Today, Chapter 15 - Rekindling is released. I hope you all enjoy the continuation of the story.

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The next few days were the most normal Lupus had experienced since his Ascendant growth spurt, except that his daily routine included mixed-size interactions.

Every morning followed the same routine: Lupus awoke on the couch, Carlos took Zoe to the basement for gaming, and then took him on a tour around Brackenmoor. He pondered how to repay their kindness, but he had nothing. People he had known for just over a week were trying to help him. Lupus started to find solace in Brackenmoor, his first instance of peace since settling there.

Then, one evening - Lupus thought it was time for his next Custodian patrol, although all days seemed blurred into one - Carlos came out of the basement door. He hadn’t seen the protogen eager before.

Carlos approached Lupus, unable to contain the glowing arc of a smile. Concern mixed with curiosity stirred within the wolf, shifting toward unease when Carlos took its paw and guided it toward the basement door.

Lupus dug his heels in. The protogen paused and swung his head back to meet him. His visor dimmed, then brightened again in a puzzled expression.

“Lupus?” Carlos whispered. “Are you okay?”

The wolf’s tail twitched. “You told me I couldn’t enter the basement until I was ‘ready’.”

Carlos blinked; the glowing arc of his smile softened into something more thoughtful. “I did, and you are,” he said, “because you understand vat it means to be a real custodian.”

Lupus’s ears flicked. “What do you mean by a real custodian?”

Carlos stepped closer to place a finger on the wolf’s chest-right over the slow, steady thrum of his heart. “One who pursues unifying zis country, not enforce its divisive policies. Now, come on, ve have somesing for you,” he insisted and resumed tugging Lupus toward the basement door.

The wolf followed, but his steps were slow.

At the bottom of the stairs, a model village similar to Noah’s, with one difference. It had a line of quintessential English country homes. Five homes stood on either side of the road, bisecting the table with a single parked automobile. It featured a glass barrier on the table’s edge.

Carlos asked him to wait at the foot of the staircase. The protogen walked the perimeter of the table, then kneeled beside the settlement. His visor nanites rippled, and that arch of a smile made way for his mouth to open. Then, above a whisper, Carlos said, “Maleńka, are you good to start?”

Zoe didn’t respond to Lupus, yet Carlos’s visor altered after a short time. The protogen turned, nanites obscuring his mouth, to collect a headset microphone.

Having hung his headset on the glass barrier, Carlos went for a latch on Zoe’s house. He opened the back wall like a door, revealing the cosy interior. He reached in, and when he pulled his hand out, Zoe was standing on his palm, wearing a soft lavender dress that matched her boyfriend’s fur. They both looked at Lupus; Carlos then gave a subtle nod, inviting the wolf closer.

“Ze call’s ready,” Carlos announced.

Lupus said nothing and walked towards them. Carlos gave the headset to the wolf, stepping back a few paces. “You’ll need to unmute ze headset, but there shouldn’t be any technical issues,” Carlos explained. “Let me know if zere is. I’ll be in ze living room.”

Lupus held the headset in hand and looked at Zoe’s house. From where he stood, he could see in the master bedroom a tiny light coming from the corner. Squinting, he noticed it was a Petritan-sized computer. He blinked at the tiny monitor and hovered a thumb above the unmute button.

Carlos, still standing behind him, reached out a hand to stroke Lupus’s shoulder. “It’ll be all right. You can thank Zoe, by ze way.”

Lupus turned his head enough to glance at Carlos’ smirk from the corner of his eye. “What do you mean?”

The protogen offered a smile and turned toward the stairs, ascending up the stairs as he carried Zoe out of the basement on his palm.

Lupus placed the headset over his ears once the basement door shut; he then recognised Liam’s voice.

Lupus gasped and flew both hands up to cover his maw, grateful beyond words that the mic stayed muted.

