Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

He was startled awake by a shrill noise that cut through the silence of the room. Reaching blindly for the thing making the noise is hard when you are trying to bury your head deeper into the pillow with hopes of sleep taking you back under. When he finally managed to grab his phone, the ringing stopped. Just his luck really. But he gets a notification that the offending person has left a voicemail for him. Perfect for a more awake George who will definitely (not) want to listen later.

Instead of being left alone, he’s greeted with the ringtone again. This time he recognizes it as Karl’s, his best friend for over a decade or so, George isn’t counting. And he’s half tempted to call the friendship off, if it means more sleep. But he knows Karl, and that means if he’s called once and left a voicemail, and is now calling again, it’s urgent. So with sleep no longer available as an option, he picks up the call.

“Hey George!” Karl says as soon as the line connects, with too much enthusiasm in George’s opinion.

“Morning Karl.” George answers flatly. Wishing he would have turned his ringer off so he could still be sleeping at the moment.

“Don’t sound so excited George,” Karl snickers. George just hums lamely at him. “I have some exciting news for you, well it’s for both of us technically, but I was told first and I figured I would inform you!”

George lifts his head from the pillow in order to check the time, 7:30am. Karl definitely could have waited to tell him the news for a couple of hours at least. But he knows his best friend, once he gets excited to tell George something, he stops at nothing to tell him. Even if it is at the buttcrack of dawn.

“What is it Karl? Couldn’t it have waited until after normal people started waking up?” George huffs.

“George, as much as I would love to wait to hear you answer me when you finally woke up around noon,” Karl laughs, “it’s urgent business!” George can hear Karl shifting from over the phone.

“Spit it out Karl.”

“Wow, rude. Anyways, I found a cabin out west! It’s the perfect location for you to photograph wildlife and a great spot for me to research wildlife for my papers!” He can hear Karl bouncing with excited energy from his apartment.

Him and Karl have been talking about something like this for a while. With them trying to make ends meet and publishing good articles, they haven’t had the time. But now they are at a standstill, they haven’t found anything worth writing about for months. And their combined savings isn’t going to be enough to sustain them for the rest of their lease, on their shared apartment.
So this definitely could be the “big break” as Karl calls it, that they need to get back into being notable in the science community again.

“How soon can we get out there? And how long are they willing to let us stay?” George asks finally.

“As soon as we are done with this conversation,” Karl giggles. “They are willing to let us stay for three months, for an extremely cheap cost too!” Karl claps his hands together with finality.

“Have you already decided that we are going then?” George grunts out.

“Of course we are!” Karl is bouncing off the walls with excitement, this could be their big break!

“Fine… Can I go back to sleep now?” George asks, ready to hopefully go back to for at least a couple of hours before he has to pack for this three month trip.

“Of course George! Sweet dreams.” Karl says as he hangs up the phone. And with the line now dead, George put his phone back on his nightstand and goes back to sleep.

***

When George wakes up hours later, he’s still not ready to get up from bed and pack. He doesn’t know why he’s so hesitant for this trip, it’s what he and Karl need. It could be the saving grace for both of their careers. But yet he pauses. Three months is a long time in a cabin, probably in the middle of nowhere, where they are probably lucky if it has running water.

But on the other hand, if it’s far into the wilderness, that means a lot more chances for George to get pictures of animals that he probably wouldn’t get. And if George wants one thing, it’s that.
So with that, he gets up and starts packing his suitcase. He really should have asked Karl if it has running water, then he would know how many pairs of clothes he should pack. The most important things for him to pack are his camera, multiple batteries, and SD cards for storage. His camera is his whole livelihood, so it’s more important than packing an extra pair of “underwear” as Americans say.

He also packs a first aid kit, hunting knife, and bear spray. He’s never had to use any of these things while out getting photos. Most people would consider him carefree in his daily life, but he’s secretly paranoid that things will go wrong so he packs for that too.

Just as he’s finished zipping up his suitcase, he hears keys jiggling and the door opening meaning Karl is finally home from wherever he ran off too this morning.

He hears socked feet heading towards his room at an excited pace. Karl swings George’s door open with a big smile plastered on his face, met with a George who is already packed.

“I thought you would wait for me to get home in order to pack!” Karl giggled as he walked over and collapsed on George’s bed.

George huffs at that, “I felt productive.” George rolls the suitcase back and forth absentmindedly as he turns to look at Karl. He’s sprawled out on his bed, hair cascaded around his face like a halo, drawing you in to look at his freckles sprinkled over his face like constellations, everyone put in place with thought and purpose. Which draws you to his eyes, a brilliant shade of blue gray that reminds George of a time he was on a beach taking pictures of seals.

It had been cloudy and overcast the whole day, without a single break in the clouds. It was George’s last day at this location and he was hoping to make it count. Contrary to popular belief, overcast days like this are perfect for wildlife photography. Animals always seem to be the most active on days like that day, brisk mornings leading to even colder evenings.

Karl had been with him that day, one of the few times they had been together on an outing before being roommates.
The seals hadn’t done much for at least an hour, it seemed to be a break in their enthusiasm and a much needed nap time. So George was bored, taking pictures of sleeping seals is only so interesting after a while.

So he watched Karl.

He was on the opposite side of the beach of the seals, close enough to George that he could call out and be heard. Karl wandered, looking down at the sand looking for shells or other interesting things to collect and bring home for his so-called collection that he had told George about and that he “had to come see sometime!”

George wasn’t much of a human photographer, finding animals far more interesting in their habits. But for some reason he felt the inspiration to photograph Karl.
Karl was turned just enough that George could get a good profile shot of him, with the ocean out of focus in the background. With a couple quick shutter clicks, he got multiple photos that he would later scrutinize at home.

He never told Karl about those photos, but he had a sneaking suspicion that Karl had seen them in his collection from that outing, but he never once brought it up.

He snaps back from the memory with a slight blush on his cheeks as he realizes he’s been staring at Karl the whole time. But he realizes Karl must have been lost in thought too, because he doesn’t comment on George’s blank stare. But he seems to snap out of it, sitting up quickly and looking up at George.

“I should probably pack, our flight is scheduled to leave in about two hours.” Karl says quietly as he gets up from the bed. George nods at him as he leaves.

***

Two hours flies by with George thinking about everything that could happen from here on out, good and bad alike. But he decides to let his preconceived worries fly out the window as they are seated on the plane.
He stows his camera bag under his seat while Karl does the same with his “writers bag” as he calls it. George remembers looking through it once and wondering what $4.20 exactly (in dimes), a random orange crayon, and random deck of cards had to do with writing. But he supposes that’s just Karl being Karl. A quirky guy that he wouldn’t be able to live without.

The flight itself is about 6 hours and George decides to watch the first Despicable Me and the Minions movie to keep himself entertained. Karl watches them with George, but he finds himself watching George’s reactions to the movies more than actually watching the movies themselves.

George is gorgeous, even the straightest man and the gayest woman could tell you that.
His face is distinctively masculine, but also soft around the edges. His hair is dark, almost black at times, it has a touch of curl to it when it’s grown longer, which Karl loves, it’s fluffier too. He has freckles along the bridge of his nose, barely noticeable since it’s been winter and he spends the majority of his time inside during that time. His lashes are dark, framing dark brown eyes that remind Karl of a chocolate he tried once when he went with George to visit his family in the UK. That chocolate also reminds Karl of why he’s still friends with George.

It had been a terribly rough week for Karl. George’s family was great, they had been welcoming and kind to the last minute visitor, George hadn’t planned on bringing Karl with him to the UK at all. But Karl’s “boyfriend” had been caught in their shared bed with a hookup. He didn’t understand why Karl was upset saying: “We aren’t dating and I didn’t know we were being exclusive”. Karl had asked to stay with George that night, which he accepted. What he didn’t expect was George to purchase a last minute plane ticket for him to come with him back home.

It had been the last day in London, Karl and George had the day to themselves to wander the streets and look in the shops. They made their way into what looked to be a luxury gift shop, finding expensive watches and jewelry as the main focus in the center of the room. With other random odds and ends that could be considered thoughtful gifts.

They had wandered off from each other, Karl doesn’t remember why. They had been glued at the hip since George had heard what happened. When they met back up, Karl noticed that George had a specialty wrapped gift, but he assumed it was for his parents.

When they had gotten back to George’s parent’s place, they went up to George’s room in order to get ready to relax before bed. Karl got first dibs on the bathroom and decided on a shower. When he was done and changed into his pajamas he exited the bathroom still drying his hair. George quickly went into the bathroom, presumably to also shower. Karl noticed the wrapped gift on the desk in the corner, George’s old gaming setup still on top. He looked at the gift and noticed it said “For Karl” in fancy cursive writing on the front. Karl must have stared at it for a long time, because George came out of the bathroom and walked up behind Karl.

“You can open it.” George said quietly, almost like he was nervous.

Karl gently pulled the bow on top till it came loose and then ripped the wrapping paper. Inside displayed an array of different types of chocolates, decorated with some fancy toppings. Karl felt his heart squeeze and tears rise to his waterline. He hung his head for a brief moment, and George wondered if he was really that bad at picking out gifts. Karl had turned quickly and dragged George into a tight hug. So tight George could feel Karl’s chest expand with each breath he took.

“Thank you.” Karl had said so quietly he wasn’t sure if George heard him or not.

***

When their flight landed, they were both groggy and stiff from the hours spent in limbo. Karl told him that he had arranged for someone to come pick them up and drive them into the town closest to the cabin.

The ride was long, but George didn’t mind as he got to admire the beauty of the landscape around him. They were close to the Wyoming border on the South Dakota side, at least that’s what he could guess from all of the signs. The trees were tall and clustered, some type of pine if he had to guess. The ground was covered in rocks almost like shale, and the hills were steep. Steep and tall enough he wondered what the height limit was to be considered a mountain.

He saw multiple “watch for deer” signs and a couple that announced that mountain goats were around too. George could only guess the amount of pictures he could get in a place like this. It reminded him of the times he had been to Yellowstone years before, pictures of wolves flashing in his mind. Those had been his favorite to take.

George must have dozed off, because he was shook awake by Karl. When George looked up, the first thing he noticed was that they were still driving. He sent a mild glare Karl’s way.

“We are about 5 miles out, I wanted you to be awake before we got there.” Karl mumbled in response to George’s glare.

And George guessed it made sense, he wanted to know the town name and population at least, the sign coming into view. George squinted as it passed.

Savoye
Population: 125

Chapter Text

The town was quiet, at least quiet compared to what Karl and George are used to in North Carolina. They had been dropped off at what appeared to be the middle of town, with each side of the road being blocked in by buildings with local businesses in them. A couple people milling around, seemingly without a goal in mind. The gas station at the opposite end of town from where they stood seemed to be the busiest, or at least it had the most cars parked out front or getting gas.

They head that way, since there are people that might be willing to help them out with directions. As they walk, Karl is looking at all of the signs on the storefronts. Most seem at least four decades old with how faded they are. He notices one that catches his eye, it says it’s a cafe. His stomach rumbles and George gives him a look that means “me too, glad you said it first though”. So Karl decides they are stopping to eat at the local cafe.

As they push the door open, the bell rings announcing their presence to the group of people inside. With almost no cars parked outside, Karl thought it would be pretty empty. But as he looks around he notices at least ten people, all clustered around in groups. He notices that they are all staring, nobody moves or talks like they were just two seconds before, just blank stares. And then like a switch is flipped a couple seconds later, they are back to talking amongst themselves.

Karl notices that to the right, it looks to be a convenience store that’s partially connected to the cafe. He also reads a sign that says “Trade Post” in bold lettering, with a list of items that they take. Karl can’t read it from this far away. The person from behind the counter of the convenience store, a lady probably in her late forties to early fifties with shoulder length, brown-going-gray hair, turns to them from what she was doing and calls:

“Just seat yourselves, I’ll be with you in a moment!” She says as she heads towards the cafe’s kitchen which is on the opposite side where she’s at.

So George and Karl look around for a good spot that won’t be in the way if they have their luggage next to them. They decide on a booth that’s along the main glass window of the cafe. They get seated, and pull their luggage under the table and have it against the wall. While they place their carryon bags on the seats next to them. There aren't any menus on the table, so they sit quietly waiting for the lady to bring them out.

They notice her walking back towards them, menus and notepad in hand. When she reaches them she holds out two menus, one for each of them.

“I’m Susan, here are some menus. What can I get you guys to drink?” She asks as she readies her notepad.

