Action Louder than Words

High altitudes, rocky inclines, limited food and water…a typical life of a Ghost, especially during training selections.

Damon easily keeps pace with the wolves as they continue their hard trek towards the so called Alpha school. They've been walking for hours, Damon is sure they could have been there by now if they hump it the rest of the way like the Ghosts usually did, but he has to remind himself that they are traveling with young pups, some of which who have never been this far from the dens before. Damon doesn't like moving at such a slow rate, yet he couldn't help smiling whenever he looks to the pups and watch them bounce all over the place.

Most notable among them is Meadow whose joy is incomparable to any other. She's practically walking on air as she leaps, tackle and chase her fellow playmates, joyfully grinning all the while. The pups continue with their games as they slowly migrate across the land, but Damon occasionally catches one of the Alpha chaperones eyeing Meadow. He knows many of the wolves are still wheeling from this strange and unusual development, but he couldn't help feeling dislike towards them.

Maybe it's because he knows what it's like to be singled out. During his time among the LA militia, he remembers how he got in a fight with a fellow militia man or militia teen he suppose. He can't remember what it was they were fighting over, it was either because of food or weapons equipment, both of which were hard to come by back then. It wasn't long before they went at it, trying to pound the other, it took an amateur nurse turn fighter to pull them apart, but before he did, the teen shouted something that stayed with Damon for most of his life, "rich boy!"

The whole world has gone away, his parents are missing, probably dead and he was a young killer living on the street, but then a whole new realization had settled in on him that day. Throughout his young life he never really considered it before, but then he learns that he was a rich boy, living off the success of his parents in a leisure life while others weren't so lucky.

After that he asked around, trying to see what kind of lives the rest of his squad had before the invasion, but they refused to share the few precious memories they harbor within themselves. Eventually after careful listening and in directive asking he learned that almost every one of them had been of either the middle class or the lower class. In the camp he lived in, there were some people there who used to live the "high life" as well. However, they were very different from Damon, embarrassingly so in fact. There was a woman who tried to forced people to bring her meals in bed simply because she used to design expensive clothing. There was a man who was a former CEO of some software company, he wouldn't stop whining about everything that would plague a common man, such as retrieving bucket water from some still clean plumbing. There was even a movie star who tried trading pieces of paper with his signature on it for spare rations card with starving people, the worst thing about it in Damon's opinion is that the guy was serious. After that, Damon separated himself from those people entirely, deciding to start a new life and not look back on his old one.

After joining the military he met some people like him, rich patriots who suffered from ridicule, yet for some reason they weren't as affected by the name calling than he was. Once a guy in shabby clothes asked him and one of the fellow "rich boys" what it was like to live life as a commoner. It took all of Damon's strength to restrain his teammate from strangling the man who continued shouting insults. Finally fellow soldiers stepped in and took his teammate away to cool off, while Damon simply apologizes to the nay sayer, which caused the guy to go into a spitting frenzy, shouting it was too late for apologies. Such things are rare since everyone is in the same kettle of trouble, but it was stuff like that, that would mess with Damon's head for days.

But what really hurt Damon though was when he went through his Ghost training with his fellow brothers and encountered the same separation. He was benching weights with a guy named Beasley and comments how strong the guy was, he responded by saying years of work can do that to a man. Beasley missed seeing Damon's pained expression as he process this. Again he does another census with his future Ghost brothers and learned they come from similar life styles; ghettos, upbringings in isolated wilderness and broken homes. All of them had less than what Damon had…and he took it all for granted. He was the only Ghost there to have grown up in the suburbs. He feels like an illegal member to an elite country club (as ironic as it was) for they all have many things in common when growing up, all except for Damon.

He never revealed how he views these types of situations, not to his team or any other fellow soldiers. He tried speaking of it once to a fellow aristocratic born soldier, but it lead nowhere when the girl had no idea what it was that Damon is going through.

