It was, by all means, frustrating that he was right on top of having been ever so quiet. Rana had been told about some of the alleged dangers outside of Asteraia, even if they had been spoken of in such a way that made her believe her parents barely considered them risks at all. In any case, she knew of them, and she knew that much of her protection and safety relied on Asteraia’s borders and the wolves within them. If she had been out of the pack? Well, he was right. She might have been a fine meal for wolf or cougar alike. It flustered her, made her blood all the little more heated – she snorted, an indignant sound coming from a Princess! But it was better than biting his nose, wasn’t it?

She had used her snort as ‘cover’ - after all, she had to look away from him to show her frustration, right? In truth, she had wanted to spot the groundhog he spoke of without seeming like she had needed him to point it out.

It was there! She eyed it closely, a grin sneaking up on her lips as she considered just how she might win the situation after all. Easy, she thought, so easy to catch! It was small and quick, sure, but so was she. Maybe she could wiggle down its escape route and drag it out by its back legs...Or maybe...all too easy to fall into the trap of planning, wasn’t it?

It took her what felt like an aeon to realize that her paws had lost contact with the ground, and even longer to register the fact that she was no longer standing vertical either. In fact, she had found herself horizontal in the air for a moment as clarity befell her. Then, reality found her sliding on the ground with an oof! of surprise. She scrambled, tangled in the tall grass. Rana’s entire body had doubled in size, seemingly, with every hair on end as she tore at the grass with her teeth – both in frustration and to free herself faster. She stood, shaking the grass between her teeth as if it were prey, or in this case, as if it were her brother.

She was all fury then, absolutely appalled that he had not only been a sneak but that he had used the same tactic to surprise attack her too! How low, she thought, tossing aside the clump of grass with a huff and a growl. Then her eyes were on him, and she was on him but a second later. With all her puppy-sized might, she threw herself at him, aiming to lock her teeth onto his leg (unaware, of course, that puppy teeth were little more than pinpricks, a tickle even). She’d chew through him! She declared her intent boldly, biting down and gnawing as if he were a chew toy, some old bone her mother had left behind. See him sneak his way out of this one!