What joy! He seemed to really want the leaf - his eyes had practically gone to it immediately, so fast in fact that she had wondered if he had even really seen her. It made her grin from behind the leaf, all teeth and silent laughter. His growl had been the catalyst to her increased teasing, dancing about with the leaf, waving it through the air; he had sounded so honestly angry! She had never really heard such a sound, no less from a child his size. Perhaps it was the newness of it that made it so exciting for her! Perhaps she had a little more troublemaker blood in her than anybody might have initially guessed.

He pounced towards her with his bellow of a demand and she dashed back a pace, lowering into a playful bow for a moment before she jumped back onto her paws and continued with her dance. She shook her head, a stern and unspoken no as her tail bounced cheerfully behind her. She had seen the stone tumble from his mouth and with a wink and a leap, she had moved to swat at it, bouncing it away from him as she played with it beneath her paws for a moment. But she'd not stay put for long! She didn't want to risk losing her prize too. Instead, she pivoted and shuffled back with the leaf still in tow, the stone now between the two of them as she eyed it hungrily. It was a challenge, sure, but she did her best to make it look like a game too; she grinned, tail still waved, but without words she wondered if he'd be able to get the picture. She wasn't here to steal it, after all, but where was the fun in just finding things?

If he played the game, she'd either give him the leaf or lead him to the stream where she had found it. It had been fun, after all, to poach the leaves from the slow moving water. But could he put aside his anger for a moment and play? Or was he going to keep doing with the demands and make it more fun for her to mess with him?