Discount Word Emporium

Bonding a new packmate wasn't a trial in and of itself, but doing so when you'd just lost your previous-- it was a bit like licking at a stuck paw. It hurt, prodding that raw wounded place, but you knew in the long run it would help the healing process. So when the two tiny human cubs found him bleeding and alone and reached out to him all instinctively, Repede bound them close despite the ache and let the safety of pack soothe him into healing sleep.

Flynn was as steady and earnest as one could hope for in a packmate. Yuri was wilder, in a way that would have made Repede worry if it wasn’t for the fierce loyalty that burned behind every move he made. The three of them made a good team; for all that the cubs were young they were growing and learning fast, and the in-fighting that sometimes happened between untested males seemed to completely pass them by.

They were very different from his first packmate. But that was good, because it meant that they didn't remind Repede of the past. They were uniquely themselves, young wolves on two legs, brightly alive and as different from the rest of the humans in the city as a four-legged wolf was from the dogs. It was an odd little spark that made someone a wolf; the pack bond took the spark and fanned it up into flames, and after you burned there was no going back.

***

Laughing, Yuri tumbled in the open window of their current den-- no, not den, he had to remember to use human terms for things now that they were dealing with other humans more often. Which was a little difficult sometimes when he’d spent what felt like his entire life with Repede inside his head. Not that they went around eating raw meat or chasing rats on all fours or anything; they knew they were human, know how to be human. But certain concepts and ideas were a little more pervasive. Den was home, den was safe and warm and together, and he figured it always would be no matter what word he ought to use instead.

The concept of a den-for-hire, an inn with a low-ceilinged attic that they were allowed to stay in, was still a new and startling development. Outside was all grey, thick clouds and cold rain, but here was a warm, dry space that was theirs, and all they had to do to keep it was finish a few chores assigned by the owner. Here was somewhere they could come, giddy from the run, and strip off their wet clothes and burrow into their little pile of blankets together. Here was somewhere Repede could curl up around them looking unfairly comfortable despite his damp fur, radiating heat like the furry furnace he was. It wasn't hard to warm up again, like that, no matter how cold it was outside.

Yuri wrapped his arms around Flynn, hummed as Flynn shifted to accommodate, and-- right on cue, there it went, the sharp bursts of heat that started low in his belly and made him breathe a little heavier. The presence of another body skin to skin was having that effect lately. The presence of Flynn's body, anyway; he couldn't imagine being with anyone else like this. He never really noticed anyone else, except to remember not to growl at them if they bumped him on the street. They weren't worth bothering.

Flynn was pack, though. Flynn was his, and he was Flynn's, and both of them together were Repede's, and nothing was more important than that.

In that moment, pressed against Flynn and struggling not to react, Yuri wished he could share a bond with Flynn like he did with Repede, instead of second-hand. It didn't bother him, this reaction, but he wasn't sure how Flynn would feel about it. Wasn’t sure if Flynn might be feeling it, too. Not that either of them could do anything about it even if that was the case, since Repede was right there--

Except that suddenly Repede was snuffling in a way that sounded remarkably like laughter as he stood and stretched nonchalantly. He very deliberately moved over to the window and nosed it open just enough that he could slip back out onto the ledge outside. Flynn made a small noise-- protest, maybe, for all that they all knew there was enough shelter out there to keep Repede dry-- which faded into an embarrassed whimper when Repede sent them both a pulse of emotion over the bond that was impossible to mistake, heat and intent clear enough it might as well have been words-- get on with it, already-- before doing the mental equivalent of politely turning his head.

Yuri laughed under his breath, then experimentally slid his hand from Flynn's shoulder down across his chest. Flynn made another sound altogether, a hot, low growl, and twisted until he could nip at Yuri's jaw. And then everything blurred until they were panting together in a mess of dislodged blankets, and Yuri was still laughing shakily as the flood of pleasure slowly receded into a heavy, satisfied weariness.

Yuri was just dozing off when the thump on the floorboards and the subsequent tick of claws heralded Repede's return indoors. Yuri sent him a warm, contented greeting welcome thanks and made a mental note to set up a second pile of blankets for him in the morning. He probably wasn't going to want to sleep across the foot of their bed again anytime soon.

