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It would’ve been a day like any other.
Except today, Kapkan had decided to check the traps around their little hideout as the sun was beginning to set. Oryx suggested they go on a run instead and to check the traps early in the morning, but Kapkan insisted. So, as a compromise, they did both.
The sun had no intention of waiting around and disappeared quickly behind the treeline as they made their way down the beaten path. They’d both remained quiet for the majority of the trip, and Oryx enjoyed the hunters' tactful silences even if they were often succeeded by spontaneous slews of sarcastic snarkiness. Almost as if Kapkan had been reading his thoughts, he spoke up, slightly out of breath from the jog. “Good thing we did end up running. I could’ve gotten to the traps earlier but since a certain someone thought it was necessary to hold us up, well.”
Oryx gave a light smile without looking away from the path, remembering how the third operator stationed with them, Tachanka, had tried discussing something with Kapkan right as they were about to leave. In Russian of course.
“Must have been something really important.” This comment gained him an amused scoff from Kapkan.
As he answered, he checked a trap on the way only to find it empty. “Right, especially the part where he warned us that this forest is apparently haunted.” He put a mocking intonation on the last word. Oryx put his hands on his hips as he watched Kapkan at work, only giving a half-curious ‘Oh?’ to make him elaborate. Kapkan got back on his feet and they quickly continued their jog to the next traps. The sun was now only an afterthought that weakly extended small orange arms through the trees, while the air had that cool evening crisp to it that he enjoyed.
“Well, supposedly a lot of people went missing around these parts. Local folklore is convinced that there are things prowling around at night that don’t exactly fit the local fauna. Then again, you know how obsessed Americans are with cryptid sensationalism. It was most likely just hungry predators.” Kapkan shrugged dismissively as Oryx pondered that statement. He’d never believed in the supernatural either and was just as much of a skeptic as Kapkan, but this evening he felt, for lack of a better way to describe it, strange. The wind that had been constantly blowing gently every time they’d gone out was completely gone, and everything was a bit quieter than it had been the past few days, with only the soft chirping of crickets to accompany them.
Even though they moved from trap to trap fairly quickly, they could not make it all the way before it got dark. They were prepared, both turning on their torches as they approached the location of the last trap, no longer running but going forward in a brisk walk. Both of them had remained silent, save for a few quick comments on various catches on Kapkan’s side. Until they’d made it to the very last trap.
Like always, Oryx was waiting behind Kapkan as he secured the captured animal and propped the trap up into its original position. Used to watching the procedure by now, he turned to shine his flashlight through the trees. The strange feeling from before hadn’t ceased. Moreover, he couldn’t shake the thought of being watched from somewhere in the thicket, hidden behind old trees and overgrown rock. The longer he contemplated the feeling, the more he started to notice something else.
He'd made a mental note on how quiet it was before, but now it was truly dead-silent, with even the crickets having stopped their songs. It was as if everything in the forest was waiting, not wanting to give itself away to whatever was approaching. A mist steadily creeped across the soft ground and looked almost purple. Most likely an odd trick of the moonlight, he assumed, yet couldn’t ignore his quickening hardbeat.
“So, Maxim… What kind of predators do live around here?” He asked with a lowered voice, still shining the cone of light around protectively and trying to act as level-headed as always. Kapkan hummed in thought with his back still turned to him and started nonchalantly listing them off.
“Oh black bears, pumas, bobcats, at least 3 types of venomous snakes. Why, did you find any tracks?” Oryx didn’t answer right away, intently listening for any sort of noise. At this, Kapkan finally turned around, seemingly taking note of the stillness of the forest, as well as Oryx’ tenseness. It was as though he too froze to look on in silence for what seemed like a little too long. “Ah, so the Americans finally got to you with their Halloween traditions, have they? Hey, it’s a full moon tonight—wonder if we’ll run into any werewolves.” He broke the silence with a joke. Oryx was momentarily shaken from his fixation on the distant darkness and raised an eyebrow at his comment while Kapkan just gave him a light pat on the shoulder and equipped his hunting rifle. “Probably just a bigger animal passing through. We can take a different route back.” Kapkan had packed everything up and was heading towards said route while Oryx wordlessly stared at the spot that had made him so uneasy. He eventually started following him with that weird feeling still nestled deep in his gut.
The path they were following now was rather unspectacular compared to the scenic one they’d taken before and somehow longer and harder to navigate, especially in the dark. Their flashlights danced across the mist that had slowly built up and made everything uncomfortably moist. Kapkan didn’t seem to be bothered by any of it though, and strode forward as confident and relaxed as if it were a walk through a park. Oryx meanwhile had lost the sudden, uncharacteristic paranoia that had befallen him earlier and wondered if Kapkan truly hadn’t felt it as well. He wasn’t good at reading the hunter yet, not as good as his other comrades at least. But was it really necessary to make such a big detour because of what Kapkan assumed was ‘just a big animal’?