Damon is so preoccupied with thinking of his past that he didn't watch his footing as he trips. His body fell on top of the Lynx rifle he has in his hand, causing the weapon to jam against his chest, causing the Ghost to clench his teeth as he resists letting out a moan. Some of the wolves laugh at this sight, all except for Lilly who rushes over and asks, "Are you alright?"

"Fine," Damon says through clench teeth as he rises back to his feet, gently touching his chest where he already feels a bruise forming, "just terrific."

He avoids looking at the albino wolf and starts walking again, but Lilly matches his speed and walks besides him as she looks up at his face.

"Are you sure you're alright?" Lilly continues to inquire.

Damon grunts this time, hoping to brush her off.

"If you want we can stop and we can-" she starts to say before Damon cuts her off.

"No Lilly!" he exclaims, "I'm fine, really I am."

She takes a couple of startle steps away from Damon, causing the Ghost to realize what he just said. He sighs before saying, "Sorry, Lilly, I was just…thinking unpleasant things."

She gives him another curious looks and asks, "Do you want to talk about it?"

He studies her with his one eye, thinking it through. She's an Omega, he thought to himself, if there's anyone here who can understand then surely she would.

He lets out a sigh, look at her before asking, "How do you do it?"

"Do what?" she asks in confusion.

"Well…sometimes I hear some Alphas say rude things about Omegas, and I see them treat you guys as lower class, so I was wondering…how do you cope with it?" he finally asks and looks towards her.

She looks away and is silent for a moment before looking back and says, "I just mostly ignore it and say something funny as a comeback."

"That simple?" Damon asks.

"Well…" she thinks for a moment before continuing, "Whenever someone says something that is…worse than the usual stuff, then I find comfort with my family or fellow Omegas, they remind me who I am and how important I am," she finishes with a grin.

Family and friends? Well Damon has friends, brothers in fact, within the Ghost teams, but none of them are here at the moment and none of them have been through what he has been through.

Noticing his silence once more she asks, "Is there something bothering you?"

He glances at the white wolf and without knowing why, he spills his guts to her, "yeah, it's just…seeing you, the Alpha and Omega split and all reminds me what separates me from other people."

Lilly nods to him so he continues, "Where I come from…I'm different from others. I grew up in pleasure, unaware of the world's problems outside my very own home, I'm not the only one, but after the Odin attacks, after the Federation began their invasion, I was the only one of my class of people to want to fight back. Here I am, trying to help people, but some of them suddenly becomes suspicious of me because of my background and questions my motives, values and my very purpose," he sighs when he finish.

"Don't you have someone to talk to?" Lilly begins to ask but Damon is already shaking his head as he replies, "I'm in a unique position here, I'm the only guy who has my type of background; a guy of high society willing to get his hands dirty to genuinely help others."

Lilly ponders for a moment before saying, "Damon, you shouldn't let what people think of you get to you."

"But it's been going on for years!" exclaims Damon, "after everything I have done, everything I had sacrificed, people still singles me out and demands why a rich boy is finally involved."

Lilly waits for a heartbeat before responding, "I've been called names for years as well Damon," which causes the human to turn and look at her, "I know how you feel, hurt, sad, angry, wanting to lash out at the world but you know you can't, not without having people ridicule your actions and makes you the offender."

She looks to him, "You have to remember the good things in your life Damon, don't think about what people are calling you or what they think of you, do what makes you…you," she grins at him, "the pups have now made you their hero you know, and I bet that's how people in this…America views you now."

Damon thinks for a moment before saying, "Well the people of the United States don't exactly know who I am and what it was that I did," his eyes slightly widen at a thought he has, "in fact, you guys, you wolves, are the first people to see, to know what it is I do, not just some guy in a scary mask but a guy who's name is Damon."

Lilly is now grinning at him broadly, "exactly, whenever you feel down Damon, just think of us, don't think about the past, what's done is done, all you can do that can change it now is determine by what you do now."

The Ghost looks at Lilly and starts scratching her head, causing her to close her eyes in content as he says, "Thanks Lilly, that's the first time someone has ever said that to me."

