Chapter 5 Pins and Needles
Disclaimer: I don't own Yugioh
The next morning Yami was abruptly awoken by Atem harshly shaking her. "Huh, wha?" Yami muttered as she groggily tried to regain her bearings.
"Time to wake up. Just because you are injured does not mean I am going to let you lounge about in here all day. You are still a member of this pack and you will be a contributing member of this pack. Now, I'm going to carry you into the clearing were you are going to assist some of our other pack members with their work. I'm not saying where I put you today will be your permanent job because it will more than likely not be. But you will contribute. One of the most important aspects of belonging to this pack is that we all take care of one another." Atem declared before he crouched down with his back turned to her.
"Climb on." Atem ordered.
Yami sighed before she wrapped her arms around Atem's powerful shoulders and he easily lifted her up from the pile of pelts. She awkwardly wrapped her legs around his waist to steady herself. Atem didn't comment as he straightened and carried her out into the clearing. The sun had already risen and several wolves and humans alike were out of their dens.
Atem headed over to a group of women who were in their human forms that looked like they were doing some sewing. Once Atem reached them he somewhat roughly dropped Yami onto the ground beside them.
"Everyone, this is Yami. Our newest pack member. She'll be helping you with the sewing today." Atem declared before he turned to walk away.
"Atem! Atem, wait!" Yami shouted.
Atem paused briefly his entire posture rigid. "My title, Yami you will do well to remember, is Alpha. Do not address me so casually again. You are an ordinary bitch in this pack and you will be treated as such. Now, what is it that you wanted? Ask me quickly because I have other things I need to be doing." Atem practically growled.
Yami frowned before she awkwardly rose to her feet. Despite the bindings her ankle throbbed harshly, "Don't call me a bitch!" Yami shouted. And with Yami's shout it was like all sound ceased in the clearing as the pack as a whole held their collective breath, waiting for Atem's response.
Atem slowly turned to face Yami who starred defiantly back at him. Yami had no idea what had come over her but something inside her had just snapped. Too bad for Atem she had decided to take it out on him. "What did you just say to me?" Atem growled, his tone dark. Dangerous.
"I told you not to call me a bitch Atem! You want me to respect you as an Alpha than you have to…" Yami shouted, although whatever Atem was going to have to do would remain unsaid because much faster than Yami had anticipated Atem had closed the distance between them and struck out, knocking Yami into the dirt.
Yami attempted to try and scramble back to her feet however Atem planted a foot on her chest to hold her on the ground. "To be perfectly clear I can address you however I so chose Yami. Like it or not when Duke bit you, you became a bitch. One of my bitches. And you will respect my authority as your Alpha! I don't have earn that respect because as Alpha I already have it. You disrespect me like this again and you will earn a lot more than a mere smack. Am I clear?" Atem growled.
For a moment Yami said nothing other than bared her teeth up at the man standing over her. Atem applied a little bit more weight onto the foot resting on her chest, "Am I clear?" Atem repeated.
"Clear!" Yami snapped, her eyes blazing as she starred back up at Atem.
Atem nodded before he removed his foot and once more turned to walk away, acting like nothing had even happened. Yami sat back up before calling after him again, "Alpha!"
Atem paused once more, "What bitch?" Atem snapped, and Yami could clearly hear his impatience in his tone.
"I don't know how to sew." Yami called out. Behind her Yami could hear the women he had deposited her with sniggering.
Atem began to walk away once more snapping, "Learn." Over his shoulder as he strode away. Yami continued to glare after the retreating Alpha, watching as he effortless shifted before he ran out of clearing, off to do whatever Atem did to occupy his days.
Yami sighed once Atem had disappeared from sight before she turned her attention back onto the three women Atem had deposited her with, two of which were still laughing while a third was trying not to. "My my my. My brother certainly has his paws full with you, now doesn't he?"
Yami glanced up at the tanned brunet with bright green eyes, the only woman who currently wasn't laughing. The amused look she was giving Yami seemed tinged with something else? It's almost like she's appraising me. Yami thought to herself. "Your brother? Do you mean your actual brother or like your pack-mate, brother?" Yami asked.
