"Turnipper!"

The fox in question stopped when Chen called after him. This had been the first time he'd used his actual name! Quite fitting to the occasion, the white wolf's stoic expression was hard and stern. Full with determination that made Turnipper falter under his gaze. "Yes?"

Without a wince, Baochenmo declared, "Whether he returns as friend, or as foe is up to him. I shall not show mercy, should it be the latter!"

With a gulp that hurt in his dry throat, Turnipper nodded meekly. This wolf really knew how to put somebody at ease! Slowly he turned away from the bridge, towards the other side of the river yet unknown to him. Toshi's scent was already in his nose, a faint track, but it was enough to find him.

"Are you sure, you want to go alone?" the small, gray wolf by his side asked concerned. "We could come along."

Reszet's founded worry was adorable and it felt good and reassuring to have someone who's got your back. "Yes," Turnipper said nonetheless with determination. It was probably best to talk to him alone to find out what's wrong. Showing up with Res and Chen in tow might make him feel cornered again. And the last thing this pack needed was another escalation! "I will be fine, but thank you."

Secretly relieved that he wasn't the one who had to face Toshiba, Res nodded at the fox, before he set out to find their missing wolf. "Take care."

It was a bit eery to hear his own footsteps on the asphalt road, while the rest of the forest around him felt quiet, even though it was not. There were birds, the wind and rustling leaves, a very busy woodpecker somewhere in the distance. This forest was a mirror of the one that stretched at the other side of the river, though maybe it felt more dangerous, because Turnipper knew that a big, angry wolf was hiding here?

Despite the lingering fear, the fox followed his lover's scent deeper into the woods. And eventually he found the red giant, humbly bedded on a mossy patch. He looked asleep, though Turnipper wasn't sure and didn't want to startle him. Though before he could say something, the wolf beat him to it.

"Get lost!"

The angry growl made the fox stop and his heart pound. In a gentle, anxious tone, he said, "I've come for you. I've been worried sick."

Toshiba rose from his nest with a threatening snarl. Though imposing, he was not in full-on battle mode yet, which... was only mildly comforting considering his next words. "I said piss off! Or do I have to make you?!"

"Y-you wouldn't hurt me..." Turnipper said, timidly taking one step closer. He hoped he was right, though he also had faith in Toshi. He was just hurt and angry and alone and Turnipper hadn't been able to help him. But now he could. He could try.

"Don't be so sure about that...!" the wolf rumbled as he turned, those big, yellow eyes livid and fixed on the small vulpine. He was obviously in a very sour mood, though not nearly as furious anymore as he had been during the fight with Chen. Toshiba looked more frustrated, fed up and resigned.

Holding the wolf's stare, Turnipper slowly came another step closer. Then another and another still. He would be lying were he to say he wasn't at least a bit frightened. Toshiba was damn scary when he was mad! Though against better judgement, he trusted into the wolf's gentle side he came to love so much. "Then come and bite me!" the small fox said, continuing to close the distance between them.

The large wolf kept on grumbling, his fists clenched, though the most dangerous thing about him remained his death stare. When Turnipper eventually stood in front of his lover, he took hold of his big fist. "I want you to come back." Gently he rubbed Toshi's forearm to set him at ease. "The others want you to come back too."

After only a moment the wolf pulled his arm back. "The others can fuck off!" Sulkily he turned around, sat down with an angry huff and ignored the fox.

But of course Turnipper didn't give up. He waited a few moments to leave the wolf to stew, then put both hands to Toshiba's broad back. His lover didn't respond, so he let them wander a bit, rubbed down over his spine, pushed them up over his beefy shoulders, and eventually leaned down to hug the pouting brute. "Don't say something like that. They came all the way here with me," he murmured into Toshi's ear.

The wolf was unfazed. "Sounds like you're good friends now," he mocked, ironically having accomplished his initial intent.

"Indeed," Turnipper confirmed right away, continuing to snuggle up to his hunk. He'd missed that! "Res is very comfortable around me now. And Baochenmo taught me how to make fire."

That actually got the slightest reaction of surprise from Toshi, though he downplayed it swiftly. "Good for you. Then how about you go back to them now?!"

The fox let out a frustrated sigh into the wolf's nape, then pushed himself up. "What's wrong, Toshi?" he asked, rounding the big grump to face him. "Why are you so angry?"

The wolf inhaled deeply, then huffed with disdain."I was... -am- the alpha of this pack. And still everyone overrules me, thinks they know better, think I'm a bad leader when they never even submitted to me properly. Then, when I stand my ground, they cry like pups, making me the bad one. I can't do anything right, but when shit goes down, it's always my fault! AND YOU FUCKING SIDE WITH THEM!" he suddenly hollered through the forest, loud enough to startle a few birds above them. "It's always like that! Everyone keeps betraying me!"