She smiles in return and says, "You're welcome," and with that the two continues to walk in silence, but this time it is a good silence, for now Damon knows that he is surrounded by friends, supporters, people who won't criticize his motives because of his past, but by the actions he commits now during the present.

Damon keeps his puffs of air under control as he sprints upwards, trying to remain fast and alert at the same time while cradling the Lynx rifle in his arms. Finally he bursts through the vegetation, slides to the ground on one knee, stopping a mere few inches from the edge of the cliff and looks around, feeling himself choke up a bit.

It might have changed, there's no way to be sure, but Damon knows for sure that this is the place; his old camping grounds. He walks forward and looks around, he and his team did a good job on hiding, even he is having trouble finding signs of life. He stops in front of a fallen log; he remembers this is the place where he was talking to Falkner while he drew pictures on the ground, which is long gone now. He looks across from the log and sure enough there's the boulder where Gordon was sitting as he disassembles and reassembles his weapon. Finally Damon looks to the right and see the large rock slab that Swans usually lies prone on as he observes the enemy camp.

At that thought, Damon lowers himself a bit and shuffles forward, so he won't be seen from a distance if any enemy snipers are looking in this general direction. He lowers himself lower to the floor and crawls forward a bit, pauses once he isn't far from the edge and looks through the scope on the Lynx.

The enemy encampment is still there. The tents, the quickly erected bunkers and the vehicles are still there, as well as the watchtowers, but Damon can see that there is now something different about the place. They have now surrounded the camp with a chain linked fencing material with barb wire at the top, probably meant to keep wild animals out and not enemy combatants. Another thing that he took in stock is the lake; he figures he can use that to sneak into the encampment but that idea dies as soon as he looks at the body of water. It is now surrounded by bored looking guards, casually they walk along the edge of the lake and look into the depths or up at the surrounding cliff face, despite this Damon knew they weren't really that highly alert. Then he notices something back at the camp, there are now upturn dirt running along the perimeter and by the buildings, it wasn't long until Damon realizes that they are actually trenches, dug in pretty deep since he can barely see the top of a Fed's head.

That's when he aims his focus on the Federation troop to see what he would be facing. The soldiers are all sprawled out across the base, mechanics at the motor pool, armed soldiers in the watchtower and gate, leaving the rest of the Feds lazing around. He sees some reading pieces of papers, playing cards, smoking, eating and even a trio of them playing soccer. Moving his sight around them, he is able to tell that they are a lot less of them then there was when he first got there. Their numbers ranged from one fifty to two hundred. Now he is confident that there is less than one fifty, maybe even less than a hundred, did his Ghosts really take down that many combatants? He sure hopes so as pride suddenly fills him.

After the head count, he scans the area once more looking for one individual; Estrada. Damon wants nothing more than to have the guy within range of his sniper rifle and blow his head away, but he need the man alive so he can interrogate him and found out who Archangel is. As far as he's concern, both men are responsible for the demise of his team. His search yields to nothing, no doubt the so called "Terror of America" is hiding within the HQ bunker.

Damon is pulling himself back away from the edge when he stops and thrusts the scope back to his eyes as he begins searching for something that he had missed; the machine. He remembers the large building block looking components were laying around the last time he and his team was there, but now the device and its spare pieces are nowhere to be seen.

Where is it, Damon wonders as he scans the place again, did they bury it or tear it back to pieces again?

Damon is still looking when he hears the sound of sprinting feet and the crashing of leaves. Damon didn't turn to see who it is, there's only one person in the entire world that can make that much noise with little effort. A few moments later, Humphrey emerges from the bushes, shaking all over as he gasps before collapsing on the stone and lies next to Damon with his tongue sticking out.

"You do know you don't have to kill yourself to impress Kate, right?" Damon asks with his eye still glue to the scope.

Humphrey pants for a couple more minutes before finally answering, "Doesn't hurt to try," which cause Damon to smile slightly.

The silence returns now as both human and wolf look down on their common foe, taking in everything they are seeing before Humphrey asks, "So does Damon, the man who can jump over the moon, have any ideas on what to do with that?" he asks as he gestures towards the enemy camp.

