"Is that so?" Haken grunts. "I can almost believe that a bookworm like you might know something about engineering. Go on then, scurry back there and see what you can do."
The machinery in this portion of the facility is in such poor repair that it almost takes your breath away. You spend your entire shift tinkering with the machines, tightening bolts here, attenuating points of mechanical stress, and lubricating several joints of concern.
By the time Haken comes to check on you, you've made several improvements that even he has to admit will make the entire operation run more efficiently.
"Good work, pup," Haken says as he throws you a towel. "It's quitting time. You'd best get moving. And tell Tiva that she'd better be back in here tomorrow!"
Next
Emotionally and physically exhausted, a part of you wants to simply slink back home and pass out on your bed. But you've never missed a play before and even now you simply can't shake the temptation to engage in genuine entertainment.
Throughout your life you've seen the broken, scattered remains of human technology: televisions, video games, and computers. But precious little was left in working order after the Purge, and while some of the remaining devices continue to function, the human government has long since cut off all television and internet signals to the refuge.
Absent the entertainment that humans take for granted, the Haven pack continues a tradition of performing arts at Haven's single remaining theater near the docks of Long Wharf. Tonight's show has been teased with the tantalizing title The Sheep Eaters, and you've been looking forward to it for weeks.
By the time you arrive, the auditorium is already crowded with elders, adults, and pups alike, all clustered and vying for good seats close to the action.
Dena is seated in the back row, smiling as she watches normally good-tempered adults compete to sit in the front. You're surprised to see Bly here as well, sitting on the edge of her seat, neck craned forward as she watches the chaos, and there's Jolon, leaning against the far wall, arms crossed and half-hidden in shadow.
The house lights go dim, and the pack's clamor quiets to a dull roar. There's still plenty of places to sit, provided you weren't hoping for a front-row view.
After the day's events, you want nothing more than to sit by yourself, unencumbered by smalltalk or socialization.
While you relax in your own little bubble of solitude, you notice Lapu off to the side of the stage talking with an unfamiliar figure shrouded in shadow. You squint, trying to pick out any familiar details, but the stranger recedes into the darkness as Lapu takes a seat at the front of the theater.
As you settle in to watch the performance, you're soon riveted by the way in which the Sheep Eaters' story mirrors your pack's history and your people as a whole.
The native humans were a subset of the Shoshone tribe, named for their practice of migrating along with their primary food source, the bighorn sheep. The Sheep Eaters had been mocked by the men who displaced them from their home, and fantastical tales were spun about them, even by Yellowstone's own rangers. They'd been called pygmies and renegades, and when that wasn't enough to dehumanize them, they'd been labeled feeble-minded as well.
It's no secret that this is what many of the humans think of werewolves, at least in a post-Purge world. The few pieces of media allowed into Haven through the military censors have portrayed werewolves as mindless savages, best locked away or disposed of. The elders assure you that not all humans think this way about your people, but it's a hard thing to let go of sometimes.
When the curtain closes and an intermission is announced, most of the wolves get up from their chairs and wander outside to stretch their legs. You stand up from your chair, massaging a kink in your back, waiting for the show to resume.
Within a few minutes the doors reopen, and new seats are chosen and slightly rearranged. If you want to talk to someone else for the second half of the performance, now would be the best time to get to know them better.