Swiftcurrent Creek Down the rabbit hole

The stranger said something else, something that sounded similar to his own name, yet before Relonikiv could fully process it, the dog growled and lunged. The little boy yipped in surprise, backpedaling rapidly. His eyes were wide and his mouth agape as he put space between himself and the foreign wolf. A bit of urine squirted from him, dribbling down the inside of his hind leg.

"Wha... wha..." he stuttered, his heart thumping in his chest, even as he naturally gave the beast, the reaper, the benefit of the doubt. "Pay?" he asked in a weak, breathy and hopeful voice. Relonikiv tried to see the good in everyone, all without really consciously trying, and every little bone in his body hoped this was just some playful trick.

Otherwise, he simply could not compute. Although he understood that something was going very wrong on a purely instinctual level, Relonikiv knew nothing of real danger, fear, pain and certainly didn't comprehend something like malice and ill will. He quivered, eyes still wide and now a bit wet, immobilized by his own uncertainty.