"No."
"Kairi, it's not your choice to make."
The red-haired girl crossed her arms and looked up at her big brother stubbornly.
"You're right. It's all of ours, and we say no."
"Yeah!" Sora chimed in behind her. "Who cares what the pack thinks? You know, they might even just relax a little bit, seeing us so relaxed around him!"
"Not likely," Axel and Riku said at the same time, though the silver-haired boy wasn't actively supporting Axel's decisions either.
"Look, Kairi, I know why you want to do this, but I don't want you at odds with the pack."
"Why not? It's not like you care."
"Because," her brother growled back, massaging the bridge of his nose in frustration, "this is more serious. This could be enough to push me out completely, if not both of us, and more realistically, you and your friends here could end up separated. Do you want that to happen?"
"We'll manage!" Sora replied, though he looked a bit unsettled by the thought. "Roxas is our friend too, and he hasn't got anybody else."
Axel crossed his arms in turn. "What if Terra orders you to stay away from him? Would you listen to him? And will you accept the consequences, whether from him or somebody else? No matter what they are?"
"Sometimes you have to take a stand," Kairi replied, squaring her shoulders. "It's the right thing to do. He needs all of us there."
The older redhead rolled his eyes. "Please. I won't allow him to be hurt, if that's your concern." He looked at each of them dryly.
Kairi shook her head. "You're hopeless and heartless, you know that? It's not physical hurt that I'm worried about, Axel."
He squawked incredulously at that, but before the older boy could say more, Demyx and Roxas entered the little cavern.
The taller blonde smiled and made a strange mock-salute. "Business attended to, Captain! No incidents whatsoever!"
Beside him, Roxas blushed and slapped his arm.
"Did you really have to put it that way?"
"Hey, 'round here, plenty of us just say, 'I'm going for a piss' or 'a shit.' I thought what I said was polite by comparison."
"It was." The human smacked his forehead lightly and then rubbed the spot, sighing and mumbling, "You didn't have to clarify."
"So, did everyone behave while we were gone?" Demyx asked, effortlessly shifting the subject without a hint of shame. His grin faltered slightly when Kairi and Axel both glared at him, unamused. "What? Don't tell me you guys found something else to fight about?"
"Axel doesn't want us to be seen with Roxas too much because he's worried that the pack will pitch a fit," Sora replied.
"I see where he's coming from," Riku said then, looking at the human apologetically. "I want to support you, but at the same time, I'm not sure if we should underestimate our family's deep-seated hatred of humans. I couldn't live with it we were separated from each other indefinitely, or if Kairi and Axel were to be banished."
"Would they really do that?" Roxas looked very worriedly at Axel.
"Maybe...All I'm asking is that we downplay it a bit where everyone else can see you, and right now, that would mean them," he nodded in Kairi, Sora, and Riku's direction, "not accompanying us to get you food and clothes."
"That makes sense to me," Demyx agreed. "I'm not sure if the Council would do anything, but if enough people kick up a fuss, they'd have to intervene somehow. Knowing Terra, he'll hold firm for as long as he can, but..."
Roxas nodded. "I can't avoid being the center of attention here, but the least I can do is not drag people into the spotlight with me."
Sora blinked. "What's a spot light?"
The blonde waved it away impatiently. "Doesn't matter. Human thing. I get it though." He turned to Kaiti and smiled reassuringly. "I'm grateful to have you guys as friends, and whether you're next to me or not, I'll know you're there for me all the same."
The girl frowned, and Axel saw deep concern in her eyes. Sometimes, she reminded him of their mother; strong-willed and caring to a fault, but beautiful and great because of it.
"Are you sure?"
He nodded again, his gaze seeming to answer hers even as he spoke. "I'm sure Axel will be more than enough protection."
She nodded back. "Whatever anyone says or does, don't take it personally, okay?"
"I'll try." He blinked and blushed madly when the girl leaned forward, closing the space between them, and kissed him on the cheek. "Wha?!"
Sora went comically wide-eyed, and Demyx sniggered slightly behind his hand.
"Springtime already? You're growing up fast, Kairi!"
"That's settled, so let's go." Axel forced down a wave of pure fury, grabbing the spluttering boy by the wrist and dragging him hurriedly away from the others. Kairi, now almost as red as her hair, looked like she was about to explode from mortification, but she still smiled slightly, unbeknownst to the departing boys.
"Don't get any ideas," Axel growled slightly as they walked. "Just because she looks human now-"
"I wasn't!" the blonde insisted loudly, grunting a little as he was pulled and jostled. "You saw that! She kissed me! And will you slow down or let me go already?"
