Stirring Up Dirt

Hotate squinted at the young woman as she complimented him, to which he wasn't used to. He and his siblings were at least good at bantering at each other, so this sweet talk wasn't much his style. More he hadn't really experienced it before. But certainly a woman wouldn't just slither in from the woods and be so kind and flirtatious. In his mind at least. He could see through her he supposed, not so much as "this girl is playing with me", but enough not to get all goo-goo eyed and drop his tongue. He wasn't good at the game.

He only pulled his head back an inch or two when she pushed forward more into him. Not much bothered by her abrasive nature than annoyed by it. Many would have pushed her straight away, some would have seen the opportunity to flirt back. Not Tate. He did lift a paw again to give her another slight push to her chest, just to stop her from touching him again after her nose moved into his scruff. Weird. He wasn't necessarily dense, just didn't understand the thought process of this girl and how she could be so open to him, a stranger in the woods. "Can't say I've seen many like you either." His tone was quite the opposite of hers. He wasn't big and offended, but he certainly was less than joking. He wasn't playing her game, maybe he didn't know how or it was just the lack of wanting the presence of others. Still, he wasn't running for the hills. He wasn't backing down. He wasn't a coward. The interaction may have interested him slightly, but not enough to get him to test out his manliness. He didn't need this to be a man in his eyes.

"Hotate"