King of Glorall, he might have been, but it had always been undeniable that she had been his Queen through and through. Had he not fought for her each and every time? Perhaps he had to remind her again some time, though he'd never want to burden her with any sort of blame - it had never been her fault that he'd been injured. It had only ever been his own failure. She'd just been his motivation, and his purpose for breaking through the pain that tooth and claw brought with it. Even now, she was worth every moment in the obnoxious heat or every annoying stone between his paws. The chase was exhilarating, bringing back memories of when the had darted about as children. Once, they had hunted porcupines in the old world, tracking it through the thickets. Of course, she'd been the better of the two and even now, he couldn't help but admire how well she handled herself.

They moved in sync for some time before she paused, bringing a devious smirk to his features as he wiggled his tail before pouncing forward. Of course, it had been a clever rouse and no sooner had she once more darted off, her dark form colliding with the waves of sea. There was no need for hesitation, and soon enough he had followed suit, barking cheerfully as one of the waves buffeted into him. He rose with each small wave, feeling the cool of the water run across his skin as he waded towards her, circling about and purposefully splashing as he did so. Even half drenched, she still managed to astound him as he bounced around her, tail waving limply in the waters though his gladness shone within his eyes all the same.

But then, he caught her eye swinging to the flock of crying gulls. He'd heard them the whole day cackling and screaming along the beaches, occasionally making their way towards the mainland for the freshwater. Truly, they had always been obnoxious things but for the most part, they had their uses. They provided eggs and a diligent warning system - wolves, bears, even ermine set them off into a frenzy which gave Tesseract plenty of warning. But now? His lips curled up into a playful smile, a brow cocking as he met Caligula's eyes once more, passing his own gaze onto the flock of birds.

"Fancy a feast? We're long overdue."

With that, he winked playfully before sauntering off, creeping from the waves until he met the ankle deep waters. He'd wait for her to join him there before moving off at a slow lope, his head low and body crouched low. It had been some time since he'd taken on the flying variety, so he'd have to see how well he'd fair. For whatever reason, even his daughters had managed to master it long before he had - but he couldn't go embarrassing Caligula, could he? It simply wouldn't do! Every part of him became focused as he prowled forward, stopping whenever the gulls became too restless. Really, he had been following Caligula's move, watching every flex of her muscles and mirroring it as he moved along with her.

Eventually, he'd have to break away, but not before he slid along her once more, mingling their fur for a moment before he moved to take a wide circle. He'd come from the opposite side of she, drawing their attention with long, sloppy strides that slapped against the water and sand noisily. Then, he'd run for it and he'd force them all into her waiting jaws - or, one or two at least, whatever she could get. All the while, he would bound and bark excitedly, finally given the chance to vocalize his long term happiness.

T E S S E R A C T
[ soul of caligula ]