We'll See About That.

Max considered Daniel’s words carefully, turning them over in his head. Most of the camp leaving him or needing to be left behind wasn’t that big of a wash. He already knew most of them would likely drop out when the end of summer came around; he just expected that when the fresh faces came back, he’d just have fresh meat to start the cycle up all over again. But as much as he hated to admit it, Daniel was right.

He was capable of so much more. And he wanted it.

He nodded slowly in reply, turning the wood over in his hands. He re-framed his thinking when he realized he felt his heart sink; Daniel wasn’t saying that the place was a failure, that he’d wasted his time. He meant that there was even better results on the near horizon, if he was willing to work with it. Max blinked in realization that he even had to re-script his thoughts. Why was he seeking Daniel’s approval? That was stupid, and most of all dangerous. 

“I’ve been using the concept of family and community here,” Max admitted, and hung the blank plaque back up on the wall, sitting down on the raised platform across from Daniel, looking up at him. “So many of the kids come from broken homes or shitty parents. Someone who knows, I know exactly what they need. But I also know some of them don’t; Erid and Nerris are two notable few who I know I’m going to lose when fall comes. But that’s not that big of a loss.”

Max paused again, clearly thinking hard on whatever it was. He was searching for that thing that he’d kept out of reach of everyone, the Ultimate Goal that was secretly unreachable. But there wasn’t any. Anyone could join given the right amount of dedication, Anyone could reach any non-leadership rank with the right amount of work. They were granted the feeling of community and once they hit a certain point, the only thing he had for them were more little trinkets to add to their ceremonial dress. The holes in his plan were starting to become more evident the more he twisted Daniel’s words for every drop of insight they’d give.

And on the topic of questioning him- yes, he was prepared for questioning. He had books upon books of facts, information that twisted up each accusation and deflected it, he was good at playing an honest game. But that’s where the fault came, wasn’t it? His Pack was subject to infiltration, the exact same flaw Daniel’s day bore, this time to the extreme with the lack of a sacrificial deadline.

Liars.

Someone parroting his teachings to get in close, enough to cause damage to him, or to his structural support in Nikki and Neil. At this point, Max couldn’t do without them. Or someone who got close enough to do damage to David too- his first little project, his inspiration, and someone he’d unintentionally ended up with a fondness for. David…

And Daniel right now was the most likely to do both of those things. While at the same time giving actual, genuine advice. It made Max’s inherent paranoia spike and his head spin. He shook his head and scowled.

“Holy shit…” He shook his head and looked up at Daniel, knowing that while he was a god on this soil, there was plenty of unclaimed domain out in the real world. And as much as he hated to admit it, Daniel very well may be his ticket to that larger claim. More silence, another pause as he weighted his options. And then he decided.

“Where do I go from here? You know what the fuck you’re doing, where can I do better right now that’ll set me up for the next step?”

Max may have considered himself a God at Camp Campbell, but Daniel was the Prophet, receiving the Word of God through visions and leading the people in God’s way. He knew God - and Max was no God. He was the ass wearing a lion’s skin. Or, a wolf’s skin, as it were. And while Max might have fully believed in the power he thought he had, Daniel was able to see through it easily. Already in his mind were words and truths and scathing lies to undo all the work that Max had done here. 

He wouldn’t, of course. There was no ends to those means. Tearing down what Max had here would only drive a wedge between them, and right now, Daniel needed the kid’s trust. Just temporarily. There were things that he could do to bring Max around, but they’d take time. After his last visit to Camp Campbell, he was sure that Max wouldn’t trust him as far as he could throw him, but all that would change in due time. 

Daniel smiled, and regarded Max with a curious eye. “I do know what I’m doing, Max. I’m glad you realize this. I know how easy it is to be prideful when you find yourself in a position of power. And take it from me, friend, that’s not a mistake you want to make.” 