Taken aback by the outbreak, Turnipper hesitated to reply. He wanted to disagree, though couldn't entirely deny that he had vehemently opposed Toshi's behavior. Although, the wolf hadn't left him much of a choice. In any case, something else he had said caught the fox's attention. "What happened?" He'd mentioned something similar, just before he tripped out and charged at Chen. "Who's betraying you? Tell me," he urged, crouching down to meet Toshi's eyes.

"Everyone!" the wolf repeated with a growl. "I thought I could keep those two fuckwits in check, but they're like everyone else. Glad to have the big, bad wolf's teeth in their team, but fucking refuse to acknowledge my authority!" With a stab of his finger in the fox's direction, he added, "And you too!" With glum eyes he held Turnipper's gaze. "All has been good and fine as long as you needed me, but once you started jabbering with the other's I suddenly wasn't good enough anymore. I tried to set things right, but that wasn't good either. And when that little crybaby attacked you and I protected you, I was the ass!" Another angry huff escaped the wolf and his fists clenched tighter. "Everyone always puts the blame on me and then leave me hanging. I'm fucking sick of it!"

"Has... this happened before? Before this pack formed?" Turnipper asked, glad to have found a starting point. He also was under the impression that Toshiba really needed to vent some of his frustration, so he wanted him to keep talking. Better words than teeth!

Defiantly, the red wolf held up four of his thick fingers. "Four times have I challenged an alpha for his position. Guess how many of them I've beaten!"

"All?"

"Every single one of them!" he declared with pride. Though that pride quickly turned back to anger. "I was their ace! The biggest and the strongest. No other pack fought with us. No other animal dared to bother us. I killed two fucking bears! They loved me! But as soon as I became alpha, everyone changed. They blamed me when they were to stupid to catch game. Blamed me when the winter was to harsh, or the summer to wet, or the puppies crying, or the old wolves finally pegged out. Everything was my fault and when I tried to set things right, they found new problems to tie to my tail."

Finally starting to get the picture, Turnipper softly asked, "And what happened then?"

Toshiba snuffed, as if it wasn't a big deal. "The first time, they abandoned me. The fucking pack I grew up in fucking abandoned me! Sent me on a patrol and ran off while I was gone. The second pack chased me off. Twelve wolves versus one, even the fucking bitches. The third..." He paused briefly, shaking his head as he recalled the past. "I fought them, when they tried to push me off, secured my position. Until I had my own mate against me. I could either rob my own pups of their mother and rule as a monster, or leave... The fourth pack just disbanded when they didn't get their way."

"Oh, Toshi..." the fox sighed, failing to keep the pitying tone from his voice. With that rather dramatic background revealed to him, Turnipper finally began to understand why his wolf was so explosive and terribly thin-skinned about the matter. The bitter truth, and an inkling the fox found more and more confirmed, was that Toshi simply wasn't made to be a leader. Or at least not ready yet to become one. It certainly wasn't his resolve and sure as day follows night not a lack of brawn. The reason Toshiba failed as an alpha, and the reason his past packs eventually all had turned against him was simply his purblindness as leader, paired with the notion that enough force will solve all problems. Or to put it simply: Toshi's old packs got rid of an alpha who was too stupid to lead them. No wonder this was gnawing on him. All things considered, the recent events, from Toshi's perspective, could very well be interpreted as his fifth expulsion. Though there was one thing Turnipper didn't understand yet. "Say..." he thought for a moment to word this gently. "After all this... negative experience, why are you still so set on being the alpha? I mean, when this position has brought you nothing but sorrow?"

"Why...?" Toshiba repeated, as thought the answer was obvious. "Well, every wolf wants to become an alpha. Found your own pack, live free, take what's yours. To make your own legacy, instead of just being part of someone else'. Don't you want to make anything of your life?"

"Of course!" the fox agreed. "I never really saw myself as a clan elder, though. There are more ways than one to live a fulfilling and meaningful life. Did you ever consider not to become the alpha of the pack you're a part of?"

"And follow orders like a low-rank from some stuck-up shit face like Chen?! I'm not some dumb dog to be called by a whistle! What's the point in living like this?"

Turnipper frowned. There was so much truth in Toshiba's words, and yet he completely failed to see it. "Imagine..." he said, and tried to sound casual. "... you were a small wolf, a 'low-rank'. Not as big and beefy and good-looking as you are. Not as strong and confident. Can you do that?"

