Tyrian wound his way through the rusted heap maze with slow, deliberate steps. He'd been to the plateau many times but it never got old. There was always something new to look at. A 'new' heap to pick through, a 'new' cache to crack open, etc. He had yet to be disappointed. Even the things he found that had no practical use had been interesting in their own way. The long forgotten weapons built for another species and beyond his use. The armor that defied nature with its strength. The occasional, unexplainable peculiarity, like the odd bit of metal forced unnaturally through another. The force needed to do such a thing was beyond him. It and other things like it boggled the mind. He paused to pounce gleefully into a promising heap. The odd bits fell away allowing him to creep in deeper and deeper until nothing but his rump and sabre-like tail stuck out. Tyrian was surrounded on all sides by the gnarled remains of some sort of exploded metal beast. His position was precarious beneath the haphazardly balanced metals scraps and in his eagerness to unearth a promising artifact, Tyrian was heedless to any danger. He knew it was there, of course, but he was counting on luck to get him in and out of danger and if it didn't, well, he deserved whatever befell him.   ""

“You! Over there.”
My chest puffed out as I marched methodically over to nowhere in particular. I held my head high, with one eye able to look out from underneath the metal helmet that I had on. Most of my vision was obscured for the helmet was WAY too big for me, but it was the only one that I could dig up around this field.

No like, literally. I had to dig it up. Only the edge of it was poking out of the ground and god, I couldn’t tell you how many roots were wrapped around it. Now that I had it free from the earth's grasp, it was my prize! And I wore it with pride.

I stopped and peeked under my helmet, eyeing a small leafy thing poking up out of the ground. “Yes you. What’s your rank, soldier?” My voice, one that normally was light and alto in pitch, was forced to be amusingly deeper as I pretended to bark out orders. “Speak up! How am I supposed to hear you when you’re covering your mouth like that?” I straightened my posture. My legs were locked together and a bushy dark grey tail lifted high over my rump, only swaying slightly after a brief pause. “Ay, I see. 10-4 private. That’ll be all for today. You’re dismissed!” I barked once more and marched off in the other direction.

‘Oh, I’m good at this. I could totally lead an army if I wanted to.’

I grinned slyly and giggled lightly to myself. I liked pretending to be an admiral. Especially when I had a pretty neat souvenir to hype it up.

I allowed my body to walk for a minute or so without taking the time to look up for I was lost in a song. I trusted my other senses more than my vision at times to let me know if I was in danger. “…Tails swingin’ to and fro, down down to the fields we go. Maybe its looo- Op! Oh…” I felt my nose start to twitch and I stopped in my tracks. “Hm?” A paw came up to push the helmet off of one eye and look around. Down the hill, I saw a furry butt in the air, body well hidden in a heap of junk.

More stuff? Woah what a find! I smiled and raced down the hill with a large helmet bouncing on my head. Paws slowed as I came closer to the wolf as he seemed to be rummaging around. I knew that he would pick up my scent and I allowed that to be my introduction instead of spooking him. “Mmph…” My head tilted to the side and I looked at him, then back to the pile.

‘Maybe there's something good in there?’

I pushed my nose into the pile on the right side of him, making sure to keep a couple of yards away, and took a sniff. Everything was… My nose wrinkled and I snorted, clearing the dirt that quickly took residence inside of me.

It was the sound, not the scent, of the other that reached Tyrian first. He wasn't sure what he was hearing, either, but it was something. He kept at his digging while casting a side glance every once in a while to track the progress of the other wolf. They sounded young, which made sense given what he was hearing, but it wasn't until they dove into the pile alongside him that Tyrian was able to confirm it with the girl's youthful features. About the time she sneezed Tyrian stepped back with a triumphant 'ah hah' and an old bucket helmet clamped between his teeth. "Bless-" Apparently the helmet had been holding things up, as at that moment the entire section Tyrian had been picking through caved in. "...ya," he finished lamely in the resounding silence that followed the clatter. "Well, hell." He turned his attention from the girl to the pile and furrowed his brow. Welp, there was no fixing that. To test the jumble he grabbed a piece of metal that jutted free and tried to sway it. There was no give and upon being released it made a dull buzz like a tuning fork. "I guess I'm done looking there," he commented good-naturedly. ""

'Bless...'

My head pulled out of the pile soon after I heard his voice. Immediately after the pile shifted and I moved my paws quickly to the side a few steps from the startling sound of metal. I supposed with one extra pair of nostrils in there, a cascade was bound to happen... My amber eyes were brought up to the males' form, looking for any bodily giveaway that he was startled too. Though, it seemed I was really the only one who was jumpy.

"Thank...you?" My voice was light in nature, even though my mannerly response was given as an off-colored question. I sniffed and smiled meekly, tilting my head around to the side of the random doodads that he had been peering through. It was his side that fell in, so maybe me rummaging in there as well had nothing to do with his dig progression? My paws glided over to his side to see what he was looking through. Honestly, it looked about as random as my side - what was he looking for?

"I guess I'm done looking there,"

I reached out and flicked the thin sheet of metal that he had just tried pulling out moments before, just to hear the hum of the vibration again. It was such an odd sound... Eyes flitted up to the male once more.

"Probably my fault." I sighed and sat down, taking the time to look over the old bucket helmet that he discovered. "But hey! There's one treasure! The back of my paw tapped it a couple of times to emphasize my point. "And better it had fallen after you got it rather than your head being caught in." A short laugh escaped my maw before I smiled and looked back at the pile. "Whatever could you be looking for in there?" I said with honest childlike wonder filling my voice. Maybe he was looking for a helmet to play as a Sargent too?

The girl made a good point and Tyrian dropped his head in a shallow nod of agreement. "True, that could have ended worse." He would take a loud clatter over getting his bell rung any day. "Oh," he said with a thoughtful shrug, "nothing in particular, really. I just like poking around these old ruins. You can find the coolest things if you're willing to look and uh," as the girl had done, he thumped the sheet metal with his paw, "take some chances." Tyrian placed a paw on top of the helmet and began to roll it back and forth. "I was thinking, maybe one of my little cousins would like it. They're all little warriors in the making," he added proudly. "How about you? You looking for anything in particular?" ""