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Bath Time 2.0
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2024-10-29 19:42:56Wren was exhausted. His shouldn’t be. He’d slept the entire night snuggled up with Jackson, but he was. Kia left to go get the others and Wren slipped away to take another bath. The water was hot. Almost too hot, but it had been so long since he’d been able to enjoy just soaking in the tub.
The soothing scent of lavender drifted in the steam. Wren sank down so the only part of him exposed to the air was from his nose up. He was sore all over. His stomach hurt where the other wolf had managed to land a good hit. Images from the day before flashed through his mind. The metallic scent, and taste of blood. The other wolf, so young and new to fighting.
He didn’t like that he hurt someone. He didn’t like what he’d done at all… But he was happy he’d done it. A part of him that he hadn’t realized was unsettled, calmed down. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d cried. The last time he’d felt safe enough
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They mingled. Jackson shook countless hands. Laughed with people as he passed them by. The crowd bubbled around him and let him through easily. Kia held tight to one hand as she pulled him forward through the crowd. “Come on!”She shoved him up onto a truck bed, then pushed him higher so he was standing on the cab. A megaphone was shoved in his hand. He gripped it tight and stood up straight. In the most surreal moment of his life, the crowd in front of him stilled and grew silent without a word from him. Hundreds of people. Thousands of people? A lot of people, quiet and staring at him. Jackson lifted his chin and raised his hand in a wave.“Are you ready?”There was a murmur of assent through the crowd.“Please, march quietly. We ask that this be a time to reflect. A time to ask ourselves what else we can do for those oppressed in Oconee. If you’re religious, use this time to pray for our neighbors. If you’re no
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