That fucking bastard. For the twelfth time in as many minutes, the green eyed devil's thoughts strayed to the black male he'd last encountered along with his mini meddlesome sidekick. It was a huge knock to his ego; he couldn't lie about it. The man had been larger than him, but that had never stopped Zerxes in a fight before. And he'd certainly never been thrown in such a way.

It was hard to say how long he'd lay fallen in the depths of that black hole. Z was only dimly aware of the passage of time when finally he'd awoken and cognizance of his many wounds had come just as slowly. It was at least an hour following waking that the masked male found the strength to stand. Getting out of the swallet had been a feat requiring heroic levels of determination. But the loner was nothing if not a survivor.

Now, he lay in the mouth of a cavern, stalactites clinging above with some dangling close to the ground like the teeth of some great beast. Dried blood was caked throughout the cream fur of his chest and in larger amounts across his shoulders and the back of his neck. All things considered, Z knew he was lucky not to have broken his neck or legs during the fall. Not to say his hip didn't hurt like a damn bitch.

With distance placed between him and that pack-bitch that asshole had been defending, Z finally began to lick at his multitude of wounds. Cleaning the blood from his chest seemed to be the first order of business; he could feel the mean punctures there, but knew they couldn't be too serious considering he was still alive. Even as he lay there, the brute's belly gave a vicious snarl. Knowing he didn't have the strength to take down anything substantial, he resigned himself to crawling out during the night to scavenge for something.

The thought had hardly finished forming when he heard the clumsy bumbling of another in the stand of trees that lay vigil just outside the mouth of the caverns. "What do you want?" he snapped, his tone sharp and grouchy. The wisdom in enticing another fight was definitely questionable, but Z's usual control over his demeanor was well and completely gone. It was truly infra dig for him to grovel in the hopes of earning someone's pity. If he were to leave this world prematurely, it would be while snarling and spitting every bit of his venom out instead of whimpering on the ground. "Speak up!"

The yearling's head lifted into view, muzzle flecked with the aged gore Zerxes had intended to make his meal that evening. What a greedy little shit. Annoyed, he snorted out, breath gathering in front of his face before dissipating again. Language the masked male would not have expected for one so young caused his ears to perk with interest and the loner sat up a bit straighter to get a better view.

Hearing the boy's demanding question, Zerxes actually barked a laugh. Who but a pup would be so blatant in asking such a thing? "Both, as it happens." Even in his current state, Z didn't feel a lick of concern for the other wolf's proximity. Even half dead, he could dismantle a pup. However, he was in a different mood at the moment, and found he would actually enjoy the company of another as hot-headed as himself. "What do you have over there?" he called out. "Enough to drag over to an old timer like me?" he asked, layering on true charm that was reserved for the rare occasion in which he was feeling actually sociable.

Should the boy hesitate, Z lifted a brow in challenge. "Or were you raised to think only of yourself?"