It seemed the weather really had no mercy on them, as it started to rain. It wasn’t more than a gentle shower, but as the wetness threatened to seep into his clothes, Oryx was glad when he spotted the lights of their base cut through the dark fog. He followed a few steps behind Kapkan and they were only a short ways away from the door when he suddenly felt it again like a shard of ice against his back. Oryx swallowed hard and turned around while Kapkan made it through the door, put his hand on the handle and pushed it down. And pushed it down again, yet it didn’t budge.
“They locked the door, hold on a moment.” Kapkan sighed and pulled out his keys.
Oryx did not react. Once more, his eyes were fixed on a spot behind them, and this time he wasn’t staring out into dark nothingness. A pair of eyes greeted him, unmoving and half-hidden in the purple mist that twisted all the way down to him, curling around his legs and keeping him frozen in place. It came with that same feeling from earlier - a deep, unsettling dread that invaded his senses unlike anything he’d known before.
The thing that finally shook him out of his trance was Kapkan, jingling with the keys and quietly cursing under his breath in Russian. Now he wasted no time pulling out his own rifle so he could point it at this thing which he convinced himself had to be just an animal. When Kapkan behind him finally opened the door, he glanced back at Oryx and furrowed his brows, tone now serious and quiet as he spoke after a moment of hesitation. He must have recognised the feeling after all. “What is it?”
“Just an animal… I think.” Oryx aimed the end of his rifle at the thing in the mist to point it out to him.
Kapkan put a hand on his shoulder, pulling him inside slightly. “Let’s just go inside. No need to spill blood.”
Oryx nodded, backing away slowly, never moving his eyes from the ones that stalked them. As soon as they did move, however, the dark figure moved as well, inching down the small hill out of the cover of the trees. Oryx was halfway through the door frame when he stopped, a strange curiosity taking over. After all, if this was just an animal, it could be interesting to observe and it seemed like the hunter behind him agreed. Kapkan, just like him, was staring out at the thing that closed in on them, albeit with one hand firmly on the door - ready to slam it shut, should it try anything.
The closer the figure came, the easier it was to make out. First only rough shapes, then clearer outlines, until both of them could see what was creeping out of the fog. A wolf with fur as black as ink and piercing blue eyes approached cautiously, slowing down a bit more when the flood of light hit it. It was now clear the poor thing was limping, although it was trying to hide it. Both of them collectively sighed in relief and Kapkan spoke again quietly, less concern and more confusion in his voice now. “A lone wolf. Well, assuming that it truly is alone. But what is it doing here of all places?”
Oryx answered in a way that most likely finished Kapkans train of thought. “And why is it coming so close? Looks like it might be hurt.” The wolf halted again, eyed them as if unsure, then continued walking towards them with a sudden determination until they could behold it, almost clear as day, in the artificial light. It didn’t stop until it was only about 3 meters away from the door where it sat down and just looked at them.
For a good while none of them moved a muscle and Oryx wasn’t sure whether to keep observing this fascinating animal or to just call it a day and finally turn in for the night. Kapkan was the one to finally move and take his own rifle in hand to point it at the animal. Oryx was about to protest, but Kapkan threw him a look. He just wanted the wolf's reaction, to make it clear that it should not be here. The wolf did tuck its ears back and ducked a little, but it did not move from where it was sitting.
“Do you think it maybe just escaped from somewhere?”
Kapkan shrugged lightly and lowered the gun again. “Not impossible. But whatever the case, we don’t really have the time to call anyone about a runaway wolf right now, what with the ongoing Deimos situation.” The wolf was still observing them, tilting his head a little at the last sentence.
“It probably needs help. Would it hurt to take it in for, say, a few days?” Oryx suggested, eyes still fixed on the wolf which showed neither signs of aggression nor anxiety as wolves would usually do when coming across humans. This one was just sitting there, ears half up and tail wagging slowly from side to side.
Kapkan behind him made a noise of unsure contemplation. “As long as you know what you’re doing… But I can’t guarantee that everyone will think it’s a great idea.”
“Absolutely not.” Kaid said flatly and crossed his arms, looking down at where Oryx was kneeling with the wolf. They had called everyone into the common room, hoping to quickly discuss the matter. Kapkan sat on a chair, fidgeting with some of the broken traps he’d retrieved, with Tachanka right next to him. Buck leaned against the doorframe and Thermite was closest to Kaid, ready to mediate if need be. “What were you thinking bringing that in here in the first place? We’ve really got more pressing issues on our hands right now.”
