Dusk darkens the sky, the setting sun painting the sky with bright bursts of color. The pups stir, untangling themselves and getting ready to go explore the area outside of the den. Enki gives his coat a good shake before trotting happily outside, moving toward the grassy area that butts up against the volcano. For the past several days, he has traveled down there to watch a herd of deer that like to wander near the border of the nook. The marbled boy enjoys watching them graze and his small paws pull him toward the deer. He is careful not to disturb the prey animals as he moves closer, settling in on his belly to watch. It is fascinating to watch the way they crop at the grass, their ears flicking as they go.

Light blue eyes take it all in, a smile appearing on his light lips when one of the deer suddenly looks straight at him. Enki stills as his eyes meet the prey animal’s gaze, a flicker of amazement in his eyes. It looks at him and tosses its head, ears moving rapidly in a sign of irritation. Brows furrow, trying to understand what the creature is trying to tell him when the answer suddenly hits him. Pain spikes in the back of his neck as sharp teeth strike, something bites him and tries to lift the small pup off the ground. Fear courses through the boy and he opens his mouth to release a series of high-pitched squeals.

The pup’s fearful noises startle the creature that is trying to abscond with Enki and its grip loosens. Sensing freedom, the marbled boy swings his body every which way, paws and teeth striking at anything and everything he can hit. That does it and the beast releases him, sending the boy tumbling into the soft grass. Making it quickly back to his paws, Enki rounds on the creature and finds a coyote looking uncertainly back at him. Needle like teeth flash as he growls at it, angry that something like that would try to steal him. Its ears pin back as hunger drives it be more bold then usual and the small pup and predator square off.

"Enki Klien"

Everyone was moving around, stirring the young boy awake. Pale gaze opens to spy Enki slipping out of the den, though his other siblings were a little lazier and they just rolled off to the side and did what lazy, tired little pups did when woken up too early. Akuma yawned, putting his paw over his nose and squeezing his eyes shut in a vain attempt to get back to sleep but after a few minutes he had given up. He yawned again, shaking out his fur before getting up to go explore a bit of the pack lands. Might as well if he couldn't get back to sleep, right? The pale boy sat outside of the den for a minute, stretching out his legs and waking himself up a little more before tackling the day head-on.

Enki wasn't out here, which meant his brother had already beaten him in getting the day started. Oh well, he'd catch up. It's not like they were really allowed to go very far right now, but eventually, they would, and when the doors opened up, there would be no stopping him! With a grin on his face at the thought, Akuma half-followed Enki's trail but wasn't intentionally trying to follow him. Many scents and sounds hit him, distracting him and making him want to find the source of each one, but there was one in particular that caught his attention almost immediately after a few minutes of walking and it sent his hackles rising.

"Enki!?" His brother sounded...different. Like he was in trouble or something. Like something was...well...he wasn't sure...being the bold kid he was, Akuma headed straight for the source, hackles on end and his gait stiff as he sought to find what was going on. The little nub that had been protruding from his forehead had a sharp point to it, talons digging into the earth as he ran across it. Pale gaze spotted something...a wolf? Dropping Enki on the ground. Confusion settled into the boy. That wolf looked different...and it didn't really smell like a wolf, either. Enki had gotten up to face off against the thin creature, and Akuma realized that the fearful yelps he heard from his brother meant that this wasn't a friend or a packmate, but an enemy!

With a growl, Akuma ran full speed at the coyote's haunch, zeroing in on his target as he sought to jab the point of his growing crystal horn straight into the coyote's thigh while his forepaws reached out to wrap around and cling onto the coyote's left hind leg like an angry cat looking to kick the shit out of its target.

Fear courses through the marbled pup’s veins, burning like lava as it goes. Luckily Enki manages to get the coyote to drop him and, as he quickly moves to stand, the pup spies a familiar flash of white and red. Akuma had come to save him! Relief douses the fiery path of dread, allowing him to think more clearly. Teeth flash as he crouches, instinctively lowering his center of gravity to help him fight this beast.

Akuma rushes in, going for the coyote’s back left leg and successfully latches on as he jabs the creature with his pointy horn. It begins to turn its head to try and snap at the new threat but Enki is there to leap up at its face and harass the hurting coyote. He makes a racket, growling, snarling, and generally making every kind of high-pitched puppy sound that can be imagined. The marbled pup tries to keep the predator’s focus on him as long as he can so that his brother can deal damage.


"Enki Klien"

The coyote he was clinging onto was trying desperately to get at him, but Akuma's weight and his own talons and teeth were doing a damn good job of poking, stabbing, and prodding the creature into an annoyance beyond measure. Like an annoying hornet that wouldn't go away. Through the lurching and the spinning of the coyote, Akuma was getting dizzy, though he spotted his brother going right back in for the coyote in an attempt to distract it. While Enki did that, Akuma ripped his claws free and let himself fall to the ground, taking coyote flesh and fur from its leg with him. "Ew!" He flailed his paw to remove the bits of skin and fur, looking up just in time to find the coyote's teeth heading straight for him. Reactively, he swiped his claws at the face that was getting too close for comfort while he scrambled to his feet, sending the coyote's head swinging the other way with a yelp as it backpedaled.

Suddenly, these kids were proving harder to deal with then it thought...

The boys have turned the tables on the coyote that had tried to abscond with Enki. Akuma rips his claws free from the creature, falling to the ground and exclaim his displease at the bits of fur and flesh that follow him. If this wasn’t a serious moment, the marbled pup would have been howling with laughter and rolling on the ground but he is forced to focus on the task before him. The coyote lunges for Akuma and his brother smacks its face, causing the beast to yelp as it backpedals away.

A grin on his lips Enki takes the opportunity to reinforce the fact that the beast has lost by lunging forward and snapping at one of its paws. The agile coyote dances away, confusion clouding its eyes as it wonders where it went wrong. Blue eyes flick over to his brother and he lifts a brow to show Akuma that he believes they can drive it off. Looking back to the creature, Enki growls loudly as he suddenly rushes forward and the coyote finally cuts its losses, turning tail to flee.


"Enki Klien"