Stone Circle he made a little whiskey for himself, said it helped pass the time

west!

ribbit, ribbit went the incessant call of an elusive treefrog, perched on a slim stalk of wall lettuce high above riley's head. the boy had first become aware of the tiny amphibian several minutes before, and had wormed his way out of the den and followed after the sound with strained, floppy ears.

how the stalk waved, with his future meal just out of reach! riley sat his plump behind down on the dirt and peered up at the bobbing stalk, entirely unaware that if he happened to push the plant, he would topple it.

He had nothing to do and honestly he wished he had some friends that weren't his siblings. Clay sucks. Case and point. Newt was a good brother, but he didn't like playing the same things as himself and well...Leta was still stuck in the den. If he and Clay weren't in a fight and he wasn't talking with Newt he often found himself just sitting outside hoping someone else would come along to play. Aerasha was weird and Vespera was fun, but he hadn't seen either of them since he last saw them.

His wish must have been heard though! Some scuffling was heard not too far off and the sound of a weird creature. Following his ears, he came upon the scene of some boy staring at...some weird grass thing that shot up higher than normal grass. Hey! Who are you?

He made me think of him so now you must look at him

lol! aaaaand KAAAAZOOOO

the treefrog -- unaware of the peril in the form of hungering, waiting jaws -- continued its horrisonant song. it was rough and croaked, and riley tilted his head this way and that, those flat eyes dancing with a rare lighted interest.

he resolved to eat it: that much was clear -- but whether or not he had the wherewithal to make such consumption happen remained unclear. a frustrated growl sounded from his lips, announcing that the tiny pugilist had reached the end of his rope in terms of weighted patience.

it was not riley that noticed west first, but the lime-green little frog: it heard the oncoming steps of a predator, and in that leggy way frogs oft do, had limbed from wall-lettuce to a nearby arm of thistle in a flash. incredulous by the prey's deft motion, riley instinctively lunged after it.. but the frog was long gone, likely alighted on some far reaching grove out of riley's detection.

after thrashing bullishly through the wall lettuce and thistle, riley peered up at the older puppy with a look of wariness; a quiet rumble of disapproval sounding in his throat. was this a friend, or also a stranger? he could not tell, and so, was on the defensive in the way insecure puppies often are.

Before he could blink the frog was on the run and so was the other round boy who floundered after it. Had he been hunting that thing? Maybe he could help catch it? But...mm no it was gone. Suddenly the other turned back to him with a low rumble in his throat, was he upset with him? He seemed warry, maybe he didn't even understand him? But why wouldn't he? Um...you live here? Maybe taking a different approach would get him the answers he seeked.

riley regarded his companion silently, ears canted to the side. an onlooker might have described his thick expression as unintelligent, neanderthal— but a glimmer of faint intelligence registered in those reptilian eyes, which looked upon west with a semblance of carnivorous interest. 

the boy was older than riley, bigger than his siblings. a mark certainly stronger. yet riley was a scrapper, a pugnacious challenger that looked at all as an object to be dominated. wordlessly he hulked to the ground, crouching with a predatory pose — and then he leapt right for west’s nose   a glancing bite meant to test the boy’s mettle, and see if he was friend or foe.

I thOUGHT I REPLIED SORRY

The younger boy stared at him and as time drew on, West started to believe this guy couldn't talk. Did he even make noises? Well, he did growl at him... it was then that the young boy crouched down, something he was all too familiar with. Maybe he wanted to play! Riley lunged at him, nipping near his nose, but his size gave him the advantage needed to move out of the boy's reach. West giggled as he jumped back, his own rear now raised with a tail waggle before he bolted forwards to tackle the other boy.

riley sailed through the air like a clumsy potato-sack, piggish eyes trained on his victim. west daintily moved out of reach, and riley's jaws clapped shut in disappointing finality.

he landed in a lumbering bounce, gears laboriously churning to turn round -- and it was then west pounced upon him. a squall of surprise sounded from the boy, who turned his head round and attempted to bite anything he could in a bullish show of tenacity.

His laughs only echoed as the other boy chewed on him. The only other pup he got to wrestle with was his brother clay, but he seemed to be a stick in the mud about it. Newt hated roughhousing and Leta wasn't allowed to after she was hurt. Teeth chomped at his shoulder while he retaliated just the same, biting at the other's leg or shoved his paw against the other boy's maw to try and lessen his attack.

riley was slow. the paw that arced towards his face did so in painful progression, yet by the time he registered it, he had a mouthful of claw and fur.

belligerent and blubbering, the boy spat the offending appendage from his mouth and wheeled towards his playmate, gaze narrowed -- he felt teeth along his shoulder but rather than sink back, the boy dropped his head and charged.

it did not appear he had any plans to stop -- using his skull as a battering ram, riley bumbled towards west with ears pinned and eyes blazing.

His paw connected, but it only seemed to make the other boy riled up more than he already was. Riley reared back, charging West causing a soft oof to escape him as he was promptly headbutted.

Instead of fight back anymore, the round boy would flop back with a laugh and looked to the other boy. What's your name?

please forgive riley for being such a butthead <3

his head connected with the boy, at the cost of his braincells. as west oof'd in response, riley shook off the sluggish rattling of his head, paying the dull sensation of pain in his neck and skull no mind.

like the world's furriest triceratops, riley began to backpedal, his head still lowered.. he saw west had flopped to the ground in the universal gesture of "play-time's over", but riley gave his adversary no quarter; he was a dick, and a wolf prone to poke at the vulnerable to boot. many times he had assailed his sleeping siblings, deriving satisfaction from their torment -- and west unfortunately, was now about to be indoctrinated to riley's twisted sense of humor.

so, he charged -- bellowing, head down, and ready to strike west right in his vulnerable flank.

The round boy stared waiting for his question to be answered, but just like the others he got nothing. Instead, Riley backed up, his head lowered for another attack. Was he really not giving up yet?

West planned on backing off, but now something sparked in him. A type of competition he didn't get with his siblings. He wanted to win. As the other boy charged forward, he'd jump to his feet running forward to try and stop him with a headbutt of his own.

there was no stopping this min-juggernaut, who propelled towards west heedless of the consequences. his own head was lowered, and they met with a resounding smack that sent riley tumbling.

he regathered himself with a rough shake of his pounding head, that playful growl edging into something else. with a snort he cirlced once and then lunged again, this time, with teeth.

A smack echoed around them, or perhaps it was all in his head. Riley seemed to tumble down as West took a few steps back dazed with black spots forming in the corners of his vision. Shaking his throbbing head clear and the mixed vision away, a growl hit his ears as the other boy was already coming back for more.

Teeth made contact in West's side drawing a grunt from the boy as he tried to rip free, his own fangs flashing for Riley's hind leg, intending to knock him off balance or simply bite down as a counter-attack.

reckless in his charge, riley swung for west again - this time seizing his skin between his jaws. he made to wrench his head savagely and somewhere, distantly, he heard laurel's admonishment not to play too rough. relaxing his grip, riley watched in what seemed like slow motion as west swung and nipped at his hind legs.

scooting forward instinctively with his tail tucked, riley issued a loud growl and spun around, standing defiantly before west. this time he did not approach; he had learned something here, and waited almost deviously for west, ready to show him exactly what he had learned.

His teeth missed his mark as Riley jumped back, a growl rising in his throat. West looked up from his playful stance, his tail only wagging once or twice as the two came to a stalemate of stares. Eventually, it became evident that his playmate would not be the one to make the next move, so the round boy slammed his paws into the ground as he launched himself once more at the dark male. One pin, that's all he would need to end this tussle.