“I’m aware,” he answered, plainly yet with emphasis. “But we’re pretty sure this wolf ran away from something or someone. Watch." Oryx extended his hand as he had tried before when he was waiting for the others. The black wolf stared at the hand, sniffed it a bit as it got closer, then blinked and let him place a hand on the back of its head. Oryx started petting him slowly and turned to gauge the others’ reactions. Kaid furrowed his brows but kept quiet, Thermite being the one to speak this time.
“Kaid’s got a point, we have bigger fish to fry, but...” He sighed, clearly contemplating the situation. “What did you say was wrong with it?”
Oryx was quick to look back at the animal and very carefully tried to touch its leg - a daring approach, but he wanted to prove that this was worth doing. The wolf’s eyes followed his hand and it winced when he touched it, the skin around its snout curling back ever so slightly as it let out a small whine that made Oryx pause.
“There wasn’t any blood, but it seems to have difficulty stepping on this leg. Kapkan said it might just be strained so it shouldn’t take forever to heal.” Since he had gained a certain level of reading his fellow operators, a glance around the room told him what everyone thought of the idea. Kapkan and Tachanka seemed neutral on the matter, regarding him with one relaxed and amused expression respectively. Buck on the other hand eyed the animal with curiosity, perhaps in favor of what he was planning. Even Thermite seemed to warm up to the notion, much to his relief. However, Kaid still stood there like the last bastion of going against what he thought was an awful idea. In all those years, Oryx had memorized his expressions and gestures well and recognised the disapproving stare, that twitch of an eyebrow when he was clearly outvoted.
Oryx returned the look with a more determined one, hand absentmindedly lingering on the animal beside him, as he spoke as an apprentice to his teacher. If anyone would sway Kaids mind even a little, it would be him.
“It will be my full responsibility,” he said, voice calm and unwavering. “If it interferes with whatever we are doing, I’ll abort the idea.” At first it looked like Kaid hadn’t reacted at all, still remaining motionless like a statue and frowning a tad more than before. Oryx however knew he was simply in thought.
And sure enough, Kaid eventually sighed, waving his hand dismissively.
“Just make sure it doesn’t ‘mark’ anywhere,” came the deprecative answer before he turned and left the room to go back to whatever business he’d been disturbed from.
Oryx let out a breath he didn’t realize he had been holding, and directed his attention back to the wolf. It was then that he noticed that its ears were flattened against its head as it looked after Kaid, eyes partially shut and head lowered. He removed his hand, just in case.
Thermite turned his head after him as well and stroked over his stubble, humming. “You know, I probably shouldn’t allow you to do this. As it is right now, we need to wait for more intel anyway. But if I can take your word for it, you’re free to try. If that wolf can’t handle itself or we need to leave the base, you have to give it up.”
Oryx gave him a nod, understanding the ridiculousness of the situation and appreciative of their team leader's lax nature.
Tachanka was the only one to approach him as the group partially dispersed to return to their tasks. He was smiling widely and that attitude felt refreshing, considering that most others had reacted with hesitation. He squatted down with a small huff to get a better look at the wolf.
“So, you were feeling lonely and got yourself a new pet? I knew you were a dog person but this is ballsy,” came his raspy, amused voice, one hand extended towards the wolf. It flinched for only a moment, then allowed Tachanka to touch it without moving another muscle. “But I guess that’s on brand for Redhammer.”
Oryx just shrugged and leaned back on his hands as if he was only now able to relax again.
“Honestly, I’m not sure. It just feels like the right thing to do somehow. Like this wolf in particular is different for some reason. Do you know what I mean?” From the way Tachanka looked at him, he knew that he didn’t, and he didn’t blame him for it. He just raised an eyebrow, looked from Oryx to the wolf, squinted, and raised his hands in a ‘whatever you say’ kind of gesture.
“Hey, as long as you’re having fun. A guy’s gotta have hobbies, maybe your calling is taming wild animals.” Tachanka chuckled and stood back up, rubbing his back a bit as he did and made his way back to the table where Kapkan was still tinkering away at the traps. As soon as Tachanka started talking about desperately needing a back massage from him, Oryx tuned them out and focused his attention back on the wolf. It had laid down prone, fur smooth and panting lightly. As far as he knew, that was a clear sign of a happy wolf, but he couldn’t get their earlier question out of his mind. How the hell was a wild animal this calm in their presence?
