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", "writing": "\nDay 3 \n\n[b][CHARLIE][/b]\n\nCharlie woke in a hospital bed. A massive, Polar Bear-sized hospital bed. The bright lights of the room hurt his eyes, so he shut them and used his ears and nose to suss out his surroundings. He smelled...antiseptic. That made sense, this was clearly a hospital. Hospitals tried to keep everything sterile. It was also immensely frustrating for a Canid - the industrial-grade cleaners used in such places overwashed other scents, making one feel almost noseblind.\n\nNo matter, he could still hear. His hearing wasn't as keen as, say, a Felid's, but it was marginally better than a human's. The room he was in was mildly soundproofed, so he couldn't make much of the sounds outside, but there [i]were[/i] several sounds within the room he could note. The ECG's steady beeping...the drip-drip-drip of what was likely an IV bag...the constant, annoying buzz of florescent lights... the droning of the building's A/C...subtle noises from his own weight shifting on the bed...and the almost imperceptible sound of water being run from a faucet in the room's attached bathroom, cut off suddenly by a squeaky valve handle. Someone was in the bathroom?\n\nPeeking his eyes open, and finding the lights as bright as they had been before, the Bear groaned and sat up, shielding his eyes with his paws as he squinted in the direction of the noise. Sure enough, the bathroom door opened and a vaguely familiar fuzzy blob emerged. Growling to himself and rubbing his eyes to try to encourage them to focus properly, Charlie spoke in the blob's direction, \"Jamie? Is that you? Can you turn these goddamn lights off?\"\n\n\"Sure thing, Charlie. They were starting to piss me off, anyways. I don't know how Anthro hospital staff can stand them - they're maddening!\"\n\nThe voice indeed belonged to Jamie, the Wolfdog who was a (fellow?) Counselor here at the Wildfire Campgrounds. Soon, the infernal lights winked out, and Charlie sighed in relief. There was still some light coming in from the windows, but [i]it[/i] wasn't trying to burn Charlie's eyes out. Besides, even in the darkened room, neither he nor Jamie would have problems seeing. \n\nJamie was a Wolfdog, though one could really only tell if they knew Wolves well enough. The real giveaway was the large swath of blackish fur that covered his head, shoulders, back, rump (including his tail), and the outsides of his haunches. All of that area was mostly black, peppered liberally with reds, browns, and grays. His front and 'undercarriage' were a lighter sort of khaki, but also had some speckle of other shades. As was usual for him, he was not going about naked as many of the cubs and Counselors did at Wildfire, though it said something about how hot it would be outside the air-conditioned hospital that he was wearing only the forest green shorts that were part of Wildfire's actual uniform. \n\nLooking over at Jamie, who was walking back towards the bed from the light switch, Charlie indicated the IV with his muzzle, \"What's that?\"\n\n\"Intravenous fluid. The Docs say you were dangerously dehydrated, and would've started feeling the symptoms of it right about now, if we hadn't been rescued when we were.\"\n\nCharlie flopped back into the bed, \"That whole business was fucked up. Six cubs died! Carlos got...have you heard how he's doing?\"\n\nThe Wolfdog sat down in the chair by the bed, \"Carlos is doing fine. He's a little twitchy still - that drug that that Sascha lady gave him was meant for regular-sized folk, not an Ocelot cub - but otherwise he's feeling OK. He's embarrassed about the diaper thing, though. The Docs say he'll only need it for a couple days, hopefully.\"\n\n\"At least he'll be alright,\" Charlie sighed. Jamie nodded. There followed a few minutes of awkward silence as neither knew what else to say. The past couple of days had been...rough. \n\nFinally, Jamie slapped his knee and leaned forward in the chair, \"So! I've got good news! Good news, and a tiiiny bit of bad news.\"\n\nGroaning, Charlie gestured for the Wolfdog to get on with it, \"Gimme the bad, first.\"\n\nThe Wolfdog winced, \"Um...the official line is gonna be that we all died?\" He turned it into a question, clearly worried about Charlie's reaction. He wasn't wrong to be worried. \n\n\"WHAT!?\"\n\nJamie held his paws up placatingly, \"Look, BB says our bus wasn't the only one hit! Other psychos in masks tried to break into Wildfire, too! They were chased off by our...ah...security, and then BB started looking into 'em. Apparently, their leader got kicked out of Wildfire for doing some...messed up stuff. Anyways, BB thinks the guy started this, like, anti-Wildfire cult thing out of spite. That guy at the truck stop? Cultist. BB says he's sure Wildfire itself can deal with them, but doesn't want to risk things getting out of paw when the seasonal cubs go back home! They could be attacked in their homes! So, it's kind of a wit-sec situation.\" \n\nCharlie growled, \"And obviously BB doesn't want his little [i]spat[/i] with a rival cult to go public. What the [i]fuck[/i], Jamie!? What're...do the cubs know, yet?\"\n\nThe Wolfdog nodded, though he did look a tad offended that Charlie had called Wildfire a 'cult', \"BB explained it to them, himself. Naturally, they heard 'permanent residents' and pretty much didn't care about the rest.\"\n\n\"Alright. I can't do anything about it, anyways, can I? You said you had [i]good[/i] news?\"\n\n\"You're being made a Counselor, with your own cabin. It'll be right next to mine! I already got BB to assign Bruce and Charlie to you, but I don't know who else you'll be getting, yet,\" Jamie said, with forced cheer. He could read the Bear's body language well enough to know that he wasn't likely to be as excited about the news as he'd hoped. \n\nIt [i]was[/i] good news, though Charlie felt guilty about how his first reaction was to think of how [i]convenient[/i] it would be to have unlimited access to Bruce in a place where no one would bat an eye at him having sex with the pup. Sure, the pup wanted it, too...but was Charlie really sure about that? He knew enough about the place, now, to realize that Wildfire was, in many ways, a cult. Jamie might protest the term, but it fit to a T. Charismatic leader? Check. Well-defended compound in the middle of nowhere? Check. Practices which are considered deviant by mainstream society? Check. Indoctrinating the youth? Check[i]mate[/i]...maybe. \n\nDespite this, Charlie was wavering more towards 'sign me up for your cult, Mr. Boss, sir!' than not. He couldn't deny it. Big Boss had even kind of forced his paw on the matter. Charlie didn't doubt for a second that the man was wealthy enough to be influential enough that right this moment there were probably official death certificates being drawn up for Charlie and everyone else who'd been on the bus. Even if he wanted to refuse to stay with Wildfire, where could he go, now, if he was officially dead? \n\nJamie had practically grown up at Wildfire, so his views were probably heavily biased. That being said, Charlie thought of the Wolfdog as a friend, and so Charlie didn't voice his doubts, \"I'm sorry, Jamie. That [i]is[/i] great news, I'm just...still pretty bushed. I can't really gather the energy to be as enthusiastic as you might've hoped.\"\n\nThe Wolfdog nodded understandingly, \"I hear you, and in hindsight I should've probably told you the good stuff, first. Still, being a full Rez here has a lot of perks to it! Wildfire's almost a city unto itself, we have everything anyone would want. And here, there's no prejudice about almost anything you'd want to do! As long as no one involved suffers physical harm or pain they didn't agree to, there aren't many taboos, here.\"\n\nCuriosity derailed Charlie's other misgivings about Wildfire, \"So, what [i]is[/i] forbidden?\"\n\nJamie thought about it, \"Um...BB won't tolerate any real harm coming to the cubs, though Counselors can discipline their cabin however they see fit, so there's a little gray area there. Necro stuff is absolutely forbidden, but who would want to do [i]that[/i], anyways? There's a thing with 'hard BDSM' among the Counselors and adults, but that kind of play isn't approved with the cubs without, like, [i]extensive[/i] safeguards and psych profiling. Uh...the only other thing I can think of is rape. The cubs aren't considered [i]able[/i] to have 'rape fantasies' so it's strictly forbidden with them but, like the rougher kinds of BDSM, some of the adults enjoy that sort of thing, and it's not too uncommon.\"\n\n\"You [i]do[/i] know that most of the outside world would consider anything we do with the cubs to be 'rape', right?\"\n\nThe Wolfdog looked him dead in the eyes, \"Do [i]you[/i] think you raped Bruce the other day? He looked pretty into it, to me.\"\n\nCharlie sputtered, the insides of his ears reddening, \"It could be argued that Wildfire conditions the cubs to think it's normal! And especially for me...if I wanted, I could rape [i]anyone[/i]! Even most other adults who aren't Bears wouldn't really be able to fight me. Bruce? He's [i]eight[/i]. I mean, he's not as small as a human eight-year-old, but he still has no real way to stop me from fucking him senseless.\" \n\nJamie's voice was quiet, \"If he wanted to stop you from doing something, he'd say 'no', and I think I know you well enough now to know that you [i]would[/i] stop, if he asked you to.\"\n\n\"I'm worried more that he [i]won't[/i] say no, if he thinks it's what [i]I[/i] want.\"\n\nThe Wolfdog sighed and scooted his chair closer, leaning forward, \"Look, the fact that you're [i]having[/i] these worries is a good thing. You clearly don't want Bruce to get hurt, and you'll be conscious of it every time you two play. My advice? Keep your guard up, do your best to make sure he's enjoying himself and isn't just trying to please you, but don't overthink it. As long as you put his safety first, you'll do alright.\"\n\nCharlie nodded, \"Anything else I ought to know?\"\n\n\"Um...BB specifically told me to 'distract [you] from self-discharging until [he] could get everything set up with [your] cabin', but you're not, like, being forced to stay at the hospital if you don't want to. And don't worry - medical care at Wildfire is free for staff, and the cubs. BB pays for all of it.\"\n\nThat was sensible enough, and honestly Charlie wasn't sure he should be getting up just yet anyways. He still felt like crap, and said as much. Jamie laughed, standing and stretching his back, \"Well, [i]I've[/i] been sitting in that chair for five hours, except for taking a piss. Want anything from the hospital cafeteria, big guy? It's an open secret around here that the hospital has better stuff than the mess halls.\"\n\n Charlie laughed as well, \"What, were you holding my paw at my bedside, maybe crying a little? You're so sweet, Wolf. And sure, I could eat. Get me something [i]meaty[/i], and a good amount of it. Afterwards, let's go check in on Carlos.\"\n\n\n[b][CARLOS][/b]\n\nCarlos lay in his bed at the Wildfire Hospital, with the covers drawn up so they covered half his chest, and groaned. His attending doc had just left, explaining that Carlos was to be 'red collared' - off-limits for any 'play', even with other cubs - for at least the next two weeks. As if having to wear a diaper for who knew how long wasn't humiliating enough! The only cubs Carlos knew who wore red collars were all younger than him. With a diaper as well, he could already imagine the teasing he'd get from the other boys. \n\nTo make matters worse, he'd already had visitors - most of his friends from the bus had already been by while he had been asleep. He only knew because he could smell their scentmarks on the spongy mat for that purpose that was mounted on the wall beside the door. The thing was caked a scent post, and Doctors hated them. They were [i]such[/i] a stereotypically Canid thing, but they'd persisted despite all efforts into modern times. You know, when people could leave normal things like cards or flowers to let you know they'd dropped by, instead of [i]pissing on a wall[/i]. Dogs. \n\nHe didn't know how many of them, if any, saw his diaper. He did know that when he'd first woken up, his sheets were mostly off him. He had no way to know if that had been him tossing and turning while he'd slept...or if someone had peeked. At least all his visitors had been in when he'd been asleep...he wasn't sure he could've handled it. \n\nHe heard the door handle turn, and quickly tried to pretend he was still asleep, rolling onto his side. The move pulled the sheets away, exposing his back, tail, and diaper, but he couldn't fix that, now, without revealing that he wasn't actually asleep. \n\nTwo sets of pawsteps entered, one clearly much heavier than the other. Carlos tried to even out his breathing, but he was more than a little mortified. By the sounds of the one set of paws, [i]Charlie[/i] was one of those who'd just walked in! Charlie was the last person Carlos wanted to have seeing him in a diaper! \n\nHe couldn't remember much of what had happened to him - the doctors had said that was completely normal - but he did remember that Charlie was the one who had saved him. His clearest memory of whatever had happened was the scent of Charlie's fur and sweat as the Polar Bear had carried him. \n\nHe heard Jamie's voice as they walked over to the scent post, \"Heh. Smells like all the other boys have already been by. Even Jack! I can't believe they got Jack to piss mark!\"\n\n\"He probably didn't want to be left out,\" Charlie's voice said. The pawsteps told Carlos that Charlie was nearing the bed. Carlos fought his inclination to curl into a ball - doing so would give him away. He felt the bed shift under Charlie's weight as the Bear sat down on it. A huge paw set itself on his hip, just at the waist of the diaper, \"You know we can both tell you're not sleeping, right?\"\n\nCarlos made a very un-Catlike yelp (he blamed it on hanging around Canids too much), and immediately clapped his paws to his muzzle. Both Charlie and Jamie laughed, making his embarrassment worse. The paw on his hip gripped and rolled him into his back, forcing him to look directly up at Charlie, \"Hey, Carlos.\"\n\nCarlos was torn between wanting to hide and wanting to tightly hug the Bear who'd saved his life. He chose the latter, and found that the term 'Bear hug' was no exaggeration. He buried his face in the Bear's chest fur, feeling safe in Charlie's arms, just like he had when...he'd been hurt. Charlie's paw was rubbing Carlos' back, and the young Ocelot found himself purring and leaning further into Charlie's hug. He relaxed completely. Maybe too completely. He froze against Charlie as he vaguely felt his bowels empty. \n\nThat was a good sign, actually. Earlier, he hadn't been able to even [i]feel[/i] his bowels (which was really strange in itself), let alone when he'd emptied them, hence the diaper. Now, though, enough sensation had come back that he burst into tears the moment it sunk in that he had just...while [i]Charlie[/i] was holding him! \n\nCharlie and Jamie would easily be able to smell it, and surely with their noses, they'd be disgusted with him. He was too old to be doing this!\n\nCharlie didn't recoil or anything, just spoke softly, \"Hey, Carlos...the Docs said you might not have regained sensation or control...uh...down there. You...um...need changed.\"\n\nCarlos wished he would die. Well, maybe not [i]die[/i], he vaguely remembered feeling what dying was like, and that was a bit extreme for the situation...but he'd accept the ability to completely disappear as an alternative. When Charlie asked if he wanted the Bear to carry him into the bathroom, Carlos felt the last shreds of his dignity disappear. He couldn't even make a coherent reply, he was crying so hard. \n\nWhen he didn't reply, Charlie just scooped him into his arms and carried him into the room's bathroom, setting the crying young Cat on his footpaws in front of the toilet. Carlos had his eyes screwed shut, and he was starting to hiccup from crying. He didn't resist at as Charlie undid his diaper, quickly wrapping it up and threading throwing it into a 'biohazard' trashcan before gently prodding Carlos into sitting down on the toilet. \n\nThe Bear used the bidet nozzle on the toilet to clean Carlos' soiled backside, all the while keeping one paw on the Ocelot's head, rubbing his cheeks and trying to calm him down. Eventually, Charlie licked at Carlos' nose, the intimate gesture surprising the young Ocelot enough that his sobbing stopped. With teary eyes he looked up at Charlie. Even with the Bear kneeling and Carlos sitting on the toilet, the Bear was still somewhat taller. There wasn't the least bit of unkindness in his voice when he spoke, \"I'm sorry about all this, Carlos. You're probably feeling really embarrassed, huh? Don't be, kitten. There's nothing to be ashamed of.\"\n\nCarlos sniffed hard, trying to get the snot in his sinuses to stop stuffing his nose, and finally managed to speak, \"I didn't want anybody...to see me...like...like this. Especially not you! You must think I'm gross!\"\n\nCharlie shook his head and stroked Carlos' cheek with one of his massive paws, which Carlos couldn't help but nuzzle against, \"No! It's not your fault, Carlos!\"\n\nJamie, who'd been standing in the doorway (as Charlie's bulk in the cub ward bathroom was already pushing things), said, \"If it makes you feel any better, when we spoke to your Doc before coming in, he said you might regain full control - and be out of the diapers - by tomorrow at the latest. If you're really lucky, you might already be getting some feeling back in there. Smaller Tribes like yours tend to burn through drug effects faster than others.\"\n\n\"I [i]could[/i] feel it, a little...I just couldn't [i]stop[/i] it! This is so embarrassing!\"\n\nCharlie pulled him into a hug, \"We know, Carlos. But you don't have to worry about us liking you less because of this, okay? You just gotta tough it out for a little while longer. Here, let's get you back into bed, yeah?\"\n\nCarlos surprised him, shoving him away, but the kitten wasn't angry. With as much dignity as he could muster, Carlos asked if he could put his own diaper on, \"...I can do it by myself, and you already did the gross part.\"\n\nCharlie nodded, standing, \"Jamie has to get out of the doorway, first.