Grouse Thicket Where the streets have no name

And he was... laughing?  It made her hasten her movements, her ears tilted with a combination of awkwardness and shame. She'd been really stupid to jump before she knew for sure what she was hitting.  This kind of thing hadn't shown up to bite her before, but it certainly was now.  It was a lesson that was definitely worth learning, as pouncing on a cougar or something would definitely be even less pleasant than this encounter.


Once he'd been brushed off, she backed up a couple places just to get to a distance that was more comfortable for a discussion with a stranger.  I really am sorry to have disturbed you, she said, I don't exactly go out of my way to jump on people.  That bird must have come right up to you in there.  She craned her neck, looking to see if there was any motion within eyesight, but as it were, the place was still now that the chaos was over, I'd offer to share one with you if I caught it in apology but uh.  I think I probably scared off the whole neighborhood.  Zenith was doing her damnedest to be as lighthearted about it as he seemed, but she was feeling too old to have done something so dumb, even though she was barely into adulthood in the grand scheme of things. I'll be more careful in the future, either way, she said, nodding sharply to her own words.  What was she even supposed to do in this awkward situation?!  She'd spent all her time trying to learn to be proper and what might make a good leader... Not really as much for what to do if you basically body-slammed someone by accident.