Guilt surged through him like a rising tide. Memories of the roadside where they had separated overwhelmed him, drowning out any chance for the joyful moments they shared to rise to the surface. The longer he stayed silent, and the more he heard the jaguar’s voice, the harder it became for Lupus to speak. He heard laughter. He heard someone else speaking. Lupus turned up the headset volume and listened in.

“... and I’m telling you it’s going to be alright, okay?” The jaguar insisted. It sounded like Liam was in the middle of a conversation, but he couldn’t hear whoever he was talking to.

Despite the guilt inside him, hearing Liam’s voice again felt like sunlight piercing through storm clouds. After all those moments spent replaying their last meeting, all the guilt that had gnawed at him like rot, hearing the jaguar’s voice again came close to bringing a teardrop to his eye.

Suppressing his tears, he focused on observing their discussion. He was certain now: his friend had company. While he tried to piece together who the other voice belonged to and what they meant to the jaguar, without realising, his finger hit the unmute button.

The wolf drew in a polite breath as he listened until he heard Liam’s voice: “Huh? Is someone there?”

Maybe someone had joined Liam’s conversation. Or perhaps it was something mundane, like a stranger knocking. That theory crumbled the moment Lupus’s gaze dropped to the microphone controls—and froze.

The red light above the mute button was off.

He pretended he wasn’t there, then bent down to stare at Zoe’s thimble-sized monitor—just as Liam’s voice perked up: “Lupus, is that you?!”

Lupus blinked, confused. How could he know it was him? He hadn’t said a word.

Then Liam blurted out, “Oh my god, it is!” his voice bubbling with a mix of surprise and warmth. “Lupus, hey, I can see you!”

Lupus’s stomach dropped. He squinted at Zoe’s monitor and spotted a webcam’s teeny green light. The question remains: did Liam see him? He stretched his left arm up and waved to the little house.

Liam giggled through his headset, delighted. “Yes, yes, I can see you, dude!”

The wolf’s gaze locked onto the lens, his thoughts racing for words. His initial utterance posed a query: What did he speak first?

Liam helped him out. The jaguar likely knew, or saw, his speech impediment. Liam led the discussion, highlighting his pleasure at seeing him again. Lupus felt relieved as Liam’s excited tone touched his heart. The warm feeling ended when Liam voiced his worries from their last encounter.

Lupus needed to sit and listen to his friend. His ears drooped, and his bushy tail hung limp off the edge. He hoped the camera wouldn’t catch his reaction. Not being able to see the jaguar’s expression made things worse. Getting nearer would jeopardise his efforts to hide his guilt. But his silence only compelled Liam to ask, “Hey, are you alright, Lupus?”

The wolf’s instincts screamed at him to say ‘yes’ before he could compose himself. Liam’s presence in his mind desired comfort. That did not stop him from holding back to avoid being desperate. Instead, Lupus chose his moment, adjusted the mic, and whispered, “I’m so, so sorry for what I did.”

It didn’t take Liam more than a second to respond. “Hey, hey. You did nothing wrong, you’re okay,” he cooed in a softer voice.

A second voice reached Lupus’ ears. It was a murmur, but they were very close, and the minuscule monitor offered no clear view. Curiosity tugged at him, urging him to lean in. Trying to hear more, he held his breath until Liam said, “I promise you did nothing wrong.”

Lupus swallowed hard and forced the words out, “Do you not remember what I did?” He shot back with welled-up eyes.

When Liam spoke, there was a gentle and assured feeling in his voice. He breathed, “I remember it all and I understand.”

Lupus’s eyes looked down from the monitor, staring at Zoe’s scale-model back-garden and pool. Of all the responses he’d imagined—anger, fear, even silence—understanding wasn’t one of them. He had crushed Liam’s car, damaged some roads, and treated his best friend like a toy in his grasp.

Despite his best efforts, Lupus couldn’t understand Liam’s ability to recall everything yet remain kind. It felt impossible—undeserving. And yet, it was there. Still, the desire for validation ached inside him. He whispered, his eyes shut, “Please forgive me,” in a plea.

