Spunk

He'd been wandering today, letting his paws carry him as far as they wanted to. His mind wandered too, and for much of his walking he did not pay attention to just where he was going. Out here in the land of the vagabonds, the King did not present himself as the monarch he was. Here, he had no title. Here, he was nothing and no one. Gerhardt almost wondered if it wouldn't be nice for things to be like this all the time. Life would certainly be simpler that way. But life wasn't meant to be simple, it wasn't meant to be easy. Gerhardt gave a sigh, head parallel to his spine as he maneuvered automatically through the forest. He noted a flurry of motion in the corner of an amethyst eye. A small, russet figure darted after something even smaller. Head snapped to attention, body pivoting to carry him toward the creature. It was the size of a pup, and yet was out here on its own.

The small wolf yelped and fell head first into the mud and dirt. Ouch. The King quickened his pace, slowing only when he'd neared her enough to be heard. "Are you alright?" A genuine look of concern clouded his face as he peered down at her from a few yards away, dwarfing her even at this distance. Despite her stature, she appeared to be physically mature. He'd never seen a wolf so small.

"Speech"