Chaos was robbing a grave.


When he had accidentally stumbled upon a treasure trove in the barrow beneath the knolls, he had been determined to see if all of the knolls had been barrows. But raising his pups had been a bigger priority at the time and he had put it off until he had all but forgotten it, and waking to a king's ransom in human treasures every morning had grown almost commonplace. But he had woken up that morning to see his reflection in a polished shield of gold, and had decided. Today was the day.


He vaguely thought that maybe the treasure was something to share with his pack members, that everyone could pick from among the treasures and the rest could be used to trade to other packs for things they might want. He had seen a lot of wolves using weapons and armor and had the thought that maybe there would be some among the treasures, but really he just wanted to treasure hunt.


That was why the noon sun found his butt sticking out of a hole in the side of one of the knolls, his excavations sending a cloud of dirt behind him as he sought entrance to the grave he intended to rob.

Tyrian wandered up behind Chaos and watched quietly as several plumes of dirt were sent skyward. He tilted his head to the side and considered first his brother's rump, then the loose dirt, then the hole being dug. He couldn't tell what his bother was after, but thought it was probably the badger that liked to run around this section of the knolls. It was mean one; twice now he'd tried to trap and befriend it and twice he had been rebuffed.

After a beat he decided Chaos looked like he needed help with whatever it was he was doing. He gave the spray of dirt a wide berth and then got up close beside Chaos and started to dig at his right elbow. He...probably wasn't helping but it was the thought, right? "So," he said matter-of-factly. "What are we doing?"

The sudden appearance of a body slipping up beside him and joining in, and the familiar voice piping up, had Chaos stopping his digging and pulling his upper body out of the hole to grin down at his younger brother. Damn, it felt weird to say that. "Hey Tyr," he said easily, shifting over a little to give the kid more room. "We're looking for buried treasure. My den is in the side of another of these hills, and it turned out to be full of old human treasures and weapons and shit. I think that they might all be treasure dens, so I'm trying to find another entrance." He casually went back to digging.

Upon hearing that there might be goodies buried in the hillside Tyrian gasped hard enough to suck in a small cloud of dirt. He coughed once before forcing an excited and strangled repeat of what Chaos had just said. "Treasures and weapons and shit?" Cough, cough, cough. "I love treasures and weapons and shit!"

Radiating excitement now, Tyrian dug with all of his might. In seconds his normally wet nose was caked in dark brown mud and a trail of dried crumbs was sprinkled up the bridge of his nose. "Dibs on the weapons!"

The kid's enthusiasm drew a strangled guffaw from Chaos as he snuck a glance over at him, a guffaw that he quickly hid beneath a faked cough of his own. God, had he ever been so young? To make up for any hurt feelings the inadvertent laugh may have caused, he quickly told the boy, "I wouldn't think you'd need any more weapons with all the firepower you were born with. Thought I was lucky to be born with just these fangs, but you managed to game the system and get those and some claws too. You're going to be a damn good fighter if that's what you decide to do." Not that he could imagine the kid not wanting to be a fighter, considering who'd fathered them both.

Any hurt Tyrian might have felt over the barely contained laughter evaporated as Chaos zeroed in on one of Tyrian's many sources of pride. He paused digging so he could puff out his chest and smirk up at his brother. ”Of course I'm going to be a fighter.” He lifted a paw and looked down at his claws as though examining a fresh manicure. After a beat he looked slyly up at Chaos. ”Can't let these puppies go to waste, can I?”

His expression turned thoughtful. Chaos had made a good point. He didn't really need anymore weapons. ”What should I look for instead? Armor, you think? Or – oooh I know! I need something to make me look cool so I can kill it with the ladies.” Tyrian squinted into the hole. ”Think there's anything like that in here?”

"I've found that the weapons I was born with are equally effective on the ladies," he said with a mischievous lopsided grin. "So seeing as you're my little brother and all, I'm sure you won't find yourself at a disadvantage either." He quit digging for a moment to shake out sore paws and eye the hill balefully. He was sure that he'd already fallen into the other barrow at this point last time... but maybe the sod was a little thicker on this one. "I'd go with some armor, myself," he continued, and resumed his digging as well. "Looks badass and it's practical. Of course, if you find yourself with a particular sweetheart you can't go wrong with shiny looking presents for her. Pretty necklaces or bracelets or such."