Beneath Lupus’s breath, a sob. His eyes opened; he refused to look at the small house again. His gaze stayed fixed on the model backyard, blurred now by the tears that clung to his lashes.

“What? There’s nothing to forgive, silly.” Liam shot back in confusion. “If it helps, then I forgive you.”

Lupus didn’t know what to say. “I…,” another sob cut him off, and before he knew it, a teardrop landed on his lap. He stared at his pool reflection, searching for words. After he found it, he swallowed and muttered, “you…forgive me?”

Liam whispered, “Of course,” a moment later.

The words comforted his heart like a fresh blanket. He bowed his head, a fresh tear slipping down his cheek to splash beside Zoe’s pool. He pulled himself together and wiped his eyes. Once he was ready, he turned back to Zoe’s house.

“By the way,” he said with a lighter tone, “don’t think that’s gonna stop me from teasing you, dude.”

Lupus huffed, a breath that would have been a laugh if relief’s remnants hadn’t still tangled it. “I… I wouldn’t have it any other way, shortie.”

Liam let out a triumphant snort. “There’s the Lupy I know.”

Despite everything, the guilt and the distance, Lupus still found solace in Liam’s company.

“Now,” Liam dropped his voice into mock-seriousness, “I think it’s time we address a very important question, Lupus, and I want you to be honest with me.”

Lupus, who had just pieced himself back together, looked at the monitor with concern. “Um, sure, what is it?”

“Met any Vastelerian women?” Liam asked, and while Lupus snorted at the question, the jaguar pressed on undeterred. “Someone who might be interested in a charming and tall Petritan lad like myself?”

A sly grin tugged at the corners of Lupus's maw, allowing him to dip his voice into a playful growl. “Not at this moment, though I’m certain you’d become an excellent necklace for one.”

Liam gasped. “Par-don. You wound me, sir! I offer you support and compassion, and this is what I get?”

Lupus huffed out a deep, rumbling laugh. “Consider this payback for all those comments about my height,” he insisted and leaned toward the mic. “Or, you can be my anklet.”

“Wow! You’ve only been a giant for a few days, and already you wanna make moue into jewellery,” Liam protested with a snicker. “Just wait until I visit you.”

While Liam carried on laughing, the wolf’s smile faded. “You…you can’t do that,” he whispered back with firm conviction behind it.

“Oh, come on,” Liam chuckled, then sighed, gathering his composure. “Content creators visit Brackenmoor or Thornfell all the time. I only need to—”

Except Lupus didn’t laugh this time. “Liam, no. You don’t understand. You cannot visit me; it’s too dangerous for you.”

“Only if you get caught,” Liam cut in, his voice oozing smugness, followed by more laughter. “You believe I lack the skill to bypass a few Vastelerians?”

“You’re insane,” he mumbled back.

“And you love that about me,” Liam shot back. “If insanity will reunite me with my best friend, imprison me.”

“Yeah?!” Lupus blurted out, louder than he had meant to, “the Custodians will lock you up if they find you.”

“Wait,” Liam spoke with growing curiosity. “What the heck is a Custodian?”

Lupus let out a long sigh, lowered his head to pinch the bridge of his nose. “They’re the guards that patrol the perimeter. They are..." He gathered himself. “I’m a Custodian. I patrol the wall, and if I spot a Petritan nearby, I have to escort them or… take them away.”

“Sooooooo, you’re telling me that if I go near the wall during one of your patrols…” Liam said with a sense of glee. “You’ll have to come to me?”

A subtle growl rumbled out of the wolf’s snout. “Liam. No!”

“Sounds good to me,” Liam cut in, unfazed. “That’s a plan. Great. When’s your next patrol?”

“Friday, but it’s too—” The moment it slipped out of his lips, he rushed to cover his maw. However, it was too late; the damage had been done.

“Perfect!” Liam chirped, ignoring the rising dread thickening in Lupus’s voice.

Lupus exhaled. “Liam, no—listen to me.” He lowered his voice to mumble, “If something happened to you, you won’t forgive me this time,” beneath his breath.

