maybe I'll land, maybe I'll crash

Like a startled cat the girl bristled and bounced back as a much larger wolf came after her lizard. Bottlebrush tail curled high over her back and ears flat against her skull she tried to strike a fearsome pose. It wasn't terror making her tremble! It was rage! Or at least she was hoping that was how it came across to the stranger. Cricket had spent much of her life being chased off from her dinner by larger predators, so she was acting on instinct.

Well, she was acting on instinct until he said Hello. Her expression softened to one of curiosity, her still puffed tail waving nervously over her back minutely as she took in the sprawled out wolf in front of her. She jerked forward, hesitant but insect like in her movements. She got so close nose to nose with the stranger that she practically went cross-eyed. And then the idea hit her. She bowed down suddenly, her paws slapping the yellow crunchy grass either side of the new wolf, manic smile painted on her face. "Wanna help me hunt? Y'can have half! I'm Cricket!" The girl sprung back to give the stranger some room, but she couldn't keep her paws in place on the ground. This would be perfect, right? She'd be able to hunt something bigger with help!

“Speech”