asked something dumb. He had been trying to send calming thoughts to her, but those could only do so much. Carolina and Timber, on the other hand, seemed oblivious to her discomfort. Normally, Fira was able to wait another half hour, but they had had to get an early start because Grif failed to watch Caboose and their camp site caught fire. When they were a half hour away, Wash usually let Fira go to hunt their meal and to let her run off some energy.
He sighed internally as Fira snarled at Tucker when he moved and ignored the ensuing argument between the feline and the soldier. "How much longer until you want to stop for camp?" He asked Carolina. Wash had let her and Timber know everything that had happened since she disappeared and after getting the whole story- twice- she and Timber had mostly kept to themselves, obsessing over tactics instead of setting up camp, ignoring food unless it was brought to them. They barely talked, and really only when Wash directly addressed them. Carolina was close to commanding the reds and blues to never speaking near her and Wash could only convince her not to by pointing out that they would show their displeasure in other ways, never mind ignoring her.
She looked at the sun as it neared the horizon. "Little over an hour."
Wash sighed internally. Fira wouldn't last that long.
*All right, Fira, go on. Stay close until I give the okay.* He told her, but broadcasted it to everyone.
He hadn't even finished saying "Fira" when the jaguar pushed off the ground, and Tucker's leg, judging from the cursing, and was out of the seat and onto the ground.
Wash sighed, this time out loud. One problem temporarily gone. He ignored Tucker's squawking and focused on the road.
Fira would have purred as her paws slammed on the ground if she didn't hate the way it felt while moving. She went smoothly from the landing into a run as she ran a few yards away from the moving car, watching the road for holes. The first time she did this, she ended up twisting her ankle and had to sit in the car. She would never forget the burning shame as the wolf's eyes bored into her contemptuously.
She could have snarled at the thought of the wolf. She tried to be understanding, really, she did. His partner was dead and it seemed his only desire in life was to kill the man that caused it to happen. She knew she would feel the same way, but she couldn't help but not like him. The condescending looks, if any of them were acknowledged at all. Wash wasn't much help either. His joy at seeing his former boss had died and he followed her orders as soon as she issued them.
Fira didn't like the way she had just dropped in and taken command, and she knew the Reds and Blues didn't either. They only went along with this because of Wash, and their animals because their partners did. In any case, Wash hardly questioned her orders, but Fira had to admit that they were hardly questionable. Camp here, start at this time, shut the hell up. Even so, Fira always looked at them cynically. She couldn't help it; she just didn't like the woman. Then again, they hadn't had the best experience with former Freelancers. According to Wash, all the good ones were either dead, or Carolina. Then again, only a few Freelancers remained.
Fira sighed and leapt neatly over a hole in the ground. Wash, at least, was leaving her to her own thoughts. He knew how she felt, and it wasn't like he pulled away from her. No, he was letting her sort things out for herself.
By the time Wash gave her the okay to go hunt for their dinner, Fira was tired. She had never run this long this fast and she was glad for the excuse to crouch and not be running. Fira veered right, slowing down and into the forest they had been driving alongside. It wasn't the fastest route to Command, but it provided better hiding then the main road did, as well as water and food.
Fira entered at a walk and she let her head fall, then all the way down until she was stalking along the ground. Her nostrils flared as she picked up scents. There was rabbit, pheasant, and…she sniffed again. Deer! Fira sheathed the claws that had extended in excitement and forced herself to calm down. The last time she had deer was when they were hunting down the Blues with the Meta so long ago. The scent went away from where they would have made camp, but deer!
She followed it slowly, moving on her toes only, not wanting to scare the animals away. Eventually, Fira came to a small clearing, not tall enough for a man to stand in. There in front of her were two deer, a male and a female. Fira resisted the urge to lick her chops and she slowly slunk closer, trying to figure out how to get both of them.
