Shandom chuckled, deep and throatily, as the woman backed off from his handshake. Sorry, he grinned, shaking his head as they clasped hands. I'm not laughing at you. Promise. I just...happened to have the same exact reaction when someone did this to me the first time. It's kind of a weird trick, isn't it? But many of the wolves I've met around here have greeted me in such a manner, so I figured it was the accepted form of greetings. Sorry for shocking you like that. A merry smile was on his scarred face, and his stance was not threatening. Truth emanated from him; Shandom did not mean to mock the pretty woman who was, in fact, the only person his age he'd met since he arrived in these strange lands. The white man realized he actually was quite excited to meet someone his own age, or at least somewhere around it. What was with the influx of children, anyway? Caprica, one of his few friends, was young, as was Terra - though he was not sure if he could count her as a friend or something different. The little coyote was sweet and harmless, but at the same time... She was so much younger than he. Regardless. He spent too much time musing on endless, babbling topics. Sometimes he wondered if the Gods just liked to plant ridiculous thoughts in his mind.
It's a pleasure to meet you, Naniko. What pack do you lead, if you don't mind me asking? That she was an Alphess wasn't exactly shocking to him; the woman carried herself with dignity, and she seemed competent. Shandom was sure that, wherever she was from, she was a good ruler. Hopefully benevolent; the white man did not wish to come across someone who might be a threat to him. Granted, right now he was completely homeless, so she would really just be a danger to him - there would be no pack to threaten if she decided to mobilize against him. But Shandom saw no harm in telling her that. I'm a wanderer - I stayed in Cour des Miracles, in the South, for a time, but it was not a place where I could fit in. I'm not normally on two legs, you see - you caught me at a strange time.
Shandom wondered what her reaction to that would be. Some wolves - Caprica, again, came to mind - thought it strange to live on four legs, as he did. Still, she'd at least come across him while he stood on two legs. The male wasn't necessarily comfortable in this form, but he could interact.
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