Intervene

(Wednesday Morning – Thursday Evening, July 24rd – 25th)

"How do wolves eat?" Lonnie runs behind Ace, "I mean, how much are you supposed to eat? And I read wolf wolves don't eat every day."

"It's healthier if you do," Ace counters.

"But how much, then?"

"Probably less than if you only eat every other day," he points out.

"But how much?" He speeds up, and she chases after him, "Is it just like a steak per meal or is it more like a deer a day?"

"Try an extra five hundred calories than recommended," he answers. "That's about three rabbits a day, if you're wondering."

"So, wolves don't have that different eating than humans," Lonnie heavily breathes.

"Would you quit talking and just run?" he complains.

"But you said it's just healthier to eat every day," she recalls. "So, are there wolves who don't, who will eat a ton or not as much?"

"Yeah."

"And what happens to them?" she questions

"They're not allowed to hunt."

"I'm serious," she exasperates.

"So am I." He stops at the beginning of the track, "I had a wolf who binge-ate, and now he's not allowed to hunt with us." He faces her, "What's with all the questions?"

Lonnie hesitates, "Mal's worried about Ben. He doesn't really seem to be eating."

Ace nods once, "That makes sense." before continuing with a walk.

She follows him, "What do you mean, that makes sense?"

"It explains why he's so bad at hunting," he thinks. "If he's too weak, he can't catch anything. He might even subconsciously not want to catch anything so that he can't eat."

"So, you know what this is?" she assumes.

"Uh. Yeah," Ace answers. "It's called an eating disorder."

She glances down, "You think it's that serious?"

"I think that Ben has a lot of problems," he comments. "If he does have an eating disorder, it really wouldn't matter."

"And if he's starving himself?" Lonnie disputes. "If he dies?"

"He's not even supposed to be alive," Ace slowly says, before he feels her silence, turns around, and raises his arms. "But it's okay. I'll just intervene. Again."

"Thank you."

He lets out a breath, "You better be. If my pack finds out I'm going against natural selection to save some creature that's not even supposed to exist— when my dad insists his throne is my birth right—I can forget about being alpha. I'd get kicked out of the community."

"They wouldn't do that," Lonnie unsurely replies.

He halts and sternly looks at her, "There's one rule my pack has that no one breaks, and that is not to mess with nature. Someone who is as sick as Ben is isn't meant to live and pass on their genes to the next generation."

"And you think it's okay to let someone die when you can help?"

"I think," he irritably answers, "that if people who are as ill as Ben manage to pass on their genes, then people will die out."

As Ace inspects the woods Thursday evening, he catches the scent and follows it. He hides behind the bushes, as he watches Ben manage to catch a rabbit; however, the rabbit kicks its big feet at him, and when it makes a blow to his face, he drops it. The rabbit scurries away, and Ben sits against the tree, hopeless. Ace hears a twig break. There's a deer nearby. He glances at Ben, before he turns back towards the noise.

After he leaps at the deer, Ace bites at its legs, until it stops squirming. He lays over it, as he howls. A minute passes, and he tries again. Any real wolf would come, but Ben's not a real wolf. He would make a poor excuse for any animal with no instinct to guide his survival. He can't hunt like a wolf, but he's still too much of a predator to camouflage with the human prey. He howls again, louder this time. This is it. If Ben doesn't come check out the howl, then that means he's not meant to be helped. He'll just have to drag the deer a mile or three to the trailer court, and his dad can be pleasantly surprised about his willingness to provide food to his future pack, a community of wolves who will look to him for strength and give their lives for his.

When Ace sees Ben, he looks up at him. He has a deep frown on his face, as he clutches a tree with wide eyes. He's afraid of him. Ace takes his paws off the deer and backs away. Ben eyes from the deer to him, and he howls his permission. Ben tests a step, and Ace lays down. He slowly makes his way to the deer, eyeing over at him every other step; however, the deer attempts to stand, and Ace jumps to nip at it again. The deer falls back down, Ace sees Ben had taken a step back, and he sits.

After a long minute, Ben steps forward and keeps his eyes on the wolf, as he kneels towards the deer. Ben looks down and wets his lips, "You know, I've never really gotten this far before." Ben feels his pockets, "I should have brought a knife. How am I supposed to do this?" Ace touches his snout to the deer's neck before looking back at him. Ben purses his lips, "Right." before he tilts his head. "I just use my teeth." He takes a deep breath, "Okay." before he shakes his head. "I can't." Ace growls at him, and Ben comments, "And what would you know? You probably had parents to teach you this. No one's teaching me." He stares at him, and Ben eyes down, "Right. You are." He sighs, "What do you suggest?" Ace opens his mouth over the deer's neck, before he shuts his jaw and faces him. "Just bite? That's your answer?" Ben looks down, "What if my teeth don't work, the skin is too rough, or the fur is too thick?" He growls again, and Ben sighs, "Fine. I'll try."

After Ben digs his teeth into the deer, Ace watches as the animal squirms and Ben bites harder. The deer kicks and then stills, and after a minute, he starts on the leg. Minutes later, Ben finishes the blood, leans back on the ground, and Ace tears at the ribcage. The meat is eaten, the bones are ripped out, and the muscle is revealed. He gets Ben's attention and nods to it. Ben furrows his brows at it, "Is that a heart?" before he looks at him. "No thanks. I'm good." Ace makes a noise, and Ben defends, "What? I'm full." He lays down, and Ben gives a look, "Seriously? You're just going to sit there, until I eat it?" Ace crosses his paws, and Ben shakes his head. "Well, you're going to be here for a while, because there's no way I'm eating a heart."