“Um, I’ll take some water.” Karl says with a smile as George hesitates for a moment.

“Do you have lemonade?” George asks, it would have been helpful to know what drinks they had before he blindly starts ordering.

“Yes we do!” She says with a grin. “I’ll bring those right out for you guys while you look over the menu.” She says as she writes and then walks away.

George and Karl stare at the menus for a while, neither wants to speak up about how weird it was when they first walk in. And they also don’t want to get caught looking around and make awkward eye contact with any of these strangers. Susan decides to save them, drinks in hand.

“Here you go boys, one water and one lemonade. Let me know how it is,” she says looking at George. “It was freshly brewed this morning.”

George nodes at her as he takes a sip. Sugar hits his tongue, then a twinge of sour as the after taste.

“It’s good.” George smiles at her.

“Good to hear! Now what can I get you guys to eat?” As she looks between them.

“I’ll take the breakfast plate.” Karl says politely as George still seems to be deciding between two different options.

“I’ll take the home style plater.” George decides.

“Perfect. One breakfast plate and one home style plater coming right up. It shouldn’t take too long.” She nods as she grabs the menus and heads back towards the kitchen.

George and Karl make eye contact and giggle to each other. Karl loves that about them together, they’re almost always on the same wavelength even if they don’t talk. The doorbell rings again, this time the groups of people don’t even bat an eye, continuing on with their conversations. It puts Karl on edge when he notices. He hopes it’s just because they are new and not because they offended them.

There are two people who have walked in. Both men, looking around the same age as Karl and George. The one leading is tall, lean build with wide shoulders. And his hair is a copper-y blonde that curls wildly around his head, with a trimmed beard of similar color. And the other man is short, probably shorter than George. He’s built with far more heavy muscle than the taller one, his brunette hair trapped under a cap that it curls around, like it’s either trying to escape or keep it on his head. His beard isn’t as well kept as the other’s, but it doesn’t make him any less attractive.

Their clothes are normal, both wearing jeans which seem worn with age and use, along with hoodies that look much the same. But Karl notices something strange, they aren’t wearing shoes. But their feet don’t seem cut up or mangled, so he assumes it’s normal for them. Some people just live like that, not like Karl is going to judge. George on the other hand keeps looking at what they are both carrying on their backs.

It looks to be an animal of some kind, antlers sticking out behind the tallest back like a weird pair of wings. He recognizes them as Elk. As he keeps looking he realizes he’s also carrying what appears to be the rest of the skull with parts of the animal's hide. The shortest has two legs sticking up from his back from a pack he’s carrying, George also notices some cleaned meat from the animal as well in the pack. Which causes George to pause. Elk are extremely heavy and dense, it’s not easy to backpack them out of a hunt.

George would know, he had accompanied some elk hunters in the Utah area when they were hunting. When a guy got an elk, it took him and a fully loaded mule to get PART of the elk back to the town. And now he’s seeing two guys, without a mule in tow, carrying what looks to be most of an elk. The skull itself weighs a ton (about 40 pounds), so the fact that this singular guy is carrying that, plus some of the elks hide is impressive in itself.

The guys’ heads both seem to snap to George and Karl for a brief moment, then they look away as Susan comes out at the sound of the bell ringing.

“Dream and Sapnap! Looks like another successful hunt for you boys, huh?” She says as she steps out of the kitchen with both George’s and Karl’s plates in hand. She sets them down in front of their respective orderers.

“Yes ma’am.” The shorter one answers as he steps around the blonde in order to make his way to the counter. He swings his pack onto the counter with a heavy thump. The Blonde follows suit shortly after.

“Can I get you boys anything else?” Susan asks kindly.

Both boys shake their heads no in answer. She nods and walks to where the guys called “Dream” and “Sapnap” are, walking around to the opposite sides of the counter. They talk quietly amongst themselves, Karl and George unable to eavesdrop with how far they are. So they focus on eating the meals in front of them, both stealing different foods from each others’ plates.

When Susan and the men seem to be done negotiating, for what Karl isn’t sure, he didn’t see them get handed any money. She heads back over to their table, taking their empty cups to get refills.

Since Karl is facing the trading post, he watches the men, he strangely feels watched even though they aren’t looking at him and nobody seated in the cafe is either. He watches as the taller one grabs a shopping basket and starts looking around like he’s shopping for stuff. When he looks around for the shorter one, he finds him staring at Karl. He and Karl make brief eye contact before the man disappears down an aisle, also seemingly shopping.

Susan comes back with the refills and asks them about themselves and their business here.

“I’m a writer, a scientific one to be exact! And George here is a wildlife photographer! We are collaborating on a project.” Karl says proudly, he isn’t one to be shy about his line of work or accomplishments.

“Oh that’s lovely! Where are you boys staying? In town I presume?” Susan asks quizzically.

“We are renting a cabin, it’s close to this town, hence why we are here,” Karl chuckles. “But the owner said he would give us a personal tour out there, we just have to find him first.”

“Oh. Who’s the owner?” Susan’s eyes widened.

“A guy named Rick. Rick Hershell.” Karl says looking at the information he wrote in his notes app.

“Oh him…” Susan says quietly.
“He usually comes to the cafe around this time actually. But I will warn you, he is kind of off his rocker. He talks about wolves on two legs that look similar to people. It’s honestly probably because he was out in the woods by himself for a long time before being moved into town by his grandkids.” Susan tacks on.

Karl and George look at each other for a moment. They don’t know how much they believe in supernatural beings, but the fact that Susan doesn’t seem worried about it helps their trepidation a little bit.

Just then they hear the bell ring again. In comes an old man, with a beard so long it’s almost down to his hips. He turns and looks at them, recognition on his face as he hobbles over to their table.

“You must be the boys renting my cabin for the next three months!” He says with a crooked tooth smile, sticking his hand out to Karl for him to shake.

Karl takes his hand, surprised at the amount of strength Rick has with how feeble he looks. He can also feel how calloused his hands are, from years of working with them. Rick shakes George’s hand next, and he seems to come to the same conclusions as Karl.

“Well, boys let’s get going. You’ll want to get acquainted with the place at least a little bit before dark.” Rick says, already pulling cash out of his wallet and handing it to Susan, who takes it with a polite nod.

“You can pay for the tip.” Rick says with a gravely laugh ending in a cough.

Karl nods at this, he isn’t going to argue for basically a discounted meal. He hands Susan a $5 out of his wallet, George also does the same. They thank Susan for the wonderful meal and follow Rick outside to a beat up, full of rust, Chevy truck.

“Alright boys, throw your luggage in the back and then we’ll be off to the cabin.” Rick says, opening the drivers door and getting in.

George and Karl look at each other. George cringes at the thought of his stuff sliding around in the back and breaking something, but he places his suitcase in the bed of the truck anyways, Karl following suit. They both decide to keep their carryon bags to sit in their laps, since that’s where George’s camera and Karl’s writing material is.
The truck is in a bench seat, so it’s going to be a cozy ride. Karl volunteers himself to sit next to Rick, knowing how uncomfortable George is with physical touch even if he knows the person.

After getting buckled, Rick backs the truck out of his parking spot and sets off in the direction of the gas station they noticed earlier in the day.

“How far away is it?” George asks Rick.

“It’s about 30 miles out of town.” Rick answers chipley.

“I think you boys will like it! It’s nothing fancy, and it’s not up to date. But it’s definitely in nature, which is definitely what you boys need for your business right?” Rick is nonchalant, driving the route like he could do it in his sleep. He probably can, Karl realizes.

“What do you mean not up to date?” George is terrified of the answer.

“It doesn’t have much for running water, about an hours worth a day. It has rain barrels which I used for dishes, bathing, and such, but without rain those are pretty much useless. There is a creek not far from the house that I used for all of my water needs. It also has a wood fire furnace, which you boys might need to use for later at night because it gets cold out there during these early spring days.” Rick answers honestly.

“I can give you boys more details once we get there.” With that finality, the rest of the drive was spent sitting in silence, taking in their surroundings.

***

George was the first out of the car, stretching dramatically with a big sigh. Karl followed shortly after to gather his things from the truck bed. After gathering their things they step up to the front of the truck where Rick waits for them.
Both George and Karl gaze around the clearing that they parked in, the cabin being front and center. It’s definitely seen better days, with the wood being faded and covered in moss in some places. And the roof looked like it needed to be completely redone ten fixes ago. It’s a short one story building, with a small porch that houses a rocking chair.

Karl immediately likes it, mostly because it looks lived in and has character. George on the other hand is kind of dreading seeing the inside if the outside is in this bad of shape.

Rick leads them in, the door having a simple lock which he opens with a little jiggling. Once they are all inside, Rick flips the light switch. There are three lights for the main room. Over the living room area, over the dining room table, and above the general kitchen area. The dining room consists of a simple wooden table and four chairs, all appearing to be hand carved. The kitchen is a wood fire stove, a simple refrigerator, and a couple cabinets. The living room area seems to be the most well furnished of the sections; with a simple couch and a recliner. Both are worn with use and seem to be fraying at the seams.

“As you can see, there is electricity. Now it’s nothing fancy since I did it myself, but it works just fine. It’s solar powered, so it should work even when normal power seems to be out.” Rick says walking around the room, seeming to check for something.

“And this way to the bedrooms.” Rick says he's decided he’s found what he’s looking for. He leads them down the short hallway, there are three options. One on the right and two on the left.

“The one on the right in the master bedroom and the one on the far left is the kids room. The closet left door is the bathroom. It has a bathtub, a toilet, and a sink.” He says as he opens the doors for both bedrooms and flicks on the light switches.

They are basically mirrors of each other, a single bed pushed up against a wall in the middle, with a small closet on the far side. Each side of the beds gets a nightstand. The master bedroom has the bigger of the two beds, but that’s about the only difference.

Karl gets first dibs, since he planned the trip. Which George thinks is unfair because he didn’t even know that they got contacted about this place. But it’s whatever, George wheeling his suitcase into his room for the next three months.

“Alright, I’m going to show you guys some more stuff outside and then I’ll be on my way.” Rick mentions as he stands in the hallway waiting for them to claim their rooms.

They follow Rick out going to the left of the house. Rick points to the rain barrels he mentioned earlier and counties moving down a narrow, almost game trail like path. They both realize it leads to the creek he also mentioned earlier. It’s much bigger than both Karl and George imagined, with it deep enough to possibly go swimming in and wide enough that they wouldn’t be able to jump it, even with a running start.

The woods are quiet, but not in a dangerous way. More in a lazy midday way, with the birds chirping and singing quietly in the background. George can already tell he’s going to enjoy exploring and learning where all of the animals like to hang out, Karl too.

“And one more thing before I leave.” Rick’s face hardens sternly as he says this.

“Don’t leave the cabin at night and most definitely do not go into the woods.” He stares hard at both of them, making his point clear.

Both boys nod in unison and tell him they won’t be doing either of those things. He nods back at them, satisfied with their answers.

“Well, I best be getting home now. It was a pleasure to meet both of you! I’ll come check in on you guys tomorrow morning. I also have a car you boys can borrow while you stay, it’s not the prettiest thing ever, but it gets the job done. It’s in that shed,” he points to the right of the cabin to a one and a half stall, free standing, garage.

“Keys to it are on the workbench, labeled RUSTY.” He says with a final wave as he gets into his truck and sets back off on the long drive home. George and Karl watch him go, waiting until he’s out of sight before they start moving.

They head inside the cabin, quietly taking it in slowly rather than rushed like during their quick tour. George heads to the kitchen, opening the refrigerator door. Empty. He opens the first cabinet closet to the fridge. Empty. He keeps moving down the line of cabinets, each one is empty.

“We have to go shopping tomorrow. There isn’t any food here.” George grumbles unhappily. He realizes it probably wasn’t going to be stocked with food, but even a couple small snack items would have been fine. Karl nods in understanding, looking through all of the windows of the house, seemingly just taking in the surroundings.

It’s getting dark by this point, so they decide to start getting ready for bed. Taking turns inside of the bathroom to brush teeth and last minute bathroom breaks. George isn’t ready to be separated from Karl quite yet though. More often than not, back at their apartment they would end up falling asleep in the same bed because they would watch shows together and end up falling asleep. And George won’t admit it, but he gets anxious staying in new places alone, so if he can convince Karl to share, he might actually get some sleep tonight.

