Nearly the whole day at sea doing nothing but eating and sleeping, White Fang prepared to make landfall. Sterling inhaled deeply as his Mastiffs handed out supplies and each leader their list on shore. He didn’t need a list, he was only here for one thing. 

    “Remind me again why you brought me with just to leave me on the ship?” Wilson grumbled, arms crossed. 

    “Because, what we’re doing here is a little… morbid. And you haven’t been trained in these skills. Would you have preferred I leave you back on the isle without me? Board to do nothing, sleeping alone, not having anyone to interact with because we’re all here?” Sterling replied. 

    “I suppose not…” 

    “Don’t worry, Dove. This won’t take long. A few hours tops, and I’m sure the pirates can keep you entertained. I hear they have checkers.” he purred, “Go rest. I love you.” he placed a kiss on the serval’s forehead. 

    “I-I love you…too.” he replied, cracking a weak smile. The brown hare patted his shoulder and turned to the pine marten, who he told to wait for instructions directly from him. 

    “Look at them, Vito,” he started, the weasel whipping his head around to look at him, “Look how high above everyone else we are. Look at them working hard while we watch them like they’re on TV. Play your cards right, and this is how you’ll view the world for as long as you live, and it’s the view the rest of your bloodline will have.” he purred. 

    “Yeah?” Vito squeaked. 

    “Oh, yes. I have high hopes for you, don’t let me down. You’ll be on my raid team, I don’t think we’ll need it, but we could always use a good climber.” he said, “Now go stand by Svetlana, I’ll call you two over. We gotta get everything up and rolling before the coast guard comes back.” he said louder, stepping down off the deck. Svetlana stood with her feet together and her hands folded in front of her, while Vito stepped up to her and stood broad-shouldered and in a stable position. 

    “Team A is ready, sir.” One of the Mastiffs said. 

    “Good! Let's get moving then.” he lowered his voice, waving at Vito and Svetlana for them to come over to him. 

    “Both of you stay close to me, I want you right behind me at all times.” he ordered. 

    “Eh, yes sir.” Vito said. 

    “Good. Headcount,” he turned and shouted an order at Stone, the silver wolf who’d co-lead this raid. 

    “Already done, sir. Everyone is accounted for.” he wolf replied. 

    “Good. Now send your runners out-” 

    “Also already done. That’s the first thing I did when we landed.” 

    “Very good. That’s why I put you in charge. What’s the news?” 

    “Two have returned and one said she was spotted in a supermarket a ten-minute walk from here. The other brought this back,” he held out a napkin in a plastic baggie and handed it to Sterling. He opened it, held it up to his face, and took a long, deep inhale, picking up any scent she would have left behind.

    “Yes, that’s her.” he said coldly, eyes constricted, “Tell your pack to track the scent, find her.” 

    “And bring her to you?” 

    “No. I want to see her first.” he hissed, Svetlana shifted in her stance, “We will follow your trackers, and they better lead me to her.” 

“Sir, it may be difficult and can take a while… we may not even be able to find her-” 

“I guess this would be killing two birds with one stone then. Finding her and putting your trackers to the test. If they can find a single zebra in an area full of all kinds of species, then they can find anything. Why do you think I put bears in your pack?” Sterling grinned, “Now, let’s go.” 

“What about my runners that have yet to return?” Stone asked. 

“Leave them a note, we don’t have time to wait. Where’s Envar?” Skinner demanded. 

“Right here, I been here the whole time.” the stallion said, Vito and Svetlana parted for him. 

“Good, I was worried you’d be late. Get to the front of the pack.” he ordered, the stallion following his command and standing near Stone as they finally started off in the direction that the scent led them. 

---

    Stone was right about one thing, it did take a while to find her, but they narrowed it down to a neighborhood on the outskirts of the city. A neighborhood Sterling was far too familiar with, why wouldn’t she have moved out of the house she was almost murdered in? After over an hour, the trackers finally pinpointed her house. The scent on the deck perfectly matched the scent on the napkin, and Sterling remembered her scent all too well. The only thing stopping them was the fact that there was no car in the driveway, but the scent of zebra was fresh. The scent of multiple zebras was fresh. Mayhem was stationed in the backyard, under the deck waiting to ambush. 

    “Sterling,” Envar said, “how did you know she still lived here?” 

