The 53rd Pack

11

Two days had passed since the incident with the cannibals. 

Shuichi healed pretty quickly both mentally and physically with the help of his packmates.  Although he still had a small, small limp, his paw didn't hurt much at all now. 

His mate always sat by his side to listen, whether it was just random babblings or describing a nightmare. 

They had been hunting and bringing him back prey while he was healing. 

Now, he was good and well, ready to join them once more! 

~~~

After having his daily 'mental health checkup', as him and his mate had dubbed it, he took a quick walk around the territory. 

Kokichi darted in front of him, tail wagging, as a furious Tenko dashed after the dog. "Oh, you DEGENERATE MALEEEEEEE!" 

"H-hey!" Shuichi shouted, joining in the chase. It was a long run, as the feuding duo had incredible stamina; though, at one point, Tenko fell behind Kokichi a bit. The alpha was able to get between them, skidding to a halt so neither could pass him. 

"What's going on here..?" His ears twitched as he waited for a response. 

"Arghhhh! That little shit made fun of Himiko; he called her.. f-fishbreath!" 

Tenko lowered her head and clawed at the ground angrily, eyes glowing a-bright, as if she was an angry bull, preparing to spear anything in its way with its horns. 

Shuichi gulped and turned to look at Himiko for a quick moment. 

She was sitting and shaking her head wearily, a black leg laid atop her snout. "Nyeh.. good grief.." 

He turned back to his current.. situation. "Kokichi, that was uncalled for, calling Himiko that. But, Tenko, that doesn't mean you can do the same to him. Both of you, apologize." 

"Alwight.. sowwwwyyyy.." Kokichi purred mockingly. 

"GRRRRR-" Her superior gave her a look. "I mean, sorry, Kokichi.." 

But, as soon as he stepped out, Tenko ran towards Kokichi. She headbutted him with brute force, sending the annoying gremlin flying a few feet into the bushes. 

All they could hear was: "Nishishi- YEOWWWWW, MY PUPMAKERS!!!" 

The alpha called for Angie. 

~~~

Upon seeing that Kokichi was properly treated for the bruising on his.. "pup-makers", Shuichi walked on, ruffling his thick pelt with a long sigh.  

All in a day's work, all in a day's work.. 

He passed Kirumi on his way. 

She was digging rapidly but expertly. Tsumugi was by her side digging as well, and the two were chatting about what to put in the den that they were working on. Occasionally, Gonta would come along if they needed help with a patch of particularly rocky dirt or a root that just wouldn't move. 

The pregnant she-wolf and her mate, Ryoma, had been at it for quite a while, as their pups were due to come any day. But right now, the aforementioned male was absent; Shuichi assumed that he was grabbing a snack for everyone who was working on the den. 

Upon smelling him, they both lowered their heads, tails going between their legs. 

"H-hey, no need to do that!" He yelped, ears and cheeks going pink. Despite being alpha for a long while now, he still wasn't over the whole submission thing. 

Upon hearing this they straightened up, though still keeping their tails low.

 "Hello," Kirumi greeted, raising a paw in acknowledgement. "How are you today?"