Then, in a voice gentler than before, Liam said, “Lupus… I’ve already forgiven you for what happened last time we met.”

Lupus’s heart skipped a beat.

Liam spoke with earnestness. “While we’re on the subject, Lupus, would you forgive Tyler?”

Lupus froze. ‘Forgive him for what?’ he asked himself. ‘For telling Douglas I was an orphan?’ Recalling that memory still brings a bitter taste. The lingering taste of treachery caused Lupus distress, provoking a growl.

Before he could gather a response, Liam continued on. “I know what happened, but Tyler never ever meant to hurt you. Please, let me explain, okay?”

“Go ahead,” Lupus nodded, not convinced. He could not fathom how Liam would justify Tyler’s actions.

Still, Liam gave a trimmed-down version of Tyler’s perspective. The jaguar’s reasons for supporting Tyler remained unstated, yet he pushed for Tyler’s good intentions.

He removed his eyes from the monitor, recalling his last chat with Tyler. Tyler’s disclosure to Douglas that he was an orphan left the sting of betrayal. He had revisited that moment countless times, searching for a version of the truth where Tyler wasn’t at fault, but he found nothing.

Liam pressed on anyway. He explained Tyler hadn’t had a choice, and that fear, overwhelm, and a sense of being cornered had left him powerless. The jaguar emphasised Tyler’s regret, and after being pressured into helping Douglas’s article about Lupus’s Ascendant emergence, the otter had reached out to Liam in hopes to make things right. “So, Lupy, would you forgive Tyler?”

Just when the wolf’s eyes returned to the monitor, his ears picked up on someone muttering in the background. It took him less than a second to put the pieces together and ask: “Tyler is next to you, isn’t he?”

There was a moment of silence. Even the faint background muttering seemed to quieten.

Then came the otter’s voice: “Um… hey there, Lupus,” Tyler said. “I’m sorry for everything. You did not deserve that.”

Lupus didn’t respond right away. He shut his eyes for a second and drew in a slow, steady breath to ground himself. “Why tell Douglas?” he questioned.

Hesitation tinged Tyler’s reply, yet terror and remorse propelled his explanation from his maw like a runaway train. He stressed that everything at work unravelled when people learned that a newspaper company had an Ascendant employee. The morning after Lupus grew, Thomas Sinclair had summoned him into the office. Inside were Thomas, two government officials and Douglas himself, and they interrogated the otter. They presented an ultimatum: ‘Tell us what you knew about the Ascendant known as Lupus Kintsugi, or you’ll meet the full extent of the law’.

Lupus grumbled, “So you told them, just like that?”

“Not that simple!” he shot back. “The newspaper underwent review once your Ascendant status became known.”

Although the wolf was heartbroken at Tyler’s betrayal, Lupus listened in. His curiosity about what happened to the company after he grew overshadowed everything else.

“Government officials wanted to understand how an Ascendant ended up in the media industry, and that meant—,” Tyler explained, sighing before he added, “That meant interviewing and doing a genetics test on every employee, including me.”

Lupus frowned, shifting his head down. “You still haven’t explained how they knew. Why did you tell them?”

“They sat me down in an interview room and strapped me to a lie detector with two officials, Thomas Sinclair…and me,” Tyler confessed.

The wolf’s posture softened at the comment. A faint, sympathetic smile replaced his frown.

“I did what I could,” Tyler continued, his voice picking up speed, almost pleading like he was before a jury. “I did what I could to navigate around the questions, but once they noticed, they asked me when I—” The otter stopped to catch his breath.

“Asked you what?” Lupus prompted.

“They asked me,” Tyler said too, and stopped to exhale. “They asked me when I first considered that you were an Ascendant, and I told them at the London Library.”

Lupus’ mind drifted back to recall the single moment Tyler had mentioned that. It had been outside the London library after they had flicked through a stack of phone books to find his parents. It was a mere comment, a passing thought, but it was when Tyler’s initial consideration of this possibility started.

