When morning came, the storm still hadn't broken, but it was slowly decreasing in intensity. He could tell because the wind wasn't nearly as loud now.

Axel blinked his eyes open, then yawned and stretched his neck slightly. He wanted to get up, but something was weighing him down slightly, and as a blonde, tousled head of hair shifted against his stomach, almost nuzzling his hip, he remembered the previous night.

Roxas was still half-buried in the wolf pile, but one of the discarded furs was wrapped around his upper body like a cocoon, obscuring all but his head from sight. The red wolf wondered when he had grabbed it. Their body heat should have been more than enough for him.

'No doubt it's more of that silly modesty of his,' he thought with a snort. The blonde had seemed like he was finally moving past that, at least a little bit.

But then again, humans and wolves shared one old adage: old habits die hard.

"Hmmmmmmm..."

Roxas was still burying his face in his hip, snuggling deeper into the warm, red fur. Axel couldn't see his face, but he could well imagine the unguarded expression upon it. His eyebrows would be even, perhaps pulled slightly up and inward; his cheeks and forehead felt smooth, utterly unconcerned with anything in the waking world. He was even more trusting in sleep.

Axel twitched his hip jerkily, and the little human raised his head, gazing around sleepily at the darkness of the cave.

"Huh? What?" He blinked more rapidly for a few seconds, then shut his eyes and yawned loudly into his hand. "Hwhut hime is it?"

"Morning," he replied curtly, wrinkling his nose when the boy's head snapped to him, eyes widening. "What?"

"...That's right." He reached out a hand and ran it along Sora's fur, earning a particular loud snore from the brown wolf. "You guys are werewolves..."

"As you call us, yes." Axel rolled his eyes. "Has sleep fogged up your head that much? Can't you even remember last night?"

"Of course I can," Roxas whispered back stubbornly. Then he looked down at himself and blushed slightly, seeing that the fur had slipped down a little. The blonde slowly pulled the cover up to his chin, swallowing thinly.

"Are my clothes dry, do you think?"

The red wolf sniffed the air, and then shook his head. "Damp and a bit moldy now."

"Then what will I-?"

Kairi yawned then, interrupting them abruptly. She raised her head up, unwittingly jostling Sora awake as well.

"Morning..." She blinked sleepily over at Roxas, who flinched back slightly on instinct. "Hi, Roxas."

"Sleep alright?" Sora asked, shaking his head slightly as he uncurled from the group and stretched forward on his front legs.

"H-Hi," he replied, slowly smiling at them both in turn. "I did. Thank you again, by the way."

"S'nothing," the brown wolf said cheerfully, rubbing his head against his leg to clear the crust from his eyes. He then grinned back at the silver wolf, who was still snoring nearby, and flicked him with his tail. "Time to get up, Riku! Up and at 'em!"

His friend responded by immediately snapping at him, teeth almost grazing the soft fur.

"RIKU!"

As the wolves each uncurled themselves, the human boy stood up and wrapped his covers fully around himself. His fist clenched the material in front, holding it in place as he watched the younger wolves bicker back and forth.

"Are you hungry?" Axel asked, drawing him out of his thoughts. Roxas nodded twice. "Then I'll go see what we have that is suitable."

"Didn't that one wolf say that I would eat last out of everyone?"

"True, but the hour is later than you think. We rise with the dawn. Most of the pack will be up and fed by now." Axel paused then, thinking for a moment. "Is there anything that you can't eat?"

"Nothing that I know of...oh, but I think it has to be cooked!" the boy added quickly, making Axel groan in the doorway.

"You sure are delicate, aren't you?" he replied irritably, earning himself a frown from the blonde.

"Sorry," he said, his tone not particularly genuine. "Raw meat has parasites in it. I'll get sick."

"I didn't know that," Sora pipped in, turning away from his group and padding over to Roxas. "Our stomachs are tough. We can eat just about anything."

"And Sora will eat anything." Riku said, chuckling as he shifted back into human form. "Anything and everything."

"OH, YOU'RE ONE TO TALK!"

Shaking his head, Axel turned and left the inner cavern, muttering, "Humans," under his breath.

...

Entering the main cave, Axel once again noticed the multitude of stares following him across the room. A few wolves were whispering now; he could hear it because the general noise had dimmed like the wind, leaving only a few voices brave enough to break the silence.

"He's keeping the human..."