Of course Karl agrees to share with George. He understands his anxieties and plus, he’s not going to turn down a free cuddle session with George. It just wouldn’t be smart of him. And at first George seems hesitant to touch Karl, even a little bit. But once he gets more settled and relaxed into bed, he invites Karl to cuddle. Karl lays his head in the space between George’s head and his shoulder, snuggling up close in order to share warmth. Because Rick was right, these spring nights are cold.

Chapter Text

When George woke up, he was cold, the blankets having been kicked off in his sleep. Remembering that he fell asleep with Karl last night, he pats the bed with the hope of finding him. When he doesn’t, he cracks his eyes open to look around. Still no Karl. George lets out a huff, of course Karl would still get up early the first day, instead of sleeping in.

He sits up and swings his legs over the side of the bed. Stretching the stiffness out of his limbs, he looks around the room illuminated with natural light. It’s bigger than it looked last night, but not by much. He leaves the room in order to head to the bathroom to pee.

Karl doesn’t know why he woke up early this morning, especially when he’s the perfect temperature cuddled up with George. But he gets up anyway, hoping to see the sunrise since it’s still dark out. He rustles through his luggage for one of his heavier hoodies that he’d brought with him. When he finds it, he slips it on and heads to the door. Stepping out onto the porch, he takes in a deep breath of fresh air. One thing that would make this better would be a coffee or an energy drink to sip, he adds that to his mental shopping list for later in the day. He watches the sun start to peak out from behind the trees, ready to hopefully lead them into a decent first day.

That’s when he notices it, how quiet the woods are. No birds are chirping, no rustling of leaves by squirrels or other small animals. Not even a small breeze breaks the silence. The hairs on his neck stand on end, so he slowly starts to look around. It feels like he’s being watched. He hopes to God that it isn’t a bear or a moose. Do they even have moose here? That’s when he sees it, what once looked like a log, moves. And it moves fast. He doesn’t get a chance to fully register what it is before it’s gone.

The noises of the forest slowly start to come back, which Karl takes as a “it’s gone” sign, so he relaxes slightly. The sun has risen enough to fully see over the trees, so Karl takes that as his cue to retreat inside and go wake up George. When he gets inside, he hears the toilet flush, so his job is complete without him having to do anything.

When George steps out of the bathroom, he sees Karl standing at the end of the hallway, he seems slightly paler than usual.

“Karl? Are you good? You look pale.” George says as he walks over to him.

“I uh, thought I saw something outside.” Karl answers quietly. Shifting his feet and trying to find a comfortable position.

“Like a bear? Or?” George is concerned, Karl is usually good at discerning differences between animals.

“I don’t really know.” Karl mumbles.

George nodes in understanding, it can be hard for animal identification sometimes. Especially if you aren’t expecting to see an animal. And George assumes the sun hadn’t risen quite yet which would also make it more difficult.

“We also need to make a shopping list for later since this place is bone dry.” Karl rambles quickly changing the topic.

George is slightly taken aback by the topic change, but realizes it’s probably because Karl doesn’t want to dwell on something they aren’t going to solve. George hums in semi-verbal agreement.

“We should also really check out the car and see if it even runs.” Karl says, heading back towards the door.

George followed after him at a leisurely pace. Neither Karl or him are car guys, unless you can count looking at the emblem stamped on each car and telling you the difference. So he doesn’t know Karl’s plan if it doesn’t start right away. Although he remembers Rick saying he was going to come check on them this morning, he wonders what time he meant exactly.

When they reach the shed, the side door is locked. So Karl is confused on how they get in, but then he remembers a movie scene where the characters manually pulled open the garage door. He doesn’t know why he has that stored in his brain, but he’s glad he does. So he heads back to the front of the shed, and sure enough there is a handle on it. He gives it a pull, moving it a couple of inches off the ground, it’s heavy as hell. So he motions George over to help. Karl lifts using the handle and George puts his hands under the door when Karl gets it up a couple of inches. And together they manage to get it all the way open, or at least enough they aren’t worried about it suddenly closing on them.

What’s inside isn’t that interesting, the shelves are mostly empty with a couple of tools here and there. The back wall seems to be a workbench, the wall being haphazardly organized with tools too. Front and center is a car, George checks the emblem, a Chevy. Rick seems to like Chevys, it’s a running theme. It’s not something cool, like an old sports car, it's just a basic four door that they’ll be lucky if it even runs, let alone makes it 30 miles to town.

Karl walks to the work bench and finds the keys easily, the keychain is bright red, somehow not noticeably faded like everything else. He walks back to the driver's side door, it pulls open with a tug, speaking as it does. The inside of the car is surprisingly clean, only a thin layer of dust is the only grime. Karl sinks down into the driver's seat, also surprised by how comfortable and plush the seat feels, as if they took a couch cushion and placed it inside the car. Karl looks over everything, glad to find that the car is an automatic and not a manual, as neither he nor George can drive a manual. George can’t drive at all actually, but Karl digresses. He puts the key in the ignition and turns, it tries to start but no dice. This time he puts his foot and the brake and tries again, this time it works. Thank the lord, Karl thinks, now they have a mode of transport without having to rely on Rick. He turns the car off and gets out, closing the door as he does.

They hear the crunching of gravel and the grumble of an old engine heading down the driveway towards them. They both turn and wait, the truck turning around a group of trees into their sights. It’s Rick’s truck, he waves at them as he sees them. They wave back, glad he held onto the promise of checking on them. He parks the truck in front of them, getting out after he turns it off.

“Morning boys! How was your night?” He asks with a smile.

“It was good, we got settled in ok. We need to go shopping though.” Karl answers with energy.

“Well, that’s good to hear! It’s very peaceful out here,” He says with a hum. “For the most part.” He finishes with a mumble.

“I see you found the car, did you get it started yet? It’s been sitting for a while.” He hums, walking to the front of the car, smiling as he looks it over.

“Yep, got her running right before you got here!” Karl rocks back and forth on his feet.

George is silent, but paying attention to the conversation. He noticed the quiet mumble of “for the most part” from Rick and is now questioning what that could possibly mean. Animals? People? Something else? Anxiety grips him as he lingers on the thought of something out in the woods, possibly watching them.

“Well, I’m glad you boys got settled in alright! Do you know your way into town?” Rick asks as he seems to inspect the car some more.

“I have a general idea,” Karl says scratching the back of his head. A nervous habit originally picked up as a joke, made to mock anime. “But I’m still not one hundred percent confident.” He finishes.

“That’s ok, it’s quite simple once you drive it a couple times. You guys can follow behind me when I head out, if you want?” Rick offers good naturedly.

“That would be great!” Karl nods. George also nods along, he would hate to get lost, especially in the middle of nowhere.

Rick nods, as he spins around and walks back to his truck. He gets in, turns it on, and backs up and turns so that he’s facing the driveway which he came up.

Karl and George both get into their car. Karl remembers the trick of using the break to get it started, and gets it the first try. He slowly drives it out of the shed, not wanting to scrape the door panels on anything. Once out, they pull up behind Rick’s truck, letting him know they are ready. Rick gives them a thumbs up in the mirror and then heads off, Karl in George in tow.

***

They had split off from Rick once they reached town, Karl heading towards Susan’s cafe and convenience store. He parked the car smoothly into a spot right outside of the door. Getting out much faster than George, who was about to fall asleep again, in the passenger seat. The key fob didn’t have a lock option, but the door had a manual lock, which he locked after realizing such.

Walking into the cafe, it was like deja vu, everyone stopping conversation, but they stared at them for a, noticeably, shorter time this time. George also noticed there weren’t half as many people and he was glad for it. Susan walked out from the kitchen doors, two plates in hand.

“Hi boys! I’ll be with you in a minute.” She said smiling at them as she talked to the customers who’s plates she had been carrying.

Both boys are glad to see someone they recognize in town who doesn’t seem bothered by their presence. Once Susan is done making her rounds to her tables and checking in on everything, she walks over to them with a big smile. She always seems to be happy, at least from the two times they’ve seen her.

“So how was your guys’ first night?” She hums, looking them over.

“It was good! I actually slept well too, normally I can’t in new places.” Karl tells her. He won’t tell her the reason for sleeping so well was because he shared his bed with George, he doesn’t know how well that would go.

“That’s good to hear! What has you boys back in town so soon?” Her expression shifts minutely, something George can’t quite read.

“Oh, we need to go shopping for food and basic supplies. The cabin was bone dry when we checked everything.” Karl hums.

“Of course Rick didn’t think about stocking it for guests,” She says with an eye roll. “You have come to the right place. I’ll make sure to give you boys a discount when you’re done.” She winks as she turns to go back to wait on her customers.

“So that’s the end of that conversation apparently.” George snorts.

Karl lets out a light giggle at that. The light catches his curls just right and seems to make them glow. Fitting for Karl’s personality, George thinks. Letting a small smile creep onto his face as he studies him in this light.

“Let’s get shopping over with, that way we can get back and explore outside a little bit before dark.” Karl notices George’s gaze, not bothering to comment because he’s doing the same. He likes studying George and committing him to memory.

They both turn to the convenience store side of the cafe, walking over to the first aisle. They both can’t decide between already-made meals and actually having to cook. They aren’t that great of cooks, but a home cooked meal once in a while would be good. They decide to split up to gather food that appeals to them individually.

Karl finds his energy drinks, which is easy because they are so brightly colored in comparison to mostly everything else. He gets a single twelve pack of Ultra, deciding it should hold him over until they come to town next. He then wanders to the frozen food section.

George immediately goes to the sweets aisle, hoping to find something that catches his eye that he won’t get bored of in a couple days. Deciding on twinkies, because it’s one of the only options he recognizes. He then decides to head to the frozen foods, almost running into Karl as he does. It seems that they had the same idea. Him and Karl walk together, shoulders touching. Gently nudging each other, not in a mean way, just in a gentle reminder of each other’s presence.

They silently pick out more food together, they have very similar tastes so it isn’t hard. Once they decide that they have everything they need, at least until they make it back into town again. They checked out, Susan happy to hear that they found everything, and packed it all in the back seat of the car.

***

Once at the cabin they quickly put everything in place, frozen food in the freezer and everything else either in the fridge or newly designated cabinets.

With the sun still decently high in the sky, enough for them to at least explore an hour or two with full light, they decide they are going to check out the property. George grabs his camera from his room, checking the battery as he goes. Karl brings his notepad along too, deciding that he can at least gather some basic information about the area.

Karl decides to let George lead the way, heading towards the creek. They are both silent. It’s not uncomfortable, in fact it’s soothing. They both have their own work to do, but being in each other’s company makes it easier. They follow the creek a good, half an hour, George would say. Before he notices tracks, not the deer tracks he had seen pop up occasionally, the animals stopping for a drink along the creek's edge. No, these are big. Not quite big enough to be a bear, but not small enough to be a coyote either. He immediately thinks “wolf”, but the shape isn’t quite right. The toes are semi-long, not short and rounded like a normal wolf’s would be. And he notes something even more strange, instead of four toes, it has five toes. And for a second he thinks it looks like the animal could have slipped, but the tracks are all like that. And he can’t seem to tell the difference between a front and back paw print, which is also confusing. He realizes that they are also going the opposite direction of the way George and Karl are heading. Meaning this animal made its way close to the cabin, if not to it.

Instead of continuing to follow them, he stops and bends down to get a closer look. Karl almost runs into him, as he’s writing in his journal.

“Karl… look at these tracks. What do they look like to you?” George asks, hoping that maybe Karl’s scientific brain will give him some answers.

Karl bends down next to George, bumping his knee against his accidentally as he does. Karl looks them over, and then uses his finger to seemingly take measurements. Karl lets out a hum as he does this, confused. He decides it would be smart to draw these into his journal, to hopefully look up and research later.

“I don’t know. They look like they’re supposed to be wolf prints, but they are too big and the toes are confusing me.” Karl concludes, stumped.

George takes his camera and takes a picture of them. He wants proof of these prints, even if Karl already drew them into his journal. After he looks up to the sky, he thinks they should have enough time to get back to the cabin before the sun sets. They walked a lot farther than George had planned on.

They turn around, following the creek back to the cabin. George watches the “wolf” prints the whole way, they also follow the creek. But once they get close to the path that they take towards the cabin, the footprints break off and go into the forest behind the cabin. George doesn’t know what would happen if the prints followed the path to the cabin.

***

At the cabin, George and Karl make some food. Deciding easily on a frozen meal. They sit together on the couch, Karl throws his legs over George’s, letting out a deep sign as he relaxes into the couch. They make dumb jokes in between bites of food, the wolf prints pushed to the back of their minds for the moment. They just want to enjoy each other’s company, which isn’t rare, but it feels like the first time in forever where there isn’t a looming deadline over their heads.