The pastor had been prideful once. His first taste of real power, the first time he realized he could hold the flame of someone’s life in his hands and strangle it, snuffing it out completely. He’d been proud of himself, his abilities, and it felt like he was untouchable. He’d let himself get messy, and he’d almost slipped through the cracks and let himself become nothing more than another five o’ clock news story. 

But he’d learned from his mistakes, and he’d taken his facade to new heights. He’d become the Priest and Prophet that so many exalted, and now he intended to hold tight to it.

“If you really want my advice, Max,” he started, something almost resembling sympathy to his voice. He knew Max wanted his advice, more than he was letting on. He could see the flaws in his plan now, and it was the perfect opportunity to set up the rest. Daniel moved, hands behind his back as he started pacing, an old habit. “I think you should do your research. Think of the most successful groups - if you even know any. Hmm,” he sounded disappointed for a moment, and moved on. “Heaven’s Gate. The Church of Scientology. The Manson Family, if you want a more extreme example. Do you think any of them held control over their followers through friendship and unity?” 

He sounded almost amused. Even Daniel’s church - while yes, offered solidarity and safety among his congregation - wasn’t built on the power of friendship alone. He preyed on religious fear, the threat of eternal damnation and the promise of eternal paradise basking in God’s Glory leading his parishioners like a carrot and stick. Daniel was a Prophet of God. His word was the Word of the Lord, and anyone who disobeyed him disobeyed God. Simple as that. 

It wasn’t to say that he never had dissenters. Everyone in his line of work did, eventually. But he knew how to handle them easily enough. What was more important than anything was the work. 

“Much more through the fear of dying alone and unaccepted,” Max stated plainly, in reply to Daniel’s question on friendship and unity. “Have you seen my Pack? Outside of this place they all feel like they’re freaks, with some exceptions. They’re begging for any chance to be part of something that won’t toss them to the curb for following the wrong trend.” Still, as big as he spoke Max knew the value of what Daniel was saying, and so he kept listening.

Max didn’t believe in organized religion, real or phony. It was too easy to rationalize his way out of its traps, too easy to just stop believing; it was too feeling-based. And feelings changed. Facts didn’t. So that’s what he wanted to hold so firmly onto, and that is what his biggest defense against Daniel was. His books and books of facts. Manipulated facts, skewed and misleading graphs and charts, but facts nonetheless. You can’t argue with facts. And Max came bearing plenty. He could talk circles around nearly anyone at this point, anyone who was smart enough to keep themselves on equal intellectual ground. And anyone too dull to manage that Max usually could twist and turn over even easier. Or, if he couldn’t, make a mockery and example out of. That part was the easiest of all.

At Daniel’s last question, Max paused. He knew what class of people he wanted to fall into- no, that he was fated to fall into. He looked up at Daniel, dead in the eyes, with a low and determined fire behind him. He snatched up that craving for approval, and scorched it in that fire, turning it on its head.

Don’t look. The only thing that made David - being David - want to look more. He was concerned, obviously, for the safety of the camper. He wanted to be sure that Max was…well…okay!

“Had one that you and Neil died,” he mumbled, slumping a little. “It’s whatever, just a stupid dream.” He shook his head and shrugged again. “And I mean, it’s already better than last year- have something to look forward to after unlike last year.”

“Yo-Your parents? That…That’s terrible, Max!” David said, his mouth forming a perfect ‘o’ as he looked at Max. Why was he so happy about this? What were his parent’s like? Did they seriously dislike him? He didn’t want to think about it. He didn’t want to think about Max being hated and neglected by his parents. He thought the fact he never heard from his parents meant they trusted in the camp! He never…It never even crossed his mind!

So uhh camp camp?

That sort of stuff gets in your head, and doesn’t really ever go away…

Floaty bleachy boy? Yes good. Tbh I’m just playing with tools and colors on this one.

Admittedly, Max hadn’t thought of when they went home. For Max, there was no going home. He considered Daniel’s words; he was the one with experience after all. He knew what he was doing, he had done it many many more times than Max could ever hope to have done this early in his life. He nodded slowly.

