Were you going to eat that? (Goblin)

[Zero]

A lazy breeze rustled the boughs of the expansive evergreen forest, each step Gavin took crushed the pine needles that littered the forest floor, sending up a fresh wave of the rich scent of pine and sap. A human would have found the breeze to be fresh and clean, but to the nose of a wolf, it was a plethora of information. His own musky scent not least among the many smells carried to him. There was the scent of pine, of various small mammals, rabbits and squirrels particularly, not to mention the scent of birds, reptiles, insects, it was all processed through his sensitive nose subconsciously filtering out things of no interest and zeroing in on those worth noticing.

Being a lone wolf had both advantages and disadvantages. He was not tied to a single territory, free to wander the entirety of the world if he wished. However his meals had consisted of mostly small game, larger prey animals were difficult to bring down alone. As a loner it also made it difficult for him to claim territory, which could be a disadvantage, especially in such a rich and abundant location as this. It had not kept him from scent marking, of course. Normal wolves were smaller and weaker, he did not worry about them, a roving pack of werewolves would be problematic, but so far he had not caught scent of a pack in the area.

There were two very interesting scents, however. Gavin had not detected a pack of werewolves, but he could smell that a young male had been lingering in the area, and he felt confident that he could easily overwhelm a younger, smaller male. The second was the scent of a fresh kill. With all the grace and speed of a deadly predator, he stalked his prey, following the scent for almost a half-mile before creeping stealthily up upon the scene.

Molten eyes of amber studied the young wolf and partially devoured rabbit. Gavin knew that he could easily overpower this creature. This werewolf was of a smaller breed even, not just younger. Staying upwind so as to keep from alerting his prey, his muscles tensed as he prepared to pounce. A moment of perfect stillness and then he had burst forth from the underbrush, bearing down on the younger male with a vicious snarl, teeth flashing dangerously as they snapped at the young male's neck.

[GoblinFae]

If there was one thing that Gilroy cursed possessing, it was his red hair. It was unnatural in his opinion and incredibly noticeable and recognizable. He could not go into any human town with his head uncovered and expect not to be remembered. It was much the same as a wolf. 'I'm like shooting at a barn, can't frickin' miss me!'

This was the third time today alone he had tried to bring down a meal and the third time it had noticed the streaks of red poking up through the verdant green foliage and immediately bolted to safety. It was enough to make the werewolf want to bash his head against a tree until he passed out.

'Tell me God, what was the frickin' POINT of making the color RED?! TELL ME! What BRILLIANT inspiration made you come up with this? Why let's make an IMPOSSIBLY BRIGHT AND ANNOYING COLOR and then BETTER YET let's give it to GILROY so he can't catch a FRICKIN' MEAL! Oh yes that sounds like BUCKETS of fun god. I hope you're listening to me! You better not be laughing at me either, you good-for-nothing lazy....THING!'

The wolf huffed, shaking his head in exasperation as he loped off in search of slower and stupider prey. Eventually he happened upon a rabbit den, or more accurately, unknowingly stepped into one. At last he was able to give chase after the extremely surprised doe as she fled her home and the oblivious wolf that had stepped into it.

Hunger drove him forward, driving him to strain his muscles in order to bound ahead and capture his prey. The wolf wince slightly at the piercing scream the prey gave just as he bit into her, snapping her neck. But, hot blood and the copper taste it left behind soon flooded his mouth, reminding him of his ever-present edge of hunger that never seemed to be sated.

With great zeal he tore at his meal, struggling not to devour it all so quickly but craving an end to his burning hunger. So caught up in his meal, he never noticed the approaching rival until the sounds of heavy footsteps were practically drumming into his very head.

Eyes widened in shock before narrowing in anger. One forepaw came to rest on the small carcass in a territorial stance of defense. Rust-colored fur bristled as an answering snarl met that of his aggressor. It was no use though, the wolf continued on his path, barreling right into Gilroy and knocking him off his feet with a pained yelp.

