You see, I may have been the youngest in my family, but I was always the proverbial black sheep. I kept to myself, had my own fun and caused my own trouble. I supposed being the only child in the litter had some affect toward my social tendency. To put it lightly, I do not play well with others. Ark, I believe, understood. Problem was, Caleb and Aster had no such understanding. Or maybe they did and they just enjoyed jumping in my dive line. My point is, I had grown overly accustomed to others raining on my parade and no matter how many miles I put between myself and home, I'm still looking for that disruption.

I wasn't about to thank my nitwit brothers for nurturing this heightened vigilance. I'm not one to thank anyone, really. It would have to be on a really good day with a number of extenuating circumstances...

But I digress.

They all think they're invisible, don't they? Everyone thinks they're the definition of stealthy, the apex predator... Until they run into something bigger and badder. Maybe this child thought she was stalking an inattentive stranger, someone who had abandoned themselves to the glory of the day, but she could not have been more wrong. She also, apparently, could not have been more obvious. For all the care she was taking in her footing, trying, no doubt, to be quieter than the wind around them, she gave little thought to the surrounding wildlife. If it were not for the way the birds and crickets slowly began to disappear from the spring medley, perhaps she might have found me more surprised. Then again, there was an odd sort of shuffle in the grass if I cared to think of it. But mostly, she had forgotten to hide herself on the approach. All the vermin, flying or otherwise, were giving her wide birth as she picked her way through the meadow beside the river, causing a hush to fall over the empty air.

I nearly groaned. This little peace could have lasted longer and I wouldn't have protested. But, as I focused my attentions, I could hear the light steps of the small stranger - well, small in comparison to me if I'm being honest - as she made her approach. The wind came in little gusts, but as she drew closer I could catch the faint smell of the girl, just some young girl creeping up on me. I remained still and silent, hoping she might just give up on the nearly inanimate body and pass me by, but I had no such luck. The faint sound of her steps stopped nearby and I could almost hear her crouch in the grass as she prepared to spring herself upon me. I swear, this happened to me almost every day of my life; I was bored already...

I took a deep breath and curled my long legs a little closer to my body, passing it off as a sigh in my sleep as my paws found a comfortable half grip in the ground. If she was going to throw herself on top of me, she wouldn't find herself there long. A little thing like that would have been easy to throw off. Hell, I could probably have just stood up and let her fall to the ground, unhindered by her weight... or lack thereof.

But her leap fell unimpressively short of my body and I was moved to roll my eyes under their closed lids. At least Caleb and Aster had good aim. This child was hopelessly under-skilled to be out and about unsupervised. Didn't her parents know better? There were monsters out here, horrible evil things, and the big bad wolf. But if they were so inept to teach their child the dangers of the world, well then... They shouldn't be so surprised if their daughter returns to them a little worse for wear.

It took more control than I would like to keep my ears from folding back against my skull to block out the annoying roar that was undoubtedly meant to startle me, but I managed to hold my composure and remain unmoved. "Go away, girl," I spoke quietly in the peasant tongue, casting her nonsense aside with lazy boredom. "I don't feel like babysitting today."