“You n-never really explained what you meant by w-wolf culture,” Todd said, glancing over at Dan as the older wolf took off his backpack. After Todd agreed to Dan teaching him about “wolf culture”, he was quickly led from the Great Lawn to a small area for students to gather after classes. It was a small clearing surrounded by a few trees, complete with a few picnic tables for people to sit at. In the center was a basketball court where a handful of anthros were currently playing a game. Dan had led Todd to one of the picnic tables and had the younger wolf sit down while he looked for something in his backpack.
“Alright, let’s get started!” Dan pulled out a notebook from his backpack. He reached into a side pocket and pulled out a pencil before setting the notebook down on the table and taking a seat. “What kind of questions do you have?”
“Uh…well, for starters…what is wolf culture?” Todd asked, assuming that Dan hadn’t heard him the first time.
“Oh, it’s just the name I give a lot of wolf behaviors,” Dan explained. “Every species is unique, so we each have different ways of living. A lot of this is stuff you’ll eventually figure out on your own, but it’s really helpful to know a lot of this stuff as soon as possible.”
“Like what?”
“Well for starters, have you found that your personality has changed almost completely from when you were human?”
“Y-Yeah, it was actually a pretty d-drastic change. When I was human, I was s-shy, antisocial, and quiet. But ever since coming here and being t-taught how to be more social from Sam, I’ve just…changed.”
Dan nodded in understanding and began to jot something down in his notebook. “And you can’t really explain that sudden change, can you?”
“Not really…I just ch-chalked it up to Sam being a good teacher.”
“Well, from what I can gather, there’s two, maybe three, factors at play here, and they all contributed to your sudden personality shift from an introvert to an extrovert: Sam, and you being a wolf.”
“H-How does being a wolf make me an extrovert?” Todd asked, cocking his head to the side. “Shouldn’t I have j-just become a lone wolf?”
Dan shook his head. “We wolves are incredibly social,” he explained. “We form lasting bonds with our friends that we strive to keep until we’re old. It's why we form packs. When we don’t have a pack of our own or others to be social with, we go and search for new relationships to form. ‘Lone wolves’ are just wolves looking for their place to fit in.”
“And how does S-Sam fit into all of this?”
“Sam is a bit of a…special case…” Dan explained. “It’s clear that he had the biggest influence on your personality shift thanks to him teaching you to be more social, but there’s something else…normally shifts in personality don’t occur until much later, after the transformation has been finished and all your new memories have come in. But you’re still getting memories every now and then, right?” Todd nodded, and Dan took more notes. “And how long have you two known each other?”
“A-Almost a week now…I think…” Todd said. “I’ve honestly lost t-track of the days.”
“I thought as much…that means that the valley is also at play here.”
“H-How so?”
“I’m not entirely sure why, but relationships seem to move a bit faster in the valley. It might have something to do with how the valley actively works to better the lives of those who cross over to this side. Like, for example, can you recall your human life?”
Todd nodded. “Mom and d-dad divorced when I was 5. My mom was n-never around, and my dad died when I was 12. Mom got remarried to a d-douchebag shortly after. He verbally a-abused me constantly. H-He’s the reason I sh-shut myself off from the world…” Dan hesitated, seemingly taking a second to let everything Todd said sink in, before asking “And how is it different here?”
“Mom and dad never got divorced, but dad still d-died when I was 12. Mom wasn’t a-around when I was younger, but she gave up her job after my d-dad died to be with me. She grieved his d-death for four years before finally dating a-again, and now she’s dating an a-awesome husky. I was always a shy k-kid though…”
“And that was the valley working to give you a better life, if you didn’t already realize that,” Dan explained. “By doing that, the valley got rid of one of the major elements that made you shy.”
“So then…are r-relationships sped up here for the same reason?”
“Essentially…yeah. The valley wants everyone to be happy, so it tries its best to give people what they truly need to be happy. And it knew that you always wanted a boyfriend, so…”
“…Sam and I were p-paired together…we hit it off, and th-things sped up as we changed…”
“Precisely!” Dan said enthusiastically. “Of course, things wouldn’t have sped up like they did if you didn’t love each other as much as you currently do.
“So…the valley is the entire reason we’re a c-couple…?”
“Well…yes and no. The valley probably wanted you two to be paired together because it thought you two would compliment each other’s personalities, but you two did the work and became a couple. Hell, I’m pretty sure that even if you two were roommates in a regular college, you’d still end up dating!”
Todd blushed at the thought of him and Sam being together as humans. The thought of them being a couple like that seemed so strange, yet appealing. “Th-Thanks Dan. I appreciate you teaching me this stuff. A-Any way I can repay you?”
Dan shook his head. “You don’t need to repay me for helping my cousin…” The older wolf’s voice trailed off as his facial expression shifted to one of confusion. That couldn’t be right…and yet…
He was two years old, sitting on the couch at his Aunt and Uncle’s house. His aunt brought something wrapped in a blue blanket downstairs and gently placed it in his lap. He looked and saw a tiny wolf pup with its eyes closed. It had black fur just like his uncle did.
“Dan, meet Todd,” his aunt said softly. “He’s your baby cousin.”
Dan gently touched the newborn pup’s nose and giggled when it’s face scrunched up a bit. “Hi Todd.”
Dan shook himself out of the flashback and quickly realized that Todd was hugging him tightly. He still had a few questions, such as why the valley had suddenly chosen for them to be part of the same family, but those could wait. The older wolf returned the younger wolf’s embrace.