They got out of the car and into the glow of the dying sun.
“Come here, sweet thing,” Yev said as he hastily removed his clothes, eager to get into his other skin as soon as possible, because it was damn cold. When Radek cackled, Yev shook his head, blowing out a cloud of vapor. “You think you’re being funny? Should I remind you of that time you humped a pillow?”
Radek groaned and hid his head in the snow as soon as he leapt out.
“Look up. I’ll show you what it means to have fur,” Yev said and scowled as he placed his bare feet on the white ground.
Radek’s head bobbed up, covered in lumps of snow. He shook it off but followed Yev form through the freezing fluff.
With his feet going numb fast, Yev locked the car and left the keys in a secure spot he had prepared behind the back wheel for this exact purpose. He stood in the middle of the road, breathing in the crisp air. His gaze zeroed in on Radek and the bits of snow stuck to his shiny coat when he transformed.
After years of practice, the change came to him as easily as walking. He welcomed the heat of fur pushing through his skin, and even the familiar ache of his bones and joints changing position. A couple of heartbeats later, he faced the little fox as his other self.
Radek made a high pitched bark, and ran up to Yev in that limping way Yev found so cute though he’d never admit it to Radek. He had to stand on his hind paws to reach Yev’s head and lick his ear.
The heat of his tongue was so pleasant, so comforting Yev licked him right back before gently pushing the unsuspecting fox off his feet, and he rolled him into the snow with a wide grin. Radek continued his squeaky laughter, rocking from side to side and showing off his white belly just for the fun of it in a way no werewolf would. Because by the time they hit puberty and their first shift, they’d been taught that submission was failure.
But this? Playing with him like this, picking on his soft flesh with sharp teeth and nuzzling the skin felt good. Playful. It put Yev at ease like few other things, so he threw himself into the dense snow too, rolling to the sides to create a snow angel of sorts while the last of the daylight peeked through the branches and kissed them goodnight.
Radek didn’t need to fight him to prove anything. It was obvious Yev was stronger in either form and could rip him to pieces, yet Radek held a power over Yev he had no awareness of. The foxy boy was endearing. Precious, no matter how useless he’d be in a hunt for bigger game. It was a breath of fresh air to see how at ease Radek was with his position in the food chain, with his vulnerability when Yev’s world valued the strength of teeth and claws. Radek didn’t fear the deadly tools nature had given Yev and tapped his belly with his remaining front paw, teasing him back into a standing position.
Yev glanced at the snow angel he’d made, somewhat disappointed it looked more like a barrel. Radek giggled and nipped on Yev’s throat before lying down in the huge imprint made by Yev’s body, as if he wanted to point out how small he was in comparison.
Tenderness washed over Yev, prompting him to approach and push his muzzle against Radek’s. He smelled differently in this form, but Yev would have still recognized him after learning the intricacies of Ember’s scent, so he slowly laid on top of him and gave Radek’s entire head a slow lick, like a mother cleaning her pup.
They went on to chasing each other, with Radek being at an advantage due to his size, but game time was over when Yev’s stomach grumbled, causing another outburst of giggles from Radek. This was no joking matter. A predator needed to hunt the right way—with his own teeth and claws—and he’d teach Radek how.
At first, Radek jumped from snow pile to snow pile, disappearing each time, but once that tired him out, he settled on the easy way out and followed Yev’s tracks. They entered the peaceful forest, but despite the settling darkness and the illusion of it being empty, Yev had already picked up the scent of several mice and rabbits.
He was glad the wind blew at their backs rather than in their faces, but kept checking on Radek, weirdly unnerved whenever he couldn’t see his pretty ginger face. The boy must have sensed it and rushed forward, walking through the snow-covered forest alongside him. Yev poked him with his nose and sped up, leaping through the white mounds as they made their way down a hill and then up the next one.