Oryx mulled the question over for the rest of the evening and the wolf followed wherever he went, even waiting for him by the door as he had to go to the bathroom. It just kept staring at him expectantly with those pale blue eyes, as if waiting for something, and it started to make him slightly uneasy without being able to put a finger on it. Once it came time for him to rest for the night it waited at the foot of his bed, this time more restless, whimpering slightly. Oryx had just set an alarm for himself and turned towards the wolf, sighing.
“I can’t let you on the bed, you’re probably full of fleas. Unless you’re willing to take a bath,” he started talking to him for the lack of a better plan, hoping that no one was around to hear. The wolf just looked at him for a moment, then back towards the room's door after which it froze. Oryx watched it stand there for a while, still unsure what to do. However, before he could do anything at all, it slowly walked towards a corner of the room and plopped down, curling up and laying its head on its paws. Since the wolf was seemingly fine with staying there, Oryx soon continued his routine and got to bed with a strange content feeling.
The next morning he woke up before his alarm could go off, the way his internal clock always did, and got up, almost having forgotten about the wolf’s existence. Once he noticed the empty spot in the corner however, Oryx stopped mid-clothes change. He halted for a moment, then began a quick sweep of the base, checking every room just in case. But no matter how hard he looked, it had disappeared without a trace and Oryx, being the reasonable man that he was, was forced to make peace with the fact that this strange animal was likely gone for good. He got a few more questions during the day about how the wolf was doing and how he was planning on handling this sort of animal on base, but he had to disappoint all of his curious teammates, explaining that it had left. By 6 pm the entire event had been shelved in his mind in favour of going over intel and communicating with other teams, and for a while it all seemed to be over and done with.
It wasn’t.
As he went by the door on a break flipping through one of his poetry books, he heard it. A soft but unmistakable scratching noise that made him stop right in his tracks. With that odd sense of dread rekindled, he had to will himself to go and open the door already, and as he did, a thick wave of that purple mist washed into the room. Standing in front of him, just as expected, was that damned wolf, bathed in a mix of artificial light and moonbeams. It didn’t hesitate and slunk through the door like the first time Oryx let it in, with him quickly closing the door again to get rid of the mist. His hand was still on the handle when he stared at the wolf. It was gazing back at him with its tail moving in a slight wagging motion. He released a steadying breath, his shaky hand finally softening its grip.
For some reason in that moment, he saw more clearly what he recognised about the wolf, what had drawn him to it in the first place - it was that look of isolation in its eyes that he knew all too well, begging for someone to trust it, to understand, not unlike he had needed all those years ago. Oryx knelt before it and opened his hands in an inviting gesture that made the wolf move in, sniffing as it got closer.
“It’s okay, we won’t hurt you. You can stay. You can trust us.” The wolf’s eyes met his own and it tilted its head to the side as if trying to understand, then closed the gap to put its head on his hands. A smile appeared on Oryx’ face as he petted its head and back, brushing through the smooth dark fur as long as the wolf would let him. After this it followed him to his room to sleep in the same corner it had picked the other night, but not before Oryx put out the softest blanket and pillow he could find.
Over the next few days, the small base continued their usual routine, yet with the addition of a new one. The wolf would keep visiting them every night without missing even just one - arriving with the setting sun and vanishing into thin air about a few hours after midnight. Seeing as it didn’t disrupt anything, no one batted another eye at the animal’s habits and got used to it quickly. Some of the others even tried to interact with the animal, trying to give it treats and affection like one would with a dog. Buck was the only person besides Oryx who regularly watched its behavior though, and remarked more than once on how strange it acted. He even got into the habit of calling it ‘The Thing’, referencing that oddly menacing dog used in the John Carpenter classic. Oryx for his part tried to socialise with the wolf as much as he could by playing, running and simply silently spending time in the same room with it. He even tried to teach it some commands using things that Kapkan had shown him, but to his surprise, the wolf seemed to already know what to do without being enticed or conditioned. Just one more reason to see whether anyone in a nearby town might know something about a runaway wolf.
Fortunately, time passed rather quickly, and so did the wolf’s healing process much to everyone’s delight. It was being friendlier with everyone but Kaid, who was firm in his position of mild annoyance. At least he wasn’t actively trying to convince anyone that it wasn’t worth it anymore.
That evening, Oryx had finally decided to give the wolf a bath as it seemed to trust him far enough to clean its pelt. Yet he was surprised to find that the water in the little shower they all shared came out almost clear. This further confirmed his suspicion that the animal must have been running away from some sort of shelter - perhaps even an abuser.
