and wild plum trees in tremulous white

This post is clunky. ;-; ♥

Coelacanth did not completely quail under the male’s investigative stare, but her Neptune eyes danced away from his with practiced elusiveness. The heavy thump-thump-thump of his tail reassured her, and she danced a shy step closer when he did not rise, a whispery whine of greeting winging from her lips. Her dainty, tapered muzzle quivered timorously as she leaned forward on her tiptoes to drink in his scent — the spice of cedar tempered by the cool heaviness of rain-dappled earth. His nonchalant manner and benign mien captivated her, lulling the hypersensitive fight or flight response that typically governed her every interaction, and her tufted ears fanned hesitantly forward as one catlike paw ghosted just a breath nearer. Delicate nostrils flared and ink-feathered hackles stiffened in a soft shimmer along her spine, but aside from a nervous whuff that bore the warm, sweet scent of overripe berries, she was utterly quiet.

For a moment, everything was.

The sudden crack and rustle of juvenile paws crashing proudly through the underbrush surprised Coelacanth, and her finely-crafted head snapped up like a startled filly’s as she leapt nimbly away. Curiosity kept her well within the trio’s range, and although a tremor rocked her and continued to hum almost palpably through her lithe musculature, she greeted the cheerful child as bravely as she could. He was different from Isengrim — less scrappy, more accepting — and she dipped her muzzle in return, regarding his triumph with a doggish smile. Slim jaws parted as her tongue poked pertly between her lower canines, and her sumi-e brush tail flickered and snapped like a blithe black silk streamer behind her.