February, 2005

092 paraded at the front of the barracks, head held regally high as she made a show of imitating one of their instructors.

Light laughter – the laughter of a true child – filled the room as 599, their Alpha, chuffed her lightly in reprimand.

Inappropriate and unacceptable.

092 ducked her head meekly, staring up at 599, trying to gauge his mood. When he made no overt gestures of hostility, she quickly rubbed against his side before moving beyond him to her rack.

The rest of the pack dispersed some of them following 092's lead and heading to their racks to bunk down for the night, some of them dispersing to others packmates racks to pass the time.

493 threw himself on the rack between the prone forms of 452 and 210, smiling at their peeling laughter, which, to outside ears, was merely a few giggles. They were young, these child soldiers, but already they understood discipline. Loud laughter, or loud noises of any kind after lights out, would not be tolerated.

"Tell us a story, 493," 452 begged, 210 joining in. Their bright, youthful faces, lit up with joy as 493 obediently raised his hands to the light.

Other members of their pack gathered, slouching and slinking over each other until they were one big pile, one leg unidentifiable from the next. 471 curled up near 452, his biological sister, with 701 glued to his side.

766, their SIC, jokingly called them their hot and cold soldiers. A perfect team, similar to 452 and 493 when it came to escape and evade, both 471 and 701 excelled in demolitions. The deceptively small blonde was the fire, passionate and all consuming, while 471 was the cool, tempered steel that kept her in check.

766 was slouched comfortably between 599 and 353, the eldest and second eldest males of their pack. On 353's other side, 344 lay with her head in his lap, her eyes closed as 353 ran his fingers across the back of her neck in a comforting gesture. 278, the youngest of the whole squad, was squished against 344's side, with 819, the youngest female, curled into his. 525 his arm curled protectively around 819's mid-section, his nose buried in her hair, steadily breathing in her comforting scent.

417 sat just in front of his twin, 766. 766 for her part gave him a gentle nudge with her foot, moving him forward ever so slightly into 399 who sat comfortably in front of him next to 210 and 205. 417 turned and gave a mock growl. 766 raised her nose regally in the air in response, eliciting another round of quiet laughter.

Next to 205, 102 leaned comfortably into to 798, who sat upright, her posture perfect. Making a face, 263 rubbed his hands up her back, causing her to turn and look at him.

Relax. He signaled. Nobody's watching but us.

798 gave a wry smile at the reminder. She had a tendency to be the most serious of the bunch, taking everything to heart. Sometimes her family, her pack, just needed to remind her that this was their 'us' time and she didn't have to try and impress the Trainers or Instructors.

Curled up on either side of him, 734 had her head curled against his shoulder, one arm wrapped around his back, the other placed gently on 798's stomach as the other X5 leaned back. 656 placed her head on 798's shoulder, her ear against 263's chest listening to his steady heartbeat. 656 felt the comforting weight of 920 behind her and, with a faint smile, closed her eyes and settled in.

Next to 734, 549 sat with the mercurial 365, who seemed to be in a calm mood as she let 092, who'd left her rack when she realized what 493 was going to do, curl into her lap.

897 cradled 092's feet in his lap, tickling them slightly, smiling as 092 giggled and wriggled in response until 365 leveled both of them with a sharp look. Her head resting on his knee, 554, 897's twin, smiled and lazily flicked one of 092's toes, causing the younger transgenic to flinch and earning her own look of reproach from 365.

633 was next, her shoulder brushing 897's, her twin, 297, next to her. On the opposite side of 633, 195 and 723 grinned as they tussled, jokingly drawing 297 in after he protested, causing 633 to roll her eyes. The final member of their pack, 732, slunk his way over to 633, blinking his eyes hopefully, grinning as she rolled her eyes again before consenting to him curling up in her lap.

They were spread out over the width of three racks, all of them touching, creating a contact that aroused deep seated feelings of peace and contentment.

Here there was safety and comfort from the harsh ravages of the day. Here they could lick their wounds and mourned for the fallen without fear of repercussion or punishment.

Here, with each other, was home.

They'd recently been learning allegorical fables in one of their culture classes and 493 had been spending a lot of his free time thinking of his own.

Today he decided to share one of them.

"Raven was a good soldier, strong and fierce. He had command of the skies and no one thought to oppose him. As great as he was at combat, so was his overconfidence."

"One day, Raven spotted someone new in his territory, a small cat."

"What are you doing in my kingdom?" Raven cawed, perching in a nearby tree to study the newcomer.