Once the fur was cleaned and dried, Oryx let himself fall onto the bed which creaked under his weight, and peeled off most of his clothes. The wolf, who everyone except Oryx had given different names to in order to not keep calling it 'wolf' all the time, was sitting closer to the bed, head propped up on its side with that same expectant look. He leaned back into the bed and crossed his arms behind his head.
“You want to sleep on it, don’t you?” The wolf’s ears perked up, body straightening in emphasis. A quick smile found its way to his face. “Well, since you’re officially clean now, I don’t see why not.” Oryx gave the bed a light pat, and the wolf only hesitated for a moment before it gracefully leapt onto it. It took a while for it to find a position it was comfortable with - exhibiting the same amusing perfectionism and timidness he’d observed in their time together. Eventually though, the wolf found his place next to Oryx and curled up with a calm and tired expression, much closer than he’d anticipated. He gave it one last glance before nodding in acknowledgement and turning the light off.
“Right, see you next evening, then.”
As per usual, Oryx woke without the ringing of an alarm. Though instead of getting out of bed to start his day with a cup of coffee and the aid of his poetry book to ground him, he blinked and lingered. There was clearly a presence beside him like what he remembered before falling asleep and his eyes lit up, excited to find the wolf still with him. That excitement, however, vanished the second he turned to check. Next to him was no wolf, but a complete stranger - a pale man with black, neck length hair and tired eyes that were still closed. Oryx’ brain felt like it was doing a complete mental reboot and his blood turned cold when he examined the curled up unfamiliar person more, only to notice that he was indeed not wearing anything. It took a good while before Oryx finally moved the blanket to cover the man, very careful not to accidentally wake him. Unfortunately, his caution was to no avail, as the sleeping man twitched and stirred, rhythmic breathing hitching as he started to wake up as well.
Oryx was quick to jump on his feet almost on instinct when the shock forced him to shake off the brain fog and the stranger opened his eyes. As soon as he noticed Oryx, his eyes widened, mouth opening slightly in utter bewilderment. They stared at each other for what felt like forever before the stranger swallowed audibly and sat up slowly, clutching the blanket and clearly ready to try and defend himself. Oryx had meanwhile backed up to a table where he’d left a handgun just in case the situation warranted it.
“Who are you? And where am I?” Was the first thing he heard him say, and Oryx focused on his posture and face when he did. His eyebrows were furrowed and the tone of his voice was confused but not scared.
“I think you owe me an explanation first. This is my bed, after all.” Oryx retorted and watched the others body lose some of that tenseness, although he still gripped the blanket for cover. Did he think that he put him there? The stranger opened and closed his mouth several more times as he searched for words. “I’m sorry, do- do you work for Deimos as well or am I missing something here?”
Oh. Now this was interesting.
Oryx loosened the stance of a man ready to pin someone to the ground and crossed his arms instead, albeit still a good distance away from the stranger. “Quite the opposite. We’re hunting a man who goes by that name, though. Now I suggest you start explaining yourself or we’re going to have to take more drastic measures.” Oryx’ own voice was not aggressive yet firm, never moving his eyes from the other. It took a moment for the stranger to process the information and collect his bearings, probably thinking carefully about what to disclose next. A pale hand went up to push black strands of hair out of his face.
“Okay. That’s- good actually. I have important informations about that man and I’ve been trying to get-” Before he could continue, Oryx’ expression changed to something more intense and he could’ve sworn the stranger's voice died in his throat just because of it.
“No. You’ll explain this from the start. Who are you?”
The stranger frowned but nodded obediently. “Of course. My name is Emil Svensson, code name Fenrir. I was with the Swedish military before all of this, before- well, I’ll explain later. I’m looking for Team Rainbow because I believe they will be able to utilize the information I have to give.” Oryx had been leaning against the table behind him, stroking his beard and listening intently. At least it was all starting to come together, but one thing was still a mystery to him.
“And how did you get here?” That question was met with a puzzled look from Fenrir and it took him a while to answer.
“I’m- not sure. I certainly don’t remember coming here. Unless…” Oryx raised an eyebrow when Fenrir trailed off, but he just ended up shaking his head. “I’m sorry, I have no idea how I got here. I know that doesn’t sound very believable or trustworthy, but you’ll have to take my word for it.” There was a pause in the conversation with Oryx evaluating what he had said, still gently pulling at the hairs of his beard. A realisation was starting to dawn on him but he didn’t dare to speak it into existence, at least not yet.
“No, I think I believe you, in a way. But it may take some convincing with the others. Again.” The last part was barely audible as Oryx sorted his thoughts.
“Nevertheless, Fenrir, I think you found who you’ve been looking for.”