The brunet smirked, "Alpha is actually my brother. We were both part of the late Alpha's litter. But even so, I would still never speak to him the way you just did. My name is Mana, by the way." Mana replied, extending her hand slightly for Yami to shake. Yami reached out and shook Mana's hand.
"Does it really matter how I spoke to him? He was being a jerk and he knew it." Yami muttered darkly.
Mana chuckled, "No, he was being an Alpha. It's just a part of who he is. He can be a very powerful personality. He has his tender moments, but they're rare. The Alpha is literally the backbone of our entire pack. Every single wolf here relies on him to provide for us and protect us. And that is a duty that he takes very seriously." Mana replied.
"Now, now Mana you and I both know that there is a lot more going on than the Alpha asserting his authority and our little pack mate fighting back. I must admit I was rather surprised all he did was pin our newest pack mate to the ground with his foot." A woman with fair skin and waist length long platinum blonde hair replied once she stopped snickering.
"Huh?" Yami replied, frowning slightly at the vague statement.
Mana just rolled her eyes, "Kisara leave my brother be. What he does, when he does it, and how is not really anyone else's business but his own." Mana replied.
"Hold on what do you mean there was more going on? I just didn't want Atem-I mean Alpha, calling me a bitch." Yami said suddenly. For some reason that made all three woman burst out laughing once more. Yami hated feeling like she was being left out of the joke.
Mana was the first to wind down her laughter, "Of course you didn't want him to address you as such. Now, where are our manners? Let me introduce you to the other ladies here. The blonde with the sense of humor beside me is Kisara, she is the mate to our pack Beta. We also have Serenity here to help. Serenity is Mako our 'master fishermans' mate.. I believe you met her brother yesterday. Joey, and his mate Anzu. And then there's of course me. I'm Mana, I don't think you've met my mate Malik yet." Mana introduced.
Yami nodded, "Nice to me you all, I guess. I honestly have no idea why he dropped me here. I've never sewn a day in my life." Yami said.
Mana shrugged, "No doubt Alpha brought you to us for two reasons. First reason is that sewing is a relatively simple task that you can learn to do to provide for the pack. Some of our pack prefer to spend their time in their human forms, they therefore require more clothes than most. Then there are those like Alpha who is in human form so infrequently that he had only two sets of pants and a couple of pelts that he'll sling around his shoulders. Good luck keeping those patched up." Mana replied.
"She'll have to get those deerhide pants off him first, now won't she?" Kisara interjected which made Yami flush.
Mana frowned, "Mind your tongue Kisara, lest Alpha hear you speaking that way. We both know he won't appreciate it." Mana scolded.
Kisara waved her hand dismissively, "Don't worry Mana, I'm done. I know when to stop before I've crossed a line. Won't happen again, I promise. Now, onto the sewing." Kisara declared as he picked up a piece of fabric and began to expertly stitch the seam together.
"I wasn't kidding when I said I didn't know how to sew." Yami muttered as she looked at the pile of fabric on the ground. For living in complete isolation they certainly had a wide variety of fabric types.
"As Alpha said, you can learn. Mana, Kisara and I can teach you. It's not that hard to learn, honest." Serenity said softly.
Yami sighed but nodded, "Fine, show me what I need to do." Yami conceded.
"Well, I guess you can help me stitch up my mate's cargo pants. Malik loves them problem is he seems to love ripping them. I've lost track of how many times I've patched these up for him." Mana replied holding out the pair of cargo pants with ripped knees and also a snagged seam.
"I would suggest you start with the seam first, seams are the easiest thing to repair." Kisara said, hardly lifting her eyes from her task. It looked like she was making some kind of collared shirt.
Serenity handed Yami a crude needle and some thread. "Start by putting the thread through the eye in the needle. Then we'll go from there." Serenity said.
Yami sighed but nodded, squinting slightly as she tried to thread the needle. It was a lot harder than it looked. Nineteen attempts later she had finally succeeded in threading the needle. "You said there were two reasons Ate-Alpha, had me working with you ladies today. But you only gave me one. What was the other reason?" Yami asked.
Kisara chuckled, "Oh, that's an easy one. After the mess yesterday when Joey failed to keep an adequate eye on you Alpha wasn't taking any chances. He knows without a doubt that the three of us can watch you while he's gone." Kisara replied.
Yami frowned, "But if I'm such a worthless bitch why does he care so much about having someone watch me." Yami muttered darkly.
