Though he was technically a yearling now, Tate had managed to retain that baby face. That, and he didn't really feel any different. What good were birthdays, anyway? He wouldn't dwell on it, not one bit. Not at all! Instead, the chaotic young boy would simply take his loosened leash and do with it what he may, venturing away from the bamboo for some good old fashioned exploring. It was cool, at least, that he could go alone now. Unsupervised into the great unknown, maybe not the best choice, but it was a choice none the less.

The sun was shining, and a brilliant spring seemed to hang in the air. Things had been pretty weird lately, what with the appearance of the statues and all. Tate did his best not to dwell on it too much, but there was the comforting weight of the new die around his neck to remind him. It only seemed right that he wear it, that he keep it close. A gift from forces far beyond his control, and it was weighted far better than the ones he made. This one was fair, completely and entirely, and something he should use to make only the most important decisions. The ones that Tate made himself? Well, those were the ones he'd use when he was playing games with his siblings. That was fair enough.

As he wandered, Tate was drawn in by a weird sort of feature in the distance. It wasn't a mountain, but seemed to spring up out of nowhere like one. Curious, the young boy moved in that direction. His head quirked to one side, then another, as it came into focus. Clouds were starting to roll in, grey ones, from the east. It drove the boy even closer to the building, the castle, and hopefully out of the way of whatever impending storm was on the horizon. For a moment, Tate paused, looking up at the stately castle. Weird... maybe cool, but also weird.

"Potato"

She'd gotten into trouble. It wasn't a surprise, but Dusk still didn't like it. The girl didn't think that she'd done anything wrong. The caiman had attacked them, so why did she get yelled at for attacking it back? The obsidian child still bore the healing wounds on her muzzle where the reptilian's scutes had cut into her. She didn't mind the wounds, but she did mind being reprimanded for defending her cousin.

Still sulking, the young wolf found herself meandering around the grounds of the castle for a while. Eventually, that became boring and she slid outside of the courtyard and into the wilderness beyond. No one was watching her anyway, so why shouldn't she explore a bit? Slightly grumpy and looking for something to cheer her up, Dusk pounced after a few fleeing rabbits but wasn't fast enough to catch them. After that, the inkblot dove into the air, snapping her jaws at a flock of sparrows. She didn't catch any of those either. Ugh...

Skulking along, looking for anything to distract her, Dusk finally came upon something interesting. An intruder! The pup bristled her midnight coat, making herself appear larger than she actually was. With such long fur, it was easy to do. Stiff legged, she stalked towards the earthen colored boy. Fire opal eyes burned as she stared him down. It didn't matter that she was smaller. Dusks spirit was a giant. "Who are you and why are you here? These are my lands!"


"Dusk Carpathius"