I said I would stop talking about gaps between updates, so I won't. Just...it's been a bit. XD

But while I'm working on a certain project that is also not a very well-kept secret, it's about time you guys got some more BtBW content, even if not an actual update to the main story. Just a little something to whet your collective whistles again, starring two characters who have just recently become relevant again. (Well, "recently" in a certain manner of speaking, but again, not going into that.)

Drabble 2: In Dire Straits - Part 1

Dire Family Residence

8: 52 PM

The Rainforest District was flooded with the largest full moon that the city had seen in years. It was so bright that even mammals not of the night could easily see. But in the backyard of a small trailer, at the foot of a freshly dug grave, one wolf's sight was blurred with tears.

Junior's masculinity forced him to struggle against the tears, but it was no use. He couldn't help but whimper and cry like a pup who had lost his mother. Which, in a sense, he was.

His older brother had clearly been working out his grief in different ways. The head of the shovel used to dig the grave was visibly dented from the force enacted on it while a nearby tree had a divot in its wood that looked suspiciously like a fist. Felix Senior had used a black-on-yellow road sign of a howling wolf to mark the grave, and while the brothers did not own a stake driver, the sign had been thrust almost halfway up its post into the hard dirt.

He opened his mouth, but struggled to speak. "Hi, Momma…uh…" What did you even say to someone in a grave? It wasn't like he hadn't been to wolf funerals before. The Lang Family was uncontested in the Rainforest District, so they didn't lose mammals often, but it did happen. Junior loved his brothers and sisters, but this was different; this was his momma. The one who had rescued the Dire brothers from that house of horrors they had lived in for most of their puphood. The mother who had raised them like they were her own, giving them a massive new family.

Growling in frustration, he punched the ground. He winced, cradling bruised knuckles. Just then, a memory sparked in the back of his mind. The night he had first met Lady Lang, his paw had been injured.

Sighing through his nose, he gave up on speech for the moment, letting memories take his thoughts away.

Old Dire Residence

9: 13 PM

The force of the fist in his jaw carried the small wolf pup across the room, slamming into the wall and leaving a wolf-shaped divot in it.

Junior cowered down, holding his paws up to cover his face. The much larger wolf grabbed his right paw and bent it backwards, making him scream. His father's breath stank of alcohol. Ironically, he wore a wifebeater, though the little five-year-old had never seen his mother hit. In fact, she beat her pups just as much as her husband did.

"Think you can do that to me, you little punk?" The father Dire hissed in his son's face. "Think you can embarrass me in front of my friends!?" He shook the pup violently by his arm and a slight crack could be heard as something broke.

"I'm sooooooorrrrrryyyyyy!" Junior wailed. "I didn't mean to spill it! I-I just thought you might want lemonade…" He had honestly been trying to make his father happy so that something like this might not happen tonight, but had slipped on a puddle of spilled vodka, spilling the drinks all over his father in the middle of a poker game. He knew no one was coming to help him. Everyone knew what his father did. They were still in the other room, laughing and talking.

Suddenly, the pressure was lifted from his arm as his father was knocked off of him. His older brother rubbed his own sore knuckles. Despite being only eleven, Felix was only a foot or two shorter than their father. He was malnourished, but still quite bulky with muscle.

Felix was on his father before he could rise again. "Don't! Hurt! My! Brother!" Every word brought another fall of his fist. This had happened too many times and Felix had very obviously snapped. Junior had never seen him so angry. His eyes were narrowed, his lips drawn back to bare his fangs. His shoulders were tense as fist after fist slammed into their father's face.

"Felix Dire Senior! Stop that this instant!"

Junior's heart filled with dread as their mother yelled. For a brief moment, he had hoped that Felix could win this fight, but there was no way he could fight off both of them.

The skinny wolfette rushed across the room to pull her furious pup off his sire. Her ribs were clearly visible and Junior could practically see the drugs running through the veins on her bloodshot eyes. Felix cast a pleading look at Junior. 'Run.'