“They asked me why I was at the library. I told them I was researching some stuff for you,” Tyler explained and swallowed. “I am ever so sorry, but after their interest piqued, they asked what I was researching—”

“You told them we were trying to find my parents in the phonebook, didn’t you?” Lupus prodded.

“Yes, but I told them you didn’t know one of your parents was a Vastelerian. I could only convince them by saying you were an orphan!” He uttered, voice defensive, with a scant pause before its finish. “I didn’t have a choice!”

“That does not explain how Douglas knew?” He challenged back with a subtle snarl.

“I-I guess Mister Sinclair must have told—” Lupus’s low, simmering growl made Tyler go quiet.

The wolf leaned a little closer with narrowed eyes. “That wasn’t your secret to tell. Because of you, Douglas knows about it. You were aware Douglas would exploit that information.”

Tyler’s voice cracked with desperation as he pleaded, “I was trying to help.”

Bitterness flickered in Lupus’s eyes. “Help me or you? You took my old job, remember?” he scolded, recalling their disagreement at the library—when Tyler insisted on uploading that video of the golden retriever Ascendant, even if it included Lupus. For the Arctic wolf, Tyler was a traitor who triggered his defensive instincts in his mind, even if the heart disagreed.

“All I wanted to do was help you, like you helped me,” Tyler’s whisper, consumed with heartache and ending in defeat. It left Lupus silent for a moment.

“Lupy, Tyler did what he believed was right for you. Now, listen to me,” Liam stepped in, asserting himself as Lupus’s anchor despite being no bigger than their ankle.

Having gone quiet, Lupus listened to Liam explain. He continued by describing how, after they took Lupus away, Liam woke up in a hospital bed with Tyler waiting. Despite being sent to interview Liam by Thomas, he arrived with Brackenmoor and Thornfell files to find Lupus.

As the words registered, Lupus lowered his eyes and withdrew his snout, his gaze drifting to the miniature garden beneath. He slumped, a fake smile plastered on his face. A veneer of positivity hid his guilt for his earlier outburst toward the otter.

Upon noticing the wolf look away from the camera, Liam snickered into the microphone. “Man, you should have heard what Tyler said to Douglas after they visited Brackenmoor.”

Before Liam could go on, Tyler tried to shut the conversation down. “That doesn’t matter. It’s not important—”

Except Lupus’s ears perked, and his head lifted back to the monitor. “No,” he mumbled. “Please, tell me what happened?” he asked with a faint spark of joy in his eyes.

Seconds stretched to what felt like hours by the time Tyler responded: “I snapped at him.”

Lupus leaned upright and away from the table. A mix of concern and curiosity stirred in him. He had assisted him with countless articles, any of which could’ve caused frustration. Yet something involving Douglas had struck a nerve. The fox had always been Lupus’s kryptonite, but now he wondered, was he Tyler’s too?

He hung onto Tyler’s voice for affirmation as they explained. When the otter spoke, his voice bordered between distraught and frustration. The shock of hearing the otter snap erased any heartache Lupus had toward Tyler. It was uncharacteristic, so unlike the timid otter, that it pulled Lupus’s attention as they elaborated on what had triggered such a reaction.

❆ ❆ ❆ ❆ ❆

One week earlier…

Tyler sheltered behind the camera and watched Lupus and Douglas clash. He wanted to help calm Lupus down, but he couldn’t confront a creature fourteen times his size, especially when he was staring at the wolf’s spear-like fangs.

‘Please stop, Tyler! Lupy doesn’t deserve that,’ Tyler begged inside, while his fingers tightened around the tripod’s handle until his knuckles turned pale beneath his fur. Powerless before a Petritan and a full-grown Ascendant. In moments like this, he had a choice: risk his job by stepping in, or risk his friendship by staying silent.

Douglas took that decision from him when he projected the word, “Orphan.”

Tyler froze when he learnt that Douglas too knew about Lupus’s secret.