After they finish eating, they put their plates on the ottoman to collect and wash later. George lays back against the opposite side of the couch, looking at Karl and opening his arms for him. Karl eagerly turns and crawls over to George, collapsing on top of his chest. Karl snuggles up against him, trying to find a comfortable position for himself and George. Once he finds it, he relaxes into George, getting ready for a nap. The tiredness of today finally hits him, but he wishes the couch had a blanket, it would make it even cozier.

George isn’t normally affectionate, but Karl just has a way of pulling it out of him. He wonders if it’s because he lives with him and has for a long time, or if he’s got something else to consider. He gazes down at Karl, his head resting on George’s chest comfortably napping. That was quick, George thinks to himself.

He gently brushes some of Karl’s hair out of his face, giving a better view of him. His freckles are starting to stand out more, getting out of the house since it’s starting to get nice again with Spring on the way. George traces Karl’s eyebrows with a light finger. Karl scrunches up his face at the ticklish contact, not waking up, but letting out an annoyed huff instead. George chuckles at this, if only Karl knew what George was doing, he wouldn’t complain at the free George affection.

George lays his head back, hands gently resting on Karl’s back, getting ready to also drift off to sleep for a nap. He’s glad it’s Karl he’s with, he doesn’t know if he would survive if it was anyone else here with him.

***

It’s dark out when Karl wakes up, wondering what time it is, if it’s early enough to consider starting his day. He sits up quietly, hoping to not wake George as he does so. Karl sits and gazes at him. He’s pretty, his eyebrows are shaped and slope perfectly, enough to make people jealous. His nose is what Karl would consider a basic shape, but it complements his face. And his lips. Karl pauses at this for a minute. He’s tried avoiding looking at George’s lips, but they look plush and possibly kissable if George would ever let him get that close.

He quickly gets off the couch at this thought, definitely not wanting George to wake up to him staring at him. He picks up the plates and walks them to the sink, ready to be washed later at a reasonable hour. As he gazes out the window, above the sink, he thinks he sees movement. He squints, it’s still dark out there, but just a hint of light helps his vision. Karl has always been the “curious cat” of the two of them. He decides he’s going to do something probably stupid.

Karl walks over to the front door, trying to open it as quietly and quickly as possible. He succeeds, much to his surprise. He squints into the darkness, wishing his eyes would adjust faster than they are. He’s probably already missed whatever it was that was out here. He can see the outline of whatever it is, but the details are lost in the dark. He realizes the animal probably has dark fur too, making it harder to see. So he decides to do something that’s probably stupid, turning on the porch light.

As he flicks the light and his eyes adjust to the sudden brightness, he sees it. It’s big, like really big, even though it looks like it’s crouching right now. He makes eye contact with it, its face like that of a wolf, but something is off. Its fur is in fact dark, brown in color, maybe black since the light is yellow and it adds warmth to the surrounding area. It stares back at him, slowly standing up. Its torso, though covered in fur, is strangely human. At its full height, it stares at Karl still. They stare at one another for what feels like eternity. Karl doesn’t know if he’s scared, intrigued, or both. But his heart is beating fast and the blood is starting to rush in his ears.

Karl hears something inside the cabin, turning for a split second to look, it’s George, turning over on the couch. When he turns back, it’s gone. It left without making a noise and that’s what finally puts Karl on the total edge, something that big should make noise as it moves. He wants to go and check where the thing was standing, see if it left any tracks. But he also feels watched and he doesn’t want to risk triggering an attack or something.

He steps back from the doorway, shutting the door. He then turns off the light that’s outside, hoping that it won’t take that as an invitation to come up to the cabin and break in. He takes a minute to calm himself down, hoping whatever that thing was has left and won’t come back.

He wanders back over to the couch. He wishes he was strong enough to pick George up and move him to his bed, but he’s not. So he instead settles for trying to gently wake him up in order to get him to move to the bed himself.

“What…” George grumbles, basically still asleep.

“You need to get up and move to the bed, you’re going to regret sleeping on the couch in the morning.” Karl gently prods.

“Hmmm… will you sleep with me?” George asks sleepy.

“Woah George, I didn’t know you wanted me like that.” Karl giggles at him.

“You’re an idiot.” George says with a blush as he sits up and heads down the hall. He turns into Karl’s room and collapses onto the bed. Karl huffs at him, he’s such a drama queen sometimes.

“Scoot over George, I need room.” Karl says as he tries getting into the bed without crushing George in the process. He does move, not much, but it’s enough for Karl to lay down at least.

They both get comfortable, not cuddling because they are in their day clothes still, and they don’t want to over heat. As Karl starts to doze off, with George’s light breathing in the background, he thinks about what he saw outside. That thing was huge, he would say at least seven feet tall. And it wasn’t scared of him, which is even more concerning, because that means it’s seen people before. He’s just glad it ran off. Checking for tracks in the morning seems like the smart thing to do.

***

He’s being hunted. The hair on the back of his neck is standing on end and he has goosebumps on his arms. But he can’t see it, the thing stalking him, hunting him. He turns this way and that, seeing nothing but trees, bushes, and grass.

He hears it, a twig snap to his left. He doesn’t even turn to look, just runs the opposite direction of the noise. It feels like he’s been running forever, his lungs burn and his throat is dry. And his legs ache with how fast he’s running right now, he could probably win national championships with his strides.

He looks over his shoulder, he just needs to know what’s chasing him. Nothing. There is nothing behind him. He stops, covering his mouth as he coughs from lung overuse. He hears a twig snap again, behind him this time. He slowly turns around.

The thing is crouched, ready to pounce once Karl makes a move. It’s eyes, they are bright orange, studying Karl, studying his prey.

What Karl doesn’t expect is for another branch to snap, this time to his right. It’s another one. This one is bigger, in almost every way. But this one’s eyes are green, an almost neon green in the dark.

This one crouched down as well, stalking him in a circle. The original one follows suit. Karl realizes a little too late that the circle is closing in. He might not have a chance.

As he moves to make a mad dash, the orange-eyed wolf pounces. Knocking Karl onto his back, squeezing all of the air out of his lungs. This things claws are big and curved like a karambit. They are attached to almost human hands, which hold him to the ground easily. The thing snaps its jaws at him, growling low in its throat. A warning that if Karl tries to get away, it will be over quickly.

What it does next surprises Karl. It opens its mouth and licks a slow stripe from the edge of his shirt, up his neck, stopping just below his ear. It sends a shiver down Karl’s spine. Not necessarily in a bad way. But Karl snaps his eyes shut, it must be sampling its prey before it eats, he realizes.

The thing sits back a little bit, using it’s nose to poke and prod around Karl’s body, smelling him. It’s surprisingly gentle as it does so, it’s nose cold and wet. When it pauses for a moment, he peaks his eyes open. It’s staring at him, studying him. Karl studies it back, but his eyes can’t seem to focus on the details, so matter how much he squints.

Using one of its claws, it tears Karl’s shirt. He liked that shirt. But he stays frozen, eyes snapping closed again. It licks him again, small kitten-licks all the way from the edge of his pants to his chest. Karl lets out a noise at this, not expecting that from the creature. It’s being so gentle with him.

But the sweetness only lasts for a second longer, the wolf digging a nail into his skin at the top of his sternum. He lets out a gasp at the pain, eyes shooting open, not expecting it. His skin and muscle easily give way, peeling back to reveal organs, sinew and bone. It dragged all the way down towards his belly. He’s being flayed alive he realizes too late.

***

Karl wakes up with a cold sweat. He’s still in bed with George, who hasn’t stirred. His breathing is frantic and he realizes his hands are shaking as he grips the sheets. He takes some deep breaths, leveling them out to semi-normal levels, his heart is still beating fast though. He looks around the room, checking to see if anything looks off. Nothing does. He quiets down and listens for any noise, nothing. He relaxes, collapsing back into bed, mindful of George’s sleeping form.

He gazes at him, he looks peaceful. George has never been one to be plagued by nightmares. Karl normally isn’t either, but that creature really put him on edge. He’s confused though, why was there two? He’s only seen it twice, but he’s pretty sure it was the same one that showed up the first day. And considering how the other one was much larger in size, he’s pretty sure he would have been able to tell.

He doesn’t want to think about it, it’s still completely dark, and he just wants to sleep. Without nightmares. He cuddles up as close as he can to George without disturbing him. Reaching out with one hand he grabs onto George’s shirt, using it to ground himself. Hoping it will help him fall asleep.

When George wakes up, he’s hot. Like sweaty hot. He looks down, realizing Karl is plastered against his back, gripping him tightly like George is going to escape. He isn’t, he likes cuddling him. But he is sweaty and he doesn’t want to be anymore, so he wiggles out of Karl’s grip, substituting his pillow for his body. He walks over to his room, not having moved over his luggage to Karl’s yet. He picks out a change of clothes, heading to the bathroom to shower.

He enjoys his shower, even though the water didn’t get hot enough for his liking. It always feels good to wash sweat off after a good sleep. He wonders why Karl was so stiff and basically trapping him into cuddling, he’s not normally not like that. He’ll have to ask him when he wakes up.

He gets out and towels off, changing into his new clothes. He looks in the mirror, he’s glad he got his haircut before coming out here. It’s probably going to be a minute before he gets it cut again. He also notices that the bags under his eyes that he had been sporting for a while, since his last groups of photos he realizes, have almost completely gone away. It’s probably because he’s slowly decompressing, away from the pressures of society for the moment.

He goes to the kitchen to grab breakfast or maybe steal one of Karl’s energy drinks. He decides against it, he’ll feel like crap if he does drink one without eating something. He settles for a protein bar and a glass of water. The sun is up already, at least enough to see your surroundings, so he goes out onto the porch and sits in the chair while he waits for Karl to wake up.

It’s quiet out here, in a good way. A peaceful way, he could take a nap out here. He should have brought his camera, there’s a couple of squirrels chasing each other around a tree and a woodpecker hammering a tree with its beak. But the photographer in him knows that once he gets up and gets his camera, they’ll be gone. So he sits back and enjoys them.

He hears shuffling in the cabin, so he assumes Karl has woken up. The door opens, a tired looking Karl coming through the threshold.

“What happened to you?” George asks, he got a decent amount of sleep last night.

“I had a nightmare.” Karl grumbles, sitting down on the wood of the porch.

“About what?” Karl doesn’t normally get nightmares.

“I saw that thing again.” He says, looking around at the tree line. Like he’s looking for something.

“What thing?” George says confused.

“The thing that I said I saw the other day. Well I saw it last night. It freaked me out. It was like a wolf thing. Like what people would describe a werewolf to look like realistically,” Karl rambles.

“I was going to check if it left tracks this morning.” He says standing up, heading in the direction he saw it standing yesterday.

George is stunned to say the least. If Karl didn’t have eyebags and ramble on about it. He would think he’s trying to prank him, but also the fact that he’s going to look for tracks sets him on edge too. George sits up and follows him down the stairs.

Karl scans the ground of the area, looking for small details that will lead him to believe he’s not crazy. He finds them, behind a low bush. They aren’t deep tracks, because it hasn’t rained since they’ve been here. But they are noticeable in the dirt. He follows them with his eyes. They lead into the forest, the same way as the creek, just a longer route. And that’s when he notices it. A game trail. A well worn game trail.

He starts to spiral a little bit. How long has this thing been in the area? How many times has it watched them and how often? He’s only seen it when the sun is down. Is it actually a werewolf? Or something else far more complex?

George sees them too. He crouches down to study them closer. He recognizes them. They are the same five-toed wolf-ish prints that were following the creek. They look to be about the same size as the ones by the creek too, meaning it’s probably the same animal. He looks up at Karl, seeing him looking into the woods. He stands up and looks too. A game trail.

Karl hesitantly takes a step forward, starting to follow the trail. George quickly grabs his arm. Stopping him from going any farther.

“Are you crazy? You can’t actually think following the thing you saw is a good idea. Especially without some type of protection? Or by yourself for that matter?” It surprises George that he’s the sensible one of the two right now, but he needs to talk some sense into him.

Karl turns to look at him. He nods in agreement, turning back towards the cabin silently. George follows, wondering what he’s going to do. He gets his answer when Karl faceplants onto the couch, deciding that it’s a good time for a nap. He probably needs it.

“I’m going out to take some pictures while you nap ok?” George tells Karl. Karl hums but doesn’t lift his head.

