The sun was high in the sky, offering a decent salvation from the cold of winter. Despite this, everything still seemed more or less abandoned with the season?s grasp. Golden grasses bowed their heads in silent prayer for spring, and the song of birds was absent. With the dying and dormancy of vegetation, the color had been sucked from the scenery to leave behind the blue and white of the sky, and the brown and gold of the dead plants. It was pretty and all, but still dismal. Most life seemed absent, but, if one were to wait long enough and look hard enough, they?d find it, surviving as it always did.

As active as ever, the tiny black wolf was encouraged by the tender rays. Many other animals were drawn out too, albeit more furtively. As he bounded through the grasses, something quickly caught his eye and he came skidding to a halt. With bated breath (as though the current silence mattered when he?d just caused such a clamor running) he stared at the tiny furred animal, several yards away. A little brown rabbit sat, perched on a smooth and medium sized boulder. It basked in the light that poured over it, and looked fitfully unaware. Instantly saliva began to pool in the scrawny beast?s jaws, and they?d unhinge to let his tongue roll free. His eyes did not blink, and he stood still in pure longing for a moment. Then, with a soft inhale, he was off.

Like a little rocket he flew, his body hugging close to the ground as he did so. The rabbit was quick to react and flee, but that did not deter the hungry urchin of a wolf that trailed behind it. His eyes were locked on target, and his tongue flapped out the side of his mouth, streaking the air with saliva. ?Bunny!? he shrieked, ?get in Caesar?s mouth!? Claws tore at the ground, and his tail whipped behind him in the air. He could almost taste the meat and the blood? He wanted it so bad! The want fueled an extra ounce of effort, and shrunken muscles thrust his body forward another stretching leap.

It was to little avail though, for within a second, Caesar caught but a last, fleeting glimpse of the potential dinner vanishing down a hole in the ground a few yards ahead. A furious shriek tore through the air. Caesar did not stop though. He rushed to the hole ? perhaps an abandoned badger den taken over by the rabbits ? and dove in. It was large enough only for his head, but he took no notice. He plunged his face into the darkness and would attempt to thrust himself farther in, screaming the whole time. ?Come back here! You?re Caesar?s dinner!? He only succeeded in wedging his shoulders slightly into the opening, his back feet scrabbling at the earth around. When it became apparent that it was a lost cause, he let out another cry, though this one was of misery. He gave up. But when he tried to pull himself out, he found that he could not. Caesar was stuck with his head in the ground, and his scrawny butt pointed up at the sky, both forepaws awkwardly stuck into the tunnel. He tried again to pull free, but failed. ?Heeeelp!? he yowled, his voice somewhat muffled in the earth.

Azalea had never been to the east of Alacritis before. The continent was of an odd shape, surrounded largely by ocean. With the way the land was formed, the eastern portion was far far away from her home. It had taken quite the trip to get to where she was at, but it was a trip well worth it. To be a well rounded wolf, she needed to explore the world in which her friends and enemies roamed. She needed to know her way around in case it ever became important that she get somewhere specific. ?Heeeelp!? The sudden caterwaul made her jump, surfacing her from her thoughts as if someone had set fire to her tail end. Amber eyes went wide and she looked around, not seeing anything initially. There were muffled sounds that followed the desperate plea and Azalea was already in action, springing left and right with her eyes sweeping the field in hopes of finding the individual in need. He heart was pounding now and her mouth formed an "oh" as she finally found the animal. Upon arriving at the scene, Azalea paced around him, her eyes full of worry but her mind silently poking fun at how awkwardly hilarious this situation was. The stranger had his head stuck in a rabbit hole. She assumed, by looking at him, that he had been driven to try and enter the hole due to his apparent starvation. "Hold still!" She called, moving in circles around him, trying to find exactly how to best go about removing him from his earthy chains. "Stop moving!" She froze now, eyes to where his left forelimb went below ground. There was a slight gap provided by his anatomy that would allow her room to dig. She went to work, scratching at the ground. She was relieved to find that it was on the softer side, not solid like it would be in most other regions at this time of year. "The ground is giving way, try pulling yourself free now." She said through labored breaths and she continued to draw the earth away from him. Speech,

The ground did not smell good. Caesar did not purposely try to smell it, but he couldn?t help it when he sucked in another breath to prepare for more screaming. As he heaved another breath in, he also inhaled the tiny particles of dirt that had been scraped from the loose tunnel walls. His lungs itched furiously, and he began to hack and cough, still writhing his scraggly lower half outside the tunnel. The hacking and coughing and dirt in his lungs made him feel as though he were going to suffocate, which only served to further frighten and distress him, and make him squirm more. None of this was being very productive, but he did it anyways.

Suddenly, ears would twist back as the beast took note of a new presence, and he forced himself (with some effort) to cease his choking and flailing. Someone was near his butt. ?Please don?t eat Caesar?s butt!? he cried, ?it doesn?t taste good and he needs it!? An exposed and vulnerable butt was always tempting. His tail curled against him nervously, pressing a few curling hairs to the ground in the process. He somewhat anticipated the agony of fangs in his bony rump, but none came. It seemed that the stranger had come to his request for help, not to start any mischief.

There was scrabbling above as the other did whatever he or she was doing. The rummaging sounds (likely digging), sounded a bit louder from underneath, and Caesar could not help but twitch a tad, anxious. But he felt the itch of other fur against his own, and jaws parted in the tunnel, a giggle spilling free. ?That tickles!? shrill tones cried, and a back foot pawed at the dirt. But he felt the ground begin to give way around him ? giving him the frightening impression that he might suffocate ? and he shimmied his hind legs closer to himself again and yanked back violently.

The gremlin?s front swept up from the ground swiftly, sending up a wondrous spray of dirt. The amount of effort needed in the action had been miscalculated and excessive though, and he went up and then over, eyes squinted shut. The ease with which he pulled from the ground surprised him, and by the time he was titling backwards he could not rebalance himself. Rather magnificently, the little wolf came crashing down onto his back, limbs flailing in the air. He did not remain there for but a second though, and brimming with erratic energy, he writhed violently and sprung back up onto all fours facing away from the hole.

?Ack!? a loud and obnoxious noise jarred the air as he flicked his tongue out in attempt to scrape the dirt off of it against his teeth. Dirt didn?t taste good at all! Then abruptly he would swing his head around to point his muzzle towards his savior and stare, his crazed blue eyes wide. She was pale, with an odd, red head. He didn?t like it very much ? it exaggerated her face too much, made it stick out more than all the rest. She needed a good blood bath to make the rest red, to make her complete. ?Caesar?s dinner is gone!? he wailed with an extravagant grimace torn across his open maw, his despairing reaction somewhat delayed. In the next second the horror was gone to leave a near indifference and a smudge of curiosity. ?Is Miss Redface going to feed him?? he piped with contrasting delicateness, his head cocking slightly and his pale eyes unblinking.