You Never Know Who You Might Bump Into

She’d tracked the deer a ways, just to ensure that it was still in the area. Perhaps she’d gather Regulus tonight and… The heavy tread of paws a ways behind her brought her attention to the present with a bump. As she turned, whomever it was gave a woof of greeting. The voice wasn’t familiar in the slightest. But the face. He was familiar. Mismatched gold and blue gaze ran over the heavily furred male, tracing the tear like black streaks beneath his eyes, which shone a blue-ish green. It took only a moment to click. She hadn’t seen him since he was a growing pup. “C-Creed?” Her uniquely accented voice was damnably hesitant. The shock of looking into an old friend’s face was just enough to knock her off balance, as it were.

She took a couple steps toward the male, head cocked, almost warily. If he’d been fluffy the last time she’d seen him, it was nothing to how fluffy he was now. He must be roasting in that fur coat of his. Her eyes dropped to his paws. Even his paws were fluffy. “Gods, it really is you.” There was a bit of wonder in her tone, but her tail was beginning to wave behind her. Then it hit her that she wasn’t catching his scent on the breeze; she was upwind of him. Directly upwind. She shifted a bit to one side, hoping to spare him any more of having her scent, and the seasonal aroma that came with it in Summer, blasting up his nostrils. But she didn’t stop looking him over, taking in everything of the face she hadn’t seen in literal years. She hadn’t even been a yearling the last time they’d met.

Surprisingly, he didn’t seem any taller than she was, though he could have been hiding a few extra inches under all that fur. Her eyes settled on his face again, a grin finally gracing her features as her tail began beating the air. “Gods, it’s been years, Creed. I haven’t seen you since we were pups! How have you been?” The memories were flooding back to her. He really had been good at playing tussle.

Walk ---- "Speak" ---- "Hear" ---- Think