Begrudgingly, Axel did both.
They walked in sullen silence for a few minutes as they headed for the main cave, and Axel nodded slightly to every wolf they passed. Any group that they encountered automatically fell silent as well, and fearful and distrusting eyes followed every step that Roxas took.
As the redhead took more and more notice of this, he began to think about what Sora and Kairi meant with their earlier comments. It might be a bit too optimistic, but it was possible that seeing a group of wolves interacting with the boy normally might convince some of the pack that Roxas wasn't evil or dangerous. Not all of them, of course, but it could sway some.
But then again, his little sister and her friends could just as easily be written off as pups, far too naive and fair-minded for their own good. Wolves could be very stubborn, especially regarding their rules and traditions.
Eyes casting to the side, Axel saw that Roxas no longer flinched and pressed closer when wolves growled or got close to them. His posture was very stiff, however. Perhaps he would bolt if he felt threatened enough.
Perhaps he wished that he'd taken his friends up on their offer after all.
The older boy snorted at that thought. He made a mental note to keep a particularly close eye on the human anytime he spent too much time with Kairi.
Roxas's face was carefully blank for the most part, but even if he couldn't smell the fear in him, Axel could easily see the wrinkles and points of tension.
After they passed one group of almost angry-looking wolves, they paused right before the cave entrance. There was a loud din coming from inside, and the redhead picked out a lot more of it than he would have liked.
"You knew that it was going to be like this," Axel said simply.
The blonde nodded, looking out at the gathered wolves nervously. "Yeah. Doesn't mean I'm not still scared. I know pretty much all of them don't like me, but will they...?" He trailed off slightly.
"I don't think that anyone would attack you unprovoked. The Alpha, Terra, has made his decision clear to everyone, so there would be a punishment."
"But what if I make a mistake?" Roxas asked, looking back at him worriedly. "What if I accidentally offend somebody? Could they...I don't know, cry insult or something?"
The redhead blinked, then frowned in understanding, shaking his head.
"Terra would only be lenient on them if you had been intent on harming someone and they stopped you. I admit that I don't know what any one wolf will do, but I will be vigilant and protect you as best I can."
The younger boy smiled slowly, but gratefully. "Thank you. I can't help but worry. I wish it didn't have to be like this."
"It is what it is. You're right to be careful." Axel wanted to say that he shouldn't worry too much, but was there really such a thing in this case?
He also didn't want to seem like he cared too much. The two of them were just too different, and if all went smoothly, the boy would leave soon enough. There wasn't any point in getting too friendly.
Awkwardly patting Roxas on the arm, Axel led him in.
Like a bolt of lightning, everything was quiet in an instant. A few mothers and fathers pushed their pups behind them, but they couldn't stop the youngsters from peering out from under their legs. A few wolves picked up their weanlings by the scruff of the neck, watching the passing duo warily. If someone dropped a tiny twig on the ground in the cave at that moment, the impact could have been heard as clearly as if it had been a whole tree.
'They knew we were coming, so why do some of them look so surprised?'
From his seat in the council, Terra looked in their direction and nodded. Roxas raised his hand and timidly waved, making the Alpha let loose a short bark of laughter. He then encouraged everyone to return to their business, setting an example when he immediately resumed his council's discussion right after.
Most wolves still watched Roxas intently, but the noise in the room began to pick up again. Pups who had been set back down stared unabashedly, almost awed, at the newcomer, bombarding the older wolves with questions about who and what he was.
The blonde must have overheard some of it, Axel thought, because he smiled a little every now and again as they walked.
"This is where we keep the clothes we've collected," the redhead said as they came upon another small tunnel in the wall. "I don't think that there will be much, if anything, that's your size..."
The human shrugged. "I'll roll the sleeves up if I need to. Anything is better than trying to work in a blanket."
"You won't be made to work today." Roxas blinked at that, looking up at him with confusion. "The blizzard is probably going to continue throughout the day today. There isn't much for any of us to do."
"Oh...okay. That makes sense." Reaching a large pile of scattered clothes, the blonde immediately began sifting through them, one hand still holding the fur closed. "I probably shouldn't strain my arm too much anyway."
Axel nodded, watching him idly for a few minutes. When Roxas had tossed aside over a dozen things, the redhead sighed and went to the other side, picking through that half of the mess.
"You don't have to help, you know."
He snorted. "You'll be all day at this rate."
Roxas looked away from the shirt he was examining. "Why does that matter when we aren't doing anything today?"
"That doesn't mean I want to spend all my time here. I'm hungry, and I'm surprised if you aren't." The older boy held up a shirt he'd found. "Will this work?"