In a heartbeat, Tyler watched his friends’ eyes scold him. Concern emerged in his head when a shadow fell over him. His eyes widened as the wolf’s massive finger entered his peripheral vision. ‘Lupy! I didn’t tell him,’ Tyler wanted to say before he took a step back and watched his camera disappear beneath his friend’s finger.

Tyler’s eyes widened in shock and disbelief as he watched the remnants of his camera being brushed across his friend’s thigh. As Lupus’s maw filled his vision, Lupus rumbled, “And for you.”

“Lupy, let me explain!” Tyler pleaded out. “I didn’t tell D—”

“Nope. It’s Lupus to you, Ty. We’re done,” he scolded and looked away from him.

As the titanic canine’s attention averted to the feline, a stomach tied in his knot. To plead his case, he took a step forward. “Lupus, please—” he choked out, but the crack in his tone portrayed desperation.

“I said…” Lupus grunted, took a deep breath, and exhaled to blow Tyler off-foot. “Leave me alone.”

The blast hit Tyler like a punch. It lifted him clean off his feet and sent him backward onto the metal table. He lay there for a second before propping himself up on one elbow. When he did, he overheard Douglas’s smug remark, “You’ll be on the front page.”

A slow clap broke the silence. “Congratulations, Lupy,” Douglas drawled out, dragging out the nickname with a sneer that grated the wolf. He stepped away from the wolf to walk towards the Petritan entrance. “You’ll be on the front page tomorrow.”

Beneath Lupus’s low growl, Douglas muttered, “The interview’s wrapped up, Ty,” as he passed him on his way to the door. Once Douglas passed, his hands clenched into fists at his sides. His once pleading eyes narrowed on the fox walking away behind him.

Tyler didn’t look back. Couldn’t. Witnessing his friend’s look of betrayal, he knew, was far worse than any fury or animosity. After a deep breath, he trailed behind Douglas toward the door, eyes locked ahead, fists clenched tight at his sides.

The door hissed shut behind them, echoing down the long, dim metal corridor. Every step they took sounded sharper than it should have.

Tyler kept his head down and walked a few paces behind Douglas. The otter sensed the fox’s smirk without looking.

Sure enough, after a few strides, Douglas slowed to glance over his shoulder to meet Tyler. “I hope this interview taught you to be more wary of Ascendants,” Douglas spoke back to him in a smooth voice, as if he were delivering a lecture instead of pouring salt into the otter’s fresh wound. “They’re not great at controlling their emotions, especially post-growth.”

Tyler’s fists trembled at his sides. ‘You gaslit him!’ Shouted his thoughts as he watched Douglas.

Douglas chuckled under his breath, already turning his head to face forward. “He is like any other Ascendant. They’re uncontrollable beasts who think they can take whatever they want.”

Tyler’s feet slowed for just a moment. ‘Shut up! The only beast here is you…Douglas!’ He screamed it in his head, but his mouth refused to open.

The fox, too busy indulging in his own monologue, didn’t notice Tyler come to a halt. After a few steps, he noticed he couldn’t hear the otter’s footsteps from behind. He turned around and noticed that Tyler had stopped.

Wearing a mask of false sympathy, the fox stepped closer and rested a hand on the otter’s shoulder. “Look, I know the truth is hard to swallow, but it’s better knowing it before something happens to you.” He lifted his hand and turned to walk, adding, “Just look at what happened to Liam—”

Posthaste, the otter closed in on Douglas. Before the fox could pivot, Tyler seized his shirt and crashed him into the metal wall. The impact echoed down the corridor, but did not attract any unwanted attention.

For the first time, he watched Douglas’s smug composure dissipate. “What is your problem?!” Tyler scolded, his fists twisting Douglas’s shirt fabric. “Lupus did nothing wrong to you.”

Douglas’ hands rushed to push Tyler off. However, the otter yanked him forward a few inches and slammed him back into a wall a second time. “Answer me!” Tyler snarled, his snout inches away from the fox’s. “What are you trying to achieve? You have a reporter dedicated to speaking up for those who cannot defend themselves—?”