"Where is it now? Shouldn't it be with him?"

Pretending not to notice, the red wolf shifted form halfway to Terra, putting aside all semblance of decorum.

"Ah, Axel. Good morning to you," the Alpha said calmly, his eyes betraying the slightest hint of irritation as a few of his council members growled. "You are late this morning."

"Morning," he replied, bowing slightly to appease them. "I wanted to ask to bring the human out here for a little bit. Is there somewhere unobtrusive that I could build a fire?"

The Alpha frowned. "Is he cold?"

"I don't think so, although if we can dig up some clothes for him, that would help." His pack didn't really believe in them, but they kept some stocked away for special missions or occasions. And it would be a lot more practical than trying to fasten bits of furs together. "His food has to be cooked, or else he can't eat it."

"Nuisance," Flint muttered quietly to his left, and despite himself, despite the fact that it couldn't be helped, the redhead agreed with him.

"Then do so. I will have someone search the stores for something suitable."

"I could bring him by, and he can take a look," the younger wolf offered. "He would probably know best what to choose."

Terra nodded. "Very well. Will you go there first, or begin with the fire?"

"There first. He seems to be very preoccupied with nudity." Axel shook his head at that. "Ridiculous, really."

"In our eyes, yes. Other humans would probably care just as much about their appearance. Especially in a new place with so many strangers."

'So many fanged strangers,' the redhead's thoughts added helpfully.

"I suppose so..."

Xemnas cleared his throat briefly, drawing Terra's attention back to the group behind him.

"Right. Off you go then, Axel. We will call for you later. Right now, we have other matters to discuss."

"More important than that little weakling," Flint muttered again.

Axel barred his teeth at the wolf. "Care to repeat that?"

"It is naught but the truth," Sven replied, loud enough for them all to hear. "You have said as much yourself, Omega."

'Yes,' he thought, 'But I actually have to deal with him.' Roxas was only a true inconvenience to Axel, and only half so much thanks to the council's relentlessness last night. Many were just trying to be nasty, shaming the boy for his continued existence here. But with Terra's decree, the human was pretty much stuck. There was nothing he could really do that was right in their eyes.

If only for that, Axel felt a certain kinship with Roxas.

"Begone, Axel," Terra said sternly, willing the younger wolf to back down. "We will call for you later."

Snorting, the redhead gave a sarcastic wave and walked away, shrugging off the continued stares from the rest of the pack.

'They're going to make us both miserable for this.' And there wasn't much Terra could do about it, either. Axel saw it plainly; the Alpha wolf was trying to compensate for his sympathy for the little human. Too much leniency, and the council's thread-like tolerance was likely to snap.

'Curse them!'

"Axel! Hey, Axel! Wait up!"

Grimacing, the man turned to see Demyx jogging up to him in human form.

"What do you want, Demyx?" he asked, still making his way out of the large room.

"I just wanted to check and see how your human buddy was doing. I know Zexy said you could just call him and all, but uh..." He shrugged slightly, still grinning. "I dunno. I just wanted to ask anyway."

The redhead sighed. "He looked much better this morning. Not so pale or cold, anyway. He didn't complain about his arm, so I assume that's healing."

"You didn't ask him?"

"What am I, his servant?" he snapped slightly, making the other man shrink back a step.

"W-Well, you are looking after him, aren't you? Besides, it's just friendly to ask stuff like that."

"All of this nonsense is bad enough. I'm only doing for him what would get him killed on his own."

"Yeah, keep telling yourself that. You know what everyone is gonna say."

Axel massaged a throbbing vein near the bridge of his nose. "Why don't you just come with me and ask him yourself?" 'As if you weren't already.'

Demyx brightened again, at that. "Sure! Kid could probably use all the friendly faces he can get around here, right?"

"Probably." Although some of the pack might not like seeing him with Sora at the very least. He wasn't a pup anymore, but he was very well-liked and looked-after by just about everyone.

Axel frowned as he thought about that. It might put Kairi in a bad light too...or worse.

He highly doubted that anyone would try to separate him and his little sister, but then again, tempers and fears were high at the moment. The council could have anyone sequestered if they thought they were a danger to themselves or their families; they might try to bend the rule just to forcefully keep Sora, Kairi, and Riku away from the human.

Roxas may as well be a walking disease as far as any one adult wolf was concerned. Axel would have to tread carefully and keep him in line as much as possible, for all of their sakes.