two lefts from nowhere

Jasper froze as her mind spun, trying to make sense of things in a way that didn't make her feel quite so stupid. Okay. The pure white stranger was nowhere to be found. Probably just a ghost, and definitely not Jasper walking into exactly the sort of situation she'd usually try to avoid. That checked out.

She was in the middle of debating whether that meant she should move forward and see if the ghost at least left that plant behind, or scoot her way back to avoid a litany of curses and spiritual wrath befalling her, when a flash of movement drew her gaze. She turned just in time to watch a very-much-corporeal wolf leap atop a nearby boulder. ""Hello? Is someone there?"

Jasper's fur stood on end, and her spirits sank. Oh yeah, this was a great plan, genius. No way it could have gone wrong. Once more her mind whirred into overdrive. Gods, she wanted to just melt into the earth but if she continued to hide and was found anyway, would that be worse? There was no way she could outrun this- Jasper squinted.

Was that... Was that a kid? What on earth did they feed pups around here?! Jasper wasn't sure if that made this encounter better or worse, but in either case she figured the odds of a yearling choosing violence for no good reason were low enough to pop her head up over the grass. "Er, yes. Sorry." ... Okay, now what?

Her jaw worked a moment before more words managed to tumble their way out. "I just. Uh, saw you from up there," Jasper jerked her head back over her shoulder by way of pointing. "Wanted to see what plant you were interested in, but didn't want to.. Disrupt your day?" Jasper winced at what could not have possibly be a reassuring speech, but it was the best she had.

"Talk" "Listen" Think