\"\n\nLooking up at the Bear for a moment, Carlos shuddered involuntarily. Even standing at his full height, the young Cat's head barely reached the Bear's [i]nuts[/i]. He'd already come to terms with the fact that his three feet, nine inches was about the tallest he could expect to grow, and around the other cubs his age (many of whom hadn't yet hit their main growth spurt), he hardly ever noticed how small he really was. [i]Charlie[/i], on the other paw, was at least four whole feet taller. And he was a friggen' [i]Bear[/i]! Carlos' whole body probably weighed next to nothing, to Charlie. He was thankful that Charlie was so nice and gentle - it would be all too easy for the Polar Bear to do whatever he wanted with Carlos, and even with his claws, the Ocelot cub wouldn't be able to do anything to stop him. \n\nHe took Charlie's paw as Jamie moved out of the doorway leading back into the main part of the hospital room, and walked with him back to the bed, where Jamie provided him with a new diaper to put on. Shaking with embarrassment (and some arousal?), Carlos got the diaper on himself without much issue. Both adults then spent some time cuddling with him, drying his eyes and 'grooming' him with their big, wet, Dog tongues. Neither their paws nor their tongues went anywhere below Carlos' waist, no matter how much Carlos was beginning to want them to. Stupid red collar he wasn't even wearing yet! Finally, he tried to beg them. \n\n\"It's not fair! I'm old enough! I want you to! And I'm technically not even wearing a red yet! Please?\"\n\nJamie was stern, \"No, Carlos. I'm sorry, but we're not allowed. You've been red collared until the psychologist says you're cleared. I know it's adding insult to injury for you right now, but there's nothing we can do.\"\n\nCarlos almost felt betrayed. He gestured at the closed door to the room, \"No one would know! C'mon, Jamie! Pretty please? I promise I won't tell anyone!\"\n\nStrangely, Charlie flinched as though he'd been hit. He used two fingers to smack one of Carlos' ears, \"Carlos, we said no. What's the first rule of playing around at Wildfire?\"\n\nHe knew the answer, of course he did. But he tried to be cute about it, hoping they'd cave, \"The youngest gets final say?\" He even topped it with his cutest grin. \n\nThis time it was Jamie who flicked an ear, \"Carlos! I [i]know[/i] Simon taught you better.\"\n\nThe Cat sighed and recited the 'zeroth rule' Simon had taught him last year, when he'd first been to Wildfire, \"Anyone says 'no', they're off-limits. No means no, cub or adult.\" \n\nThe Wolfdog nodded approvingly. A chime sounded, startling Carlos and Charlie. Jamie seemed to have been expecting it, casually pulling what appeared to be a rectangular piece of glass from his pocket, tapping it to 'wake' it. The object lit up from within, making it...somewhat...clear that it was a cell phone. Mostly it looked like Jamie now held something computer-y made of sky-blue light. \n\nCarlos gasped, \"Is that a Fleur d'Or phone? Their latest model? That's so cool! I saw an ad for them online a couple weeks ago! They're supposed to be, like, the new hot thing!\"\n\nMoving the thing around - totally not also showing it off to the Bear and young Ocelot - Jamie tried to find something to use as a dark background for the see-through device, \"Yeah. BB's issuing them to all the Counselors. Next time Charlie crashes our bus off a cliff, this bad boy will survive, and still be able to make calls. No more roughing it for two days because we had no way to communicate with Wildfire. I'm regretting not getting a backing for it, though. I didn't realize how hard it would be to read!\"\n\nCarlos rolled his eyes and marched over to Jamie, his embarrassment about the diaper he was wearing seemingly forgotten. He held out his paw, \"Gimme. I can help.\"\n\nNot worrying at all that Carlos might accidentally drop or break it, Jamie let the Cat have the phone. Using a clawtip like a stylus, Carlos quickly paged through various settings until the screen appeared made of pure black light, \"I turned on auto-adapt - it'll now automatically pick the most contrasting color for the display, depending on the background. Right now, it's black, cos I'm holding it up to Charlie, see?\"\n\n\"Isn't it fragile, though? It looks just like a piece of glass!\" Charlie asked, peering at the device.\n\nTaking it back from Carlos, Jamie just grinned, \"Fleur d'Or has a guarantee on these things: You'd need military hardware to break it or your money back. From what I've heard, no one has managed to even so much as crack 'em, from regular use. And I watched a video a few months ago, when they'd first come out, showing that they can take a frankly amazing amount of abuse. The guys in the video had to resort to shooting theirs with a gun, and even then it stopped the nine-mil cold, though it wasn't usable, after. When Fluer d'Or says 'nearly indestructible', they don't mess around.\"\n\nJamie spent a few more moments moving the phone around over different backgrounds, entertained by the device's efforts to stay high-contrast. Over multicolored surfaces, such as Carlos' pelt, it had to dynamically shift parts of the screen into multiple colors, which it did rather seamlessly. After thanking Carlos for helping with the phone, he put it back into his pocket and turned to Charlie, \"BB says you're all set up, now. We can head over to the cabin if you want - all your new stuff will be there, waiting. Carlos, do you wanna come with? The Docs say there's no need to keep you in observation - you can be discharged whenever.\"\n\nThe young Cat shook his head, \"I'll wait. I'd like to at least not need this stupid diaper before I leave here. I know you guys don't care about it, but some of the other boys can be mean.\"\n\nJamie's eyebrows scrunched concernedly, \"Anyone from our cabin? I wouldn't have thought...\"\n\nCarlos shook his head and waved a paw to forestall that, \"No! At worst, those guys would just tease me, and [i]they[/i] wouldn't really mean it. But we're not the only cubs at Wildfire, and some of the older teens can be \n\nreal nasty when you adults aren't around.\"\n\n\"Hmm. Well, alright. Ask one of the nurses to ping me when you want to leave - I need to sign your discharge paperwork, as your Counselor.\"\n\n\n[b][CHARLIE (RINNER)][/b]\n\nTwelve-year-old Charlie Rinner, who was now being called 'Charlie R' to distinguish him from everyone's new favorite Counselor, had been dead tired once they'd arrived at Wildfire, and like many of his cabin-mates, he'd crashed hard on the dogpile bed almost as soon as they'd finally gotten 'home'. Though BB had woken them all up to tell them they were officially dead, and the reasons for it, Charlie had been half-awake at best at the time, and had gone right back to sleep afterwards. \n\nIt was probably around noon when he woke up to an empty bed, relishing the chance to stretch without hitting anyone for once. As an only-cub, unlike over half of his cabin-mates, Charlie hated the dogpile bed. Sure, there was the instinctive peace of mind that came with sleeping surrounded by the other Canids (and non-Canids) of his 'pack', but for him that benefit was offset by having to be careful about one's arms and legs during the night. Charlie liked to [i]sprawl[/i], something that having thirteen other cubs in bed with you didn't exactly allow. \n\nAt least they were all around the same age. Charlie had heard stories from other Campers who shared their dogpile with older boys and regularly woke up with someone's wet dream all over them. Some of the counselors who had mostly older cubs even made everyone in their cabins paw off before bed, to help reduce the level of mess in the mornings. Canids cum a [i]lot[/i], and while most of the boys in Charlie's group were just old enough to be [i]able[/i] to 'produce', none of them except for Jack had much substance to their 'emissions' yet. Thank Dog Jack was a Cat, and didn't cum nearly as much. \n\nStretching some more and yawning, Charlie sat up and sniffed the air. He could smell lingering scents, but nothing less than an hour or two old. Simon's scent still lingered in the cabin, and Charlie wasn't sure how he felt about that. The Cheetah had been his Counselor for three consecutive summers, and the reminder that he was [i]gone[/i]... no wonder everyone else had decided to head out as soon as they could. Their situation after the bus crashed had given everyone other things to worry about, but now that they were safe at Wildfire, they all remembered the ones who weren't coming back. \n\nShaking his head to try and ignore the memories Simon's scent triggered, Charlie looked around. There was a neat stack of Wildfire uniforms on the main table in the center of the single-room cabin, and one particular set just at the foot of the bed where he'd been sleeping. There was a note on it -\n\n[b] Charlie - \n\nAs a substitute for Big Charlie's pawcuffs punishment, you and Bruce are not permitted to go naked, at least for the next week. I [u]will[/u] hear about it if you try to get around it! I expect both of you to wear the [u]full uniform[/u], underwear included, until either me or Big Charlie decide to let you out of it. You both know that this is a much lighter punishment than BB gives for fighting, so no whining to me or Big Charlie!\n\nIn case you'd forgotten, by the way, BB had come by and told you pups the news about your 'deaths' and that you are all officially Residents. Please remember that you can't communicate with your family at all - you're supposed to be dead! I know this is going to be hard on all you pups that actually have good families, and I'm so, very sorry.\n\nLast thing - Big Charlie is getting the cabin next to ours. You can be transferred over to him, if you want. Bruce already jumped at the chance, as you might've expected. I can't say I wouldn't be sad to see you both go, but you'll be right next door. I just want you to know, even if you do decide to go with the Bear, my cabin will always be open to you.\n\nJamie[/b]\n\nGroaning, Charlie started putting on the Wildfire clothes. The basic uniform was simple - forest green shorts, khaki collared shirt (with the 'burning pines' logo patch on the shoulder), and a baseball cap which also sported the Wildfire logo. Jamie had included underwear as well, Anthro-style briefs that had a velcro strap for over the tail. Charlie put it all on, knowing Jamie would probably check at some point. \n\nHe considered the offer to transfer over to the Bear's cabin. He honestly couldn't decide. Loyalty made him want to stay with Jamie, but he wanted to get to 'play' with Charlie, too! Not that cubs couldn't fool around with someone other than their own Counselor, but there was the convenience that came with living together. He decided that he'd think on it. Even if he stayed with Jamie, the Polar would be right next door. He was sure Jamie wouldn't mind him having 'sleepovers'.\n\nFully dressed, he headed outside. It was very hot out - a bright, sunny day without a hint of cloud to offer any shade. In minutes, he was already feeling his fur start to get damp with sweat, not helped in the least by the full outfit he was wearing. The cabins area was pretty much deserted, as even the cubs who weren't forced to be wearing their full uniforms didn't want to be outside in this heat. Well, it was either hole up in the air conditioned cabin with nothing to do but 'polish his sword' until the others returned...or try and scurry somewhere with a/c before he overheated. \n\nWildfire really did have everything anyone would want, and for the most part, it was all free. The Campgrounds had the hospital, obviously, but there were also bathing halls, swimming pools, sports fields, playgrounds, video game arcades, and even some taverns and other venues more geared towards the adults. [i]Those[/i] were off-limits to cubs without their Counselor present. There was a school system, but Charlie had never been a resident before, and so hadn't had to go to school here, yet. There was a market but, like the school, Charlie hadn't ever had to bother with it. \n\nThe arcades were the best choice, even though they were all the way across the Campgrounds. He knew, with how hot it was, only the humans would want to be outdoors. Most of the pools and bath halls were probably packed, not to mention he wasn't sure Jamie's 'wear clothes' punishment made exceptions for swimming. Clearly, the punishment was meant to capitalize on the summer heat and at the same time somehow remind him (and Bruce, he supposed) that they weren't supposed to be fighting. As if the notch in his ear didn't do that - it [i]still[/i] stung whenever he moved that ear. Bruce had gotten off easier, with just some shallow scratches across his cheek. \n\nHe took the most direct route to his destination, finding to his dismay that Bruce had [i]also[/i] chosen to hang out at the arcade. The building's air conditioning was also out, though the staff there did have fans running to help. To make things worse, he and Bruce seemed to be the only ones here besides the teenaged Lioness working the counter. All the machines still required coins to operate, but a Wildfire cub could exchange credits on their account for coins. A cub could gain credits by helping with chores around Wildfire, doing well in school (if they were a Resident), doing odd jobs for others...things like that. The only thing the cubs couldn't do to gain credits was sex - Counselors and adult residents couldn't 'pay' a cub for sex using credits (or any other currency, really), and enterprising cubs couldn't try prostituting themselves for credits, either. Normally, the Seasonal Campers had a fixed weekly allowance that would usually be enough for their stay if they were careful, but Residents were fully expected to [i]earn[/i] credits themselves. In fact, that was probably what the young Lioness was doing. \n\nBut Bruce was playing one of the games, so obviously he'd either still had credits or had managed to gain some. Charlie would have to give it a try. As he actually entered the arcade, he saw Bruce notice him. The Bloodhound's nose tilted up for a brief moment, and then he turned to watch Charlie as the Retriever walked across to the counter where the Lioness was. Ignoring Bruce's stare, he smiled winsomely at the female, \"Could I exchange some credits?\"\n\nThe Lioness returned the smile, \"Sure, honey. Enter your pin on the number pad, there, so I can look up your account.\"\n\nA bit of typing later, and the Lioness was frowning slightly. \"I'm sorry, Charlie,\" she said, having the good grace not to smirk at the overused phrase, \"Your account is locked by the Head Counselor. You and young Bruce over there are permitted to withdraw only twenty credits in tokens, total. And that's only if you both agree to play the same game...Bruce, sweetie? Come here a moment, it seems your friend showed up.\"\n\nCharlie was pissed! \"How did [i]he[/i] get tokens, then!? He was already playing when I came in!\"\n\nThe teenager shrugged, \"He had a few tokens already, you'll have to ask him how he got them.\"\n\nBruce had meandered over when the young lady had called him, and merely grinned at Charlie's death-glare, \"Tommy got me a few before he and Cliff went buggering off to bugger each other. That was just before her shift started.\"\n\nCharlie groaned. It wasn't like he could be mad at Bruce for having a cool older brother who spent his own credits on him. And he now knew the rest of Jamie's evil plan. If they couldn't take their uniforms off, the Wolfdog had probably known that both of them would prefer the video game arcade as opposed to, say, the [i]library[/i]. Locking their accounts to force them to not only agree on a game, but to actually play it together? Devious. \n\nCharlie and Bruce stared at each other for a moment, before Bruce decided to offer an olive branch, \"Look, since I got to play a few rounds before you got here, you can pick what game we play. Fair?\"\n\n\"[u]Sands of Destruction[/u],\" Charlie decided instantly. It was a bit above their age bracket, being a FPS full of sex and violence, and Charlie had picked it because he thought Bruce would balk at it. If the Bloodhound did so, Charlie could accuse him of going back on his offer, which would both give Charlie the high ground [i]and[/i] make it clear that he wasn't going to be swayed so easily.\n\nBruce sidestepped the play entirely by agreeing. Darn it! Now, Charlie had to go along with it! He hadn't actually wanted to play that game! Now, how to turn it around? Charlie thought furiously how to get out of it, and it must've shown on his face, as the Lioness snickered, \"Carl was right, it [i]is so cute[/i] watching young Canids try dominance plays! Goldie, you gotta work on your poker face.\"\n\nShe just laughed when the two young Dogs glared at her affrontedly. You weren't supposed to call it out like that! Now, [i]neither[/i] of them could gain face. Friggen [i]Cats[/i]!\n\nBruce huffed, \"If we promise to play the same game, can you just give us our tokens, now?\"\n\nStill sniggering at how 'cute' their dominance fight was, the Lioness cashed them out, \"Look, pups, I don't care if you play together or not. I'll give you each half, and you can both go play whatever.\"\n\nNow, they all but [i]had[/i] to play together. If either of them tried to go play on their own, the other could tattle to Jamie and get them in trouble. Sure, tattling would [i]lose[/i] them some face, but could be worth it if the other got spanked in front of the others again. They were even going to play [u]Sands[/u] because Bruce wasn't about to lose face by chickening out, and Charlie would lose face if he suggested another game at this point. \n\nTrue to its rating, [u]Sands of Destruction[/u] started out with a group of humans lynching an Anthro in gruesome, hi-res detail. They watched the black Cat - some kind of Panther, they presumed - get marched naked up to the gallows. His paws were bound behind his back, and soon the noose was around his neck. The protagonist, a human female gunslinger-type, was trying to intervene, but neither of them could get her through the crowd around the gallows soon enough to save the poor Cat. They burned a quarter of their tokens in that opening scene alone. \n\n\"We have to be doing something wrong!\" Charlie growled, slamming his paw on the side of the machine after their sixth time watching one of the humans kicking the short stool out from under the Cat's paws, leaving him twitching and flailing as he strangled to death on their screen, the 'game over' screen only appearing once the body had stilled.\n\nBruce and Charlie had both been horrified the first time they'd watched the death scene, but by now they were more irritated and frustrated at their repeated failures to pay it any mind. Bruce was nodding, \"Maybe we should try shooting the rope? You know, like in the movies? The crowd seems to keep getting in our way whenever we try and get close, and we already got one game over by shooting at the crowd.\"\n\nCharlie switched out with him, \"It's your idea, you try it.\"\n\nBruce had to wait until the Cat was already hanging to make the attempt, and he still failed to save the Cat in time. Charlie switched out, and accidentally [i]shot[/i] the Cat instead of the rope hanging him! They both groaned... until they noticed the game wasn't over. A cutscene was playing, showing the Cat's body going limp and the crowd cheering. Stunned that they'd been [i]intended[/i] to kill the Feline, the boys watched as the female protagonist slipped away into an alley, as the scene transitioned to later in the evening. The unknown gun-slinging, Cat-murdering female was quietly slipping back into the square where the Panther's body was still hanging. The plaza was empty of people, and she quickly mounted the gallows and used the stool to get the Feline down off the noose. She kissed the corpse intimately on the lips, drawing disgusted groans from the boys. Once and twice she kissed her victim, until on the third kiss, the Cat jolted back to life! Bruce and Charlie almost fell over each other in their startlement.