I walk a lonley road....

And down he went, splashing back into the pool. "You're just determined to drown me, aren't you?" he laughed, twisting his body and using his weight to dunk her, this time. They splashed and romped and spent the rest of the day just playing about, as if they were puppies in a puddle. The sun began to set, though, casting an orange glow over the golden lands. The earth began to cool. Tyrone stepped out of the water, shaking his coat off for a final time, gazing off into the sunset.

"We should probably eat something before we go looking," he suggested, his stomach growling. It seemed like it was days ago that he had eaten the tarantula instead of only mere hours. "Because I'm hungry as hell."

"Mmm..." Tyrone said, closing his eyes and licking his lips. How he relished a delicious meal. But, a part of him wondered how long they would be able to survive out here. Yes, they had shelter and water, but it was the lack of large prey that concerned him. A wolf could get by a couple of days on hare and lizards and giant bugs, but without larger game, survival would be more difficult than that of in a forest. But, maybe they could adapt. Already his heavy fur had fallen off in clumps, cooling his large body. Traveling through the desert had also burned off much fat, so now he was all muscle, but still bulky in every way.

Raven took off, a silent black shadow against the white sand, lit up by the moon peeking over the horizon. Tyrone took off beside her, his strides long and powerful; an iron beast. He allowed her to take the lead - she was a better hunter than he, that was for certain. He watched the wind ripple through her purplish-hued coat, her form like an ebony silk ribbon flowing in the breeze. He wouldn't say it, but the sight was breathtaking. He hoped she wouldn't notice him staring, for he turned away to focus on the desert in front of him. He lifted his nose in the air, hoping to catch something... And ahh, there was the wonderful aroma of water buffalo. Large game.

Tyrone's tail raised in the air in eager excitement. "Hell yes, I smell that!" he barked in happiness, and he turned towards the scent, bounding towards it. "I think it's about a mile away, not too far," he said, looking at her over his shoulder. They were now headed east, facing away from the moon, so all she was was a shadow. Her eyes - a forever pristine blue - shone out from her darkness. Together they ran, side by side, like nothing else but them existed as they followed the scent. Now, Tyrone's stomach was not only growling for hunger, but for... something else, as well. Something that was making it feel like he was flying when he was by her side.

His heavy bulk slowed to walk as the scent of the water buffalo and blood came on very strong. They were already downwind, so there was no need to worry about them being scented. They were not yet over the horizon, so their shadows did not give them away. He looked to his companion. "Should we circle around it, or try and take it head on?" he asked. It smelled like there was only one, so if it was a calf, there shouldn't be that much danger... unless momma had gone somewhere and planned on returning.

"Okay," Tyrone replied, and took off in the opposite direction as she. The scent of blood became stronger and stronger, and he was sure that something was wounded and bleeding out. Good, less work for them. He rounded the dune and kept close to it, the sand almost brushing his shoulder, but not quite. Though robust and somewhat clumsy, Tyrone knew how to sneak up on prey. It took him more practice than other wolves to hunt, but he had eventually learned how. He licked his lips... the prey was just a few feet away... There was labored breathing, grunts and groans, and so much blood...

Tyrone lowered himself into a crouch, tassle hovering above the ground. His talons were useless in the soft sand for gripping, but this was where his giant paws came in handy. They allowed him to stalk closer and closer. His orange eyes flashed to Raven, but he couldn't even see her as she approached from the shadows. Not even her eyes. Finally, he came around to see the actual prey, and...

It was a mother giving birth.

He stopped short. "Dammit," he muttered beneath his breath. Frustration built up inside him. It was one thing to kill a calf and maybe it's mother, but it was another to attack during birth. For once, he felt conflicted when it came to dinner. Tyrone wasn't a killer, and he didn't want to prove that. He froze, hoping Raven would notice that he was no longer advancing.

