Eleanor watched as her meal was torn to shreds, feathers flying through the air and landing in a bloody pool where the bird had once been. This stranger was angry, and about what the woman couldn't tell. She raised an eyebrow as the stranger turned back towards her, snarling, covered in all sorts of nasty things. Eleanor would never let herself become that messy, she cared far too much for her appearance. Perhaps it was because she was so concerned with someone finding out her secret that she couldn't get dirty. Getting dirty, that was for boys, wasn't it? And despite her parts, she was no boy, and she never had been. Simply born into the wrong body, she thought, staring down the stranger. Born into the wrong body and always in the wrong place.
She watched as the stranger circled her, raising her head and her tail in a display of dominance. Though she was proud of her appearance, she would fight if she must, to defend herself. There was craziness, and confusion, in the other's eyes, and Eleanor found herself confused as well. This was all very confusing, the stranger's words did not necessarily make sense, and the woman wasn't sure if she was supposed to try and help or what.
Finally, the other spoke, and Eleanor listened with what appeared to be rapt attention. She was eager both to get out of this alive and get to the bottom of the dark stranger's less than normal behavior. She was grouped in with two other wolves, the ones who apparently smelt good, who the stranger was drawn to. The questions took her by surprise and she shrank backwards when the stranger took a step forward, lowering her head to protect her neck, though her tail still remained raised.
"Like a crush?" She murmured, surprisingly soft-spoken for the situation.
"You fancy these wolves for one reason or another. Perhaps it's the way they move, or act, or speak. But either way..." She trailed off.
"My name is Eleanor."
ELEANOR
AND LET SLIP THE DOGS OF WAR