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Douglas watched Charles with anticipation, holding his breath tightly as he waited for his answer, expecting either a no or a yes equally. Itâd never been his place to shoot the gun; he was supposed to track, locate, and physically take down Charlesâ targets if the situation called for it. Heâd only stare in awe when his hunter braced himself to shoot with precision, taking down creatures bigger than both of them combined with a well-placed shot.
 âSeriously?â Doug said, his eyes lighting up with excitement when Charles moved to retrieve the Falconâs twin, his answer contrary to his expectations. He blinked, his heart jumping into his throat as his grip tightened around the rifle in his hands as he looked down at it again. He nodded once, his lips curling in between his teeth as he set his mind to be ready for a challenge heâs never had before. There was some instinctual resistance, like the wolf in him was butting heads with the human part of him. Surely, he had been trained to lean more on his animal instincts throughout his early years with the manâs guidance, but he had noticed a shift towards training and refining him as a young man, too, over the last few years. âIf you think I can, then I will,â Doug said with another affirming nod, smiling up at him before he finished packing away his bag and slung it over his shoulder.Â
The first part of any hunt was always pleasant; they were just setting out, which meant there was wiggle room to talk until he caught a scent or found a trail to follow. His hand rested on the strap of the rifle, overly aware of its presence - whether out of instinctual fear as guns with silver bullets could easily be the death of him, or out of the sheer pressure of living up to Charlesâ expectations - he wasnât fully certain of. He tried to embrace his nervousness as excitement, though. âWhat was the first creature you ever hunted?â Douglas asked idly as he stepped over a fallen log and looked back at his guardian. âWhat made you decide this was what you were meant to do?â
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Charles wasnât in the business of catering to his wolves or treating them as equals, but Douglas had always been different, ever since he was a pup, Charles knew. This boy was his legacy. He was malleable and held onto a certain sense of his humanity that the hunter scarcely saw in any of the other wolves heâd raised over the years. And the boyâs loyalty knew no bounds. The surprise of Douglas curled up and waiting for him at the end of a busy day had become something the collector grew fond of and began to expect. And, thus, they had built a different relationship than the man had had with any of the ones before Doug.
âYou know that I donât say things I donât mean.â Charles replied easily, his smile apparent on his features as he registered the mixture of glee and nerves that simultaneously threaded their way through his boy. âYouâve nothing to worry about. I have taught you well.â There had been target practices and the like, but Doug had never been asked to shoot down any of their prey â Charles had always wondered if he actually had it in him. He had a hard enough time trying to bring one down by his strength alone, always relying on Alphonse or one of the others to do the dirty part for him. Charles was hoping to strip him of this final burden, like the one missing piece before the puzzle was perfect and complete.
âI have full confidence in you, my boy.â This was as close to familial as Charles had gotten, never calling Doug son though heâd thought about it a million times before. He had no family, to speak of, and neither did Doug. All they had was one another, and both seemed content with that. As they started their little trek, Charles found himself looking forward to this part â the time when they could have conversations they never really had back home or when the others were present. It was something else that made Doug special. âA fairy. I saw it in my garden as a child, and I was determined to capture it. At the time, I didnât know what I was doing and the poor thing dwindled for a week before I finally let it go.â A human side of himself that Doug also rarely saw. âSince then, Iâve learned that science requires sacrifices.â He sighed as he walked beside Doug, hand on the younger manâs shoulder. âI think since then⌠since I let it go and my curiosity was not sated. I knew that I would always be interested. When I was twelve, my uncle took me on a hunt for large game â that was satisfying, but not as satisfying as finding supernatural creatures and figuring them out.â