Gilroy snapped his teeth angrily at the body above him, despair and fear forcing him to try and gain purchase on the ground that was no longer his stand on. "Back OFF! This is MY kill," his mind angrily shouted, enraging him further to try and take down this intruding male.

[Zero]

How cute, the pup thought he could actually keep his kill? Kid had a lot to learn, but he could admire that spunk. Just not when it was directed at him. He was a blur of flashing fangs and ebony fur as he barreled into Gilroy, sending the smaller male to the ground. Gavin didn’t hesitate to leap upon him, using his greater size and weight to his advantage. Once an enemy had lost its footing, the battle was essentially over. All wolves knew that when you were rolled into the dirt you were the most vulnerable.

In a swift snap of his jaws Gavin struck Gilroy’s ear and latched on, entire body vibrating with the ferocity of his growls. No creature with any sense would have approached the pair, locked in their wild combat. This was not a true battle, not for Gavin. He did not have any intent to kill, or even maim horribly. The food wasn’t even the real issue. The entire display was an expression of superiority and territorial dominance. As the larger, stronger, faster, and older male, Gavin felt he was well within his rights to claim this forest as his own hunting ground, and that made Gilroy an intruder.

"Insolent whelp! This is my territory, which means everything in it belongs to me, including ‘your’ kill. Submit pup, before I tear something off.?" To emphasize his point, Gavin gave a sharp tug on the young male’s ear.

[GoblinFae]

A high-pitched whine of pain followed the vicious attack of Gilroy's ear. He was able to resist the urge to yank away, fearful of losing it altogether. But that did not stop him from forcefully resisting against the pull in defiance. "Let go of me, you big bully! I was here first! That makes it MY territory and MY meal!"

He growled angrily, his stance firm and wide as he glared awkwardly from his attached position. "I'm not afraid of some pissant like you who can't even hunt his own meals and has to steal them from younger and more capable hunters! How dare you call yourself a wolf! You're PATHETIC!"

If he had been human, Gilroy would have spat on the ground. Instead he tensed his muscles intending to spring. "Let me go and I won't kick your fuzzy little ass from here to kingdom come! Don't mess with me! You won't like what happens!"

[Zero]

Gilroy's cry of pain didn't so much as phase Gavin, he felt no mercy or pity for the insolent young male before him. The words shouted at him meant almost as little as the rest. Did this pup really think he could scream himself out of this mess? How naïve, it was almost cute! So far the young male seemed all bark and no bite. This was like taking candy from a baby.

"First! Don't make me laugh, runt. We live by the law of the wild, and by that law, I rule." There was no first come, first serve out here. To the victory go the spoils, and the victor was the strongest, which was going to be Gavin. He felt Gilroy bracing himself, prepared to try to fend him off, but Gavin threw himself at the smaller male, using his weight to try to pin the pup down.

"Is that so? Let's see how you like this!" His teeth released the ear, instead lunging for his opponent's neck. It would not be a killing blow if it landed, he did not bite to kill, he merely wished to assert his dominance. All the pup had to do was submit.

[GoblinFae]

There was a split second where Gilroy had the chance to tense before he was knocked onto his side. He struggled to keep himself from being flipped belly-side up but was manage to get the upper half of his body to lay flat on the ground while his hindquarters still rested on their side, crushed under the weight of the massive beast above him.

Teeth clamped on the scruff of his neck, having sought his throat and come up wanting. It hurt, but not as much as it could have and growled warningly as best as he could from his rather squished position. There was no ground for him to leverage himself against into a more dominant position, he was completely pinned and helpless in the jaws of this powerful wolf.

Struggling did nothing. There was no escape for one such as him against the unnamed assailant. With a great big huff, Gilroy finally went lax, dropping completely and hanging limply in his attacker's grip. To him it was not a submission but a strategic decision to gain him the upper hand later. 'You win this round, but I will win more,' he thought quietly to himself, eyes blazing in anger.

"Just let me go," he wearily voiced instead. "I've had enough."