    “I didn’t. I planned on coming here to see if I could find her, but I always planned on catching her eventually. I knew if she wasn’t here, I could divide this group up with the others, or send them to gather other things that weren’t as necessary.” he replied. 

    “Here’s the plan,” Sterling turned to the rest of the group, “I go in first and the rest of you surround the house. Stay out of sight from the road, and from inside the house. You five go by Mayhem and wait for my signal.” he ordered. 

    “Yes, sir.” they said collectively, parting from the group. Sterling hummed, then signaled everyone to stay put as he casually approached the house. The scent of zebra got stronger as he neared the house, he paid no mind to any other than her’s. He stepped onto the porch and looked around in the windows, just as a car dove by. He ducked behind the short wall covered in vines and flowers as the car pulled up in the driveway, then shut off. He silenced his breathing as a mare stepped out of her car, opening the trunk and loading up her arms with grocery bags. She wore a fancy suit and bowtie with dress pants, with a silk scarf around her neck. A little too formal to have gotten home from the grocery store.

She stepped up the few stairs to her front porch, hooves clopping on the wood. Through all the plastic bags on her arm and the vines he peeked through, Sterling could still spot the scar on her arm from where he bit her all those years ago. She had a horseshoe on her forehoof that was accustomed with a magnet that held her keys, which she’d use to unlock the door. She paused for a moment, right before she put the key in the lock, and turned her head up, catching an unfamiliar scent. Sterling was afraid of that, but stayed quiet. The mare looked around a little, uneasy, something about that scent being a little too familiar, and not in a good way. She shook the thought from her head, spotting the small packages by her window and figuring the scent was just from whatever species dropped it off. She hastily unlocked her door and stepped inside, leaving the door wide open as she had more groceries, giving Sterling the perfect opportunity. He crept out of his hiding spot and slipped in the house, again ducking behind the sofa. Hares had similar agility to cats, which always came in handy regardless of who you were stalking. Shame it was wasted on an herbivore. She set the bags down in the kitchen and stepped back out the door to retrieve the rest of them, glancing out to the street before she stepped outside. 

As she was out, Sterling used his time to look around and come up with a plan. The living room led right in with the dining room, which led to the kitchen that was mostly covered with a wall that had a broom closet, then another entrance to the kitchen to the far left. A set of stairs were right next to the secondary entrance, so he could hide upstairs. But, then he’d leave the door open for her to escape, though it would lead her right into his Mastiffs. But, that would cause a scene, and he wanted to avoid that if he could. So… the broom closet. The door to it was ajar, this was almost too perfect. He made a quick move to it, backing himself in against the coats and suitcases, it was a tight squeeze. But, he managed, and he stayed and waited for her to return. 

She passed him in the closet, kicking the front door shut and walking back to the kitchen. Sterling closed his eyes, making sure the light reflecting from them wouldn’t give him away. The mare was noticeably nervous, she sensed him near her. Herbivores were very good at that, but her instincts seemed to lack a little. She could still smell the scent of someone, but couldn’t pinpoint it. She’d been told about her paranoia and anxiety all her life, so she brushed it off at the wind coming in through an open window. She began unloading food from the bags, the sound of the fridge opening and closing occasionally sent Sterling away from the closet and back towards the dining room. He prepared a cloth he kept in his coat pocket and peeked over the counter, his target having her back turned as she unloaded the bags. He stepped out of hiding and prepared to grab her just as she turned into his chest and screamed. Sterling grabbed her by the shirt caller and shoved the cloth in her mouth, silencing her, then grabbed and held the bridge of her nose tightly, causing her to jerk her head and trip on her own leg. 

“Shut up!” The brown hare hissed at her, the mare kicking at him as they fought. Sterling growled, bringing his fist down on the fragile bones in her forehead, a crack and a whimper silencing the room, and holding her legs still. The mare collapsed to the ground, blood trickling from her nose, tears running down her cheeks. Sterling knelt down next to her, a sick smile on his face. Zebras had the strongest kick of any species, and Sterling wasn’t about to let her stop him now, after he’d come so far. He held his finger to his lips, then removed the cloth from her mouth. 

“Please, take what you want just don’t hurt my-” 

“Oh, I will, dear. The problem is, what I want here is you.” Sterling purred. 

“…what?” the poor mare whimpered. 

“Marcy, come on. Don’t you remember me?” he held her face up to get a good look at him, bearing his teeth at her. Marcy’s eyes widened in horror, head shaking. 

