we'd feed well the land, and worry the sheep

So consumed by childish glee was the lithe coywolf, she scarcely detected the uncertainty on Nakai's face until she paused and looked upwards. He looked tentative -- as if asking her for permission -- and it was then that a mischievous expression stole across her thinly tapered muzzle.

He was close to the pool -- close enough that with a cackle Caiaphas swiped a skinny forearm in his direction, her paw bounding off the water's edge in a cascade of water aimed right at him. Without awaiting a response she yipped playfully and bounded to the next pool, splashing among the terrified shrimp with a near juvenile abandon.