Stone Circle ain't no use in trying

Although he had often been accused of being "uptight", Kincaid was perfectly presentable on the borders, adjusting his posture accordingly when he saw the dominant flag of the shewolf's tail. He was naturally more deferential toward females, having been brought up under the iron jaws of his formidable mother, and having spent the subsequent mating seasons experiencing both extremes of the mood swings brought on by estrus; the scars from some of these encounters still marred his gingery muzzle.

But it was July, and at the moment, Valette's femininity was only of passing interest to the male. He gave a gave a friendly wag of his tail and lowered his black nose briefly to his dusty paws in greeting.

It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance, ma'am, he replied, straightening out and offering a friendly smile that pulled at the corners of his eyes and splayed his ears in relaxed submission. I'm Kincaid — I come down from up north with a friend, but I ain't got him t'lean on anymore, so I been lookin' t'join up with some other folks.

Kincaid ducked his had to push the ground squirrel toward her. I hoped you might consider me, he said, taking a step back so that she might lay claim to the kill without having to enter his space.