{"id":1079,"date":"2024-04-17T01:01:55","date_gmt":"2024-04-17T06:01:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/?p=1079"},"modified":"2024-02-10T10:22:49","modified_gmt":"2024-02-10T16:22:49","slug":"after-the-storm-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/tourblog\/after-the-storm-2\/","title":{"rendered":"After the Storm"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The bus was quiet.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Morning light bled through the cracked curtains. Someone was snoring. Someone else was groaning. A cowboy hat with glitter somehow made its way onto Jonah\u2019s face. He didn\u2019t seem to notice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mark sat at the tiny kitchenette, sipping his usual black coffee, utterly unfazed. His tail flicked once as he turned a page in an old paperback. He glanced toward the bunks and muttered:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAmateurs.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gabriel finally stirred in the forward lounge\u2014fur fluffed out, ears twitching, furrowed brow fighting the full-body rebellion known as \u201changover from Granny\u2019s personal stash.\u201d He grunted and sat up slowly, rubbing the side of his muzzle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI feel like I drank a tire fire\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou did,\u201d Mark said without looking up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gabriel blinked around blearily. \u201cThane?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A muffled groan came from the bunk above. \u201cM\u2019not dead\u2026 yet\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gabriel dragged himself upright and reached for his bass case near the table, wanting to check it just as part of his usual morning habit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Except when he opened it, something was different.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nestled next to the straps inside was a small, worn leather pouch<\/strong>\u2014firehouse red, with a silver button snap. A folded note was tucked beneath it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gabriel blinked, then unfolded the note slowly, fangs catching the corner for a second.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWolves gotta howl with heart. Keep yours loud.
\u2014Dolly Rigsby (Chief, Station 8, Ret.)\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Inside the pouch?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A silver flask.<\/strong>
Engraved on the back:
\u201cTucson Fire Station 8 \u2013 \u2018Don\u2019t start nothin\u2019, won\u2019t need a hose.\u2019\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the front:
A tiny etched paw print\u2026 and underneath, one word:
\u201cFamily.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gabriel stared at it, completely speechless for once.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHey\u2026\u201d he whispered, glancing back at Mark. \u201cShe gave me\u2026 her flask.<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mark looked up just long enough to raise a brow. \u201cThat\u2019s not just a flask. That\u2019s her baptism tool.<\/em> I think you\u2019ve been claimed.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thane dragged himself from the bunk, fur a disaster, and peeked over Gabriel\u2019s shoulder.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThat better not be full.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gabriel sniffed it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201c\u2026It\u2019s full.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jonah, still face-down on the lounge floor, raised a hand without looking. \u201cCan I be adopted too?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cassie groaned from the back. \u201cOnly if you survive breakfast\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Diesel finally shuffled out of the driver\u2019s cab, took one look at the scene, and said:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cY\u2019all realize you were just wrecked<\/em> by a seventy-year-old woman who wore rhinestones and saved a burning horse once, right?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gabriel looked back at the flask.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And smiled.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYeah,\u201d he said quietly. \u201cAnd she\u2019s officially cooler than all of us.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The bus was quiet. Morning light bled through the cracked curtains. Someone was snoring. Someone else was groaning. A cowboy hat with glitter somehow made its way onto Jonah\u2019s face. He didn\u2019t seem to notice. Mark sat at the tiny kitchenette, sipping his usual black coffee, utterly unfazed. His tail flicked once as he turned […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1079","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-tour-life"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/tourblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1079","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/tourblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/tourblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/tourblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/tourblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1079"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/tourblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1079\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3087,"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/tourblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1079\/revisions\/3087"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/tourblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1079"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/tourblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1079"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/tourblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1079"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}