[Zero]

Gavin could almost admire Gilroy's fighting spirit, but not when the pup was directing that spunk at him. It was almost sad, how easily he managed to gain the upper hand against the other male. Look how easily he had knocked him off his feet and with the smaller male trapped beneath him on the ground; it was almost pitiful as they struggled. Well, Gilroy struggled, Gavin just dominated.

The fight was vicious, but short. Gavin had the smaller male right where he wanted him, pinned to the ground and at his mercy. Keeping a firm hold on the scruff of the pup's neck, he eventually felt the younger male go limp in his grasp. At first he did not let go, squeezing the male's scruff just a little harsher he gave his defeated foe a quick shake.

Satisfied, for the moment, Gavin released his grip, letting Gilroy's head drop to the ground, for now he stayed standing over the red male, growling low and deep. "You've got a lot of spunk, pup, but try to be smarter about who you show it off to. Respect your betters, whelp, you'll live longer. Lucky for you I didn't want you dead."

[GoblinFae]

Ears pressed back flat against his head as he was shaken about like a rag doll, pitiful whines and whimpers escaping him as the pain in his neck increased. 'I stopped, I stopped!' he cried moments before he was dropped like a rag doll onto the ground, chin crashing into the dirt with a sharp click of teeth.

Gilroy placed his socked paws folded over his snout while pressing himself completely flat against the earth, wishing desperately that he would disappear from the other wolf's notice. That this bully would lose interest in him and leave him to go about his business. His stomach ached, gurgling and groaning in a constant demand for food.

The scent of his kill so close and yet unable to be eaten was driving him insane. He was weak with hunger. The only thing keeping from him rolling over and going belly-up in complete submission was anger. Anger at being so weak, anger at being so hungry, anger at being attacked, there was so much anger pent up inside him and all of it was kept in place by fear. Fear kept him from fighting back. He would not win. He was too small and too weak.

Instead he gave in for the moment, wishing there was something he could do now. "What could you possibly want me for," he bemoaned, already thinking of a large number of unsavory things. Perhaps there was still a chance he could escape all this.

[Zero]

Gavin stayed standing over Gilroy for a short time, his stance and posture one of dominance; an alpha male displaying his power to a lesser wolf. A low growl still rumbled deep in his chest, his fangs proudly on display in a snarl as Gilroy asked what he wanted him for. With a sneer he stepped over the younger male, no longer hovering over him. No, the pup had not taken a proper submissive posture, but he was convinced that for now the red male was sufficiently subdued.

"Who says I want you for anything? It would just be a waste to kill you, pup." It would be a waste, it would take more effort than it was worth to actually kill the other male, because he was quite sure that the smaller wolf would put up a frantic fight, even if Gavin knew that he could probably kill him if he wanted to, he might not escape without injury.

Strutting over to the rabbit, which was now his, Gavin laid down right there, keeping an eye on Gilroy, as he pulled at the fur on the small mammal, essentially working on skinning it. As the actually flesh was revealed he licked it, tasting the meat, all while watching the pup he had stolen it from. The young male seemed to be very hungry, perhaps even starving. Must have been a lousy hunter.

[GoblinFae]

"Only a waste because then you would have to hunt your own food," the red wolf pouted as he despairingly watched the other male begin to play with his kill. It made him wonder if the other wolf had ever been taught manners. At least his mother had always taught him to never play with his food. He wished she was here now; she would have put this bully in his place, no doubt about it.

But she was not and Gilroy's stomach growled loudly in a demand for food. The single first taste had been oil on the flames of his hunger, igniting it and whetting it into a steely inferno of ache and desire. The remaining blood on his lips, the scent of the kill so close all ate away at him, meticulously reminding him of the past few days he had gone without food as well as the many more he still might have to go before he got another meal.

Very slowly and very carefully he inched his way forward, groveling on his belly towards the more dominant male with the most pitiful look he could manage. Perhaps the newcomer would take pity on him and let him eat after all. Gilroy knew it would be folly to run right now. The way the other kept eying him told him as much. He would just be mauled some more and might not even be so lucky as to survive it. So instead of fleeing as he desperately wanted, he drew closer, whining softly in a high-pitched voice of hunger and sorrow.