“N-No- you were arrested.” she nasely squeaked.

“Yes, I was.” Sterling replied.

“A-And taken to the isle-” 

“Yes. I was.” he hissed, glancing to the side. A plaque hung on the wall, engraved with words and a seal of what must have been a school. 

“Ah, you’re a lawyer? Ironic. Good for you. Shame no court will be able to find you. I tracked down every one of your family, didn’t I? All except you.” 

“YOU’RE SICK!” she screamed, rearing her leg up and striking him right in the chest, but the angle was awkward and he seemed almost unfazed. He grabbed both her legs and held them still as she scrambled to get to her feet, kicking at him but never landing a second blow. Sterling struck her head again with a glass left out on the counter, cutting open her forehead and bringing her to the floor again. He drew his massive survival knife - sheath and all - repeatedly smacked the handle into her skull, the mare screaming after several strikes, until finally laying still. She lay on the floor in a small pool of blood, not moving, but Sterling could still hear her breathing shallowly. He stood on his hands and knees, breathing heavily, then standing up and just staring at her. He chuckled to himself, limbs quivering as he stared at her motionless body. He laughed, whipping the blood spatter from his brow with the even more bloody hand he used to hit her, the leather knife sheath stained with crimson that would likely never come out. He laughed, not at her, but the adrenalin in his veins didn’t know what else to do but make him cackle like a madman. 

“Mama…?” a small voice asked from the stairs. Sterling whipped his head towards it, silencing his rechid laughter to see two foals of different ages, the older one having his hoof on the younger one’s mouth. The brown hare’s mouth gaped, mind blank, heart pounding in his ears. He stared at them for what seemed like minutes, as did they, none of them moving. Sterling blinked a few times, then stood up straighter, snapping his mind out of whatever petrified trance he was in.

“Wow,” he breathed, “the next generation… Did you know your mum was a bully in highschool? You’re not a bully, are you?” he asked the older one, and a quiet, raspy voice. The foal stood perfectly still, eyes wide in horror.

“Because bullies ruin lives.” Sterling continued, “Bullies end up getting murdered.” he growled, the oldest foal shoving his sister back up the stairs. Sterling bolted for the door, opening it and whistling for back up, then chasing the foals up the stairs. The oldest foal threw a glass trophy case down in front of the hare, the glass shattering and almost landing on top of him. The hybrid growled as the wolves that followed him into the house ransacked the place, taking anything valuable and taking the body of the mare under a sheet and out the back door. 

Skinner watched the foals lock themselves in one of the bedrooms, he leapt over the shattered glass and clawed at the wooden door. He used every ounce of his strength to break it down, but it wouldn’t budge. The dug in his claws and eventually drew his massive survival knife and stabbed the door as hard as he could, as fast as he could, driving the saw-backed knife up against the wood to cut his way in. He could hear crying from inside, from two much younger children. One sounded like a baby. He held the blade in his teeth as he tried to pull apart the door, the zebra foals getting desperate.

---

The eldest colt opened the window to the baby’s room, took the baby from his crib and tried to coax the middle child out the window. She cried and refused, frozen in place, a stuffed toy chuted in her arms. 

“Come on! I won't let you fall, I promise!” he begged, but she still shook her head. Sterling growled from the other side, a huge balde now penetrating the weak barrier between them. 

“Lexie, come on!” the colt cried. 

“Catch me…?” 

“Catch yo- fine! Get in the windowsill, NOW!” he ordered, leaping from the window and sliding down the roof with his crying baby brother clutched tightly in his arms. He whipped back around to the roof, setting the baby on the grass and extended his arms for his sister. 

“Jump, Lexie!” he screamed, the timid young fillie clinging to the window frame, inching her hoof off the edge. 

“Lexie, jump! I’ll catch you, I promise!” he called. Lexie hesitated, then jumped, but her arm was snatched by Sterling and held tightly. The little girl screamed and kicked at him, the colt watched helplessly, having no option but to watch and scream at the hare. The fillie kicked and hit him with her hooves, but her fighting had little effect on him.   

A growl from behind the colt caused him to whip around and met the massive robotic wolf, a deep growl escaping her throat as she slammed her metal paw on the ground. He picked up his baby brother, who continued to cry and scream, and backed away, howling and growling surrounding his rural house. The colt breathed heavily, the house infested with wolves and other canines, all down on all fours and growling at him. Mayhem snarled at him, pushing him back towards the house, towards the savage wolves. 

