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Pembroke sauntered through the woods. It had been, what felt like, a long time since his father had left and yet he could still clearly see the gaping hole in his life. He had decided the moment his father left that he would never need him, never want him, never, ever see him again. But he could not get his mind off him.

It just made Pembroke hate Avenue even more.
Having his treacherous father in the back of his mind always, almost killed him.

He was so young and this was a heavy burden for one so small to carry. For Pem, it just made him stronger. He grew each day and he knew one day he would be strong enough to rid himself of his pains once and for all. The only time he ever wanted to see his father again was if he was dead.

Pem snarled as a small squirrel bolted passed him. He lent back into his strong thigh muscles and leaped after it. The squirrel had no chance. Expert paws feinted at the squirrels head before swiftly moving to pin the poor creatures tail to the ground. Pembroke laughed as he watched the squirrel try to escape. Its little legs moved about in a flurry. But it was going nowhere. He enjoyed toying with his food, even if he did not intend to eat it.

Pembroke playfully taunted the small rodent letting it go for the slightest second before grabbing again. The way the small animal struggled against his strength made him feel powerful and in control. This was something he did not feel often even though he refused to show it.

He lifted his paw off the tail of the squirrel and just as he was about to grab it again a great kerfuffle caught drew his attention to somewhere ahead in the distance. His head snapped around and back again to the squirrel as it bolted away. Whatever had made so much noise had allowed his toy to get away! Without a moment more of hesitation he bolted after it. With his eyes firmly planted on the terrified squirrel and his mind fixed on re-catching it, Pembroke did not even notice the fox running in the opposite direction towards him.

At the last second his nose caught the scent of the female and he slammed on the brakes. He attempted to come to a screeching halt but was unable to stop himself in time. He ran headfirst into the young female and tumbled over her.

He couldn't decide if he was more shocked at running into this stranger or more angry that his squirrel had gotten away.

Pembroke rolled onto his feet and staggered to get up. His head spun and the world around him spun with it. For a moment he was convinced he'd run into about 3 other kits. He looked left and right at each of the kits appearing on the edges of his vision. Anger welled up inside him at the thought of these clumsy and stupid kits for getting in his way. But as his head cleared and the world came back into balance, what he had perceived as 3 kits melded into one.

His anger vanished instantly.
It was girl.
And something felt strange inside him. It was the first time he had met another kit that he wasn't related too. She was black like him but not as dark. Her tail was oddly white at the end with strange green markings. He admired them, like he admired his own complicated markings.

His dumbfounded moment soon passed when he remembered the squirrel he had lost.

"You should be sorry! My lunch just got away thanks to you!"

His tone came off rather more angrily then he actually felt. But he was too far into a temper tantrum to think about this other kits feelings. It was an accident and partly, well mostly Pemmy's fault. There was no way he was about to admit that. This just gave more fuel to his anger.

"If you hadn't of been bumbling through here like an idiot you wouldn't have scared off my meal. I think you owe me, missy! Who are you exactly anyway?"

Pembroke was rather satisfied with her apology but he still held that he owed her something. He sort of felt a little bad for calling her an idiot he had been a bit harsh. He took a few deep breaths to calm himself down.

Pembroke watched and was quite astonished as the young fox whipped around, looking rather scared. She appeared as she had never been outside of a den ever before. He pranced around until he was in front of her and sat down confidently. This still only the second time he'd ventured off alone, but he still felt superior.

"This your first time out and about, eh?" His tone was rather condescending. "I know these woods like the back of my paw. There ain't nothing to be scared of out here, you little frady fox. Anyway, you didn't answer my question. Who are you?"

Pembroke figured this kit couldn't be as bad as she sounded if this wasn't the first time she'd been out. For a moment he worried if she'd been out more times than him. No way. Pem liked to be the best. And he was. He was the most brave, the most independent...the most troubled....

Pem smiled at the kit. He liked something about the way she stuttered her introduction. "I'm Pembroke. My mother is Kaoru. Oh and you shouldn't worry about stuff jumping at you. We're pretty much the biggest, scariest things out here. Anything that jumped at you was probably more terrified of you!"

He laughed. But it died quickly when it occurred to him that maybe there were bigger, scarier things out here. Things that would jump at you and eat you.

The thought made him uneasy so he dismissed it, resolving that if anything scary jumped out at him he would face it head on. He was the most brave, the most independent...the most troubled....

Pembroke watched on as Kala's eyes looked straight at him and then flickered to the ground. He was rather entranced, a dumbfounded look crossed his face. He quickly snapped back to reality when she spoke. Though he was a bit taken aback by her question. He hadn't really hunted per say. He had caught that squirrel but that was the first thing he had ever caught and that had got away. Even if it wasn't his fault.

"Hunted? O-of course I've, uh, hunted before. Like I said before, that squirrel got a away because you scared it. I hunted that squirrel, I sure did. What about you?"

He smiled awkwardly, attempting to not give away how uncomfortable he felt.

She sounded nervous. Pembroke didn't really understand why. The only conclusion he could draw was that she intimidated by him. He liked that. He liked being intimidating. Pembroke turned and pranced about, his ego somewhat restored.

His head snapped back to look at her.
"Show you how to hunt?"

He leaped through the air and landed with his body pressed close to the ground.
"To hunt you have to be sneaky, stealthy, quiet."
He demonstrated by skulking forwards as quietly as he could. He leaped forward as if pouncing on an invisible prey.

"You have to be fast, agile and have a deadly strike. You get one chance."
He turned on his heel to face her to emphasize the importance of this. A sly smiled crossed his maw.

"One chance to kill and then its all over. You eat or be eaten!"

He leaped towards her growling just coming up short before succumbing to a fit of laughter on the ground.

Pembroke shook with laughter, fueled by her whining. As he jumped on her Pem rolled about to try and get her off. It was just like play fighting with his brother, something he thoroughly enjoyed. With mighty force and still convulsing in laughter he attempted to throw her off him so he could roll on top of her. His laughter was mixed with cheerful growls.