Ma looks at us with a glare hardened by years of parenting. "What. Did you. Do?"

"I already— I told you that— I showed them—"

"Yes I know that idiot! No need to explain it twice!" Ma says, throwing her hands in the air. "Why did you expose my children to such a— a monstrosity!"

He looks down miserably. At least he has the sense to stay quiet I guess.

"I was just keeping them entertained?" he ventures.

I take it back. This man has absolutely no sense. He's ok to hang out with though I guess.

Ma sighs. "How do I get them to stop? There better be a way, else I'll send you on your way with no food." She crosses her arms and stares at us with a hmph.

"Um... the only things I can think of are wait it out or introduce them to another, catchier song," he admits sheepishly.

Gods, Viktor, you are a dumb, lovable idiot. What have you gotten yourself into? You realize if she doesn't send you food she might not send food at all? Clearly not.

I join Ma in a hmph at Viktor. We glare at him together and he withers under us like we're stabbing him with porcupine quills. The combined power of our sternness must be a lot for him.

"What do you mean, you can't reverse it?" Ma says through gritted teeth, the words coming out in a snake-like hiss. I assume an even sterner expression, and my siblings watch curiously, singing much quieter to watch the commotion.

"So... I take it we can't have some food?"

"Viktor!" I nearly shout. "Read the room! We clearly aren't gonna if you keep up like this!"

"Sorry," he mutters, bowing his head. "I was just trying to lighten the mood."

"Consider it lightened," Ma says stolidly. "You have one hour. I'll help pack some stuff for you guys, and Raven you nap. You," she says, pointing at Viktor, "Will help me. Come on."

I grin at him and he shrugs at me before resigning himself to his fate. I chuckle and shift into wolf form to take a nap. Bracken and Luna come bounding after me to curl up beside each other, snuggling into my thick fur like it's the biggest, warmest blanket in the world.

Before I shut my eyes I see Ma slap Viktor on the wrist and scold him, though the words don't come through.

I drift off to a deep, restful sleep, my chest rising and falling rhythmically. Finally, I'm back home.

•••

"Oi! Wake up!" Something— or someone— hits me in the leg lightly. "We don't have all day!"

I open my eyes slowly, the rays of orange light filtering into my vision slowly, and see the face of Viktor about five inches from my face.

"Gahh! Why are you so close!" I yelp, shifting back into a human out of instinct and scrambling backwards, much to the dismay of my siblings, who look up at me half-asleep, unhappy at being woken up by this sudden movement.

Geez, dude! Can you think of a less creepy way to wake me up? I cannot deal with this if it's what you're gonna do all the time on our "quest".

"I'm awake..." I mutter groggily, rubbing my eyes and my leg where he hit me. "Why'd you hit me? And why were you so close to my face?"

"Uh... all good questions, now let's go!" he says, grabbing my hand and pulling me to my feet, not-so-tactfully avoiding my questions.

"Ok buzzbrain, answer my questions first then." I plant my heels into the floor, much like a toddler refusing to walk further would do.

He grips my arm firmly, grasping the other as well, and tries to pull me up, through I don't budge, using my own weight against his. My position is practically unmovable for him. Trust me, Bracken and Luna as toddlers were no easy feat, and they were smaller than me.

He side-eyes me and releases my arms. I teeter for a moment before regaining my balance and stepping slightly away from him.

"Why are these questions so important, anyways?" he asks.

"It's the principle of the thing," I respond smugly. "Now answer."

"I hit you to wake you up, obviously. And then I was close to your face to check if you were still alive. I think your Ma would be mad at me if you weren't, and you sleep like a log. Also I would've been upset." He adds the last part quietly, barely above a whisper.

"Does it not go against your natural instincts, the ones that keep you alive, to go and stick your face into a sleeping wolf's face? In what world would that end well, other than the one we just lived?" Honestly, this dude needs a slightly-more-than-healthy dose of common sense and survival skills. I have no idea how we're ever gonna live to see next week with him here.

"Uh... I mean I know you? I trust you? I probably wouldn't do it if we came upon a real wolf?" he offers.

I press my fingertips to my forehead like a spider and mutter under my breath. "Idiot."

"Excuse me?"

"Nothing!"

•••

Ten minutes, fifty rounds of hugs, and three goodbye kisses later, Ma hangs me a bag made from moss, flexible bark, and vines. I open up the latch and see food, water, and a small stuffed animal I've had since I was a baby, a little stuffed squirrel made from corn husks and wheat stalks named Cece.

"Thanks," I whisper in her ear.

She wipes a tear from the corner of her eye and nods at me, then motions for us both to go. I grab Viktor's hand and we turn out into the forest and set out on our way to the adventure of a lifetime.

Fangs and Fates, a Wattpad story

Word count, 990