Wapun Meadow it isn't about the stuff

Charles quickly tried scrambling to his feet, but before he managed to get up, the girl stood over him. Charles didn't want to let himself get bested by a girl, of all things. He could see Riley's sneer of an expression now. But there was something more that it released in him. As the girl stood over him and laughed at him, it was hard for him to see her cheerfulness and good nature; all he was reminded of was his brothers pushing him around and chewing on his face. He tightly squeezed his eyes shut and instinctively ducked his head between his forelegs to protect his face, while he tucked his tail tightly under his hind legs. He felt utterly humiliated, laying in his own piss and unable to get up and terrified that he was about to get chewed out and chewed on --

-- But it never came and she went away again, goading him to hurry up. He didn't understand why there was a hurry. Charles licked his lips nervously as he headed the command and slowly got up, adrenaline rushing through his veins and still nervous and afraid to the core. A little confused, maybe, because the punishment he expected hadn't come.

When she said she hadn't seen him around before, Charles muttered, Yeah, me neither. He meant that he hadn't seen her around either, but it came out sounding a bit more as if he confirmed he hadn't seen or smelled himself around, either. If only it was the truth.

Eager to get over the weird moment where he'd been so afraid Charles was glad that she just moved on. She then stared at his ears, a thing that Charles wasn't all that used to; he had yet to learn that the world was often unkind to coyotes, but perhaps if he would run into such bias he would simply think it was because the world was often unkind to him and not even realise it was for his heritage. ... What? he asked when she said a really difficult word he hadn't heard before. Not that Charles was dumb or nothing, but he wasn't the most eloquent youth around the block either.