A King, A Captain, A Mess

05 Camp

Ethan POV

"I'm tired of walking!" Trevor groans. "Why couldn't we just take a car!? Or the jet? We have a jet!" The guys laugh, and he glares at them.

"We." I say emphasizing the word. "Don't have a jet. Your mother does, even though it's illogical in the current economy. She insisted so Father spent the money... do you realize that to fly that thing to the nearest pack would cost more than ten average people make in a year? And that's a quick trip. Even using a car would be an extravagant waste with the fuel shortages. Especially when we are wolves. We can travel on our own four feet, so why waste?"

Trevor grumbles but drops the idea of using transportation.

"But we haven't even shifted!" He yells. "I'm hot, and sweaty, and bored, and hungry, and thirsty, and..."

"Hey Cap, let's just make camp for the night. I can't handle the whining. Plus, this way, we'll have a few hours of daylight to teach him how to set camp right. It will be easier in the daylight and make us more efficient long term." Gabriel says, and I nod.

"Works for me. Pig! You see a good spot to set up?" I call out. Wilbur comes running up to me in wolf form and shifts back to skin and inch from my chest.

"Yeah, ET, I found a good spot for you to phone home." He says, and I push him away with a huff. "Come on, man! Don't rag on my name if you can't take the returned favor."

"I can take it. I'm just debating if I should send you back to the farm or make some bacon right here. Here pig, pig, pig, pig! SUEY!" I respond, and the guys laugh. Wilbur looks stunned and can't think of a comeback.

"Errrrrr! Time's up!" Timothy calls. "This point goes to the Captain, pig boy."

"You aren't going to let that up any time soon, are you?" Wilbur grumbles.

"Dude, your face!" Gabriel laughs. "We've called you pig before. That reaction was over the top, and you lost so, no, it won't drop any time soon. Come on, piggy. Where are we camping?"

We follow a grumpy Wilbur to our camp site. I can hear a river nearby. We have good visibility all around. Only 2 will have to keep watch at a time, which is a plus. I can smell game in the woods and am itching to hunt! This will be excellent for Trevor's first night camping out!

"Trev, help Gabe gather some firewood. Timmy, you and Killy set camp. Come on, Wil, let's hunt!" I don't wait for an answer before taking off into the woods, knowing my men will follow orders.

I got a deer and a few rabbits. Wilbur caught what looks like 6 fish by the time we head back. We likely won't stop to hunt at all tomorrow, so we'll gorge ourselves tonight. It's a wolf thing. Wild wolves can go a week or more without eating.

"This is a load of crap!" I hear as we return to camp.

"Actually, it looks like a load of sticks." I hear Timothy correct him. "If you can call that pathetic pile a load... that's what? Three sticks?"

As we reach camp, I see Trevor about to go off while Timothy and Killian lounging at our freshly set camp. Gabriel stands to the side with his arms loaded with sticks.

"I am the King's son! I've never had to do this crap!" Trevor screams, throwing the few sticks he had collected.

"We're back!" I announce before it can go any further. "Calm down, pup." I direct towards my brother.

"I am not a pup!"

"Then stop acting like one!" I growl back. "We will eat, then you will finish the job you were assigned."

I don't wait for a response as I toss Killian two stunned but still living rabbits. I toss another little creature to Gabriel before taking the final one for myself. Wilbur begins preparing the fish while Timothy takes over the deer.