”Hey!”

The sound of a small voice cocked an ebon ear backward instantly as the young wolf froze in place, a forepaw dangled mid-stride high above a jutting root along the forest shoreline. The demon youth stood stock still for a moment, listening closely. The voice had not registered in his mind, was not familiar, and surely it was not meant for him. No whelp of Iromar would dare to address a wolf two years their senior so casually. And certainly no child of another would be taught to behave so naively toward a stranger?

But the sounds of a clumsy, toddling bound crashed in the roots behind him, growing closer with each sloppy stride. She, this girl whom he did not know, was approaching him. Why...? Ebon ears slicked back to the tall boy’s skull, gripping his head tightly, and the ridge of fur along his spine lifted slowly to attention. He waited for her to stop, waited to be spared the clatter of her steps as she made her ungraceful approach.

It did not; he was not.

The pup was but a few yards away, her very presences already intrusive, and yet she approached closer still. The young demon’s black banner raised stiffly, a clear signal of his disproval, and the girl continued forward. Locke’s chin tilted slightly to the side, a murky gold eye shifting to catch a small form of tan crested white in his peripheral vision. His lips lifted immediately at the sight of such a pale figure, teeth exposed in a silent snarl, but she took no heed. Such ignorance...

The small form came to a halt but a foot behind him and opened its mouth to address him further, but Locke was not concerned with what she had to say. The tall boy of Iromar let out a vicious snarl and spun quickly on his heels, lunging through the small space she had left between them with long, snapping jaws aimed straight for her face.

Locke could not say he understood her reasoning for approaching a complete stranger in the wilderness. He couldn’t even understand why a pup so young was out in the free lands on her own. It was asinine! Her very presence, her age, her behavior... Whoever the little mongrel’s parents were, clearly weren’t very concerned for their child to allow such a small thing to run about yelling to strangers well outside protection. Furthermore, to let such a pale child roam so close to Iromar...

They would learn.

They must.