George grabs his camera, removing it from its case. He checks the battery making sure it’s charged enough for his wandering. He thinks about the other stuff he brought too, the knife and the bear spray. If Karl actually saw something like that, he at least wants to have a fighting chance against it. He buckles the loop of the knife’s sheath on one of his jean belt loops. The bear spray is in a similar sheath, he latches it on the opposite side of the knife.

He heads to leave, checking on Karl before he does. He’s out cold, position barely changed from when they came in earlier. He closes the door quietly on his way out, stepping out onto the porch. He walks over to where the weird wolf prints are, taking pictures of them. Again for creating an actual recording. Not that Karl’s writing isn’t a record but it’s more believable with a picture as proof. That’s why they work so well together.

He’s going to do what he told Karl he shouldn’t: follow the tracks on the game trail.

***

He ends up finding nothing after a thirty minute walk and he decides to turn around before Karl starts to worry. He hears a twig snap behind him and he turns fast, so fast he falls on his ass. When he looks, it’s a guy. The guy stands frozen looking at him for a minute. Subtly lifting his head, like he’s trying to smell.

Squinting at the dude's face, he recognizes him. He’s one of the guys who brought in that elk to the cafe. It’s the taller of the two, he seems far more intimidating from this angle.

George slowly moves his hand to the bear spray, not trusting this guy. The guy watches as he does this, eyes going wide. Like he didn’t expect George to be scared of him. The guy holds up his hands in a mock surrender, stepping back a few steps.

“Are you lost?” The guy asks, his voice is strangely nice.

“No.” Is all George says. He slowly stands up, taking a couple steps away from the guy.

“Oh. Well I thought you were, that’s why I made noise.” The guy offers as an explanation. George doesn’t give him a response to that, looking him up and down. No shoes George notes with suspicion.

The guy seems to notice his look, because he also looks down at his feet. Seeming confused for a second before it registers.

“It’s easier to hunt barefoot. It’s quieter without shoes.” He offers.

George huffs at this, yeah right, he thinks. Although, if he wanted to hurt George he could have easily done so without him even knowing. So he assumes his intentions are somewhat pure.

“What’s your name? I recognize you from the cafe.” George says, hoping that recognizing him makes him think twice about trying to hurt him.

“I’m Dream. And you are?” He says with a smile, his teeth are surprisingly white. He also notes that his canine teeth are sharper than a normal person’s.

George ignores his question for now, hoping the guy will answer his questions first.

“What are you doing out here?” He asks with a raised brow.

“I’m hunting, I already told you that. And you didn’t answer my question.” Dream huffs. He seems more playfully annoyed than mad. George thinks that’s a good thing. George rolls his eyes before answering.

“I’m George.” He answers finally. Dream seems to perk up at him answering.

“Nice to meet you George! Do you live around here?” Dream enthusiastically.

“Something like that. I really should be going, my roommate will be missing me soon.” He says, getting ready to leave quickly. He still doesn’t trust him, no matter how friendly he is.

“Oh. Well I could escort you! You never know what’s in the woods.” Dream says with a slight tilt of his head. It unsettles him even more.

“No thank you. I know how to protect myself from animals.” George says, taking a couple steps back. Dream doesn’t follow. He doesn’t know if that’s a good thing though.

“Hmm, suit yourself then.” Is all Dream says before he starts walking away where he had been standing.

George is confused. He’s weird is the first thought that comes to George’s mind. He starts following the game trail back towards the cabin. Checking over his shoulder every so often to see if he’s being followed. He’s not and after a while he finally sees the cabin again.

He recounts the whole experience to Karl. Who looks at him with wide eyes the whole time. They make a pact to not go out into the woods alone after that. Not wanting to be caught alone if something like that happens again.

Chapter Text

They settle into a routine over the next couple weeks: They go into town once a week to buy groceries and go to the cafe. Also talking to Susan about the interesting animals they’ve seen (never mentioning the wolves, they don’t want to seem crazy). And they see the guys Dream and Sapnap a couple of times, but they never talk to them. It’s like both parties are in separate bubbles. Dream does send George a smile every once in a while, Sapnap will show one to Karl too, but it seems reserved.

And the rest of the time is spent wandering the woods together during the day, never straying too far from the cabin. They get a lot of information about the surrounding animal populations for Karl and subsequently get a lot of pictures for George as well.

They both catch glimpses of that wolf thing every once in a while, never within the clearing that the cabin is in, only on the edge just out of the light. It’s eyes reflect the light, appearing bright orange. They never see it during the day, so they don’t worry too much about it. They push it to the back of their minds. It’s bothering them, don’t get them wrong, they are still waiting for the day it crosses the threshold to attack. But for now it seems hesitant.

And hesitation in wild animals is good, even if you can’t explain what they are.

It’s been about three weeks now and Karl decides to break their one rule. The one about going out alone into the forest.

George is sleeping soundly on the couch, the midday rays hitting him perfectly. Like a model Karl thinks. He doesn’t know how George hasn’t found a partner yet, he’s gorgeous. And he tells him just that, when he’s brave enough. George had once disclosed to Karl, drunk, mind you, that he wants a partner. He had said that he missed the intimacy. George had ended up crawling into Karl’s lap, albeit not gracefully, as he began kissing along his neck. And Karl let him. George had ended up falling asleep on Karl’s lap, but not before leaving a couple of drunk-possessive hickies on him. They didn’t talk about it the next morning.

He shakes his head at this, a bad time to remember something like that. His jeans are slightly tighter than they were a couple of seconds ago. But he pushes that out of his mind as he prepares for going out into the woods, alone.

He grabs George’s bear spray and hunting knife for his peace of mind. Drinking a good amount of water and eating a snack before leaving as well. He doesn’t know how long he will be out there, so it’s good to prepare.

He sets off on the game trail that he assumes the Thing uses the most often, its well worn with travel. Almost worn enough to be considered a normal path, which is kind of concerning in hindsight.

***

After about an hour, Karl’s best guess anyway, he stumbles upon a clearing. It’s not big, maybe an acre at most. Instead of there being grass growing, which would be normal in a clearing like this. It’s completely dirt, except for a couple stray weeds. And what surprises him the most is the amount of prints, prints that match the ones from around the cabin. Except there seems to be a different sized pair in the mix. Two separate animals, Karl thinks.

He walks closer to the center of the clearing, the prints starting to overlap more as he goes. There are a couple tracks that indicate that the animals have slipped, the tracks dragging. And a couple indents on the group that show that they’ve landed on the ground. It’s all interesting to him, he should have brought George so he could photograph it.

That’s when he hears it, or rather doesn’t. He doesn’t hear anything. No birds, insects, leaves rustling, nothing. He’s stiff, slowly standing from his crouched position. He hears leaves moving, but not in a breeze, something is disturbing them on the ground. He looks at the way the sound is coming from, seeing nothing yet. He doesn’t know if he wants to see anything. He hopes it’s just a deer.

He readies himself and his bear spray. He hears a growl, it's a low rumble. It’s a warning. He takes a step back, and that seems to be the wrong thing to do, because it all but snarls at him. So he freezes again. It steps into the clearing. The first thing that comes to Karl’s mind is: “it’s not mine. That’s not my wolf.” It’s taller than his, probably by at least a foot. It’s fur isn’t as dark, more of a dirty-blonde-copper color. He realizes that it looks like the same one in his nightmare a couple of weeks ago. Not the one who licked and cut him (that was his wolf, he’s pretty sure), but the other one that was circling him.

Standing on It’s hind legs, It takes a step into the clearing, lifting It’s nose into the air, trying to smell him. He doesn’t know what to do, he’s frozen. He hates that in terms of flight or fight, he’s found the third option: freeze. His heart is beating like crazy, eyes are wide. Like a deer in headlights. He’s the prey in this situation he realizes with a short gasp. He doesn’t know if George’s bear spray will work in this situation, since that thing is definitely not a bear.

It lowers down onto It’s forelimbs. And it stalks forward slowly, a low rumble in It’s throat the whole way. It’s tail is flagged up behind it, a defensive posture amongst canids. It’s ears are forward, which means It’s confident in its pursuit.

Then it starts sprinting towards Karl. Karl registers it a little too late, turning and tripping over his own feet. He turns just in time to see it going to pounce on him. Karl shuts his eyes to prepare for the force of being hit by such a large body. It never comes, instead he here’s a thud and snarls.

When he opens his eyes, all he registers is that there are two wolves currently fighting each other. Teeth snapping onto fur and claws tearing flesh. He then realizes that that's his wolf. His wolf is fighting the other one, supposedly to protect him. He also recognizes that his wolf is losing ground quickly and he needs to get out of here before the attention is turned back on him.

He turns and sprints the way he thinks he came in, not finding the game trail in his frantic search. He doesn’t care at the moment, he just needs to get out of range. So he does, he sprints like his life depends on it. It probably does. His heart is pounding in his ears and his lungs are struggling to take in an adequate amount of oxygen. He’s struggling to keep this pace up, but he pushes through for another couple of minutes. He ends up finding a downed tree, bracing his arms against it for support as he gasps for air. His legs shake with the effort of holding himself up after that run.

He doesn’t recognize where he is. He’s lost. He sits down on the log, just breathing in the fresh air as quickly as he can. He hears a twig snap and leaves crunching. He gets ready to run when he sees him. A guy. The guy from the cafe, the short one. He looks worse for wear, like he just got beat up.

“Hello?” Karl calls out to him. He seems to know where he’s going, or at least has an idea unlike Karl.

“Hi.” The guy calls back, slowly walking towards Karl. He looks worse up close.

“Holy crap. Are you ok?” Karl stands up, walking over to him and inspecting him.

“Yeah, I’m good. Just had a little scrap with my brother, no worries.” He says with an easy smile.

“Oh, ok then.” Karl nods at him. Definitely doesn’t look like it was just a little scrap. More like he got mauled by a bear.

“Are you lost? Do you live around here?” The man asks, looking Karl over.

“Well… yeah I am. I don’t live around here per say, I’m just staying here for a while.” Karl mumbles, blood rushing to his cheeks in embarrassment.

“I can help you, I know these woods pretty well. The name is Sapnap, what’s yours?” looking at Karl as he starts leading the way.

“My name is Karl. Do you live around here?” He asks, letting out a deep breath. He’s glad Sapnap stumbled upon him, otherwise he doesn’t know if he would have made it back to the cabin before sun down.

“Hmm you could say that.” Sapnap answers cryptically.

Karl just nods, if he wanted Karl to know more he would have said more. And he doesn’t want to annoy the person leading him home.

They walk silently, Sapnap a couple paces ahead of Karl. But he doesn’t seem to mind. Karl is normally talkative, but after what he just witnessed not even an hour ago has him shook. When he looks up, he spots the cabin. He starts walking faster, slowly overtaking Sapnap.

“Oh my god, you’re a lifesaver Sapnap! Thank you…” Karl trails off as he turns back around and realizes he’s gone. He looks for him for a couple of minutes, hoping to spot him between the trees. Nothing. He quickly turns around and sprints into the cabin.

He doesn’t want to tell George. He broke one of the rules and he’s afraid he won’t trust him again because of it. Not that it would be completely unwarranted, but he still doesn’t want it to happen. George is still asleep when he walks into the cabin again. He thanks whatever god has blessed him with this easy escape.

He quickly puts George’s stuff back into place, hoping he won’t notice if it’s slightly different. He grabs a change of clothes too, not wanting George to see the dirt and dust on his clothes. He looks in the mirror, his eyes seem to be permanently wide at the moment. But other than that, he looks ok.

When George wakes up, Karl doesn’t mention anything. Going on as they normally would in their routine. George notices that Karl is more on edge, but he takes that as him being worried about the wolf that’s stalking around the cabin at night.

***

Karl and George don’t see the wolf for a week after that. George assumes its because It finally got bored of them, moving on to stalk someone else. At least that’s what he’s hoping for.

But Karl worries, he worries that his wolf got injured or worse, died. Not that he should really care, a more sane man would be grateful that that thing isn’t stalking them at night anymore. But Karl really isn’t that sane in all honesty, that’s what happens when you write papers for a living.

So when Karl is brave enough to sit outside in the rocking chair at midnight, George is already fast asleep in what they have decided is their shared bed. Karl couldn’t kick George out, even if he wanted, he’s weak to puppy eyes. Once the moon is high in the sky, a full moon he notes, how ironic if these things are actually werewolves. He steps off the porch, walking the path to the creek using the moon to light his way.

