Warning: Referenced Death
Prompt II: Past
Yugi flicked an ear as Yami shifted his weight again. He looked exhausted, but the sun was just beginning to peak up over the horizon. The mountains were outlined with a brilliant pale streak of coming dawn. And when he studied Yami's face, it was hard not to see the disappointment coming. His eyes had gone from bright to darkening faintly and his head tilted away. When he shifted his weight it was to bunch his back legs and tighten his muscles. He lowered his head and scooted his cheek across the dirt to lay it near his folded forelimbs.
The paler wolf flattened his ears and closed his eyes. How many times had Yami done this? Had it been every night for the last two months? The news of the Sapporo pack had spread two months before, when his own grandfather had come home from his human job to tell them. He'd gotten word of the hunters and he'd tried to delay them as much as possible, but the movement to eradicate the "stray canines" had come down from the citizens.
And he'd only been able to argue for a handful of hours.
From there the pack had tightened its rules.
School was a top priority to maintain appearances.
There were no hunting parties allowed during daylight hours.
There were no vocal communications unless in the most dire of situations.
They were not allowed to change but for one day a week.
The yearlings were to be closely monitored at all times when the sun was up.
No one was to leave on their own.
Interactions with other wolves was to be limited.
Any neighboring packs were not to be interacted with unless necessary.
Yugi had broken three of them already, despite how much he would have liked to pretend otherwise.
His grandfather would be furious. His parents would likely panic.
Yugi suppressed a sigh at the thought and turned his head. Yami?
The black wolf immediately raised and turned his head. His eyes widened drastically and abruptly the other yearling scrambled to his paws. You're still here? he blurted out as if he were unsure of himself. He tilted his head and stared blankly. I thought you would have left earlier.
Yugi tilted his head. No, I promised to stay here with you, remember? He wagged his tail slightly and peered at him for a long moment. Yami still looked visibly confused. I wanted to wait with you.
Oh. Yami flattened his ears. Well, I guess they're not coming today.
The smaller wolf tried not to nod at him, eyes flickering away to look toward the mountains again. He didn't want to come off as disrespectful, nor dismissive. So he settled for looking at the sky as it began to brighten.
How about…you tell me something about your pack?
Yami stared at him and when Yugi looked over, he could see something in his eyes that he couldn't quite read. He wasn't sure if it was cold, or extremely heated. But when he blinked, it was long gone. Uh, okay. What do you want to know?
Yugi flicked an ear. A squirrel was climbing up a tree nearby, and a bird chirped to herald the sun. The pack would come looking for him soon. He looked Yami over for a single second. He was small and lanky, but his legs were long and he seemed older in appearance than he actually was. The pack would be suspicious Yugi was with him, but they'd know he was a yearling. And he knew his grandpa or his parents would immediately extend invitation to join them if they were the ones to find them.
Otherwise he'd likely have to argue with anyone else.
And he didn't know he had the energy for that after such a long night.
Watching the hope dissipate from Yami's face had been enough to all but destroy him.
Yugi tilted his head. How about Atem? What's your favorite thing about him?
Yami blinked, then took a seat with his tail wagging. Atem is the best big brother ever! He sits and tells me stories sometimes, about Lupa and Fenrir and Obelisk and Slifer and Ra. He plays tag and chase with me a lot and at school he would stick up for me if anything happened.
Yugi struggled not to use the past tense when he said, He sounds like a really good brother.
He's the best!
How much older is he than you?
He's fourteen.
Oh, okay. Yugi watched as his eyes grew warm with adoration. He shifted his weight and sat up straighter, eyes glowing at the thought of his brother. The smaller wolf wondered for a split second if he could see such love in anyone else's eyes. Even the pack hadn't seemed to project it so easily. What's your favorite thing he's ever done with you?
My parents and Atem and I went camping once, near a huge river. And when our parents were sleeping, Atem changed and caught a fish from the river. He brought it over to me and when it was wiggling on the ground and jumping around, I started panicking. So Atem had me touch it and said he'd protect me if it attacked me. Yami's voice was full of warmth as he shuffled his paws and quivered with excitement, as if he were reliving it. It was so slimy!
Yugi snickered. He'd only ever been exposed to fish when the pack brought some dead ones. They refused to let any of the yearlings near the rivers because they didn't want them to be spotted or call in. The water got high rapidly during spring and sometimes it took until later summer for the swell to recede enough for them to safely play on the rocks nearby. And even then, the distance from the rocks and the water were about twenty to thirty yards. They were well out of the way.
I've never seen a live fish before.
Yami blinked and then wagged his tail. They're gross!
But super pretty.
The black wolf considered him, then tilted his head. That's true. They are pretty.
Yugi watched his face for a moment, thinking then about how Yami had called him cute just hours before. He wondered at that for a heartbeat, then shrugged it off. He closed his eyes. I don't have any siblings, he mumbled; now he could hear the pack moving about the trees. He opened his eyes again and wagged his tail. But the pack is pretty big, so we all take care of each other and treat each other like a huge family.
He was sure Yami knew that already. All packs treated each other like family. Unless something happened for the pack to turn on someone in their ranks, they were treated like the closest of family. If someone were to truly betray the pack, they'd be hunted relentlessly no matter how far they ran. Execution was often the best way to deal with such a thing, because of how dangerous a lone wolf was to begin with.
They were more likely to do something stupid, especially if they were expelled from a pack.
Yami flicked an ear. We only had a few yearlings. Atem and I were the youngest, though.
Yugi remembered meeting his pack once. Atem and Yami must have stayed behind. It had been a couple of years ago, and the custom for their pack and any neighboring was to introduce the new yearlings. It helped keep the numbers in mind for territory skirmishes. Yami's pack had been significantly smaller than their own.
But someone had been caught killing a pet in Sapporo and it had attracted attention from hunters. The city had called a meeting about the "stray and wild dogs" and efforts had buckled down for strays to be caught and chipped and put into shelters. The hunters that had come for the pack, however, had been werewolf specialists. It wasn't a normal occurrence, but Yugi remembered stories that it had happened before. It was far more common in the states, but they'd all known eventually someone would slip up and the wolves in Japan would be put at risk.
Yugi shook his unease away and peered at Yami. He wondered who had gotten so hungry they'd been forced to eat a pet. It made no sense.
Unless they were trying to protect someone else…
Animals did tend to be extremely aggressive towards werewolves, because of how unnatural they smelled. They could sense and smell how different and estranged they were to any natural animal. They threw off their understanding of the food chain and who or what was the apex predator.
Natural wolves turned violent the moment they came within range of a werewolf.
Yami continued talking for another few minutes. And then he faltered mid-sentence, eyes widening drastically. Yugi realized instantly why, turning his head and blinking. At the tree line were seven shapes.
Yugi got to his paws, wagging his tail. Hi, guys! This is Yami, he announced loudly. He's my new friend. He's part of the Sapporo pack.