Vito posted himself in one of the trees, watching the raid from up high, a good vantage point if he was needed. He watched the raid with his throat tightening, the crying baby making his stomach turn. He watched as the pack of wolves rushed the colt, ripping the baby boy from his arms and tripping him, holding him on the ground. 

“Don’t hurt the foals!” Sterling snapped, stopping one of the pack members from snapping her jaws on his forearm, “They’re more useful alive! Keep him- AH!” he yelped as the fillie clamped her teeth on his wrist, causing him to let go and swat his arm at her head. She let go of him, but lost her balance and slipped. Sterling reached for her, but missed her leg and everyone watched as the helpless fillie rolled down the roof and fell off, hitting the ground with a small squeak and a crunch. Vito instinctively looked away, wincing at the sound she made, begrudgingly turning back to look. All noise had ceased, aside from the baby crying loudly. Everyone stared at the fillie’s twitching body. 

Sterling stared, having no view of the body but understanding fully due to silence and the shocked look of the canines’ faces. He gritted his teeth and sighed, then straightened his spine and fixed his tux caller, clicking his tongue. 

“Well,” he started, everyone’s gaze snapping up to him, “Load them up. All of them. And someone please try to calm that baby down.” he ordered, disappearing back into the room. 

The colt hadn't looked away from his sister’s body, he could still hear her making noise. Vito climbed down his tree and glanced around the pack, everyone now quietly growling and panting to relive some of the adrenaline from the hunt and doing what they were instructed to do. Svetlana approached the wolf struggling to quiet the baby and offered to take him. She held him in her arms and gently ran her thumb over his nose. He turned his head to her touch and tried to suckle on her finger. 

“He’s hungry.” she said, “Do we have any milk?” 

“No,” Sterling stepped next to her, the wolf stepping aside, “but the mare will wake, probably. We’ll give him back on the ship.” 

“He von’t stop crying until he’s fed…” She shook her head. 

“The pirates won’t like that much.” the wolf added. 

“Fine. Did you find money in the house?” Sterling asked.

“And on the body.” the wolf said. 

“Good, go to the store you found her at and… buy baby food, I guess.” He ordered. 

“Yes, sir.” 

“Quickly! Meet us at the dock!” 

“Yes, sir!” 

Sterling smiled, Svetlana held the baby and rocked him, the colt fighting the rest of the pack. They growled at him, and at each other, the foal nearly escaping once or twice. Frustrated canines were known to get violent, so it was no surprise when the foal cried and kicked at one of them as his jaws snapped down on the colt’s forearm. 

“HEY!” Sterling snapped, walking up to the wolves, angrily, taking the arm of the colt that wasn’t bit tightly and sitting him down by grabbing the bridge of his nose. There was no blood, not much at least, but the foal snorted and continued to fight the grip of the hare.

“What the hell is wrong with all of you?!” he hissed at the pack, “Does it honestly take four adult wolves to handle one foal? Make a halter if he’s too much, why do you think we brought so much rope?” he snarled, the canines recoiled. One took a length of rope and tied a loop for the colt’s nose, the others held him while they tied the muzzle on his face. 

“Now get them on a cart, and one of you keep him quiet.” he snapped, the canines following his orders without question. 

“Sir,” one of the bears said timidly from behind him, “The fillie. I think she’s still alive.” she said. Sterling winced then glanced at the body, her limbs still twitching occasionally. He took a breath and stepped up to her, the girl lying on the ground and making small whimpering noises. He crouched down next to her, scanning the blood trickling from her nose and mouth. 

“I don’t know if you can hear me, but I’m sorry I dropped you. I never planned on killing you, but you bit me. What was I supposed to do?” he whispered, “I’m sorry, love. You could’ve lived a long and happy life in White Fang, and you could’ve helped us change the world…” he stood up, staring at her pitiful figure. 

“Put the poor girl out of her misery, she won’t make it much longer. Shame, if it were from a little higher up, it would have been quick. And painless. Poor girl…Well, we eat well tonight.” he ordered the bear, who nodded. He looked around a little and spotted Vito leaning on his tree. They locked eyes and the hare waved him over. 

“Helluva night, eh?” he chirped. 

“Yeah… yeah.” the marten replied. 