Tyrian's youthful energy combined with his excitement numbed him to fatigue so he continued to dig even after Chaos stopped. He couldn't wait to get his paws on some badass loot and he was really enjoying the time he was getting to spend with his brother. Angel and Rhys weren't around much and Ashmedai was fun and all, but Chaos had the teeth, a pack and swagger. If he had to pick a role model from the elder Imperialis bunch Tyrian would have had to pick Chaos.

The boy paused just long enough to visibly consider Chaos' suggestions and then nod to himself in agreement. Once he'd made up his mind he started to dig again. "I think you're right, those are good choices. Get me some sweet armor and something pretty for my future lady." He paused to think about something for a second then said, "Maybe a buncha pretty things just in case."

He whooped excitedly as he suddenly found himself up to his chest in dirt and his outstretched paw scrabbling against open air. Tyrian wormed his way free and then pressed his eye against the small hole. Of course with him blocking the only source of light to the crypt he could see nothing in the hole, but in the end it didn't matter. His imagination painted the prettiest picture. "I think I see something shining!"

Well, no one could ever claim that Tyrian wasn't Chaos' brother, that was for damn sure. The older wolf gave him a sly grin at his comment about keeping lots of shinies around. "Keep a good stash of 'em," he suggested with a chuckle. "There are plenty of girls out there and they're going to be falling over themselves for a chance at an Imperialis if you play your cards right."

His last couple words were lost under Tyrian's whoop of excitement when he broke through, but he didn't mind, caught up in the excitement and all. He joined his little brother to peer through the little hole. "Maybe its the shine of a dragon's eyes," he whispered dramatically, widening his eyes and grinning playfully

At the mention of the shine being a dragon's eyes Tyrian reached out to swipe playfully - with claws fully sheathed - at Chaos. He fixed Chaos with a suspicious I-see-what-you're-doing look and then said,  "Ha. Ha. Funny. There's no such thing as dragons, you just wanna go in first!" Tyrian pressed his eye to the hole again while pressing his front paws into the dirt just below it. He was on the verge of caving the thin wall in when he hesitated. Chaos was pretty smart and Tyrian knew he himself didn't know everything. So what if dragons were real? Or other monsters just waiting to drag off big, saber-toothed wolf pups?

He leaned back, his expression stoic as he tried to hide the state of his thoughts, and said, "But you know what? I'll let you go first 'cause I'm nice like that." Yeah that would work. He was such a good liar; Chaos wouldn't know the difference.

Chaos grinned and dodged Tyrian's playful swat, but only answered with a mysterious, "Are you sure of that?"

Strangely, he felt a strange pang of loss. The easy playful camaraderie reminded him of when he'd been a pup with his mother and she'd tease him in much the same way. He was glad that he got to share some of that play with his younger siblings but... he wished she'd have been able to meet them. She'd have adored them as she had all Valentine's pups.

He dragged himself back to the present to send Tyrian an innocent, wide-eyed look. "Me? Why, I wouldn't dream of taking the glory for myself. Besides, I'm much too big. You should definitely go first." He paused, obviously thinking, then added, "If you see a dragon, just play dead."

Tyrian was still for several seconds after Chaos spoke. It was clear the gears were turning in his head. Finally his eyes narrowed in suspicion. Everything about Chaos' expression and response screamed 'trap' but Tyrian wasn't sure which part was the problem. Were dragons real or not? If not Tyrian had just given Chaos a chance to go into a place with treasure first, so why hadn't he taken it? And if they were, why was Chaos sending his little brother first? Chaos had been digging all by himself before Tyrian had shown up so didn't that hint at him being prepared to go in alone? Or maybe he was just messing with him. That sounded like a big brother thing to do.

He kept his narrowed eyes on Chaos for a beat longer and then swung his head around to look at the small hole. "You're right. Your butt's much too big," he replied with a sigh. Summoning his courage Tyrian then puffed out his chest, put on his game face and backed up in preparation of taking a running leap. Maybe if he busted through and made a big scene whatever was on the other side would run off. "Playing dead is for pansies."

With a battle cry on his lips the boy ran full tilt at the thin wall of dirt. He hit it shoulder first and busted into a dark passageway in a shower of sod clods and tangled roots. Inside the air was musty and full of dirt thanks to his grand entrance. Tyrian brushed dirt out of his eyes and then peered around. There was no dragon and it didn't smell like anything living had been in there for awhile. That meant it was time to mess with Chaos. He turned to face the entrance which was only a few yards away but far enough to hopefully give him some cover in the darkness and then said, "Whoa look it's a-" and then screamed like he was about to be eaten alive.