The Haskel boy enjoyed his shifted forms—the height and hands of optime, the speed and strength of secui—but he was never one to forget his roots. He loved running in his old shape just as much as the new. It was more natural, as the natural ways still called to the youth who called himself Prince. And it had its advantages, being the most comfortable, allowing him to endure over long distances without worrying about stumbling or being too big to fit places.

Large pale paws stepped comfortably over twigs and dead leaves, wet nose lifted to the wind that ghosted softly through the trees. He remembered when these woods used to frighten him, and the scar on his nose remembered the bobcat he’d faced off against months past. He’d probably be the one to chase off the feline if they ever met again.

Skoll cantered through the thick forest for a while, but time didn’t mean very much to him unless it fell to darkness. His tireless energy was that of a strong adolescent instead of a hyper pup, and he was hardly even breathing heavier than usual when he slowed to a stop. He’d gone farther north than he ever had alone, though if his mental map was correct, Cercatori d’Arte would be at his left shoulder. He recognized some landmarks from the trip with Terra—a crooked lightning-charred tree here, deadfall damming a stream there.

A scent reached him, causing his ears to stand to attention. His tail waved excitedly behind him, near curling over his back. It seemed that there was another puppy in the area, although this one didn’t smell all alone like Kace had been before he’d taken her in. Still, it wouldn’t do for a young cub to be out in the woods all alone where a bear could eat them. Pretending for a moment he was a hero like Anatole, he stamped through the leaflitter in pursuit of the smell.

He saw her then: busily sniffing, golden and black, and much much larger than he’d expected from her youthful smell. It was like the opposite of Kace, who acted big while she was really small. His tongue lolled at last as he followed her, not bothering to quiet his footfalls.

The creamy-blonde boy padded along on four legs, grinning softly to himself as he waited for the golden puppy to notice him. He just hoped she wouldn’t think he was big and mean, but at least he wasn’t in his secui form. He was smaller like this—though by no means small—and a natural wolf always looked less scary than the other big forms. Maybe she’d realize that he was trying to help right away, if she accepted his help. He had no misconceptions about cubs thinking they could do everything on their own; he’d really just grown out of that stage, or so he’d have everyone else believe.

He stopped when she did, noticing her nose tilt up, her tail beginning to sway behind her. It would be easy to grab and pull her tail, but he didn’t want to spook her, and so he waited for her to turn around and greet him. However, after a few more steps, she disappeared suddenly into the bushes, leaving him confused. His ears tilted uncertainly against his head as he stalked toward the space he’d just seen her, his muzzle down to the earth, trying to figure out where she’d gone. He couldn’t let a little girl best him!

She can’t have just disappeared!

Lifting his muzzle off the dirt, Skoll sniffed again and concluded from her odor hanging in the air that she had, indeed, hidden in the bushes to the side.

But his childishly delayed realization did not come quickly enough to save him from her ambush.

A burst of noise made him flinch, and he turned to see the golden and black puppy launching her formidable body at him. She leaped and struck his back, his height causing him to be knocked off balance. With a loud “oof” he fell to the ground, but he didn’t remain there for long.

Quickly, his head snaked forward, jaws grabbing for her ears or her scruff or her foot or whatever he could get hold of. He wouldn’t bite her, but it would be easy to wrestle her into submission—or so he hoped. His tail wriggled weakly as the older boy flashed a challenging glare.

It looked like his easy victim wouldn’t be quite so easy. He was surprised at the strength of her, although he was big and strong himself. Her claws scraped his plush gold pelt, ripping tufts of shed fur from his doggish coat. His mouth found one of her paws, managing to tug her, but ferociously she snapped at his face and made him relinquish his grip.

And then, just like that, the black-marked dog girl was getting away from him again. She put some distance between them, but once Skoll found his feet, he was on the pursuit again. He charged toward her, growling, his tail flagging, trying to get his mouth around her neck or shoulder so he could push her down underneath him.

All he had wanted was to reconnoiter the stretch of forest he hadn’t seen yet, but now Skoll found himself in his first battle. Of course, he wouldn’t mark it as a proper battle since he thought himself older, wiser, and stronger than this girl pup. However, her spirit alarmed him. Had he been more mature, he might have found respect in this little warrior of a child, but right now he was just frustrated that he hadn’t won yet.

