As quietly as possible he had edged forward, parting the grasses softly with his movement. It was only when his eyes fell upon her that he had realized she was under no duress from another wolf. She simply laid in the grass, whining softly. Of course his mind had jumped around to a dozen possibilities of what might have befallen her – an attack earlier in the day that had left her maimed and immobile, an accident of some sort – the list went on and on. But he had not considered the fact that the girl might be asleep until she shifted slightly, paws batting uselessly before her. But by then the words were already on his lips, and he could not rescind them.
Eyes flew wide as she sprung to her paws and he immediately back peddled a step to give her space. The yelp that escaped her maw caused his ears to fall back shamefully, as he suddenly felt overwhelmed with guilt at having disturbed her when all she was doing was sleeping. Maybe having some sort of nightmare that had bid forth the whimpers. “
I – wait, hm – no, I didn’t mean…” His words came out in half syllables and stumbling phrases, but she retreated from him and suddenly disappeared over a well camouflaged hill.
Suddenly his ears flicked forward once more, alert and concerned once more at the her vanishing act. He sprung forward, leaping to the top of the knoll just in time to see the last somersault before her bodice came to a stop at the bottom of the hill. She stood up, and the last thing Atlas wanted to do was make her more fearful of him, but he couldn’t very well just run off without seeing if she was okay first. As he slowly started down the hill, he unknowingly paused in a patch of shorter grass. From her vantage point she would clearly be able to see his full body; the stark white that encompassed his legs and the golden hue that fringed the darker colors of the upper half of his body. “
I – I didn’t mean to frighten you. Are you alright?” He shifted guiltily from one paw to the other, but kept his eyes on her, hoping she would realize he meant no harm. He was only there to help.