Chapter Five (5): It Takes Two to Tango (Pt. 2)
Author's Note: It's been a year and half since I've worked on this doc-to-be-chapter. Of course I'd stop by to save it (after what happened last time - which is losing ALL of my other stories), but I've been dry on ideas. After all this time, I'm finally back... for right now at least. / I've decided to give most of the characters full names based on rank, fur color, pack, etc. You'll see what I mean. And I would also like to give a pretty big thanks to the site participants Dark Fox Tailz and someone else (Sorry I forgot your name. Lol. Haven't been here in almost 10 months). They gave me multiple ideas for this chapter, and quite possibly the next. As a matter of fact, something near the end as well. (To be honest, I had almost forgotten to give Fox and the other person the credit they deserve, for I've had a lot going on recently. My mind has been all over the place.) Oh, and a dear friend, Mojotheomegawolf, agreed to let me borrow his OC Mary in the next chapter. With his permission, I'll be likely to add her in here and there throughout the story. Any of you who haven't read any of his fanfics (which is highly unlikely due to his large popularity), I recommend checking out his stories. They're all well-written and deserve even more recognition than they've received. Hopefully no one whines and goes like, "Oh hey Whiskey, you're advertising. That's not allo-" Shut up; don't be such a square. Lol. / Another thing: I've decided to split this into three part chapter instead of just two because... creativity! :D / A NOTE REGARDING MY CAREER AS AN AUTHOR: Around the beginning of next year, I will not be available... for a long time. I'm enlisting into the United States Army and therefore will be undergoing several phases of training for my intended military career path. This training can take anywhere from 16 weeks to 6 months based upon what opportunities present themselves and what I decide upon before finalizing my contract. I will come back, but it will be a long time. So this is just a message to any who may be concerned about my extended absences in the past and to come. I hope you all understand. / There'll be a few twists from my original plans of this chapter. You'll easily recognize them, and you may start to hate me for it. XD But anyway, that's all there is to say. Continue onward my kind, loyal viewers!
Jasper Park - Alberta,Canada - 05:56:17 (5:56 A.M.)
3rd Person P.o.V.
The sun was barely cresting over the horizon, as the first rays of light began to break across the territory. The morning air, as usual, was cool and crisp. The first birds began to chirp and sing their wonderful songs, as the thin layer of morning fog rolling in from the lakes began to dissipate.
In one den in particular lay a gray-furred wolf with deep blue eyes. He was in a deep slumber, only just beginning to stir. However, as he was just opening his eyes, a yell came from just outside of his den from another gray wolf. "Humphrey Omega Grayston! Get your lazy but out of that den so we can begin training! You're an hour late!" Humphrey, out of instinct, jumped up in an instant and ran outside before sitting down in front of the other wolf and saluting with his right forepaw.
This action made the other wolf laugh hysterically. Humphrey was confused. "What's so funny, Hutch?" The other wolf now identified as Hutch took a break from laughing to speak. "Oh Humphrey, I was only messing around with you. You didn't have to get ready so fast. We still have four minutes before I was scheduled to meet you. But it's good that you are prepared. I have to admit though, I never expected an Omega to be ready that quickly. Nice job. Step one of training complete. Let's get going..."
On the inside, Humphrey sighed in relief and laughed at the Beta's joke. But on the outside he simply nodded and began to follow the wolf to his training grounds.
On the way to the grounds, Hutch looked at Humphrey several times in order to determine exactly what he was working with. For the first time ever, he saw potential he never thought was possible in an Omega. But that potential would be tested in the next several hours...
Jasper Park-Alberta, Canada-Alpha/Beta Training Grounds-06:03:22 (6:03 A.M.)
Humphrey's P.o.V.
Well this day is going to be tough. I can tell that already. I'm slightly mad at Hutch for that asshole of a prank he pulled on me. That sleep felt amazing. Nonetheless, here we were on our way to the training grounds. I would hone my skills here the best I could for the next few hours. Hopefully it'll be enough to beat Barf. But even though I had started to hate him recently...maybe he wasn't such a bad guy. We're both basically being forced to do this without a say and...