“That makes sense.” He replied, acknowledging when he had come up short. “And, not all of them. I know not all of them. More than you could at this moment, enough to keep them away from you, but….” but there could always be more. Max wanted there to be more.

“My two second in command are unwaveringly loyal.” He answered, eyes fixed mostly on the rankings board, deep in thought but still glancing at Daniel to keep him from wandering off alone. “That I earned even before this. In like, real genuine thing, those two are ride-or-die.” Still, he hesitated. Were they really? He shook his head and laughed lightly; Daniel might just be planting doubt to get him to faulter so he could snap down, or stepping in to ruin Space Kid’s special night.

But even still…

Max turned to Daniel, a determination in his gaze. “What do you recommend?” He asked, and the question was genuine. He knew that Daniel was more experienced, he knew that the man knew damn well what he was doing. Max was flying blind for the most part; it was just lucky that he had a natural taste for flight. But that wouldn’t last. He needed more information.

Max might have been flying blind, but he was doing a good job of it at least. He was rough around the edges, sure, but Daniel wouldn’t really expect otherwise. He was young, and at that age, any taste of power could make you feel like a God. Make you feel untouchable. Daniel knew. But for someone lke Max, he could only imagine what power high the kid was experiencing with the others wrapped around his finger. But it wouldn’t last, and slowly, Max would begin to realize that, even without Daniel. But by then, it’d have been far too late. His control would slip through his fingers too easily. 

He was asking for Daniel’s advice. That alone was a great leap forward. He nodded, listening to him. Neil and Nikki, he was sure. Even the last time that he’d been here, they’d stood by his side until the very last moment, when Daniel had finally gotten his hands on them.

“You want my advice?” He asked coolly. “You’re not going to like it. But you need to change your point of view. This isn’t your magnum opus here. This is nothing more than training. You’re either going to lose them, or you’re going to abandon them, and there’s nothing wrong with either. If you want power, you need to realize that you are capable of bigger and better things.” 

“It’s a lot of work, but it’s easy if you know what you’re doing. Give people something they need. Dangle it over their heads, just out of reach. Tell them tat they can achieve it, and that you’re here to help them. They’ll need you. They’ll love you. And then you’ll have them under your heel. Simple as that.”

He was capable of so much more. And he wanted it.

He nodded slowly in reply, turning the wood over in his hands. He re-framed his thinking when he realized he felt his heart sink; Daniel wasn’t saying that the place was a failure, that he’d wasted his time. He meant that there was even better results on the near horizon, if he was willing to work with it. Max blinked in realization that he even had to re-script his thoughts. Why was he seeking Daniel’s approval? That was stupid, and most of all dangerous. 

“I’ve been using the concept of family and community here,” Max admitted, and hung the blank plaque back up on the wall, sitting down on the raised platform across from Daniel, looking up at him. “So many of the kids come from broken homes or shitty parents. Someone who knows, I know exactly what they need. But I also know some of them don’t; Erid and Nerris are two notable few who I know I’m going to lose when fall comes. But that’s not that big of a loss.”

Max paused again, clearly thinking hard on whatever it was. He was searching for that thing that he’d kept out of reach of everyone, the Ultimate Goal that was secretly unreachable. But there wasn’t any. Anyone could join given the right amount of dedication, Anyone could reach any non-leadership rank with the right amount of work. They were granted the feeling of community and once they hit a certain point, the only thing he had for them were more little trinkets to add to their ceremonial dress. The holes in his plan were starting to become more evident the more he twisted Daniel’s words for every drop of insight they’d give.

And on the topic of questioning him- yes, he was prepared for questioning. He had books upon books of facts, information that twisted up each accusation and deflected it, he was good at playing an honest game. But that’s where the fault came, wasn’t it? His Pack was subject to infiltration, the exact same flaw Daniel’s day bore, this time to the extreme with the lack of a sacrificial deadline.