Damon rolls his eyes before answering, "No, still scanning, still thinking," he says more to himself than the wolf as they both watch the Feds from a far off distance.

After a few more moments, Humphrey clears his throat before saying, "Winston sent me to come and get you," the Ghost turns his attention on the wolf as he continues, "he says we're close to the Alpha school and he would feel comfortable if you scout it out for us."

Damon does one last quick scan of the enemy forces one more time before standing and nods his head, "then let's go," with that he turns on his heel and starts sprinting back down the mountain. He hears the Omega groan behind him before hearing the pitter patter that tells him the wolf is now following close behind him.

The trip down is a lot more enjoyable than coming up. Damon is push forward by gravity, slides on some smooth surfaces and jumps at every opportunity he has. Within less than five minutes, Damon is at the bottom of the hill but decides to wait for Humphrey before joining up with the rest of the pack. Ten minutes past and Damon is starting to get tired of waiting, he is about ready to go and rejoin the pack on his own when he hears a surprised yelp and look up just in time to see Humphrey break through the foliage. The black and grey wolf tries to jump from an out cropping rock just as Damon has done earlier, but he miscalculates the power of his legs, so when he jumped he went farther then he intended. Damon watches as the Omega bounces along the trail that leads down, grunting and yelping every few feet. Suddenly his out of control motions sent him in the direction of Damon. Upon seeing the furry projectile, Damon tries to jump out of the way but is too late when Humphrey slams into him. The wolf pushes the Ghost to the forest floor and knocks all the air out of him, leaving both of them lying stun on the ground as they pant in an attempt to catch their breath.

They are still recovering when Garth walks by, sees the grey wolf lying on top of Damon in a hilarious pile up and couldn't help but laugh as he trots over.

"Winston is wondering what's taking you so long Damon," he says in a teasing voice.

"Take a wild guess Garth," Damon wheezes as he gently pushes Humphrey off of him, picks up his rifle and runs towards the pack, leaving Garth with his brother in law.

Damon only has to travel at least ten or fifteen yards before meeting up with the pack. The pups are now going wild as they chase one another around the trees, but Damon notices the adult wolves are wearing serious expressions that turn even grimmer as Damon walks by. He heads to the front of the group and finds Winston and Tony once again arguing with each other, when Tony glares at Damon he knew they were talking about him.

Winston's greeting is much more polite as he asks, "how far away is the Federation camp?"

"From here…about four hundred yards," estimates Damon, "if we stay in this area, stay quiet and careful not to draw notice to ourselves than I doubt the Federation will know we are here."

Winston nods his head before looking to a small hump of a hill in front of them and says, "Beyond here is the Alpha School," he turns back to Damon, "do you think you can inspect it before we bring the pups in?"

Damon nods his head as he hefts the rifle in his hand once more and shuffles forward. He lowers himself close to the ground and angles himself to be close to the trees as he tries not to draw attention to himself. He panics at first when he feels hundreds of eyes staring at him until he realizes it's just the wolves. He lets out a nervous sigh as he crests the hill and quickly ducks behind a tree and hides within its shadows.

He then looks downwards and is slightly taken aback by what he sees. The land before him is a meadow surrounded by a miniature mountain range, but what catches his attention is the greenness. The forest is transitioning into fall before winter, so much of the grass is changing brown and other multiple colors yet here it seems as if this one specific spot remains trap in spring. He encircles the meadow using the shadows of the evergreens; he walk the entire perimeter of the clearing before deciding the area is clean of hostiles. But to be safe, he finds a sturdy tree, which unfortunately is an evergreen and climes upwards. Ignoring the thousands of poking needles, Damon reaches the top branch and scans the area. Much of the land is covered by trees, making it difficult for him to see any advancing fighters. He supposes they have to rely on the patrols to alert them of any intruders.

Damon climbs down the tree for only a few feet before jumping the rest of the way. He rolls upon hitting the ground and checks his surroundings one more time before putting two fingers to his mouth and whistles as loud as he could. Upon the edge of the hill he watches as the wolves look for themselves to make sure the area is truly clear before trotting towards his position. He waits before spotting the two Alpha leaders and walks up to them.