No. None of that matters now. I can't change the circumstances. And if this is to happen and we are to fight, let us fight our best. And let me win that fight...
After what I would assume to be ten minutes, we arrived at my training grounds. Only...I had seen this place before. This was the training ground of the Betas. I guess he brought me here because this is where he felt most comfortable. One time, Winston and Eve found him sleeping here.
Hutch, I tell ya... He's always been so committed to the pack and determined to be his best. It would be great if everyone had the same drive he did. But imagine that happening... And me? My commitment is to Kate, and if she's committed to the pack, then so am I. That's fine with me.
As we arrived at the center of the grounds, I looked around to see tons of things that could be used for training, much to my dismay. I saw logs, trees, a stream, a long line of boulders, mud ponds, two large open areas... Ugh. Beta training looks even harder than Alpha training! Deciding to complain about this, I turned to Hutch.
"Uh... Hutch? Why does this training look so... um..." He smiled as he finished my sentence. "Tough?" I nodded, wanting an explanation. He proceeded to give me one. "Well that's because it is. If the betas weren't fit enough, when the alphas needed some form of support we wouldn't be able to help them. And since we still follow orders of the alphas, we have to be more capable. Besides, I'm not training you to be a beta. I'm training you to fight. Now if you can pull off everything... that will be very impressive. Keep in mind though that you've only eight hours before your exhibition."
Getting a very detailed and satisfying answer, I nodded once more before listening to his first orders. "Okay, good. Now the first order of business, Humphrey, is to take a nice little walk around the perimeter... TEN TIMES AT RUNNING SPEED! Now get going!" Having being yelled at out of nowhere, I took off in a hurry around the perimeter.
On my third way around, I began to tire a bit. Boy, was I out of shape. But I heard him call after me, "If you slow down any more, I'll have you triple the run. Now move!" That was my motivation to keep going, as I did NOT want to do thirty laps. After about ten more minutes, I finally finished the run. I was tired already.
Hutch trotted up to me and gave me a pat on the back. "Nice job so far, omega. You'll be ready in no time if you keep it up." I let out a few more pants before turning to face him. "Huh... I don't think... that I can go... any further." He rolled his eyes. "Don't think, Humphrey. You have to feel. In order to feel, you have to have faith that you can finish this in time. And if you want a break before the fight, you've got to do this as quickly as you can. Just don't tire yourself out as much. Never push too hard."
I looked up again. "And how do you suppose... I do that?" I got a response, somewhat quickly. "Learn to control your breathing. That's probably what we should've started with but... oh well. That'll make good for the next course though." With a small hint of fear, I dared to ask the question. "What will that be?" And with a smile, he began to walk towards the stream. 'Oh no...'
The Beta turned to face me, as I began to follow slowly. "Learning how not to drown."
Alberta, Canada - Jasper National Park - Unified Pack Holding Dens - 06:31:09 (6:31 A.M.)
Kate's P.o.V.
I was surprisingly just waking up, as the sun had already broken into the den. So I rose to my paws and stretched to loosen my muscles. These past two days have been crazy... But of course I'd pull through it. I'm Kate!
My thoughts were interrupted as one of the guards entered my den with a decent-sized chunk of caribou meat. He set it down in front of me with a smile. He spoke to me. "Good morning, ma'am. This is for you; your breakfast." I smiled back at him for his polite tone. He was certainly nicer than the other guards I've dealt with. He must be a zeta guard officer. For some reason though, this wolf reminded me of Humphrey. He was polite, he had gray fur, his tone was soft, his body was... Oh god, what am I thinking? But as I looked between him and the caribou meat, I shook away those thoughts.
"Thank you," I said. "That was very kind of you to do." He chuckled slightly. "Don't mention it. A beautiful wolf such as yourself shouldn't be forced to starve now, am I right?" I blushed beneath my fur. He even gives compliments like Humphrey! He did have a point though... "Of course you are. At least someone around here has common sense."
We both shared a laugh before he spoke again as I took a bite into the food he had brought me. "So... how is Humphrey handling this whole predicament?" That actually made me think for a second. So I pondered his question before coming up with a reasonable answer. "I don't know actually. He visited me last night, so I'm guessing he's okay. I know he's not mad at me or anything so... that's good."
