Whiskers

Break

"Are you sure that he'd like something like that? I thought our goal going to the store today would be to get him some things to make him feel more comfortable. That's..." 

Knight looked up at Jared with narrowed eyes from where he was kneeling with a package in his hands, effectively making him stop talking. Standing, he gently set the model car box in the cart. It was the hardest skill level they had, and Jared wasn't even sure if he'd be able to tackle it, himself.

Palace had been getting more and more human-like over the past week that they'd all been nursing their injuries, that thankfully hadn't been as bad as they initially thought. Only Knight would need to be careful for a few more weeks. Palace had gotten used to eating with cutlery and received his food on plates and bowls instead of the food tray. They had tried clothing once, too, but his wolf had thrown a fit and torn it all off by shifting. 

"Should we try giving him clothing again? His wolf seems to have calmed down some." Jared said as he glanced over into the clothing section. 

They had brought Jamie, too, but the guy seemed to have disappeared as soon as they'd stepped into the large store. 

"I guess we can... but it seems like your brother is already ahead of us on that idea, though." Knight noted as he nodded behind Jared, making him turn around to see his brother happily walking toward them with his arms full of clothing. 

We aren't buying all of that. Don't you remember what happened the first time we gave him stuff to wear? He only needs one or two things. He thought to Jamie, making him pause a few feet away. 

I'll pay for it with my own money. We shouldn't give up trying just because his wolf is used to not having to wear clothes. He might like a few of these. He had liked the shirt and shorts we'd offered him. 

Jared wanted to keep arguing, especially since his brother just couldn't stay the heck away from Palace even while his injuries had been healing, but he knew that it would just make him want to try even harder. 

Stubborn cub. He thought, frustrated. 

I'm the same age as you. Jamie shot back, surprising Jared since he had thought he hadn't shared that little comment. 

"I'm going to get these. They were all on clearance but are much more comfortable than the last stuff we tried. Most of it is  pajama flannel or fleece." Jamie said as he set the items in the cart with a content smile. 

Jared nudged him aside to take the push bar of the cart and start heading toward the check out line. When they got there, Knight grabbed a small bottle of orange juice out of the mini fridge they always tricked people to impulse buy from while Jamie grabbed his stack of clothing and went to another register to pay. 

They all reconvened outside at Jared's car, then headed back. Jared had continuously checked what his brother was fiddling with in the rear view mirror, but couldn't quite figure out the small item in his hands. 

Jamie gave him no time to ask to see it once they got to the rehab center, either, because he grabbed his bag and darted from the car without a word to either of them. 

"Should we start taking bets on how much trouble he's about to start?" Knight asked as he walked around the side of the car, stopping next to Jared with a bag in his hand so that he could nudge at the ankle monitor on his right leg. 

Jared sighed and lead him inside. "I can already sense Palace's curiosity. Jamie must have run there." Knight said as he hastened his pace. 

Jared hurried after him, unlocking the door to Palace's observation room once they got there. Just as Knight had predicted, Jamie was sitting by the new bullet-proof glass window they had put in recently in order to be able to communicate better with Palace. It let them see most of his body if he chose to sit in front of it and also allowed for slightly better speech communication without having to lift the feeding panel.