***

The snarling and snapping that happened the night Yuri left the palace made up for all the preceding years of calm. The hurt and loss echoing through the bonds made Repede want to paw his head and whine. Yuri felt like hot, angry challenge; Flynn's ears were pinned but he didn't back down, and in the end it was Yuri who fled.

Repede snuck back into their former den late that night, after leaving Yuri asleep at last in a safe corner. Flynn was still awake-- waiting for him, probably, since he hadn't made any secret of his coming.

Repede thought the matter over long and hard with Flynn's hands buried in his ruff and Flynn’s face pressed into Repede's shoulder. When he came to his decision and broadcast it over to Flynn, the cub stiffened in place; had he fur, his hackles would have risen. But he just as quickly subsided, and Repede could feel his reluctant agreement. This was something they weren't going to come back from, at least not right away.

So Repede reached out and took hold of his bond to Flynn. He couldn't break it-- only death could break the pack bond-- but he could close it off, muzzle it, push it so far down that neither of them could much feel it anymore. Neither of them wanted to do it-- nor would Yuri, no matter what his anger had made him say earlier-- but they both knew it was for the best just then. None of them could afford the distraction of echoed emotions dragging at them if they were going to make it through the coming time of change.

It wouldn't last forever, not if Repede had anything to say about it. Pack was pack, and you didn't leave pack behind while they breathed. But you didn't let them wander off into strange territory alone, either, which was why Repede was going to leave Flynn in the care of his Knights and stay by Yuri's side instead. Flynn was on home territory and would at least have that comfort; who knew where Yuri would end up if left on his own, or in what condition he would end up in.

It felt like pulling off his own tail, but eventually it was done. Repede left Flynn huddled on the bed alone, breath shuddering and cheeks wet. It was hard to walk away, but he did, because if he lingered he would have just undone it all again.

Repede kept a close eye on Yuri in the following moons. His teeth were a little sharper, and he was quicker to snarl than he had been before. But he seldom bit to draw blood. And though that loyalty of his was pushed down deep beneath a deliberate layer of indifference, it was still there.

Satisfied, Repede stayed by his remaining cub's side, and waited.

******

He wasn't sure of them at first, but eventually Repede came to approve of Yuri's new human pack. Humans couldn't bond to each other the way wolves could, but he thought he could still feel something strung between them. Silly of him to have worried at first that Yuri was trying to replace Flynn with Estelle, but he just hadn't seen Yuri respond to another human like that before. She wasn't too bad, in the end, for all that she was a perpetually eager puppy, and for all that she didn’t smell quite right.

Repede liked seeing the world. He liked running, having the freedom of the open land, the satisfaction of matching himself against a foe and coming out victorious. It was a level of living that one didn't get in a human city. He liked being able to follow the old instincts that drove him out in the moonlight to run and chase and sing back to the sky when it called him.

He didn't like feeling the bond stretch and sway over too much water, after they left the floating city where Yuri stood fast instead of running, like the stubborn, foolhardy pup he was. Repede felt the red star of pain bloom in Yuri's belly like it was his own, and that was an experience he didn't want to repeat, ever-- the urgency and ache, the building pressure in his chest like a howl trying to escape. But his cub was strong; Yuri survived that just as he survived everything else their journey threw at him, and he grew stronger and brighter for it each time.

Repede liked to think that some of Yuri’s growing peace was due to them seeming to find Flynn at the end of every path. His cubs were finally together again, and it was good despite how the closed-off bond still ached at every meeting, a phantom pain, a leg in a trap. The ache was worst at the start, when Yuri and Flynn came face to face and were immediately at each other's throats. But it eased as they gradually settled things between them. Repede wasn’t entirely sure they were aware of it, not consciously, but the old anger was draining away and leaving something rather wistful in its place.

His cubs were finally growing up.

They were just outside the new human town, the one that smelled sharply of fresh-cut trees and heated metal, and Repede lay in the grass and pretended not to watch as Yuri and Flynn circled each other. They had their steel fangs drawn, and sweat and challenge were sharp on the air. But there was none of the old aggression in their stances, this time. This was the pack at play; this was healthy sparring to keep each other strong and fast. When Yuri won, Flynn showed his throat easily and Yuri didn't lunge for it, and they both rolled away without injury.

