After supper your uncle took you outside with his hunting knives and started getting you to practice on the trees while the wolves went exploring a little down by the river where it was deemed safe by Cloud.
"You need to fix your stance" he sighed after a while of you trying to hit the tree. You hit it a few times, but tended to miss where he wanted you to hit. He walked over and moved your body a little. "Try again" he handed you another knife. You threw the knife and finally hit the tree. "Keep that stance, do it again" he handed you another one. You missed, but just barely. "You're improving, but we need to work on it more when its daylight again. We will start with guns tomorrow when I get back from grocery shopping. I want you to work on your knives, and imagine you are throwing it at Shawn while I'm gone"
"I can go shopping with you" you looked at him, and went over to pick up the knives.
"I'd rather you stayed here and kept an eye on Soren, and kept your wolves out of the mine field" he shook his head.
"Why don't you disarm them?" you walked back to him and handed him back his knives.
"I have a feeling that neighbor might come back, I'm not taking any chances" he shook his head. "He took my Luna, I don't want them taking Soren from me too. It's been a while since I've had a companion, I forgot how much I liked it" he admitted softly.
"I'm glad he didn't give you a choice. Jasper and Snow didn't either" you admitted. "I wouldn't change that for the world"
"I knew you liked me" Soren spoke from his shoulder.
"Don't let it get to your head" your uncle Brad growled and started leading the way in back inside. You whistled and the pack came immediately. "You sure you're okay with the couch?" he asked as he went into the kitchen to make you both a cup of tea.
"Yeah, I don't want to impose. I just wanted a few days away, and to see you" you gave a smile.
"The wolves wont fit up there" he warned you.
"To be honest, I might end up on the floor. I have a lot of nightmares" you admitted.
"After everything you've been through, I can only imagine you would" he sighed. "What do I do if you have one?"
"Let me scream it out, the wolves help once I start coming around" you spoke softly. "Bucky sometimes sleeps with me and it helps"
"You sleep with Shawn too?" he asked after a while of boiling the water.
"No" you blushed. "We made out, and snuggled. We never slept together. I was glad of that when I found out he was cheating, even more so now that I know he worked for Hydra all that time, and I was just another target. Bucky and I haven't had sex either. Its been a few years" you admitted pulling your pills out of your backpack to take after your tea.
"Don't rush into anything" he warned you.
"I'm not, but Bucky is different from any guy I've dated" you blushed. "He even slept with the pack when we were just friends to help with the nightmares" you admitted.
"You should cherish this time with him, not be here with an old man" he grinned making your tea the way you always liked it before making his own.
"I happen to still love you old man. I know you like your space, that's why I normally just send you letters. I didn't even tell mama about that" you gave a grin.
"You can tell her now, and tell her I'm okay. I'm not ready for all that new technology or getting a phone again. Maybe someday. I'll be calling my kids tomorrow while I'm in town" he gave a small smile. "The payphone still works good for them"
"I'll give you my new number, you can call me too" you smiled at him.
"I don't know if I'm ready to try that yet. But I'll take it anyways" he smiled at you and you started drinking your tea, bringing it to the table to sit down. He pulled out a deck of cards and started dealing out cards. "Crazy eights" he announced, and you picked up your hand.
"Are you ready for tomorrow?" Clint asked while he was sitting with Scott, Sam, Steve, and Bucky in Steve's bedroom listening to the record player. Bucky was in the middle of feeding Blue, rocking him slightly.
"I'm more than ready, I know Tinman is too" Sam nodded, looking up from his phone. "I texted Y/N to see how she's doing, and to tell her to take her time coming home"
"She's going to know something's up when she gets all these texts. I sent her one too" Steve admitted.
"I think we all did" Scott grimaced. "I also told her I was looking forward for her to be back in the gym"
"Don't forget you get Blue tonight, but tomorrow night I get him" Clint looked to Bucky.
"He needs to eat a lot during the night" Bucky looked to him.
"Just like a newborn, I'm used to it with my kids" Clint shrugged.
"He also needs the warmth" Bucky warned him.
"You're acting like his father. Don't worry so much" Scott quipped. "Isn't that right Blue? He's your papa"
"Don't go that far" Bucky blushed.
"We've been calling you papa to him for a while" Sam grinned. "Call it an experiment" he chuckled.
"Y/N would be so confused if he started asking for a papa" Steve grinned.
"I'll take the blame for it" Scott chuckled. "I came up with the idea with Sam"
"He wont know the difference" Bucky sighed softly.
"He will when he gets bigger. As long as you don't fuck up the relationship, you'd make a good dad to him" Clint shrugged.
"Language" Steve looked over. "He doesn't plan on it anyways. He's never looked at a dame the way he looks at her"
"Have you seen her?" Bucky asked looking up finally. "Have you met her? She lights up the room just walking into it. Her smile makes my insides feel like they are melting" he admitted. "It's a nice feeling"
"She only has eyes for you, that's for sure" Sam smiled. "We could all see it once you both stopped fighting so damn much"
"We need to stay focused tomorrow" Steve spoke up after a long silence. "I know you are flying Nat out Clint, but the four of us have a few people to interrogate too. It's a good thing they are all in the same city"
"Are we going undercover, or in uniform?" Sam asked gently.
"Bring your equipment, but undercover" Steve thought about it for a moment.
"I'm bringing my knives" Bucky warned him. "I already set off metal detectors anyways" he shrugged, and got another bottle for Blue.
"Don't forget the meet up in the morning with the boys to get the pups used to each other and the different scents" Steve reminded him.
"Just knock on my door, I'll probably be up already" Bucky admitted. He paused for a moment before continuing. "Do you think she's okay?"
