Rising Sun Valley Acorn

She breathed hard, and pulled up short in a dizzying skid, catching a glimpse of his features for a moment before they collided. For a second, she felt a shred of fear- this was a stranger, after all, and he had no reason to spare her life if he decided on a whim to draw blood. 

Trust wasn’t something she gave freely- if ever. But swept up in the momentum, and catching a glimpse of the merriment in his eyes, she allowed her limbs to soften and bend, and willed momentum to carry her toward him. 

She realized only then that in the exhilaration, all hostility had been left behind, as if it had been no more than a hat caught in the breeze. She grappled with paws, shoved with her shoulders, and gave him only a widened jaw- one that would not clench or pinch. 

For the first time in her life, Cygnet played.