Opportunities abound

Neither wolf came after him. In fact, the female seemed a little amused. That suited him just fine because it meant she wasn’t aggressive. Her words confirmed that she wasn’t interested in attacking him, and she even introduced herself, the Alpha of the territory. The male was still quiet, not offering anything to the conversation.  “I’m Dash… It’s just me,” he replied, indicating he wasn’t a part of any pack.
 
He wondered silently why the male didn’t stand beside his leader. Dash could certainly understand not adding anything to the conversation if nothing extra needed to be said, but he thought it was common that pack members backed up their alphas. But, he hadn’t been in a pack in years, so what did he know? He supposed from his own position, the male would have gotten to his leader long before Dash could, so it didn’t matter that he wasn’t right next to her.
 
He was rambling in his head. But, it let him get to the point that they all seemed to be at a safe distance from each other, the pack mates protecting each other, and he was far enough away to get away if he thought he needed to. Feeling a little more at ease, he eased his haunches down to the sand. All of a sudden, he jumped up, jerking to the side with a yelp. He turned in circles, trying to get the attached crab off of his back thigh. It held steadfast, however, even as he grabbed it and tried to pull it off.