The female lay down and the male seemed about to when Fira saw something glinting on the other side of the glade. Her eyes widened fractionally as out burst a mountain lion. The big animal crashed down on the male and Fira and the doe leapt forward at the same time, while the other cat and the buck went down. Fira took one huge stride and then a leap before going down with her own prey. A swift bite to the neck finished the doe and she whirled, to see the cougar creeping towards her, blood dripping from his mouth.
Fira snarled and lowered her head. The cougar pounced forward and she darted beneath it. Fira kept going and bounced off a tree, using that momentum to land herself on top of the cougar. The tawny animal beneath her roared and thrashed, but Fira gripped with her claws and it down savagely on his head.
Fira leapt off her final kill and looked around. How was she supposed to get all this back to camp? Sometimes Wash would send Lovebird to accompany her, but they were nearing out of gas and usually Tucker and Grif walked to get more, with Lovebird covering them in the air and Adama hiding in Grif's chest compartment.
Fira purred at the memory of Sarge ordering Grif to go with Tucker to get gas. Only the prospect of a slurpee machine got the man to do it. That, and Wash owed him a favor.
Fira shook her head. She had to try. *Lovebird!* She called, looking up. Fira sighed. There were trees. How did she forget that. Looking regretfully at the meat, she leapt at a tree and scrambled up. Finally reaching a sturdy branch that she could see above the tree tops, she looked around and called again. Rising out of the forest was a red bird. Fira looked closer. A multi-colored but primarily red. *Scales?*
The bird squawked and almost fell out the sky, but turned and flew towards her. "Kitty!" He proclaimed.
Fira sighed. *Can you get Wash? Tell him I have too big of a catch to bring myself. Understand?*
"Agent Washingtub." The parrot confirmed as he flew away.
Fira sighed and scrambled back down the tree. She supposed the name was better than Church.
A scrawny fox had found her catches and she snarled, chasing him away. The animal was too bony to be any good as food, and Fira pulled the doe closer to the other two, as they had died near each other.
She stared after the fox, sitting down by the dead animals and listening. He really wouldn't take much to feed himself with.
Fira sighed and set about tearing a hunk out of the buck's thigh. No one had to know, and besides, they had plenty of food. Coughing softly, she called out to him and set the food down in front of the bush he had disappeared behind. There was no response.
Fira sat back down and began licking a paw, cleaning the blood and dirt off it. At least that had taken a couple minutes.
Sometime later, she heard Wash call for her. *Fira?*
Fira rose to her feet and called back. *Here, this way.* She replied, knowing he could find her. He had good experience with Noca, who had been skilled working with a connection.
Scales flew in first, with Wash behind him. The bird landed on a nearby branch and squawked proudly.
Wash looked around and rubbed Fira's head proudly. "Nice job!" He told her. She purred beneath his hand, then grabbed the buck as he grabbed the doe. "Scales, keep animals away from the cougar." He ordered. The parrot didn't reply, but Wash didn't seem concerned. "The jeep is just this way."
He led the way out of the forest and onto the road they had driven on what seemed like a long time ago. Sure enough, the jeep waited there and Fira bounded in, dragging the buck after her. She could feel Wash roll his eyes. *Show off.* He hefted the doe in the back seat on top of the buck and the two went back for the cat. Scales was in the same spot and Fira grabbed the back of the cat while Wash took the head. Scales took off as they were leaving, and Fira looked back at the spot where she had left the piece of deer. It was gone, and if she listened carefully, she could hear faint but fast eating noises.
Wash tugged on the mountain lion and she followed him back to the jeep where they put the big cat on top of the deer. Wash climbed into the driver's seat and Fira leapt in the passenger side. She looked up to see Scales circling lazily above them and Wash started the engine, driving towards camp quickly.
