Merilin was completely at a loss. She immediately recoiled, wondering why this coyote was yelling at her. She hadn’t done anything wrong, after all, just said hello and wanted to be her friend. Her russet ears fell and she was suddenly afraid, shocked by the loudness of the other coyote’s retort. The poor thing was so confused. She simply did not understand why this was happening to her. Kaena had not been that way, and Merilin personally thought that Kaena had a more frightening appearance. However, Merilin realized that she had definitely upset this creature, and wanted to mend the terrible first impression she had given. She wasn’t sure how she was going to do those exactly, but she felt that she could only try. If she failed, she would not be anywhere different than she was right now. She had nothing to lose… She listened to the coyote’s foul language, and tears began to well in her eyes. Scary.
A small whimper escaped the young russet coyote and her bottom lip seemed to tremble a bit. Her great blue eyes gazed up at her sadly as she sat there in a recoiled poise. Her tail had wrapped itself around her legs as if trying to protect them from some small and unseen enemy. She met the other’s gaze. They were so strange and red and had a simmering effect on the young russet coyote. What to say… suddenly she could not speak, her mind had gone blank. What did she think she was doing? She could not remember… what was it? There was a terribly long period of time in which Merilin said nothing at all, frozen in her place like the rock from which she had just pounced. All she could do at the moment was just sit and stare blankly.
And then, suddenly, words came to her. Without thinking about them, she spoke; she never thought about her words because it just took too much time. “I just wanted to get to know you,” she said in her defense, the small coyote’s voice just as small as she appeared in comparison to this awesome figure which stood before her. She did not know what else to say, but she was afraid. She wasn’t afraid, now, of this crimson eyed coyote, but rather of losing the interest of the coyote that would make it go away. She could not leave now. Not when she had just met her. She tried to think. “I’m Merilin,” she said again. She paused once more. Now what?
Suddenly, Merilin felt better, though it was unsure as to what had made her feel that way. She returned to a normal standing position, her ears perked up once more, her tail regaining a slight wiggle. “I want to be friends; I’m new here and I don’t really know anyone. Let’s be friends.” Now the young coyote’s voice was bright and cheerful again, ready to start anew the relationship that she might have possibly ruined. The sun seemed to be watching, shining down and playing with her russet tones as if for moral support. She needed it, yes. This new coyote she had met was a bit intimidating. But she still wanted to be friends. Already she had decided that she liked her.
“What’s your name?” She offered the coyote another sweet smile. Her tail began to wiggle more furiously.