The tall male quickly adopted a placating expression, to assure her that he wasn’t a threat, and laughed a little as he said that he was just a big teddy bear. She frowned slightly, shuffling her pale paws in the sand and pondering over his words. Either he was being sincere, or he was trying to lure her into a false sense of security. Her paranoia twisted his kind, chuckling words into an ugly threat, but common sense shone through. After all, if he would hurt her, she doubted that she would be able to defend herself against him. All she could do was be trusting.
“Raspberry dye?” Timid echoed, breaking out into an amused smile despite herself. She had seen some wolves before that liked to paint their fur and engrave markings into their flesh, and she summed them up in one word: crazy. Or maybe unappreciative. They were usually beautiful creatures without all of the dye and piercings and tattoos, she thought, or prettier than she ever was. At least in her lupus form, as nonsexual of a shape as she could obtain, she had an interesting coat going for her. It was a part of the reason why she hated to change form.
“You realize you have a passenger on your tail; would you like me to take it off?” the tall maroon-marked male asked, and she swallowed.
“I’ve got it,” the jackal-hybrid told him firmly, and she twisted around to get at the crustacean. However, the crab used its free pincer to defend itself by flexing it threateningly at her nose. She scowled and looked at the male. She wanted to keep her distance from him, but she wanted to rid herself of the slow, dull pain throbbing in her tail.
“Excuse me,” Timid mumbled, and she took a few steps back.
The shifting was an unfamiliar sensation to her still, her bones elongating, her muscle working over new shapes, her fur growing out. She winced slightly at the crackling of her body, but there was no pain, only an uncomfortable sensation of pressure and pulling. Finally, she was in her optime form, still sitting on the ground. Her fingers, the only nimble thing about her, pulled at the crab until she could fling it carelessly onto the sand, where the seagull began harassing it again.
If she were human and furless, she would be blushing, but it was apparent she was not comfortable. She opted to keep sitting and craning her neck to look at the male, for if she were to stand, she wouldn’t look half as graceful as him despite his large size.
“So, er—what’s your name?” Timid asked, needing to fill the awkward silence.
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