Wash watched the meat roasting over the fire as Simmons tended to it. Even Carolina and Timber had seemed impressed when they got back, and Carolina even rewarded Fira with a "good job" that made the jaguar purr loudly. Fira was taking a well-earned rest by the side of the fire. Wash could feel her pleasure at the heat that radiated from it. Scales was resting not too far away, perched on a tree branch with his eyes closed. Tucker, Grif, Lovebird, and Adama had returned a few minutes before and the falcon was resting on a branch a few feet above Scales. Adama was crawling over Grif's armor, and Wash could faintly hear their broadcasted conversation as the lizard fussed over the dirt stains on the orange armor. Grif and Tucker were sitting next to each other, trying to figure out who wanted a beer more. A few yards from there were Sarge and Caboose. The old army vet was trying to get Caboose to reveal what the "dirty Blues" were up to. Caboose was avoiding his questions without knowing he was doing so. Ava and Diego were wrestling, the two obviously glad to be out of the jeep and enjoying their games. Last, Carolina and Timber were across the fire pit from everyone else. They were talking privately, which Wash knew by the way Carolina would point to a spot on their map, and Timber would shake his head or point somewhere else.
Wash sighed. He noticed how he sat awkwardly between the two groups. He was a Blue now, and he kept reminding himself. Yet, he couldn't just let go of his Freelancer past, as much as he might want to. Deep down, he knew he wanted to get revenge on the Director. The man had ruined his life. He wished Noca was here, to do this with him, but at the same time he knew the docile jaguar would not approve. She wasn't big on the idea of revenge, and would have tried to talk him out of it. Fira was just unsure. Wash could feel it, and how she avoided thinking about it.
He looked over at the Reds and Blues again. Though they seemed at ease, he knew they didn't particularly like being on the road again, and was only thankful when Tucker pointed out that if they resisted, Carolina was likely to shoot them. There was something about fighting alongside them that was just… Wash didn't know. All the same, he felt bad for dragging them along with him, Fira included.
Hands waving in front of his face snapped him out of his thoughts, and he looked up to see Simmons staring at him. "Hey man, are you all right?"
Wash nodded. "Fine. What's up?"
"The meat is done." Simmons replied, gesturing to the pieces of venison and cougar that rested on sticks hung between branches.
"Good." Wash replied as he stood up and pulled a knife from his shin where it rested in its sheath. He wiped it off with a cloth, then began to carve into the meat. A quiet padding of feet made him look down to see Fira staring at the meat with rapture, pink tongue darting out eagerly. Wash shook his head and pulled pieces off. "Food." He announced.
Grif was fast, when the cry of "food" went up and he was the first one there. Wash handed him a piece, and nodded at Grif's "thanks man". He gave the next piece to Sarge, then, finally, tossed one in the air by Fira. The jaguar leapt up and grabbed it. She purred at Wash around the large piece of venison in her mouth and trotted away to enjoy it.
Wash finished up giving the Reds and Blues their food before he grabbed two more pieces and walked them over to Carolina and Timber. He handed Carolina her piece and she finally pulled her helmet off, long red hair falling down her back despite the tight ponytail. Wash handed Timber his piece and the wolf took it, nodding and projecting his thanks.
"I think we need to go this way and break away from the forest here. Fira will need to get extra meat starting tomorrow." Carolina outlined their route on her map.
Wash held back a sigh. "Carolina, we've gone over this plan every night. This is the best way." He knew she was antsy about getting to the Director and that she just couldn't not plan.
Carolina glared at him. She didn't speak, but Wash stepped back, averting his eyes.
"Go tell Fira." She ordered after a tense moment.
Wash snapped to attention. "Yes ma'am." He replied and turned to the jaguar who was stretched out by the fire. Her eyes were open and Wash could feel her anger towards his boss.
*Easy there.* Wash told her, kneeling next to the large tawny mass. Fira sat up and watched him with concerned eyes. After a moment, Fira's anger sapped away and Wash stood up. He grabbed the remainder of the venison, which was mostly bone, and looked back at Fira. Sure enough, she was sitting straight, eyes locked onto the meat. Wash could still feel her unhappiness, but she was more focused on the bone. He stretched out his arm and Fira took the other end of the bone. Wash let go and the jaguar took the weight easily. She looked at him and he waved his hand. She seemed to be about to go back to her spot, then Wash felt her think more of that and she turned to face Ava and Diego.
