Where had Mother gotten off to?

That was the first fully coherent thought of the day as the dark ball of fur stirred. Hepzibah had rudely shoved him awake when she pushed his head off her body, earning her a quick, blind snap at her heels as she waifed along toward the light of day. Well, then, if that was how she was going to treat him he would see to it that she recieve no more of his body heat on these cold moore nights in Iromar. Locke gave a long, wide open yawn and pulled his paws out from under his heavy brother, almost reluctant to expose them to the chilly morning air of the underground den... But Mother was gone, a rare occurance, and that was worth a bit of investigation.

Rising on legs that were already beginning to look like stilts, the lean little boy cast his hazy goldenrod gaze around the room quickly.

Nothing but bones.

Odd... No mother, no father; Hepzibah, Rome, and he were left utterly unattended for the first time. Father came and went regularly, but mother had seemed almost to be a constant fixture, part of the den itself. In her absence, the place seemed utterly empty... and uneventful. If he was to be left to his own devices, Mother and Father would surely know he wouldn not willingly stay put. It wasn't in his blood to be still, especially in the wake of freedom for the first time.

With a last glance toward his burly brother - Rome was the heaviest in weight and slumber, it seemed - Locke took his leave behind Hepzibah. He took a moment outside the den to put his pitch muzzle to the ground, sifting through the scent of decay until he recognized that of his mother and began following it away from the den. He was curious as to where she had gotten off to, moreso than he was to find out whatever his sister hand begun barking at. Whatever it was, it certainly wasn't his problem, not after she had woken him up so rudely.

The young boy wandered for a few minutes, halting only when the trail he had been sniffing suddenly shifted into a swampy mess of water and reeds. Suddenly, she was gone. Hmph. He was hungry and, for the first time, food wasn't immediately present. Well... that was certainly... irritating. Locke's eyes narrowed on the messy green mass of water, instantly hating it for its inconvenience. This was no way to begin a day, especially not his first day of freedom. With a haughty huff that came out as nearly a sneeze, the boy turned on heel and ventured back toward Hepzibah. If he couldn't have food, he might as well figure out what all her commotion was about. After all, he could still hear her piercing barks even from this distance. That needed to stop. Like now.

Locke moved off at a jog back toward the den, looking around for the annoying little thing he called a sister. He paused, head held high in alert and ears perked forward as he caught sight and sound of the black and russet male who threw himself at what was so obvious, to him, Hepzibah. What was more, and most concerning, was the bright white and silver male who had approached from behind.

Much as the white pup may have been sitting by the wayside innocently, a hot nerve struck as Locke witnessed his sister coming into contact with the other male, the black one quick to pounce atop her while she was already entangled in the other's legs. So, they were going to tag-team his sister? They were going to bowl her over, dominate her with superior size and numbers? Hell. No.

The boy bristled dangerously as he shot off toward the tussling pups. His face contorted fiendishly around a loud, feral snarl as he struck the group like lightning, blackened charcoal pupiles all but pin pricks with the sudden surge of blood pressure. It was obscenely clear that this was no game to him, rage and war written over every inch of the child's body.

Jaws parted, Locke made a grab for the large, black and russet boy's collar, just above his shoulders. He would rip this brute off his sister, or attempt to, at least. The other boy was a rock compared to him, though Locke clearly had the favor of speed with his narrow frame and long legs. At the very least, he would get the boy's attention off of Hepzibah. It was hard to ignore a person when they were trying to kill you, after all.

Don't turn your back.
Don't look away.
And don't blink.

. l o c k e