ACT 1 Part Two WIP

Hip was heading for the kitchen to get some of the snacks they'd prepped when she spots him in the early dawn light, sitting just outside the threshold, curled tight up on himself.

Some part of her always knew Killer was younger than her, but he never looked so .. small.. before. Fearless co-leader of their little pack, Killer - and Kidd - were always a little larger than life - but he wasn't much bigger than her in reality.

She'd figured it out - the first time she saw Kidd; living out here, there wasn't always food to go around. And what food there was went to Kidd first, even if the little heathen didn't know it yet. Leaving a too thin, too small, too hungry Killer in his wake.

More pack meant more mouths, and it was rough in the beginning, she wasn't going to lie. At this point, she was doubtful even presenting would ever make up for the lack of bulk he should have gained in his early teens.

Careful not to move to quiet as to come of as sneaking - Hip approached her tiny leader with one of the containers of carrot-sticks they'd cut earlier. The rest of the crew liked them with fatty dips and the like, but Killer always seemed content to just nibble on them plain.

She touched the back of his head - they were gonna have to talk to him about showering more often again, his hair already greasy and oily under her fingers - "Got a snack for the resident rabbit -" she started only to stop short when he turned to look up at her.

His mouth and jaw were smeared with blood, dark bruise starting under on eye and his gaze was a touch too bright and unfocused.

"Shit boss...." she murmured, kneeling down, "You okay?"

His shirt was open; it looked like every button had been popped off in whatever scuffle he'd been in, bruises and claw marks from someone else on his chest were she could see even with him tucked in on himself like he was.

His nose was still dripping blood, and now that she was outside, she could smell it thick under his own awkward musk.

"We're safe now," he dogged her question, a slight twitch to him as he made a valiant effort to make eye contact even as he failed miserably.

Hip opened the snake box and offered him some food in lue of anything else. What else could she do?

He didn't take them, not at first, and she glanced at his hands to see him raking deep groves into his own left arm with his nails.

He did that sometimes. None of them ever figured out what triggered it, it didn't seem like he knew he did it most times. Kidd was always good about redirecting that energy somewhere else, but right now the little hellion was up with the rest of the pack upstairs.

Hip frowned, setting the food down and gently taking both his hands in her own.

"We're safe now?" she asked him, frowning at the blood on his face. Other than his nose, she had a feeling that was not *his* blood he was wearing then.

"I wont let them hurt my pack." He told her solemnly.

She believed him. She just wished he didn't let them hurt him in their stead.

UK knows they've overslept, but honestly, the warm spring sun though the curtain cracks feels so good, he's not all that torn up about it. And the pile of pack he's found himself waking up in is nice too - even if it is Killer currently drooling on his arm. Pack leader though he might be, he's still a waif of a thing, all curled up and snuggled into UK's side, Kidd's red hair spotted out of the corner of UK's eye, using Killer's bony hip as a pillow, legs propped up on Papas' shoulders.

Kidd couldn't sleep normal to save his life.

However, UK's arm is starting to protest, pins and needles sneaking in, and the day is calling.

Yet on the other hand, the sad sleepy whine Killer makes when he starts to pull away could melt the iciest of hearts. 

He's trying to include their feral little leaders more in the sleep nests - its easy enough to include Kidd, the boy just helps himself - but Killer's unique smell makes most of them nauseous given time. Ska and Hip agree he smells weird, but their beta sensibilities don't seem to find it as distressing. It makes UK feel deeply uncomfortable, how the smell makes him and the other omegas want to recoil and push the young man away. Pack should never feel like that about pack. And no amount of bathing seem to fix it - it's clearly not Killer's fault.

There is one shining knight to all of it though, the fact the Bubblegum seems completely unaffected. Or at least effected differently. The bond betrayed omega seems to think Killer smells divine, a mix of soothing teatree and the brightness of mint. And look, the omega's already up and about, and it doesn't take much for UK to catch his attention.

Despite the closeness, Killer had been curled up on himself were he was tucked against UK, seeking comfort but not taking it. Bubblegum stretches once, and then shoos UK away from the nest, slinking into his spot and pulling the young man against him, threading their limbs together as easy as (something easy *shrug*)

Kidd shifted in response, starfisting out so he's got one arm flopped over Killer and bubblegum's legs, the other cradled between the two old men's bodies, knuckles brushing elbows.

Yeah.. their pack leader smell awful. But at the end of the day, he's just a teen, still just an overgrown pup. And he's pack. He needs a good cuddle just as much as the rest of them, even if it means UK needs to go scrub down lest the rotting undertones cling to *him* all day too.

• this is both the normal time he leaves and the normal place he goes
  
  • but the itch is new
    
    • the tower smells weird
      
      • he feels warm and lightheaded
        
        • he wants killer, feeling far more clingy that usual
          
          • it just... itches... so .. bad.
            
            • its hard to focus. its hard to think
              
              • he needs killer to fix it