Eli's dark tail swept back and forth slowly through the centuries of leaf-litter that was scattered amongst stones that had tumbled from walls long before he was a thought. His eyes were fixed on a bush further away, towards a pond of water that hasn't been there the day before. He was certain the Bush had moved, and he was waiting for it to move again, staring with intense concentration. He was two seasons old now, almost three seasons, and that meant he needed to start protecting the pack lands. For real This time, not just the test his wise father had chosen for them as pups. Though his ears heated at the thought of that, and how he had embarrassed himself and his father. Squashed flat in the first five seconds of battle, shouting conflicting orders to his siblings and confusing them. Disgraceful. This time he would do better, and he would study the enemy more closely to be certain he knew the best way to deal with it.

And no, the enemy was not a BUSH. It was BEHIND the bush. There, see? It had moved again, rattling the leaves violently despite the lack of wind.

TIED TO WHAT IS LATE, AIN'T YOU NOW

Aureus raced down the stone hallway nearest his den site, his claws clicking against the stone as he skidded sharply around a corner. He bounded down the stairs and dove straight into a puddle. With a cry he bounded to another puddle and then another. He spied Eligos out of the corner of his eye and gazed at his brother for a moment, watching the other staring intensely at some shrubbery. Aureus ducked down and slunk his way down the last set of steps, down onto the earth. The leaf litter was a pain! Aureus tried to sneak up on his brother but it was pretty clear that doing so was going to be impossible. So he strode over to his sibling, stopping a few feet behind the other. "Hey there Eli! What are you do-"

Something moved. Aureus froze, his fur standing up as he stared at the leaf pile that had definitely moved. His nostrils flared, filtering through the air for familiar scents but he couldn't gather anything helpful. Aureus crouched down and slunk up next to Eligos. He whispered. "Should we tell dad?"

Unbeknownst to Aureus, Pyrrhic was hot on his heels. At Benkos' insistence he was practicing being quiet and sneaky. Apparently it wasn't in his best interest to hoot and holler everywhere he went. Blah, blah, blah the element of surprise blah, blah.

So while Aureus was stalking Eligos, Pyrrhic was stalking Aureus. And doing a pretty good job of it too, if he said so himself - which he did. He thought light thoughts as he tiptoed through the leaf litter and he was careful to keep his nails from scraping the stone as he walked down the steps. His plan was to jump on Aureus just as he was about to jump on Eligos.

Of course nothing went according to plan. Aureus appeared to give up on the pounce - which wasn't a big deal, Pyrr would jump him anyway - but then the source of both his and Eligos' interest caught Pyrrhic's attention.

Abandoning the game, he crept over to his brothers. "No!" he whispered loudly. "He'd be proud of us if we caught it." Whatever 'it' was. "I bet it's one of those monkeys - we can take it!"

"Talk"

One after the other, both of his brothers popped up seemingly out of nowhere to comment on his prey. Eligos swiveled his head from one to the other, considering both options. "I think Pyrrhic is right," he whispered loudly to them. Adults sometimes had trouble telling the twins apart, but it had never seemed really difficult to Eli, even when they were going out of their way to try to trick people. One of the perks of growing up with them, he supposed. "Maybe we should surround it so it can't get away." He eyed the bush warily as it shook again. It must be an awfully big monkey... He edged closer, trying to peer through the vegetation. "That bush is in the way though. We need to get it out in the open somehow." His red eyes flicked speculatively over to his brothers. "We need... bait."

TIED TO WHAT IS LATE, AIN'T YOU NOW

Aureus' ears twitched as his twin appeared whispering loudly that they should catch it. He turned back to the brush and squinted, his nose hungrily sniffing the air. It didn't really smell like a monkey to him but maybe there was to much foliage in the way. He nodded at Eligos as the other stated they should surround it but then he mentioned trying to lure it out into the open with some bait. His eyes lit up. "Oh! Oh! I know. Wait right here." He scrambled back up the castle steps, ducking into Ashiel's study. He moved carefully, pleased to see that the room was empty and that little Mæva was no where in sight. He didn't want to deal with her tagging along after him. His cousin had been collecting all manner of interesting items lately and his eyes quickly went to a number of green bananas laying near the southern wall amidst a variety of nuts and skulls. Carefully, he grabbed a pair of bananas in his mouth and raced back out.

Skittering down the wall he raced toward his brothers tail wagging. "How about these?" he said after he dropped them at his feet. "Monkey's eat these right?"

Eligos suggested bait and Pyrrhic, always ready and willing to take one for the team, was on the verge of volunteering when his twin exclaimed triumphantly and beat feet back up the castle stairs. That was all well and good. While he would have gladly (and fearlessly) menaced the monkey for the sake of his brothers, Pyrrhic was more interested in capturing it. That way when it was time to tell dad how everything had gone down he could claim a dominate role in the process. Of course menacing the monkey all by himself was a pretty big role too. Perhaps there was still time to accept it...

Nope. Quick as a flash Aureus was back, bringing with him a pair of bananas. Pyrrhic lit up. "Good find, Aureus! Those are perfect," he whispered excitedly.

His excitement was replaced with horror as a scaly, many-toothed snout slowly began to poke out of the bushes. "Um...guys..." That was certainly NOT a monkey! Pyrrhic had never seen anything like it. Just when he thought the snout had to be about done another inch of it would creep out. Finally, revealing a face that was much too long, the not-monkey's eyes could be seen. And boy, were they scary.

Pyrrhic gulped and then forced himself to get a grip. This was better than any monkey, he told himself. If they caught this creature their dad would be so impressed he'd appoint them to soldiers immediately! Forcing confidence into his voice, he said, "We can still catch it even though it's not a monkey. The plan will still work, I know it will. We just gotta..." he trailed off as the crocodile began to hiss. Pyrrhic gulped again. He refused to let himself appear weak in front of his brothers so like it or not, unless one of them called the whole thing off, he was committed. "...gotta surround it and bite it...and maybe jump on it."

The crocodile lunged suddenly - a bluff to frighten them away - and Pyrrhic let out an undignified squeal as he scrambled back. Welp, that settled it. He was going to have to chew one of its legs off to get back some of his dignity. "I'll keep it busy! You guys see if you can get around it! We can do this, I know it!"

The crocodile continued to slink out of the bushes and Pyrrhic decided there wasn't any time left to waste. He swallowed one final time and then charged forward with a whoop. The boy had made it maybe two bounds when the crocodile jerked around to face him and he was forced to swerve away. His heart hammered away in his ears, but he was determined now. The beast had dared to embarrass him in front of his brothers - it had to pay!

Pyrrhic skidded around and dove at the crocodile, barking all the while. He bared his teeth at it and pretended to dive at its foot before bouncing to his paws and skidding away. Well, this was easy enough- his eyes got huge as a massive tail suddenly broke free of the bushes in a spray of leaves. He very nearly got clubbed with and the only thing that stopped him from becoming a puppy pancake was a particularly stubborn sapling growing beside him that took the brunt of the blow.

"WHOOOO THAT WAS CLOSE," he howled as he darted away. And absolutely 100% t-e-r-r-i-f-y-i-n-g. His life may or may not have flashed before his eyes.

"Talk"