RP between Rancour and Not Debbie. do not post unless you're name is in the title.

cesare grunted at the yearling puckish wrestles engulfing the fundamental stillness in the atmosphere that embraced the campsite whilst cesare rested on the molten boulderstone near his cove.

it was early dawn, and with the sun settled past the kindling horizon, the wolves had gotten stirred out of their own slumber. and in leisure strides, tiptoeing throughout the campground, completing their minor duties in the earliest of hours, they endured another repetitious ritual of the pack life.

''cesare,'' the charming, feminine voice of a damsel crooned him out of his mere daydream and made him crane his head to his right, where the huntress had stood. appearing depleted and a little gauche. but omitting any questions pouring into his mind, he responded, simply. ''yes, nirvana?''

as both of the hunters, they needed to strain harder, for the pack. compile grub and provide to the famished ones. keep up with the alphas' commands too.

''it is time to hunt,'' her head perked to the side, a flashy smile stretching on her snout.

''understood,'' was all cesare managed to say before he rippled into an ascend and strode with nirvana back down to the campground before it was too late.

---

as the hunters crept into the woodland, drawn over by the shadiness of the lofty groves, cesare slinked around, his stout mitts burrowing into the mushy dirt underneath him.

whilst the hunters and huntresses bode in their taken areas, they all, like unhinged gazed at the doe graze the luscious foliage under its hooves.

all cesare required was the gesture to ambush.

and the velvety, warbling bark of the canine was the gesture they all awaited for.

with a leap forward, his physique barreling onto the ground like a thunderstorm amidst the bleary nightfall, caused the doe to buck. although as much as the doe desired to flee from the scene, the surrounding canines made the desire unattainable.

whilst cesare chewed into the doe's ankle, his keen teeth bilking deep into the bone, the canines chewed into various other parts. yanking down the doe to the ground in a noisy, disheartening thud.

as triumphant as the hunt was, all they needed was to bring back the doe to the campsite, for the alpha to acquiesce and for the canines to feast upon.

''it was an effortless catch, don't you think so, cesare?'' the voice of the mistress resonated in his lobes as he meandered in prudent strides.

but cesare did not respond and pushed forward, concentration diminishing from the damsel and the hunters hauling the doe in the back. what was all certain, was that they triumphantly had toiled throughout the hunt and seized a particularly enormous carcass for the famished ones to wolf upon.

and cesare wasn't so famished to the point of forfeiting reign, he seemed to withdraw from the scene and trot more onward, to where the alpha lair had bestowed. warn them, get their laurels, and return to his cove and repose. perhaps, observe the campground, interact with certain canines, and remain restrained near his residence, like usual.

''alpha, i apologize for the disturbance-''

once cesare was close enough to their den, his voice like a croon floated out, just to be chimed in by the alpha grumbling something incoherent. it wasn't unmannered and enraged, it sounded just frustrated - to cesare.

''thank you, cesare. you may flee,'' was all the alpha had commented before it sauntered by. no award? cesare furrowed his face and meandered off, to not emit an unnecessary scene or just seem too bewildered over it. maybe it was just a not-so-great dawn for the alpha. since the blossoming season; springtime. the alpha seemed too frazzled over his approaching litter. and possibly, the apprehension of relinquishing his litter was haunting his thoughts. so to cesare, it was comprehensible. for a mateless brute, no litter, no partner, no mere interest in any damsel, he just supported the ones with a mate and a litter. knowing how difficult it can be to raise a generation into exceptional, next-in-line alphas or warriors.

and as cesare wandered through the compiling masses of canines, assemble in mere parties, he settled on his cobblestone rock, a molten, pointy ledge that revealed the entire campground from above.

but not that solely, he oversaw the entire woodland engulfing them. the remote streamlet, the sky-scraping mountains, and the immense heathlands. the prospect was the major thing that did not compel him into madness or bestow lethargy. he enjoyed marveling at the landscapes and the spectacular biomes that prospered in every junction of his eye.

''cesare?''

before cesare could resume his daydream, his gaze snapped to the source of the call as his thoughts dwindled into a gust of air. and to his surprise, a diminutive yearling shifted paw to paw hesitantly, in the overdrawing gloaming of the looming groves.

''i'm listening,'' cesare muttered, eyebrow arched and tassel thudding on the plane surface of the cobblestone rock. despite his cheery friendships with the yearlings, he matured to be an honorable father figure for some unrecognized heirs.

the smallish critters that were runts or seemingly, born more fragile and more dopey. were plowed aside by the brood itself. just because they lacked skillfulness and were harder to foster. they seemed purposeless to the parents. so the decision was to disregard them and make them turn outcasts in the near future.

