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The shelled ones were at it again.
Grizzer lay restfully at the feet of her Hound, head tucked neatly sideways over her crossed forelegs. She wasn’t quite asleep; they weren’t in the safety of their den right now, but she was certainly dozing contently in the warmth of her pack. The tension and edge of fear that soured the scents of the room were swiftly growing distracting, and she grumbled quietly as she shifted to blink one sleepy eye at them.
The alpha was rubbing a hand tiredly over his face, pinching that spot between his eyes where his pathetic nose pained him. She huffed, lips flapping with the gust of breath. This was not an unusual sight, and it didn’t quite mean she was needed just yet. Her Hound’s boot nudged ever so gently against her flank and she twitched the spines on her back slightly. She was awake - she was ready - her Hound didn’t need to worry.
The hairless one was silent as the yellow-headed one ranted, a datapad held tightly between black-coated fingers. The pup was nodding emphatically and darting in with quick words whenever the yellow paused for breath. He, rightly, took after the yellow - his elder - but Grizzer couldn’t help but wish he’d taken to being trained by her Stone instead. Her Thorn was a proud, clever pack member, but he was wildness and fire where the hairless one was solid and silence.
The alpha needed them all, but he’d needed the solid and silence more often recently. His hand had moved to tangle in his greying locks, twisting and tightening so hard she could see the curls tugging out of their tidy weaves.
Her Hound was tense beside her. She eased herself over gently, leaning more heavily against his calf. The pup - her Thire - was throwing his hands in the air now, a snarl on his mouth and frustrated rage in his scent.
She sighed. She wished the others of her pack were wise enough to bond with ones like her. As much as she loved them all, sometimes she could use the back up of another to keep them all in line.
The alpha - her Fox, her dear, tired Fox - leaned forwards on the desk and put both hands to the side of his head. His face drooped, exhaustion heavy on his shoulders as he stared down at the datapad in front of him.
That was quite enough, she decided, clambering to her paws with a brief shake, throwing out the aches that sleeping on the hard floor had begun to work into her bones. The hollow feeling in her hips refused to budge, so she reached her front paws forward, bending down and yawning wide as she stretched deep until the feeling finally eased.
Her pack continued to make mouth noises around her, their shouts and complaints sinking into the background, as she clicked and clacked her way over to where her alpha curled in pain alone.
He didn’t even flinch when she poked her nose into the gaps between his shell at his knee. Just breathed slow and deep. Now that definitely wouldn’t do.
She bent, then leapt, landing awkwardly on her alpha’s lap. He jerked back in surprise, which she used to her own advantage, scrabbling forwards to plant herself from firmly on his lap, dropping her rump onto one thigh and sitting herself up, twisting to eye his face.
Her alpha blinked back, mouth slightly open in confusion. The strained tension around his eyes was still there. She whuffed unhappily, then contorted herself until with a gleeful waggle of her bottom, she found herself perfectly positioned to lick across his face.
Which she promptly did. Repeatedly, with great, enthusiastic aplomb.
He sputtered, hands coming up to ineffectually ward her off while the raised voices in the room around her dropped away abruptly. Her Hound smelled like satisfaction and glee behind her, causing her spine to shiver in pleasure. The curdled taint of fear and desperation in the air was swiftly dampened behind amusement as she dragged her tongue over her alpha’s ear and hair, joy bursting in her chest as the cut-off protests became random noise, then low giggles, before ringing out as sloppy laughter.
Arms wrapped around her, as her alpha moved to press his cheek into the side of her face. She relented, panting happily, tongue lolling threateningly while the rest of her pack fell back, settling into seats of their own around the room. The terrible, painful moment had passed, and she wiggled happily in her Fox’s hold until the shaking awfulness in his limbs finally slipped away.
A hand stroked gently along her snout. She couldn’t see him, but she knew her Hound’s touch anywhere, and nudged her shoulder into her alpha’s chest coaxingly until he sat back, arms going lax and loose around her. Her Hound stood guard over them, as she leaned reassuringly into her alpha’s body, anchoring him while he caught his breath.
He pressed a warm hand to her flank, a moment of gratitude and a moment to draw strength in one, before grumpily pushing gently at her shoulder. She took the hint - the chairs would not hold her with her pack for long, and she couldn’t support her alpha this way for any more than was necessary. But slumping down off of his lap didn’t mean she had to move completely away. With a satisfied, rumbling purr she curled easily around his feet, resting her snout over her Hound’s boots, where he’d come to stand beside them.
The discussion continued. These confrontations were required, but that didn’t mean Grizzer needed to sit ideally by and let them fight each other into misery. She didn’t understand the full circumstances that lead to the disruption within her pack, but she knew her place was important within them, even if they didn’t acknowledge her until she was required.
So, with a content huff, and the warm scent of happy, eased pack around her, Grizzer relaxed, slipping gently back into sleep.