I could hear that he sighed a bit before he spoke again, but I didn't say anything about it. Not that I really could though, as I had taken some more of the caribou into my mouth. "Yes... good. But is there anything else that I can do for you right now, ma'am?" I was a little embarrassed to say it, I don't know why. But I had to go. I swallowed the food before speaking. "Uh... yes actually. I have to uh... relieve myself." It took him a second to process what I meant, but when he did, he nodded. "Ah, I see. Okay, I'll escort you to a suitable location." I was glad that I didn't have to explain any further.
"Come on, follow me," he instructed. So I followed him as we left the den.
3rd Person P.o.V.
The two walked into the forest for a minute until they were about two hundred yards from the den. Kate nodded in thanks to the zeta as she went behind a few bushes and took several seconds, before exiting from her cover and walking by the zeta. He watched her walk ahead of him for a few seconds to get a good view of her, before catching up to walk by her side.
He knew that if anyone found out about his feelings for her, he would be in deep trouble. But that wouldn't happen. Well... he didn't think so.
Kate looked back at him briefly. She knew that he had just peeked at her, but she didn't actually mind. That was the luxury of being with someone. If she wanted to, she could flash everything she had because she knew no one but Humphrey would ever have her. She smiled at the thought, before reaching her den a few seconds later with the zeta following her inside.
Jasper Park - Alberta, Canada - Alpha/Beta Training Grounds - 06:39:04 (6:39 A.M.)
3rd Person P.o.V.
"Come on Humphrey, just twenty more seconds! You can do it!"
The omega was struggling to keep air in his lungs beneath the water.
'I can do this... I hope. Heck, I have to - there's only a few hours left.'
By some divine intervention, he pulled it off. Hutch announced this to him.
"Nice job, H. Let's get you outta there."
He pulled Humphrey out of the water as the latter sat down taking in several deep breaths. Suddenly, Hutch turned hostile and placed his paws around the omega's neck and squeezed tightly to simulate the exact same feeling as if he were being choked.
"Drowning is one thing, but being choked is something else. Do you want to breathe?" Humphrey struggled to nod his head.
"Damn it, answer my question! Do you want to breathe?! If so, you have to fight for it! I'm not g-"
At that moment, Humphrey swept the beta to the floor and pushed his paws from his neck before placing his own at his throat ready to crush his windpipe.
Hutch smiled as he spoke in the calmest tone imaginable. "Okay, okay... relax omega. You've passed parts two and three of your training."
Humphrey P.o.V.
'Well... that was a dick move' After Hutch announced to me that I had passed two more parts, I questioned him with a look that contained a combination of anger and confusion.
"What the heck was that?! You tried to choke me!"
He removed my paws as he stood up and spoke to me. "First of all Humphrey, I didn't try to choke you - I did. Secondly, it was a part of your training for the fight. If Garth - in all his strength and size - placed his paws around your neck tightly and wouldn't let go, you have to know what to do to escape. You reacted on instinct which I have to say was pretty impressive. Now if there's no more questions from the peanut gallery, we can move on to part three."
He took a pause. "Do you know how Garth got most of his strength?"
I thought about that for a moment because I had always wondered. Taking a comical guess, I answer: "Uh... steroids and his own workout mix tape?"
He looked at me stupidly. "... What - no. What are steroids and what the hell is a... mix-tape?"
I snicker to myself. "You have a lot to learn about humans, friend."
I could tell he was frustrated as he face-pawed. "Goddamn it, focus Humphrey. No, Garth has always done the same two things - stretches and log squats. Today you're gonna do both."
"Crap..."
"Yeah, crap is what you're gonna be when he eats you alive. Now let's go so we can make sure that doesn't happen."
Sighing heavily, I take a moment to collect myself before listening to the Beta's instructions.
'This is gonna be a long day...'
A/N: I finished what you see here (with the exception of certain parts of the author's note) about six months ago... and I'm just now coming back to post it. Fml. XD My grammar, spacing, and punctuation have all improved immensely within that time. The next chapter - when I have time to type it - will most definitely be of a higher quality in several respects. You guys and gals deserve that much. -Whiskey