When they finished, Repede closed his eyes, sighed, and reached out. The knot of hot, bitter anger that had for so long taken up space in Yuri’s mind was finally gone, replaced by a warm, peaceful affection. Barely-- just barely-- Repede could feel the contentment and longing echoing towards him from Flynn, too.

It was definitely time. Repede reached out towards Flynn and carefully chewed apart the block he'd set between them so long ago. The wash of shock wonder hope joy that came from his long-lost cub was nearly overwhelming at first; Repede put his head down on his paws and whined softly as the old connections were stretched out again, like a cramped leg coming undone.

***

Sprawled on the grass outside Aurnion’s gate, still catching his breath, Yuri had just a bare second to feel Repede’s odd, anticipatory glee, like he was about to pounce a particularly fine bit of prey. Then there was an odd twist and shift, and Flynn’s presence beside him was suddenly so much more. Yuri couldn't feel Flynn directly, but he could feel the echoes and overspill from Repede clear as day, Flynn-flavoured emotions and a certain sense of presence that he hadn't realized just how much he missed until it was back again.

It hurt, putting things back in place, but it was a good hurt, a healing hurt. It had hurt when Repede cut Flynn out, too, but at the time he had wanted that-- had known that it would hurt Flynn even more than him.

It all seemed a little silly, looking back. Pack was pack. Back then, it probably wouldn’t have mattered if Flynn stayed with the Knights while Yuri left them; it wouldn’t have changed who they were together or made Flynn change who he was at heart. A pity that Yuri had been too young to realize that at the time.

When Yuri tipped his head to the side and looked, Flynn was lying with his eyes closed and his cheeks damp, trembling faintly. Yuri slid one arm over until his fingers just touched Flynn's wrist; Flynn sighed, a long, slow exhale that left him limp, and turned his head so he could meet Yuri's eyes. After a moment, they lifted their hands and bumped wrists, an old gesture, meeting each other all over again.

Repede prompted them through the bond when they had apparently been lying there grinning at each other for too long. At first it was just a nudge, movement running food get up already. Then, when that didn’t make them budge, there came something like a mental sigh, followed by a sly lolling grin. The next impulses were different, overlain with full moon, sweet musk, warmth pleasure heat.

Yuri caught his breath with a gasp, and heard Flynn's startled moan beside him. Not pups anymore, he tried to say through the bond.

Could have fooled me, the returning emotions said clear as day.

"Tell me you've got a private room. This grass is pretty comfy, but there are a few too many people walking around for your reputation to be intact afterwards."

Flynn rolled very quickly to his feet. "This way."

They walked back through the town gates, shoulders brushing on every other step, and Repede's amused satisfaction wafted after them the entire way.

***

Flynn let himself back into his room, feeling heavy and tired from the day. As per usual, there had been monsters to drive off from the town walls, ongoing construction to help with, and paperwork-- ugh, so much paperwork. It was a satisfied sort of tired, though, because they were making progress. The crisis had passed, the sky was clear; Repede had half-muffled the bond again while he and Yuri had gone to Tarquaron, but that hadn’t entirely stopped the fierce spike of triumphant joy from echoing over to Flynn when they won. Aurnion’s citizens were all brimming with a kind of hopeful energy that was contagious. Slowly but surely, things were getting better.

He left the door cracked open behind him, having already noted the familiar presences approaching the town walls. It wasn’t long before he heard it whisper open again, soft footfalls heralding the arms that slid around his waist and the nose that nuzzled into his neck from behind. Outside, settled on a flat rock to soak in the last of the day’s heat, Repede was radiating enough sleepy satisfaction to make Flynn’s eyes go half-lidded.

Flynn turned so he could drape his arms over Yuri’s shoulders. "Good job."

"Eh." He felt Yuri's shrug, casually dismissive of that whole thing where he had saved the world. Typical.

"How long are you staying?"

"Don't know. Tonight at least." Yuri leaned a little heavier, wriggled closer into Flynn’s supporting arms, then drew back. “Thought I might go for a run,” he said casually. “Interested?”

The moon was nearly full, Flynn knew. The area around Aurnion was mostly clear of monsters, but only mostly; there were still dangerous creatures out there, especially at night. Flynn suddenly didn’t feel so tired anymore.

Outside, he felt Repede stand and stretch and look intently toward the gate leading out into the wilds.

"Yeah," Flynn said. "Let's go."