Junior ran. He went to the living room closet. It was small, but the door was sturdy and would keep them out until they decided he wasn't worth chasing. As he locked the door behind him, all he could do was whimper, cradling his broken paw and listening to the sounds of violence outside his small shelter.

"You little bastard! Gonna disrespect me like that! I'll…!"

Knock knock knock!

"Oh, for the love of…" There was the sound of the door being flung open, ending with the bang of the doorknob hitting the wall. "We don't want to buy any-! Oh! Uh...Lady Lang! What are you doing here?"

"Frederich. Ariana," a polite, feminine voice greeted. "I'm here to collect payment. You're well overdue."

"Eh, you know you can just call me Fred, right, Miss Lang? A-And you didn't have to come here personally to collect. I coulda sent the money over the phone."

"Oh no, my dear Frederich. You misunderstand. You see, I don't take kindly to being stolen from and a little birdy told me that someone has been running a side operation on my territory. You've been stealing parts from the shops and selling them for your own gain. On top of that, you have been attempting to stir dissent against me in the pack. Frederich, you did not honestly believe that no word of this would reach my ears? You betrayed me, and the rest of the pack is very unhappy. I have to make an example of both of-" The voice stopped suddenly. "...I was not aware you had pups." Her tone seemed to be casual interest, but Junior could sense an undercurrent of something else. Something like his parents when they got really really mad.

"Y-yeah! We do!" Their mother spoke up quickly. "We just did it to make extra money for them!"

"Oh really?" Lady Lang asked coldly. "And I suppose that the little one in the tattered clothes, bleeding on the floor, is prime evidence of this?"

"Him? Oh, he fell. Isn't that right, Felix?" Junior could picture his mother's forced grin at this. He trembled like a leaf about to fall from a tree, just trying as hard as he could to not let out a single noise.

There was a silence. It seemed like minutes to the terrified pup, but in reality, was just a few seconds.

"Is that true, Felix?" Lady Lang asked softly, gently. "I am your alpha. I can guarantee you that no harm will come to you."

There was a silence. Junior's heart was pounding in his chest. The alpha is in our house! This was bad! This was really bad! In school, they said that in the old days, wolves would be punished for disrespecting someone higher up than them in the pack. If she found out that they had disrespected their parents, who knew what she would do?

Bang! Bang! Thud. Thud. Felix screamed.

Junior tensed. His breathing became shaky. Even one so young knew the sound of a gunshot. She...she must have shot Felix…

"Are you alright, little one? What's your name?" Lady Lang asked.

Junior's breath caught in his throat. She knew he was here. She must have smelled him. He tried to move, but his muscles were locked in terror. He couldn't move.

"I...you...shot them…"

Junior's heart skipped a beat. That was Felix! He was alive!

Slowly, he opened the door, just a crack. A small amount of light came into the dark closet.

Lady Lang stood over Felix, who looked up at her with what seemed like speechless awe. He could not see his parents. The older wolf wore a dark gray business suit with a periwinkle shirt, moon-shaped earrings, and high heels.

"Yes, I did. I had to. Scum such as them have no place in the pack."

Someone out of Junior's view coughed awkwardly. "Uh...we're just gonna…"

"You stood by and watched as our pups, the future of our pack, were tortured and abused." Lady Lang said with an almost unnatural calm, not even looking back at their father's poker buddies. Without turning, she lifted her gun and fired four more shots before it clicked on empty.

A voice trembled and stuttered, trying to find speech. "Ou-wha-huh-I...I'm alive! You're out of ammo!"

Lady Lang strolled calmly out of Junior's view. Crack!

Junior saw his brother wince and knew that the final wolf had just met a very nasty end.

Lady Lang stepped over to the still prone Felix, whose instincts finally made him scramble back until he hit the wall.

"Shhh, darling… it's okay." Junior watched as the pack mother knelt in front of Felix. Her voice was soft, like before, but… a different kind of soft. Junior didn't realize that he was leaning forward curiously...until the old closet door let out a loud creeeeeeeak!