"Oh fu - " Tyrone sputtered out at the sight of the dead calf slopping out of the water buffalo's end, and he quickly darted around the sand dune to vomit up what was in his stomach. "Ugh..." he groaned to himself, squeezing his eyes shut. So that was why he and the other males were kept away from the birthing dens... It was absolutely disgusting. Having babies was gross. He shook off the rest of his nausea and returned to the place he was. He glanced at Raven in the shadows - not even her blue eyes were visible now. He looked back to the water buffalo, and she still hadn't noticed him.

The mother water buffalo licked and nudged her calf, grunting and groaning softly, encouraging it to stand. But, it still did not move. It was a wonder the mother did not move herself. She had lost so much blood, the crimson staining into white, white sand. She kept pleading to her miscarriage, but nothing happened. She was now absolutely exhausted, and would rest until the sun rose. How long she would survive in the desert, though, was doubtful. Tyrone guessed it wouldn't be very far... He glanced at Raven again. It was his signal that he was headed out.

He loped out into the open, his shadow growing with each step. The water buffalo mother saw him and started screaming in terror, kicking her front legs, her back legs too weak and useless from the birth. Tyrone circled around her, wanting to get her tired as possible, his orange eyes gleaming. The more exhausted and confused she became, the more she would eventually give up, and the less violent her death would have to be.

Tyrone shrugged. "Eh, I guess so. I figured you'd be the type to fall for all that gentleman crap, y'know?" he said, taking her place beside her and starting to feast. He went for the liver first - his favorite part of any meal, for it was rich in nutrients and all-around goodness. Soon, his belly was warm and full. He even felt sleepiness tug at him since it was such a good dinner, but he knew now was the time to be awake, and during the day they needed to rest. His ear twitched to Raven again. "Uh, yeah, I guess we could call it that," he said, feeling significantly awkward about the whole thing. But it had to be done. "Do you think we should split up and meet back at the Oasis? Or like... one of us could start looking for a body, and the other can drag the kill back? It's good meat, y'know. It'd suck if buzzards or coyotes got to it." Deep down, he really didn't want them to split up. It wouldn't have surprised him if Darrel had sent out one of the Blood wolves to spy on them, and the last thing they needed was trouble.

Tyrone raised a brow. He couldn't help but notice the annoyance in Raven's stance. Why was she pissed all of a sudden? He thought he was being nice... Oh, women... he thought, shaking his head and looking at the rest of the kill. "I'll take the rest of it back. I'll search the other half of the desert and meet you back at the Oasis by sunrise," he said, not looking at her. He was the bigger and stronger of the two, afterall, and thus it made sense for him to drag back the kill. He bent down and opened his wide jaws around the buffalo's neck, using his back legs to pull it along. He would leave the dead calf for the buzzards, since it was immature meat, anyways.

He paused in dragging the kill and watched her dissappear over the dune, silent as a shadow. He hoped that the Bloods wouldn't get to her, Darrel especially. The last thing Tyrone needed was for his former best friend to steal away his current one and twist her mind to his liking. Within half an hour Tyrone managed to drag the kill back to the Oasis, burying it in the sand so no other night creature would discover it. He then loped off in the other direction that Raven had gone. He licked his nose and sniffed the air, trying to find the scent of something dead.

Tyrone wondered if he should have told her anything. He currently couldn't figure out why the hell she was mad at him (for pretty much absolutely no reason). He had thought that telling her his backstory would have maybe, just maybe, gotten rid of her ridiculous mood swings, but apparently not. If anything, telling her it seemed to have made them worse. Tyrone sighed. He was really just trying to do the right thing, but he always screwed up. Always.

There seemed to be nothing on his side of the desert. He had thought he found a skeleton bleached bone-white from the sun, but it was only an outcrop of rock. By the light of the moon, he could see the mountains in the distance. Perhaps, if he and Raven travelled together, they could reach the mountains in a few days' time. They'd have more luck in a forest than in a desert. That is, if she even wanted to go with him... He decided he'd think about it later, and see if anything really did turn up for now. Who knows, Raven might've found something. It seemed just like her to find something, bring it back to the Oasis, and let him wander all around the desert until morning, not even bothering to send up a howl.

