One of the children turns from him, hurrying back into the darkened embrace of her den though Tobias pays her no heed, the delicate and intricate movements of his mind ceasing to recognise the child any further as his muzzle lowers briefly to the single girl whom has sought to follow- inhaling her scent though he offers no reaction before moving to stride forward. Long, darkened limbs carry his obsidian form across the fields with smooth and easy strides that conceal his ever-growing age, the half-light obscuring the grey that sprinkles his features and rises from within the darkened embrace of his blackened maw. It is a fortunate thing, perhaps, that he cannot perceive his own sense of self else the reflection he casts upon the water, for such grey is an imperfection and one that- were he of sound mind, he would surely find intolerable. Yet he understands no more of his age then he perceives the rise and fall of the sun and the rotation of the earth, he does not perceive the stiffness in his muscles or the ache to his joints. They exist for only as long as they pain him and thusly until his muscles grow heated from activity as they fall from his mind. He does not understand that he has grown slower and less agile- the prey has merely grown faster and his mind does not dwell upon the inevitable that exists before him. To his mind he exists as always he has existed- hungry and unfulfilled, a creature near rabid with his desire to feed in some desperate attempt to alleviate the suffering of his mind that plagues his wretched thoughts until all that exists is hunger and only hunger. He does not rest. His mind will not fall quiet until it is sated and perhaps such is the formation of his madness. Forever seeking and yet…forever incapable of finding contentment in his existence.

He tolerates the girl because she reeks of his scent, his nostrils flaring to inhale that perfume that exists upon her. She is his belonging and as such remains safe from the hunger of his jaws. He leads, for he knows she will follow as the emerald of his gaze fixated ahead to the place he knows well a meal awaits. He permits her presence for she is of no threat to him, she does not reek of weakness and she does not irritate his volatile temperament into action and as such he pays her no heed- perhaps the greatest of the compliments he can afford her. The scent of meat and blood rises readily upon the breeze now, his pace given to quicken as those long dark limbs extend to send the dark prince across the earth and towards the kill he has stored for some days now, the one he had shared with Lonhro and Singe and yet meat still existed upon it. The yearling wolf had been an easy kill, tufts of grey fur still clinging to what remained of the carcass as a rumble of satisfaction rises within his chest.

He will not hunt tonight if it is un-needed, he will not waste energy when a kill is ready to be consumed and yet his indifference to his following shadow rapidly begins to dispel in the presence of food- heckles and tail lifted in that supreme show of dominance. This is his kill and his alone, she will eat only if he deems it acceptable, the male so unaware of what he teaches in these moments perhaps to a mind so young and impressionable. That food was to be fought for, guarded, that the highest eat before the lowest and consume the best parts. Weakness will bring only hunger and perhaps there is sense in his madness and fury as teeth lunge suddenly at her to drive her back with spitting fury. She will understand in time surely, that she must be above others, she must be above all if she seeks to survive- for only those whom are fit will survive, only those willing to bleed for each scrape of food will be allowed to eat. There is little that is fatherly within such a creature and yet his instincts are assured, if anything will pass to this child then surely it is that- for there is nothing Tobias teaches near so well as the law of club and fang. That weakness in any form is intolerable. She is beneath him- she will eat when he decides and perhaps in time, she will have others beneath her to command as such.

He turns from her once more, a growl of irritation dying within his throat as he turns back to his kill, dragging it from amongst the rocks before burying his muzzle into the depths of the chest cavity to excavate what remains within it, the meat hard in places though seeming to satisfy him all the same. He eats for several moments before at last allowing his tail and heckles to lower, encouraging her forward now though he will not surrender his chosen places, allowing her to find another place beside him.