I lost a friend.

His dark ears twitched atop his small head and they caught sounds; he had learned that long ago and come to appreciate their value to him as a young hunter. A young warrior, a young thinker, a young explorer bound to go on any adventure that presented itself.

Soft feet padded him toward the open mouth of the den, his nostrils raised up to the sky to take in the scents that were almost as familiar of his family. There was only the briefest of pauses before he breached the distance and exited into the outside world. Pack land.

Constantine walked with what appeared to be an aimless path, but he had a purpose. It was just unseen, unknown, hidden.

He had easily become the secretive sort.

STEAL!

It had been a while since Dante had been by to see the little ones. He felt badly neglecting to go so, but time passed so easily without the thought coming upon him. Today he had resolved, though, so here he was.

Instead of finding the space outside the den vacant, as he had suspected, he instead saw one of the little ones stepping along happily. Looking around and seeing neither parent, he shook his head with amusement; babysitting this one, it seemed, would fall to him.

So as not to startle, he let out a soft huff of a bark to pronounce he was there, coming forward to walk slowly next to Constantine. "Heading somewhere?" He asked conversationally, knowing full well they were likely too young to speak properly with.

YAY thanks for joinin! :D

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His heart went ba dum ba DUM BA DUM BA DUM in surprise when he heard the voice, because he hadn't heard Dante before that. For a brief second, his ears went flat, but they rose up again quickly as he pivoted slightly toward the leader. Alpha Male. Recognition came to him swiftly and he lowered his body a bit, though it was certainly low enough just by merit of his age. His tail swayed back and forth in quick whisks of submissive friendly puppy behavior.

"Dah-tay!" he enthused, padding forward to attempt to lick the heck out of the alpha male's chin in a rapid motion of submission and also silent affection for the male. Just because Dante hadn't been around a lot lately didn't mean the boy had completely forgotten that scent, that form, that face.

As to the question: "yuh!" then his eyes narrowed a bit, a clear sign of plotting. "Dat way!" only he headed a completely different direction from where he had been going before.

Where he had been going before was a secret, even from Dante.

He still managed to startle, despite his pronouncement, but no damage done. Pure bliss was the only way to describe how he felt hearing his name come (in a manner) in that little voice, and an inner 'awwww' warmed him. With a beaming smile, he lowered his head to greet Constantine and allow his own enthusiastic hello to be recieved.

The change of direction was noted, of course, but Dante attributed it more to the fickle nature of children than secrecy. How often did one find a child who stayed focused and on task? It was a rarity and one of the many charms of youth. "Lead on, brave explorer," he said happily, glad to let him take them where he would. They wouldn't stray too far, since he didn't want the parents to worry, but a but it a jaunt wouldn't hurt.

The boy's inattention - or rather, his focused attention just not on the right things - was certainly appalling considering the alpha's attempt to even make his presence known. There was no harm or foul, though, since he wasn't an enemy. Although Constantine certainly needed to learn that that wouldn't always be the case, he was a pudgy ball of dark fluff with no awareness of the world's darkness.

He was happy to moved in the new direction although he had no idea where he was going. After all, his original plan had been diverted and that tasty bone buried a few feet away was now going to be left for another time. Today, he was hanging out with the alpha Dante and that was simply the best, so bones could wait. Hopefully neither of his siblings found it before he got back.

They certainly didn't get far before he paused to sniff at a stick, grabbing it in his mouth and lowering his body in a play bow. He barked around the wood and raised his ears. Did alphas play?

True to his previous thoughts, it wasn't long before the little Mayfair found yet another thing to hold his attention. At first Dante wasn't sure why the stick was so fascinating, but as soon as Constantine bowed hopefully to him, Dante lowered himself in a mirror of the position, eyes alight with delight. When it came to playing, this alpha did so willingly, making up for lost time. He couldn't help but recall a similar situation, a mud-spattered Junior his opposing playmate, with a pang of nostalgia. But it was quickly gone and his focus was again on his new playmate.

Inching forward, he kept his eyes on the pup and his stick. Then, with a quick movement, he attempted to grab the other end in order to try and 'steal' the pup's treasure.

The young male was happy to see the adult lean down into a mirrored stance.  He really hadn't been sure if alphas were playful at all, he didn't recall ever trying to play with Dante before this so it was a blank spot in his mind.  Constantine raised his ears up for a moment, his mouth loosening slightly on the stick as he waited to see what the alpha would do.

He watched with careful eyes as the bigger male advanced, slowly, slowly... then sudden speed!  Connie clamped down but was too slow, the bark sliding through his looser mouth hold to be taken by the alpha. The boy yipped a protest and darted after it, ready to grab onto one end and tug it back into his own possession.

It seemed he had enough surprise on his side to take the toy rather easily, and he tumbled lightly with happy, joking triumph.  The pup was quick to react and attempt to retrieve the stolen stick, an Damte lowered his head, allowing the little one to grab it while appearing to attempt to pull away.

He kept his grip loose, to gauge the strength of his opponent.  He was always overly cautious at first, for he knew he was unaccustomed to such play fighting.  To make a mistake and cause injury to the little one would be a terrible thing.

Connie moved with what he thought was lightning speed but was really rather average pup speed.  He managed to grasp the stick, though probably more from Dante allowing him than anything else.  The boy growled excitedly around the stick, his teeth grinding into it and digging down so that he could tug back toward himself.  Trying to return the toy to its proper owner.  Though the swift wag of his tail from side to side made it clear that the growling was all in good fun.

Constantine tried to be very snarly, making sure that the sound was loud and aggressive despite the fact that it was all in play.  This was part of how he was learning what to do and what worked, after all.  He kept tugging too in quick jerks to try and loosen it from the alpha's jaws.

When the pup grabbed the stick, Dante held on for a bit, a playful rumble leaving his chest as he lowered his head.  His tail too thumped, and if that wasn't a giveaway, the smile that showed around the stick definitely would be.  

Then he loosed his hold, allowing the stick to slide from his teeth.  Feigning shock that the child had managed to steal back his toy, he paused a moment before he would begin the chase to reclaim his lost conquest.

His grasp remained as firm as he could make it, jaws locked around his prey.  It was a game except where it wasn't.  The boy was learning, developing, creating his future with each tug as he began to develop his jaw strength and create a familiarity to doing things like this. Of course Constantine realized none of this.  All he knew was that he was going to get that stick back, and soon!

Dante loosed it and the boy woofed triumph wetly around the stick in his mouth.  He tugged harder until he retrieved the prize, tail waving enthusiastically behind him.  "Rahh!"  he said eagerly, though it was certainly muffled around the prize.  No way he was letting it get grabbed as easily again.

He tried to dash away, though it was awkward and not so dashing when he was holding onto a stick.  Instead, it was more of a sort-of walk with the stick dragging on the ground situation.

The kid had quite a grip, Dante noted approvingly, and he would likely turn out quite the hunter.  Like his father, he thought appreciatively.  A chuckle escaped as he let out a growl of victory when he regained his stick, then took off as quick as his little puppy legs would allow.

"Oh no you don't!" He exclaimed, friendly challenge in both his expression and his tone. He took a few steps, a slower attempt to catch up, then attempted to land a forepaw on the escaping stick. He did not step down, not wanting to injure the pup by stopping him short, but instead tried to slow his roll even more. Then he crouched, tail waving in a daring manner. Perhaps the pup would want a little spar practice?