“Don’t look so glum, Vito. This mission was a huge success.” he smiled. 

“Yeah, I know… I-I’m jus’ tired.” 

“Ah, well, we got a long trip home, and a beautiful dinner planned tonight. The sooner we get back to the docks, the sooner we can eat.” he patted his back, and stood and watched the workers work. 

Envar snorted behind the pine marten, not-so-subtly telling him he was in the way. Vito stepped away from him and the stallion walked past the brown hare. 

“Hey!” Sterling snapped at him, “Where the hell were you?” 

“Standin’ watch.” the stallion replied, refusing to face him. 

“On whose orders?” Sterling demanded. 

“Stone’s.” he replied, Sterling humed. 

“Perhaps it was better you didn’t witness it. There was a little accident…” he muttered. 

“I heard. Is she…?” 

“Dead? Yes, she wouldn’t have survived the trip home. Even if she did, she would likely have been brain damaged, which is almost worse. It was the most humane thing to do.” Sterling sighed. 

“Humane? Ain’t nothin’ about this operation is humane.” Envar hissed, Sterling shrugged. 

“Yes, I suppose. Envar, would you mind helping them load the carts? The mare and two foals are alive-” 

“Tanner.” 

“What?” 

“My name is TANNER-” the stallion whipped around and struck Sylvester in the nose with his hoof, sending the hare flying into the big tree. He hit the wood and the ground with a thud, Vito’s eyes widened. The night air erupted in growls and yowls again as Mayhem slammed her body into the stallion, sending him right into the rest of the pack of loyal wolves. They bit at his legs, which led to one of them getting kicked in the head and sent flying backwards, then another one snapped at his throat. The fighting and sheer numbers of them inevitably brought the stallion down to his knees, Mayhem held the massive blade on her tail to his throat, three wolves holding the stallion’s nose and heaping his head still. Sterling grunted, ears pinned as he held one of his canine teeth in his hand. Blood dripped from his nose and gums, he stared unresponsive to outside noise, deafened by a loud ringing in his ears. Vito knelt down next to the hare to help him to his feet, but he snapped at him. 

“GET OFF ME!” he hissed, shoving the pine marten into the tree as well, and whipped around to face the horse, face screwed up in an enraged scowl. Heavy breathing and a bloody maw made him a sight to see, he bared his fractured enamel at the stallion, eyes boring holes into his. But, the horse glared right back at him, teeth gritted tightly. Svetlana stood in the back, the baby still cradled in her arm and her hand covering her mouth. The brown hare glanced at his tooth again, then back up at the standardbred. 

“Hold this,” he ordered, shoving the tooth into Vito’s hand, the pine marten cringing at the bloody thing. 

“You moron.” Sterling hissed at the stallion, “What the hell did you think this would accomplish? You think you would make a point? Of what?” 

“Of this. This massacre that happened tonight. This innocent family is ruined, ‘cause of you!” the stallion hissed, receiving a punch to the nose from the hare. He wheezed, then yelped as he was hit again, by one of the wolves, to which Sterling calmly waved off.

“I dodged a bullet here, you know. Nice to know what you really think of me, what you think of White Fang. Put him with the mare.” He hissed at the wolves, grabbing the stallion's prosthetic leg and popping it off, leaving the wolves to drag the traitorous horse away. Sterling huffed, fixed his caller for the second time tonight and then whipped out a handkerchief and gently whipped his face. The soreness in his muzzle would make life hell, he might have a fracture. He turned to the pine marten who uncomfortably held his bloody tooth in his hand. 

“Thank you, I’ll take that now.” he said, wrapping the tooth in the handkerchief and storing it in his pocket, “That was gross, I, uh, I apologize. Let’s get back to the dock.” he said, placing his hand on Vito’s shoulder - after he cleaned it - and led him in the rough direction of the dock.

“Are… you okay?” the weasel asked. 

“Yes, I’m fine. Just angry.” he replied, spitting out a clot of blood, “Never swallow your own blood, it’ll make you sick.” he informed, “But you probably already knew that, didn’t you?” he chuckled when Vito nodded. 

“What r’ you gonna do wit’ t’at tooth? Put it back in?” he asked.

“No. Every scar tells a different story, and some teach you a  lesson. Should I get gold or silver put in?” he asked. The pine marten pondered, not the choice, but how that was what Sterling was thinking about right now.

“Well, y’r name’s Sterlin’, ain’t it?” he said. 

