Blacktail Deer Plateau You need to find yourself a girl, mate.

Had he known the significance of the skull he would surely not have tried to take it, but the boy was oblivious. All he saw was the gleam of bone and the challenge of extriciating it from the dark girl.

His attempt was met with a reaction of exceptional over-estimation; the screech of Raleska's hysterical voice prompted him to pin his ears, but that did nothing to assuage the ringing that flooded them immediately after. With his head ducked close to the object he did not see her rise, but felt the heat of her breath and the hellfire-singe of her teeth through the air as she snapped back—together, the reaction was over-the-top and served to frighten the boy back. Shrinking and ducking with a reflex not unlike a startled feline, his flagged tail fluffed and whipped at his haunch, dropping, immediately flaccid.

Raleska remained on her feet as he buckled. The boy did not like how it felt to be yelled at but he could cope with a little noise—it was the snapping teeth that ended the challenge for him. He reacted further by peeling his lips back to brandish his teeth in a flash of white, but he did not lunge for the skull again, nor dare broach Raleska's personal bubble. She had thwarted his attempt and put up enough of a squall to diminish any yearning he held for the thing; he hid his grin after, licked his lips and postured sympathetically before her with a flail of his tongue at the air beneath her chin, drawing backwards with each hasty breath until there was a safer distance between them.

Forgetting about the skull, he flashed her a brief glimpse and then looked to the ground at her feet, shoulders tight but hunched, tail drawn against the dirt. Was just a game, he mumbles emptily.