As the shadows lengthen, Vala comes to realize she is not alone. She feels the eyes on her seconds before she hears his voice, and she snaps her delicate head around in time to watch the dark stallion slink out of the shadows. He’s big, wolfish, but apparently well suited for sneaking around the jungle undetected. Vala’s green eyes narrow, especially when he asks if she’s afraid of the ‘big bad wolf’. She assumes he’s referring to himself, and raises her eyebrows.

“And I suppose that’s you, is it?” she asks, her voice less than kind, poking fun at the title. “Only someone who gave themselves that kind of nickname would have the stones to use it in an introduction.” She smirks at him, a teasing chuckle punctuating the jab. She wields her anxiety like a weapon, turning her fear harshly outwards like the bristling spines of a porcupine. She is rattled to have been caught like this, not even realizing she’d been followed until it was too late; she’s shaken and embarrassed, but she masks these feelings beneath a rather childish sneer.

Vala is not observant or experienced enough in this moment to notice that he keeps his distance. When he rakes his gaze over her, she feels the hairs stand up on her body, like a cat poofing with alarm. Her lip curls and her ears twist backwards as her fear presents itself as anger. “Wow, you could at least try not to ogle,” she snaps, and has to resist the temptation to take a step back. “What, have you never seen a mare before? We’re actually pretty common, if you don’t live under a rock.”

In a brazen attempt to seem more brave than she actually is, Vala in fact takes a step forward, squaring her shoulders and puffing out her chest. It doesn’t really do anything in her favor, and in fact it makes her seem even smaller than him as she now has to tilt her head even more to meet his gaze.