He wanted her to get rid of it. He thought that was plain. It had been the sole reason he’d asked for such a demonstration, yet she did not seem to understand. He watched her warily as she took several circles around him. Was she sizing him up? He puffed up more in reply and stood tall, turning both eyes and head with every step, not letting her out of his sight. He met her eyes when she paused before him, and felt the urge to bare teeth, and his were not dulled by generations of domestication. He gave in to the urge in the end, but only partially. A single pearl dagger made its appearance against his lip a clear warning to ‘back off.’ But she would not yield, in fact she remained firm before him. She was not intimidated. The realization shot through him and he nearly gaped in surprise, but instead tossed his head in agitation. He felt his paws tense and his limbs become stone. His claws broke the earth beneath them as he gripped it fiercely. Two could play this game. She will give in…She has to. He assured himself. Although, the outcome looked bleak.
He was further enraged when she commented upon his rank, bringing his past along with it. “Do not presume to know what you do not understand, Dog.” If she was going to go there, he had better sink even lower. The word ‘dog’ was uttered in the most derogatory sense, and he’d almost spat it at her. His fury evident in his every syllable. If only she’d dropped the knife they would not have even reached this point. Not only that, she’d called him ‘friend.’ He ran her sentence through his head again, and paused when the word echoed inside his skull. Was it true…Did she consider him a friend? It was then he turned his back on her, stalking away some distance before falling to his haunches. Perhaps there was a lesson to be learned here, and who was to teach it but her…Only she could have dealt with him so skillfully. If it had been any other canine and he, the disagreement would have surely come to blows by now.
He found himself regretting his words, it was wrong to insult her breed, but he felt he had no other choice. There was nothing he could hold above her in the land she’d been dwelling within for months. He snorted his remaining anger and kept his gaze upon the ground, not yet willing to relinquish his grip on his most recent tantrum. He kept his words inside him, not wanting to renew the spark of his fury, or hers for that matter.
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