Chaos had given Vana the slip while she'd been babysitting him at the den. He'd been getting rather deft at it, having even learned how to confuse and hide his trail enough to leave his oldest sister off on a frustrating wild goose chase long enough for him to have some fun without her. She'd eventually find him and bawl him out for it, but for now he was free, free, free! He just had to decide what to do first. Rabbit chasing? Playing in the mud? There were so many choices! Oh. OH. He so knew what he was going to do. The leggy, toothy pup made a beeline straight for where he'd been told his dad's territory ended. And yep, that must be the border, because he could smell the pack's border markers, warning away anyone stupid enough to try to go into their territory. He could smell his dad's scent there, and his mama's, and even all his siblings. Someday he'd be big enough to do patrols too, and then he'd get to add his scent to theirs. Actually... he was here anyway wasn't he? Trotting up to the place where the scents originated, he proudly cocked one striped leg up, and proceeded to empty his tiny little bladder all over the scent marker. Just like a grown up! Hm and then once he was all done he'd just cross the border and go exploring... "Talk" "You" Think

Chaos may have thought he was slick, but he wasn't slick enough. The boy was being followed. Even as it became clear that Chaos was headed to the border Valentine hung back. For now he was content to watch. He'd bid his time, he'd keep an eye on the boy, and he definitely had a plan, but for now he just wanted to see what his son was going to do. There wasn't a whole lot of cover in the Knolls, but Valentine was careful. He knew the land well and he took every opportunity to hide. Thankfully the wind was also in his favor; it blew the boy's scent in his direction and enabled the King to hang back out of sight most of the time. Whenever the cover was plentiful he'd surge forward so he could see what Chaos was doing. One such surge brought him in close just in time to see Chaos move purposefully towards the border. It looked like he was definitely going to cross. This assumption gave Valentine pause. Did he intervene or did he trust that Chaos would make the right decision and continue to hang back out of sight? He slipped into a crouch. For now he'd watch. ""

Finishing his marking with a little dribble, Chaos puffed out his chest proudly to smell his scent mingling with the warriors of his dad's pack. Yeah that's right! Everybody better beware when they came up to this border, cuz Chaos was waiting for them! He'd knock them down and bite their faces and pee on them! He strutted along the border for a moment before he remembered his resolve to go exploring. He snuck a glance around - completely missing the quiet form of his father - and sent an intense glare at the invisible fence keeping him in. Not even a single question of 'should I or shouldn't I' entered the impulsive boy's toothy head, oh no. Quick as the thought had occurred to him he sprinted over the border. All thoughts of going back and getting Rhys had faded away into the excitement of being OUTSIDE OF PACK LANDS all by his own self. She'd be so jealous! But maybe if she was nice he'd bring the older girl out with him next time. But maybe she'd have to bribe him first! He might even bring Rhyme if he swore not to tattle. Chaos giggled softly under his breath in giddy excitement. "Talk" "You" Think

The piddling done and over with Chaos darted towards the border. In seconds he was over it and outside Imperium. The boy knew very well that the border was off limits and that crossing it wasn't allowed, and knowing he knew this gave Valentine an idea for a slightly mean correction. Of course he could go the whole responsible and wise parenting route and take on this disobedience with gentle understanding...but where was the fun in that? His kid disobeyed and he kinda wanted to make him squeal. Valentine sought to slink in a half circle around Chaos. He moved downwind; the brute wasn't sure how much the boy paid attention to the scents around him but he wasn't about to chance being found out before he was ready. A plan was already in the works. His intentions were a bit mean-spirited but he wasn't out to aggressively punish the little one. As far as offenses went this one was rather mild and if it was the worst thing Chaos ever did then Valentine and Cascade were incredibly lucky. He did, however, hope to scare out what little piddle was left in the boy. Darting forward suddenly Valentine attempted to race towards Chaos' right side. He intended to bridge the last couple feet between them with a leap that would bring him just shy of slamming into his son's side but close enough to make Chaos think for a second he was about to get pounced on. The huge height difference was enough to guarantee that he'd be able to loom over his son. In a booming voice intended to startle, he said, "WHATAREYOUDOINGCHAOS?" ""

Chaos was completely oblivious to the possibility of anyone having noticed his departure from the rules. Too cocky and certain-sure of his own invincibility, he didn't even see a reason for the rule anyway so it wasn't even a thought in his head that he could get into major trouble for it. He certainly didn't know he was being stalked. One second he was plotting out what he was going to say to Rhys'n'Rhyme to convince them to come back here with him, and the next there was a flash of movement in the corner of his eye, and a heavy thud of paws slamming into the ground beside him, and... worse... his father's deep bellow right in his ear. A startled screech bared his flat fangs, and the boy - flailing wildly in a panic - flopped over sideways, away from the hulking figure, thumping down on his side and continuing to flail his way over in an attempt to get back right side up. "I didn' do nuffin! I didn' do nuffin!" he yowled, flailing his way over to his belly and spinning wildly to face the biggest and scariest wolf in all the lands everywhere ever. His dad. What would Rhys do? Other than not get caught to begin with? Freezing in place casually, he made his face smooth, widened his eyes innocently. "Hi da. I uh... I weren' doin nuffin. What'a you doin?" "Talk" "You" Think

Chaos' reaction was priceless. For a second - and only a second - he felt guilty for scaring the boy bad enough to earn such a reaction, but that feeling left him in an instant. After that it became incredibly hard not to snort a laugh and grin stupidly from ear to ear. Every second, from the squeal to the flailing to the expression of innocence, was worthy of a belly laugh. Fighting to keep his expression firm, he parted with words tinged with false incredulity, ""Nuffin", huh?" Casually he glanced over his shoulder in the direction of Imperium before turning back to rest an equally casual gaze on the young Saxe. Even now while he was trying to be authoritative he was struggling to keep a sober expression. "How did you get all the way over here without disobeying me and crossing the border?" This aught to be good... ""

Oh poop.

His confidently innocent expression drooped as his dad pointed out the very true fact of his disobedience. He shifted from paw to paw and his gaze darted everywhere but his dad's eyes as he desperately tried to think of a reasonable and believable excuse for him to be all the way out here. What would Rhys do?

"RHYTH MADE ME DO I'," he blurted out without thinking. Poop again - Rhys would kill him for this, he just knew it. But he'd already started the lie so he couldn't very well back out of it now. "The uhm, uhm... the dared me to! The be' me I wou'n't and I had ta becauth I can't looth a bet." That was believable, right? You couldn't back down from dares! And losing a bet was awful and you couldn't ever live if down if you did, so Dad wouldd understand of course.

Valentine frowned thoughtfully as he watched the boy squirm. Knowing his trio of little ones a bet certainly seemed plausible. Really, if it were true then he should be relieve the dare only involved sneaking outside the border and not biting a buffalo on the butt or hunting down a skunk. It could be worse. "Rhys, huh? Guess I'll have to have a talk with her then..." He eyed Chaos subtly, hunting for a telling reaction. Of course, if it was a bet, why not help Chaos out a little? His sister had dared him knowing full well he'd get in trouble, something she'd probably get a kick out of before it inevitably backfired and she got in trouble too... Hm. His expression sly, he asked, "Wanna go exploring?" ""