[Zero]

Gavin kept an eye on Gilroy simply to be sure he wasn't going to try anything so stupid as attacking him and trying to win back his rabbit by force. Playing with the kill was more about antagonizing the hungry pup than anything, and because Gavin really wasn't hungry. He was sleek and well-muscled, his coat glossy, eyes alert, the very image of a well-fed and healthy wolf. The little red male, on the other hand, looked rather scrawny and pitiful. Again Gavin wondered just how poor of a hunter the young male was.

The pitiful way Gilroy crawled towards him, those soft whines of hunger and despair, seemed to have little effect on the large black wolf as he continued to lick the blood off the rabbit. He could hear the other's stomach growling with his hunger. Ears flickering, he gave a last lick to the small carcass and stood up, sauntering away looking bored now. Quiet as a ghost and as quickly as he appeared, Gavin was gone again, leaving the red pup with his rabbit, which was really only slightly worse for his playing than it had been when he had arrived.

[GoblinFae]

Gilroy could not believe his luck. One moment the oppressive wolf was there and the next he was gone. Still though, the red wolf was not going to take his chances and remained in his submissive posture for several long minutes, fearing a trap and the clamping jaws of his foe around his neck once more.

Yet, when they did not come and there were no signs of the black wolf's return, the little wolf was on his feet in no time. He scooped up the dead rabbit and broke out in a run, racing away from this place for fear of the wolf coming back for more fun.

Only once he had crossed a small stream and made it to the other slippery bank did Gilroy allow himself to slow. His sides heaved from the effort of hard breathing while holding something in his mouth. He only allowed himself to eat once he had settled and dragged himself into the shadows of a nearby set of bushes, back against the thorny shrubbery and eyes uneasily watching for any movement.

Then forgetting the need to eat slow and savor the few mouthfuls he had, Gilroy chomped down on his small, battered kill consuming it in a matter of minutes. With his belly hardly satisfied with his child's snack of a meal, the wolf laid down once more hoping to possibly rest a bit before going off again to try his paw at some more hunting. It was getting harder and harder for him to catch prey because of his never-ending hunger that sapped his strength so easily. If he did not rest now there would be no chance of him catching the next meal that crossed his path and without that he might die of starvation, something that was becoming a growing concern of his with each passing sun.

'Damn wolf making me fight for something he just played with! It was my kill! I'm so tired....and hungry...all his fault too,' Gilroy thought wearily, letting his head come to rest tiredly on his paws. His eyes drooped with the need for sleep while his ears swiveled about constantly, searching for every sound they could in hopes of giving him some warning of an approaching meal or enemy.

[Zero]

There was no trickery involved as Gavin vanished from where he had found Gilroy, he merely had grown bored of playing with the rabbit, and because he was not hungry, he did not bother to eat it. Let the red male have the small scrap of a meal, it wasn't enough meat to satisfy a pup, let alone a grown wolf. Putting the incident behind him, he simply moved on, having had a bit of fun and letting the other werewolf in the area know that he was here and that he was the better wolf.

Still, he couldn't help but think back on the encounter. The young wolf was obviously starving. Either the other was truly a poor hunter, unable to find enough small prey, or simply too weak to bring down larger, more satisfying game. Gavin had no reason to care if the other wolf starved to death. He was in no way attached to the male, by blood or bond, and he didn't know why he even thought about the pup's predicament. Of course he did know why. The black wolf just didn't want to admit it.

Guilt over leaving his sister behind still plagued Gavin. For all he knew she had starved to death already without him there to hunt for her. He had walked away from a starving wolf that had needed him, and here he was, doing it again. Of course, he owed a lot more to his sister, but he could at least honor her by helping the young male, Nisha would have wanted him to. There was something other than that, though, the male had caught a rabbit, which meant he was able to hunt. Having a second wolf around could prove useful.