He knows where he’s going, he’s heading to that clearing again. Hoping to at least find a clue what happened after he ran. It’s a long walk to make in the middle of the night, especially if those things decide to appear again, but he needs answers.

Before stepping into the clearing, he surveys the area. No signs of movement. And he hears the normal forest background noises, that hasn’t failed him at being a warning yet. So he steps out, walking towards the middle, where the fight would have happened. He notices splattered blood on the ground, chunks of fur too. But no dead body or any indication that one of them got killed here. Then he notes something strange, it could be a trick of the moonlight. But when he crouches to get a closer look, it’s obvious what it is. Footprints, human footprints. Leading away from the battlefield and towards the woods, in the way of the cabin. The other set leads into the opposite side of the clearing.

When he stands back up he decides to head back to the cabin, he got what he wanted. His wolf, when had he started calling it that? It definitely wasn’t his. The wolves obviously didn’t kill each other in the clearing, he would have seen more blood and maybe a body.

He heads back to the cabin. He still doesn’t have answers to where the creature went. Or why there would be human footprints. But as he walks and thinks, he thinks about Sapnap and Dream, how they were out here. Dream was hunting, barefoot so that could place him to one set of tracks. And then he thinks about Sapnap, he had said he fought with his brother. He was also barefoot. So he could be the other set of prints. But he’s confused about how the timeline is set up, Sapnap and Dream supposedly had fought around the same time as those creatures, but somehow didn’t get caught.

It just didn’t make sense. He’s tired and he feels it now starting to take its toll. He’s basically dragging his feet the rest of the way to the cabin, ready to collapse into bed with George.

He gets into bed after changing into his pajamas, cuddling up against George’s back. Who subsequently turns around and cuddles under Karl’s chin. Karl kisses his hair, bringing his one hand up to run it through George’s hair. It’s like petting a cat, you can’t help but relax when you do it.

***

George notices that Karl gazes out of the window more often. He thinks it’s because he’s paranoid. He wants to take his mind off it, so he suggests going into town. It’s not the day they normally go, but a break in routine seems to be what they need.

Him and Karl are currently laying in bed, half awake just enjoying each other’s company. After he had mentioned going into town, Karl agreeing, they decided to stay in bed for a little longer. Karl had taken one of George’s hands into his, tracing over it creating designs.

George gazes up at Karl as he does so. He’s stunning, his freckles are definitely one of George’s favorite things about him. They create patterns, constellations over the bridge of his nose and across his cheeks. He turns onto his side so he can reach his unoccupied hand up, starting to lightly trace Karl’s freckles.

Karl is slightly startled by George doing this, he’s not normally touchy unless he’s drunk. Not that he’s complaining. He turns to gaze at George in return, connected hands forgotten on the sheets.

George looks up at Karl’s eyes, making eye contact with him. It’s only broken when George follows Karl’s tongue as it swipes at his lips to wet them. He keeps staring at his lips, they look soft and plush. He really wants to kiss him. He slowly looks back up at his face, Karl catching him looking. A blush raises and burns his face at being caught.

Karl catches George looking at his lips. He hopes that he isn’t reading the situation wrong as he notices the blush on George's face. He leans over, connecting their lips. At first George doesn’t kiss back, startled that Karl actually kissed him. Karl pulls away at his hestitance, ready to apologize. But then George sits up quickly, connecting their lips again.

It’s slow and light. Gentle kisses that make Karl melt. George sits up more, gaining a better angle, noses brushing. He places one of his hands on Karl’s hip for stability. Karl lays back against the pillows, giving George a better angle. He scoots to be more on top of him, almost straddling his hips. Once George gets settled on top of Karl, Karl brings his hands up to hold George’s face gently. George is the one who deepens the kiss, using his tongue against Karl’s lips to ask permission for entry. Karl grants it easily, letting George take control. At first it’s clumsy and unpracticed, but once they start getting into it, it becomes easy and fluid.

George breaks the kiss a short while later, placing a kiss just to the corner of his mouth before starting to lay light ones along Karl’s jaw. He kisses under Karl’s ear, the skin is pink with blood, as he next bites the lobe of his ear gently. It causes Karl to let out a little gasp, which makes a bit of arousal zip down to his groin. He continues his path of kisses, a little less gently. He starts using teeth, nipping at Karl’s skin almost hungerly. He stops over Karl’s sweet spot on his neck, near his shoulder. Karl had told him so, once, a long time ago. Laving over the spot with his tongue, gently starting to nibble and then pulling some of Karl’s skin in between his teeth. Sucking lightly, drawing the blood to the surface just below his skin. Marking him. George is possessive of his friends and even more so of his partners. If he can call Karl that. They’ve never put a label on them.

Karl lets out little noises as George marks him. It feels good, some of the pleasure heads to his groin, but a lot of it is sent to his brain. He loves closeness like this, it makes him feel floaty and lightheaded. He takes some of George’s hair in his hand, not pulling but using it to hold him to his neck, directing him where he needs.

George hasn’t paid close attention, but he can feel he’s hard in his pants. He subtly grinds his hips forward, also finding that Karl is hard too. He lets out a low groan in Karl’s neck. Karl uses the grip on George’s hair to pull him back into a kiss. Karl uses his other hand to place it on George’s hip, stabilizing him and trying to ground himself with his touch.

George slowly grinds their clothed dicks against each other. It’s enough stimulation to work him up, making his dick leak in his boxers. They aren’t really kissing anymore, more like panting into each other’s mouths. George gazes down at Karl, his eyes seem glassy and unfocused. He’s never seen Karl like this. It scares him.

“Karl.” George whispers to him, slowing his grinding.

It takes Karl a second to come back from the clouds, his dissent is slow and fuzzy. He focuses on George’s face, he’s worried Karl realizes. Based on the creases in his brows and the slight downturn on his lips. But he doesn’t know if he asked a question or just called his name, his mind blank.

“Hmm?” Karl asks in a small subdued hum.

“Are you ok?” George has stopped the grinding at this point, lightly hovering over him. “You were pretty out of it for a second there.” He says, gently brushing some of Karl’s hair from his face.

“I’m good, just felt good.” Karl mumbles gazing up at him.

“Yeah? Can I keep going? Or are you done for now?” George asks gently.

Karl loves that about George. He might seem emotionally constipated, and well, he is, but he shows he cares in small ways. Karl came out to him a while ago, it had been an easy affair. George, having accepted him easily, and with few questions. And now he’s proving he listened to him that time. About how he feels about sex, even in the middle of it.

Karl runs a checkup on his body and brain. His body says that his dick is still hard, only flagging slightly with the gap in stimulation. His brain is enjoying the intimacy, but not necessarily the grinding part. So he tells George just as much.

“I’m enjoying the kissing and you marking me, but I’m not really into the grinding right now.” Karl speaks quietly.

George hums, still gazing down at him softly. He gently moves off from on top of Karl, laying down on his side to face him. His dick is still hard, but he’s more interested in kissing and marking Karl right now. Karl also turns to face George, reaching out with one hand to pull him into a kiss again. It doesn’t get heated again after that, it’s slow and languid.

***

They break apart some time later, deciding that if they want to get to town any time soon, they need to stop kissing. So they both slowly sit up, letting the blood get back into their legs before getting up. They both grab a change of clothes, looking at each other when they both walk to the door.

“I call dibs on the first shower!” Karl grins as he gets ready to walk past George.

“No you don’t , I get first shower.” George says grabbing Karl by the waist to forcefully move him out of the way, trying to make a mad dash for the shower.

Karl latches onto George’s shoulders, trying to pull or push him down to the floor in order to get into the bathroom first. George manages to shake Karl off, laughing the whole time. He just makes it into the bathroom, locking the door, before Karl can reach him again. Karl bangs his fist against the door a couple times, before letting out a huff.

“You can join me Karl.” George says in an over exaggerated flirty voice from behind the door. He’s probably smiling like a maniac.

Karl rolls his eyes again, walking back to their room to sit on the bed while he waits. He hears George start singing something, it’s muffled by the walls in between them, but he still smiles at it regardless. He likes domestic stuff like this, it makes him feel light and like nothing is wrong in the world.

When George gets out of the shower, he dries off quickly. Stopping at his hair, he pauses and then tries to fix it. It looks fine the way it is, but suddenly he wants to be presentable to Karl. He doesn’t know why, Karl has seen him with some of the worst bedhead in his life. He realizes it’s probably because they were intimate, and he wants to peacock around for him, not that he’ll ever say that out loud. He boils it down to a dumb subconscious thing.

He steps out of the bathroom, ready for town. And when he gets into view of Karl, he grins at him. It’s shy, like he’s nervous around his crush. It’s dumb. Even though they haven’t labeled themselves, he knows Karl is his in some form or another.

Karl looks up from where he was waiting on the bed, seeing George stepping out of the bathroom. His hair is different, he notes, more styled than normal. Karl smiles at him, wondering if the effort is for him or someone else. That thought sours the feeling in his stomach, something possessive rearing its head. So he stands up, change of clothes in his grip and walks up to George. He slowly reaches his hand forward, messing up George’s hair slightly. George lets out a scoff as he does so, gently batting his hand away. Karl leans forward, laying a peck on George’s lips, before pulling away and going into the bathroom. Karl can’t help himself, George’s lips look plump and red from all the kissing earlier.

Once in the bathroom, he strips down fast. When he catches himself in the mirror, he immediately does a double take. He looks like he’s been mauled, red and purple spots marking all the way from his shoulder up to his ear and jaw. He gently prods at the darkest one, the one on his sweet spot he had told George about. It sends a small sting through his whole system, he likes it. He sees himself grinning like an idiot in the mirror.

***

Their drive to town is quiet and subdued, neither breaking the pleasant silence of the car. The only sounds are wheels on gravel and the gentle hum of the radio in the background. George is dozing off in the passenger seat, Karl keeps glancing at him, seeing if he’ll finally close his eyes one of these times. He doesn’t, they pull into town before he fully commits to it.

Once Karl parks in their spot in front of the cafe, he pats George’s knee, waking him up. Because they have a parking spot now, which is crazy to Karl. It’s like they are permanent in this town now. They walk into the cafe, getting ready to head to their normal booth when George spots Dream and Sapnap. They are talking in one of the aisles in the convenience store. Both Sapnap and Dream turn their heads at the same time, spotting George and Karl. George waves at them, walking towards them, Karl in tow.

“Hi guys.” George says with a shy smile.

“Hi.” Dream says looking down at George with a big smile on his face. He has freckles, George notes. Karl thinks that if Dream had a tail, it would be wagging. Hard.

“Hey Karl.” Sapnap says grinning up at him.

“Hi Sap.” Karl returns his grin.

“Sap? A nickname for me already?” Sapnap chuckles.

Karl nods with excitement, he’s glad Sapnap isn’t weirded out by it.

“Do you want to join us for lunch? I feel like we both owe you.” George says, turning to walk to their booth.

“Sure!” Both boys answer together enthusiastically.

They eagerly follow, sitting on the opposite side of both Karl and George. Sapnap in front of Karl and Dream in front of George. Susan comes out of the kitchen, carrying both water and lemonade. The same drink order both George and Karl get every time.

“Oh hello boys.” Susan says to Dream and Sapnap.

“Hi, Susan.” They both answer.

“What can I get you guys?” She asks politely.

“I’ll have a Coke.” Sapnap decides.

“I’ll have some water, please.” Dream smiles at her. Now that George is up close, his canines look even sharper.

They sit patiently for their drinks, sitting quietly. Once she comes back and drops off the drinks and gathers their orders, they finally talk.

“So how have you been? Get lost in the woods again recently?” Dream laughs.

George rolls his eyes at him. Karl just shakes his head as he snorts at Dream’s comment. George elbows him in the ribs, Karl letting out a huff. George glares at Karl, causing him to look out the window of the cage like he doesn’t know what he’s glaring at.

He hears a whistle. It causes him to turn to look at Dream.

“Get lucky recently, Karl?” Dream says, motioning to his own neck.

Karl blushes, face going bright red as he covers the noticeable hickey on his neck. Sapnap is also looking at where the hickey is, face blank besides a light frown on his lips.

“Yeah, did you Karl?” George giggles at him.

“Shut up, George.” Karl groans, dramatically falling back against the seat.

George and Dream both laugh at his antics, Sapnap joining in with minimal effort. Karl would say he seems upset, but he doesn’t know him well enough to tell.