Kisara just laughed before Mana stuck her with a needle, "That's more than enough. Now quit it." Mana growled.
"I'm done, I'm done. Promise." Kisara said, holding her hands up in apparent surrender.
"You should have been done the last time you made a comment." Mana growled.
"I didn't say anything this time though, just laughed. Even you have to admit it's kind of funny." Kisara replied.
"And I can't help but wonder if you shared the story with Alpha if he would be nearly as amused." Mana shot back.
Serenity was doing her best to ignore the other two women as she was focusing all her attention on trying to show Yami how to make a basic stitch. Yami was, sort of getting it. If by getting it you meant she was able to stick the needle through the fabric and pull the string all through. Her stitch was apparently too wide and apparently her first attempt she only went through one piece of fabric, not both. Second attempt, she got both but the stitch was way too loose to be of any use.
"This is ridiculous. See, I'm absolutely terrible at sewing." Yami muttered as she glared at the cargo pants, like they were personally responsible for her failure.
"You'll get it eventually, just be patient and let's keep trying." Serenity encouraged.
Yami sighed but tried yet again to make the perfect stitch. Which this time she did manage, sort of. It looked okay, if not a little bit crooked. Serenity nodded, "That looks good enough to me. Now do the rest of the seam just like that." Serenity said.
Yami nodded as she went work on her second stitch. "Say, can you guys tell me why some people are in human form and others in wolf form?" Yami asked.
"Personal preference. Some feel more comfortable in their human form, others feel more comfortable as wolves. Other times the work they are doing requires one form instead of another. For example, sewing like we're doing now would be pretty difficult in our wolf forms, hence why we're in human forms while we sew." Mana replied, having finally ended up bickering with Kisara.
"Ah, I guess that makes sense." Yami replied, and it did a little bit.
"I see you bitches are making new clothes? Made anything for me?"
The women rolled their eyes, "Does it look like we've made anything for you Marik?" Serenity replied.
Marik sighed, "No, but I could hope now couldn't I? But really, who's the bitch?" Marik asked, nodding his head towards Yami.
"This is Yami. She's the newest member of our pack." Mana said. Yami couldn't help but frown to herself as she harshly jabbed the needle in through the fabric she's been stitching before roughly yanking it out, as she tried to drown out the conversation around her. What the hell was wrong with her? She shouts at Atem for calling her a bitch but this other wolf refers to her exactly the same way and she didn't really care. It just didn't make any sense.
Maybe it was because a part of her expected more from Atem because he had been so kind to her that coming from him it felt like a slap in the face. She jabbed the needle harshly back in although this time she stabbed her finger in the process. "Damn it." Yami muttered as she shoved her bleeding finger in her mouth.
"See, I told you that you could learn how to sew." Atem whispered in her ear from right over her shoulder, close enough that she could actually feel his breath ghosting over her cheek and the heat from his skin. Now that she knew he was there she could even catch the slightest whiff of his unmistakable scent.
Yami flushed before she quickly shoved the pants she's been helping stitch under her leg, hiding it from Atem's sight. She knew the sewing had been crude and for some inexplicable reason she actually felt almost embarrassed to let Atem see her terrible sewing job.
"I'm sure there are many other jobs I could be doing a lot more skillfully around here instead of just sewing." Yami muttered. Not that she had the slightest idea what those jobs might be. She just figured there had to be something. Or that she had had the foresight to realize she was going to become a werewolf and had opted to take Home Economics this past school year.
Atem snorted, "Perhaps. Or perhaps not. You're still learning." Atem replied as he straightened up. A part of Yami was disappointed that he'd stood up because she knew that meant he was leaving.
"Maybe you could donate your pants and I could practice on them. Then you'd only have yourself to blame if they ended up falling apart at the seams." Yami replied.
This time it wasn't only Kisara who let out a loud bark of laughter, Marik and Serenity joined her as well. Mana it appeared was doing her best to bite her lip to keep from laughing. Atem growled low under his breath, "Enough. It's not remotely funny." Atem growled.
Marik and Kisara awkwardly cleared their throats as Serenity harshly bit her lip to stop laughing. "Uh, right. My thoughts exactly Alpha. Not remotely funny." Marik said.