Speaking like they're military leaders, Damon reports, "Area is clear, but the trees makes things from the skies dense, so we have to have a roving guard patrol the premises."

Winston nods to his report and says, "Very well, nice work Damon" he then turns and walks over to the rest of the pack who all sit as they recover from their trip. Damon then looks to Tony who stares back before dully saying, "You did ok," before turning to rejoin Winston as he addresses the pack.

Damon makes a small sound of irritation as he looks up towards the skies and determine it is sometime in the afternoon, approaching evening. He reaches into his bag and pulls out an MRE. He sits against a nearby tree as he bites into a cold dry ham, wishing for once that he could have some fresh meat. He pauses at that though; maybe it's time for him to try some caribou steak. However he shakes the idea out of his head, the only way he can eat the meat is if he cooks it, which means he'll need a fire, fire that could attract attention from the Feds. He will not reveal the location of the pack for the sake of food, even though the thought of steak continues to makes his mouth water.

As Damon eats the meal, he watches as the wolves get the cubs back on their feet and begins giving them instructions. Damon guesses from their groans that their training is starting now and they don't like it one bit. An Alpha turns and starts to run through the forest, the pups soon follows, and Damon couldn't help but smile when he sees Meadow at the for front of the group.

He watches them go until they disappear into the thickest of the forest, hoping that they'll stay close to the meadow. Damon takes another bite from his cold meat before looking at the remaining wolves. They all remain sitting down, seeming to get comfortable before taking a nap. The Ghost couldn't help but feel that this is slightly unfair; the kids are off training while these guys sit here and doze off.

He stuffs the remainder of the ham into his mouth and places the food container on a high branch of a tree and makes his way over to the remainder of the pack.

He walks closer to them before imitating the voice of a drill instructor, "Alright wolves!" he shouts, gaining their attention, "let us continue our own form of training."

His friends Humphrey, Garth, Kate, and even Lilly stands up, but what surprises him though is that almost half the group stands up with them. During every training session before this one, he had to ask, push and come close to begging the wolves to follow his command, all of who were filled with Alpha Pride. He couldn't help wondering what happen to change the standing wolves' opinion, but he now knows that they can be sway and lose their Alpha Pride.

A wolf among those who is still lying down groans and ask, "Can't we rest first?" with his eyes still closed.

"Do the Federation soldiers rest during the middle of an attack?" Damon responds back.

Slowly the wolf opens one eye, clearly deep in thought before saying, "No."

"Then neither can we," Damon says as he looks up and begins speaking to the wolves as a whole, "Don't you see how close we are to enemy territory?" he looks among the wolves to make sure they are listening before continuing, "there's no room to slack off, especially here, especially now," he points in the direction where the young wolves have taken off earlier, "at the moment you are the only protection that these young pups have, furthering your responsibilities, your Alphas, protectors of your pack, its time you start living up to your name."

The wolves looks to one another before another wolf asks, "You doubt our fighting capabilities?"

"Listen," says Damon, "you are probably the best fighters in this whole forest, but that's when you face rival wolves, here you are facing humans with guns, and I'm hoping the tale the young wolves told you convince you to realize how much of a threat the Feds are and how you need to step up your skills if you wish to be of service to your pack. In order to survive, you must do as us humans and others animals have done for centuries; adapt."

The wolves on the ground look to one another before almost as one; they sigh and raise themselves back to their feet.

"Let's get this over with," the wolf who spoke earlier said.

The sun is dipping behind the mountain range, shrouding the land in darkness, but the wolves, young and old, still practice. Damon had made them line up in front of the tree line, cut down and reposition some braches into a dozen human like shapes and coaches each wolf how to charge at the dummies. The Alpha Pride filled wolves goes along with a certain blasé about them, but after each of them takes a turn, Damon notices how they quickly correct their earlier posture or fix any mistakes that they had made. The Omega's use their natural jitteriness to their advantage, adding more energy to their strikes and quickening their pace. The pups however beat all the adults through their young determination and devotion. Though Damon isn't planning on having any of them fight the Feds anytime soon, he figures it would be good for the future pack Alphas to know how to take down a human foe.

