Fall of the Packs: Void

Chapter Nine

It was a pleasant fall evening where Night Pack was eating dinner in the shadow of the overhang while the sun sank down behind it. Minerva had just sat down with a chunk of deer on the right side of the clearing, somewhat distanced from everyone else. Normally she ate with Desert, but she was talking with Jade and Minerva didn't feel like simply sitting there and listening to their conversation.

She had only taken a bite of her food when Tinder trotted up with his own chunk, sitting down beside her. "Some day of training, huh?" he asked. "But I won't have to deal with it much longer. Hard to believe there's just a few more weeks before I'm a full defender! You still have three months, though. How will you survive without me?"

Minerva stared at Tinder for a few moments, her eyes narrowed, and then asked, "Why do you always talk to me?"

Tinder returned her gaze, puzzled. "What?"

"Every day, you always go out of your way to talk to me. Not just when we're training, but other times. Why?"

"...Because we're friends?"

Minerva growled, shaking her head in frustration. "No, I just... why don't you hang out with the other trainees, instead of me?"

Tinder furrowed his brow thoughtfully. "The other trainees, well. Let's see... I'm around my brother and sister plenty, I don't really like Cypress, Dash is... a lot, and so are your cousins, if I'm being honest. Thyme and Jared... well, they're all right, actually, but I'd just rather talk to you."

"But why?" Minerva pressed.

"Because I like you, genius," Tinder said, a half-exasperated, half-pitying smile spreading across his face. "I like talking to you. Is that so hard to understand?"

Minerva looked down at the ground. "Yes, actually. I wouldn't think dogs would enjoy talking to me." She gave a slight huff of dry amusement. "I don't think I would."

"Now you're just being silly." Tinder bumped her shoulder with his head. "Sure, you're kind of quiet and reserved. But you're also dedicated and honest, and you can be funny when you want to be. I felt like we were getting to know each other these past few months, and I like what I've seen. You think too little of yourself."

"Does it really matter what I think of myself?"

"I think so. If you don't think you're capable of becoming something great, you never will."

"I'm a good Night-dog. That's all I need to be."

Tinder tilted his head, his eyes gentle. "You could be more than that. You could be my friend." He smiled slightly. "After all, that's a pretty great thing to be."

Minerva laughed slightly and Tinder's smile widened. "Aha! I did it!"

"Is that the real reason you talk to me?" Minerva asked, an eyebrow raised. "It's a game to see how often you can get me to smile?"

"Maybe," Tinder replied cheekily. "It is pretty fun."

Minerva smirked at him. "I'll just have to start trying harder, then."

Tinder's eyes gleamed and he wiggled his haunches as he half-dropped into a play-bow. "Challenge accepted."

They both chuckled for a moment and then his gaze softened. "So what do you say? Do you believe me?"

Minerva slowly nodded, smiling warmly for the first time in a while. "I think I'm starting to."

~

Desert glanced away from her conversation with Jade to see that Minerva and Tinder were talking, and she smiled. Jade followed her gaze and her eye twinkled. "Those two have been getting on well," she commented.

"I've noticed," Desert answered. "And it makes me happy."

"She could do worse," Jade said with a slight smirk. "Colt always says he takes after his mother."

Desert laughed. "I would have to say I agree. Both of you are good at reaching others. And Minerva needs someone like that. After her brother and sister... she's never been that good at talking to others. And I don't know if I've helped at all. Sometimes it's just so hard to understand what she's really feeling, or what she really needs."

"You can't second-guess yourself all the time," Jade chided. "You've done your best with Minerva, and that's all anyone can do."

"Well," Desert said, stretching out her front paws, "I just wish all of my relationships were even that successful."

Jade hummed in response with a slight chuckle. "Every family has its issues."

"Issues like your brother is a thick-headed fool who could be leading your packmates to their deaths?" Desert asked, a growl creeping into her tone.

"Yes, even those. It could be worse."

"Chloe died, Jade. How is that not the worst it could be?"

Jade's eyes dropped and her voice grew solemn. "I know, and I miss her. But Draco thinks he's doing the right thing."

"That's what's so infuriating about it!" Desert exclaimed. "He won't listen to reason!"

"Believe me, I understand," Jade said. "Have you noticed who the father of my pups is? Colt couldn't see someone else's perspective if it would save his life."

Desert chuckled slightly. "That's very true. How do you put up with him?"

"Some of the worst things about him are also some of the best things," Jade said. "He's focused and he never gives up. That dedication is one of the reasons I fell in love with him. And there's a reason we chose Draco over Pawnee. He cares about Night Pack."

"Pawnee may have given up hope, but he knew better than to continue a pointless war," Desert argued.

Jade sighed. "Like, I said, that's not how he sees it. Or how several other dogs do." She paused for a moment. "I know you care about Draco, and about all of us, and that's why you keep on fighting with him. But I can tell you right now, Colt and I arguing over the same old things over and over didn't help anything and it didn't help us understand each other any better."

"So what did you do?"

"I stopped trying to change him," Jade said. "And I loved him instead."

Desert looked away. "...I don't know if love is enough."