Yeah, thought so.
Reyes didn’t bother to hide his smug grin, allowing the beta a moment to decide where and what he wanted to eat before he looked over the prize himself. There was a certain benefit to rank, after all, that’s why wolfs would scrap over it. (That’s why he couldn’t let Icicle linger in the delta position above him for much longer. Seemed a bit crocodilian of his own personal values, of surviving as a loner for so long, to let a freeloader lord over him like that.)
But the scent of a fresh kill was too mouth-watering to allow him to linger in thought for too long, and as soon as he was sure of the claim Askan staked, Reyes moved in beside him, tearing into flesh with a happy noise. They went on eating in relative silence until they were full, tracking backwards and shaking himself off. He was about to lean in and start the messy work of tearing a limb free to return to the pack when Askan started up again. Reyes lifted an ear, brow quirking as his tongue flashed out, and again, but—
“What—“
Before he could argue, the swarthy male swooped in and began to lap at his muzzle, cleaning the messy residue without a word otherwise. The man blinked owlishly, the gears in his mind grinding to a halt as his face began to heat – clearly because Askan thought him not capable of taking care of himself – before impulse dragged him forward, and his own tongue poked out, moving to opposing sides as he started to clean Askan’s muzzle, as well. “Pain in my ass. You know we’re just gonna get messy again, right? We can’t linger too long if we wanna get back before dark.”