Damon looks upwards and watches the slightly full moon as it begins to move into its position in the sky. He decides to have the wolves do one more run before calling it a day, he doesn't show it, but all the coaching and his constant alertness is waxing his strength as well.

"Alright," he shouts, "one last time, I want to see a super charge, a low approach evasion movement and a savage take down, and try to make it look like you actually mean it!"

The wolves, even some of the pups, growls at Damon, but he doesn't mind, if his old drill instructor was teaching the wolves then the creatures probably wouldn't survive, they may not know it, but Damon is actually taking it easy on them.

"At the ready!" he yells. The wolves all formed a dozen small lines that face the twelve mock humans, biggest in the front, youngest in the rear. The one's in the front slowly curls and uncurls their claws into the ground, steadying their nerves.

Damon positions himself close to the targets and raises his arm, "Ready!"

The wolves standing in the front all let out snarls of anticipation.

"Strike!" shouts Damon.

The first wave of wolves takes off running as they try to follow Damon's instructions, charging as fast as they could before lowering themselves close to the floor and zig zag a little in case the Feds tries to shoot at them. When they make it to the mock humans, they all jump and attack in various different ways, making it slightly difficult for Damon to watch them all and see if they're doing anything incorrectly.

One wolf jumps onto an improvise human and tore at its throat. Another grabs the stick arm, pulls the prop low to the floor before pushing it over and savages what would have been a human chest. Another technique is demonstrated as a wolf buries its teeth into the leg of one dummy, bringing it down face first before jumping onto it and starts ripping up its back. Lastly, one form of attack that always causes Damon to slightly wince is when he watches a wolf leaps and bites down on the section between the dummy's legs before bringing it down and tearing up its throat.

Once the wolves display their prowess, they stand next to their "kills" as Damon walks to each one and repositions the figures while giving his assessments.

"Hutch, nice job, but makes sure you quickly take the target down, you'll never know if there'll be another tango getting ready to attack you from behind if you spend too much time on an already down enemy." Hutch nods to this but fails to keep the grin off his face.

"Well done Garth, but makes sure you work on your speed, I don't want a Fed smoking you simply because you were too slow." Garth gulps at this but nods as well.

"Viola, very, uh, savage, I think you got this technique down," Damon responds as he checks the crotch section of the dummy, "so I want you to practice other form of strategy, keep the enemy guessing so he'll have a hard time anticipating and blocking any further attacks." Viola nods too, but with a wicked grin on her face.

Damon continues down along the line before setting up all of the improvise humans once more and signal the next wolves in line to attack as well. He continues the process with each wave of wolves; having the hunters' rush the targets and setting the targets back up again, all the while giving each wolf his professional opinion and advice. He's proud to see that Meadow is easily the best young warrior among them, her lean body giving her the right shape to evade enemy fire yet possessing strong enough teeth to tear through almost any type of flesh. The worst wolves however prove to be the two Omegas among them; Humphrey seems to have the concept of attack down but he's always tripping over himself and causing a commotion. Lilly is pretty agile, but when the wolves bites, she nibbles, when they claws, she scratches; it's as if it's against her nature to be hostile.

Despite these infractions, Damon is still filled with pride as he watches the wolves. They were never helpless, but now they have a chance at fighting back against their human invaders who may wish them harm. They certainly come a long way when he thought of their performances before this training process has begun.

With the last target down, Damon walks forwards and gestures for the wolves to come and surround him. The two elderly pack leaders, Winston and Tony, were basking in the dying sun's light before trotting over to hear the Ghost's verdict.