Liars.

Someone parroting his teachings to get in close, enough to cause damage to him, or to his structural support in Nikki and Neil. At this point, Max couldn’t do without them. Or someone who got close enough to do damage to David too- his first little project, his inspiration, and someone he’d unintentionally ended up with a fondness for. David...

And Daniel right now was the most likely to do both of those things. While at the same time giving actual, genuine advice. It made Max’s inherent paranoia spike and his head spin. He shook his head and scowled.

“Holy shit...” He shook his head and looked up at Daniel, knowing that while he was a god on this soil, there was plenty of unclaimed domain out in the real world. And as much as he hated to admit it, Daniel very well may be his ticket to that larger claim. More silence, another pause as he weighted his options. And then he decided.

“You don’t get to call me that.” Max snapped, voice sharp as a dagger. “You’re an outsider. You don’t get to speak our names.” He was hostile but not panicked, stern but not explosively angry. Daniel couldn’t have been expected to know that, but Max wouldn’t put up with that disrespect in the face of his cover plot.

Still, he accepted the praise with confidence, keeping his head held high and relaxed after his initial snip. “I know I’m doing pretty well for myself here. And you’d be surprised what all these kids can do. I gotta admit, I think most operations are really underutilizing their youth population, or using them the wrong way.” The boy had done his homework.

“I wonder how yours would compare? Different, I’m sure; you run it religiously right? Fuck that, personally. But I’m always pretty curious; I wasn’t able to get any info on you guys over there except a pamphlet or two.”

Max chuckled to himself, and lead Daniel around the room as they spoke, letting him get a closeup of the details. The place was lived in. Homey. Safe. Everything troubled kids would need, a kind and loving environment. The perfect tool, and aesthetically clever.

At the mention of David, Max nodded in agreement. “Yeah no shit,” he replied with a half smirk. “It only took me five minutes to turn him on you. David’s baby stuff. You know who was hard? Erid and Harrison. A lot harder to work with people who are closed off and don’t have obvious weak points. Gwen too but she doesn’t actually care enough and she’s going to be out of the picture pretty soon.” He shrugged, seeming pretty content with his little kingdom. After looping the room he ended up back in front of the ranking board, and he strode forward, picking up the blank plaque off the wall.

“Today Space Kid is getting his Pack Name.” Max informed, looking fondly at the piece. “He’s the last one of us to officially leave the pup ranking and become a full fledged member. I’m really proud of him. He may have started early but he had a lot of struggles early on. Partially my fault I’ll admit, I didn’t guide him right. But hey, can’t do everything perfect the first time around. It got easier. And now, he’s a success story like all the rest.” He looked up at Daniel and calmly grinned, wondering how he’d respond.

Daniel ultimately ignored his reprimand. He just hummed, regarding Max, and the boy could see the gleam of criticism in his eyes. For all the raise, the pastor still saw his company as nothing more than a kid. A kid with potential, sure, but a kid nonetheless, young and inexperienced and naive. He wouldn’t be surprised to find out that Max had had his manipulative streak, even before the ‘pack,’ but that hardly constituted experience in running an operation like this. 

He tsked, shaking his head. “And there’s your first mistake, Max.” he said, giving the kid a sympathetic frown. He leaned in a bit. “Between you and me, there’s no such thin as a success story.” His voice was grave, more serious than he’d ever been at Camp Campbell. This was always serious business. “Just a temporary victory. You’re confident, and if you let that get in the way of your work, it will end very, very badly for you.”

He stood straight and moved away from Max, wandering the room, admiring - examining - the various decor. He seemed distant, aloof as he considered the possibilities. “No matter how obedient your fiends are, sooner or later someone is going to start questioning you. What then? What’s going to happen when the summer ends? What’s going to happen when they go home? Do you really think any of your little friends are going to keep using their names?” 

Daniel stopped in his tracks, and looked back at the pack leader. 

