She trips, or at least, she stumbles. It is desperately hopeless. It is an amazement she has even made it this far away from the prairie if these actions are any indication of her typical behavior. I am baffled that no other has snatched her up. Perhaps it is the smell of pack that is her saving grace in this instance. I should not question it, however. I am sure even the cougars and bears do not seek to take something so hopelessly easy. Even they must appreciate a challenge as much as I do. Perhaps they linger in the grasses of the fields, biding their time, playing the same way I do as I inch closer, watching her shrink back into herself. I wonder what that kind of fear feels like. Is it strange to seek it out? I have not felt it. I wish to, but I have not. Until the day I find it, I will attempt to reach some understanding of it through the faces of others. I do not bother to respond to her words. Instead, I merely lean in closer, gazing into her eyes in search of that unusual little flicker. There is still something in there that is not fear. It is something much different. I wonder why she does not allow it to thrive rather than this babbling, this stumbling, this weakness. It is almost frustrating. I had wanted a taste of Lihi and yet, I can feel my skin prickle with the familiar feeling of agitation. I want some kind of fight. Some kind of resistance. It is almost too easy.
"Maybe that is the issue."
I finally respond to her, sliding my gaze away for a moment before the rest of me follows through. Perhaps I am wasting my time here. I do not know what I had expected, but I had wanted something more. Something to make me feel something. Something to at least satisfy some small part of me. I will give her another chance, several more minutes, but then I will test my theory of the distance. Will she make it there in time? For now, I move several paces away before circling her slowly.
"Do you not get...bored...of being so hopeless?"
I shrug the question off. My tongue lashes out, rolling across my muzzle as I round her.