"Uh-hu," the wolf nodded, not very interested in the mind game.

Calmly Turnipper went on. "And now imagine there's a bigger wolf than you. A big, stuck-up shit face. And he's giving you orders. And he's pushing you around. And he's mean to you, if you don't do what he says, just because he can. Would you say that there's a point in living like this?"

The answer came quick and without much thought. He'd basically said the very same thing just a moment ago. "Pff, no."

"You wouldn't want to live like that?"

"No."

"Would you rather jump down a waterfall?"

"..."

The fox paused for a moment to let the message sink in, though now it was Toshi's turn to listen. "Do you realize it now? You are the wolf you don't want to live under. And before you say something, remember how you treated me!" Briskly the nimble fox came forth and grabbed the wolf's hand again to make physical contact, share the warmth. "You've been so kind and sweet! You accepted me, cared for me, protected me. Even though I'm lower than a low-rank. Please tell me - because I absolutely fail to understand - why do you treat me so fondly, but at the same time abuse your own pack mates in the very same way you don't want to be treated yourself?"

This time the answer wasn't so quick. Though, from the way he fidgeted, Turnipper was under the impression that Toshi struggled more with how to say it, rather than to find the reason. At long last he awkwardly said, "Because... you're a fox..."

Turnipper's ears twitched and he got that mischievous, sly expression only vulpines could pull off. "And what's that supposed to mean? Am I so worthless that you don't even have to try and keep up the act of the big, grim alpha wolf? Or did you just lure me in for my benevolence?" he asked, though not at all in an accusing tone. He knew that Toshiba's feelings had been genuine. Still, he wanted to make him sweat a bit.

"No. It's..." The fox waited patiently, while Toshi rearranged the words in his head. "You're not a wolf."

As if to check, Turnipper raised his arm and looked down on himself. "Yup. Even though I smell like one by now." The little joke fulfilled its purpose and reassured Toshi slightly. Though that answer was still insufficient, so he demanded, "Explain!"

Another, little pause followed, at the end of which, Toshiba sighed. "I don't know how you foxes handle things. Probably a lot differently. But in a wolf pack you don't show weakness. You fight for your spot, take what's yours, maintain your position. It's a struggle."

The fox nodded, accepting the words that sounded rather accurate from what he understood from his time among Toshi, Res and Chen. He was right, foxes handled things a lot differently. A clan was like a big family, you help each other, eat together, share your food and stories, snuggle and play, get a rub down from the elders, watch the kits, stake out your territory, quarrel with other clans... Turnipper was hardly an expert on wolf etiquette, but he dared to say that a fox clan lived a lot more peaceful together than a wolf pack. "Still. There ought to be some affection amongst a pack. How else would you explain all the little wolf pups runnin' about?!"

"Well, sometimes, when the moon drops a tear and momma wolf and papa wolf wish for it really, really hard, they may find a puppy laying in the grass. Or in a Toshiba box."

Turnipper chuckled. "Very funny. Now explain yourself, or I'll wish really, really hard for something else!"

"Of course there is affection," Toshi confirmed. Even his messed up past wasn't completely terrible. There were fond moments. "But the pack always comes first. And this pathetic excuse of a pack has too many issues to spare time for dancing and singing. Shit, weren't it for Chen, we would have starved last winter!" he admitted, covering his face in shame. "When you're a wolf and times are hard, you gotta be strong and pull your weight. A runt like Res can beg for scraps, but if you're as big as me, you gotta fight for everything. A wolf this big and able can't fail, but when it does, all other wolves will swoop down on him like crows on a carcass." He sighed, shoulders drooping, and his hands finally unclenched. "I might be big and strong, but I realize I'm not as smart as Chen. All I can do is keep him under my thumb."

"I see..." Turnipper said pondering, though as a fox it was hard to believe that wolves really lived that way. Maybe Toshiba exaggerated a bit? Considering his indeed rather impressive size, his ambitions and level of expertise, paired with his dramatic past, his perspective might even make sense.

"When I met you and you... offered yourself to me and it was good, I... It felt like I was finally getting what I deserved..." Embarrassed the wolf's pointy ears flattened. "Fuck that sounds pathetic...!"

Turnipper could only nod. "Hm-mm, a bit, yeah."

"But it felt right!" Toshi pressed. "I was bigger and stronger, you acknowledged that and submitted to me. I didn't have to fight you. I didn't have to take what I wanted. For the first time in a long while I felt like I was awarded and it made me happy." Gently his big, crude hand came forth and grabbed Turnipper's arm. A dull-clawed thumb rubbed through his soft, orange fur, and when the fox didn't reject the kind gesture, Toshiba pulled him closer. "When you told me that you'd be staying by that waterfall, staying for me, I just fell in love with how good you was to me."

