Rocky's Rocky Road.

Another New Friend

-A/N- Why am I doing this again? I dunno. Maybe it stems from some huge unconscious realization that negative attention is the only kind I can get and I need something. Anyway, it's been nearly 24 months, so enjoy I guess.

-Rocky's POV-
Conor and Ryder were going out to dinner tonight, I had already agreed to stay with Marshall. He promised that Chase wouldn't bother us for the night, and that seemed good enough for me. Marshall was sweet and caring, I hoped we could be good friends, otherwise there really wasn't anyone else to talk to. Maybe Skye, but Chase obviously has the hots for her, so if anything that would just make more Chase aggravated that I was living here. Training on my vehicle was scheduled for tomorrow, that and the remainder of my gear would be presented to me. I found myself often eyeing the collar that Ryder had given me, it really gave me a feeling of belonging in this place. I had seen the interior of the vehicle, both as a truck and a home during some photo ops at the ceremony. It seemed intimidating, sure, but I believe I can handle it. A small piece of my mind was trying to tell me that I couldn't, but I was trying my best to not give it any extra room.

-Conor's POV-
I couldn't be more excited to try this restaurant Ryder has been raving about. Mr. Porters Steakhouse is apparently the only place to eat "good" food in Adventure Bay. "Hey man, you ready to go?" Ryder shouted through the door. "Yeah one second!" I replied. I opened the door and realized I might have been slightly underdressed, as Ryder was in a clean and pressed collared shirt, meanwhile I had on one of the spare shirts Ryder had given me, which was probably 2 or 3 sizes small on me. "Don't worry, we'll buy you some more fitting clothes tomorrow, after Rocky's training." Ryder said, as if he read my mind. "Thanks." I muttered. We said goodbye to Rocky and Marshall on the way out the door, and then got onto Ryders ATV. The ride was short and its hard to speak over the rushing wind and ATV engine, but I did manage to let Ryder know that we should convert it to an electric motor, as it would be better for both efficiency and performance.

As soon as we arrived people started staring. The kind of staring where they're trying to be polite but you can still tell they're staring at you. It was certainly going to take some getting used to, since back home I was just another nobody from a poor home in the big city. There were some 'advantages' to our status though, as we were given priority seating by the host, and soon Mr. Porter was waiting on us for our order. Half of these menu items I'd only heard of, and only dreamed of actually tasting. "I'll take the 16oz Ribeye." Ryder told Mr. Porter "Uhhhhh, I'll just do the same." I said, just trying to hide my rampant indecisiveness.

Eventually the food arrived, and it was some of the best food I've ever had. However, Ryder quickly got me thinking about the events at the Lookout. "I'm not going to talk around the problem, I think Chase may have a severe problem against mixed breeds, and I'm not quite sure what to do about it." I mean the first part of his statement was fairly, if not completely obvious. However, I also had absolutely no idea what could be done. I'd never support throwing Chase out, after all he was here first and from what I could understand was the clear alpha of the trio. I was also not 100% confident that whatever made up Rocky would allow that to stay as the current power dynamic. Which would only create more issues down the road. "Really..." I paused, looking for words. "... I think that you may have to try and get him to talk to you about it, and other than that we'll just have to wait and see, hoping that he just keeps it to himself." It was shoddily put together, but I think he got the point. Ryder states "Yeah, I'll work on that, tomorrow probably." I like this kid, he seems honest and he's looking out for us however he can. My mind slowly drifted back to the lookout, as I wondered how things at the lookout were going. That's when Ryders tablet rang.

-Rocky's POV-
I can't sleep. No matter what I do, I just can't. I had finally given that voice in my head plenty of control, and he was taking full advantage.