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"Slow down, Wil." Phil scolded, discontented with the amount of stew he'd been shoving into his face, albeit a hint of adoration in his tone was evident as he lightly drew the wooden bowl from Wilbur's death grip. Wilbur whined, pouting as he used a cloth to wipe away the steamed bits of carrots stuck to his muzzle.
Techno rumbled mutely as he thumbed through the pages of his textbook, legs crossed in a laxed manor. He twined a strand of bubblegum pink hair between his calloused fingers, clearly not as affected by the full moon as bad as Wilbur was.
"There's another full moon in like- what?- 29 days?" His monotone voice cut off his velvety vibrations, lightly teasing the younger for his eagerness. Wilbur stuck out his tongue but didn't reply, drinking his soup at a suitable pace that wouldn't give Phil another heart attack.
"It's been forever!" Wilbur said, passing his, now empty, bowl to Phil who didn't even have to look up to catch it.
"We'll get on the road soon enough. The festival starts at 11, anyway." Wilbur pouted once more, a habit that was clearly becoming more and more of a repeated expression, pursing his lips together.
After a while, Phil cleaned the bowls and spoons and set them in the cabinet, rolling up his sleeves and smiling. "All righty then! I think we're ready to go. Go grab an extra pair of clothes and we can head out."
Techno nodded, giving Phil a side hug before silently walking up the stairs. Wilbur bounced off the walls, excitement almost like a drug in his system.
"Finally! It's been fucking ages!" Phil only rolled his eyes, playfully shoving his son's shoulder before making his way to his own room. Wilbur couldn't help but feel the buzz through his bones, instincts content yet excited as they urged him to shift. Wilbur knew the consequences of shifting without his packmates, so he forced himself to sit still.
The festival had begun, werewolves of all kinds dancing and playing games under the dusk, hues of oranges still evident in the sunset. Wilbur wished it would go away. He wanted to shift. Now.
Techno and Phil seemed to be enjoying themselves, sipping on the juices Wilbur cared little about in red plastic cups, sitting in lounge chairs near the bonfire. He spotted a few friendly faces. Dream- wait, scratch that. He was a bitch.
But he did see George! And Sapnap. Bad was poking at his cheek playfully and Skeppy was making little trinkets from the diamonds he had mined early for the pups. He spotted the town's bakery employee, Puffy, and the owner, Niki, chatting on a red and white checkered blanket or quilt, giving out muffins and baked goods to pups and wolves alike as they walked by.
Sam, the protector of the village, was also there, hoisting up pups in the air and letting them crawl over him like a jungle gym. Wilbur could hear their cries of joy from his spot on a grassy hill. Most of the adults were perched in trees near the outskirts of the festival or near the huge bonfire, keeping warm. Lanterns in rainbow colors and crazy shapes hung by poles, fairy lights, and glowing berries decorating the festival.
Snow fell from the ground, layering against the grass like a thin sheet of a blanket. Wilbur pouted. Phil and Technoblade, unfortunately, liked shifting at midnight. And they liked doing it together. But this year, something itched at him to shift now. Now. Now. Now. Wilbur growled at himself.
And then he heard something. It was soft, going unnoticed by mostly everyone around. That's not saying much considering he was basically alone on his small hill. Wilbur perked up, scanning around him. His instincts didn't sense any danger. He was about to go back to daydreaming before he heard a soft whine. Wilbur's body went rigid.
This would mean two things, someone was injured or someone was snoring. And that whine seemed pretty mournful. Wilbur didn't move. If it was a cub, he could risk getting mauled by a complete lunatic of a mom. But when has he ever listened to logic? If he would be mauled to investigate a whine, so be it.
Wilbur crouched, making sure nobody saw him, before heading in the direction of the noise. He ended up at the treeline and didn't hesitate to trot into the forest. He sniffled at the ground floor of the woods, trying to find some sort of smell that told him to "stay away" left by a mother. There was none. And the scent got stronger.
Wilbur was confused before gasping. It was a pup scent. It smelled like baby powder and softness to some and others a cool breeze air. Wilbur whined, the noises of the forest going quiet.
It was a signal.
After a few seconds, a louder whine made its way into the air. Wilbur rumbled, trotting down the worn path of sticks and dirt. The whine got louder, more desperate. Wilbur chuffed louder in response. And then it got so clear he almost to imagine the pup. He slowed down, panting softly. And then he saw it.
A pup, fur as golden at the sun or a beach in the sunset, cloudy blue eyes gazing back at his own. It reminded him of Phil. The way Techno and Wilbur welcomed him into the hoard with wide eyes, braiding and threading their paws through their father-figure's hair like it was precious fragile gold, which it was. They'd hadn't had a father, cast out of their hoard when they were young. Phil was more than happy to oblige, enjoying having a stable flock.
Wilbur's eyes dilated, instincts screaming at him to claim his gold. The pup whined louder, ridding the screams of his inner thoughts. Wilbur slowly approached, frowning when his Gold curled in on himself, shivering from the cold or anxiety. Wilbur let out soft chuffs, getting lower to look less scary.
"Shh, I won't hurt you," Wilbur said softly, cooing loudly. The pup blinked, eyes drooping. His tail uncurled itself slowly, ears perking up in a slight motion. Wilbur always had a way with his words.