“Very true. It wouldn’t make much sense, would it?” he smiled, “I hope you’re hungry. We’ll eat like kings tonight.” 

“Yeah?” 

“Oh, yes. I suppose it’s the closest thing to being viel, without actually being viel.” Sterling said quietly, glancing at the fillie’s body as they passed the cart she rested in. 

---

    The ships had retreated to deeper waters, but the smaller dinghys lay hidden in the brush, along with some of the crew to man them back to the big sloops. Sterling’s group was not the first one back to the beach, Springer watched the shore closely with Cartridge sat next to him on a crate. He watched the pack of wolves wheel in two carts, then watched Mayhem toss a big sack of something heavy into one of the boats. Sterling stepped out of the bushes with Vito following him close, but the weasel stopped once he spotted the golden hare. The pine marten glanced at Sterling, who was busy watching the pack load the boats, and ran over to the young jackrabbit. He stood from the crate he sat on to greet him with a smile. 

    “Hey! What’s goin’ on?” he asked. 

    “We, uh, we gotta talk.” the weasel said grimly. 

    “Why, what happened?” Springer asked. 

    “Look, he’s pissed - at you - for somethin’ you did the other’ day. I heard him at the isle t’at you been snoopin’. Look, whateva’ t’ats pissin’ him off, you gotta stop. He’s already got price tags on parts of you.” Vito exclaimed, hushed. Springer squeaked, head jerking back at him, heart sinking into his stomach. 

    “Oi,” Cartridge said sharply, “The hell you talking about?” the roo hissed. 

    “Like I jus’ said!” Vito held out his hands, he looked almost offended. 

    “What do you mean he already has price tags?” Springer stood between them. 

    “T’at uh, wolf t’ing- Chaos, whatever her name is- she wants your ears. Sterling wants the rest a’ you, whatever t’at means.” he said. 

    “Vito!” the british voice called from the boat, “Come on! We haven’t got all night!” Vito gazed over his shoulder at the hare, then turned back to Springer with a pitiful look before he turned and jogged back over to the brown hare. Springer’s ears fell, breathing shallow, rapid breaths as he glanced up to Cartridge. 

    “Hey, it’s alright…” the roo said, “You’ll be fine, I’m s-sure…” he stammered, pulling his shoulder into his chest. 

    “Yeah… we’ll be fine.” Springer replied quietly. He sighed, then turned and sat back on the crates they waited on, the dinghys loaded and waiting to be rowed back out to sea. 

    Vito jogged back up to Sterling, who narrowed his eyes at him. The weasel smiled at him, being taught how to make a believable poker face all his life came in handy, especially when dealing with someone who was practically inside your head.

    “What’d you talk to him about?” Sterling asked skeptically. 

    “Oh, nothing. Jus’, letting him know somt’ing about t’e, eh…wa’s the word…?” 

    “The raid?” Sterling asked. 

    “No, at t’e isle. I t’ink I left somet’ing is all.” he said, Sterling hummed. 

    “I see. We gotta work on your English a little, if you wish. You know plenty to get around, but it’d make things a little easier if you actually knew the words for things.” he grinned. Vito nodded back at him and he was led into one of the dinghys. The small boat swayed in the waves, and he was handed two ores. Sterling sat behind him and also took two ores, followed by Mayhem, Svetlana, and one member of the pirates. They followed the pirates orders, rowing out past the wake and towards the ships’ silhouettes in the water. 

    “Are they comin’ too?” Vito asked, barely breaking a sweat as he rowed. 

    “Of course, they just need to pack first. We’ll meet them on the ship.” Sterling grunted. Mayhem watched the water below them and giggled, while Svetlana watched the men row the boat. She had handed the baby back to one of the bears, which she didn’t want to do, so she really didn’t have much else to look at. 

    “Hey.” Vito nodded at her with a grin. 

    “Hello.” she said quietly. The rest of the trip back to the ship was silent, aside from Mayhem giggling occasionally and the sound of the water, and a little heavy breathing. At least they had a nice meal planned, but the idea of taking such an innocent life was sickening. But, then again, Vito would have to either do what he was told and eat what was put in front of him, or face Sterling. Would Sterling really mind if he didn’t eat it? He might get weird looks from the Mastiffs, since no one has had a full meal in days, so maybe he’d let his stomach decide once it was finished being prepared.