Opposites Attract

Loping along with ease, the long-legged wolf traveled over the marshy ground, his progress only halted now and then by the unexpectedly deep pools his paws slipped in to. Mud was splattered along his chest, belly and legs from the slips, but he was ignoring them for now; he'd clean off when he stopped for the night. Not that he was entirely sure where he was going to stop. Or where he was going to sleep- or eat. Water was plentiful, at least, and there were so many birds around here... maybe he'd get lucky.

But his attempts were sloppy and yielded no results but to frighten the birds as they took flight from his charges, no matter how hard he tried to stalk like he'd seen the other hunters of his former pack do. He couldn't get within ten feet of them before they panicked, too far to manage to get more than a snap at tail feathers before they were well out of reach. He gave up, turned away from the flocks, and headed for somewhat drier ground.

A flash of white and slate gray ahead caught his eye and his tail whisked back and forth as he recognized the form of a canine. Not familiar, which was disappointing, but he hoped they were friendly all the same. And good at hunting, whispered a voice in the back of his mind. He ignored that, yipped a greeting, and padded carefully toward the dog. "Hi there!"