It was one of those dreams again -- where he was running, but he didn't know why. He could feel his heart pounding, and his breath came fast and hard. Nothing in front of him, and his worried look over his shoulder showed nothing behind. Just a big, blank expanse. He wasn't even sure it had a color, no real discernible shade, either. He was running from something, but he didn't know what or why. It probably would have continued well into the afternoon, too -- but it didn't seem like he'd be getting much sleep, anyhow, restless or not.

There was a sudden sense of terror as the minty teal eyes burst open in the darkness, and, at first, the wolf wasn't entirely sure why. Heart still pumping hard from his dream, it just about jumped up his throat when he found his answer. The low, rattling gurgle drifted through the small, dark stone cavern -- a far more familiar sound than he would like. He got to his feet slowly, careful not to make a sound, and his eyes narrowed through the darkness. Far back, reflecting some dim light from beyond the bend in the narrow hall, a pair of fierce yellow eyes did much the same. The stares connected, and for a moment all was still and silent. Then--

"Aw, hell," Raylan moaned as the rattle of the big cat's growl crescendo-ed into a dull scream of a roar. All at once, there was movement; the lion made a lunge for him, and he made a lunge for the exit.

In all his pre-panicked, adrenaline fueled glory, he had been just a pinch quicker on the draw. Around the bend and down the narrow, dimly lit tunnel, the wolf didn't think it wise to glance back. He wouldn't be making any hesitations until he was well and sure he was no longer being followed. Out the stone-lined hole in the hill, the large wolf burst across a small, snow dusted field on long white legs, his marbled coat of russet, brown, and white ablaze in the cold light of the afternoon sun until he met the shadows of the forest on the other side. Straight into the cover of the woods, he knew the cat wouldn't be too inclined to follow there. Still, he didn't slow his sprint for a good long while. When he did finally stop, he bent himself over and heaved in his labored breath.

"Goddamn... Puma..." he gasped, still hunched over with his lungs feeling like fire. Once his pulse began to slow, Raylan lifted his minty gaze from the snow and gave a look around. He wasn't entirely sure how far he'd traveled into these southern woods, but, then again, not knowing where he was was better than sticking around to get his bearings while a lion mauled him to death. Besides, it wasn't like he had anywhere in particular to be.

A soft thud of footfalls turned the young wolf's russet ears a little more southward, and his head was quick to snap around to attention immediately following. Through the trees and bare winter undergrowth, there he saw a girl -- younger than him, by the looks of her face, but still quite tall. There was a small hesitation as he considered options: approach the girl or try to slip away unnoticed. He'd smelled the locals about here and there in these parts, but he'd kept his distance for the past couple days. You could never quite tell what they'd be like. He'd already run into a savage lot once that thought him supper, but, then again, that had been weeks back -- maybe even a couple months, now. Thinking back on the past couple days, he hadn't only been woken by a puma, but had also had his food stolen by a particularly nasty bobcat the day before and was pushed out of his previous sleeping spot by an enraged little wolverine. If the locals weren't as murdersome as the wildlife in the area, maybe they'd be able to point him toward some safer lodging.

At any rate, it was worth a poke, wasn't it?

"Excuse me, Miss?" Raylan called through the trees, tone polite, though a little dry as he was still catching his breath. Picking up his large, white paws in a jog, he carried himself as close as was safe before fixing her with a pleasant sort of smile and disarming wave of his mottled russet and white-tipped banner. "'Afternoon," he greeted with a quick dip of his muzzle. Minty teal eyes watched the girl with a careful, warded expression as he waited to see how she might respond. This was about the part where she'd either respond kindly in turn or turn real feral, and he wasn't keeping his expectations too high after that last run-in weeks past.