\n\n\"[b]We are [i]never[/i] doing this plan again! I thought the plan was to dart me [i]before[/i] they put the noose on me!? I could have [i]died[/i], Maerte![/b]\" the Cat was saying. \n\nTheir gunslinger shrugged, though she looked embarrassed, \"[b]The crowd was too thick. I couldn't get a clean shot until that moment. Listen, we can't stay here. If any of these humans catch us...[/b]\"\n\nRubbing his neck where the noose had been, the Cat nodded, \"[b]I know. It's good that that [u]DeathlySleep Serum[/u] worked as well as that old Bitch we met said it would. Let's get out of here, Maerte, I think I've had my fill of human towns for a while.[/b]\"\n\nAs the 'level complete' screen displayed, which mocked them for their six failed attempts with a -600 point penalty and a counter displaying their failures, the two Dogs railed and shouted at the game, \"That was no fair! There was no indication we were supposed to [i]shoot[/i] him! How were we supposed to know she had darts instead of bullets!?\"\n\n\"It's a callback to the end of the previous game, [u]Hourglass of Fate[/u]. In the last scene of that game, Carlie and Maerte met an old Bitch who fixed Maerte's gun by making it a dart-shooter. She gives them a variety of darts, including one that puts the target into a death-like trance, where their heart and breathing rate drop down to near-imperceptible levels. If you'd played [u]Hourglass[/u], the solution here would've been a bit obvious,\" spoke a voice behind the two cubs. \n\nThey yelped and spun around, surprised that neither of them had noticed the person coming up behind them. They were even more surprised to see a human grinning at them - an adult human. Their eyes immediately gravitated to the man's cock, as unlike most of the humans they'd ever seen, the man seemed to have no issue going completely naked. He wasn't even wearing shoes! He was pretty hot in general. Five-foot-seven with a tight athletic build and an amazing 'carpet' of dark hair covering his chest and belly. It's only a [i]bit[/i] stereotypical that Anthros prefer humans with some 'fuzz'. Now that they were paying attention, they could smell the man's sweat strongly, his nude body glistening slightly with it. \n\nEven at Wildfire, they seldom had the opportunity to see human cock, let alone on an adult, and so they made the most out of this chance. Flaccid, the man's penis was about four inches, probably growing to five or six when erect. He was circumcised, that weird practice of some humans where they removed their foreskin, leaving the head of the penis exposed. The pinkish, rounded tip of the human's cock was a little thicker than the rest of the shaft, and had a little slit in it. The cock was surrounded by a thick bush of pubic hair, which was only a little darker than the man's hair elsewhere. \n\nEven Charlie felt himself drooling, but he just shut his muzzle in an effort to make it less obvious. Bruce, on the other paw, had no such finesse. The young Bloodhound openly licked his chops, leaking drool like a stupid, doggy faucet, staring hungrily at the exposed meat. The man clearly noticed, as his grin widened and the penis the boys were staring at started to plump up.\n\nThe human introduced himself, \"I'm Counselor Thomas. I run cabin E-45. What're your names, cuties?\"\n\nThey spoke over each other in their eagerness to answer the sexy man, enough that Counselor Thomas held up a hand and made them go one at a time. He let Bruce go first, easily figuring Bruce was the easier pup to seduce. He wasn't entirely wrong - Bruce was young enough that he hadn't yet learned not to throw himself at every male he was attracted to. The young Bloodhound had all the subtlety of a brick to the muzzle. \n\nCharlie briefly considered being mean and pointing out how Bruce was slavering over this human when he already had Big Charlie in the bag. Already, he could smell Bruce's arousal, and though constrained by the underwear he had been forced to wear, the other pup's erection was already starting to tent out the front of his shorts. Charlie wasn't far behind him, to be completely honest. In any case, he decided against that course of action because he remembered how Big Charlie had been displeased with them quarreling over [i]him[/i]. No doubt this Counselor Thomas would also find it a turn-off.\n\nAfter they'd both introduced themselves, the man took a step closer to them. Charlie stood about level with the man's shoulders, while Bruce was a little shorter, at roughly chest-height. The smell of the sweat from the man's armpits was overpowering at this distance, and even Charlie would've been lying if he tried to claim he wasn't as aroused by it as Bruce clearly was. Keeping his eyes on the man's penis, Bruce started groping himself through his shorts, whining softly, almost desperately, \"Can I...?\" \n\nThe man had barely finished nodding before Bruce was on his knees, taking the - fully hard, at this point - human cock into his muzzle with an eagerness that surprised the human and embarrassed Charlie. Bruce was [i]such[/i] a tailraiser! Nevermind that, had he been a little bit bolder, Charlie would've been in the other pup's place in a heartbeat.\n\nJealously, Charlie watched Bruce give the man a stunning blowjob, moaning and slurping on the weird maleness without any care for how public be was about it. This was Wildfire, public sex was far from uncommon. Counselor Thomas had eagerly begun thrusting into the pup's muzzle, his balls slapping violently against Bruce's drool-soaked chin. \n\nCharlie's cock was starting to hurt, getting hard in his sheath and causing his knot to swell uncomfortably. He saw Bruce undo his own shorts and, after finangling his briefs to the side, letting his five inches of puppy cock out and after getting his pawpad slick with his own precum, openly start pawing off there on the floor. Charlie wasn't about to let Bruce get so far ahead. He copied Bruce's actions and began masturbating, himself. \n\nAmid his lustful growls and moans, Counselor Thomas apparently liked to talk dirty, calling Bruce all sorts of dirty names. They got pretty mean, too, making Bruce's arousal start to lag. He was just enough of a tailraiser, though, that he continued to stuck the man's cock until the human Counselor went too far - \"Ahh! Oh, yes! Suck me good, you little cumrag!\"\n\nWhile it might've been a relatively tame thing to say between humans, 'cumrag' was considered a slur when used towards an Anthro. It went back to the times when Anthros were hunted by humans for their lush pelts, which were usually made into clothing for the rich and powerful. Sometimes, smaller scraps of pelt had been used as household rags, including for cleaning up spunk. When used by human-supremacists, the slur implied that such use was all an Anthro was good for. \n\nBruce froze, and tried to pull off the man's cock in disgust, but the adult simply grabbed onto the Bloodhound pup's ears and kept thrusting. Charlie, on the other paw, snarled and shoved the man back, causing him to cry out as his sensitive cock scraped against Bruce's sharp puppy teeth, \"Don't call him that!\"\n\nNot having expected the attack, the man fell sprawling onto his ass, but was quickly back on his feet. Taking a couple furious steps forward, the Counselor [i]punched[/i] Charlie in the muzzle, causing him to yelp as he was knocked down, himself. Clutching his muzzle, with his nose already bleeding profusely, Charlie vaguely saw the Lioness at the token exchange desk hurriedly bringing a phone to her ear, likely calling Security. Since she was working at the arcade, and old enough to be included by the law, her claws were likely blunted and useless. Cats in particular became very reticent to fight without their main natural armaments, so Charlie knew she was doing the best she could in the situation.\n\nCounselor Thomas - whom Charlie was starting to doubt actually was a Wildfire Counselor - advanced on Bruce and grabbed the pup's head with both hands, yanking the young Dog's head back and glaring down at him, \"Finish the job, [i]cumrag[/i]!\"\n\nBruce snarled and tried to pull away or get to his paws, but the human held his head in place with his right hand, and raised his other, fisted, and brought it down [i]hard[/i] across the pup's temple, hard enough that Bruce was clearly dazed by the blow. When the arm went back again for a second hit, the young Lioness screamed and started hurrying around the desk to intervene.\n\nCharlie was closer, and fully pissed, now. Without even getting back onto his paws fully, the Retriever sprang at the man, snarling wordlessly as his teeth latched onto the raised arm. Ignoring that his knot and the stupid underwear he was wearing was keeping his erection out and flopping around, dangerously exposed to attack, Charlie let himself go dead-weight, instinctively thrashing his body as his teeth clamped down as hard as he could get them to. An adult Dog could easily shatter bone with their jaws, and though Charlie's weren't that strong yet, he'd clamped down just around the human's elbow, which was weaker and had a painful nerve junction running through it. His sharp teeth shredded skin and muscle with ease, filling and covering his muzzle with blood. \n\n'Counselor' Thomas screamed and let go of Bruce, awkwardly trying to punch at Charlie's face to get him to let go. The young Retriever wasn't having it. Despite feeling one punch actually [i]crack[/i] his muzzle, sending agonizing pain through his whole face, he refused to let go, trying to get his paws back under him for the drag-down. \n\nHis desire to get his teeth into the bastard's throat was so strong that he ignored when Wildfire Security burst into the room, shouting at him to let go. Instead of tazing them, as per their normal policy, the three Security Wolves had to first tackle them both to the ground and forcibly pry Charlie's jaws open to get him off. They weren't shy about using his injured muzzle to their advantage, once they realized it. Not knowing any details about the fight, yet, they quickly cuffed his paws behind his back and fitted a tight muzzle-cage onto his face. The human got similar treatment, without the muzzling.\n\nWhile Charlie had been trying to maul the human, the Lioness had quickly gathered Bruce and took him to hide behind the tokens desk, out of the way of the scuffle. Now that Security had subdued the situation, Bruce made sure that the first words out of his muzzle cemented their judgment of who was at fault, \"[i]He[/i] called me a [i]cumrag![/i]\"\n\nThough they were professionally diligent in getting the whole story out of the everyone involved, that one statement completely soured the all-Anthro security team's opinion on the human. That was a 'fighting words' level insult even between adults, and the fact that the man had essentially tried to [i]rape[/i] Bruce, afterward - one of the cardinal sins at Wildfire - sealed the so-called Counselor's fate.\n\nThe fact that the man had claimed to be a Counselor, along with the simpler fact that Charlie had [i]bitten[/i] a human, caused the whole matter to be brought to the attention of BB himself. When he heard who was coming to the scene, Charlie started crying, thinking for sure that he was going to actually get kicked out of Wildfire. Bruce stood up for him, begging for the Security Wolves to call Jamie - who was Head Counselor, after all - instead. Bruce was certain Jamie would be able to smooth things over. \n\nThe Wolves' paws were tied, no matter how much they might've sympathized with Charlie's actions, \"I'm sorry, pup, but your friend there [i]bit[/i] someone! That absolutely has to be brought to BB's attention, no matter what the other circumstances. Do you realize how serious that is?\"\n\n\"But he'll get kicked out of Wildfire! Everyone knows BB doesn't make exceptions for anyone! He was just trying to protect me!\"\n\nThe Wolf knelt down and put his paws on Bruce's shoulders, \"We know he was. But you'll have to plead his case with BB yourself. My advice? Lead with the fact that this piece of shit tried to rape you. That alone might be enough to mitigate things for your friend. Also, you might want to put your...um...piece away, and help him do the same.\"\n\nHaving tried his best, Bruce went over to where Charlie was sitting, sitting down close to him and hugging him tightly even though the other cub couldn't reciprocate with his paws bound as they were. Charlie was too distracted by the looming threat of being expelled from Wildfire to stop Bruce from leaning down and lapping at his knot to make it go down enough to slip back into his sheath. Once Bruce had done the same for himself, and awkwardly got Charlie's and his own shorts back in order, they waited for BB to arrive. \n\n\n[b][JAMIE][/b]\n\nThere were a lot of perks to being Head Counselor at Wildfire. There were downsides, of course, one of which was being paged on every Urgent Situation call made by Wildfire Security. It was even worse when the situation in question involved one of your cubs. \n\nStaring at his high-tech new phone in shock, Jamie stood abruptly out of his seat, nearly knocking over the mugs of tea that had just been set down in front of him and Charlie. The Bear looked up concernedly, quickly reaching a paw over to steady Jamie's teetering mug, \"What's going on?\"\n\nJamie wasn't sure whether to be terrified or pissed. The younger Charlie had been involved with a [i]human[/i] in a [i]fight[/i]? And it was flagged for BB's immediate attention? There weren't any other details, which meant nothing good. To 'Big' Charlie, he stammered, \"I--we need to go. Now. Charlie's been in a fight.\"\n\nThe Polar Bear sighed and waved him on, \"Go. I'll pay for the tea and then catch up to you. Where's it at?\"\n\n\"Just down the street, make a left at the Roman-style bathhouse. The video arcades,\" Jamie called over his shoulder, already running. Though he was a great runner - all Wolves were - he hadn't expected the Bear to catch up nearly so quickly, easily joining him and then even pulling ahead as he ran on all fours like a Feral. It was a trick only Bears could pull off, though they only rarely did so in public. Their hips were uniquely shaped to allow them to either stand bipedally like other Anthros or drop down to all fours like their ancestors, and they were [i]much[/i] faster on all paws. \n\nWhen they arrived at the arcades, they were initially stopped by Security, and only Jamie had rank enough to get let through, leaving Big Charlie fuming worriedly outside the Wolves' cordon. \n\nJamie almost lost his shit when he saw a medic wrapping gauze around a naked human's arm. Charlie [i]bit[/i] someone? He scanned the room until he spotted the Retriever, still cuffed and muzzled, crouching in front of one of the arcade games. Bruce was sitting next to him, holding him close and trying to clean the blood off the other pup's muzzle through the cage on it, though Charlie was trying not to let him. Jamie marched over to them, using all of his self-control not to growl as he approached. As he neared, he saw that they both had been crying, and Charlie almost smelled terrified enough to piss himself. He softened his expression, just a little bit. \n\n\"What the [i]fuck[/i] did you two get into now?\" \n\nSeeing Jamie's furious face, Charlie just started crying again, so it was left to Bruce to explain what had happened. From the first, the story gave Jamie an uneasy feeling - he knew right away something was off when Bruce told him the human had introduced himself as 'Counselor Thomas'. Besides the fact that there [i]was[/i] no Counselor named Thomas - human or Anthro - he was a little surprised neither of them had picked up on the other red flag: when speaking to cubs, Wildfire Counselors never [i]said[/i] that they were Counselors. It wasn't so much a rule as a custom - they never used titles that implied Authority, especially if propositioning for 'play', opting instead to simply state their names. \n\nThe fact that Bruce had been so eager to put his muzzle around the man's cock was not a surprise. But when the story got to the man calling the young Bloodhound a 'cumrag', Jamie nearly went over and mauled the man himself. Once he'd heard what Charlie had done, his expression was carefully neutral - it really wouldn't do to encourage violence - but he ordered one of the Security Wolves to let the brave young Retriever out of the cuffs and muzzle. \n\nAs soon as his muzzle was free, Charlie began pleading with Jamie, crying and saying he was sorry and it took quite a bit of petting and shushing from Jamie to get the pup to calm down. Once Charlie was calm enough to be able to speak for himself when BB arrived, Jamie called over to the leader of the Security team, \"Nicky, outside there's a Polar Bear - he's a new Counselor named Charlie Hammond. Go tell him that I have things taken care of, and make [i]sure[/i] he leaves the scene. [i]Don't[/i] take no for an answer - if he hears what that monkey called Bruce, or the fact he tried to rape him, you'll need to call in backup to keep the Bear from tearing the human to pieces.\"\n\nThe Wolf saluted and went to do as asked. Jamie smirked as he heard Big Charlie loudly protesting getting shooed away from the scene, but even he went quiet when BB arrived. \n\nBB - the Big Boss of Wildfire - was a human male, apparently in his early fifties but actually a little over twice that. He walked with a cane, though he didn't seem to need its support. On a few rare occasions, Jamie had seen that the cane actually concealed a razor sharp sword, thin like a rapier and deadly in the old man's skilled hands. BB was dressed in an outfit straight out of mafia films, looking every bit the part of the Don himself. \n\nWhen he saw that BB had arrived, Charlie started sobbing again, and actually did wet himself, tying up Jamie's attention trying to soothe him. BB ignored them for the moment, going first to his fellow human to get his side of the story. Even from across the room, Jamie could see BB's expression darkening - clearly the false Counselor was trying to spin the story in his favor, and if he hadn't had to help calm down his pup, Jamie would've gone over there to set things straight. \n\nThe Old Man was no fool, though, and he could clearly see his Security team's behavior towards the other human. He next went to speak to Nicholas - the leader of the team. Nick was deferential to BB - all of those who were lucky enough to meet the Old Man's impeccable standards for protecting Wildfire treated him with the utmost respect - but he was clearly taking Charlie's side. That was a good sign. \n\nWith merely a glance in Jamie's - or more likely Charlie's - direction, BB next went to speak to the young Lioness who had witnessed the fight. Jamie couldn't tell what she was saying, and didn't know how much she'd actually seen or heard. \n\nFinally, BB was heading towards them, and even Jamie felt a bit of dread at his approach. How a human - an [i]old[/i] human! - managed to be so goddamn intimidating, Jamie would never know. When he reached them, BB gestured for one of the Security Wolves to help him get into a kneeling position in front of Charlie. Though Jamie very much wanted to interpose himself between Charlie and the human, he didn't budge. \n\nThe Old Man reached over and took the quivering pup's chin in his hand, making the boy raise his eyes to meet his own, \"Little Charlie, I presume? I hope you appreciate what a ruckus you've caused.