"Of course she is kid, she's away from civilization and with family" Clint smiled at him. "Here, let me take a picture of you and Blue, and you can send it to her. She'll love it when she comes out" he reached for Bucky's phone and took a few pictures.
"Thank you" Bucky gave a smile. "I told her I would send pictures. She sent me a text that she was almost there today, but I don't think any of my replies made it to her"
"Lets just hope she stays in the mountains as long as possible. We want to make sure Shawn is on the raft before she gets home" Scott sighed.
You woke up a few times during the night screaming. Despite what you said, your Uncle Brad came running into the living room regardless and put his arm around you while the wolves spoke softly to you that you were safe. You only leaned into him and cried a bit before assuring him you were fine and he would go back to bed with Soren on his shoulder. You could tell their bond was getting stronger just by looking at the two of them. You finally gave in, and slept on the floor with the wolves surrounding you. Jasper and Snow surprised you by licking your tears from your face, and taking your right side while Melody snuggled into your left. Cloud never missed a beat and slept under your head. You felt safer surrounded by them, and slept a bit better with them. When you woke up in the morning your uncle was putting a roll of knives on the coffee table, and looked dressed for going into town.
"I didn't mean to wake you" he gave a small smile.
"I wake up early normally" you admitted.
"Shower is still in the same place, I want you working on the knives this morning. Soren is going to stay with you while I'm in town. I won't be too long, just long enough to make a call and get some extra groceries" he warned you. "We will have breakfast when I get back"
"Sure, thank you" you nodded and sat up off the floor. You saw your uncle put Soren on his perch in the living room and walk out the front door. You gave a yawn, and stopped to give each of the wolves a kiss on the muzzle as they all sat up.
"It's weird not to wake up with Blue here" Snow spoke gently.
"He was too young for the journey" you gave a small smile. "I do miss him though" you admitted. "I'm sure Bucky and Clint are taking good care of him"
"Come on pup, go take your shower. I have a feeling Soren and I have a lot to talk about" Cloud announced, and you saw Soren look at him curiously.
"What do we need to talk about?" Soren asked.
"The bond, and what it entails" Cloud told him gently while you took out a pair of jeans, socks, t-shirt, bra, and panties out of your bag.
"Brad talked a lot about it, I decided on my own I wanted to be his companion" he flapped his wings a little.
"Do you know you will live longer with him? As long as he lives, you live" Cloud asked him.
"He mentioned it. That's why he was so lost without his Luna. I could tell he needed a new companion, humans like this are rare. I knew of the legends before I met him. I didn't know more than one companion could be bonded to a human at a time" Soren looked to you while you stood up and headed for the upstairs.
"Its more dangerous, her pain is our pain, and our pain is her pain" Jasper spoke up. "We feel her emotions, and she feels ours. So far, we only feel that of love. Sometimes confusion, except when she got shot again. Then we felt sadness and rage"
"Cloud felt it more than we did" Melody spoke softly. "Me more than Jasper and Snow. Our bonds are still growing with her"
"I'll be right back" you had stopped to listen for a moment.
"I know Brad feels my wounded wing, he favors his arm since I bonded myself to him" you heard Soren as you headed up the stairs to the bathroom.
When you got out of the shower, you took the time to dry off completely and look around. Your uncle still kept the house nice and clean regardless of his hermit status. You gave yourself a small smile, and headed back downstairs, putting your dirty clothes in a separate part of your bag. The pack was still talking to Soren about what it was like and what it took to be a companion. He seemed to already be knowledgeable in this area, having listened to Brad talk so much about it.
"I'm going to practice with the knives, did you all want to come?" you asked as you picked up the roll of knives. "Uncle Brad expects me to be working on this"
"Do you always do as your asked?" Soren looked at you.
"Normally, if I know its in my best interest" you nodded. "I'll carry you out and put you on the picnic table" you held out your arm and he jumped onto it. You tried not to grimace as his claws went into your arm. Cloud let out a groan, but kept his thoughts to himself. You walked outside and waited for the pack to follow you before closing the door. They all went over to the river to do their business and lounge around again. You put Soren on the picnic table and started practicing on the tree again. You were getting better, and hitting the tree more often and felt proud of that fact. You couldn't wait to show Clint and Bucky your progress. You kept mindful of your stance as you went.
When the truck pulled up you saw your Uncle Brad look over, and nod approvingly as you continued to practice on the tree. He brought his groceries inside and stayed there for a while. You lost track of time as you went. You had gone to pick up all the knives again, noticing the blisters on your fingers from throwing for so long, when you came back your uncle was setting down two plates of bacon and eggs with toast. He handed Soren his fish, and he gave you your eight packages of steaks already cut up for the wolves. You whistled and the pack came running over and you put it down for each of them. They started eating hungrily.
"How was practice?" he finally asked as you started eating.
"I think I'm getting better" you admitted.
"Looked like it" he nodded approvingly. "You sure you weren't followed here?" he looked up at you expectantly.
"There was just the one car taking a country drive behind me. Why?" you asked him curiously.
"Few strange people in town I haven't seen before. Its probably nothing. I don't like new people though" he admitted.
"Everyone knows not to come up here" you gave a smile. "Except me of course" you giggled.
"We are going to start with guns after breakfast" he said after a pause. "I don't like that you don't know how to use one"
"I told you, the wolves don't like the sound" you shook your head.
"Neither does Soren, but they will have to get used to it" he looked at you seriously. "I don't want to find out your powers got discovered because you couldn't get out of a fight in some back alley. A gun is quicker and scary enough most people back off"
"I'm good at defensive and offensive moves" you frowned.
"You still need to know how to handle a gun" he wasn't budging from that. You groaned, but knew you were giving in.