A quiet hum would adorn the evening air as the imp danced along, hopping over roots and squeezing underneath fallen trees. Gaze swept along the dreary scenery, illuminated by the dying orange rays of the sun and streaked by the shadows of looming trees. This was a nice forest. He liked it. Low hanging branches would drag woody, gnarled fingers across his grimy hide as he trotted, though he would seem not to notice, or simply not to care. The low, haunting hoot of an owl would ring out above his hum, and he would pause the droning to glance up in vain attempt to spot the owl. They sounded so cool! He wished he could make noises like that!

Paws continued to pull the fiend along as he stared skyward, not paying attention to the obstacles before him. One tiny paw would catch on a fallen limb, and he’d stumble forward with a squeak, landing flat on his stomach. "Owwieee," he whined, shaking the paw that had bump roughly against the dead tree limb. It wasn’t that bad though, and nothing was bleeding, so he’d decided he could just walk it off. Right as he was about to stand though, something pale, hidden beneath a blanket of dead leaves, would capture Caesar’s attention. Head cocked curiously, and a paw would reach forward to brush the leaves away.

An excited yip would burst from jaws. A skull! It was a skull! Ever since he’d entered these lands, he’d lost all of his old dolls. A new one was just what he needed. Paws would brush gently at the remaining leave to reveal what remained of the body, holding pitifully to the skull that the lad had first seen. "Oh a new doll! Caesar is so lucky!" a cried happily. Overjoyed stare would look over the bones, mostly deprived of flesh and hide, though still with a few pieces clinging on here and there. Pieces that bugs were still trying to salvage. "Go away! Shoo! This is mine now," he barked at the small insects, waving a foot to disperse them. Careful jaws would then pull the skeleton – possibly a squirrel at some point – from its place nestled in the earth and leaves. It was then set upon the ground, staring up at Caesar with broad, empty eye sockets. "You will be Eduardo Ernesto Antoine Fernando Sancho Pierre Acaryanandana XVII." A smiled broadly.

"Speech."

Attention was drawn momentarily from Eduardo Ernesto Antoine Fernando Sancho Pierre Acaryanandana XVII as a nearby grunt was caught by the black wolf’s ragged ears. Muzzle swung to the left, and a single ear twitched up, the other sticking out to the side. Nostrils began to flare wildly as the scent of blood began to stain the air, overwhelming his thoughts. His stomach writhed within skinny torso, yearning for the taste of meat it had missed for many days now. Pupils shrank, and idly tongue would peek from behind teeth to lick at jowls. Oh that smelled good.

A glance was offered to his new skeleton friend, and Caesar would lower his muzzle, nudging the frame and pushing it with paws until it was balanced atop his head. Then he would lift his cranium slowly to its original place, and creep around the tree, making sure not to let Eduardo Ernesto, etc. fall off. Then he halted, peering around the tree with the squirrel skeleton sprawled atop his head, gaze slipping down to the small meal at the female’s paws. He would say nothing, instead simply staring hungrily, jaws half agape and a line of drool spilling from within. That smelled so yummy. And Caesar was so hungry.

"Speech."

”Can I help you?” Gaze would slip from the bloodied rabbit to the stranger’s eyes, offering them an unblinking, unwavering stare. Tongue slipped free to lick at the lines of drool, beckoning them back to jaws before he swallowed. Little muzzle then nodded. "Uh, yesyes. Caesar and Eduardo Ernesto Antoine Fernando Sancho Pierre Acaryanandana XVII are very hungry. Nothing to eat in..." he paused, counting in his head before granting a rough but true estimate, "twelve days." Oh no, he wasn’t above begging. Actually, he was far from above it. He did it all the time, and sometimes it even worked. Maybe he could try and look as cute as possible, to raise his chance of success.

Slowly, big eyes would blink, not moving once from the woman’s eyes, and he would sit his rump on the ground. Eduardo remained balanced on his head, likely also staring at the female with non-existent eyes. The imp’s tiny coal nose would quiver, his head cocking just a tad to the side between horridly jutting shoulder blades. Poofy tail curled neatly around little paws; he looked to be politely waiting for any scraps that he could get. Eyelids blinked slowly again, brows lifting. If that didn’t work, he would cry.

"Speech."

He would continue staring for another moment, body tense as he attempted to maintain perfect stillness. And then she said it, releasing him from the invisible binds that chained him. "OHHHH CAESAR THANKS THE NICE LADY! He thanks her very, very muchhhhhhh!" the tiny creature would wail, waving his paws about excitedly before he fell upon the leaf carpeted earth to dig fangs into the offered rabbit ferociously. "Oooooohhhhh, it tastes so yummy," he moaned to himself, tears welling in eyes as the taste of blood lit upon tongue gloriously. It had been so long since he’d tasted that. His stomach quivered with satisfaction.

Huge bites would be torn from the prey and gulped down, the imp occasionally pausing to spit out tufts of fluffy fur while his forepaws remained lovingly wrapped around its limp body. After a moment, the frenzy would die down and he’d notice her voice again, questioning. Blood-coated muzzle would lift curiously, wide eyes again fixed to her face. "Uhhhhhmmmm… ever since he got lost, yesyes," he confirmed his own words with a nod before looking back to the rabbit and dragging his tongue along its gory, shredded torso.

"Speech."