"Now, you bitches might want to start cleaning up. We're going to be having another pack meeting in the clearing." Atem replied sharply.
"Don't call me a bitch, Atem." Yami snapped, whipping her head around to lock gazes with Atem. Marik awkwardly cleared his throat as he rose to his feet. Kisara and the others busied themselves with beginning to pick up the sewing.
Atem rose a brow, "I believe I already stated I can address you however I choose. And that my title is Alpha." Atem said calmly.
Yami really had no idea where this was coming from as she practically ground her teeth together. "Don't." Yami growled. Although unlike this morning both her and Atem were keeping their voices low, low enough that only the gathered group could hear their conversation.
Atem snorted before he turned away, "Mana, make sure Yami joins us in the circle. Put her by my usual spot, where I can keep an eye on her." Atem barked as he strode away.
"I will Alpha." Mana called out after his retreating back.
Yami groaned, "Why does he have to be such an ass?" Yami grumbled.
Mana just smiled, "I'm sure you'll figure it out in time. Now come on, I need to get you to your spot in the circle. Pack meetings are actually pretty rare. Wonder what Alpha needs to discuss this time?" Mana asked.
Yami shrugged. "Why do I have to sit in his spot. Why can't I just sit with the rest of you?" Yami asked.
"Because Alpha said where you're going to sit. I'm sure he has his reasons, and who are we to question those reasons?" Mana replied.
Yami sighed but nodded as she allowed Mana to awkwardly carry her to the same spot she had sat in yesterday when she had watched Duke being killed. She really hoped that she wasn't going to see another death today.
Atem was standing in the center of the clearing as the rest of the wolves gathered. Some remained in their human forms like Yami was whereas many of them padded over as wolves. Out of the corner of her eye she could see Kaiba practically dragging Joey into the center of the clearing.
"Thank you all for joining us here today. There are three points that I need to go over with you here today. The first point of order is another punishment. Joey here seemed to believe that he knew better than I did when I gave him a specific order regarding out newest pack member. I had instructed Joey to keep an eye on her while I was away and therefore unable to do so myself. Joey in his infinite wisdom allows our newest pack mate who cannot yet transform at will, is unfamiliar with the area and hasn't the slightest idea how to navigate her way through our surroundings to go for a walk unescorted. He merely warned her to head to the north of the clearing. As I'm sure you can see, our newest pack mate ended up badly injured due to Joey's disobedience of such a simple order." Atem declared.
There was a lot of growling and barking in response to Atem's words. Yami vaguely noticed how truly at home Atem looked standing in the center of the clearing addressing his pack as a whole. Even in what he referred to his weaker form his whole presence just seemed to exude power. It was quite a breathtaking sight watching him.
"In accordance with our laws, Joey is condemned to suffer the same fate as the wolf he endangered by disobeying my orders. When my Beta and I were treating her injuries my Beta was kind enough to keep a list of each and every injury Yami suffered as a result of Joey's ineptitude." Atem declared before he turned towards Kaiba who was still holding a struggling Joey by the collar of his shirt.
"Shall we begin Beta?" Atem asked, his tone dark almost coming out as a growl.
Kaiba nodded, "Let's." Kaiba declared before tossing Joey to the dirt at Atem's feet. Joey whimpered as Atem glared down at him. Atem nodded to a wolf on the edge and a thick piece of wood that looked almost light a broken tree limb four or five inches in diameter was tossed into the clearing, which Atem deftly caught.
"Pack member Yami's ankle was sprained." Kaiba declared although he paused for a moment, smirking, "Although, Joey's ankle will be broken. Alpha cannot be expected to check his blow limiting it to a mere sprain."
Atem knelt down, grasping Joey's foot with his left hand, holding the limb in place. Joey whimpered although Yami could not hear what it was he said to Atem. Atem either didn't listen to what Joey said or he was unswayed by Joey's pleas for mercy before he lifted the crude club high in the air before harshly swinging the club down with all his strength. Yami was able to clearly see the movement of Atem's muscles in his bare back as he landed the blow, filling the clearing with the sound of a resounding CRACK.
"OWWWWW!" Joey shouted as the blow landed, the exclamation almost sounding like a howl of pain.
"Pack mate Yami fractured three of her ribs, resulting from her tumble down the hill." Kaiba stated.