Having made up his mind, Gavin went on the hunt himself. That rabbit wouldn't be a good enough meal for a starving male. He considered hunting deer, but that would prove too much of a hassle. Catching and killing it would be easy enough, but he wasn't going to drag a large game animal around to find the other, who had likely already fled. Even as he considered what to hunt, the answer came to him. A pheasant was startled by his passage and took wing.

A leap and snap of the jaws later and Gavin was trotting through the forest once again, his prize dangling from his jaws. Not a large meal, but certainly better than nothing. Retracing his steps to wear he had confronted the pup was easy, tracking him wasn't difficult either, he merely followed the pup's scent. A bit of water might have given him trouble, but the trail was just on the other side. So was his goal.

He could smell the young male, the scent was strong and close, he eyed the patch of bushes with thorny briars that the pup had taken refuge in. Creeping forward carefully and quietly he lowered himself to the ground and poked his head into the entrance of the small 'den' of sorts. "Hello again, little pup."

[GoblinFae]

The wolf had fallen asleep despite his wishes to remain relatively awake and alert but the excitement of earlier in the day had proved too much for him. In no time at all he was out and dreaming of the past. He was home with his parents. His mother was in the kitchen and he could already smell the beginnings of a delicious meal.

His nose twitched at the fresh scents of meat, causing his stomach to protest again. In his head he could hear his father's voice calling to wake him up, calling him pup like he would when Gilroy was much younger.

The red wolf huffed and groggily shook his head. "Not a pup anymore dad!" Blearily, blinking his eyes open and expecting to see a weathered and laughing face in front of him, Gilroy was in for the shock of his life when instead he was face to face with a very familiar and equally undesired black muzzle.

With a jolt he was scrambling to his feet and backing away, completely forgetting his surroundings. If he had taken more care, Gilroy would have remembered the briar pushes he chosen as protection and therefore remembered not to back into though with his soft furry hide.

Yelps of pain proceeded his youthful growls of warning towards the massive he-wolf. "You stay away from me!"

[Zero]

Gavin honestly wasn't sure exactly what kind of reception he'd been expecting, but the words the other male spoke as he reluctantly woke up were definitely the last thing he expected. Between that and the pup's frantic, and futile, retreat which ended in the red male getting poked with briars and yelping in pain, Gavin was overcome with laughter. That was perhaps the funniest thing he had seen and heard in a long time. He was able to calm himself enough to send a coherent thought.

He dropped the pheasant and used his nose to nudge it towards his overly excited friend. Gavin huffed softly and laid his head on his paws, amber eyes looking up at Gilroy curiously, tail swishing lazily back and forth. His entire demeanor had changed from earlier. Of course he'd already proven his point to this young male. Hopefully the other realized who was the dominant male between the two of them. With a wolfish grin he spoke to the little red male. "Aw, now don't be like that little puppy. Look what daddy brought for you!"

[GoblinFae]

The younger wolf was shocked by the presentation of a pheasant to him. It just had to be a trick. There was no way this aggressive wolf would have caught a kill and then tracked him down to offer it to him. It was all a ploy, a taunt, a trick, a way to further humiliate the red wolf and prove his inferiority.

Gilroy wanted none of it. Every hair on his body stood on end as he growled warningly back in response. "You're not my father! Don't mock him and call me puppy. I'm not some little runt you can keep bullying! I'm not going to stand for this, you hear? How stupid do you think me?"

He was furious. Letting all the rage and disgruntlement for this wolf and for his own situation, Gilroy moved quickly and raised a paw to slap the grinning wolf across the face. "You're not my father!" he repeated, truly offended and appalled by the idea. He missed his family and it hurt to have their image brought so close to the forefront of his mind by a dream only to have it mocked by the dark-furred bully before him. "Just leave me alone!"

