He hadn't meant to scare the wolf; now that he was closer, it was certainly much smaller than he'd initially assumed it to be. Still larger than himself, but in this world that was typical of most things.
Delta instinctually flinched backwards as the stranger careened forwards and threw itself into a bush, thrashing and flailing wildly as the small feline pinned his ears and slid further back into the water. The sound of snapping branches and labored breathing echoed through the empty forest as the wolf desperately convulsed, then all at once all fell quiet again. A pair of frightened eyes blinked out from the foliage, and Delta met them with his own nervous gaze. He didn't dare utter another word, fur prickling uneasily as silence stretched between them. It was obviously hiding, but from what exactly?
The little cat looked back and forth along the bank worriedly before he flared his nostrils and tasted the air. If it--she, judging by the faint scent under all that blood, was fleeing something (or someone), it hadn't seemed to have followed her here.
...at least, not yet.
Delta had half a mind to save his own skin and dive beneath the water again. It could be a test, he worried to himself. Something appearing harmless; then I step out and it grabs me. Or it has other waiting for me. Waiting to leave the water. He tasted the air again, but no new scents carried on the wind. Or it truly is pursued, and whatever's after it comes for me instead.
Anxiety weighed heavy in his chest, nearly enough to drag him down back into the river's depths. Yet despite his own misgivings, he remained. The strange, dirty wolf evoked a sense of pity, and hesitantly Delta pulled his torso back onto the shore. He leaned forwards, still several meters away from her hiding place, and tilted his head inquisitively. He kept his claws out and hind legs tensed beneath the water, ready to kick off against the bank and cast him back into the current in case his worries proved genuine and he needed an escape.
"Are you hurt?" He repeated, slightly louder in case she hadn't heard the first time. Again, he looked up and down the banks as if expecting some terrible thing to charge from the forest at them. Aside from her labored breathing and the burbling of the stream, all was quiet. It felt like a trap, like if he slunk any closer, she would shoot out from the bushes and snap those canine fangs around his neck. Delta shuddered at the thought, though perhaps it was also due to the autumn chill which bit against his wet pelt.
"You smell of blood," Delta awkwardly continued. "The smell of blood brings danger. Do you understand me?"
Delta instinctually flinched backwards as the stranger careened forwards and threw itself into a bush, thrashing and flailing wildly as the small feline pinned his ears and slid further back into the water. The sound of snapping branches and labored breathing echoed through the empty forest as the wolf desperately convulsed, then all at once all fell quiet again. A pair of frightened eyes blinked out from the foliage, and Delta met them with his own nervous gaze. He didn't dare utter another word, fur prickling uneasily as silence stretched between them. It was obviously hiding, but from what exactly?
The little cat looked back and forth along the bank worriedly before he flared his nostrils and tasted the air. If it--she, judging by the faint scent under all that blood, was fleeing something (or someone), it hadn't seemed to have followed her here.
...at least, not yet.
Delta had half a mind to save his own skin and dive beneath the water again. It could be a test, he worried to himself. Something appearing harmless; then I step out and it grabs me. Or it has other waiting for me. Waiting to leave the water. He tasted the air again, but no new scents carried on the wind. Or it truly is pursued, and whatever's after it comes for me instead.
Anxiety weighed heavy in his chest, nearly enough to drag him down back into the river's depths. Yet despite his own misgivings, he remained. The strange, dirty wolf evoked a sense of pity, and hesitantly Delta pulled his torso back onto the shore. He leaned forwards, still several meters away from her hiding place, and tilted his head inquisitively. He kept his claws out and hind legs tensed beneath the water, ready to kick off against the bank and cast him back into the current in case his worries proved genuine and he needed an escape.
"Are you hurt?" He repeated, slightly louder in case she hadn't heard the first time. Again, he looked up and down the banks as if expecting some terrible thing to charge from the forest at them. Aside from her labored breathing and the burbling of the stream, all was quiet. It felt like a trap, like if he slunk any closer, she would shoot out from the bushes and snap those canine fangs around his neck. Delta shuddered at the thought, though perhaps it was also due to the autumn chill which bit against his wet pelt.
"You smell of blood," Delta awkwardly continued. "The smell of blood brings danger. Do you understand me?"