''why aren't you feting with the wolves?'' the bubbly nature of the whelp bounced out nearly instantly, as it hurdled over to cesare's side, its own, wimpy and diminutive figure knotting in cesare's satiny mane. the mischief spurting from every pore of the pup.

''not interested,'' cesare responded with a delicate chuckle.

''that's silly, cezy-''

the whelp muttered cesare's name with a farcical nickname that made him smile sickly.

it was a bond that he did not deem to shatter. and permitted the yearling, to do exactly whatever it wished near him. as long as the yearling was under cesare's supervision. and had approval from him to achieve treacherous acts.

''you know i like to be standoffish,'' cesare responded once the whelp rattled off of his mane down onto his stout mitt. laying sprawled out on its back. ''i feast when everyone is hidden in their dens,'' cesare chimed in as the whelp seemed too inattentive settling for a brief snooze alongside cesare's silky chiseled chest. already appearing disinterested in continuing the conversation. which cesare did not mind, as long as the whelp was restful in his presence, resting in the amenity of someone who appreciated the whelp's antics and adored it for who it was.

''you shouldn't get attached to that brat,''

the inquiry made cesare's lobes flutter aloft as the spoken voice of a wolf appeared on his right, settling on its haunches. sabino, it was. the elderly wolf who carried lots of wisdom within its presence and liked to torment the younger ones with fanatical truths and intimidate them once in a while. sabino wasn't the standard sociable brute, but to get a lecture from this elderly brute was worth it.

''not the first time i hear that,''

cesare retorted back, face hardening and descending into his regular, deadpanned expression once the elderly wolf settled on its haunches, seemingly prepared to give a talking to cesare.

which cesare despised.

''the whippersnapper will be banished when it reaches adultness, you realize that,'' sabino muttered, serene and tranquil as usual. not churning any furious or melancholy sentiments out of cesare. just an informal narrow.

cesare understood that, practically, was acquainted but did not oppose the regulations. because he was a spineless, low-ranked hunter. not in reign to alter the laws. ''i'm familiar, sabino,'' cesare spat, his vindictive irises navigated to sabino who seemed overdrawn with pale, grey strands of hair and a beard that hinged from its lower jaw. an elderly wolf that just depicted what an elderly wolf would look like.

''i'm presenting the brat at least some love since the brood couldn't,'' cesare chipped in before the elderly canine could retort. and sneered when the lupine just breathed out chestily. sabino was mindful of the injustice that stirred in this campground, how the brood wrought their own heirs with zero maintenance and reassurance. chose the firmer ones for a better bloodline. but that was all cesare apprehended just by observing, he didn't butt in, didn't grouse nor speak the truth to a friend of his. he kept it a secret with a tight lip.

and just eavesdropped on the conversations the circling canines uttered. because with someone as reserved and noiseless as cesare was, he was practically imperceptible in the campsite, disregarded and easily forgotten. a shadow that was never seen.

when cesare lowered his cranium onto his left mitt, he began to succumb to slumber.

accompanied by the whistling current tousle through his mane and the irregular warbles of robins stretching amongst the welkin, made cesare quite weary and relaxed. that he even had omitted that the brat, coddled against his chest was there too.

he was alleviated and finally undisturbed, there was no one to bug or nag at his feet, except for the remote screeches of coyotes, which weren't a tremendous hazard for any of the canines residing in the campsite.

he was just consoled on his molten cobblestone rock, quelling his weariness with some downtime.

but unfortunately, in the midst of that slumber, well, an airy snooze, he eavesdropped on a conversation that resolved, approximately far. but with the breeze hauling the voices and the words like a wildfire in a waterless woodland, he could decipher a coherent sentence and make out the sense behind it. "go be besties with him," it stirred his audit to flutter gently and his heart to race a mere bit. but he bode nonchalant nonetheless and just rested in the position he first began. although his slumber was featherlight and any approach would cause him to be fully cognizant, he enjoyed it. he just liked to rest his lids and appreciate the mother nature's noises stretch ahead, how merely and effortlessly they lulled him. how tranquil they made him be.

but even if the peacefulness sojourned in the campsite, the brat scuttling out of its own slumber, made cesare peer with one eye open.

he wasn't pestered by the brats jostling movements he was just piqued by why the brat roused so early. "you should've snoozed more," he said, loud and coherent to the weariness-hazed brat that stumbled a bit.

''i need to go back to my mother, if i can,'' the brat mewled when it answered and wearily batted its lashes at cesare, appearing to be requesting permission. ''no need to question me that. you're free to flee anytime.'' cesare lingered in his resting position and observed the brat tiptoe away into the overdrawing gloaming.