[Zero]

Gavin was not exactly a bundle of joy, but there wasn't really any trickery in the offered pheasant. The younger wolf was obviously hungry, and they were both alone. It was logical for Gavin to try to forge a bond with the other male. Together they would be stronger and better hunters. Was that a hard concept to grasp? Well, he hadn't exactly spelled it out to the pup and he had been rather ruthless in their first meeting.

He hadn't expected a warm welcome, but he though that the little red runt was being a bit overly dramatic. Wolves fought for dominance all the time. It hadn't been personal earlier. The moment the other male tried to swipe at him with his paw, however, that innocent demeanor fell away. Black lips curled up, exposing fangs as Gavin surged forward with a snarl, teeth snapping at the pup's ear.

"Don't get uppity with me you little pipsqueak. No, I am not your father, but I am your better in both hunting and fighting. I will not leave you alone. Get over that one right now. I brought you food, a rather generous gesture, and you try to swat the one who feeds you?"

[GoblinFae]

Gilroy dropped back to the ground at the first signs of aggression from the other wolf. He was not a fighter; there was no way for him to win against the beast before him. As much as that wounded his pride, he knew it was true too, even though he refused to admit it. The red-furred wolf was made up of all false bravado stitched together a pup's instinct for survival. In many ways it was a wonder he was even alive now, especially with his lip.

Fuzzy red ears pressed back flat against his skull while a long, weak whine emitted from his throat. He really did not want to piss this wolf anymore. He wished the other would just go away but the displays of dominance from the other just proved otherwise.

"Alright alright!" he cried back, pressing further down to the ground to appear smaller. "Don't bite my head off! You come in here as a bully and then try and be some hero bringing food, scaring the living daylights out of me, get my a rear-full of prickers and you expect me to be jumping for joy. Excuse me for seeing things a bit differently."

Gilroy sighed loudly, looking longingly at the pheasant. The food would indeed be welcome, that is if he had not already pissed away his chances of getting to eat it. Carefully, one eye peeked up at the dark male, questioningly before darting to view the fresh kill again. "Thank you?" he tried hopefully.

[Zero]

Gilroy's immediate submission at Gavin's show of aggression pacified the large black wolf, at least for the moment. Settling back down on his haunches, molten amber eyes watched the smaller red wolf with both annoyance and amusement. The very idea that he was trying to be heroic was laughable. Heroes actually cared about others and tried to save them.

This wasn't about saving Gilroy; it was about easing his own guilty conscience. Perhaps feeding the young male seemed generous, but truly this was all in selfishness. Gavin was tired of being alone. Lone wolves had their own unique challenges, as did a large pack. A small group, two or three, could truly thrive and whether the pup liked it or not, the large male was intending to use him to ease his own living conditions.

"I already told you this is my territory and everything in it belongs to me. Well, pup, that includes you. Stick with me, kid, and I won't let you starve. If you'd rather fight me at every turn I could just kill you, or at the very least run you out of this forest. There's good hunting here, though, wouldn't want to miss a chance to eat on a regular basis, now would we?"

He was still hovering over the bird, eyes boring into Gil. Gavin wasn't going to back off just yet. The other wolf needed to learn to submit to him if this was ever going to work. The little red male didn't have to be thrilled about submitting, but he was going to do it. One way or the other.

[GoblinFae]

The smaller wolf's lips curled back slightly in distaste. He belonged to no one, least of all this over-sized bully. Gilroy wanted to say as much too but his belly intervened, silencing his tongue and giving him reason to really think.

He could not do this on his own. He was a pathetic hunter and even he knew it. This bully though while obviously capable of hunting seemed from their earlier encounter more willing to let others do the work while he took the rewards. Would that happen time after time? Would Gilroy be expected to feed not only himself but this massive creature as well?

Rising slowly to his feet, with his head hanging, the red-furred wolf voiced the question that plagued and worried him so. "What assurance do I have that you would do that? That I wouldn't starve?"

Gilroy hoped against hopes the other male would not see his question as defiance but as it was, a fearful concern. He was hungry as the other male guessed but that did not make him hungry enough to sell himself into being a workhorse for another wolf.