The Security Captain, Sarah, sighed as she leaned backwards on a huge rock someplace to the west of the destroyed statue of The Father. She had been running around the whole day scavenging for ethanol and food as Prosperity were on their last supplies. Her colleague, Thomas Rush had not been in contact for the last few days and Carmina had taken separate missions away from Prosperity too. At the same time the Highwaymen continued to bother local residents with small grenades or stealing their supplies. She was doing all she could, but it just wasn't enough.

"Hrrrrr..." A voice growled beside her, jerking her brown eyes from the sharp fire into the dull abyss like holes of Judge's mask. He pointed at an apple in his hand and Sarah found her stomach lurching from a bad memory of a humongous bear that had chased her. She had not recovered from that episode and the nightmares had barely subsided. She smiled tightly before shaking her head in refusal.

She didn't know what to make out of her companion. He was definitely the most strange person she had ever come across in her life after Joseph Seed. Yet, he was so much like her - mute and forever quiet, but while she found herself drawing people to her, the Judge did quite the opposite. Many of the New Edeners were evidently frightened of him - the children avoided him sheepishly, the men kept the conversation short and the women flatly ignored him. Only the animals adored him - the cougars, Apples and Strawberry were always excited whenever he would return and the sheep would flock to him for that one minute of love and attention he bestowed upon them. Sarah would feel truly conflicted in those instances - he was indeed a very difficult person to read.

"Hrrrrrrrrrrrr..." He growled again, this time deeper and firmer - the apple held up to her face. In his other hand was a crumpled piece of paper with a scribble covering almost the entire page. It is not blessed.

Her eyebrows shot up in confusion before she pieced together what he meant to convey. And with a primal hunger that she didn't know existed within her made her rip the apple from his gloved hand and latch her teeth upon. When was the last time she had fed herself? Prosperity barely had any food for themselves let alone for an outsider like her so she would always refuse Kim whenever she asked. But while she had fooled everyone in Prosperity, she could not fool this man who saw everything.

"Thank you." She said, slightly embarrassed that she had ate the core of the apple too. He only hummed in response, his hand stroking the fur of the white wolf that lounged by his feet. She realised now that somehow animals would sense him even in the wild and would follow him as if they longed for his company. A smile lingered on her lips as the wolf whined in pleasure at being stroked behind the ears.

"Animals really like you." The statement had left her lips before she remembered who was in front of her. She wondered if she had offended him by making a statement knowing he had very little means to respond to her. It was what had kept her quiet around him - she would hate to put someone in an uncomfortable position.

But he nodded, the holes of the mask piercing into her brown orbs. "Hmmmm..."

The fact that he did not ignore her urged her to speak again. "When I was with Carmina . . . we were always hounded by wolves in this region." He merely looked at her, his head tilted as if he waited for her to carry on speaking.

She struggled with the next words, but allowed them to pass quickly. "What I mean to say is . . . is that . . . it'snicetonotbechasedaroundbywolvesanymore!"

Sarah felt as if she had slapped him. Not only was she speaking to him knowing he was a mute, but now she was also speaking too quickly for him to understand. Why was she hellbent on ruining this partnership knowing how badly Prosperity needed New Eden? She needed their help - she needed to play the middleman here yet here she was potentially pissing off the strongest and probably one of the most influential member of New Eden.

An apology was just slipping from her mouth, when the Judge grabbed her hand that was absent of her handgun. A gasp escaped her lips at the unexpected power that surrounded her - she had only felt this around Joseph Seed when he had led her to the apple tree. But The Judge exuded a different kind of power - it was violent yet caged and she wondered if maybe it was about to unleash upon her. Her other hand was reaching for the handgun then, but The Judge had retreated - her glove being the only thing he took with him.

"Um um . . . that's - that's my glove . . ."

"Hmppppppphhhhhhhhh..." He growled, as if telling her to be patient. The glove was swiped under the wolf's muzzle a few times before it was chucked in her direction. She barely had time to catch it before the mutt pounced upon her taking her to the ground with its weight.

She yelped, her body tight with fear and tears hanging from the corner of her eyelashes as teeth bared in her sight - the saliva dripping from its mouth to her face. This was it - her end. Normally she would have kicked this wolf off her with her legs or used her handgun, but this was the king wolf - the largest she had ever seen in Hope County. Its weight was crushing her to the point where she felt her face turn blue and her attacker's image blur.

But then the wolf having sensed her fear moved off her to the side, but not before slobbering all over her face with his tongue. She cringed and sat up with a loud gasp just as her companion made a strange sound. A sound which she never thought she would hear from him.

"Heh heh heh..." He chuckled, his shoulders shaking from amusement and strangely enough his scary wooden mask that normally looked eerie now seemed the opposite. This whole thing was giving her a whiplash especially the mutt who couldn't stop licking her everywhere.

"What was the point of this?" She glared at him, wiping the saliva from her hand on the grass only for the wolf to smear more on again. She sighed in slight annoyance and repeated her question to The Judge with a fierce glare. "What was the point of this?"

He growled and the wolf immediately left her side with a whine. Using his arrow, he penned a note on the paper using the dried ashes. Wolves won't attack. Wolves are friends.

Of course! She slapped herself mentally at her own stupidity. He had taken her glove and familiarised the wolf with her scent. The wolf had licked her as they often did with their mates or pack members. He had solved her problem and fear of wolves in a second and she had doubted his sincere actions.

"I - I didn't realise. I am sorry."

He shrugged blasé as if he had been wronged many times in the past before. She sighed at the uncomfortable silence that fell between them again wanting more than anything for Carmina to be here. The girl could talk on hours with him - calling him Godfather and asking him questions even though he never gave a clear answer back. Yet, it never deterred her. Carmina didn't care who her Godfather was - she still admired him and complained about her parents to him. He always shrugged and growled. On repeat.

But he also protected. He also listened and sometimes, he also responded.

Author's Note: This story and the universe is independent from my other fanfiction, Sing for Me. In this story, the Deputy or The Judge is male and The Security Captain is female. I know that Security Captain also doesn't speak, but it would be so difficult to write a story with two main protagonists who don't speak - so for the sake of this story, the Security Captain can speak. Thanks for reading.