Iroh had yet to extend his explorations here in the castle. He had been born in its massive shadow, and today the boy built up his courage to go exploring. For now he was alone, a state he was beginning to grow used to. His mother always seemed busy with her herbs and his brother didn’t often volunteer to explore with him. So Iroh hadn’t even asked either of them to accompany him. He knew that many of the wolves in the Empire took up residence in this unnatural place, but today marked the first time he would step paw over the threshold. Bright blue and lavender stare took in the entrance before him, a crumbled archway with intricate carvings over the frame. They were faded and crumbled, but Iroh could make out a few of the images.

Strange upright creatures seemed to dominate the decorations. They reminded him of the primates he sometimes saw playing in the branches of the trees but they were obviously different. The young boy studied the artistically cut stone as he wondered about the origins. In addition to the odd creatures he saw renditions of impressive stags, massive lions, and huge reptilian beats. They flared out their bat like wings and blew what he interpreted as wind or fire. These made him the most nervous, what if he found one of those? The strange two legs made him nervous enough.

If he had thought about it more intensely the fact that his pack mates and family made their home inside should have told him he wouldn’t find either of these creatures within, but his imagination had taken hold. Though he had no desire to come in contact with any of the creatures captured on the stones he couldn’t help himself when he finally did cross the threshold into the dark castle. The lighting was dim at best, tall thin windows and crumbled parts of the ceiling allowed the light of day to just barely illuminate the path he found himself walking.

Dark claws scraped across the stone floor as the boy delved deeper into the stone monstrosity. His bright gaze flashed in the dim light as he took in the rotting objects around him. A huge dilapidated table overwhelmed the large room. It had once been carved with elegant images that were only slightly less worn than the stone carving outside. Iroh recognized similar figures in the timber table. Valiant two legs wielding long sticks against the massive dragons he had been so nervous about outside. The images seemed to be relaying a story.

Iroh tried to find the first image, one that looked very much similar to the castle he now stood within. A two leg with long flowing locks could be seen in a tall tower, with the stick wielding two leg on a giant antlerless deer at the gates. The Abraxas boy shifted to the next scene where the behemoth made its entrance. The beast stole the smaller two legs from the tower. In the next scene they had retreated to a nearby mountain with the mounted two leg following behind.

The story continued with a conflict between the fire breathing beast and the knight, a huge battle commenced. Though as Iroh attempted to look at the final few scenes he would be disappointed. The table had deteriorated too much for him to discern the ending. He huffed in disappointment as he turned from the table and continued down the corridor, hoping he might find something else to commemorate the ending events.

He observed the tapestries that still clung to the stone walls, these held mysterious images as well, but none told of the dragon and the knight like he wished them to. Incredible beasts stared back at him, as well as more detailed images of the fair-haired maiden he had seen in the tower. Iroh brushed past them as he found another arching entrance. There were stairs leading down into the earth, and even darker area.

He couldn’t deny his fear of meeting the fire-breathing beast. However his pup like curiosity would urge him forward. Carefully he managed to navigate the winding staircase in the darkness. His big eyes took in the minimal light as he finally reached the bottom. He was confronted with a massive wooden door. This might have been the end of his journey were it not just as rotten as the table upstairs.

Iroh didn’t hesitate as he began to dig at the soft wood. He avoided the metal bracings that had started to rust and eventually managed to dig out the pulp enough to squeeze himself into this unexplored room. With his attention fully on wiggling his form through he didn’t even pay attention to his new surroundings.

The Abraxas boy squealed in terror when he finally made it through, standing before him with mouth agape, flames pouring from its mouth, was the dreaded dragon. Iroh was sure he was about to die and pressed himself against the thick wooden door for a long moment. The painful lick of flames never came though, and the dark boy opened his eyes warily to find that he had found another tapestry. The sun beamed in through a crack in the foundation right on the golden flames, bringing the dragon to life and almost scaring the pee right out of the young boy.

"speech" thinking action "others" The squeal of a pup echoed from the bowels of the castle, and concern clenched in the male's chest. He knew Rain tended to keep test subjects in a corner of the dungeon, as well as his stash of poisons. Had a child wandered in? That wouldn't be good. Broad paws thundered across the main foyer, following the last echoes of the cry. He took the crumbling stone stairs two and three at a time, leaping precariously into the darkness with each long stride. He came face to face with an old wooden door, half rotted with age. Cerulean gaze drifted to the small hole that had been dug through the lowest part, and he frowned. Jamming his left forepaw into the hole, he curled his toes around the warped wood and began to pull. Claws bit into the old door, and chunks began to pull away. Once the hole was beginning to widen, he started rearing back to slam his weight against the surrounding edges with his forepaws. A few minutes of effort made short work of the lower right corner of the left door. He could fit himself through well enough now. Dropping onto his belly, the male wriggled into the awaiting room. At least, until his elbow bumped up against a mound of puppy fur. Recoiling from the sudden contact, he pulled back. This left his ass end sticking out through the hole in the door, shards of wood poking painfully at the soft skin of his belly."You alive in here?" he grunted, eyes straining to make out details of the pups form in the darkness. The angle wasn't quite right, and he could only tell that the pup was sitting down a few inches in front of his face. So, he pulled himself the rest of the way through the hole in the bottom of the door. That gave him the chance to stand, relieving the sharp pain of rotting wood trying to breach his guts. Lowering his crown between his shoulders, he scrutinized the boy. "What are you shouting about?" he questioned in a low, wary voice. He didn't immediately notice anything dangerous. A beam of light was illuminating a corner of the room, and a worn tapestry that had likely not seen the light in ages. Mildew was crawling up from the bottom corners towards the elaborate effigy of a serpent breathing fire. The tapestry in his room wasn't nearly that elegant. DON'T YOU EVER TAME YOUR DEMONS, BUT ALWAYS KEEP THEM ON A LEASH

Art by Monster

The young Abraxas boy calmed slightly, but his heart was still beating heavily from the unexpected encounter. He tried to calm himself, but noise from behind him caught attention. For the second time that day the fur on his back bristled, was this the real dragon coming up to eat him from behind? He whirled around as he watched wood splinters erupt from the hole. This time the boy stifled his scream as a face appeared from inside.

His heart jumped into his throat, however and he couldn’t speak for a moment as words came from the not dragon. The young boy breathed deeply and he tried to swallow his heart. ”Yes, ‘m alive.” He didn’t recognize this wolf, but he had the smell of the pack on him. ”Nu.. Nothin.” He answered, not wanting to embarrass himself because of his mistake.

He backed away when the man pulled himself the rest of the way through the widened hole. ”Just ‘playin.. ‘splorin.” He added, wanting to be a bit more convincing. ”Who’re you?” He asked, mostly to distract this concerned stranger.