Otter Creek Pray or Prey

She noticed him at almost the same time, a wayward cross-breeze bringing his scent to her that otherwise would have remained downwind. Lemony eyes took in the gray beast and immediately her slender spine prickled. If nothing else, he looked dangerous, more wild and appeasing than most creatures she had seen in her short life. Halo was not intrinsically attracted to menace, but for a moment their hawkish gazes met, and even from this distance she saw recognition fade from his eyes.

He had thought he knew her, even though she knew immediately that she had never seen this wolf before. Quietly interested, the petite creature tentatively moved closer. Her eyes picked a path to their right, across a thin tributary that she would be able to skirt across and dash into the woods if he should prove violent.

Small, sturdy paws linked to skinny black legs drew her within a few yards of him. She didn't speak at first, didn't ask him anything, but Halo watched him closely like a snake watches something larger than it, wondering if it should flee or poison. She tilted her head, easing onto her haunches at a distance safe enough to escape the large male if she saw fit to. After a moment of looking at his broad chest like a biology student studying anatomy, she piped a clear, quiet: "Hi."