Overture Downs he was eager for the tale to go on

upon the gentle rise of the downs, merrick discovered an ailing coyote. its back leg had been shattered, and the seeping poison that is infection guttered in each laboured breath. the beast was weak, close to its end; thin lips skinned back from its teeth as the coywolf approached.
if merrick had been another creature, another wolf, he might have been driven solely by the edict of the wolf against a smaller canine, to drive out, to purge. as it was, the boy was held by both the shared lineage and a deep interest in watching the death of the creature. 
perhaps an interest in participating when it came to said death.
cold-eyed, glancing 'round for @Nunataq to see if she was near, merrick began to circle, causing the coyote to struggle upright and continue its baleful snarling.