Their food comes out during the break in conversation, or rather teasing. So they decide to eat, it’s pretty silent. Except for George and Karl giggling at each other every so often, like they are telepathically telling each other jokes. Karl loves how close him and George are, it makes him feel secure.

When they are done, George insists on him paying (surprisingly). Karl realizes it’s because he feels annoyed at Dream and Sapnap having to help them. But Karl also thinks it’s because Dream has been making these eyes at George. They are big round eyes, intent on catching every detail. But also gentle in a way that subtly has George melting in his seat.

Karl definitely isn’t jealous in the slightest… is what he would say if he’s a liar. It makes him slightly self conscious, George liking Dream. Dream has broad shoulders with a decent amount of muscle. Karl is well, scrawny to put it nicely. Dream could easily throw George around. Dream has freckles, which Karl has too, but they are far more prominent on Dream’s cheeks with the time he spends in the sun. Dream also has perfect teeth, straight and white. Karl would say he has good teeth, it’s just that his top fronts are a little bigger and slightly more forward than his other teeth.

And Dream would probably like sex. And having sex all of the time. Which Karl doesn’t, sex grosses him out sometimes or makes him feel hollow. George has never mentioned it bothering him, but they haven’t really been that intimate with each other. So, maybe it hasn’t come up yet, but it will eventually. And maybe George will regret being with Karl, wishing he was with Dream instead.

Karl’s pulled out of these thoughts by two things: a hand placed into his, by George, who gives his hand a gentle squeeze. And by Sapnap giving him a light kick to his shoe, whether it was by accident or not, Karl doesn’t know. But it does make him focus back on the present. He slowly scoots closer to George, laying his head on his shoulder. He kind of wants to leave. George and Dream are talking about something, but he’s not really focused on what they are saying.

He looks at Sapnap. He’s intently listening to what Dream and George are saying, posture more relaxed than earlier. He sees his mouth move, likely adding to the conversation happening around him. He watches his lips as he speaks, watching how he draws out certain syllables. They look slightly chapped, but still soft. Karl licks his own lips, wetting them to make sure they aren’t chapped themselves. His beard is still nicely trimmed, a little longer than last time, but still well kept. When Karl gazes at Sapnap’s eyes, he thinks they are almost black at first. But upon closer inspection, they actually seem green, a gray-green. He’s never seen eyes that color before. It’s stunning.

“Ok, we should probably get going. I think Karl is about to sleep on me.” George chuckles, drawing Karl out of his “Sapnap Study”.

George slowly stands up, getting out of the booth. He waits for Karl to follow him before moving to leave. Karl sluggishly follows after him, missing the skin contact between their hands.

“Yeah, we better get back home too. It’s getting kind of late.” Dream says, looking outside.

“Well it was good seeing you guys, not in the woods this time.” Karl says, grinning at Sapnap who laughs at his joke.

They all say goodbyes, George and Karl leaving out of the front of the store and getting into their car. Dream and Sapnap walk out a little while later, waving goodbye to them one last time before starting to walk wherever they live. George forgot to ask.

Once again the drive is peaceful, it always is for them. And with their stomachs full, they both decide that they are going to nap or maybe fall asleep until tomorrow. They take turns in the bathroom changing into more comfortable clothes for their nap. They work fluidly around each other, but I guess that’s what happens when you’ve lived with each other for a long time.

George crawls into a bed first, right into the middle of the bed. So that Karl doesn’t get a choice on whether or not he’ll cuddle with him. Not that Karl is complaining, it’s like a switch has been flipped in George’s head since they got here. Karl crawls in after him, collapsing half on top of him. It’s surprisingly comfortable. Karl wraps his arms around George’s middle as they tangle their legs together, needing contact everywhere they can get.
They fall asleep easily after that.

Chapter Text

George decides that he’s going to go out alone. It’s during the day and he ok-ed it with Karl beforehand. Karl just has some writing to catch up on so he wanted to stay in today. Without seeing the creature, they assume it’s at least safe to do so in the daytime.

George walks on a less traveled game trail, following it for at least a good two hours. He’s made stops along the way to take pictures, but nothing is really catching his eye.

He crests over a ridge that he didn’t even realize he was on. It leads into a sort of bowl of a valley. Below he spots some elk, a few cows and a sizable bull. He decides to make himself less noticeable and lays down right at the crest, hiding the majority of his body from view.

He watches the elk for a good while. Taking pictures here and there when the bull decides he wants the cows to move to a certain area, causing a mild ruckus. After good amount of time, slight boredom grips him. He decides to check some of the pictures he’s taken, looking down at the mini screen on the camera, scanning through them. When he looks back up, the elk are all frozen looking in the same direction towards the ridge on the right. A predator has probably moved into the scent range of the elk.

He watches through his zoomed in camera lense, getting some more pictures of the elk at attention before he tries searching for what’s making them skittish. He doesn’t find anything when scanning the tree line so he turns his camera back to the elk. They are starting to move out, not with a great deal of urgency but enough to put some distance. So the predator must be decently far away, or it’s something they aren’t that worried about.

What happens next happens fast. In a flash of coppery fur, something dashes at the elk. George trains his camera on what’s happening the best he can. Whatever it is has just caught up to the bull elk. It stretches a front leg out, claws ready, slashing at the elk’s hindquarters, causing it to take a misstep. Either in pain or from the power of the creature's swipe. That mistake is all it takes for that thing to get an opening, jump onto the elk’s back. Riding it like a bronc in a rodeo. It gets itself into a more stable position, It’s jaws soon snap around the neck of the elk, using it to stabilize as a clawed hand comes down around the bull’s throat, slicing it easily. He sees spurts of blood gush from the bull’s neck.

The bull takes a couple more strides before it completely falls to the ground, dead. The creature unlatches It’s jaws from around the elk's neck, leaving divots big enough that George can see them from so far away. The elk’s blood spills onto the ground, flowing easily with such a big cut.
It surprises George by what it does next; it starts field dressing the bull, or it at least looks like it is from George’s limited hunting experience. Using It’s clawed finger as a knife, seeming to easily glide through the elk’s hide. If it wasn’t so terrifying he would be impressed.

George sits up fast from his spot, probably too fast as he loses his balance, sliding down the hill a short distance before stopping. The ground is rough on his knees and palms. He immediately checks his camera for damage, he deems it fine for the most part, just slightly dusty. When he looks back up to where the creature was, he notices it’s not moving. And it turned to be facing him, staring him down. Oh god.

He scrambles back up the hill, getting up onto the crest of it. He turns back once to check the thing’s location, it’s closer than before. George curses at himself for picking a spot so far from the cabin, he’s not a sprinter and definitely not a marathoner either. He also curses the trail for being less noticeable, even though that’s the reason he picked it. He just runs in the general direction of the cabin, hoping he can at least get close enough to scream for Karl.

He’s running for what feels like forever, adrenaline pumping, his legs have long gone numb. It’s probably only been thirty minutes max and he’s already considerably slowed down from when he started. He wonders briefly if he could hide from it. But he knows it has good eyesight and an even better sense of smell, he would be found easily. And he doesn’t want to be found. George not found, ha.

If he could just find water, that could throw it off for a little bit. Or mud. Mud could work too, but does he really want to get covered in mud? He guesses if his life is on the line, he’ll do anything. After some more running, he finds it, or at least he thinks he does. The creek that leads to the cabin. It’s much shallower here, probably knee height but wider across than up by the cabin.

He comes to a stop at it’s edge. It’s a split second decision, but he starts taking his shoes off and then his socks. He also roles up his jeans, they barely make it to his knees, they might get wet, but fuck it, if it allows him to throw It off for a while it’s worth it. He walks into the water, just up to mid calf, and starts walking against the current.

He probably walks like that for a good twenty minutes before deciding he’s going to take the risk and cross over to the other side. His jeans do end up getting wet, but he can’t be bothered with it until he’s safe. It’s a disgusting feeling when he slips on his socks over his wet feet, not having the luxury of drying them off beforehand. He starts off straight again, not running quite yet. His shoes squishing as he goes. He hasn’t heard anything that might help him tell if that thing is following him, but he doesn’t want to risk stopping completely either.

***

Karl finished his writing about twenty minutes ago, so he’s decided to “sunbathe” on the porch. The sun is at the correct angle to hit him under the overhang, so it’s perfect really. He’s sprawled out, soaking in the sun, waiting for George to get back.
Don’t get him wrong, it’s good to spend time apart, “distance makes the heart grow fonder” or something, but he misses him already. He also never clarified when he would be back, just sometime before dark. So he doesn’t know how long he’s going to be alone, he hopes it’s not much longer.

Karl is in a state between the sleeping relm and the waking one, when he hears footsteps. He opens his eyes, sitting up in a relaxed manner, thinking it’s George getting back. It’s not. It’s the wolf, his wolf. And it has a slight limp in It’s four-beat gait, but it doesn’t look like anything else major is wrong. It’s also carrying something in its mouth. Karl can’t quite see what it is, the wolf is just approaching. He doesn’t know why he doesn’t run inside. An animal breaking its habit usually means it’s sick or worse.

When It gets closer, he realizes it’s a deer skull. A completely clean one, bleached white either with time or chemicals Karl isn’t sure. When it looks up, It notices Karl staring at It. It seems just as startled to see Karl as he is to see It. It pauses for a moment, before continuing closer, slower this time. Once it gets to the edge of the normal boundary, it stops again. Looking down at the invisible line drawn between them, before looking up at Karl, before taking a hesitant step forward.

Karl immediately stands up at this, prepared to run into the cabin if it decides to try and attack him. It takes a couple steps in before coming to a halt. It gently places the skull on the ground in front of its feet, looking up at Karl as it does so, using its nose to gently nudge it forward. It’s almost cute, like it’s offering a toy. Then It takes multiple steps back, sitting on It’s haunches. It stares at Karl, It’s eyes wide, like a puppy begging for something. He doesn’t know how he can relate this thing to a puppy, he knows the damage something that big can do. But yet, he wants to know what it wants.

“Is that— is that for me?” He asks, he doesn’t know if he’ll receive a response. He feels crazy for even deciding to ask and expecting an answer.

It stares at him for a moment, before giving a slight nod. Its eyes seemingly growing bigger. It’s tail is wagging slowly behind it, seemingly liking that Karl is talking to It. He takes a slow step onto the first step on the set of stairs.

“I’m going to come pick it up, ok? So don’t like, eat me.” Karl says to It before walking down the last couple of steps.

Now at ground level with the creature, he can now truly gauge how big it is. Karl takes a couple small steps forward, the creature doesn’t move from its spot. He takes a deep breath before moving forward quickly and snatching up the skull by the antlers. The beast growls at him as he does so. He stops dead, staring wide eyed at it.

It moves fast, faster than Karl can comprehend. Using a big clawed hand to shove Karl to the ground and hold him there, crawled hand resting on his stomach. The air is knocked out of him for a minute, gasping for breath. Karl can feel the strength behind this arm, it could easily tear him to pieces. Like in his nightmare he thinks briefly. It growls at him again, Karl doesn’t understand what it wants from him, so he lays motionless. It begins sniffing him, mostly around his neck and face, also briefly wandering to his armpits and groin, which makes him cringe. It brings It’s jaws close to Karl’s face, so Karl turns his head away. That seems to be what it wanted, the growls cutting off abruptly. He realizes his hickies from George are on display, a blush coming to his face. The thing leans down, smelling over the thin skin on his neck, seemingly judging the hickies. But then it leans down and starts rubbing It’s furred neck against Karl’s. It smells musky, but not in a terrible way, it’s raw and foresty, Karl could probably grow to love it if he was around it more often. And the fur is surprisingly soft, but incredibly dense. He wonders if it would let him pet It. When the wolf pulls away, Karl keeps his eyes shut for a moment longer, but when he opens his eyes. It’s completely gone. The only hints that it was ever there are the musky scent on his neck and clothes, and the deer skull that’s been discarded to rest beside him.

When he picks up the deer skull, he realizes it’s been engraved. A gorgeous swirling pattern up the bridge of the nose all of the way to the back. It reminds him of western style blackleaf, incredibly intricate. He also sees some carvings that look like they are meant to be words, but it’s in a language he’s never seen before. There seems to be three words or phrases, two wrapped around the eye sockets, and one on the forehead between the antlers. There are some painted bits, just short dashes and lines helping draw your eye into different places. He looks closer at the paint, it’s redder in some spots but it’s mostly a dark brown. He holds it close to his chest as he stands up, heading back into the cabin. He needs time to think about what just happened. He wishes George would come back.