Flattered by the awkward compliment, Turnipper let the wolf pull him into his lap. The warm, gentle embrace felt good, like something he'd been missing for too long. Readily he pressed himself to Toshiba's thick gut and snuggled up against his fluffy chest, while a giant hand cupped his slender back. What they had found was far to perfect to lose it over a pointless power struggle! "When you cornered me by the river, I was afraid of you," the fox admitted. "I knew a wolf wouldn't hesitate to kill me for my meat, if he was hungry enough. I offered what I had to escape. I wanted to survive. I knew I could endure it, even though you would hurt me. But you didn't hurt me!" Reluctantly parting with the warm body, Turnipper leaned back to look Toshi in the eyes. "You've been so big and strong, yet treated a small, vulnerable fox decently and with kindness. I was all alone, without a clan, or a friend and I, heh..." It may sound a bit corny, but better than the word desperate, so he adapted Toshi's phrasing and said, "I kinda fell in love with that gentle side of yours. I must admit that I was pretty shocked when I saw how you acted around the others!"

Embarrassed Tohi averted his gaze. "Was it really that bad...?"

"Yes," he said mercilessly and found the wolf's ears drooping. Encouragingly he then grabbed Toshiba's bulky chin and brought his eyes back. "But it's not too late! You can do better and I will help you. If you come back with me...?"

The wolf's features wavered again, though before long, Toshi's yellow eyes settled on his fox with determination. "Nip? Let's go away. Alone. Just you and me. We don't need the others," he proposed though found his resolve crumbling when he saw the disappointment in Turnipper's sleek face.

"Yes we do! And they need us as well." Even more determined than the big, bad alpha wolf, Turnipper pinned his lover with his gentle, green eyes. "We have the chance to put everyone back together. To become a real pack!"

Though Toshi didn't share that enthusiasm. "Maybe you're right, but..." With the issue between him and Reszet, and the fact that Chen had challenged and theoretically won against him... "I'm not the alpha of this pack anymore. I'm not even a part of it anymore... Going back as if nothing happened would be disgraceful."

"...You're right..." the fox had to admit, mumbling in thought.

The status quo hadn't worked so far and was prone to cause more friction in the future, especially with Chen. Even put the case that Toshi would ever willingly submit to Chen, this might only spark new problems. They had to change something... Something apart from their wolfish power structure... Something that could keep Toshi in check, but also give him purpose and, most above all, a reason to rejoin the pack...

Slowly a grin crept over Turnipper's face and his bushy tail wagged with excitement. "I'll be the alpha!" he declared, much to his lover's astonishment.

"Hah! I mean even you could push over the twerp, but Chen would never agree with that."

"Of course he would not. But that's not the point, I don't intend to lead the pack. I'll be -your- alpha!"

Puzzled Toshiba looked down at the megalomaniac fox in his lap and tilted his head with perked ears. "What do you mean?"

The idea sounded better and better in the fox's ears the longer he dwelled on it. "What I mean, is that you don't have to restart your fight for dominance with Chen. You don't have to bother with him. The only stuck-up shit face who's orders you'll have to follow, will be me. I'll take you in and teach you how to be a fine wolf. With me in the lead and you backing me, we won't only find our place in this pack, but we'll make it better for everyone!"

Still dumbfounded about the crazy prospect, Toshiba couldn't help but face it with a tad of humor. "I'm sure you'd love to have me under your heel. But what makes you think I'd want something like this?"

"Fine wolf lesson number one: Just because I'd be your alpha doesn't mean I'd be better than you, or would want to keep you under my heel. What I want, is to show you how to embrace and rely on your gentle side, to become a better pack mate and leader. And what better way to do so would there be than to lead by example?! Besides..." With that mischievous grin spreading again between his cheeks, Turnipper flopped down in his wolf's large lap and wagged his tail teasingly. "I'd bet you'd enjoy to be under my heel!"

"Tsk!" A wolf, subject to a fox?!

With his white-fingered paw rubbing up and down Toshi's sand-colored chest, the fox went on, "It would be easier if you submit voluntarily to me, but if you need to have it your way one last time, I'll challenge you and take you by force! But let me tell you, I'll be the real deal. I'll have the last say and you're going to obey me!"

The wolf uttered a deep rumble, although a playful one. "I thought, you said you didn't want to boss me around?"

