Lost in Translation

Chapter 2: Rough Awakening

———Ben———

Saturday, May 4th, 2019

"Morning, Ben," Val said through a yawn as I let myself in through her front door without knocking. Her long dark curls were shoved into a messy bun, and her clothes were wrinkled, but she was at least already dressed in a dark shirt and cargo pants, which was a surprise. Val and mornings typically did not get along.

"Morning, Val. Ready for patrol?"

"Ready as I'll ever be." She stifled another yawn as she pushed off from the counter. She downed the last of her coffee and dumped the mug unceremoniously in the sink.

"You look tired. Rough night?" I asked with a pointed look as I passed her the familiar thin green cargo jacket hanging by the door. I had watched it transform over the past five years as she covered it with embroidered patches and buttons one by one.

"No, it's just 4am. Most people would look tired," she mumbled, shrugging it on with her eyes still almost shut. "The hell are you so cheery and alert for?"

"I'm not cheery, and alert is something you kind of need to be for a patrol shift," I protested. Val pulled her eyes open just long enough to give me a distrustful look before she plopped on the ground and started lacing up her boots. I offered a hand and hoisted her up once as she was done.

We set out from Val's place, not bothering to lock the door. Her place was close to the center of pack lands, so it was unlikely a stranger would come by and try and get in, and no pack member would be dumb enough to break into a member's house with how easy it would be to identify them.

The pack was located on the edge of a national park, looking to outside eyes like a small town. In reality, our territory included the surrounding forests and mountains of the preserve. Many of our wolves even worked in the park in an official capacity as park rangers in the human-facing part and as pack ambassadors in the supernatural part.

Val's place was a small single-floor two-bedroom house with pale blue paint and window boxes filled with a myriad of flowers (thanks to me). It was located in a small neighborhood a short distance from the center of town, where the Alpha house and community facilities were. A large percentage of the pack lived in the apartment-style buildings right in the town center, but external housing was available to those who requested it, like Val.

We followed the stone path into the backyard and then veered off straight into the woods heading straight towards the woods on the edge of pack lands. The air was a little chilly, but unlike Val, I had foregone the jacket and instead was dressed in a plain white T-shirt, dark jeans, and boots. It was guaranteed to heat up exponentially once the sun came up, and I didn't want to have to cart around a jacket for half the shift.

We set out on the patrol route, wordlessly nodding at Tracy and Manny, the night shift patrol pair we were relieving, as they passed us heading back towards town. tracing the patrol route. Pink and orange hues had started bleeding into the sky on the horizon, providing just enough light to get by without using a flashlight.

"Damn, I'm hungry," Val said suddenly. We'd been up and moving for about an hour and a half, which is about how long it usually took her to fully wake up.

"Granola bar?" I offered, pulling one out of my backpack. Val hesitated for half a second before snatching it out of my hands and tearing into it,

"Gah, eez ah gross," She said through a mouthful.

"Okay, A) Nobody's forcing you to eat it, B) If you made your own breakfast, you could eat what you wanted, and C) You're welcome," I replied playfully.