***

George doesn’t know how far he is from the cabin now, but he feels lost. Hopelessly lost. He had taken out his phone for the compass to make sure he was heading the right way, he is, but it sure doesn’t feel like it. He feels like he’s walking in circles. He also hasn’t heard any indication that that thing is still following him. But he knows it’s pretty silent when it was to be.

He decides to stop to rest and gather his bearings, or at least try to. At least it’s a nice day, if it wasn’t this would be even more miserable. He knows the house is north, at least from where he was. He shouldn’t have strayed from the game trail he followed, or at least tried finding it. He hears leaves crunching, but not from behind him. He turns to look to the left and what he sees shocks him. It’s Dream. He’s wearing what looks to be a green hoodie and jeans, also carrying an ax.

He wants to call out, but something stops him. If he calls out and that wolf-thing is still following him, he’ll lead it to not only himself, but them too. But he needs help in order to get back, so he calls out anyway.

“Dream!” George shouts, not having moved from his spot.

Dream turns sharply towards him, eyes wide, surprised to see him.

“George!” Dream calls back as he jogs over, the ax seems to weigh nothing as he holds it at his side.

“What are you doing out here? Lost again?” He says stopping a foot away. George notes the distance.

George wants to deny it. He doesn’t want to be made fun of, especially by Dream who seems to know where he is in the woods at all times. But he sucks it up and explains it to him, without making him sound absolutely insane.

“Yes… I was just out photographing elk. I lost the game trail I followed to get there, so I’ve kind of been wandering blind.” He says, hopefully that sounds believable enough.

Dream just shakes his head at him, disappointed, but a subtle smile on his lips.

“We have to stop meeting like this, George,” Dream laughs. “I think I know the way to your cabin, it’s not far, but at this rate you are going to overshoot it.” He explains, starting to walk the way he was going.

George thinks that it’s weird that Dream knows where the cabin is, presumably. God he hopes Dream isn’t a serial killer. It would be so easy out here. Nobody around to hear his screams for miles. He shakes his head, he has to trust him. It’s his only shot of getting out of here. And after walking for a good thirty minutes, George sees the cabin ahead. He can’t wait to see Karl. He almost lost that chance. Once they get to the edge of the clearing, George finally lets out a sigh of relief. Dream stops at the edge, hesitating to follow. Unsure of being welcomed in.

“Oh my god, thank you so much! Come in, I feel like I need to pay you back.” George says, grabbing Dream’s hoodie and forcefully pulling him along. Dream stumbles before finally getting his feet work.

Once they get up the stairs, he notices Dream pause for a second. He subtly lifts his head for a moment, eyes widening a little. But he continues once George opens the door.

“Karl!” He calls out. Hearing the bathroom door open, he turns to look.

“George!” Karl calls back, with a smile on his face.

Karl looks as lively as always, almost skipping over to George. When he hugs him, he notices a weird smell on him. But he quickly forgets that when Karl kisses his cheek. Karl pulls back grinning at him. He hates to be cliché but Karl’s eyes seem to sparkle when he looks into them. Karl breaks eye contact when he notices Dream behind George.

“Oh, and I see you brought a friend back with you.” Karl turns to Dream as he says this. Still smiling, but it’s more closed off with him.

Dream isn’t looking at them, he’s looking at what’s on the table. A deer skull. A carved deer skull. Dream seems to take a deep breath before asking:

“Where did you get that?” Dream inquires, carefully neutral in his tone. No hint of emotion on his face as he looks up at Karl, glancing at George too.

Karl has a split second to think of a believable story to tell him. He doesn’t want to sound like he lost his marbles. “Oh yeah, a wolf-thingy gave it to me and also rubbed itself all over me. You definitely shouldn’t worry”. Yeah no, he’s not doing that.

“I found it.” Karl decides on, hoping it sounds believable enough, even as his voice wavers at the end.

George notices Karl’s short answer, that’s not normal for him, like at all. Normally Karl loves to give a detailed explanation of something cool he found, even if it’s not super thrilling. He’s going to have to ask for the real story later, once they are alone.

“You… You found it?” Dream asks skeptically. He picks up the skull, looking it over. He traces the carvings, it looks like he’s reading them. Karl wants to ask if he can read them, then he would know what it says. If it says anything at all.

“Yeah, I was out exploring earlier and I found it. It’s cool right?” Karl asks, hoping his enthusiasm covers up his nervousness. He wrings his hands together, needing to get rid of some nervous energy.

“Yeah… it’s cool,” Dream answers slowly. “I’ve got the get going, I promised my brother I would be back with dinner,” Dream says as he turns to leave, hand on the doorknob.
“Always good to see you George.” He says with a wink as he closes the door.

George is startled slightly by the flirting. And by how fast Dream left. He turns to Karl, questions on the tip of his tongue. He’s looking at the skull, brows furrowed, clearly thinking.

“Can I have the real story now?” George inquires as he goes to sit on the couch. He pats the seat next to him, inviting him over.

Ready to relax after his stressful day. Karl nods as he follows him, Karl had brought an extra blanket he had found in one of the closets, out to the couch earlier. George grabs it to cover himself, but before he can, Karl snuggles up to him. He lets out a huff, covering them both with the blanket. Once they get comfortable, Karl retells the events of what happened for him to acquire that skull. George would normally interject with comments or to call him an idiot. But he’s silent the whole time, his eyes wide.

“It— it scent marked you, wolves do that sometimes, that’s why you smell funky.” George grumbles, he wishes it was Karl’s natural smell he was greeted with when he rests his head on his shoulder, but it’s not. But he doesn’t find the smell unpleasant.

“It scented me? Are you saying I stink?” Karl laughs, shoving George lightly.

“Yes I am, go shower or something.” George rolls his eyes, Karl gets up, rolling his eyes as he goes.

Karl actually does go to shower. Leaving George to think back about what’s happened, to him and Karl both. It’s strange. But George is grateful that the one that’s been hanging around, seems to be friendly, at least to Karl. George remembers his camera suddenly, quickly turning it on to see if he got any pictures of that thing. It would be solid proof that it exists.

What he finds annoys him. He did get pictures of it, but they are blurry and unfocused. He doesn’t know why that would happen, his camera was literally calibrated just fine two seconds before when he took pictures of the elk. Karl comes out of the shower, still drying his hair as he sees George basically glaring at his camera.

“Woah George, what did the camera ever do to you?” He says as he plops down on the couch next to George. George huffs at him before showing him the screen. It’s a blurry picture of something big and brown, it almost looks like a bear, but the legs look too long and thin.

“It was that wolf again,” George whispers, “I tried getting a clear picture of It, my camera was literally set up perfectly, but somehow they are blurred.” George grumbles, showing Karl how the elk show up perfectly but then the creature is blurred.

“That’s strange. Maybe you bumped the camera?” Karl hesitates to say that, once George is determined that he’s right, its hard to convince him otherwise.

“I didn't, I know for certain I didn’t.” George shakes his head. Letting out another annoyed huff.

Karl just nods, it is strange. He’s heard whispers online about supernatural entities messing with things like that, electronic waves and other stuff. He’s never looked really hard into it, he’s a scientific writer for christ's sake. The stuff he writes about is hard facts, not something possibly made up for shits and giggles. But what he’s seen out here, that wolf-thing, it’s definitely not one-hundred percent in his realm of knowledge.

He wants to avoid a metal breakdown, but this could be great for his papers! Something like this, if enough research, pictures, and proof are collected, it could be huge! But it’s also messing with his mind, if it is, in fact, supernatural what other things are out there? He wants so much information that he doesn’t know if he has enough space left in his notebook to write it all.

This also makes him think about his wolf. It was surprisingly friendly, at least in comparison to the other one. It also gave him a gift, which surprised him even more. He looks back over at the skull on the table. Those carvings aren’t natural, far from it. And those ones that look like words, he wants to know what they mean. He wishes he could ask, but he doesn’t think that thing can talk… or maybe it can, it just doesn’t want to.

“This is so frustrating, Karl,” George runs a hand through his hair, “I could have had solid proof, but now it’s nothing.” He lays his head back against the couch, looking at Karl from the corner of his eye.

“I know it is. It is for me too…” Karl pauses trying to think of something. That’s when he thinks about Sapnap and Dream. They live out here, they would have to have run into it at least once, it’s such a common occurrence for George and Karl that it makes sense for them to have too.

“George, we could ask Dream and Sapnap! They live out around here right? They would have to at least seen it once, right?” Karl shakes George’s shoulders excitedly. George sits up, looking at him with wide eyes. Karl is right, it makes a lot of sense!

“You’re so smart Karl! I could literally kiss you!” George blushes as he finishes that thought. He definitely didn’t mean to say that out loud. Karl doesn’t seem to mind though, his own face blushing as he gives George a peck on the cheek. If Karl thought George was blushing before, he’s definitely blushing now, face bright red.

George is ready to go looking for them right away, but one glance outside deters him. It’s getting dark out, the sun is probably getting ready to set soon. He huffs, just his luck that he has to wait to investigate. Karl seems to be able to read his mind.

“We can go looking for them tomorrow!” Karl says gently to George, placing a hand on his shoulder.

George leans over, laying his head on Karl’s shoulder. Karl brings his hand up and starts playing with George’s hair gently. George wants to fall asleep like this. He knows he could ask and Karl would deliver, but he hates talking about his feelings. Even if this isn’t something big for Karl, it would be huge for George, asking for intimacy outright. But Karl seems to get him. He pats George’s cheek with the hand that had been brushing through his hair.

“Let’s get up and get ready for bed.” Karl stands slowly, waiting for George to follow. George just grunts, grabbing onto Karl’s shirt so he can lead him. Karl likes when George is like this. It makes his heart flutter and his stomach swoop when George initiates simple affection. Karl smiles to himself as he leads George. Instead of going into separate rooms to change, they do it in their room. At first Karl tries to be respectful and not look, but when he catches George looking at his ass when he pulls down his pants, he can’t help it. George has the nicest ass Karl has seen, objectively. It’s round and perky, and would probably jiggle a little if he smacked it. That thought makes Karl turn away from George, back facing him. He doesn’t think he’ll pop a boner, but his body betrays him sometimes.

George realizes he gets caught staring a little too late in order to play it off. But he notices that Karl starts looking too. Not solid looks, but just quick shy glances. George assumes Karl’s face is pink, he can’t see it, but he can guess based on shades of his skin. Oh his skin definitely just got darker George notes as Karl turns his back to him. Rude. But now he gets a full view of Karl’s back. It’s nice, a few beauty marks scattered throughout and he’s slim. Not in a bad way, it just fits Karl. Karl’s ass is nice, George likes it.

After quickly getting changed, they both go to brush their teeth. Karl loads his brush up with toothpaste, sitting on the lid of the lowered toilet seat so that George can lean over the sink. It’s peaceful as they do it, both focused on cleaning teeth. George spits and rinses his face, stepping out of the bathroom into the hallway to give Karl room to do the same. He waits for him to get done before leading the way to the bed. George collapses haphazardly, sprawled across almost the whole bed. But when Karl lets out a little laugh at his antics, he rolls over to his side of the bed. Once under the covers he lifts them in invitation to Karl. Of course he accepts and dives in. He throws a leg over both of George’s, while he gently moves his hand to rest above where George’s heart is. He snuggles his face into the crook of George’s neck, letting out a deep relaxed sign.

George used the arm that’s under Karl to slowly start running it through Karl’s fluffy hair. It seems to both relax him and Karl. Karl places a small kiss to the patch of skin he has access to on George’s neck. They fall asleep like that, ready to get answers tomorrow. He just hopes that they can find Dream and Sapnap.

Chapter Text

This work is lowkey abandoned… I unfortunately jumped into posting it wayyy too fast and didn’t have it written out properly for me to follow my own storyline. I don’t fully want to say I’m rewriting this story, because I haven’t fully committed.

Sorry to disappoint y’all who were actually interested in it and commented on every chapter :,)
I appreciated it a lot and it helped keep me motivated what I did have written out.

I do have ideas for future works (all currently unfinished) and if you guys are interested in them I’ll actually get to writing them.

Here’s the list I have currently:

Harpy George X Werewolf Dream (dark fantasy)

Silkie Dream X Human Marine Biologist George (no specific theme)

Human Scientist Dream X Alien George (no specific theme)

Mermaid Dream X Human George (no specific theme)

Human Scientist Dream X Cat Hybrid George (super dark fantasy)