Damon waits until they are all gathered around him before speaking in his causal voice, "Well done, all of you, well done," he congratulates as he continues in a genuine tone, "you have learn some valuable methods on human take downs, but it's not perfect, only years of training and commitment will allow you to become perfect, or close to it anyway. However, I need you all to remember; I did not teach these skills to you simply so you can attack any human you want, but to defend yourselves and the wolves of your pack, your family. As the warriors, the fighters, the defenders, it is your job, your duty, to serve and protect those who entrust their lives to you." Damon then looks to the pups, but look to one in particular, "I know you have your whole Alpha and Omega differences going on at the moment, but I hope, in time, you will make the same discoveries that us humans have made," here he pauses as he looks into Meadow's eyes, "the right to be a warrior or to be anything else for that matter isn't inherited…it is earned."

The wolves look among themselves, puzzling over his words, but when Damon sees the wide smile on Meadow's face, he knew she understands.

Winston steps forward now and turns to the wolves, "Sound advice indeed, thank you Damon," he says as he looks to the human who bows his head in return and steps away from the center, giving the "floor," to the pack leader. "What Damon says is true, nothing but practice can prepare you for the challenges ahead of you, and even then, it is still a challenge, especially when your life depends on it in this world." He pauses and looks to the members of his mini pack before continuing, "We will be having roaming patrols tonight, tomorrow; every second of every day, until the threat of the Federation is gone from our lands. But until then, we shall continue our Alpha training, both young and old, except for a few in exception that will be performing patrols." Here he looks around at the faces of his pack once before saying, "The wolves for the first patrol shift will consist of Ken, Sam, Nate and…Humphrey."

Damon couldn't help but feel his eyes widen at this while some wolves gasp and whispers among themselves. Sure Humphrey perform some patrols by now, but the fact that he is chosen to do it here, close to enemy territory clearly shows the new found faith that Winston has for his son in law.

"Alright, that's enough" Winston says in a loud voice, "the rest of you will rest, we have a day of training to look forward to in the morning." There is some slight groaning among the crowd, but they smile at the thought of getting a well-earned nap after a hard day of traveling and training.

Damon walks over to the tree where he left his bag and retrieves it before turning and following the wolves as they tread towards the eastern side of the clearing. As he walks through the meadow, Damon glances at the first patrol group gathered at the center as they talk to Winston and Tony. For some reason the Ghost feels like a proud parent as he sees Humphrey with the group, but standing slightly in the back as he talks with Kate. They talk before pressing their noses together, making Damon feel uncomfortable so he picks up his speed and heads in the direction of shelter.

Dug close to the base of the trees are dozens of assorted dens, made throughout the ages by the ever visiting wolves as they bring their young there annually to train them as Alphas. Damon walks to his den, which is slightly larger than the others but not a whole lot since he is forced to once again bend over in order to enter and move around the interior.

Damon sets the bag against the far wall of the den and removes his assorted weapons and body armor from within, save for a couple of grenades. With nothing but clothes now in the bag and weapons close at hand, Damon lies on the cold ground, uses the bag as a pillow and brings out the MRE he opened earlier and finishes the food off.

Damon is just about done when he hears timidly approaching footsteps. He reaches for one of the rifles close at hand but stops himself. He can hear the four padded footsteps and knew whoever is approaching is a wolf, so he doesn't have to worry.

He continues to lie on the bag as his furry visitor arrives and stands in the entranceway of his den before entering. He isn't surprise to see that it is Meadow. The young wolf enters his cave and sits right next to him as if it's a causal thing before she speaks.

"Hello Damon, I, uh, hope you don't mind me walking in the way I did" she said rather sheepishly.

The human just laughs as he says, "think nothing of it, you're always welcome in my…humbled home," he replies rather sarcastically.

She giggles before becoming silent and looking distance as she is envelope in deep thought. Damon watches her for a moment before asking, "Is there something you wish to talk about?"

The young wolf looks up to him before looking down and asks, "Why?"

Damon cocks his head to the side a bit before asking, "Why what?"

Meadow finally looks up at him and asks, "why did you help me get here? I'm an Omega, most Alphas, or um, err, people who are like Alphas, wouldn't help me, so why did you?"

Damon shakes his head slightly before raising his hand and places it on the wolf's own shaggy head as he responds almost instantly, "because we're friends Meadow, would you not help your friends in any way you could if they are in a situation similar to yours?"