"That's it." He praised. The pup's tail thumped slowly on the forest floor, a clear sign of contentment. "Good boy. Cmere. I won't hurt you." The pup whined, more like a way of giving up into a warm embrace instead of being scared. Wilbur cooed.
"Yeah, I know. I know. You're scared. Shhh-" The pups whines got louder, tail curling in confusion. "Are you okay?" The pup nodded, eyebrows furrowed, lips drawn into a pout that made his body jolt with pride.
"Can you get up? Are you hurt?" The pup nodded, to both questions, he couldn't be sure, although not making a move to stand. Wilbur smiled.
"Sweetheart, will you let me check for injuries?" The pup stared, eyes wide with panic. He nodded, hesitantly. Wilbur whined softly, "I'll be quick, I promise." He didn't know what made a pup so afraid of a grown adult but it certainly wouldn't be pretty.
He slowly approached, using his hands to roll the pup onto his side, the pup instinctually exposed his neck and lifted his hind leg. Wilbur softly lowered his shaking limb, checking over his stomach before patting him reassuringly. He didn't miss the flinch that followed after.
"I'm so proud of you!" Wilbur cheered, cheeks red from the cold. The pup's tail thumped onto the floor once more. "What are you going here all alone?" Wilbur restrained himself from ruffling his hair, adoringly. The pup only whined, eyes fluttering.
"It's okay, you don't have to tell me," Wilbur promised, whispering quietly.
They sat for a while before the pup spoke up. "T-Tommy..." Wilbur perked up, "What was that?"
"M-My name is Tommy!" Tommy keened, eyes crinkling like he was afraid of getting hit for such a simple command. Wilbur smiled. "Well, I'm Wilbur. You can call me Wil." Tommy nodded, head strained upwards like he was thinking of something.
"W-Wilbur?" Wilbur hummed, "If- If- You don't mind... C-Can I come with you? I-It's just I'm cold and-" Wilbur shushed him. "Of Course! I wouldn't mind at all." His instincts howled. Gold. HIS Gold. Its His. Never leaving. HIS Gold.
"Mate... Please explain why there's a pup on the couch..." Phil sighs, rubbing his temples.
He and Techno had a nice night at the festival, eating the provided snacks and chatting about their schedules that were soon to change with the season. They had wrapped things up by 11:30, knowing Wilbur was itching to shift. They made their way home and they found Wilbur snuggled around a pup, doesn't even have a scent mind you, patching up and cleaning his fur like he was his mother.
Wilbur didn't respond, only wordlessly snarling as he continued to clean. He couldn't see his face but he assumed the pup was sleeping or just really attached to Wilbur.
"Cmon, Wil. We leave you for like- what? A few hours and you go adopt a pup?" Wilbur huffs, mostly a "Yeah? And?" noise than anything. Techno rolls his eyes.
"Wil... It's a full moon. The pup probably has a family looking for them! Why don't you let them go so we can go in the nest?" Wilbur only shook his head, jerkily.
"He doesn't have a place to go," Wilbur replied, softly. "And besides, isn't he the cutest?"
The pup, apparently awake, whined, pawing at Wilbur as if to protest. Wilbur only made soft chuffing noises, eyes blown wide. He was clearly close to shifting. Phil sighed.
"Mate?" The pup looked up, and Phil chose to ignore Techno's gasp.
His eyes were a glassy blue, wide and shimmering. His fur, now visible from Wilbur's death grip, was a sandy blond, almost like gold. And boy oh boy did Phil know what gold did to his twins. Techno quickly crammed his eyes shut, shuffling mostly behind Phil so he wouldn't go and grab the poor thing. Wilbur was far too gone.
"Ah. Now I know why..." The pup only tilted his head in confusion. "Do you want to stay here?" Phil said, crouching down to the youngest. The boy only watched with wide eyes, thinking of his answer. He was interrupted by Wilbur, who whined.
"No! Phil- You- You- can't. He's my hoard! Mine, Mine Mine..." He trailed off, threading possessive fingers through his coat. The pup didn't seem to understand he wouldn't be leaving anytime soon and leaned into the relaxing feeling. Phil pinched the bridge of his nose. It was going to be a long night.
"Alright, I guess you can stay. What your name-"
"It's Tommy," Wilbur said, voice like honey and sugar. Proud. Proud. Proud. Phil could hear the chuffs escaping his oldest. Phil quietly turned, putting an understanding hand on his shoulder. "You can shift once we get to the nest. I'm surprised you made it this far." Techno only nodded, latching onto Phil's forearm.
"Cmon, Wil. To the nest, we go." Wilbur smiled, brightly, scooping up the tired pup and carrying him to the nest. "He's in our hoard now." Techno only nodded, letting the burning in his veins simmer away. In a blink of an eye, there were now four werewolves cuddled next to each other.
Phil lightly scratched Techno's scalp as he sunk into the pillows, eyes drooping. Wilbur just pulled Tommy closer. "Mine, Mine, Mine." Wilbur chanted softly. Phil only hummed. "Ours." Wilbur purred, licking the pup's cheek. Phil shushed him. "You might wake him with all that slobber." Wilbur pouted, resorting to tucking his face into the smaller's neck, enjoying the empty pup smell.