“That makes sense.” He replied, acknowledging when he had come up short. “And, not all of them. I know not all of them. More than you could at this moment, enough to keep them away from you, but....” but there could always be more. Max wanted there to be more.

“My two second in command are unwaveringly loyal.” He answered, eyes fixed mostly on the rankings board, deep in thought but still glancing at Daniel to keep him from wandering off alone. “That I earned even before this. In like, real genuine thing, those two are ride-or-die.” Still, he hesitated. Were they really? He shook his head and laughed lightly; Daniel might just be planting doubt to get him to faulter so he could snap down, or stepping in to ruin Space Kid’s special night.

But even still...

Max grinned and beckoned Daniel to walk beside him- not behind him certainly. As he turned, another feature of his getup became clear- hanging in a sort of long cluster, six rabbit’s feet. They were natural colors, likely real. He walked with a confident stride, leading him first towards the main building.

“I don’t know why you’d be interested in me,” he began, feigning humility. “All I did was give the others some direction and a reason to stop trying to kill each other.” He snorted again and swished the faux tail, looking a little out of place next to the real fur at his side that jingled softly on its chains.

“But the Den? Now that’s a sight.” This Max was clearly proud of. “This was the hardest to really set up, but I just recently got it right.”

He threw open the doors, and there was sounds of some of the campers preparing whatever they’d be eating in the connected kitchen filling the room. Preston had begun singing, and instead of berating him, someone had joined in a harmony to try and keep him on key. It… sort of worked. It did however create an eerie tone through the large building, which was vastly different than before. The tables were still present close to the window connecting kitchen and the rest, but the remainder of the room was altered- round tables were placed here and there, some with beanbag chairs and some with regular ones, a few varied couches scattered about, angled towards a small raised platform, vaguely imitating a pulpit. The place was clean but cluttered around, looking lived in. Behind the platform stood a rankings board, with names burned in wood, but they weren’t the names of the campers; not their given names at least.

At the very top was listed “Bluefur”, with a design of a paw below in the bottom right corner. Below that directly, were two more- “Wolfspoken” and “Binarypaw”. The ranks filled out, having 12 placards total. Notable features were “Pinefur”, listed just below and to the left of Wolfspoken, “Faeeye” with a very small “the cute” inscribed below it (the only one with such an addition), and a small blank piece of wood st the very very bottom. In the corners were wood burned doodles of stars and planets.

On the wall were doodles and paintings, as if the campers were permitted to mark the place as their own. One corner had a graffiti tag, the name matching one on the rankings wall. Another was just drawings, idle things. Still another had knife marks, just stabbings in the wood. Around the walls elsewhere were posters, designed by someone with an artistic skillset different than Max’s. Still it spread the message, subtly and kindly; you live for the Pack and the Pack lives for you. The Pack cares about you. Outsiders don’t. You are safe with the Pack, the Den is home. Cooperation, consideration, and Compliance.

Giving Daniel a moment to process the sight, Max looked up and smiled. “Isn’t this just cozy? The place is a safe place for everyone. It’s one of my favorite things I put together.”

Max gazed upon the room like a god surveying his creation, and sighed in contentment. It was good.

It wasn’t for show; he was genuinely shocked at the sight of the ‘den.’ 

He couldn’t help but remember how, the last time he’d been here, the camp had been terribly run down. Where Camp Campbell had gotten half the resources for this spectacle was far beyond him. Max worked quick, Daniel would give him that.

Daniel could take a loose guess at what aspects of the place belonged to which campers. The names, the crafts, things of that sort. It was clean-cut, stylistically independent. Not that any of it mattered, but it was interesting. Unity always had its limits.

“It’s impressive!” Daniel nodded, offering his praise. “I’ll admit, you did a great job! It barely even looks like Camp Campbell anymore.” He paused, examining the board for a moment as he took in such an interesting development. “Bluefur, I’m assuming?” He chuckled. “Does that still count, considering the new color scheme?” 