Once again Atem raised the club before he brought it down harshly three times in quick succession striking Joey in the side. Joey howled and yelped in pain with each harsh blow. He tried to curl in on himself to protect his midsection but neither Atem nor Kaiba would allow Joey to do so.
"And most importantly, Pack-mate Yami hit her head, the blow concussed her and had rendered her unconscious." Kaiba declared.
Once again Atem raised the club and Yami clenched her eyes shut. She could not watch Atem literally bash Joey's skull in. All she'd done was go for a walk. She had asked if she was allowed and Joey had said that she wasn't a prisoner here and she was free to leave the clearing if she chose. He'd offered to accompany her and she had refused his company. He hadn't made her go for a walk nor had he shoved her down the hill.
The smack sounded loudly through the arena however, Joey did not make a sound. The blow either striking him dead or knocking him out. Yami didn't know which one and a part of her didn't want to. Yami slowly blinked her eyes back open, hoping for a sign that Joey was alright.
"Now that that unpleasant piece of business has been settled onto the next point of order. " Atem replied casually as he rose back to his feet. "As many of you are aware we have been having territorial problems with a pack of ordinary wolves trying to encroach on us from the East. Myself and pack Beta Kaiba have attempted to address this issue with the encroaching pack with limited success. The pack will without question continue to invade our territory, nor will they leave quietly if caught. Every one of you needs to be aware of this very real threat and exercise caution when you are running through the woods. I don't want any of my pack mates to end up hurt or worse because of a conflict with this invading pack." Atem said sharply, and Yami for some reason thought Atem looked right as her when he finished speaking. She shook her head slightly to dismiss the notion, Atem had been speaking to the pack as a whole, not just her.
"And finally, as you are all aware the full moon is fast approaching. I'm sure you all know what that means. The day preceding the full moon, as is normally the case, is a day of no work since we will be up running with the moon that night. I know it goes without saying but especially because of the problems with the other pack of wolves under no circumstances are any wolves to be running alone that night. Find a buddy or a group to run with. I warn you, if either myself or Beta catch someone running on their own they will not like it. Am I understood?" Atem barked.
"Yes Alpha!" Was called out from around the pack, with a mix of barks from those still in their wolf forms. Regardless the form it was clear that Atem's words had been heard by the pack.
Atem nodded, "Dismissed." Atem barked. Yami still wasn't sure how he was able to make his voice sound so wolf-like even when he was in his human guise. Maybe he does have a point and he really is a wolf that can become a man, not the other way around.
Yami sighed as she shakily got back to her feet as the rest of the pack began to disperse. "Looks like I'm back to more sewing." Yami muttered to herself.
"And where do you think you're going off to?" Atem suddenly said, once again he was right behind her and Yami hadn't noticed his approach. She jumped, almost toppling over however Atem steadied her by resting his hands on her hips. The gesture would have been almost intimate if it hadn't been done by a rabid beast. Which made the slight quickening of Yami's heart at the contact even more puzzling.
"Back to the sewing, like you had commanded. Now, unless you are going to be donating your pants for practice I should probably be getting back to it." Yami replied cheekily. She had no idea why the topic of Atem's pants kept coming up. Comparatively speaking, his pants were incredibly boring; plain brown pants made out of deer hide, styled in a way that reminded her of an exhibit she had seen depicting Native Americans. Ever since Kisara had mentioned his pants earlier Yami couldn't seem to get the damn things out of her head. How embarrassing.
Atem snorted, "As pleased as I am to hear that you have embraced contributing to life here in the pack there are some other more important things that I need you for today. I think it's high time you and I sat down and I officially went over all the rules here in the pack. I can't expect you to obey rules you were not aware were in place." Atem said as he scooped Yami easily up into his arms bridal style. Yami flushed at the unexpected embarrassing position as she tried to bury her face in Atem's shoulder. Atem seemed completely unbothered by what he had done and carried her through the clearing and back into his wigwam before he deposited her back in the pile of pelts.
Atem sank down onto the pile of pelts beside Yami, draping an arm loosely around her shoulders pulling her body against his own. "Do pay attention, I will only go over these rules with you once. You will be responsible for remembering them." Atem warned.