Ever since they had begun to travel with Carolina, the Red animals had been ignoring Fira. Fira so far hadn't made any attempt to fix the situation, and Wash felt partially to blame for that. After all, the Reds weren't too pleased with him either, but he didn't do anything to make amends. For that matter, Caboose and Tucker weren't all that happy either. Well, Tucker. Caboose didn't seem to care. Or maybe he didn't understand. Or, as Tucker put it, he didn't care that he didn't understand. That was probably right.
Either way, the two birds didn't seem to have any problem with Fira, and Wash was beginning to wonder if the cat was a better diplomat than the human. Then again, the Reds weren't ignoring him.
Wash shrugged it off as he leaned against a tree trunk to watch. Fira stepped towards Ava and Diego, who were watching her without moving. Cautiously, the big jaguar walked forward until she was only a few feet away from the other two. Slowly, Ava's lips drew back and her nose wrinkled. The bobcat didn't follow suit, but he was very tense and Wash knew if there was a fight, he would side with Ava. Of course he would.
Vaguely, he was aware of the others watching the exchange as well. To his surprise, the two birds flew closer to land on a branch just behind and above Fira. The only sound was the crackle of the fire and Adama's nervous claws scraping against Grif's armor.
Wash felt tense himself and he carefully loosened his and Fira's connection. If they did fight, he didn't want himself mad at the Reds. Fira stepped forwards, her muscles taut but her fur wasn't up and her teeth weren't showing. Never taking her eyes off Ava and Diego, Fira set the bone down in front of them and backed up a few steps to sit down.
Ava stepped forward slowly and pulled the meat towards her and Diego. The two began to gnaw. Somehow, though, the three animals never dropped eye contact.
The others began to relax and Scales flew back towards Caboose to land on his shoulder, though Lovebird remained by Fira. The sim troops resumed their conversation and Wash assumed Carolina and Timber went back to whatever it was they did. Wash found it hard to believe they looked at the map every single night, or talked tactics for never ending hours.
Wash himself began to lose himself in thought when Ava moved forward. He refocused himself as the dog dropped the remainder of the bone between herself and Fira. Fira watched without getting up until Ava nudged the bone closer. She rose to her feet and stepped forward. She lowered her head towards the bone but didn't take it.
Diego, apparently, was fed up with their caution. He darted in, grabbed the bone, and dashed away. He spun around a few yards away and his body dropped, the bone hanging from his mouth tauntingly. Ava sprinted after him. Wash could feel Fira's desire to join, but the jaguar stood still. Finally, Diego ran straight into Fira, pushing past her. Fira shot after him, her much longer legs bringing her close quickly.
Diego darted to the side, avoiding Fira at seemingly the last moment and the jaguar slid into a patch of mud. Wash sighed as she shook it off and joined the chase.
Finally, Diego grew tired of the game and he dropped the bone, flopping down next to it. Ava took part of it in her mouth and gnawed contently. Fira laid down with them and took the other end, her powerful jaws breaking a piece off in one bite and she chewed that.
Wash shook his head. Just like that, they were friends again. If only human relationships were that simple.
*They could be.* Fira told him teasingly. *You all just make it complicated with emotions.*
Wash rolled his eyes at her. *Like you never have emotion.*
She snorted at him. *I resent your true statement.*
*Just make sure you clean yourself off if you plan on sleeping anywhere near any of us.* He told her, trying to hide his smugness with a tone of command.
Fira, of course, saw right past it. *Of course, your high and mightly cleanliness.* She replied, letting her mind drift away in favor of chewing on the bone.
Wash shook his head. *Felines.*