He studied carefully with his uniquely colored eyes as she made a few sudden movements in reaction to his announcement. He hadn’t been particularly loud, or sharp, but considering how relaxed she was it wasn’t very surprising that the sudden greeting startled her, even if only minutely. He shifted his weight to his back legs so he was leaning back a little, allowing his body language to convey that he wasn’t trying to corner her or anything else of the sort. His easy mannerisms reflected the friendly albeit slightly detached aura that he naturally put off. It was detached in the way that the cool guys always were in the movies. You know the ones. Typically they were seen with their hair greased back tastefully, wearing leather jackets as they stood leaning against brick walls behind their parked motorcycles or convertible sports cars. To any other cool guy or pretty girl they were approachable; to anyone else they were slightly intimidating but not overly so.

Yeah, that was Leo.

The pretty girl before him stood to her paws in somewhat of a scramble and then sat back on her slight haunches as she returned his greeting and then spoke more in the fashion that was typical in the ebb and flow of a conversation between strangers. Small talk and all. Many hated small talk because it was usually so awkward but Leo didn’t mind. It was breezy and allowed him to gauge how to interact with his chosen conversation partner. If they were shying away from simple small talk, well, maybe they weren’t interested in continuing talking at all. If they seemed bored, then it meant moving onto deeper subjects more hastily. If they countered his light chatter easily, like this femme seemed to be now, then they probably were okay matching his pace. Small talk was an introduction and it helped conversation flow naturally. Sure it wasn’t exactly titillating but if he was to be honest, most conversation beyond “small talk” wasn’t, either. Following social cues that the vixen unintentionally laid out, he also sat down in place.

“How are you doing today?”

“Better, now.” Again his words dripped as smooth and richly as syrup into the air. The sun was behind him and, from his angle, shining down on the upper facing parts of her body – the top side of her face, shoulders, along her back and tail. About the same time he failed to notice her staring at him in a dreamy state, he noticed that on the undersides of her form where the sun did not touch directly there was a very subtle golden glow from the pollen on the flowers that reflected on the she-wolfs fur. Not at all trying to be subtle, Leo allowed his eyes to trace along the outer lines of her form, starting where the sun left off on her neck and following the golden light. The sun glittering on her topside and the soft golden reflection beneath it made her look ethereal. His eyes moved all the way back up to her nose, where the small golden glow from the flowers came to an end and then looked directly into her soft brown eyes. “Gold looks good on you.” Natural charm still laced his tone, but his statement didn’t even come off like some cheap compliment. His words were said matter-of-factly and even backed up by an almost over confidence. It was like he was telling her the sky was blue or that the grass around them was green. His voice left no room for disagreeing, like it was the most logical thing that could have been said. And being who he was, there was no second guessing or feeling awkward for stating something like that in such a bold fashion.

“I’m Leonidas. If you’re feeling kind I hope you might grace me with your own title?”