There she goes. The sun had risen not long ago, but already his mother was leaving him tucked away for the day. It was so tedious. What did she expect him to do exactly? Sleep all day and then sleep all night too? The woman was on crack if she thought her son was going to put up with that. He didn't tell her about his daily outings, heaven forbid he try to amuse himself. He left after she did, and returned just before the sun vanished. Luckily he'd always been back before she had. Maybe it was a sixth sense he had towards her, being her offspring and all, but he always knew when he should venture back to the crevasse, tree, hole or ditch she had left him in.

He didn't mean to be naughty and disobey. He would be crushed to upset his mother. His entire world. But he was a young lad. A lad keen to learn about all the world had to offer him. He had a healthy apatite for knowledge, a trait he didn't know he shared with his estranged father, and he was never satisfied until he knew everything there was to know about something.
Along the way to last nights campsite, he had spotted a felled tree along the way. He had set it upon himself to return to that tree today, for he saw an unusual fungus growing on it's side. It was red and it was massive! It had bold white spots and a funny smell, and he was determined to study it today. So, when the coast had been clear, he had ran the entire way back to the log. It was quite a trek for any pup, even with his long legs, he felt a little tired when he finally did arrive. He had to run, he had to be quick if he was going to fit in some learning today for he had a funny feeling his mother wouldn't be out all day today. Not with that mad black wolf roaming around. Geez, what a creep he had been.

The world around him was strange here, but it was strange wherever they went. He he no roots, no place to call home. He had been roaming with his mother since he could open his eyes and see the world... well, half see it at least. They'd never stayed in the same spot for more then a night, so when the chance to study something new came along, he had to be quick about it.

He didn't grin or feel proud of himself when he had successfully navigated their scents back to the tree. Most pups would feel proud of themselves, but Adonis didn't like himself enough to ever feel proud. He just got here, it was as simple as that. He was far too old for his young, lanky bones.
With his nose to the ground, he followed the scent of the strange mushroom until at last his unnatural blue eyes (or working eye) landed upon the mushroom. It was just as pretty as he remembered and it smelt so strange, more so upclose. He wanted to taste it... but mother had warned him of berries and fungus and she wasn't exactly around to tell him if it was safe to nibble on. Instead, he lowered his rump to the floor and sat gazing at the red thing, until he dared lift a casual paw and bat the thing with a leather pad. It felt squishy yet hard all at once, and it made a funny sound. With a quirk of his brow and a tilt of his head, he lifted his paw again and repeated the process, drumming out the sound into the woods around him.

It was almost... fun. He felt a bubble inside him try to escape, but he didn't know what it was. It climbed up from his chest, reached his lips and released itself into the air as a tiny giggle. Gosh... that was a strange sound indeed. Yet he almost enjoyed it. Almost, because he didn't let himself enjoy things or have fun. With a sigh, he lifted his paw for one last bat, before he should make a move to get back home.

This was fun. Adonis' definition of fun perhaps wasn't the normal definition, but he felt like this is what others would call fun. The vibrations from the mushroom cap trembled up his paw with each swat whilst a hollow sound bounced from tree to tree and then back to his silky ears. He liked the sound and the way it felt beneath his paw. It made him smile just a little bit and he needed to smile a lot more often.

He had just lifted his paw, higher then before for the ultimate swat, when a voice rang out behind him. Heya! said a voice, but not an adult voice. Cautiously, he turned his head over his shoulder, trying to make the move fluid and not show how spooked he actually was at the disturbance. After all, he was out here alone, his mother had no idea where he was and if anyone felt like a piece of "pup-corn" well he was certainly a good choice. Luckily however, his good eye landed on a rather vivid coloured pup. His age wasn't far off from his own, but he still kept his guard up.
As the other boy slid down a grubby looking log, he took the chance to stand up and turn to face him fully. As their eyes met, he almost took a step back... his eyes. They were broken. Just like his. Alright so this other lad's eyes worked just fun, but they looked funny and one of them was almost the colour of his own. Perhaps this was one of his long lost siblings he had heard his mother dreaming about? Oh gosh... what should he do?!

"Erm. Hello?" he said, his voice quiet and shy whilst his ears decided to fall flat against his skull and his tail threatened to dissapear beneath his stomach like the wuss he was. Of course he had encountered other wolves, but he had always had his mother with him to keep guard. Meeting someone alone for the first time was a pretty big thing for a pup that had been so sheltered.

He wasn't sure what to do next, so he thought back to the way his mother met wolves. It started out friendly, in the beginning of their journey together, but lately it seemed she just wanted to rip off the heads of anyone she spoke to. He decided that being friendly often had the better outcome, and went with the flow. "I'm Adonis... Who are you?" he said with his voice smooth, his tone much more adult then most pups because he didn't have other pups to learn from. Only this mother... he and her alone in the world. Always, it felt like.

The black boy's nose quivered as the other came forward even closer. His tail was wagging fiercely, and he felt his own twitch in response before it decided to thump on the ground. It was an odd feeling, he never had much of an occasion to wag his tail before, but he liked the feeling as the extra limb danced around on the floor behind him, sweeping at the floor, the tip brushing the grass at his feet.

His voice as like his own. Not as deep as an adults, almost soft to his ears. They had similar proportions, but Adi's legs were perhaps a little longer, but there was no doubt in his mind that perhaps they were around the same age. It was adding to the theory maybe this boy was a sibling? He hoped so... it would be nice to have someone to play with. Rough and tumble with his mother was fine, but she had too much to do these days to have time to roll around and play. He would have enjoyed having a brother to play chase with... so long as they were in an open area, like they were to give him minimal trip risk.

However, his hopes quickly shattered around him as he gave his name and his pack. His mother had never mentioned a wolf from a pack with that name. His tail stopped lashing a moment as he accepted the fact they weren't related. It almost made him more cautious... if there was an adult around watching him, they probably wouldn't appreciate them playing together, or would they? "I don't have a pack right now... but my Ma said I'm the prince of Poison Path." he said proudly with an accept like his father's, drawing out the a's. He had been about to explain more when the other boy's words met his ears.

Would you be my friend?

His head tilted and he met his eyes again, slight confusion flickering on his face. Friend? He had never had a friend before, but from the now frantic lashing of his tail, he felt like he wanted one. "Sure! he said, a little too loudly and too enthusiastically. He would have winced from thinking he made a fool of himself, but he was too excited to care. A friend. Someone to call a friend. That was almost as good as having a brother!

He had been about to say something else, but it sounded dumb in his brain. So what do friends do? No, he needed to play it cool and not chase away his only friend in the whole wide world. Instead he stood there, trying to play cool and not run over to rough and tumble with the white boy like he wanted to.