Lady Lang's ears pricked. She whipped around towards the noise. Junior yelped in surprise, scrambling back into the darkness of the closet. He heard her footsteps drawing near to his hiding place. The door creaked open again as the female wolf knelt down in front of him. He could see that she was quite pretty, with steely blue eyes and light white fur. She had a comforting smile on her face. "Come now, little one. Don't be afraid." She reached out a paw to him, causing him to flinch away, covering his face with his paws.

"I-I think it's okay, Junior!" Felix called out. "I think she's safe."

Lady Lang did not speak. She simply sat there with that same smile, waiting patiently for Junior to come forward. Slowly, but surely, he did. He took her paw, and she gently helped him to his feet. She did not, however, bring him out of his hiding place. "Wait just a moment. It's…a bit of a mess out there. A pup should not have to see something like this." Her face morphed into a sad frown as she looked over towards Felix, who did not make an audible reply, just moving to brush past her and hug Junior. He gently scratched between his brother's ears in an attempt to calm his fear. "You aren't quite reacting the way most would," Lady Lang remarked.

He shrugged. "I can't say I'm sad," he replied simply. "Plus, you saved us. Why would I be afraid?"

Lang paused. "Just…normally someone so young would have a stronger reaction to…well…"

He gave her a flat look, still cradling Junior's head and guarding his gaze. "I've seen worse around them."

Normally, Junior would have objected to being held like this, but…he really didn't want to see what was out there.

She tapped a few times on her phone, then put it to her ear. "Morty? I'm going to have to order dinner for seven. With takeout for three." Junior's ears pricked. Was she ordering from Burger alpha? He wasn't very hungry and he didn't think now was the best time anyway. A weird memory stirred in his head, some wolf yelling something in the street before he got arrested. What was it? "Burger alpha is mammals?" Junior couldn't remember exactly what it was. He shook his head, clearing the odd thought.

Lady Lang sat with them in the closet while they waited. No one really said anything for a little while, until she broke the silence. "So…what is your real name, Junior?"

Junior flinched. "Um…Felix…"

Lang nodded, turning to Felix for an answer.

"He wasn't talking to me," Felix deadpanned. "We're both Felix. He's Felix Junior."

The alpha wolf had been stunned before. Now she just seemed like she was at a loss for words. "But…why?"

Felix shrugged. "Ask them." He jerked his head out towards the living room.

"You are one dark child, aren't you?"

Felix shrugged.

"And you shrug a lot."

Felix shrugged.

"Feelie's bad at talking to girls," Junior murmured quietly.

Felix cast him a disapproving look. "Hush, you." He noogied Junior a bit, causing him to squirm and give a tiny smile.

Lady Lang grinned. "Feelie, huh?"

Felix rolled his eyes. "You hush too."

Junior gasped. "Feelie! Be nice to the alpha!"

To his surprise, Lady Lang burst into a loud, cackling laugh. "I think I like you, Felix."

"Which one?" they asked.

"Both of you."

9: 36 PM

After a little while, Junior heard a car pull up outside. "One moment," said Lady Lang, rising to her feet. "I'll be right back."

She closed the door behind her as she left. Junior whimpered a bit as the closet went dark.

"Good evening, Morty."

"Evenin' Miss La- Aww heck! What the-!?" A male voice stammered and swore outside.

"Hush. There are two pups in the closet."

"What happened here?! Dinner for seven?! Do you have any idea how hard this is gonna be to serve?!"

"I have some idea. Recall that I did your job before you."

"Shit, what the hell did they do!?"

"Child abuse."

"Ah, shit…"

"My sentiments exactly. Now get to work. And my takeout?"

"Sitting outside. Here's the keys and the cover."

"Cover?" Felix whispered, seemingly to himself.

After a few minutes, Lady Lang opened the door. Her suit, shoes, and earrings had vanished. She now wore an indigo shirt under a black vest, with blue denim jeans. On her chest was a gold badge. "You're a cop?" Felix asked incredulously.

