Wilson's POV

I couldn't help but tap my foot expectantly as Webber walked towards me with his head down. While WX had returned to camp the same day he had left, the spider had been gone for two days. WX had held the information of his whereabouts over my head for his own amusement, which I wasn't surprised about. It didn't make me any less worried about him, though. It's a dangerous world. It's not safe for any of us to be out alone. "Well? Where were you?"

"Um... dying..." the spider mumbled. "Probably?"

I raised my eyebrow at him.

"We weren't in danger," he said quickly. "We-uh- were with other spiders. We fell through the hill with WX and got a nasty injury on our chest."

"HE HAD A CRUSH ON ONE OF THEM," WX added with a sneer.

"Did not!" Webber growled, but I cut him off before another argument could surface.

"Alright, alright, don't even start. Webber, I really don't like that you were out that long without telling me where you were." I crossed my arms. Despite the fact that he acted independently, he was still a young child, and he still had to learn rules and discipline. His jaw dropped in anger.

"What were we supposed to tell you? They literally would not let us leave!" Webber stomped his foot, puffing his cheeks out and his whiskers twitching.

"You've survived a lot worse than a gash to the chest," I pointed out. "We've been here for less than a year and you've probably already broken half of the bones in your body. Surely you could've left any time you wanted to, even if they didn't let you."

"Why are you treating us like a child?" Webber fumed. "We've survived by ourself for years before!"

"Because you are a child, Webber!"

"Well, you're not our pa! You have no right to tell us what to do! If we want to spend some time with our own kind, then let us!"

"I may not be your father, but you should be glad about that! If I was your father, I would've washed your mouth out with soap by now!"

"We'd love to see you try!"

"WILSON," WX spoke up, startling me out of my glare-off with the spider boy. "YOU KNOW AS WELL AS I DO THAT IT WOULD BE USELESS TO KEEP A LEASH ON HIM. IF HE WANTS TO KILL HIMSELF, LET HIM."

I pinched the bridge of my nose, letting out a long sigh. "You're right, WX. I just worry about both of you, alright? We need each other. Webber, I'm sorry I yelled at you. I was- grr, I was really worried about you! WX wouldn't tell me where you were! I seriously thought you were dead!"

Webber's shoulders relaxed slightly, and he lowered his head again. "...it's okay. We just... really... we are independent. You know that, right?"

I sighed once more and shook my head. You aren't! None of us are! Why don't you understand that! "Go get something to eat."

"Yes, Wilson." He turned and scampered off, leaving me alone with WX. I turned to the robot with an incredulous expression.

"He doesn't get it."

"HE IS YOUNG," WX replied, surprising me with the touch of fondness in the comment. "HE WILL LEARN." The robot shook his head. "IT HAS BEEN GETTING WARM. SUMMER IS COMING."

"I'm aware. I'm not looking forward to it..." I shook my head fiercely. "But it doesn't matter! We've survived this long! At this point, our exquisite master may as well give us the key out." I cracked my knuckles, choosing not to read WX's expression. I didn't need to see his doubt. "I know the book says that the Dragonfly is the strongest of all of the Giants, but I call bologna. It's stupid to have the hardest enemy be the second one we fight."

"...I SUPPOSE. WHILE YOUR OPTIMISM IS SICKENING I CANNOT HELP BUT WONDER IF THAT IS WHAT HAS GOTTEN YOU THIS FAR."

"Wow! We missed the taste of rabbit!" Webber exclaimed, rejoining us. His hands were covered with red juice that he was contently licking off. "Slurper may be good but it will never beat the peaty taste of a goo-"

"Hush," I cut him off, aggressively motioning my hand towards him to stop. He paused with his hand in mid-air. "...do you hear that?"

Whiskers twitching, Webber closed his eyes and took in a deep breath. "Hounds. Seven of them. Coming from..." he paused, then pointed in the direction of the savanna. "Over there." He looked baffled for a moment. "We... there's a tinge that we can't quite make out..."

I hoisted my morning star over my shoulder, watching carefully in the direction that Webber had pointed. I was surprised by how much I trusted the boy's sense of hearing and smell, but there wasn't time to really think about it. Webber gripped his knife closely to his chest while WX chose not to take a weapon. The robot's heavy weight allowed for him to give rather heavy blows as well, and his hands obviously did not break down like a weapon would, so he had been using his fists more and more as of late. For a long moment, there was only the faint sound of the wind and mine and Webber's breathing, along with the very, very faint churning of metallic parts working together.

Then, the first hound broke through the tree line. Webber growled deep in his throat, his muscles bunching, but I was too shocked to respond for the longest moment. That's a huge hound! And it's BLUE! Why is it BLUE? Behind it were five black hounds, tailed by another blue one, this one substantially smaller. Is that a puppy? I felt a tinge of guilt. We have to fight a puppy? Maxwell, how cold can you get? I didn't have enough time to feel too bad though, because the front runner had reached us.

Teeth like icicles gleamed in the sun as it lunged for my chest. Readying myself, I swung my morning star in a wide arc and hit the side of its face with a sickening crack! It went flying but managed to land on its paws anyway, its furry chest heaving. Fire blazed in its hungry gaze, but I could see something more. Are... are they sentient? No, don't be stupid, Wilson. Animals are animals. They can't think or care any more than a rock can. Before I could renew my attack, the second blue hound latched onto my ankle, causing me to collapse. Its fur was as cold as snow, and despite its small size, it was rather heavy. I hit the ground heavily, losing my weapon in the process in favor of trying to pry it off.