\"\n\nCharlie started crying again, begging not to get kicked out of Wildfire - anything but that. Jamie was about to speak up, but a mere stern look from BB quelled him. The master of Wildfire rubbed some of the blood off Charlie's muzzle and showed it to him, \"You bit someone, Charlie. Damaged his elbow considerably. Cracked bones. You're lucky we're firmly in Anthro country, or you'd be...I believe 'put down' is the euphemism they use out east. Even a mere [i]rumor[/i] of rabies can make my Tribemates quite hysterical, and that's without the other...ahem...history between our peoples. This is a [i]very[/i] serious matter, Charlie.\"\n\n\nHe waited until Jamie and Bruce could help Charlie get his sobbing under control before continuing, \"Nonetheless, I have heard every other side of this story but yours and young Bruce's. I'd like to hear you both out before deciding what's going to happen to you.\"\n\nBruce told his part, trying to emphasize that Charlie had been protecting him. When both pups told him that the man had introduced himself as a Counselor, BB looked at Jamie, \"[i]Is[/i] he?\"\n\n\"NO,\" Jamie said firmly, dropping the 'sir' he would've normally used, in order to stress the point, \"We have only two human Counselors - Richard Baxter and Calvin Hobbes. We have no Counselors named Thomas, unless you count [i]Tómas[/i], a [i]Coyote[/i].\"\n\n\"I thought so. So, you boys were both dazzled by his body, and eager to play with him? And what happened next?\"\n\nWhen Bruce described how he'd tried to pull away when the slur had been used, and how the man hadn't allowed him to, BB held up his hand, \"Let me guess - young Charlie here tried to defend you?\"\n\nBruce nodded eagerly, \"Yes, sir! First he just shoved him, but then...then he - Charlie - got punched in the muzzle. Charlie was still clutching his face when the...guy...came back over to me and grabbed me, and told me to 'finish the job'. It's when I tried to get away that he hit me.\"\n\nBB's expression faltered for just a moment, \"He [i]hit[/i] you? And I suppose this was when Charlie leapt to your defense? I think I've heard enough.\"\n\nTurning to face Charlie again, BB's voice was stern, but much softer than before, \"Charlie, you know I cannot allow you resorting to your fangs to go unpunished. You're old enough that I have [i]no doubt[/i] that you [i]do[/i] know how serious what you've done is. Normally, this would mean an expulsion.\"\n\nHe had to hold his hand up again to silence Bruce And Jamie's protests, speaking over Charlie's renewed sobbing, \"However, you have me in a bit of a pickle. Because I [i]also[/i] can't allow your bravery in protecting your packmate from being raped to go un-[i]rewarded[/i]. So, instead of being thrown out of Wildfire, you are hereby banned from the arcades, the malls, the sports fields...everything except the bathhouses, the mess halls, your cabin, and in the fall, the school are officially off-limits to you until this day, next year. To be very clear, obviously the hospital is also among the places you'll be allowed. That's it. I'm sure James might have some additional punishment for you - by the way, how did he come by that notch in his ear, James? It's not in his profile pictures, and couldn't have been from this fight.\"\n\nJamie's face was stone, \"Must've gotten cut during the crash, sir. There was so much going on that first hour, I must not have noticed.\"\n\nBB seemed skeptical, \"You don't say? And the lines on Bruce's cheek?\"\n\nCool as a cucumber, and with as much expression, Jamie replied, \"His brother slipped and snagged the pup's face with his claws. 'Twas an accident, sir.\"\n\nBB glanced at the two cubs, who were mutely nodding in agreement. They both knew that their little fight being brought up now would not be a good thing. The Old Man harrumphed and grabbed onto Jamie's scruff, ostensibly to use the Wolfdog to haul himself to his feet. While he was doing that, he growled in the Counselor's ear like a Wolf himself, \"Your poker face is getting better, James, but don't let me catch you lying to me ever again. [i]Simon[/i] never lied to me.\"\n\n\"That you know of, sir,\" Jamie replied smoothly, making the Old Man blink several times. \n\nGrumbling to himself, BB gestured for Jamie and his cubs to leave, and looked around for Nicholas. The fake Counselor still needed [i]his[/i] punishment. And BB wasn't about to go soft on his fellow human, oh no. No one tried to hurt [i]his[/i] cubs and got away with it. No one. It didn't help that he couldn't yet get revenge on those who had caused the bus crash...but he wasn't above venting his anger on a substitute. \n\nPaw-in-paw, Bruce and Charlie followed Jamie out of the arcade. \n\n\n[b][BRUCE][/b]\n\nJamie took him and Charlie straight to the hospital. The top of Charlie's muzzle had started to swell up, and Jamie wanted both of them checked over for other injuries. Bruce just followed obediently, keeping Charlie's paw in his own to help lead-slash-drag him along. The Retriever was obviously a bit dazed, still reeling from the unexpected second chance. Both of them had heard stories about BB - he enforced Wildfire's rules mercilessly. Drawing blood in a fight - no matter who with or how - was an automatic expulsion. Even the older teens at Wildfire were careful not to cross that line on the occasions they'd be bullying the younger cubs. No one who'd found their haven at Wildfire wanted to be forced to leave. \n\nJamie was also distracted. Bruce could tell from his scent that he was mad, but he got the sense that the Wolfdog's anger was more at the man who'd hurt them. \n\nBruce himself felt all kinds of guilty. If he hadn't acted like a tailraiser - what humans might've called a 'slut' - he and Charlie might not have ended up in that situation. It wasn't even like he even had a thing for humans! They were weird and furless and had no tails! What kind of monkey doesn't have a tail? But Bruce had seen a cock, and all other thoughts had gone fluttering out his ears in his desire to have that cock in his muzzle. He was such a tailraiser. He [i]dreaded[/i] Big Charlie's reaction when he heard how he had acted.\n\nWhen they got to the hospital, Jamie being a Counselor got them into an examination room immediately. Not that Wildfire's hospital was particularly busy, but it [i]was[/i] the only Level I adult/pediatric facility for miles around. Because of the constant influx of patients who might or might not be Wildfire friendly, the hospital was located a bit away from the rest of the Campgrounds, and there were no windows facing the main areas. Additionally, the rules were quite a bit stricter, here. \n\nThere were several floors dedicated exclusively to Wildfire members, where the rules were the same as the rest of Wildfire, but the rest of the hospital operated under the same rules as Outside. No public sex - especially between cubs or cubs and adults - was permitted. All of the Doctors and nurses and other assorted staff had to be vetted by BB before being hired, and absolutely had to know what went on at Wildfire and at least be non-hostile to it. It was considered better than having an entirely separate staff for the Campgrounds, though cubs like Bruce and Charlie had been told from their very first day at Wildfire that not all of the hospital staff could be trusted with 'Wildfire stuff'.\n\nOnce they were in the room, with a nurse on their way to assess Charlie's muzzle and give a Bruce a check-over, Jamie turned to the boys, \"You can strip out of the uniforms, if you want. I'm not going to be cruel and make you keep wearing 'em, if Charlie's going to be on house arrest.\"\n\nThey didn't budge. Bruce was already antsy, but since Charlie hadn't started stripping, Bruce stayed dressed as well. They had both worked up another heavy sweat on the walk to the hospital, and Bruce was suddenly horny again, thinking about how musky Charlie must be - his fur was double-coat. He promised himself that he'd get his nose to the older Dog's smelliest parts as soon as they were available. Charlie was his hero, now, after all. A little worshipping, no matter how tailraiser-y it would be, was definitely called for. He almost wanted to start pulling the Retriever's clothes off, himself, but decided it would probably be best to respect Charlie's boundaries for the moment. \n\nCharlie hadn't let go of his paw, though, and that was something. When he looked over at his friend, Charlie happened to look back, and a small smile crept across his muzzle, \"I bet you're just dying to get your nose under my tail, right now.\"\n\nBruce didn't even bother to pretend otherwise, \"Oh, [i]Dog[/i] yes! I was [i]just[/i] thinking about that!\"\n\nThat got a better smile out of him, and a chuckle, too, though he was clearly trying not to move his muzzle too much, \"You're such a tailraiser, Bruce. Can't you catch enough of my scent already?\"\n\nThe young Bloodhound shook his head, \"It's...um...not the same as having it right against my nose. It's...intoxicating. I don't mean, like, [i]yours[/i] specifically, or anything! That would be creepy! But...like...strong smells in general, they drive me nuts.\"\n\n\"If you two start making out in here, I'll be kind of annoyed,\" Jamie commented from where he was leaning by the door, \"Remember we're on a general-public floor - behave.\"\n\n\"Why aren't we on a Wildfire floor, then?\" Bruce asked. \n\nJamie rolled his eyes, \"Because this was [i]faster[/i], and I wanted you both seen to as soon as possible.\"\n\n\"[i]Both[/i] of us!? Why? It was Charlie who got all beat up! I'm fine!\"\n\nJamie gave the Bloodhound his best stern look, \"Charlie said you looked pretty dazed when that asshole punched you, and you were stumbling a bit back at the arcades when we were leaving. He might've given you a concussion. I don't know. But you're getting checked out by the Doc, just in case.\"\n\nFeeling at his head where he'd been hit with the paw that wasn't currently entangled with Charlie's, Bruce didn't think he had a concussion. A mean bruise, maybe, and he was starting to get a really bad headache, but he was fine, honestly! \n\nThey were all quiet for the next few minutes until the nurse arrived. He was a Panther, and both Bruce and Charlie were reminded of the Cat in their game. Both boys tried to figure out if he was 'Wildfire' or not. \n\nHe first checked over Bruce, after hearing Jamie's concerns about a possible concussion. Ultimately, he cleared Bruce, but gave Jamie a list of symptoms to watch out for, saying, \"Diagnosing concussion in children is tricky. Sometimes, they don't show any symptoms right away, and Anthro cubs especially tend to be somewhat hardier in general than human children. The main things to look out for over the next few weeks are seizures, motor issues, and behavioral changes. I'd recommend that he be kept under close supervision until the end of the month, at least. If you or anyone else watching him see any of those signs, or any other symptoms in that list, do not hesitate in bringing him back in.\"\n\nNext was Charlie's turn, and his case was a bit more complicated. The nurse ran him through an x-ray to view the damage. The Panther, again, spoke to Jamie over the cubs' heads, \"His muzzle [i]is[/i] cracked, but it's barely noticeable on the x-ray - this little line here is all I can see. That ought to heal just fine with some anti-inflammatories and minor painkillers. There's a chance it might get infected, but we'll also give him an antibiotic regimen that should keep that from happening. The real problem is this tooth, here - P2. It looks like the impact cracked it, and it may need to be removed - I'll have our dentist come in and have a look and give her opinion. Other than that, he'll be fine.\"\n\nAfter the Panther nurse left, Bruce stuck his tongue out at the departing Cat, \"He just talked to [i]you[/i] like we weren't even here!\"\n\nJamie shrugged, \"Not all the staff here are used to working with cubs. I'm just glad it's looking like you'll both be alright.\"\n\nCharlie's tooth ended up being removed, but at least the dentist - a Raccoon lady who was shorter than Cliff and had to stand on a stool to do her work - that came and did it was a lot better with the cubs, and clearly knew how Wildfire cubs were, \"Now, look, Charlie - you're not gonna wanna do [i]any[/i] muzzle play until the gums heal there, OK? Especially not with that crack in it. How does it feel?\"\n\nCharlie explored the new gap with his tongue, \"Better? It's still kinda numb from that shot you gave me, though.\"\n\n\"That'll wear off in an hour or two. The anti-inflammatories we gave you are also helping with the swelling. Now, when those start wearing off, you'll want to take these - they're called NSAIDs, and they can help with both pain and inflammation. Follow the directions next to the big 'C' on the label - those are the instructions that generally apply to your House - and take [i]no more[/i] than it says to! Also, don't forget to clean your teeth! You don't have any cavities now, but trust me, you don't want to [i]get[/i] any. I'm sure Mr. Hallstadt doesn't want to be bringing you back to me, bawling because your tooth hurts!\"\n\nCharlie nodded, \"He won't. I'm good about cleaning 'em, honest.\"\n\nShe smiled, \"Good boy. Now that you're all good to go, you boys wait outside for just a minute, I want to talk to your Mr. Hallstadt real quick. I won't keep him long.\"\n\nNaturally, as soon as the door closed behind them, both Bruce and Charlie had their ears to it -\n\n\"James Hallstadt, you've been awful reticent about how young Charlie came to have a [i]cracked muzzle[/i] and lost a tooth! I swear to you, on Simon's grave, I will [i]neuter[/i] you if I find out that you hurt that boy! I never would've thought it, of you!\"\n\nJamie sounded alarmed, \"Whoa, whoa, whoa! He just got into a fight! Ms. Layla, you know Simon taught me right - I'd [i]never[/i] hurt my cubs!\"\n\n\"What. Happened?\"\n\n\"Can you put the scalpel down, first? Since when did you get so violent, Ms. Layla?\"\n\nThey heard the Raccoon sigh, and something metal hitting metal, \"This morning, I had to help fix this poor human boy's jaw after his father got drunk and decided to throw him around! The boy's jaw was broken in two places, and the father [i]waited[/i] until morning to drive him here. And the man was [i]still[/i] drunk!\"\n\n\"Did you report it to BB? Because he can--\"\n\n\"Of course I reported it, James!\" the Raccoon snarled, \"But the man was from across the river - human country - and there's not much BB can legally do about it other than notify [i]their[/i] authorities! And since they all know about Wildfire, it's really hard to get them to actually [i]listen[/i] to us!\"\n\n\"What happened to the kid?\"\n\n\"When I got out of the surgery, the father was apparently out in the Campgrounds. He'd been too drunk for me to be willing to let him drive the kid home, anyways, so I put the boy up on a Wildfire floor.\"\n\n\"Wait. Was the dad about this tall, and with brown hair? Boxer's build? Nudist?\"\n\n\"Yeah...why?\"\n\n\"Do you know who let him into Wildfire? Was it one of the Docs? Some other staff? It's actually important.\"\n\nThey heard her actually growl, \"Why? What's going on, James?\"\n\n\"[i]He[/i] was the one that gave Charlie that cracked muzzle.\"\n\nThey heard a crash, and then a lot of swearing from Jamie.\n\n\"Layla! Dog, are you okay? I didn't think you would faint like that!\"\n\nFor a few minutes they were talking too low for the two cubs to catch, but then they could hear Jamie's voice, again, \"...so do you remember who let him into Wildfire? \n\n\"I'm afraid I don't - I only found out from one of the orderlies that he'd gone into Wildfire, after I came out of surgery. That's why I moved the boy to the Wildfire floor - I thought he was one of ours!\"\n\n\"The man claimed to be a Counselor, and knew enough to go unnoticed until the incident with Bruce and Charlie. BB's gonna haveta look into this. Are you sure you're okay, Ms. Layla?\"\n\n\"I'm fine, James. Why are you insisting on the formality, anyways? We were both Simon's cubs, once. I'd think we're long past Mr. And Ms.\"\n\n\"Ah...it's too much, isn't it? Simon always was, like, all formal when he was dealing with other adults. I thought I should...\"\n\nThe Raccoon's voice held as much pain over their departed mentor as Jamie's did, \"You're not [i]him[/i], James. And you don't need to try to be. What did he always tell us? 'Be yourself, pup! Don't let anyone tell you how to be you!' Besides, after the places [i]your[/i] tongue has been, I don't think you're [i]allowed[/i] to speak formally, anymore.\"\n\n\"I seem to recall that [i]one[/i] of those places was in --\"\n\n\"Shh! If your boys weren't listening before, they will be now. Wildfire pups have an ear for sex talk, you know that.\"\n\nJamie chuckled, sniffling slightly, \"That was a good impression of Simon, by the way. You'll have to do it again at the funeral - the proper one BB's preparing, I mean.\"\n\n\"Ugh. Pass. Getting you to bawl your eyes out is one thing, but I'd rather not have all our old Pack sniveling and weeping. And howling! You Canids are so [i]loud[/i] when you're sad!\"\n\n\"It's cathartic! You should try it! What do Raccoons do at funerals, anyways?\" \n\n\"We play a dirge, and there's a feast, afterwards! The first drink and the last meat are shared with the dead. It's a very beautiful ceremony! You Canids just cry and get drunk, then you howl - a lot - and [i]then[/i] you set the body on fire! You know, I've been to [i]frat parties[/i] that were [i]just[/i] like that, minus the corpse! Actually, now that I think of it, this explains a lot about your House.\"\n\nThe boys heard Jamie coughing, or laughing, maybe. \"I'm gonna go before you realize the other similarities, Lauren. I've heard 'em all from Simon, before, anyways.\"\n\nThey had just enough time to pretend they hadn't been listening in, before Jamie opened the door. He narrowed his eyes at them suspiciously, \"There's no way you two were standing like that this whole time.\"\n\nBruce used his puppy eyes, \"What do you mean? We wouldn't eavesdrop on you, Mr. Jamie.\"\n\n\"Now, I [i]know[/i] you're full of it. Come on, let's go home.\"", "writing_bbcode_parsed": "
Day 3