A snicker from Douglas cut Tyler off mid-sentence. “Standing up for those who cannot defend themselves?! You’re joking, right?”

Tyler’s nose contacted Douglas’s.

In response, Douglas raised a brow. “Wow, you’re serious,” he replied in a semi-amused voice. “I’m not the enemy, Tyler. I’m trying to show people what Ascendants and Vastelerians are if they lose control.”

“They are people. They’re no different to us—”

“No, they are not,” he mumbled back. “They are all the same. High and mighty because evolution favoured them. Favoured those monsters,” he slurred.

Tyler’s lips curled back in a low, furious growl. His nostrils flared close enough that Douglas's smirk wavered under his warm breath. “You didn’t ask me to join the interview to train me, did you?” he snarled and clenched his shirt tighter. “You asked me to join so you could use me to hurt the only friend I had!”

With a sharp grunt, he shoved Douglas back enough to free his fists from the fox’s shirt. He refused to let the fox’s toxic personality get to him.

“Emphasis on had,” Douglas spat out the words like venom.

Then, Tyler saw red. He spun on his heel and swung a left hook towards the fox—

And stopped just shy of Douglas’s jaw. “No,” Tyler muttered through gritted teeth. “You’re not worth it. If any part of you had compassion, it died alone and afraid inside of you. Speak a word about this to anyone and they’ll know a nerdy lil’ otter took you down, understood?”

Tyler did not wait for a reply but continued walking down the corridor. He made it halfway before he felt his smartwatch vibrate. When he raised his arm to look at it, its screen blinked red with the message: ‘Unusual biometric fluctuation detected. Recalibrating sensors’.

“Not again,” he mumbled under his breath and fished out his phone to search for Liam’s hospital.

❆ ❆ ❆ ❆ ❆

“... And that’s when I met Liam. I hope that helps, Lupus?” Tyler finished in a quieter voice. Aside from the smartwatch, Tyler had told Lupus everything. Still, it was enough to leave Lupus jaw-dropped.

That wasn’t the otter Lupus remembered. Tyler, as he knew him, always spoke with kindness, avoiding conflict—just like he avoided Douglas and the fox at the cafe.

Lupus understood Tyler’s outburst. It was the otter’s compulsion to shield someone else from cruelty, and in this case, to protect Lupus from Douglas. An instinct he understood well, as when compassion is scarce, one protects it. Lupus knew Tyler understood how compassion and empathy could shine in a hostile world. Tyler’s protective, uncharacteristic actions lead to only one conclusion.

Tyler protected his friend’s interests. No, Lupus wasn’t pleased that Douglas knew. However, if someone had pressured Tyler into revealing it, if he had said it to protect Lupus, then perhaps it would be wrong to dismiss the otter’s intent.

He would not make that mistake again. So, he whispered, “Thank you, Tyler.”

“Th-Thank you?” The otter echoed back as if he were questioning whether he’d misheard Lupus. “Do you.. Do you forgive me, Lupus?”

Lupus smiled. “Yes, I do,” he cooed into the headset. “Please call me Lupy, Tyler.”

“Lupy,” Tyler echoed back loud enough for Lupus to hear the otter’s cheek-pulling grin. “Thank you …I missed you. We need to meet again.”

‘Not this again,’ he sighed out and hunched forward, while listening to Liam repeating the conversation they had a few moments ago. He wanted to say no. He wanted to warn them again, yet the excitement sounding in their voices brought back memories of London’s past. A longing to see his friends again overwhelmed him until he asked, “How?”

“This Friday. You said that’s your next patrol,” Liam replied with smugness in his voice. “Tyler will be off work and I won’t have any classes. Plus, it’s plenty of time for me to get a rental car.”

Lupus understood the danger. Yet as his friends spoke, the familiar warmth they offered returned. Lingering dread of legal consequences occupied his thoughts, yet the prospect of their reunion after everything... that mattered more.

That’s when he admitted he needed them.