A little lighthearted humor never hurt anyone - especially not in Daniel’s line of work. Not that Max was exactly one for idle chit-chat to begin with, of course, but old habits die hard, he supposed. 

Regardless, Daniel took it all in. The boy was ten years old. Ten, and already in command of some rather impressively militant followers. How long had it been since he’d left Camp Campbell in that ambulance? What had happened here? What had Max done to change things so drastically? 

All in due time, Daniel. Patience was a virtue. 

He took a breath and smiled down at the kid. “Well! You’re certainly off to a good start! Believe me, Max, once you really learn how to handle people, the possibilities are endless.” Daniel had gotten quite a few people to take drastic measures under his control, and there was no point hiding it from the kid now. He knew exactly what kind of game Daniel played. Max had taken a page out of the pastor’s book, after all. 

He shrugged. “I mean, don’t get me wrong, you’re doing well, but…” he trailed off for a moment, seeming hesitant to speak. “Well, David isn’t exactly the hardest person to influence. I mean, I was here for less than a day last time and I had him squirming. He bet his precious camp against me. Not the brightest bulb in the lamp, you know.” 

Still, he accepted the praise with confidence, keeping his head held high and relaxed after his initial snip. “I know I’m doing pretty well for myself here. And you’d be surprised what all these kids can do. I gotta admit, I think most operations are really underutilizing their youth population, or using them the wrong way.” The boy had done his homework.

“I wonder how yours would compare? Different, I’m sure; you run it religiously right? Fuck that, personally. But I’m always pretty curious; I wasn’t able to get any info on you guys over there except a pamphlet or two.”

Max chuckled to himself, and lead Daniel around the room as they spoke, letting him get a closeup of the details. The place was lived in. Homey. Safe. Everything troubled kids would need, a kind and loving environment. The perfect tool, and aesthetically clever.

At the mention of David, Max nodded in agreement. “Yeah no shit,” he replied with a half smirk. “It only took me five minutes to turn him on you. David’s baby stuff. You know who was hard? Erid and Harrison. A lot harder to work with people who are closed off and don’t have obvious weak points. Gwen too but she doesn’t actually care enough and she’s going to be out of the picture pretty soon.” He shrugged, seeming pretty content with his little kingdom. After looping the room he ended up back in front of the ranking board, and he strode forward, picking up the blank plaque off the wall.

David scarcely dared to look back up and wave at Daniel in reply before walking away with the rest of his group. Max was watching him closely.

Max returned his gaze properly to Daniel once the groups had left and left him alone with the man. Despite being alone, Max still stood unwaveringly confident. This was his domain, his realm. This is where he was the most powerful, and he knew it. Here on the camp grounds, Max was like a god.

“It’s only reasonable you’d be interested,” Max replied, seeming much more calm and laid back now that the rest of the Pack had gone off to do their duties for the day. “It was you who inspired me to put it all together. So thank you!” The sinister gleam in Max’s eyes deepened, just slightly. But the thanks was genuine; despite not trusting him in the slightest, Max was appreciative that Daniel had come into his life to try and ruin it. After all…

“You showed me how easy it was to rally so many people together, just like that. What was it that you said to me? ‘Appealed to their emotions and showed them the light’, right? You certainly showed me the light that day.” He shifted his stance and glanced around once more, double checking they were alone.

“And most importantly, you showed me how easy it is to get David to do whatever the fuck I want him to do.”

It was a low blow, petty, but Max held a grudge. As much has he adored the power, as much as he selfishly manipulated every member in the Pack, Camp Campbell was as close to home as he’d ever gotten. No one gets between Max and what he wants, and what he wanted most of all was the safety of his Pack. Because as long as they were safe, so was his way of life.

Max grinned and took a step forward. “Anyway, the ceremony starts at dusk. What would you like to do until then? It’s really only the outside of everything that hasn’t changed much; I could give you the tour, if you care to snoop around.”