It let out an excited yelp as it realized that it had the upper hand, and clamped onto my hand. It tossed its head back and forth, growling, and I couldn't help but feel dizzy with relief that it was just a puppy. If it had been a fully grown hound, it could've easily taken my whole arm off. I could still feel its jagged teeth digging into my skin though, and the blood pooling around its teeth told me enough about the state of my hand.

Then, it released me with a howl. I blinked rapidly, my racing mind taking a second to recover from the attack, but I was just in time to see why it had stopped.

WX stood over the bloody body of the largest hound. The rest of the hounds lay, lifeless, on the ground around them, and I realized that he and Webber had taken all of them out in the time it took for me to nearly get nibbled to death by a puppy. Its blue fur was so stained in its own blood that it was hard to make out what color it was anymore. The puppy had released me in favor of nudging and whining at the hound's body. My stomach lurched in horror of the realization, and I turned to see the exact expression over Webber's face. His jaw dropped and he looked absolutely devastated. If he was anyone else, I would've expected to see the boy crying.

"You killed its momma!" Webber cried, glaring accusingly at WX.

"IT'S 'MOMMA' WAS TRYING TO KILL US!" WX snapped back, glaring at the puppy with disdain. "AND SO WAS THIS STUPID CREATURE." He brought his arm back as if to finish off the hound pup, but Webber caught the robot's hand before he could. WX gave him a nasty look.

"Don't kill it! It's- it's just a baby!"

"OH?" WX sounded incredibly amused. "SHOULD I PICK IT UP AND KISS IT AND MAKE IT ALL BETTER?" His voice dripped with sarcasm.

Webber looked at me with a pained expression. "Wilson, we can't kill it!"

"It's just an animal, Webber. It's not like they have feelings any more than a rock or insect does."

Hurt flared in his eyes, and he looked sharply away. I was confused. Did I offend him or something?

"Is that all we are, then?!" He exploded, snapping his gaze back towards me. His fur bristled and his whiskers were twitching like crazy. "Are we just an emotionless insect, Wilson?"
GAH how do you make it SO EASY TO FORGET WHAT YOU ARE?

"That's- that's not what I meant and you know it!"

His fur flattened a little, but he didn't look any less upset. He just looked... he looks sad... he looks so sad.

"Webber." I tried to make my voice as gentle as possible. I rested my hand on the boy's shoulder. "What else could we do with a hound? They're born and bred to kill. Just because this one is smaller doesn't mean it's any less capable of killing."

"Spiders are too. We're also born to kill, and you still let us stay around. Why couldn't we make an exception for this puppy?"

I gave WX a 'please-help-me-look'. "DO NOT LOOK AT ME LIKE THAT, SCIENTIST. THIS IS YOUR MESS TO CLEAN UP."

I sighed. "Webber, we couldn't care for another pet. We already have Chester, and he eats enough for four animals." I attempted to lighten the mood. As if to solidify my comment, the little orange beast let out a bark from his spot by the fire.

Webber said nothing, only breaking away from me and slowly nearing the hound. As he did, the puppy shied away, but Webber was able to gently touch the top of its head. It almost seemed to melt into the touch, closing its eyes and turning its cheek for Webber's claws to stroke. Webber closed his eyes, then stood up, his gaze burning with determination. "Okay, if we can't appeal to your emotional side, then think about it logically. We'll have a sentry to keep watch at night while we sleep. Hounds may not attack us as often or badly if they risk hurting one of their own kind. We could train this puppy to hunt, Wilson. It's obviously built to withstand the cold, and you remember how horrible the winter was with hunting."

I rubbed my temples, trying to force myself to say no, but he was making legitimate points. "...you'll be responsible for training and feeding it?"

Webber perked up. "O-of course!"

WX scowled.

"Fine. If you want to keep it, it's yours. But if that hound takes one step out of line, we're going to have to get rid of it."

"Really, Wilson?" Webber sounded more childlike than I ever heard him sound. "Oh thank you thank you thank you!" He barreled towards me and hugged me as fiercely as he could. I let out a nervous laugh and patted his head, unsure of what else to do. Webber seemed to notice how impulsive the action was and he broke away almost immediately, blushing fiercely in embarrassment beneath his fur. "Um... yes, very... very smart to agree... it would be stupid not to..." he hiccuped, choosing to stroke the hound pup without looking back at me. I smiled. Oh, Webber, you don't have to act big and tough all the time. You're allowed to act like your age.

"YOU'RE SERIOUS, WILSON?"

"Hey, you didn't protest so I figured the decision was up to me."

"IT'S A KILLING MACHINE! IT'S DESIGNED TO WANT TO KILL US."

"So are you, and yet we keep you around," I responded cheekily. "What have you always wanted to name a pet?" I asked Webber as he grew bolder in petting the newest addition to the group.

"Popsicle!" The spider boy responded without any hesitation. "He feels like a little popsicle, you know? His fur is all cold."

I smiled, surprising myself at how the boy's excitement bled into me. "...Popsicle. All right."

This hound was still small, but something was telling me that he wouldn't stay that way for long. If the size of his mother was anything to say by it, he would be very strong. Maybe this was actually a good idea. Maybe this was a stroke of luck, that we are taking in this hound.

Maybe Popsicle is going to give us the edge we need.