[CHARLIE]

Charlie woke in a hospital bed. A massive, Polar Bear-sized hospital bed. The bright lights of the room hurt his eyes, so he shut them and used his ears and nose to suss out his surroundings. He smelled...antiseptic. That made sense, this was clearly a hospital. Hospitals tried to keep everything sterile. It was also immensely frustrating for a Canid - the industrial-grade cleaners used in such places overwashed other scents, making one feel almost noseblind.

No matter, he could still hear. His hearing wasn't as keen as, say, a Felid's, but it was marginally better than a human's. The room he was in was mildly soundproofed, so he couldn't make much of the sounds outside, but there were several sounds within the room he could note. The ECG's steady beeping...the drip-drip-drip of what was likely an IV bag...the constant, annoying buzz of florescent lights... the droning of the building's A/C...subtle noises from his own weight shifting on the bed...and the almost imperceptible sound of water being run from a faucet in the room's attached bathroom, cut off suddenly by a squeaky valve handle. Someone was in the bathroom?

Peeking his eyes open, and finding the lights as bright as they had been before, the Bear groaned and sat up, shielding his eyes with his paws as he squinted in the direction of the noise. Sure enough, the bathroom door opened and a vaguely familiar fuzzy blob emerged. Growling to himself and rubbing his eyes to try to encourage them to focus properly, Charlie spoke in the blob's direction, "Jamie? Is that you? Can you turn these goddamn lights off?"

"Sure thing, Charlie. They were starting to piss me off, anyways. I don't know how Anthro hospital staff can stand them - they're maddening!"

The voice indeed belonged to Jamie, the Wolfdog who was a (fellow?) Counselor here at the Wildfire Campgrounds. Soon, the infernal lights winked out, and Charlie sighed in relief. There was still some light coming in from the windows, but it wasn't trying to burn Charlie's eyes out. Besides, even in the darkened room, neither he nor Jamie would have problems seeing.

Jamie was a Wolfdog, though one could really only tell if they knew Wolves well enough. The real giveaway was the large swath of blackish fur that covered his head, shoulders, back, rump (including his tail), and the outsides of his haunches. All of that area was mostly black, peppered liberally with reds, browns, and grays. His front and 'undercarriage' were a lighter sort of khaki, but also had some speckle of other shades. As was usual for him, he was not going about naked as many of the cubs and Counselors did at Wildfire, though it said something about how hot it would be outside the air-conditioned hospital that he was wearing only the forest green shorts that were part of Wildfire's actual uniform.

Looking over at Jamie, who was walking back towards the bed from the light switch, Charlie indicated the IV with his muzzle, "What's that?"

"Intravenous fluid. The Docs say you were dangerously dehydrated, and would've started feeling the symptoms of it right about now, if we hadn't been rescued when we were."

Charlie flopped back into the bed, "That whole business was fucked up. Six cubs died! Carlos got...have you heard how he's doing?"

The Wolfdog sat down in the chair by the bed, "Carlos is doing fine. He's a little twitchy still - that drug that that Sascha lady gave him was meant for regular-sized folk, not an Ocelot cub - but otherwise he's feeling OK. He's embarrassed about the diaper thing, though. The Docs say he'll only need it for a couple days, hopefully."

"At least he'll be alright," Charlie sighed. Jamie nodded. There followed a few minutes of awkward silence as neither knew what else to say. The past couple of days had been...rough.

Finally, Jamie slapped his knee and leaned forward in the chair, "So! I've got good news! Good news, and a tiiiny bit of bad news."

Groaning, Charlie gestured for the Wolfdog to get on with it, "Gimme the bad, first."

The Wolfdog winced, "Um...the official line is gonna be that we all died?" He turned it into a question, clearly worried about Charlie's reaction. He wasn't wrong to be worried.

"WHAT!?"

Jamie held his paws up placatingly, "Look, BB says our bus wasn't the only one hit! Other psychos in masks tried to break into Wildfire, too! They were chased off by our...ah...security, and then BB started looking into 'em. Apparently, their leader got kicked out of Wildfire for doing some...messed up stuff. Anyways, BB thinks the guy started this, like, anti-Wildfire cult thing out of spite. That guy at the truck stop? Cultist. BB says he's sure Wildfire itself can deal with them, but doesn't want to risk things getting out of paw when the seasonal cubs go back home! They could be attacked in their homes! So, it's kind of a wit-sec situation."

Charlie growled, "And obviously BB doesn't want his little spat with a rival cult to go public. What the fuck, Jamie!? What're...do the cubs know, yet?"

The Wolfdog nodded, though he did look a tad offended that Charlie had called Wildfire a 'cult', "BB explained it to them, himself. Naturally, they heard 'permanent residents' and pretty much didn't care about the rest."

"Alright. I can't do anything about it, anyways, can I? You said you had good news?"

"You're being made a Counselor, with your own cabin. It'll be right next to mine! I already got BB to assign Bruce and Charlie to you, but I don't know who else you'll be getting, yet," Jamie said, with forced cheer. He could read the Bear's body language well enough to know that he wasn't likely to be as excited about the news as he'd hoped.

It was good news, though Charlie felt guilty about how his first reaction was to think of how convenient it would be to have unlimited access to Bruce in a place where no one would bat an eye at him having sex with the pup. Sure, the pup wanted it, too...but was Charlie really sure about that? He knew enough about the place, now, to realize that Wildfire was, in many ways, a cult. Jamie might protest the term, but it fit to a T. Charismatic leader? Check. Well-defended compound in the middle of nowhere? Check. Practices which are considered deviant by mainstream society? Check. Indoctrinating the youth? Checkmate...maybe.

Despite this, Charlie was wavering more towards 'sign me up for your cult, Mr. Boss, sir!' than not. He couldn't deny it. Big Boss had even kind of forced his paw on the matter. Charlie didn't doubt for a second that the man was wealthy enough to be influential enough that right this moment there were probably official death certificates being drawn up for Charlie and everyone else who'd been on the bus. Even if he wanted to refuse to stay with Wildfire, where could he go, now, if he was officially dead?

Jamie had practically grown up at Wildfire, so his views were probably heavily biased. That being said, Charlie thought of the Wolfdog as a friend, and so Charlie didn't voice his doubts, "I'm sorry, Jamie. That is great news, I'm just...still pretty bushed. I can't really gather the energy to be as enthusiastic as you might've hoped."

The Wolfdog nodded understandingly, "I hear you, and in hindsight I should've probably told you the good stuff, first. Still, being a full Rez here has a lot of perks to it! Wildfire's almost a city unto itself, we have everything anyone would want. And here, there's no prejudice about almost anything you'd want to do! As long as no one involved suffers physical harm or pain they didn't agree to, there aren't many taboos, here."

Curiosity derailed Charlie's other misgivings about Wildfire, "So, what is forbidden?"

Jamie thought about it, "Um...BB won't tolerate any real harm coming to the cubs, though Counselors can discipline their cabin however they see fit, so there's a little gray area there. Necro stuff is absolutely forbidden, but who would want to do that, anyways? There's a thing with 'hard BDSM' among the Counselors and adults, but that kind of play isn't approved with the cubs without, like, extensive safeguards and psych profiling. Uh...the only other thing I can think of is rape. The cubs aren't considered able to have 'rape fantasies' so it's strictly forbidden with them but, like the rougher kinds of BDSM, some of the adults enjoy that sort of thing, and it's not too uncommon."

"You do know that most of the outside world would consider anything we do with the cubs to be 'rape', right?"

The Wolfdog looked him dead in the eyes, "Do you think you raped Bruce the other day? He looked pretty into it, to me."

Charlie sputtered, the insides of his ears reddening, "It could be argued that Wildfire conditions the cubs to think it's normal! And especially for me...if I wanted, I could rape anyone! Even most other adults who aren't Bears wouldn't really be able to fight me. Bruce? He's eight. I mean, he's not as small as a human eight-year-old, but he still has no real way to stop me from fucking him senseless."

Jamie's voice was quiet, "If he wanted to stop you from doing something, he'd say 'no', and I think I know you well enough now to know that you would stop, if he asked you to."

"I'm worried more that he won't say no, if he thinks it's what I want."

The Wolfdog sighed and scooted his chair closer, leaning forward, "Look, the fact that you're having these worries is a good thing. You clearly don't want Bruce to get hurt, and you'll be conscious of it every time you two play. My advice? Keep your guard up, do your best to make sure he's enjoying himself and isn't just trying to please you, but don't overthink it. As long as you put his safety first, you'll do alright."

Charlie nodded, "Anything else I ought to know?"

"Um...BB specifically told me to 'distract [you] from self-discharging until [he] could get everything set up with [your] cabin', but you're not, like, being forced to stay at the hospital if you don't want to. And don't worry - medical care at Wildfire is free for staff, and the cubs. BB pays for all of it."

That was sensible enough, and honestly Charlie wasn't sure he should be getting up just yet anyways. He still felt like crap, and said as much. Jamie laughed, standing and stretching his back, "Well, I've been sitting in that chair for five hours, except for taking a piss. Want anything from the hospital cafeteria, big guy? It's an open secret around here that the hospital has better stuff than the mess halls."

 Charlie laughed as well, "What, were you holding my paw at my bedside, maybe crying a little? You're so sweet, Wolf. And sure, I could eat. Get me something meaty, and a good amount of it. Afterwards, let's go check in on Carlos."


[CARLOS]

Carlos lay in his bed at the Wildfire Hospital, with the covers drawn up so they covered half his chest, and groaned. His attending doc had just left, explaining that Carlos was to be 'red collared' - off-limits for any 'play', even with other cubs - for at least the next two weeks. As if having to wear a diaper for who knew how long wasn't humiliating enough! The only cubs Carlos knew who wore red collars were all younger than him. With a diaper as well, he could already imagine the teasing he'd get from the other boys.

To make matters worse, he'd already had visitors - most of his friends from the bus had already been by while he had been asleep. He only knew because he could smell their scentmarks on the spongy mat for that purpose that was mounted on the wall beside the door. The thing was caked a scent post, and Doctors hated them. They were such a stereotypically Canid thing, but they'd persisted despite all efforts into modern times. You know, when people could leave normal things like cards or flowers to let you know they'd dropped by, instead of pissing on a wall. Dogs.

He didn't know how many of them, if any, saw his diaper. He did know that when he'd first woken up, his sheets were mostly off him. He had no way to know if that had been him tossing and turning while he'd slept...or if someone had peeked. At least all his visitors had been in when he'd been asleep...he wasn't sure he could've handled it.

He heard the door handle turn, and quickly tried to pretend he was still asleep, rolling onto his side. The move pulled the sheets away, exposing his back, tail, and diaper, but he couldn't fix that, now, without revealing that he wasn't actually asleep.

Two sets of pawsteps entered, one clearly much heavier than the other. Carlos tried to even out his breathing, but he was more than a little mortified. By the sounds of the one set of paws, Charlie was one of those who'd just walked in! Charlie was the last person Carlos wanted to have seeing him in a diaper!

He couldn't remember much of what had happened to him - the doctors had said that was completely normal - but he did remember that Charlie was the one who had saved him. His clearest memory of whatever had happened was the scent of Charlie's fur and sweat as the Polar Bear had carried him.

He heard Jamie's voice as they walked over to the scent post, "Heh. Smells like all the other boys have already been by. Even Jack! I can't believe they got Jack to piss mark!"

"He probably didn't want to be left out," Charlie's voice said. The pawsteps told Carlos that Charlie was nearing the bed. Carlos fought his inclination to curl into a ball - doing so would give him away. He felt the bed shift under Charlie's weight as the Bear sat down on it. A huge paw set itself on his hip, just at the waist of the diaper, "You know we can both tell you're not sleeping, right?"

Carlos made a very un-Catlike yelp (he blamed it on hanging around Canids too much), and immediately clapped his paws to his muzzle. Both Charlie and Jamie laughed, making his embarrassment worse. The paw on his hip gripped and rolled him into his back, forcing him to look directly up at Charlie, "Hey, Carlos."

Carlos was torn between wanting to hide and wanting to tightly hug the Bear who'd saved his life. He chose the latter, and found that the term 'Bear hug' was no exaggeration. He buried his face in the Bear's chest fur, feeling safe in Charlie's arms, just like he had when...he'd been hurt. Charlie's paw was rubbing Carlos' back, and the young Ocelot found himself purring and leaning further into Charlie's hug. He relaxed completely. Maybe too completely. He froze against Charlie as he vaguely felt his bowels empty.

That was a good sign, actually. Earlier, he hadn't been able to even feel his bowels (which was really strange in itself), let alone when he'd emptied them, hence the diaper. Now, though, enough sensation had come back that he burst into tears the moment it sunk in that he had just...while Charlie was holding him!

Charlie and Jamie would easily be able to smell it, and surely with their noses, they'd be disgusted with him. He was too old to be doing this!

Charlie didn't recoil or anything, just spoke softly, "Hey, Carlos...the Docs said you might not have regained sensation or control...uh...down there. You...um...need changed."

Carlos wished he would die. Well, maybe not die, he vaguely remembered feeling what dying was like, and that was a bit extreme for the situation...but he'd accept the ability to completely disappear as an alternative. When Charlie asked if he wanted the Bear to carry him into the bathroom, Carlos felt the last shreds of his dignity disappear. He couldn't even make a coherent reply, he was crying so hard.

When he didn't reply, Charlie just scooped him into his arms and carried him into the room's bathroom, setting the crying young Cat on his footpaws in front of the toilet. Carlos had his eyes screwed shut, and he was starting to hiccup from crying. He didn't resist at as Charlie undid his diaper,  quickly wrapping it up and threading throwing it into a 'biohazard' trashcan before gently prodding Carlos into sitting down on the toilet.