Meadow huffs slightly before saying, "an Alpha in my position? I don't think that's possible, I mean, yes I would help my friends in any way I could, but I find it hard to believe that they would go through what I've been through," she finishes with a sad sigh.

"Life as an Omega is tough isn't it?" Damon asks as he starts to stroke her head.

Meadow sadly shakes her head before saying, "I have always been singled out, even among Omegas I stand out. Despite Omegas supposedly being dreamers, many other Omega pups just couldn't stand me and my ideas of being an Alpha," she sighs, "I'm lucky to find support from my parents and friends, but no matter what I do, people will always look at what I am and judge me."

Damon shivers at the words, her words, her voice; they almost mirrored his own when he spoke with Lilly earlier. He thinks for a moment before looking at Meadow who has her head down as he speaks, "Meadow, look at me."

She did as he told her to do, they gaze into each other's eyes before Damon speaks again, "would you say I'm an Alpha?"

She gives him a strange looks before replying hesitantly, "Yes?"

"Would you believe me if I told you I've been ridiculed as well because I'm different from others?"

Meadow's eyes widen at his as she asks, "How…why, why would they ridicule you, a hero? What makes you different from others?"

"It's a long story" Damon says, "Basically I'm from a family with an elevated position, meaning I had a lot of resources at hand, resources that I could have, should have, used to help others. After the ODIN attack, people who I could have helped demand to know why they should trust me since I didn't help them before, and I'm all alone because I'm the only guy from my class of people who is willing to fight."

He looks down at the wolf, "Just as you are called Omega, I am called rich boy, we can't do anything to change that, but what we can do is let our present actions speak of who we are and why we do what we do," he looks at her in the eye as he finishes, "we do it, because we want to, even when it doesn't seem that way to others, we do it because we want to help."

Meadow continues to stare at him before lowering her head and places it on his lap as she sighs, "thank you Damon."

The Ghost just grins as he strokes her fur, soothing her. They stay like that for minutes, comforted by each other's presence until Damon looks outside and see it's getting really late so he shakes his leg, rousing Meadow up from semi-slumber.

"Meadow, you should head back now," Damon says, "you've got another day of training and I've got to get started on some Ghost work."

The she-wolf yawns and says, "Right…training," she sighs as she gets up and walks towards the entrance.

"Don't tell me you regret that I put my neck on the line for you to be here," he says but with a hint of humor within it.

Meadow just laughs and looks over her shoulder at Damon as she responds in a truthful voice, "Never, all this training, it'll be worth it." She is about to leave when she pauses and looks at Damon once more and asks, "Damon…do you think we're ready, to face the Federation?"

Damon thinks for a moment. Actual combat is worse, real worse, than training, and there's nothing that the Ghost, or any other instructor can do, to fully prepare his trainees for the violence, chaos, and destruction of a real battlefield.

"I don't know Meadow," he finally answers, "I guess we'll know when it is time to put everything we learn to real use."

Meadow is silent before asking, "And us? What about us pups? Are we ready, because Ann…she wants to fight the Feds too."

Damon sighs. He has notice when Ann attacks the decoys there is brutishness to her attacks that show the scars that has marked her. He doubts the wolves are ready for combat and he defiantly is unsure if the pups are prepared either.

"Honestly Meadow…I think you and the pups should stay out of this," he looks up at her, "I and the rest of your pack, your parents, wants you and the other pups to live peacefully and not to be scared by the turmoil of war."

Meadow sighs and says, "It's too late for Ann then huh?"

Damon shakes his head once more before looing up and says, "Yeah, but as her friends, we are committed to help and reassure her, to let her known she has people that she can lean on, what she is going through is difficult, and she may not know it yet, but she'll be glad to have friends like you." He glances outside again and says, "It's late Meadow, let's turn in, remember we got a busy day tomorrow."

Meadow nods in response before saying, "Good night," and leaves the den.

"Night," he calls after her as he repositions his head on his makeshift pillow and closes his eyes.