"I don't," he assured. "But I'm allowed to have some fun now and then, don't I?"

Toshi snuffed. "And how exactly do you want to overcome me? You are like a puppy in my hands!" Quite demonstrative he applied said hands to his fox, one stroking over his white chest, the other caressed his belly, while the smaller canine lolled about in his embrace. "You don't stand a chance, Nip."

"Don't you worry, I'll find a way to outfox you!" Glad to make progress and happy to be together with his wolf again, Turnipper guided one of the big hands, that explored him, a bit lower. "It's been a while..." he sighed as the warmth filled his loins.

Toshiba never was one for modesty and applied his invited fingers readily to the fox's bits. He was growing fast. "Yeah..." he murmured, taking a quick whiff of the air to sample his lover's scent. He was indeed starting to reek of wolves. "Too long..." Cheekily he grabbed Turnipper's member with his thick, rough fingers and squeezed it a bit, making the fox moan with pleasure. He was so small and soft. "Mm, I want you!"

With a pleasant shower that went down his spine, Turnipper felt how the wolf's teasing hand slid a bit lower still between his legs. "Hff, w-what if your alpha says no?" he asked, though allowed the intrusive hand to tickle him.

"Wannabe alpha," Toshi corrected. "And if this is how you want to wield your authority, I'm afraid you're not even worthy of that title. Now bend over for me!"

With a chuckle, and some effort, the fox managed to pull himself up and out of his lover's care, though he didn't do him the favor of raising his tail. Instead, he proudly stood up to the bigger wolf, stared him down and, quite obviously let his hungry gaze linger on the twitching cock he'd laid on a moment ago. "And here I thought a stick was poking me," he mumbled amused, then put both hands down on Toshiba's shoulders and pushed. "Alphas don't bend over for their underlings. I want you on your back!"

With ease Toshi withstood the fox's meager attempt to push him over and grinned at him triumphantly. "Alphas take what they want!" he teased and soon found Turnipper retreating.

Only to take a run-up, though! With all his might the lightweight fox tumbled into the confident wolf and, in the heat of the moment, managed to knock him over. "I said, on your back!" Turnipper growled, sprawling over the prostrated wolf. "You better learn to follow my orders quick! And now..." Quite assertively he scooted over his lover's body, until he positioned his rump right above Toshi's dumbfounded face. "Get me ready, so I can ride you!"

The wolf growled ornery, but held the fox's peachy butt up for support and didn't waste much time to apply his tongue. He was very generous this time and made Turnipper squeal and pant, his orange and brown legs trembling beside his head. It was cute. Though before long both of them wanted the real thing and the fox found himself seated in Toshi's lap, his massive boner buried inside his depths.

Unlike most of their previous intimate moments, this one was particularly rough and fervent. Turnipper pulled on Toshi's fur, while his loving thrusts made him sore. In turn, the wolf dug his claws into Turnipper's butt as he plowed him. It was a much needed release for both of them, to blow off some steam, to feel whole again and to summon up some confidence for what was to come. At the end of their wild romp, they laid tired, tied and panting in the moss, Turnipper sprawled out over his wolf, both happy.

"Hmf, you'd make for a very breedable alpha, if nothing else," Toshi mocked, scratching through the fox's back fur along the ridges of his spine. Turnipper looked exhausted, breathing labored with his eyes closed, though also content. He didn't open them when he spoke.

"So you're considering the idea?"

"Hrmm..." The wolf was anything but keen on the plan. He'd been striving and fighting for his position his entire life, giving it away now, even to Turnipper, felt humiliating. Not to mention what the others would think of this wet idea! Though Toshiba couldn't deny that there was a weird feeling of liberation nagging at the back of his mind. What they had here - right now, away from the pack, just the two of them - felt right. Right and simple and the way things should be.

"What's bothering you?" the fox asked, listening to his lover's powerful heartbeat.

Though after an irresolute inhale, the answer remained the same, "Hrmmmm..."

"Guess we'll have some more talking to do," Turnipper observed as he reluctantly pushed himself up a bit and, in doing so, felt a stretching tug at his back end. "Doesn't look like we'll be going anywhere anytime soon, anyway. Mmmrf, you know what?" Idly he stretched his aching knees a bit. "We've got some time to sort this out later. There's something else I meant to ask about what you said earlier: You've had pups?!"

Toshi laughed. "I sure do. Four boys and two girls!" he said with pride. These little varmints probably were one of the better things he'd accomplished in life, even though they were taking more after their mother. Probably for the best. "Can't say I was much of a father, though."

"I'd like to hear bout them."