If he continued to narrow his eyes Cyril was positive that they would mould together and become one super eye. She was annoyingly persistent. It seemed that his answer of no was not good enough, as the girl wanted to know why he did not want to be friends. He snorted loudly, showing his displeasure, as his eyes rolled once more. An ear fell to the side, the other still standing high atop his crown, as he studied the silver-eyed cub. He did not want to answer her but Cyril knew that she would not leave him alone unless he gave her an answer.

Even though she probably wasn’t going to accept it.

“Have ‘nuf f’iends,” he retorted quickly, the words spitting off his tongue venomously as his scowl returned. Although his friends were much older than he was they were still his friends—did he really need new ones? Maybe, but not now. Not until he was bigger; stronger. Then he would look to make friends. Possibly.

Would this girl be one of them? He did not know. He doubted it, but perhaps she would grow to be less annoying.

Turning his shoulder to her, the boy padded closer to the water’s edge, allowing his forepaws to dip into the rushing water. There were a few water basins on the monadnock, but nothing like this. Cyril wished he could pack up the stream with him and bring it to the rock. His frown deepened as he slapped the surface with one of his paws, sending a splatter of water in the direction opposite of him.

The girl, unfortunately, did not get the hint. She remained, captivated by the ebony Kael, and determined to make friends. His frown continued to deepened and Cyril began to worry that it would soon fall from his maw and get carried away by the bubbling brook. He ignored her for a moment, his yellowed gaze fixated on the moving water as he plotted an appropriate mean response to her question. He did not mind water. There was not a lot of it on the monadnock, so when he stumbled across it Cyril enjoyed dipping his paws in and embracing the cool liquid. He knew it was not always safe, so he treaded carefully around the liquid, always observing with both eyes or keeping a respectful distance.

After a lengthy pause the boy shrugged, his brows narrowed mischievously as his toes wriggled beneath the surface. Without a second thought the boy swiped a single forepaw along the surface of the pool, hoping to send a surge of water in Risaela’s direction. She had kept her distance from the water, so either she was accustom to it or scared of it. Either way, Cyril did not care. He just hoped the water he had sent flying in her direction met it’s mark.

Because he was a good boy and he was just sharing the water with her.

Of course she would enjoy being plummeted by water. His frown returned with a vengeance, stretched angrily across his dark features as he watched her giggle at the water cascading over her. Perhaps she was doing this to get a rise out of him—to make him lash out at her so she could go cry to her parents and say that a Whitestone wolf was being mean to her. Blah, blah, blah. He rolled his eyes, unable to stop himself. He did not want to start beef between the packs, especially over some annoying little cub. But playing nice was not one of Cyril’s specialties. He had been without a playmate his own age until now and did not know how to act. It was much easier hanging out with adults and exploring the monadnock (and beyond) with them.

What he was not expecting was the silver-eyed girl to rush at the water directly in front of him. Taking a step back a second too late the boy had been served a dish of revenge and he did not like it one bit. A growl escaped his little throat, stumbling off his tongue as he narrowed his brows darkly. He snorted loudly, water dripping from his flared nostrils as he lunged forward at the tawny girl, hoping to connect his shoulder with hers to knock her back into the water.

His parents would be so disappointed in him. 

A wide, triumphant grin stretched across his dark maw as he met his mark and sent Risaela tumbling into the water, his inky plume waving high above his back. His yellow gaze remained fixated on the spot where he had submerged the girl as he impatiently waited for her to resurface. Although he was not fond of the girl and had wanted to drench her in the cool liquid, he did not want to drown her. Even if rescuing her was beneath him, he would do it. Killing her (even if it had been by accident) was not a good way to keep packs neutral. His parents would definitely be mad at him if he turned into a murderer!!

Again the tawny girl had launched an unexpected attack on him and he scolded himself for being so stupid. He attempted to scramble away from her once more but was unsuccessful, for his over-sized paws were extremely uncoordinated. The silver-eyed girl had managed to successfully pin the ebony Kael, much to his frustration, and shouted mean! in his face. “Nuh uh!!” Cyril retorted with a frown as he attempted to push his hindlegs into her soft stomach, his brows narrowed darkly. She had splashed him back, so she was being just as mean as he was! 

Maybe he was being a little mean. The smudge stuck his tongue out at the girl and continued to pummel her stomach until she finally released him, a high-pitched growl erupting from her throat. Finally he had managed to make her angry. Jumping to his paws the boy took several steps away from her, his tail arched high over his back. He was determined to remain triumphant—his parents didn’t raise no wuss! With a raised brow he spat back at her, his words laced with venom: “Yer bein’ mean!” That would surely get her riled up once more. His paws neatly vibrated with excitement at the thought.

He flinched at the water being sent his way but this time he was more observant, his yellowed gaze hardened as he watched her body language shift. She lunged at him once more, tiny teeth seeking to meet dark fur, but Cyril would not allow it to happen. He shuffled out of the way just in time, his tail lashing angrily behind him. The smudge liked his tail very much and did not want to explain why half of it was missing when he returned to the monadnock. “No bite!!!!” He growled in response, his upper lip lifting to reveal a row of needle-like canines.