Like Cats and Dogs

Chapter 1

Dean darts between the trees, reveling in the feeling of dirt beneath his paws, between his toes, the give of the ground beneath his nails. His tongue hangs out of his mouth, smells drifting into his nose. His wolf recognizes the smell of Sam somewhere to his left, Adam a tiny bit behind him. Jo is north of them, where she should be. Her smell is fainter, farther away.

A few more steps and Dean trots to a stop near a large, flat rock, waiting for Adam to catch up. Poor kid is panting, his chest heaving, the kind of strain that Dean knows he'll feel tomorrow.

It's not really his fault, though. He's smaller than Dean is, shorter legs, lighter hair. He's still growing, and will probably be closer to Sam's stature when he's done. At the thought of his brother a long, lean, darker brown wolf trots into view, his tongue hanging out of his mouth and a wolfish grin on his face. Dean tilts his head in question, silently asking if Sam smelled anything off. His brother huffs and shakes his head. That's good.

They're on patrol now, will be for the next hour or so, but they have a few minutes to take a breather. This section of the territory is theirs to check, but his wolf is confident that everything is secure for now. Everything is usually secure. They do stumble upon the occasional human hunter, or hikers in the woods, but they're harmless in such small numbers. And mostly they don't bother. They know the Pack is strong.

It's the new pack next door that has the council on edge. The smell of them is still unfamiliar in Dean's nose, too clean and soft-smelling compared to what he's used to. Pack smells like the hunt, like their rocky caves that they call home. The smell of the strangers is grating for his wolf, makes him agitated and edgy.

Luckily, the odd smell is only noticeable right at the edge of their territory. Mostly Dean isn't bothered by it.

Dean sneezes and lays down, deciding that he might as well relax for a few minutes. The sun is out, and the rock is a nice place to lay down. He lays flat on his belly and rests his muzzle on his paws, assuming that Adam and Sam will follow his lead.

As far as dominance goes, Dean is at the top. He assumes a day will come when Sam will pass him by, but it hasn't come yet. His brother, for now at least, seems happy to take a step down. Adam, being just a soldier in training, still has a while to go.

Dean naps for a few minutes before deciding that they should continue their patrol. He's trying to be a good role model for Adam, after all. He stands up and heads off in the right direction, hearing Sam drag himself to his feet and head off on a parallel path. They make good patrol partners, him and Sam. He doesn't have to snap his teeth or growl or otherwise tell him what to do. Not like when he's with Garth, who can't tell the smell of a cat from a caterpillar.

They reach the end of their patrol route about an hour later, finding Jo and Ash already there waiting for them. That's good. Dean huffs and sniffs their fur, bumping their sides and coating himself in the scent of pack. It pleases his wolf, settles him, washes the wrong scent out of his nose. Sam does the same. Jo rumbles at him in her chest for nipping at her ear, but it's familial and not confrontational. Ash just plops down on his hind legs, swishing his tail in the dirt.

Jo is even lighter than Adam is in color, even now when her fur is lightly coated in forest dust. She's smaller, too, but Dean knows she makes up for it in speed and smarts. Ash isn't a soldier or a Hunter, which means he was out here today with a different task in mind. Dean wonders absently what it was, but it doesn't matter enough for him to linger on it for too long. His wolf doesn't care about petty human things.

After a few more minutes they decide to call it, turning east towards the center of pack territory and heading in that direction. Dean sees a nice juicy burger in his future, a picture that his grumbling stomach seems to approve of.