Meadowlark Prairie Your legs must shake

Beau had finished his first successful escapade days prior. He should have felt happier, but despite the stories of many bachelors before his heart still felt empty.

He passed it off as old habits bubbling up. All of his years as a hopeless romantic wouldn't disappear so quickly.

It was hard not to wonder about children who might come from his time spent with Ishara, just as he used to wonder about those Leto might have had. Beau knew his feelings would fade with time when no familiar faces came searching, when he had no proof they existed.

He had intended to fish today, but it hadn't quite gone to plan. Instead he laid next to the water, pondering on old relationships and past memories.

If Cebrian had never died, if Leto hadn't met Juarez first, where would he be now?

Let me know if I need to change anything!

With her thirst quenched, she moved inland. Hoping to find a scraps or a small meal to chase, though the former was preferred. She was far from an expert hunter, even a novice could out hunt her but she didn't hold it against herself. Hunting alone was a steep learning curve, at least that's what her mother always told her. Emry missed her mother, the ache in her heart still tore through her everyday. It was only 6 months ago that she died, but the woman still expected to hear her mothers howl to come home. 

A scent cut through her thoughts, a hare. Instinct brought her low to the ground, crouching beneath the flowers to better see the small mammal. Her nose worked, twitching and wiggling as the scent flooded the delicate sensors within. In an act of self sabotage, her belly rumbled loudly. Hush! She warned sternly in her head. Stalking through the flowers, her ears picked up the faintest sound that she could only describe as crunching. The hare must've been eating. 

That's when she saw it, munching on a piece of grass. She poised her body to launch but her hind leg ruffled some dry grass and the hare bolted. Emery chased, her head lowered to keep visibility. Suddenly the hare took a sharp right. Emery tried to follow but her hind legs slipped and she went tumbling. Little did she know, she stopped rolling right in front of another wolf. 

Gathering herself, she shook off the flowers in her coat. Except the one awkwardly embedded between her teeth. Her gaze focused and that's when she saw him. Immediately she stumbled backwards, stuttering over her words. An inaudible sequence of 'sorry's' and 'oh Gods' tumbled from her lips. The flower still weirdly jutting out. 

"I'm- I'm so sorry!" She practically pleaded.

His pondering was cut short when a wolf tumbled onto his paws. Surprised, he looked up as though checking if it was suddenly raining women.

Then, he burst into laughter. My, am I that unnapproachable! He chuckled, shuffling back before he stood up. If you wanted ta' talk to me, coulda just said hello.

He was entirely teasing her, and charming himself while he was at it. The idea that a wolf would throw themselves at your paws to start a conversation was absurd (though not impossible).

Strange. He wasn't mad. Not that Em immediately expected fury but something closer to annoyance, maybe even disgust. Yet, he laughed. She saw it reach his eyes, it looked like true laughter to her. Bizarre. Emry's nose twitched, ears flicking behind her as if expecting someone else to be there. Nothing but the breeze. "What?" She sounded alarmed, almost offended. "No, it-" She stopped, her upper lips searching for what felt to be stuck in her teeth. She looked at her nose, going cross-eyed in the process, in hopes of spotting the flower. No luck. The woman fiddled with the stem with her tongue before scrubbing her mouth against her leg to dislodge the flower.

.

With a final scrub of her tongue, she spoke. "It's not that I didn't want to approach you, I just kind of didn't see you." The words grew meek by the end. Half truths; but why lie at all? To save face? She had no intention on running into someone so soon after the last. If she had seen him earlier, she would have preferred hunger to his company. It's gonna be okay. She coached herself. 

.

"I was hunting," She admitted sheepishly. "As you can tell, that hunt got the better of me." Something in her wanted to chuckle but she kept it down, still unsure of him.

His tail wagged back and forth at a steady pace, not at all hiding his amusement. Why bother? Don't worry, I understand. The prey 'round here is real fast. He had lived in flatlands for nearly his whole life, so Beau had grown up sprinting after hares and rabbits. It wasn't as easy as others could make it look.

No packs here, but there is a lot of leftovers. There's a lake north of here if you're any good at fishing. He wasn't. The slimy things always managed to see him coming, Beau would rather stick to his burrows.

Obviously she was nervous, and Beau wasn't yet sure which way to sway. He didn't want to scare off company, but he didn't want teeth to the face either.