Sorry. Life got hectic yesterday. I'll post the next chapter later today.

Warnings: Cursing

Prompt XIII: Waves

They must not trust you.

Yami ignored him as they continued through the forest. His ears pricked forward as he listened for any foreign noises. It would have been easy to pick them out amongst the pack now. He'd been around them often enough to know each sound from the next. But he still couldn't identify all of them by their steps. It seemed impossible to differentiate between twenty wolves like this. He knew it wasn't. But somehow he found it hard to do for himself. Yugi usually could flick an ear and tell him who was coming. Yami struggled for anywhere from a few seconds to a minute to identify someone if it wasn't Yugi or his parents or Sugoroku.

He flicked an ear as Bakura snorted, You don't even have a response, huh? You know they don't trust you. They put you with me because they know I could kill you if you stepped out of line.

Oh? Yami said dismissively, picking around a tree and scenting at the roots for a long moment. There was nothing new there. A rabbit was nearby. That was the newest scent to disturb the area. He didn't smell Atem or the she-wolf he'd apparently taken on as his partner for this fight.

Even Yugi seems to think you're a useless pest.

That's news to me.

Yami exhaled deeply against a patch of brambles, the scent blowing forward and straight into his nostrils once more. He blinked once, long and slow, then flicked his ears lazily back and forth. There was a hint of something here, but it didn't seem like a wolf of any kind. And he didn't think it human clothing, either. He tilted his head and sniffed once more, holding his breath as it settled on his tongue and soaked into his taste buds.

Bakura turned away from him entirely with a spiteful snort of disdain. Yami glanced up as the gray wolf continued past him. The older male shot him a backwards look only when he'd gotten a few yards ahead. His ears pricked forward, brown eyes dark and wild as he snapped, Are you coming or not?

Yami snorted and sniffed one more time. There was no timeline the smell granted him and he couldn't tell the scent from anything else. It was likely just an animal that had brushed against it in passing.

Finally, Bakura sneered. Let's go. We have a lot more ground to cover.

Do we? The badger set is barely ten yards from here.

You really expect me to stop there? What kind of scouts would we be if we stopped there and didn't continue? Do you actually expect us to find anything if we don't go further?

I was under the impression the instructions were clear. We stop there and don't keep going. Yami didn't slow down from where he remained a couple of feet behind him. He narrowed his eyes and continued listening until his ears felt as if they might bleed from the strain. Sugoroku was very specific about that.

And why should I care what an old bat has to say? He's handing the pack to Yugi in a couple of months. Everyone knows that. So who the fuck says I have to keep listening to him?

Yami stared at him, slightly startled and yet somehow unsurprised by the aggressive dismissal. He'd always known Bakura to be extremely dismissive when it came to the leadership hierarchy. He had always known and understood just how much Bakura hated following their rule. He especially despised listening to Sugoroku. The elder wolf angered him to no end. He was far more willing to listen to Yugi, because he saw the younger wolf as the future rather than embedded somewhere deep in the past. Yugi's parents were far too background as hierarchy figures. They often only reacted to things when it was absolutely necessary.

They acted as the medium for things between Yugi and Sugoroku.

Yami flicked an ear. So you propose that we run off farther than the badger set for what purpose?

If your brother and his pack of rats are in the area and we find them, the pack will consider us heroes. You'll be accepted as beta far more easily than just being Yugi's butt buddy—Yami shot him a confused look; a butt buddy? What was that?—and I can become gamma immediately after.

Yami blinked and shook his head. You think just because we go against the rules and find something out, they'll accept our disobedience with open arms? Bakura, that's not how it works.

And how would you know? Your mistakes are all coddled because Yugi wants in your pants.

Yami pricked his ears forward. Yugi had already been in his pants. They swapped clothes all the time. He shook his head again and considered Bakura more pointedly. We're going to be in trouble and we'll be punished for it.

The fuck would you know about punishment? You weren't even born into a proper pack.

Yami faltered a step, startled by the declaration. His eyes widened and hurt made his legs feel almost shaky. He blinked again, then looked down as his heart raced in his chest. He slowed entirely, trailing behind him now.

Bakura stopped a few yards away, turning around to spit, What? Did you think you had an actual pedigree? Your brother probably got the "alpha and bitch" idea from your worthless parents.

Yami bristled faintly. You never met my parents. How are you going to speak of then like that? he snapped. He raised his tail angrily, scowling at him as he peeled his lips back. You don't even have any idea what you're talking about.

Worthless parents breed worthless offspring. Bakura turned away without a second look, tail up as he paraded forward. Yami stared after him, stunned by the ferocity and hateful tone in his words. He couldn't understand how this wolf could hold such animosity against everyone and project himself as someone who was so alone like this. It made no sense. Who wanted to live like that? Now, come on. We have things to do.

Did they? They were going to disobey rules and possibly get themselves killed if there actually were hunters there in the woods. They had crossed past the border of their territory and even moved a few yards beyond the badger set.

Yami couldn't understand what the point of continuing was. They would get themselves hurt or killed if they weren't careful. And Bakura obviously wasn't paying attention.

Or else he would have noticed the form rapidly racing toward him.