Daniel wasn’t sure if it was meant to be an insult or a stroke to his ego, but either way he was willing to believe Max’s crowing, for the moment. Daniel had ‘showed him the light.’ How deliciously ironic. He hadn’t come to Camp Campbell last time looking to become an inspiration. He’d come to be adored and to win over ten gullible little children. Looks like one of them got wise. 

As Max advanced on Daniel, the man didn’t even flinch. It was a little hard to be to terribly intimidated by a ten year old loosely dressed like a puppy. But he appreciated the effort. There was something to be said about the uniformity of the little group Max had started. Make them feel like they’re part of something bigger than themselves, more important, more direct. It was a surprisingly smart move for someone with a strip of fluff hanging at his back. 

His gaze was keen as he regarded the other. So many questions, so many possibilities between the then and the now. It was a general rule of thumb, for Daniel, that he didn’t like not knowing. He didn’t like being left in the dark, being cast into the murk of uncertainty. But sometimes curiosity was thrilling. 

Max had always seemed a natural leader. Even when he watched his two friends finally swayed to Daniel’s side, he’d tried to think on his feet, tried to plot and scheme for as long as he could to remain independent. And it was an invaluable skill, really. One that, Daniel was pleased to see, he was finally learning to take advantage of. 

“I don’t know why you’d be interested in me,” he began, feigning humility. “All I did was give the others some direction and a reason to stop trying to kill each other.” He snorted again and swished the faux tail, looking a little out of place next to the real fur at his side that jingled softly on its chains.

“But the Den? Now that’s a sight.” This Max was clearly proud of. “This was the hardest to really set up, but I just recently got it right.”

He threw open the doors, and there was sounds of some of the campers preparing whatever they’d be eating in the connected kitchen filling the room. Preston had begun singing, and instead of berating him, someone had joined in a harmony to try and keep him on key. It... sort of worked. It did however create an eerie tone through the large building, which was vastly different than before. The tables were still present close to the window connecting kitchen and the rest, but the remainder of the room was altered- round tables were placed here and there, some with beanbag chairs and some with regular ones, a few varied couches scattered about, angled towards a small raised platform, vaguely imitating a pulpit. The place was clean but cluttered around, looking lived in. Behind the platform stood a rankings board, with names burned in wood, but they weren’t the names of the campers; not their given names at least.

At the very top was listed “Bluefur”, with a design of a paw below in the bottom right corner. Below that directly, were two more- “Wolfspoken” and “Binarypaw”. The ranks filled out, having 12 placards total. Notable features were “Pinefur”, listed just below and to the left of Wolfspoken, “Faeeye” with a very small “the cute” inscribed below it (the only one with such an addition), and a small blank piece of wood st the very very bottom. In the corners were wood burned doodles of stars and planets.

On the wall were doodles and paintings, as if the campers were permitted to mark the place as their own. One corner had a graffiti tag, the name matching one on the rankings wall. Another was just drawings, idle things. Still another had knife marks, just stabbings in the wood. Around the walls elsewhere were posters, designed by someone with an artistic skillset different than Max’s. Still it spread the message, subtly and kindly; you live for the Pack and the Pack lives for you. The Pack cares about you. Outsiders don’t. You are safe with the Pack, the Den is home. Cooperation, consideration, and Compliance.

Giving Daniel a moment to process the sight, Max looked up and smiled. “Isn’t this just cozy? The place is a safe place for everyone. It’s one of my favorite things I put together.”

a girl who, every day, would choose a random person to follow around and sing the entirety of “hollaback girl” at

a girl who sprayed half a can of axe directly up her nose because she was bored (and would have sprayed the entire can had she not passed out)

a boy who stole a counselor’s frappuccino and drank the whole thing in one long sip because she said kids shouldn’t have coffee

a girl whose lunch was always three whole vegetables that she would eat like apples no matter what the vegetables were