Cat knew of the Raven. She'd heard stories of his prowess on the battlefield and decided to come and test his skills herself.

"Surely one as lithe as I can best a solitary bird," she laughed to herself.

"I've come to test you warrior skills against my own," Cat called back.

And so they fought, for three long days and three long nights. Many stopped to watch, awed by Cat's agility and Raven's swiftness.

At the end of those three days, Raven, his eyesight well honed and his attention never wavering, found Cat's weakness – her eyesight was all but useless in direct light. So her lured her into an open field and while she was blinded, attacked and claimed the victory.

Cat retreated back to the place where she came, relating her tale to those who would listening and lamenting to all.

"Is there no one who can best the Raven?"

Wolf had been traveling for a long time, his pack searching for food. One day their travels led them past a small compound, where Cat resided. On this day, Cat was outside training when Wolf trotted up.

"Good morning cousin," Wolf called. "You look hurt. Is there a danger in these woods?"

"These are Raven's woods," Cat had replied. "And my wounds are his work. Are you traveling through here?"

"Yes, we are," Wolf's ears flicked back to his pack.

"Bring a gift to appease him," Cat advised as Rat came scurrying over.

"Aren't you going to ask him if he will fight the Raven?"

"I am Cat," she stated disdainfully eyeing him before turning her attention to Wolf and his pack. "If I cannot defeat him, what hope have these wolves?"

Wolf smiled to himself but said nothing.

"Who is this Raven?" Wolf asked.

"The strongest and fastest soldier of us all," Rat had replied. "He's swifter than any and equally as strong. Will you fight him?"

Wolf glanced back at his pack, all of them on their feet as they waited for his decision.

They were good soldiers, obedient and loyal. They trained daily and Wolf knew that defeating Raven would be a true sign of their excellence.

"We will," Wolf replied.

He and his pack set off into the woods.

They moved so quietly and stealthily that Raven didn't realize they were there until they were almost upon him.

"You dare invade my land?" He screamed in outrage. "I'll show you!"

He attacked the small ones first, but the larger ones rose up to defend them, their ferocity surprising and startling Raven.

Flying high above them, he watched and waited for them to reveal their weakness.

Wolf trotted to a nearby clearing, into the light, alert for signs of an attack.

He dispersed his pack, instructing some to cross the river and others to simply crouch low in the brush.

There was a stream nearby and Wolf trotted over for a drink, lowering his head and exposing his neck to Raven's sharp talons.

Cawing his victory, Raven swooped low for the attack. Closer and closer he drew, yet Wolf kept his head down, drinking from the stream.

"Arrogant fool!" Raven screamed. "I'll show you!"

Closer and closer he came until he was almost upon him. Wolf could almost feel his talons when he finally gave the signal.

His pack sprang from their spots, one leaping upwards to capture Raven in her mouth.

Raven cawed and struggled, his wings beating against her jaw, his talons reaching for her eyes.

Another male came and grabbed Raven's wing in his jaw, crushing it. Raven screamed again, no longer a battle cry but a shriek of pain.

"Put him down," Wolf ordered. The male obeyed quickly before moving back with the female to join the circling crowd.

"Who are you?" Raven asked, cradling his broken wing as he stared at them.

"We are pack," Wolf stated simply. "We are many and you are one. Concede these woods and we'll let you live."

Raven was an excellent tactician and acknowledged readily that he was unable to continue the fight with his wing broken.

So he conceded the victory and hobbled off to lick his wounds.

Wolf took over the woods with his pack, allowing free pass to the other animals in the woods. His squad patrolled to maintain the peace.

Raven recovered in time and made numerous tries at retaking his kingdom, but every one failed.

"Why can't I defeat you?" He finally cawed, broken and bleeding as he stared up in righteous fury at Wolf and his pack.

"We are pack," Wolf repeated again. "You are one. No single warrior alone is stronger than all of us together."

Raven was tossed from their territory and from that night on never returned.

Wolf and his pack lived out their days in peace, playing and laughing with each other forever and ever."

493 finished his story with a satisfied smile.

"That was brilliant," 452 stated, sleepily snuggling into his side. 493 smiled wider as thanks, dropping to his stomach and snuggling against her, letting out a contented whuff as 210 draped her arm over his stomach and cuddled into his back.

They fell asleep like that, in one giant pile, and stayed that way until lights on.

A/N: Slightly edited from the original version – but only grammatically.