Lady Lang winked. "Nope. But no one else has to know that. Come on, our ride is outside."

They followed her outside. Surprisingly, there was no one there. Their parents and the poker buddies had vanished, leaving nary a trace. Junior really didn't want to think about what had happened to them. He was just glad to be alive.

Outside their trailer was a black and white motorcycle with two sidecars. "Hop on in, little ones." Lady Lang offered.

9: 40 PM

The trio sped down the dirt back roads of the understory. It was after dark and the light of the full moon filtered gently through the trees around them. Felix snoozed fitfully in one of the sidecars, seemingly unable to keep his eyes open after the stress of the evening. Junior sat on his knees in the other one, hanging his head over the side and letting his tongue flap in the wind.

Lady Lang stifled a laugh as she tried to keep her eyes on the road. "Careful, Junior. Don't want to bump your head on something."

"Awwwww…" Disappointed, Junior plopped back onto his rear, giving a childish pout.

"Be nice to Miss Lang, Junior." Felix muttered, despite never having opened his eyes. Junior responded by sticking his tongue out at him now.

Felix finally looked at Lady Lang. "So what happens to us now? Our parents are... gone, and we don't exactly have anywhere else to go. Where are we going to stay?"

"With me, of course," Lady Lang answered with zero hesitation. "I consider all members of the pack my children. That includes both of you two. I have a couple of spare rooms at my home. You can have them."

"You've been a better momma in the past hour than they ever were!" Junior piped up to assure her. His tail was wagging a million miles an hour. Not only were they escaping their bad parents, they were being taken in by the alpha herself! This was the absolute best thing that could happen in his life!

Felix gave her an odd look. He didn't look as trusting as Junior was, but his shoulders sagged and his muzzle dipped submissively. "Yes, ma'am."

Lady Lang ruffled his headfur with one paw, somehow managing to steer the motorcycle with only the other one; a feat Junior found AWESOME! "Don't worry, Felix. I understand if you don't trust me fully at first. You didn't have a choice but to trust me when I came in, and I can understand being cautious after what you've been through. But I promise that I will do my best to be far better a parent than them."

Felix hesitated, but gave a satisfied nod. It wasn't like things could get any worse, after all. Junior knew his brother wouldn't let anything bad happen to them.

The trio sped down the moonlit road as the city lights began to blink out.

The Suckier Present

8: 53 PM

Junior slowly came back to the present, finding himself on his knees, forehead pressed into the dirt. His crying had long since stopped. He simply had no more tears in him to cry.

He slowly pushed himself to his feet, his numb legs creaking in protest. He didn't really feel anything anymore. He felt… tired. He felt helpless. It was hard knowing his brother was once again in the line of fire while he was crouched in the backyard, sobbing like it was the end of the world. It might as well have been. He had no idea what to do next.

…

Scratch that. He had a pretty good idea on what to do next.

Junior shambled slowly back inside, stopping at the fridge to pull out an old bottle of wine. He had bought it for his momma, intending to give it to her as a birthday present. She collected old wine and this was a pretty rare one, supposedly quite valuable.

Hopefully, that meant it was also really good for getting piss stinkin' drunk.

Good evening, everyone!

HAHA! YOU THOUGHT IT WAS BERSERKER88 WRITING THIS, BUT IT WAS ME! DIO! I MEAN MIND JACK!

Bah. Curses. My lovely surprise author's note, ruined by anime yet again.

Anyway, yuppers. I finally wrote an actual chapter! I had a reason for vanishing this time! (As for why this took so long… *Cough* Laziness *Cough* Also writing other stuff too.)

This is the first of two Drabbles featuring the Dire Bros. I don't know if that's the Drabble that will be appearing next. Gotta talk that over with Berky first. (Berky: It's not.)

Alrighty. I think that's all I've got to say. So, for now, (It feels so good saying this again.)

Until we meet again…

Mind Jack, OUT!