Roxas looked over again, then blushed and looked exasperated. "That's a woman's shirt!"
"So?" Axel asked, verging on indignant. "It looks like it would fit you. What does it matter?"
"Can't you see where the breasts are supposed to go? Do I look like the type who needs extra room like that?"
The redhead snorted. "I'd think the more you have to cover you, the better."
"What?...Oh, you mean the cold!" Roxas laughed slightly, shaking his head. "Maybe, but let's see what else we can find. Just set it aside for now."
Axel groaned. "No one here will care what you wear. You're wasting time looking for more."
"Well then, why don't you go get some breakfast for the two of us? I can handle this myself."
"I can't. I either have to stay with you at all times, or get someone like Demyx to babysit for me."
Roxas scoffed at that, but appeared to let it go, returning his attention to his searching hand.
"Could he help us then? We'd get stuff done faster."
"We'd get things done faster if you didn't insist on scouring the entire collection," the redhead countered lightly, then sighed. "Do you even know what you're looking for?"
"I have an idea."
Axel rolled his eyes. "Can you tell me then, so I can look for it as well?"
"Maybe if you don't snip at me," Roxas replied, setting aside a pair of dark pants without looking up. "Soft and warm are the most important things. And I'm gathering up a few pairs so that I can have a change of clothes for a few days. I'm not 'looking for the perfect outfit.'" He gestured with two fingers on his free hand, rolling his eyes and smiling briefly.
The older boy blinked at that. "What are you thinking about?"
"Hmm? Oh, just one of the girls at the orphanage where I lived." The blonde shook his head at the dress he'd unwittingly lifted up for inspection.
"What's an orphanage?"
"When parents die or don't want their kids for whatever reason, that's where the kids end up. Sometimes they have other family who can take them in, but not always. New families come too, and they'll adopt kids sometimes." When he saw Axel's look, he fumbled for a moment. "See, I guess it's like this: these clothes used to belong to someone, right? Now I come along and I want some clothes, so I can pick any of these and take them with me. Adopting a kid is kind of similar."
"I see." Axel thought about it for a moment as he searched. Then something clicked. "So did your parents die? Or did they simply give you up to this place?"
"Half and half," he replied, shrugging slightly. "My mom died when she gave birth to me. A little before that, I think my dad ran off on her."
"Did the people at this...orphanage," Axel hesitated slightly on the word, not sure if he had heard it right, "mistreat you?"
"Oh no! Not at all!" the boy said easily. "Miss Aerith, the Director, is very nice, and she's very thorough and picky about her staff. Wouldn't tolerate anyone picking on the kids."
"So why did you run away?" the redhead asked, failing to remain or at least pretend to be the least bit casual about it. He'd forgotten that humans often lived so differently compared to wolf kind.
Roxas looked down with a slightly self-deprecating smile.
"It was a good home, and certainly no one abused me. I just...I don't know." He squeezed a piece of cloth absently in his hand as paused, trying to find the words. "I've been there for so long. It would have been another couple of years before they turned me loose, assuming no one adopted me, but I just wanted to get out. I wanted to go somewhere new, work my way up to actually being somebody. I know there is so much more in the world than just Hollow Bastian, but I haven't seen any of it. I was sick of sitting around, doing nothing and going nowhere."
"But surely you had friends there?"
"I did, and I love Miss Aerith like she's my real mother. But I know things were getting tight there. Do you know what money is?" The redhead nodded. Humans used such tokens in exchange for things like food and clothing and such, buying them from specialized humans who made them. "Money kept the orphanage open; money from rich donors that lived in town. Because they pay so much, they get a say in how Miss Aerith runs things, and if she doesn't let them, they don't donate as much or at all. They must be mad at her, because there's been less to eat for a while now.
That's kind of why I decided to go ahead and do this now. Now she has one less person to pay for. I got as far out of town as I could just so that someone wouldn't catch me and drag me back there."
'Strange,' Axel thought. "So where were you going?"
Roxas shrugged again. "Not sure. I had no destination in mind. As long as it's not Hollow Bastian, I'd be happy."
"It seems stupid to leave a perfectly nice place with proven food, shelter, and security in order to go seek an unknown future. Especially being so unprepared."
"Yeah, yeah, I know." The younger boy groaned and blushed slightly. "I'm not saying it was the smartest plan or anything. But you wouldn't understand anyway."
The redhead frowned, but didn't comment further. He knew the desire to travel and strike it out alone all too well, but it was out of the question for so many reasons.
And maybe, because of that, he envied Roxas. If only a little bit.