The Bear used the bidet nozzle on the toilet to clean Carlos' soiled backside, all the while keeping one paw on the Ocelot's head, rubbing his cheeks and trying to calm him down. Eventually, Charlie licked at Carlos' nose, the intimate gesture surprising the young Ocelot enough that his sobbing stopped. With teary eyes he looked up at Charlie. Even with the Bear kneeling and Carlos sitting on the toilet, the Bear was still somewhat taller. There wasn't the least bit of unkindness in his voice when he spoke, "I'm sorry about all this, Carlos. You're probably feeling really embarrassed, huh? Don't be, kitten. There's nothing to be ashamed of."

Carlos sniffed hard, trying to get the snot in his sinuses to stop stuffing his nose, and finally managed to speak, "I didn't want anybody...to see me...like...like this. Especially not you! You must think I'm gross!"

Charlie shook his head and stroked Carlos' cheek with one of his massive paws, which Carlos couldn't help but nuzzle against, "No! It's not your fault, Carlos!"

Jamie, who'd been standing in the doorway (as Charlie's bulk in the cub ward bathroom was already pushing things), said, "If it makes you feel any better, when we spoke to your Doc before coming in, he said you might regain full control - and be out of the diapers - by tomorrow at the latest. If you're really lucky, you might already be getting some feeling back in there. Smaller Tribes like yours tend to burn through drug effects faster than others."

"I could feel it, a little...I just couldn't stop it! This is so embarrassing!"

Charlie pulled him into a hug, "We know, Carlos. But you don't have to worry about us liking you less because of this, okay? You just gotta tough it out for a little while longer. Here, let's get you back into bed, yeah?"

Carlos surprised him, shoving him away, but the kitten wasn't angry. With as much dignity as he could muster, Carlos asked if he could put his own diaper on, "...I can do it by myself, and you already did the gross part."

Charlie nodded, standing, "Jamie has to get out of the doorway, first."

Looking up at the Bear for a moment, Carlos shuddered involuntarily. Even standing at his full height, the young Cat's head barely reached the Bear's nuts. He'd already come to terms with the fact that his three feet, nine inches was about the tallest he could expect to grow, and around the other cubs his age (many of whom hadn't yet hit their main growth spurt), he hardly ever noticed how small he really was. Charlie, on the other paw, was at least four whole feet taller. And he was a friggen' Bear! Carlos' whole body probably weighed next to nothing, to Charlie. He was thankful that Charlie was so nice and gentle - it would be all too easy for the Polar Bear to do whatever he wanted with Carlos, and even with his claws, the Ocelot cub wouldn't be able to do anything to stop him.

He took Charlie's paw as Jamie moved out of the doorway leading back into the main part of the hospital room, and walked with him back to the bed, where Jamie provided him with a new diaper to put on. Shaking with embarrassment (and some arousal?), Carlos got the diaper on himself without much issue. Both adults then spent some time cuddling with him, drying his eyes and 'grooming' him with their big, wet, Dog tongues. Neither their paws nor their tongues went anywhere below Carlos' waist, no matter how much Carlos was beginning to want them to. Stupid red collar he wasn't even wearing yet! Finally, he tried to beg them.

"It's not fair! I'm old enough! I want you to! And I'm technically not even wearing a red yet! Please?"

Jamie was stern, "No, Carlos. I'm sorry, but we're not allowed. You've been red collared until the psychologist says you're cleared. I know it's adding insult to injury for you right now, but there's nothing we can do."

Carlos almost felt betrayed. He gestured at the closed door to the room, "No one would know! C'mon, Jamie! Pretty please? I promise I won't tell anyone!"

Strangely, Charlie flinched as though he'd been hit. He used two fingers to smack one of Carlos' ears, "Carlos, we said no. What's the first rule of playing around at Wildfire?"

He knew the answer, of course he did. But he tried to be cute about it, hoping they'd cave, "The youngest gets final say?" He even topped it with his cutest grin.

This time it was Jamie who flicked an ear, "Carlos! I know Simon taught you better."

The Cat sighed and recited the 'zeroth rule' Simon had taught him last year,  when he'd first been to Wildfire, "Anyone says 'no', they're off-limits. No means no, cub or adult."

The Wolfdog nodded approvingly. A chime sounded, startling Carlos and Charlie. Jamie seemed to have been expecting it, casually pulling what appeared to be a rectangular piece of glass from his pocket, tapping it to 'wake' it. The object lit up from within, making it...somewhat...clear that it was a cell phone. Mostly it looked like Jamie now held something computer-y made of sky-blue light.

Carlos gasped, "Is that a Fleur d'Or phone? Their latest model? That's so cool! I saw an ad for them online a couple weeks ago! They're supposed to be, like, the new hot thing!"

Moving the thing around - totally not also showing it off to the Bear and young Ocelot - Jamie tried to find something to use as a dark background for the see-through device, "Yeah. BB's issuing them to all the Counselors. Next time Charlie crashes our bus off a cliff, this bad boy will survive, and still be able to make calls. No more roughing it for two days because we had no way to communicate with Wildfire. I'm regretting not getting a backing for it, though. I didn't realize how hard it would be to read!"

Carlos rolled his eyes and marched over to Jamie, his embarrassment about the diaper he was wearing seemingly forgotten. He held out his paw, "Gimme. I can help."

Not worrying at all that Carlos might accidentally drop or break it, Jamie let the Cat have the phone. Using a clawtip like a stylus, Carlos quickly paged through various settings until the screen appeared made of pure black light, "I turned on auto-adapt - it'll now automatically pick the most contrasting color for the display, depending on the background. Right now, it's black, cos I'm holding it up to Charlie, see?"

"Isn't it fragile, though? It looks just like a piece of glass!" Charlie asked, peering at the device.

Taking it back from Carlos, Jamie just grinned, "Fleur d'Or has a guarantee on these things:  You'd need military hardware to break it or your money back. From what I've heard, no one has managed to even so much as crack 'em, from regular use. And I watched a video a few months ago, when they'd first come out, showing that they can take a frankly amazing amount of abuse. The guys in the video had to resort to shooting theirs with a gun, and even then it stopped the nine-mil cold, though it wasn't usable, after. When Fluer d'Or says 'nearly indestructible', they don't mess around."

Jamie spent a few more moments moving the phone around over different backgrounds, entertained by the device's efforts to stay high-contrast. Over multicolored surfaces, such as Carlos' pelt, it had to dynamically shift parts of the screen into multiple colors, which it did rather seamlessly. After thanking Carlos for helping with the phone, he put it back into his pocket and turned to Charlie, "BB says you're all set up, now. We can head over to the cabin if you want - all your new stuff will be there, waiting. Carlos, do you wanna come with? The Docs say there's no need to keep you in observation - you can be discharged whenever."

The young Cat shook his head, "I'll wait. I'd like to at least not need this stupid diaper before I leave here. I know you guys don't care about it, but some of the other boys can be mean."

Jamie's eyebrows scrunched concernedly, "Anyone from our cabin? I wouldn't have thought..."

Carlos shook his head and waved a paw to forestall that, "No! At worst, those guys would just tease me, and they wouldn't really mean it. But we're not the only cubs at Wildfire, and some of the older teens can be

real nasty when you adults aren't around."

"Hmm. Well, alright. Ask one of the nurses to ping me when you want to leave - I need to sign your discharge paperwork, as your Counselor."


[CHARLIE (RINNER)]

Twelve-year-old Charlie Rinner, who was now being called 'Charlie R' to distinguish him from everyone's new favorite Counselor, had been dead tired once they'd arrived at Wildfire, and like many of his cabin-mates, he'd crashed hard on the dogpile bed almost as soon as they'd finally gotten 'home'. Though BB had woken them all up to tell them they were officially dead, and the reasons for it, Charlie had been half-awake at best at the time, and had gone right back to sleep afterwards.

It was probably around noon when he woke up to an empty bed, relishing the chance to stretch without hitting anyone for once. As an only-cub, unlike over half of his cabin-mates, Charlie hated the dogpile bed. Sure, there was the instinctive peace of mind that came with sleeping surrounded by the other Canids (and non-Canids) of his 'pack', but for him that benefit was offset by having to be careful about one's arms and legs during the night. Charlie liked to sprawl, something that having thirteen other cubs in bed with you didn't exactly allow.

At least they were all around the same age. Charlie had heard stories from other Campers who shared their dogpile with older boys and regularly woke up with someone's wet dream all over them. Some of the counselors who had mostly older cubs even made everyone in their cabins paw off before bed, to help reduce the level of mess in the mornings. Canids cum a lot, and while most of the boys in Charlie's group were just old enough to be able to 'produce', none of them except for Jack had much substance to their 'emissions' yet. Thank Dog Jack was a Cat, and didn't cum nearly as much.

Stretching some more and yawning, Charlie sat up and sniffed the air. He could smell lingering scents, but nothing less than an hour or two old. Simon's scent still lingered in the cabin, and Charlie wasn't sure how he felt about that. The Cheetah had been his Counselor for three consecutive summers, and the reminder that he was gone... no wonder everyone else had decided to head out as soon as they could. Their situation after the bus crashed had given everyone other things to worry about, but now that they were safe at Wildfire, they all remembered the ones who weren't coming back.

Shaking his head to try and ignore the memories Simon's scent triggered, Charlie looked around. There was a neat stack of Wildfire uniforms on the main table in the center of the single-room cabin, and one particular set just at the foot of the bed where he'd been sleeping. There was a note on it -

Charlie -

As a substitute for Big Charlie's pawcuffs punishment, you and Bruce are not permitted to go naked, at least for the next week. I will hear about it if you try to get around it! I expect both of you to wear the full uniform, underwear included, until either me or Big Charlie decide to let you out of it. You both know that this is a much lighter punishment than BB gives for fighting, so no whining to me or Big Charlie!

In case you'd forgotten, by the way, BB had come by and told you pups the news about your 'deaths' and that you are all officially Residents. Please remember that you can't communicate with your family at all - you're supposed to be dead! I know this is going to be hard on all you pups that actually have good families, and I'm so, very sorry.

Last thing - Big Charlie is getting the cabin next to ours. You can be transferred over to him, if you want. Bruce already jumped at the chance, as you might've expected. I can't say I wouldn't be sad to see you both go, but you'll be right next door. I just want you to know, even if you do decide to go with the Bear, my cabin will always be open to you.

Jamie

Groaning, Charlie started putting on the Wildfire clothes.  The basic uniform was simple - forest green shorts, khaki collared shirt (with the 'burning pines' logo patch on the shoulder), and a baseball cap which also sported the Wildfire logo. Jamie had included underwear as well, Anthro-style briefs that had a velcro strap for over the tail. Charlie put it all on, knowing Jamie would probably check at some point.

He considered the offer to transfer over to the Bear's cabin. He honestly couldn't decide. Loyalty made him want to stay with Jamie, but he wanted to get to 'play' with Charlie, too! Not that cubs couldn't fool around with someone other than their own Counselor, but there was the convenience that came with living together. He decided that he'd think on it. Even if he stayed with Jamie, the Polar would be right next door. He was sure Jamie wouldn't mind him having 'sleepovers'.

Fully dressed, he headed outside. It was very hot out - a bright, sunny day without a hint of cloud to offer any shade. In minutes, he was already feeling his fur start to get damp with sweat, not helped in the least by the full outfit he was wearing. The cabins area was pretty much deserted,  as even the cubs who weren't forced to be wearing their full uniforms didn't want to be outside in this heat. Well, it was either hole up in the air conditioned cabin with nothing to do but 'polish his sword' until the others returned...or try and scurry somewhere with a/c before he overheated.

Wildfire really did have everything anyone would want, and for the most part, it was all free. The Campgrounds had the hospital, obviously, but there were also bathing halls, swimming pools, sports fields, playgrounds, video game arcades, and even some taverns and other venues more geared towards the adults. Those were off-limits to cubs without their Counselor present. There was a school system, but Charlie had never been a resident before, and so hadn't had to go to school here, yet. There was a market but, like the school, Charlie hadn't ever had to bother with it.

The arcades were the best choice, even though they were all the way across the Campgrounds. He knew, with how hot it was, only the humans would want to be outdoors. Most of the pools and bath halls were probably packed, not to mention he wasn't sure Jamie's 'wear clothes' punishment made exceptions for swimming. Clearly, the punishment was meant to capitalize on the summer heat and at the same time somehow remind him (and Bruce, he supposed) that they weren't supposed to be fighting. As if the notch in his ear didn't do that - it still stung whenever he moved that ear. Bruce had gotten off easier, with just some shallow scratches across his cheek.

He took the most direct route to his destination, finding to his dismay that Bruce had also chosen to hang out at the arcade. The building's air conditioning was also out, though the staff there did have fans running to help. To make things worse, he and Bruce seemed to be the only ones here besides the teenaged Lioness working the counter. All the machines still required coins to operate, but a Wildfire cub could exchange credits on their account for coins. A cub could gain credits by helping with chores around Wildfire, doing well in school (if they were a Resident), doing odd jobs for others...things like that. The only thing the cubs couldn't do to gain credits was sex - Counselors and adult residents couldn't 'pay' a cub for sex using credits (or any other currency, really), and enterprising cubs couldn't try prostituting themselves for credits, either. Normally, the Seasonal Campers had a fixed weekly allowance that would usually be enough for their stay if they were careful, but Residents were fully expected to earn credits themselves. In fact, that was probably what the young Lioness was doing.

But Bruce was playing one of the games, so obviously he'd either still had credits or had managed to gain some. Charlie would have to give it a try. As he actually entered the arcade, he saw Bruce notice him. The Bloodhound's nose tilted up for a brief moment, and then he turned to watch Charlie as the Retriever walked across to the counter where the Lioness was. Ignoring Bruce's stare, he smiled winsomely at the female, "Could I exchange some credits?"

The Lioness returned the smile, "Sure, honey. Enter your pin on the number pad, there, so I can look up your account."

A bit of typing later, and the Lioness was frowning slightly. "I'm sorry, Charlie," she said, having the good grace not to smirk at the overused phrase, "Your account is locked by the Head Counselor. You and young Bruce over there are permitted to withdraw only twenty credits in tokens, total. And that's only if you both agree to play the same game...Bruce, sweetie? Come here a moment, it seems your friend showed up."

Charlie was pissed! "How did he get tokens, then!? He was already playing when I came in!"

The teenager shrugged, "He had a few tokens already, you'll have to ask him how he got them."

Bruce had meandered over when the young lady had called him, and merely grinned at Charlie's death-glare, "Tommy got me a few before he and Cliff went buggering off to bugger each other. That was just before her shift started."

Charlie groaned. It wasn't like he could be mad at Bruce for having a cool older brother who spent his own credits on him. And he now knew the rest of Jamie's evil plan. If they couldn't take their uniforms off, the Wolfdog had probably known that both of them would prefer the video game arcade as opposed to, say, the library. Locking their accounts to force them to not only agree on a game, but to actually play it together? Devious.

Charlie and Bruce stared at each other for a moment, before Bruce decided to offer an olive branch, "Look, since I got to play a few rounds before you got here, you can pick what game we play. Fair?"

"Sands of Destruction," Charlie decided instantly. It was a bit above their age bracket, being a FPS full of sex and violence, and Charlie had picked it because he thought Bruce would balk at it. If the Bloodhound did so, Charlie could accuse him of going back on his offer, which would both give Charlie the high ground and make it clear that he wasn't going to be swayed so easily.

Bruce sidestepped the play entirely by agreeing. Darn it! Now, Charlie had to go along with it! He hadn't actually wanted to play that game! Now, how to turn it around? Charlie thought furiously how to get out of it, and it must've shown on his face, as the Lioness snickered, "Carl was right, it is so cute watching young Canids try dominance plays! Goldie, you gotta work on your poker face."

She just laughed when the two young Dogs glared at her affrontedly. You weren't supposed to call it out like that! Now, neither of them could gain face. Friggen Cats!

Bruce huffed, "If we promise to play the same game, can you just give us our tokens, now?"

Still sniggering at how 'cute' their dominance fight was, the Lioness cashed them out, "Look, pups, I don't care if you play together or not. I'll give you each half, and you can both go play whatever."

Now, they all but had to play together. If either of them tried to go play on their own, the other could tattle to Jamie and get them in trouble. Sure, tattling would lose them some face, but could be worth it if the other got spanked in front of the others again. They were even going to play Sands because Bruce wasn't about to lose face by chickening out, and Charlie would lose face if he suggested another game at this point.