He was ready to stop this fight, and a thrill went through him when he clamped down on the thick ruff of her neck. He fought the urge to shake and only growled discouragingly, although she was just strong enough that he wasn’t able to knock her down. She was pushing back, and his ears flattened as he realized they’d come to another standstill.

A stream of foreign words left her snapping jaws, and he growled in French against the scruff of her neck. “Soyez tranquille, petite sotte!”

Quickly, Skoll released his hold and scrambled backwards to put distance between them. His hackles stiffened and his lips drew back to discourage her from attacking him again, but in addition, he barked a hasty explanation. “I was just following you and then play-fighting was fun and you can stop now!” He was a grouchy child all over again.

The girl swung around eagerly to face him as he’d feared, but she didn’t charge him and instead stood her ground as he was doing. She wasn’t scary, of course, but he was impressed by her show as her fur stood on end. After heeding his hastily spat-out words, however, she tipped her head to the side and questioned him innocently.

“Yes,” Skoll said wearily, his fur smoother now. He drew his paws in more underneath him, no longer spread out in a battle stance, and looked her over again out of curiosity. She was even a more proper gold than him, although her coat was marred by the black on her hind legs, tail, and the streaks on her face. He’d never really seen fur like that before.

“I was following you, and then you jumped at me, and… Well, I thought you were playing, but I don’t think you thought you were playing.” He scowled, although he wasn’t mad so much as mentally weary. He might’ve been able to continue the fight forever, and eventually outlast her with his excellent endurance, but his patience had run out.

The girl looked him over with her icy-smoke eyes as she listened, but she questioned his motives for following her in the first place. His ears flattened against his head as he opened his mouth to defend himself, but then he shut it as he realized how suspicious he must have been. Another puppy might’ve been downright terrified by a bigger kid following them around. This one reacted bravely instead of fearfully, but that didn’t mean she hadn’t been suspicious.

“I wanted to know why you were out all by yourself,” Skoll admitted. “And I thought maybe I could surprise you, just as a joke. I didn’t mean any harm.” He rubbed one forepaw in the grass then smirked at her in cocky admiration. “But… You’re a pretty good fighter. Where’d you learn all that stuff?”

He hoped that the girl understood that his silence had been for fun, not necessarily a threat or cruel manner of prank. He didn’t know what he might have done if she’d run away screaming, though, and it ashamed him to look back on his actions. All his life he’d tried to be gentle with smaller or younger children, but his nature to play and be careless overcame that sometimes. At least she’d been able to hold her own against him, however; he didn’t feel as bad when he thought about that.

The ice-eyed child didn’t seem to be upset with him anymore, and her tail wagged at his praise. He showed a tooth in a sideways grin until she went ahead and explained in stilted words that her grandfather had trained her, and that she was going to be a warrior.

“Me too!” Skoll said, and then amended his statement awkwardly. “Well, I’m gonna be a warrior. Sort of. I have to work hard, since I don’t have a grandfather to practice fighting with, only myself.” He was besotted with the thought, however; he might be able to rise as a golden knight, or command the Calvary as a Captain, or maybe even a Constable. That was what his father had been, if he remembered right, before he was King.

He continued to grin wider, his tail curled and wagging. “What pack are you from, anyway?”

Casa di Cavalieri was the name of the pack, and Skoll smiled brightly. He didn’t know what the pack’s name meant, like he knew what his own was, but the word cavalieri sounded almost like cavalry. That had to do with the warrior ranks in the Court, and it seemed that it would suit the girl’s home, as she described it as a “great warrior pack.”

His smile vanished for an instant at her boast. “Who’d you defeat?” he asked with widened eyes. “We defeated the Tribe! Well, when it was bad.” He knew that they weren’t enemies anymore, and for that he was glad, no matter how much glory was in battle. He’d prefer to keep his family safe even if it meant no beating up evil wolves like he dreamed.

He turned to watch her as she pranced, and the corner of his lips tugged upwards at her words. “Yeah!” he agreed readily, abandoning his lopsided grin for a proper and more childish one. “We’ll train and teach each other.” He didn’t quite know how much they could show each other yet, since she was just a puppy and he didn’t have a lot of training. Maybe she could just pass on the lessons her grandfather gave, until they were both of an age to really show each other—or at least he hoped this wasn’t a one-time suggestion.