Toxic Mentality~ {TRANS HUNTER AU}

Chapter 38: Packs

TODAY IS THE LAST DAY OF SCHOOL!!

im so ready to be outta this hellhole 😭

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Hunter's POV:

School life got much better. The more I ignored people, -which I am very good at- the more they left me alone, since they couldn't get a reaction out of me. So, other than the bathroom incident and the few rumors that became of it, I didn't have many problems with bullying or anything of the sort. I was also passing all of my classes with surprising ease, which was probably because I was used to being so overworked in The Emperor's Coven. My life was getting better.

"Hunter, Luz! We're going to be late, hurry up." Camila called up the stairs, just as I tumbled down with one shoe on.

"Sorry Ms. Noceda, Luz was letting me borrow an old phone case 'cause I dropped my phone and cracked it." I tied the other shoe as I hopped towards the door, my phone in my mouth. Camila only shook her head with a short chuckle, watching as Luz knocked me over on her way to the door.

Quickly forgetting the untied shoelace, I ran past her and flung open the passenger side door, only to find Vee already sitting there. They stuck their tongue out at us as Luz and I instead climbed into the back seat. After a short (forty-five minute) drive, we arrived in the crowded parking lot of a place many of us had never been before: the Gravesfield zoo.

Before long, we had all piled up at the gates so Camila could pay for our entry, then, when we were let in, I went straight for the wolves. I don't know if anyone was going with me, I just wanted to see the beautiful beasts up close.

When I reached their enclosure, I then realized that they were a lot bigger than I had originally thought. There were eight of them all sitting together in a shady area in the grass, under a few trees. A mother wolf was licking one of her pups while its two siblings were wrestling in a patch of clovers by a larger, more brownish wolf, presumably their father. I jumped at the feeling of someone tap my shoulder, but turned to see it was just Willow. "Oh, hey Willow." I greeted, then turned back to the wolves.

"They're really pretty." Willow said. "You seem to like them a lot, what do you like so much about them?" She asked without taking her eyes off the pack.

My eyes lit up. I immediately took that as a sign that I could finally talk to someone who would really want to listen. "Wolves live in groups called 'packs'." I started, "They're carnivores, and have great stamina. Some animals can outrun wolves, even when they can run up to almost forty miles an hour! But wolves follow their prey until it eventually gets tired and gives up, so no matter how fast you go, with their keen sense of smell, a wolf will always be able to find you, then it'll alert the rest of the pack by howling.

"See that bigger one?" I pointed to a large wolf, who was arching its back into a stretch. "That's one of the males. You can tell because the males are larger than the females, and weigh a bit more." I paused and looked over at Willow to make sure she was still listening, but she was staring right at me. I looked back at the wolf pack in the clearing in front of us. "A baby wolf is called a 'pup', and has to drink milk from its mother until it's eight to ten weeks old, then it eats the food that the rest of the pack brings back. Since they have to hunt for their food, - which can be scarce during winter months, - wolves can go weeks without food, too. Isn't that crazy?" I kept yapping to her about wolves until I got a text from Luz to come see the other animals with her and 'stop being a nerd'.

Next we went over to the wild cat section, where we saw tigers, cheetahs, and ocelots. When we went to the herbivore section, we saw lots of different hoofed animals, and even got to feed the giraffes. Next, we went to the water area, which had all sorts of water reliant reptiles, amphibians, and fish.

On the way back to Camila's house Luz had control of the radio, and played lots of music from a band she called 'Tally Hall'. Their music was very interesting, maybe something I would like if I remembered to listen to more of them.

When we did get back to the house, almost everyone went straight to bed. I was still running off the high of seeing my favorite animal in the entire world, though, and lied on my bed until just past midnight, before I headed out the door. Closing the back door as quietly as possible behind me, I woke up Flapjack and took off on my staff towards me and Willow's spot. The cool night air blew through my hair and made my eyes water as I passed the tree we sat on the first night we went out. The clearing that overlooks the city came into view soon after, along with the silhouette of a person sitting on the grass watching the city lights below. I landed softly on the grass as to not disturb them, Flapjack turning back into cardinal form and landing on my shoulder. As I took a step forward, the grass crunched lightly under my foot, giving away my position to the person in front of me. They turned around with a momentary look of alarm on their face, only to realize it was me.

"Hey," Asher called, "I didn't know you liked to hang out here too. How'd you sneak up behind me so quietly?" He chuckled quietly and patted the ground beside him for me to sit. I sat next to him and we looked down upon the city in comfortable silence.

"Hunter." Asher said, eyes still on the gleaming lights of the stirring humans below. I turned my head in acknowledgment. "What are you?" His eyes met mine as they lit up with shock.

"I- Don't know what you're talking about?.." I stuttered, fidgeting with my hands nervously and avoiding his dark stare.

Asher furrowed his eyebrows. "Yes, you do." He paused, obviously waiting for an answer. "You're not exactly.. 'normal' to most human standards." He put on a soft smile.

"Okay." I sighed. "I'll explain, but it's kinda a really long story. You sure you want to hear it?"  Asher nodded. I leaned back on the hands, throwing Flapjack off balance and onto my lap with an alarmed chirp. Petting the small palisman on the head, I began to explain it all.

1146 words

can you tell i really like wolves? lol

ANYWAYY SINCE ITS ALMOST SUMMER IM GONNA HAVE A LOT MORE TIME TO WRITE :DD