True to its rating, Sands of Destruction started out with a group of humans lynching an Anthro in gruesome, hi-res detail. They watched the black Cat - some kind of Panther, they presumed - get marched naked up to the gallows. His paws were bound behind his back, and soon the noose was around his neck. The protagonist, a human female gunslinger-type, was trying to intervene, but neither of them could get her through the crowd around the gallows soon enough to save the poor Cat. They burned a quarter of their tokens in that opening scene alone.

"We have to be doing something wrong!" Charlie growled, slamming his paw on the side of the machine after their sixth time watching one of the humans kicking the short stool out from under the Cat's paws, leaving him twitching and flailing as he strangled to death on their screen, the 'game over' screen only appearing once the body had stilled.

Bruce and Charlie had both been horrified the first time they'd watched the death scene, but by now they were more irritated and frustrated at their repeated failures to pay it any mind. Bruce was nodding, "Maybe we should try shooting the rope? You know, like in the movies? The crowd seems to keep getting in our way whenever we try and get close, and we already got one game over by shooting at the crowd."

Charlie switched out with him, "It's your idea, you try it."

Bruce had to wait until the Cat was already hanging to make the attempt, and he still failed to save the Cat in time. Charlie switched out, and accidentally shot the Cat instead of the rope hanging him! They both groaned... until they noticed the game wasn't over. A cutscene was playing, showing the Cat's body going limp and the crowd cheering. Stunned that they'd been intended to kill the Feline, the boys watched as the female protagonist slipped away into an alley, as the scene transitioned to later in the evening. The unknown gun-slinging, Cat-murdering female was quietly slipping back into the square where the Panther's body was still hanging. The plaza was empty of people, and she quickly mounted the gallows and used the stool to get the Feline down off the noose. She kissed the corpse intimately on the lips, drawing disgusted groans from the boys. Once and twice she kissed her victim, until on the third kiss, the Cat jolted back to life! Bruce and Charlie almost fell over each other in their startlement.

"We are never doing this plan again! I thought the plan was to dart me before they put the noose on me!? I could have died, Maerte!" the Cat was saying.

Their gunslinger shrugged, though she looked embarrassed, "The crowd was too thick. I couldn't get a clean shot until that moment. Listen, we can't stay here. If any of these humans catch us..."

Rubbing his neck where the noose had been, the Cat nodded, "I know. It's good that that DeathlySleep Serum worked as well as that old Bitch we met said it would. Let's get out of here, Maerte, I think I've had my fill of human towns for a while."

As the 'level complete' screen displayed, which mocked them for their six failed attempts with a -600 point penalty and a counter displaying their failures, the two Dogs railed and shouted at the game, "That was no fair! There was no indication we were supposed to shoot him! How were we supposed to know she had darts instead of bullets!?"

"It's a callback to the end of the previous game, Hourglass of Fate. In the last scene of that game, Carlie and Maerte met an old Bitch who fixed Maerte's gun by making it a dart-shooter. She gives them a variety of darts, including one that puts the target into a death-like trance, where their heart and breathing rate drop down to near-imperceptible levels. If you'd played Hourglass, the solution here would've been a bit obvious," spoke a voice behind the two cubs.

They yelped and spun around, surprised that neither of them had noticed the person coming up behind them. They were even more surprised to see a human grinning at them - an adult human. Their eyes immediately gravitated to the man's cock, as unlike most of the humans they'd ever seen, the man seemed to have no issue going completely naked. He wasn't even wearing shoes! He was pretty hot in general. Five-foot-seven with a tight athletic build and an amazing 'carpet' of dark hair covering his chest and belly. It's only a bit stereotypical that Anthros prefer humans with some 'fuzz'. Now that they were paying attention, they could smell the man's sweat strongly, his nude body glistening slightly with it.

Even at Wildfire, they seldom had the opportunity to see human cock, let alone on an adult, and so they made the most out of this chance. Flaccid, the man's penis was about four inches, probably growing to five or six when erect. He was circumcised, that weird practice of some humans where they removed their foreskin, leaving the head of the penis exposed. The pinkish, rounded tip of the human's cock was a little thicker than the rest of the shaft, and had a little slit in it. The cock was surrounded by a thick bush of pubic hair, which was only a little darker than the man's hair elsewhere.

Even Charlie felt himself drooling, but he just shut his muzzle in an effort to make it less obvious. Bruce, on the other paw, had no such finesse. The young Bloodhound openly licked his chops, leaking drool like a stupid, doggy faucet, staring hungrily at the exposed meat. The man clearly noticed, as his grin widened and the penis the boys were staring at started to plump up.

The human introduced himself, "I'm Counselor Thomas. I run cabin E-45. What're your names, cuties?"

They spoke over each other in their eagerness to answer the sexy man, enough that Counselor Thomas held up a hand and made them go one at a time. He let Bruce go first, easily figuring Bruce was the easier pup to seduce. He wasn't entirely wrong - Bruce was young enough that he hadn't yet learned not to throw himself at every male he was attracted to. The young Bloodhound had all the subtlety of a brick to the muzzle.

Charlie briefly considered being mean and pointing out how Bruce was slavering over this human when he already had Big Charlie in the bag. Already, he could smell Bruce's arousal, and though constrained by the underwear he had been forced to wear, the other pup's erection was already starting to tent out the front of his shorts. Charlie wasn't far behind him, to be completely honest. In any case, he decided against that course of action because he remembered how Big Charlie had been displeased with them quarreling over him. No doubt this Counselor Thomas would also find it a turn-off.

After they'd both introduced themselves, the man took a step closer to them. Charlie stood about level with the man's shoulders, while Bruce was a little shorter, at roughly chest-height. The smell of the sweat from the man's armpits was overpowering at this distance, and even Charlie would've been lying if he tried to claim he wasn't as aroused by it as Bruce clearly was. Keeping his eyes on the man's penis, Bruce started groping himself through his shorts, whining softly, almost desperately, "Can I...?"

The man had barely finished nodding before Bruce was on his knees, taking the - fully hard, at this point - human cock into his muzzle with an eagerness that surprised the human and embarrassed Charlie. Bruce was such a tailraiser! Nevermind that, had he been a little bit bolder, Charlie would've been in the other pup's place in a heartbeat.

Jealously, Charlie watched Bruce give the man a stunning blowjob,  moaning and slurping on the weird maleness without any care for how public be was about it. This was Wildfire, public sex was far from uncommon. Counselor Thomas had eagerly begun thrusting into the pup's muzzle, his balls slapping violently against Bruce's drool-soaked chin.

Charlie's cock was starting to hurt, getting hard in his sheath and causing his knot to swell uncomfortably. He saw Bruce undo his own shorts and, after finangling his briefs to the side, letting his five inches of puppy cock out and after getting his pawpad slick with his own precum, openly start pawing off there on the floor. Charlie wasn't about to let Bruce get so far ahead. He copied Bruce's actions and began masturbating, himself.

Amid his lustful growls and moans, Counselor Thomas apparently liked to talk dirty, calling Bruce all sorts of dirty names. They got pretty mean, too, making Bruce's arousal start to lag. He was just enough of a tailraiser, though, that he continued to stuck the man's cock until the human Counselor went too far - "Ahh! Oh, yes! Suck me good, you little cumrag!"

While it might've been a relatively tame thing to say between humans, 'cumrag' was considered a slur when used towards an Anthro. It went back to the times when Anthros were hunted by humans for their lush pelts, which were usually made into clothing for the rich and powerful. Sometimes, smaller scraps of pelt had been used as household rags, including for cleaning up spunk. When used by human-supremacists, the slur implied that such use was all an Anthro was good for.

Bruce froze, and tried to pull off the man's cock in disgust, but the adult simply grabbed onto the Bloodhound pup's ears and kept thrusting. Charlie, on the other paw, snarled and shoved the man back, causing him to cry out as his sensitive cock scraped against Bruce's sharp puppy teeth, "Don't call him that!"

Not having expected the attack, the man fell sprawling onto his ass, but was quickly back on his feet. Taking a couple furious steps forward, the Counselor punched Charlie in the muzzle, causing him to yelp as he was knocked down, himself. Clutching his muzzle, with his nose already bleeding profusely, Charlie vaguely saw the Lioness at the token exchange desk hurriedly bringing a phone to her ear, likely calling Security. Since she was working at the arcade, and old enough to be included by the law, her claws were likely blunted and useless. Cats in particular became very reticent to fight without their main natural armaments, so Charlie knew she was doing the best she could in the situation.

Counselor Thomas - whom Charlie was starting to doubt actually was a Wildfire Counselor - advanced on Bruce and grabbed the pup's head with both hands, yanking the young Dog's head back and glaring down at him, "Finish the job, cumrag!"

Bruce snarled and tried to pull away or get to his paws, but the human held his head in place with his right hand, and raised his other, fisted, and brought it down hard across the pup's temple, hard enough that Bruce was clearly dazed by the blow. When the arm went back again for a second hit, the young Lioness screamed and started hurrying around the desk to intervene.

Charlie was closer, and fully pissed, now. Without even getting back onto his paws fully, the Retriever sprang at the man, snarling wordlessly as his teeth latched onto the raised arm. Ignoring that his knot and the stupid underwear he was wearing was keeping his erection out and flopping around, dangerously exposed to attack, Charlie let himself go dead-weight, instinctively thrashing his body as his teeth clamped down as hard as he could get them to. An adult Dog could easily shatter bone with their jaws, and though Charlie's weren't that strong yet, he'd clamped down just around the human's elbow, which was weaker and had a painful nerve junction running through it. His sharp teeth shredded skin and muscle with ease, filling and covering his muzzle with blood.

'Counselor' Thomas screamed and let go of Bruce, awkwardly trying to punch at Charlie's face to get him to let go. The young Retriever wasn't having it. Despite feeling one punch actually crack his muzzle, sending agonizing pain through his whole face, he refused to let go, trying to get his paws back under him for the drag-down.

His desire to get his teeth into the bastard's throat was so strong that he ignored when Wildfire Security burst into the room, shouting at him to let go. Instead of tazing them, as per their normal policy,  the three Security Wolves had to first tackle them both to the ground and forcibly pry Charlie's jaws open to get him off. They weren't shy about using his injured muzzle to their advantage, once they realized it. Not knowing any details about the fight, yet, they quickly cuffed his paws behind his back and fitted a tight muzzle-cage onto his face. The human got similar treatment, without the muzzling.

While Charlie had been trying to maul the human, the Lioness had quickly gathered Bruce and took him to hide behind the tokens desk, out of the way of the scuffle. Now that Security had subdued the situation, Bruce made sure that the first words out of his muzzle cemented their judgment of who was at fault, "He called me a cumrag!"

Though they were professionally diligent in getting the whole story out of the everyone involved, that one statement completely soured the all-Anthro security team's opinion on the human. That was a 'fighting words' level insult even between adults, and the fact that the man had essentially tried to rape Bruce, afterward - one of the cardinal sins at Wildfire - sealed the so-called Counselor's fate.

The fact that the man had claimed to be a Counselor, along with the simpler fact that Charlie had bitten a human, caused the whole matter to be brought to the attention of BB himself. When he heard who was coming to the scene, Charlie started crying, thinking for sure that he was going to actually get kicked out of Wildfire. Bruce stood up for him, begging for the Security Wolves to call Jamie - who was Head Counselor, after all - instead. Bruce was certain Jamie would be able to smooth things over.

The Wolves' paws were tied, no matter how much they might've sympathized with Charlie's actions, "I'm sorry, pup, but your friend there bit someone! That absolutely has to be brought to BB's attention, no matter what the other circumstances. Do you realize how serious that is?"

"But he'll get kicked out of Wildfire! Everyone knows BB doesn't make exceptions for anyone! He was just trying to protect me!"

The Wolf knelt down and put his paws on Bruce's shoulders, "We know he was. But you'll have to plead his case with BB yourself. My advice? Lead with the fact that this piece of shit tried to rape you. That alone might be enough to mitigate things for your friend. Also, you might want to put your...um...piece away, and help him do the same."

Having tried his best, Bruce went over to where Charlie was sitting, sitting down close to him and hugging him tightly even though the other cub couldn't reciprocate with his paws bound as they were. Charlie was too distracted by the looming threat of being expelled from Wildfire to stop Bruce from leaning down and lapping at his knot to make it go down enough to slip back into his sheath. Once Bruce had done the same for himself, and awkwardly got Charlie's and his own shorts back in order, they waited for BB to arrive.


[JAMIE]

There were a lot of perks to being Head Counselor at Wildfire. There were downsides, of course, one of which was being paged on every Urgent Situation call made by Wildfire Security.  It was even worse when the situation in question involved one of your cubs.

Staring at his high-tech new phone in shock, Jamie stood abruptly out of his seat, nearly knocking over the mugs of tea that had just been set down in front of him and Charlie. The Bear looked up concernedly, quickly reaching a paw over to steady Jamie's teetering mug, "What's going on?"

Jamie wasn't sure whether to be terrified or pissed. The younger Charlie had been involved with a human in a fight? And it was flagged for BB's immediate attention? There weren't any other details, which meant nothing good. To 'Big' Charlie, he stammered, "I--we need to go. Now. Charlie's been in a fight."

The Polar Bear sighed and waved him on, "Go. I'll pay for the tea and then catch up to you. Where's it at?"

"Just down the street, make a left at the Roman-style bathhouse. The video arcades," Jamie called over his shoulder, already running. Though he was a great runner - all Wolves were - he hadn't expected the Bear to catch up nearly so quickly, easily joining him and then even pulling ahead as he ran on all fours like a Feral. It was a trick only Bears could pull off, though they only rarely did so in public. Their hips were uniquely shaped to allow them to either stand bipedally like other Anthros or drop down to all fours like their ancestors, and they were much faster on all paws.

When they arrived at the arcades, they were initially stopped by Security, and only Jamie had rank enough to get let through, leaving Big Charlie fuming worriedly outside the Wolves' cordon.

Jamie almost lost his shit when he saw a medic wrapping gauze around a naked human's arm. Charlie bit someone? He scanned the room until he spotted the Retriever, still cuffed and muzzled, crouching in front of one of the arcade games. Bruce was sitting next to him, holding him close and trying to clean the blood off the other pup's muzzle through the cage on it, though Charlie was trying not to let him. Jamie marched over to them, using all of his self-control not to growl as he approached. As he neared, he saw that they both had been crying, and Charlie almost smelled terrified enough to piss himself. He softened his expression, just a little bit.

"What the fuck did you two get into now?"

Seeing Jamie's furious face, Charlie just started crying again, so it was left to Bruce to explain what had happened. From the first, the story gave Jamie an uneasy feeling - he knew right away something was off when Bruce told him the human had introduced himself as 'Counselor Thomas'. Besides the fact that there was no Counselor named Thomas - human or Anthro - he was a little surprised neither of them had picked up on the other red flag: when speaking to cubs, Wildfire Counselors never said that they were Counselors. It wasn't so much a rule as a custom - they never used titles that implied Authority, especially if propositioning for 'play', opting instead to simply state their names.

The fact that Bruce had been so eager to put his muzzle around the man's cock was not a surprise. But when the story got to the man calling the young Bloodhound a 'cumrag', Jamie nearly went over and mauled the man himself. Once he'd heard what Charlie had done, his expression was carefully neutral - it really wouldn't do to encourage violence - but he ordered one of the Security Wolves to let the brave young Retriever out of the cuffs and muzzle.

As soon as his muzzle was free, Charlie began pleading with Jamie, crying and saying he was sorry and it took quite a bit of petting and shushing from Jamie to get the pup to calm down. Once Charlie was calm enough to be able to speak for himself when BB arrived, Jamie called over to the leader of the Security team, "Nicky, outside there's a Polar Bear - he's a new Counselor named Charlie Hammond. Go tell him that I have things taken care of, and make sure he leaves the scene. Don't take no for an answer - if he hears what that monkey called Bruce, or the fact he tried to rape him, you'll need to call in backup to keep the Bear from tearing the human to pieces."

The Wolf saluted and went to do as asked. Jamie smirked as he heard Big Charlie loudly protesting getting shooed away from the scene, but even he went quiet when BB arrived.

BB - the Big Boss of Wildfire - was a human male, apparently in his early fifties but actually a little over twice that. He walked with a cane, though he didn't seem to need its support. On a few rare occasions, Jamie had seen that the cane actually concealed a razor sharp sword, thin like a rapier and deadly in the old man's skilled hands. BB was dressed in an outfit straight out of mafia films, looking every bit the part of the Don himself.

