Paws the color of soot wander away from his brothers, venturing off on his own as he was wont to do. The darkest hued child of the Queen’s litter, he was also the largest. And so such paws were oversized and cumbersome in his youth constantly getting in the way. But he was also the strongest of the litter, easily able to bowl over his siblings and show them that he was the dominant pup. Viserion often gave in without much of a fight, but Rhaegal was the one who tested him most frequently. At this stage in their lives it mattered not, but someday it very well might.

As he walked along a well worn path each breath and step caused the shifting of the fur along his ribcage, and whenever the light caught the crimson there it flared to life like fire. In shadow it was hard to discern from the endless dark of his ebon pelt. Garnet red eyes swept over the path before him, growing bored with it, before he turned and broke his own trail into the surrounding underbrush. He made his way through the forest with ease, but every so often his large paws would catch on a fallen branch or an upraised root that was hidden in the grasses, and he would stumble. But he would simply carry on.

Until one time he tripped over a root and some sharp twig sticking out punctured the skin between his toes, and he yelped with fury. He spun around and snarled at the tree, holding his paw aloft and glaring angrily at the root. Lifting his paw a bit more, he leaned down and licked at the spot between his toes, trying to sooth the stinging pain.

The pup was mid-lick when he glanced up and noticed a shewolf standing not thirty feet away, inspecting her den. His eyes grew wide, wondering if she had seen his clumsy antics, and then realized his tongue was still between his toes. Quickly sucking his tongue back in his mouth, he lowered his paw to the ground and gritted his teeth when the stinging renewed itself. “Hello,” he said, not wanting to be rude, and unsure if she had or had not seen him.