Yami sighed as she made herself comfortable against Atem, breathing in his intoxicating scent. "I'm listening." Yami replied.
"As you already know, biting a human without consent from both the human in question and myself is against pack law punishable by death. A side note on that statement is don't bother asking my permission because my answer, without question, is going to be no. So, don't waste your breath trying to convince me why it would be a good idea." Atem said.
"Secondly, wolves without permission from the Alpha are forbidden from entering a human settlement. Many wolves here do have permission to do so, but there are a few that do not. They know who they are. As of right now you are one such wolf. Something you would do well to remember." Atem continued.
Yami frowned, "And what do I have to do to earn the right to earn the right to visit my grandfather? Or my friends?" Yami asked.
"Simple, you must first and foremost fully adapt to your new life. Also prove to me that you have sufficient control over yourself. The closer we get to the full moon the stronger the call of your wolf will become, but no matter the lunar cycle the call is always there. I know for a fact that you are feeling that call even if you don't fully understand what that even is yet. Trust me, when you have earned the right to visit your friends and your grandfather I will tell you. Do not bother me about it before then. If I have not told you that you were permitted to do so, then you are not. It is really that simple." Atem said.
"The third law is that you must stay within the boundaries of our territory, whether in human or animal form. Wandering outside these bounds can be dangerous. When we get you back into your wolf form next I will show you the boundaries of our territory so that you know where you are allowed to go. Given the threat of the invading pack of wolves I currently am going to forbid you from wandering around in the woods alone until such a time as I feel you are capable of fending for yourself. Again, if this changes I will tell you. Until I tell you otherwise you are not to be wandering around in the woods alone." Atem said.
Yami sighed, "Got it. Anything else I should know?" Yami asked.
"Not that I haven't already gone over with you. Now, do you have any questions for me?" Atem asked.
Yami nodded, "Several, but right now the most important one seems to be why were you such an ass earlier today?" Yami asked.
"You mean when you were disrespecting me in front of the entire pack and I put you in your place?" Atem asked.
Yami snorted, "I guess. Where you knocked me to the dirt and held me down with your foot." Yami replied.
Atem snorted, "Trust me, I went easy on you then. I should have been more forceful. Disrespecting me or arguing with me in private or relative private is one thing, like you did before the meeting. That's different. You calling me out in front of the entire pack like you did this morning is a different matter. Do not do so again." Atem growled.
Yami sighed, "Fine I won't. Just don't call me a bitch again either. I don't like it when you call me that. Quite frankly it pisses me off and I lash out when you do." Yami said.
Atem snorted once more, "I make no promises. I may very well address you as such," He paused for a moment and continued before Yami could object, "However, I will attempt to be more mindful of it."
Yami had no idea why that one single concession seemed to be so important to her, but figured that would be something for her to think on another day. "And now I should probably get you back to the sewing." Atem said.
Yami frowned, "I'm really bad at it." Yami whispered.
Atem shrugged, "You're learning. No doubt you will be very bad at a number of tasks. I'm already anticipating you to be a terrible hunter and whining at me about senseless animal rights. The more you practice a given task the better you will get at it." Atem replied.
Yami sighed before she slowly rose to her feet. Her ankle throbbed as she did before Atem rolled his eyes and scooped her back up into his arms, "I also believe I told you that I wanted you to try and stay off that ankle for a couple of days so it had time to heal." Atem whispered in Yami's ear.
Yami nodded, "I'll try." Yami replied.
"Good." Atem grunted before he turned over to a different corner of the wigwam, and crouched down briefly grabbing something off the ground which he then dropped on Yami's chest. A pair of deerhide pants.
"And since you seem determined to practice your sewing on my pants I figured I might as well give you my spare pair. The seams could not doubt use some reinforcing." Atem muttered as he carried the blushing Yami back out to the group of women who had reconvened following the end of the meeting. Atem dropped her back on the ground beside the group before he turned and strode away without so much as another word.
"What do you have there, Yami?" Kisara asked.
Yami's blush deepened before she muttered, "Alpha's pants."
This time not even Mana was able to keep from laughing as Yami flushed a dark shade of red. She did her best to ignore the laughter around her as she picked up her needle and thread. Atem had given her his pants to practice on. She would stitch the best seam he'd ever seen, no matter how long it took her to.
