In retrospect, Sammy hadn't had a chance against the old buck. Of course, some lessons had to be learned the hard way.

The [i]very[/i] hard way.

"Sam GET BACK!"

The problem with time slowing was that sometimes your body slowed too. He had gotten too close, trying to go for the neck, and the buck's antlers, an entire rack of sharp stabbing points growing out at various angles, came swooping down for his face. His heart pounded in his ears. He had been looking forward to this hunt so much, a chance to prove his capability to the pack, to bring home a feast... well, okay, a large snack... maybe finally earn a pack name. Now, instead of gaining a name today, he was certain he was going to lose an eye.

He tried to pull himself away, but his body responded like it was buried in tar. The antlers were coming towards him almost faster than he could get away. He cringed, trying to pull his head as far into his shoulders as he could manage. And he screwed his eyes shut, as if [i]that[/i] would make any difference.

He felt shock as the antler made contact--and it took him a moment to realize it was slashing into his right arm, not his head. Relief didn't last for very long, though, because it still hurt like hell and send him spinning, landing on his stomach and lying immobile as he heard Odysseus, Hatchet and Patience struggling with the buck. Distantly, he could hear its panicked trumpeting, which turned into desperate gurgling and finally the thud of its corpse hitting the ground. But the triumph wasn't his; all he had done was provide it a momentary distraction and then clutch his arm as blood seeped through his fingers and congealed into a sticky mess.

"Kid?"

"Sam?"

The two wolves hefted him up, but Sam was still having a hard time comprehending what was happening around, and to, him.

"Shit," Patience swore, which finally snapped him back into the space/time continuum. "That looks bad."

"Sam, let me see," Odysseus said patiently, prying his fingers off his arm. Sammy bore his teeth, but made no sound, bracing for the inevitable wave of pain... but it didn't hurt. Strangely, his entire shoulder just felt like a void. He wasn't sure if it was from adrenaline, or maybe it's just because he had endured far, far worse. But when he looked down, at the chunk of flesh that was missing from his chest to his deltoid, he felt his feet buckle under him for a minute.

"That ain't healing," Hatchet pointed out.

"Yes I know," Odysseus mused. "It's also bone deep."

Sammy groaned.

Odysseus turned to Patience. "Run ahead and get the first-aid kit out of the truck. We'll bind the wound, load up the carcass, and get him back home."

Odysseus guided him as Hatchet hefted the buck over his shoulders, and the procession marched slowly through the woods. Sammy wasn't sure what upset more: his wound, his shame, or the fact that Night Sky was going to be [i]pissed.[/i]

***

Night Sky had become a taskmaster.

Sammy, Liam, and whatever other packmates that Night Sky encountered had spend the last two weeks drafted into her mad quest to make the house immaculate from top to bottom. Clearing out the dusty guest rooms had been the worst of it. But Night Sky was no-nonsense about this. According to Liam, it wasn't just the fact that they would be hosting the alpha of another pack, which werewolf etiquette demanded putting the best of feet forward, but they were hosting Nicholas' sister. She had grown up in this home, and Night Sky considered it a matter of personal pride that the House of Argo was better for her presence. So, with stakes that high, she was understandably holding everyone to a higher standard. Sammy noticed that no one dared come into the house shifted since her crusade had started. No one would risk incurring her wrath with shed fur.

So it was with great relief that the day of their guests arrival had finally arrived. A big werewolf soirée was planned to celebrate Ruth's niece's eighteenth birthday. The house vibrated with anticipation, though Sammy's reasons were different from everyone else's. With all the attention being on their guests, Sammy intended to just keep his head down enjoy some time to himself for a change.

Pack life was not at all what he expected, and at the same time it was. Being the newest member, everyone was curious about him. He was often the subject of the others' attention, and his novelty factor hadn't worn off even after half a year. Most had their hearts in the right places, but that just seemed to make it worse. The more they were invested in his success, the more upset they would be when he inevitably let them down, right? So to have everyone's attention diverted to something else for a while would give him a break. At least, that was the plan.

But then Odysseus, feeling antsy himself, had invited him to join in a hunt in the woods before their guests arrived, and well, here he was. The opportunity to be accepted by the others had been too important to turn down. And then the temptation to earn his name in a blaze of glory had been too tempting to resist.

So he wound up pressing a bandage on his arm in the back cab of Odysseus' truck and trying not to bleed all over the interior while they wound their way through the rough-cut path back home. Everyone had shifted back to human form but him. He'd offered to ride in the bed with the meat, but Hatchet had just scoffed before all but cramming Sammy inside.

Elizabeth was already waiting for them when they pulled up. She was dressed in her work scrubs, having just gotten home from work. At least one thing worked out in Sammys' favor today.

"What happened?"

"Kid got cocky," Hatchet said as he got out, pointing behind him with his thumb. "Got his arm sliced open for his efforts. Looks like he still hasn't recovered from whatever shit those [i]people[/i] did to him, because he isn't healing like he should be."

Sammy had just worked up the nerve to open the door and allow himself to be seen by Elizabeth, when Night Sky's voice rang out across the yard. "[i]What[/i] happened?"