Two hours into wandering around, Tyrone finally gave in to his frustration. He wasn't going to find anything out here, and it was a stupid idea to think that he could've found one. "This is bullshit," he growled to himself. He also knew that he shouldn't be hungry again, but there was already a snack pain knotted in his stomach. He swiftly turned around, not caring to howl to let Raven know he was on his way back. This was her idea, anyways. May as well let her think everything through.

But she was already there at the Oasis, drinking water. His ears pinned back. So, she was already done and hadn't bothered to tell him. Lovely. "Thanks for the howl," he muttered to her, getting the feeling that the only reason she hadn't told him she had retired early was because she was still mad at him. He went over to the kill from earlier, digging a part of it up to pick out a sizable rib-bone. He carried it over to the other side of the water hole, across from her, with his rump in her view. He wouldn't be bothered with her antics and arguments, not this time. He would wait until her little hissy-fit-I'm-mad-at-you-forever mood was gone. He gnawed on the bones, savoring the sweet and delicious marrow.

Tyrone continue to gnaw on his rib bone, completely satisfied with himself. An ear twisted, though, when he heard Raven say something about getting back as well. "Hmph... Who was I to know?" he grumbled, knowing that she couldn't hear him. If anything, it sounded like she was leaving again. Great. Fantastic. "There you go again, pretending I'm the bad guy..." he mumbled, abandoning his bone and getting up as well. He trotted over to where she had been, watching as she slipped over the moonlit sand dunes. He walked out a bit further to where he was just outside the Oasis, and he could see her sitting there, her back to him. Well, at least she hadn't gone far. It was here that Tyrone waited for her to calm down. If she wanted to turn around and yell at him, fine. He just hated that she had to be so angry all the time...

He was actually very surprised to see her turn around and come towards him. He thought she would've sat there, indignant that she was right and he was wrong again. His ears perked when he heard her speak - though harshly - but Tyrone could tell she was trying, and that was what was important. She was letting down that fiery wall of hers for once... and if she could do that, he could do that, too. He was sick of fighting with her. Yes, they were good friends, but they needed to get along much more if everything they worked for was to go through. His ears flicked back. "Yeah. Sorry for assuming stuff..." he said, not quite looking her in the eye. "You just seemed really pissed at me, and when you are pissed at me, you never tell me why. You always just walk away, and then when you come back, it's like you want to be my mate or something."

Tyrone didn't like to say it, but it was true. Her getting angry for no reason, walking away, and then coming back pretending everything was all right happened every single time, and it confused the crap out of him. It was then that he realized that while he had told her most of his backstory, he knew nothing of hers. She was just a wolf lost in the desert, like him, but even she must've had a past. No wolf with a sane mind and secure pack would come wandering out into the wasteland. That was near suicide. He didn't mention any of this, though, for now was not the time. No reason to bring up more unwanted feelings.

Well, Tyrone certainly hadn't expected her life's story. It was like she had read his mind, for he had just been thinking about where she came from, and now it all lay out in front of him. He cocked his head as she walked and looked away from him, shame taking over her usually proud form. He was a patient listener, though, his ears perked forward to catch her every word, letting them sink in. He waited until she was finished, her blue eyes shining and threatening to spill tears.

He folded his ears back in respect. "That sucks..." he said softly. "I mean, I'm sorry for... what happened to you... and stuff." He couldn't think of what else to say. From where he stood in life, he wasn't sure if he had ever been in love. Miranda was... lust. Complete and utter lust, and he knew now that it would never be anything more than that. And for that, he hated her. Why bother even declaring yourself a mate to someone? Tyrone held eye contact with her, though he didn't really want to, his own past creeping into his mind. "I had a mate... once... I've probably mentioned her several times, and I'm sorry that I didn't tell you sooner, or that she's not my mate any longer. She was good for me when I was young, but that's really all she liked about me... And she abandoned me when I needed her most. And, well, that's not a sign of a good mate at all, y'know?"