King winced. "What are we even doing here?"

Bryce groaned beside him. They were both piled up on the queen size bed, still like a chunk of meat as boredom ate them away.

"There’s a freaking signal but it won’t even load," King continued as he furiously tapped on his phone.

Facelook kept loading and loading and just lots of freaking loading.

Giving up, King threw his phone on the bed. "The hell..."

He then stared at the cross-legged girl reading a book called ’Percy Jackson’ on the corner.

Turning pages, ticking clock and breathing was the only sound they heard as King and Bryce’s wave of boredom took over their usual energy and noise.

"Aren’t you even bored at least?"

Pandora remained silent.

"Hey," King called out again. "Dora."

"What?" she replied?

"Are you really going to read for the entire month?"

"Why not? It’s not like I didn’t spent my whole life wasting away on a pool of books."

The two whimpered loudly.

"Look, if you guys are that bored, just go out. Nobody’s stopping you anyways."

As if realizing, the two males’ eyes sparkled. "Right!"

They both charged off the bed at the same time.

Bryce then asked, "Where though?"

When all is said, he and King both stared back at each other, before the latter dropped back on the bed with a whine.

Pandora took something out from her pocket, and then hurled it over to them. It landed on King’s face, and mind you, it weighed like a freaking ball of steel.

"What the f-"

"Remember that store we used to go to near the shore?"

Bryce took the abstractly designed wallet as King rubbed his nose, listening to her with a scowl on his red face.

This kind of impacts wasn’t really much of a big deal for them; they were werecats with heightened physiques after all.

"Yeah," Bryce said. He opened the wallet, and lo and behold, his eyes sparkled. King snatched it, and the two ended up in a silent tug of war.

"Well, spend that all you want. It’s both the allowance Aunt Hilda and Uncle Don gave you anyways."

Hilda was Bryce’s biological mom. She was big, sturdy and confident; mother of the identically gigantic Bryce Hunter.

King wondered how she and his Uncle Don came to be a thing. After all, Don was two-thirds of what Hilda was. Not to mention, the man was timid and shy, the opposite of his father’s sister whose laughs resonated a wild buffoon.

The only thing Bryce had seemed to inherit from his father was his dirty-blonde hair and oceanic eyes.

"Just make sure to squeeze it conditionally ’til next month. I wouldn’t care about you guys if you came crying to me about that."

The two roared in joy, smacking their palm as if they’d won a lottery. They sprang back up on their feet and came dashing out of the house.

"Thanks, Dora. We love you!"

Pandora glared at the vanishing frames of the two dudes.

Once they were out of sight, she slowly snatched a couple of cash from behind the sofa pillow, and had silently tucked it in her pocket while she kept hold of her book. There’s no way she’d hand everything to those two idiots without reassurement.

Then she felt a great wave of worry. She scowled. Will the two idiots be okay by themselves? She shivered at the possible answer.

___

The buzz of the wind sang through the air as King and Bryce walked towards their destination.

A steep cliff hanged several stories below on the opposite side of the asphalt driveway and the quiet surrounding was filled in by the endless hammering of the ocean’s waves.

Finally, they reached the mini store located on the side of the silent main road. A cliff dug several stories below on the opposite side of the asphalt driveway, and the quiet surrounding was filled in by the endless hammering of the ocean’s waves that seemed to howl and reach for them and the higher land.

The two went inside the store.

"Welcome," said the man behind the counter. He was large with a crooked hair and messy beard, and looked like he was still on his early sixties.

"Hey, old man," Bryce greeted.

The old man squinted his eyes at him. As if identifying, he said, "Bryce?"

Bryce laughed. "Handsome Bryce in the house! How ya’ doing, Mr. Barker?!"

"Ha-ha! Pretty good, boy," he answered in a deep voice.

"Hey, hey. Don’t forget about me." King cut in.

Mr. Barker had done the same look of identification at him. Though, he stroked his untamed greyish beard this time.

"And who might you be?" he asked, as if still confused.

King squinted his eyes back at him. He knew the old man. Despite looking like a possible Alzheimer patient, the old man’s memory capacity was sharper than a needle. After all, how the heck did he remembered all King’s and Bryce’s debts five years ago without even jotting it down. "Try me."

Mr. Barker laughed. "Ha-ha! King!"

A helpless smile crept on King’s lips.

Bryce hummed, rounding the store for a perfect prey to feast on.

"How many years has it been? Ten?"

"It’s only been five years, old man. Don’t overreact."

A chips package jostled as they spoke, and munching was already evident afterwards. King shook his head at Bryce. Some things never change.

"Well, it surely felt like a long time for me, kiddo! Now I feel tricked! Didn’t know you guys will be coming back. How long have you been here?"

"We’ve just arrived yesterday. Can’t pass up this new King ceremonial thing, can we?"

Mr. Barker’s eyes widened and his smile grew awkward. His words seemed to empty out. He then coughed. "A-anyways, since you guys just arrived back, it’ll be my treat. Take anything you want!"

"We’ll take over the store then, thank you, Mr. Barker." King hummed as he walked over to the aisles.

"Take a few pieces only!"

King chuckled. He found Bryce on the way, and had grabbed a handful from the bag of Doritos on his right hand.

"Where’s the, uhh- lil’ girl with you guys as well, uhh- what’s her name?"

"Dora?"

"Yeah! Dora! That bob cut kid!"

King stifled his laugh as he remembered an image. 

Pandora previously a had a short hair paired with blunt bangs. Her mom liked it that way. She literally looked like Dora. The resemblance was now one of her nightmares.

"She’s in the pride house. She’ll probably die reading a book."

"Lil’ girl’s still into books, hm?"

"She’s on book drugs, man," Bryce cut in, laughing.

If Pandora was there, they’d probably get destroyed by now. On the pride house, Pandora sneezed.

Bryce had a good amount of snacks stacked on his arms already, while King had double thoughts about what to pick when he rounded the store.

"Hm..." he uttered while he looked at rows. He can’t seem to pick anything.

Bryce reached to his side, whistling. "I got all I need, baby," he said.

King stared at his arm and frowned. "Dude-"

"You still haven’t picked anything?"

"Still on it-"

Suddenly, they heard the roar of engine from far away. King and Bryce turned to look at the entrance as a low squeal pierced through their hearing.

Someone had just parked outside.

They both scowled as they recognized the scent that clawed through their nostrils: the scents of the werewolves.