He almost jumped back in the cab, when she came bounding up. She smelled of both fear and anger, and as her gaze locked in on her, he knew he had [i]really[/i] screwed up. Everyone was supposed to be spit-and-polished ready for the arrival for their guests, and now he had made a mess of things. He opened his mouth, apology primed, when she turned on her husband.

"You were [i]supposed[/i] to watch out for him!" she snarled. Her voice rounded into a Cajun drawl that came out when she was really angry. "Ah told you he wasn't ready for big gayum yet! Ah told you just because he can hunt on his own, doesn't mean he'll automatically clue in on group huntin' tactics!"

Odysseus growled at his wife. "I thought this would be a prime opportunity for him to learn."

"For god's sake Odysseus, yah don't just chuck someone into the ocean and tell ‘em to swim!"

"We're werewolves!" he protested. "Hunting is ingrained into our very nature!"

As their bickering escalated, Elizabeth placed an arm around Sammy, gently pulling him towards the house. "Come on, let's start cleaning this while Odysseus convinces Night Sky not to neuter him," she said, twisting her mouth to try to hide her smirk.

"I don't want them to fight on account a' me," he whimpered.

"Oh, don't worry about it. My aunt and uncle are passionate people. Trust me, this'll just lead to some loud make-up sex tonight." She shook her head as if to ward off the mental image and then leaned in closer. In a conspiratorial whisper, she said, "You know that British accent of his is kinda fake, right? He picked it up in his travels abroad as a young man. He just keeps it because it [i]really[/i] turns my aunt on." She grinned as the crossed the threshold into the house.

Sammy couldn't believe it. "What, really? But he seems so British. Before I came here, I never even heard a' Dexys Midnight Runners."

"Yeah, no. Uncle Nick just spent a few years bouncing around Europe and the Americas after having a falling-out with his dad. Caught a flight to New Orleans one day, and there's where he met my aunt. They married after dating just a couple months, and then Uncle Nick came back here with his brand-new bride in tow so he could resume his rank as the pack Beta."

"How did Odysseus' father react to Night Sky?" Sammy asked, appreciating the distraction from his pain this story provided.

"Oh, from what I heard, it didn't take her long to impress the old man," Elizabeth said. "The way Roy tells it, he was just glad Nick found someone who could settle him down."

As they reached the top of the stairs and found their way to Sammy's room, Elizabeth sat him down on his bed and took a look under the bandage. The way she sucked in her breath did not inspire confidence. "Yeah, that's gonna scar. You realize you're gonna get some medicine smeared on that ouchie, right?"

Sammy sucked in his breath. Night Sky's apothecary skills were as effective as they were nasty. "Just when I thought this day couldn't get any worse," he muttered.

"Hey, you can take it. If I got cut that deep, I'd've bawled my eyes out. You're one tough customer."

Elizabeth's praise felt undeserved, but he knew better than to argue with her when she complimented him.

***

For whatever reason, Odysseus and Night Sky had seen fit to move Sammy into shared quarters with Liam. It was a large bedroom with more space than Sammy ever needed, but he could tell Liam did not appreciate having to compress his worldly possessions. The two sides of the bedroom were a study in extremes as a result. On Liam's side, the wallpaper could barely be seen behind the miasma of sports memorabilia and posters left over from a goth phase. Sammy had a dresser for his clothes, a shelf that for now held nothing, and a bed. But at least he could keep his nothing tidy and clean. He made his bed every morning, since the thrill of actually [i]having[/i] a bed still hadn't worn off.

Night Sky had come in and scolded lightly while she and Elizabeth stitched his arm back together. Sure enough, she'd brought the blender, filled with a green herbal muck that she smeared liberally over his arm before re-bandaging it. He indulged himself in a good sulk once he was alone, lying on his bed with his large feet dangling off the end. Eventually, the burning receded into a complete numbness in the arm, and Sammy drifted into a light, unhappy doze.

He woke up from the sound of an unfamiliar car pulling in, which was soon followed by joyful sounds, many of them high-pitched. Curiosity got the better of him, and he hauled himself over to the window.

Odysseus had his arms wrapped around a woman with frizzy red hair that had to be his sister, Kendra Simon-Vasso. Though she looked nothing like him, there was something in her body language that mirrored her brother's. Sammy had seen pictures of their father, and Odysseus was practically a carbon copy of the man. So his sister must have taken after their mother just as extremely. To her left stood her husband Theo Vasso in a kilt, sandals, and an open vest revealing a slight paunch. 

Night Sky had scooped a girl and a young woman into her arms. The older one had to be Reilly, the reason for this family get-together. She eventually pulled herself away from Night Sky, and circled around to the back of their truck, which contained what Sammy assumed was her luggage under a tarp. But as she pulled it back, she revealed--another buck, not as large as the one they had taken down that afternoon, but still impressive.

He watched as she pulled it out and tossed it at Odysseus' feet, lowering herself to her knees behind it.

"I, Reilly Austin of California, present this offering to Argo as proof of my ability to contribute, and ask to howl with you, to hunt with you, to live with you."

Everyone around her cheered.

"Son of a..." Sammy said.

The smaller girl, who appeared around the age of six, drew her gaze up towards him. Sammy hesitated, wondering if she would say something to the adults about his outburst. But instead, she threw him a full-arm wave.

He raised his left hand and waved back on the wrist axis.