When he saw that BB had arrived, Charlie started sobbing again, and actually did wet himself, tying up Jamie's attention trying to soothe him.  BB ignored them for the moment, going first to his fellow human to get his side of the story. Even from across the room, Jamie could see BB's expression darkening - clearly the false Counselor was trying to spin the story in his favor, and if he hadn't had to help calm down his pup, Jamie would've gone over there to set things straight.

The Old Man was no fool, though, and he could clearly see his Security team's behavior towards the other human. He next went to speak to Nicholas - the leader of the team. Nick was deferential to BB - all of those who were lucky enough to meet the Old Man's impeccable standards for protecting Wildfire treated him with the utmost respect - but he was clearly taking Charlie's side. That was a good sign.

With merely a glance in Jamie's - or more likely Charlie's - direction, BB next went to speak to the young Lioness who had witnessed the fight. Jamie couldn't tell what she was saying, and didn't know how much she'd actually seen or heard.

Finally, BB was heading towards them, and even Jamie felt a bit of dread at his approach. How a human - an old human! - managed to be so goddamn intimidating, Jamie would never know. When he reached them, BB gestured for one of the Security Wolves to help him get into a kneeling position in front of Charlie. Though Jamie very much wanted to interpose himself between  Charlie and the human, he didn't budge.

The Old Man reached over and took the quivering pup's chin in his hand, making the boy raise his eyes to meet his own, "Little Charlie, I presume? I hope you appreciate what a ruckus you've caused."

Charlie started crying again, begging not to get kicked out of Wildfire - anything but that. Jamie was about to speak up, but a mere stern look from BB quelled him. The master of Wildfire rubbed some of the blood off Charlie's muzzle and showed it to him, "You bit someone, Charlie. Damaged his elbow considerably. Cracked bones. You're lucky we're firmly in Anthro country, or you'd be...I believe 'put down' is the euphemism they use out east. Even a mere rumor of rabies can make my Tribemates quite hysterical, and that's without the other...ahem...history between our peoples. This is a very serious matter, Charlie."


He waited until Jamie and Bruce could help Charlie get his sobbing under control before continuing, "Nonetheless, I have heard every other side of this story but yours and young Bruce's. I'd like to hear you both out before deciding what's going to happen to you."

Bruce told his part, trying to emphasize that Charlie had been protecting him. When both pups told him that the man had introduced himself as a Counselor, BB looked at Jamie, "Is he?"

"NO," Jamie said firmly, dropping the 'sir' he would've normally used, in order to stress the point, "We have only two human Counselors - Richard Baxter and Calvin Hobbes. We have no Counselors named Thomas, unless you count Tómas, a Coyote."

"I thought so. So, you boys were both dazzled by his body, and eager to play with him? And what happened next?"

When Bruce described how he'd tried to pull away when the slur had been used, and how the man hadn't allowed him to, BB held up his hand, "Let me guess - young Charlie here tried to defend you?"

Bruce nodded eagerly, "Yes, sir! First he just shoved him, but then...then he - Charlie - got punched in the muzzle. Charlie was still clutching his face when the...guy...came back over to me and grabbed me, and told me to 'finish the job'. It's when I tried to get away that he hit me."

BB's expression faltered for just a moment, "He hit you? And I suppose this was when Charlie leapt to your defense? I think I've heard enough."

Turning to face Charlie again, BB's voice was stern, but much softer than before,  "Charlie, you know I cannot allow you resorting to your fangs to go unpunished. You're old enough that I have no doubt that you do know how serious what you've done is. Normally, this would mean an expulsion."

He had to hold his hand up again to silence Bruce And Jamie's protests, speaking over Charlie's renewed sobbing,  "However, you have me in a bit of a pickle. Because I also can't allow your bravery in protecting your packmate from being raped to go un-rewarded. So, instead of being thrown out of Wildfire, you are hereby banned from the arcades, the malls, the sports fields...everything except the bathhouses, the mess halls, your cabin, and in the fall, the school are officially off-limits to you until this day, next year. To be very clear, obviously the hospital is also among the places you'll be allowed. That's it. I'm sure James might have some additional punishment for you - by the way, how did he come by that notch in his ear, James? It's not in his profile pictures, and couldn't have been from this fight."

Jamie's face was stone, "Must've gotten cut during the crash, sir. There was so much going on that first hour, I must not have noticed."

BB seemed skeptical, "You don't say? And the lines on Bruce's cheek?"

Cool as a cucumber, and with as much expression, Jamie replied, "His brother slipped and snagged the pup's face with his claws. 'Twas an accident, sir."

BB glanced at the two cubs, who were mutely nodding in agreement. They both knew that their little fight being brought up now would not be a good thing. The Old Man harrumphed and grabbed onto Jamie's scruff, ostensibly to use the Wolfdog to haul himself to his feet. While he was doing that, he growled in the Counselor's ear like a Wolf himself, "Your poker face is getting better, James, but don't let me catch you lying to me ever again. Simon never lied to me."

"That you know of, sir," Jamie replied smoothly, making the Old Man blink several times.

Grumbling to himself, BB gestured for Jamie and his cubs to leave, and looked around for Nicholas. The fake Counselor still needed his punishment. And BB wasn't about to go soft on his fellow human, oh no. No one tried to hurt his cubs and got away with it. No one. It didn't help that he couldn't yet get revenge on those who had caused the bus crash...but he wasn't above venting his anger on a substitute.

Paw-in-paw, Bruce and Charlie followed Jamie out of the arcade.


[BRUCE]

Jamie took him and Charlie straight to the hospital. The top of Charlie's muzzle had started to swell up, and Jamie wanted both of them checked over for other injuries. Bruce just followed obediently, keeping Charlie's paw in his own to help lead-slash-drag him along. The Retriever was obviously a bit dazed, still reeling from the unexpected second chance. Both of them had heard stories about BB - he enforced Wildfire's rules mercilessly. Drawing blood in a fight - no matter who with or how - was an automatic expulsion. Even the older teens at Wildfire were careful not to cross that line on the occasions they'd be bullying the younger cubs. No one who'd found their haven at Wildfire wanted to be forced to leave.

Jamie was also distracted. Bruce could tell from his scent that he was mad, but he got the sense that the Wolfdog's anger was more at the man who'd hurt them.

Bruce himself felt all kinds of guilty. If he hadn't acted like a tailraiser - what humans might've called a 'slut' - he and Charlie might not have ended up in that situation. It wasn't even like he even had a thing for humans! They were weird and furless and had no tails! What kind of monkey doesn't have a tail? But Bruce had seen a cock, and all other thoughts had gone fluttering out his ears in his desire to have that cock in his muzzle. He was such a tailraiser. He dreaded Big Charlie's reaction when he heard how he had acted.

When they got to the hospital, Jamie being a Counselor got them into an examination room immediately. Not that Wildfire's hospital was particularly busy, but it was the only Level I adult/pediatric facility for miles around. Because of the constant influx of patients who might or might not be Wildfire friendly, the hospital was located a bit away from the rest of the Campgrounds, and there were no windows facing the main areas. Additionally, the rules were quite a bit stricter, here.

There were several floors dedicated exclusively to Wildfire members, where the rules were the same as the rest of Wildfire, but the rest of the hospital operated under the same rules as Outside. No public sex - especially between cubs or cubs and adults - was permitted. All of the Doctors and nurses and other assorted staff had to be vetted by BB before being hired, and absolutely had to know what went on at Wildfire and at least be non-hostile to it. It was considered better than having an entirely separate staff for the Campgrounds, though cubs like Bruce and Charlie had been told from their very first day at Wildfire that not all of the hospital staff could be trusted with 'Wildfire stuff'.

Once they were in the room, with a nurse on their way to assess Charlie's muzzle and give a Bruce a check-over, Jamie turned to the boys, "You can strip out of the uniforms, if you want. I'm not going to be cruel and make you keep wearing 'em, if Charlie's going to be on house arrest."

They didn't budge. Bruce was already antsy, but since Charlie hadn't started stripping, Bruce stayed dressed as well. They had both worked up another heavy sweat on the walk to the hospital, and Bruce was suddenly horny again, thinking about how musky Charlie must be - his fur was double-coat. He promised himself that he'd get his nose to the older Dog's smelliest parts as soon as they were available. Charlie was his hero, now, after all. A little worshipping, no matter how tailraiser-y it would be, was definitely called for. He almost wanted to start pulling the Retriever's clothes off, himself, but decided it would probably be best to respect Charlie's boundaries for the moment.

Charlie hadn't let go of his paw, though, and that was something. When he looked over at his friend, Charlie happened to look back, and a small smile crept across his muzzle, "I bet you're just dying to get your nose under my tail, right now."

Bruce didn't even bother to pretend otherwise, "Oh, Dog yes! I was just thinking about that!"

That got a better smile out of him, and a chuckle, too, though he was clearly trying not to move his muzzle too much, "You're such a tailraiser, Bruce. Can't you catch enough of my scent already?"

The young Bloodhound shook his head, "It's...um...not the same as having it right against my nose. It's...intoxicating. I don't mean, like, yours specifically, or anything! That would be creepy! But...like...strong smells in general, they drive me nuts."

"If you two start making out in here, I'll be kind of annoyed," Jamie commented from where he was leaning by the door, "Remember we're on a general-public floor - behave."

"Why aren't we on a Wildfire floor, then?" Bruce asked.

Jamie rolled his eyes, "Because this was faster, and I wanted you both seen to as soon as possible."

"Both of us!? Why? It was Charlie who got all beat up! I'm fine!"

Jamie gave the Bloodhound his best stern look, "Charlie said you looked pretty dazed when that asshole punched you, and you were stumbling a bit back at the arcades when we were leaving. He might've given you a concussion. I don't know. But you're getting checked out by the Doc, just in case."

Feeling at his head where he'd been hit with the paw that wasn't currently entangled with Charlie's, Bruce didn't think he had a concussion. A mean bruise, maybe, and he was starting to get a really bad headache, but he was fine, honestly!

They were all quiet for the next few minutes until the nurse arrived. He was a Panther, and both Bruce and Charlie were reminded of the Cat in their game. Both boys tried to figure out if he was 'Wildfire' or not.

He first checked over Bruce, after hearing Jamie's concerns about a possible concussion. Ultimately, he cleared Bruce, but gave Jamie a list of symptoms to watch out for, saying, "Diagnosing concussion in children is tricky. Sometimes, they don't show any symptoms right away, and Anthro cubs especially tend to be somewhat hardier in general than human children. The main things to look out for over the next few weeks are seizures, motor issues, and behavioral changes. I'd recommend that he be kept under close supervision until the end of the month, at least. If you or anyone else watching him see any of those signs, or any other symptoms in that list, do not hesitate in bringing him back in."

Next was Charlie's turn, and his case was a bit more complicated. The nurse ran him through an x-ray to view the damage. The Panther, again, spoke to Jamie over the cubs' heads, "His muzzle is cracked, but it's barely noticeable on the x-ray - this little line here is all I can see. That ought to heal just fine with some anti-inflammatories and minor painkillers. There's a chance it might get infected, but we'll also give him an antibiotic regimen that should keep that from happening. The real problem is this tooth, here - P2. It looks like the impact cracked it, and it may need to be removed - I'll have our dentist come in and have a look and give her opinion. Other than that, he'll be fine."

After the Panther nurse left, Bruce stuck his tongue out at the departing Cat, "He just talked to you like we weren't even here!"

Jamie shrugged, "Not all the staff here are used to working with cubs. I'm just glad it's looking like you'll both be alright."

Charlie's tooth ended up being removed, but at least the dentist - a Raccoon lady who was shorter than Cliff and had to stand on a stool to do her work - that came and did it was a lot better with the cubs, and clearly knew how Wildfire cubs were, "Now, look, Charlie - you're not gonna wanna do any muzzle play until the gums heal there, OK? Especially not with that crack in it. How does it feel?"

Charlie explored the new gap with his tongue, "Better? It's still kinda numb from that shot you gave me, though."

"That'll wear off in an hour or two. The anti-inflammatories we gave you are also helping with the swelling. Now, when those start wearing off, you'll want to take these - they're called NSAIDs, and they can help with both pain and inflammation. Follow the directions next to the big 'C' on the label - those are the instructions that generally apply to your House - and take no more than it says to! Also, don't forget to clean your teeth! You don't have any cavities now, but trust me, you don't want to get any. I'm sure Mr. Hallstadt doesn't want to be bringing you back to me, bawling because your tooth hurts!"

Charlie nodded, "He won't. I'm good about cleaning 'em, honest."

She smiled, "Good boy. Now that you're all good to go, you boys wait outside for just a minute, I want to talk to your Mr. Hallstadt real quick. I won't keep him long."

Naturally, as soon as the door closed behind them, both Bruce and Charlie had their ears to it -

"James Hallstadt, you've been awful reticent about how young Charlie came to have a cracked muzzle and lost a tooth! I swear to you, on Simon's grave, I will neuter you if I find out that you hurt that boy! I never would've thought it, of you!"

Jamie sounded alarmed, "Whoa, whoa, whoa! He just got into a fight! Ms. Layla, you know Simon taught me right - I'd never hurt my cubs!"

"What. Happened?"

"Can you put the scalpel down, first? Since when did you get so violent, Ms. Layla?"

They heard the Raccoon sigh, and something metal hitting metal, "This morning, I had to help fix this poor human boy's jaw after his father got drunk and decided to throw him around! The boy's jaw was broken in two places, and the father waited until morning to drive him here. And the man was still drunk!"

"Did you report it to BB? Because he can--"

"Of course I reported it, James!" the Raccoon snarled, "But the man was from across the river - human country - and there's not much BB can legally do about it other than notify their authorities! And since they all know about Wildfire, it's really hard to get them to actually listen to us!"

"What happened to the kid?"

"When I got out of the surgery, the father was apparently out in the Campgrounds. He'd been too drunk for me to be willing to let him drive the kid home, anyways, so I put the boy up on a Wildfire floor."

"Wait. Was the dad about this tall, and with brown hair? Boxer's build? Nudist?"

"Yeah...why?"

"Do you know who let him into Wildfire? Was it one of the Docs? Some other staff? It's actually important."

They heard her actually growl, "Why? What's going on, James?"

"He was the one that gave Charlie that cracked muzzle."

They heard a crash, and then a lot of swearing from Jamie.

"Layla! Dog, are you okay? I didn't think you would faint like that!"

For a few minutes they were talking too low for the two cubs to catch, but then they could hear Jamie's voice, again, "...so do you remember who let him into Wildfire?

"I'm afraid I don't - I only found out from one of the orderlies that he'd gone into Wildfire, after I came out of surgery. That's why I moved the boy to the Wildfire floor - I thought he was one of ours!"

"The man claimed to be a Counselor, and knew enough to go unnoticed until the incident with Bruce and Charlie. BB's gonna haveta look into this. Are you sure you're okay, Ms. Layla?"

"I'm fine, James. Why are you insisting on the formality, anyways? We were both Simon's cubs, once. I'd think we're long past Mr. And Ms."

"Ah...it's too much, isn't it? Simon always was, like, all formal when he was dealing with other adults. I thought I should..."

The Raccoon's voice held as much pain over their departed mentor as Jamie's did, "You're not him, James. And you don't need to try to be. What did he always tell us? 'Be yourself, pup! Don't let anyone tell you how to be you!' Besides, after the places your tongue has been, I don't think you're allowed to speak formally, anymore."

"I seem to recall that one of those places was in --"

"Shh! If your boys weren't listening before, they will be now. Wildfire pups have an ear for sex talk, you know that."

Jamie chuckled, sniffling slightly, "That was a good impression of Simon, by the way. You'll have to do it again at the funeral - the proper one BB's preparing, I mean."

"Ugh. Pass. Getting you to bawl your eyes out is one thing, but I'd rather not have all our old Pack sniveling and weeping. And howling! You Canids are so loud when you're sad!"

"It's cathartic! You should try it! What do Raccoons do at funerals, anyways?"

"We play a dirge, and there's a feast, afterwards! The first drink and the last meat are shared with the dead. It's a very beautiful ceremony! You Canids just cry and get drunk, then you howl - a lot - and then you set the body on fire! You know, I've been to frat parties that were just like that, minus the corpse! Actually, now that I think of it, this explains a lot about your House."

The boys heard Jamie coughing, or laughing, maybe. "I'm gonna go before you realize the other similarities, Lauren. I've heard 'em all from Simon, before, anyways."

They had just enough time to pretend they hadn't been listening in, before Jamie opened the door. He narrowed his eyes at them suspiciously, "There's no way you two were standing like that this whole time."

Bruce used his puppy eyes, "What do you mean? We wouldn't eavesdrop on you, Mr. Jamie."

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