761 words.
As the white female settled to the forest floor, Kvæsir did the same, lowering his haunches and flicking his white-tipped tail around his paws in a way that was not unlike the same sort of behavior that one might see from a feline. He felt dwarfed sitting next to such a large female, but usually size didn't really matter to him; in any of his sexual endeavors it was simply shrugged off. He liked to think he made up for it elsewhere.
Kæ nodded along with her words, giving a condolent frown at the bit about her deceased litter and offering a slight smile at the notion of her now-independent cubs. When she asked him if he had any of his own, however- a question that he had not foreseen- his face took on a contorted sort of expression that was a comical mixture between surprise, embarrassment, and extreme hilarity that may very well have looked as if he was choking on something lodged in the back of his throat. It took him a long moment to compose himself, but as he did so he was already shaking his head vehemently. “I'm not sure if I'll ever want them, actually. I'm not too good with them in general and I wouldn't want to be a failure of a parent. I babysit'd a friend's litter, once. That may have quite possibly be the most traumatizing thing of my entire life,” he added with a chuckle. Falling silent for a moment, the border collie's intense gaze drifting past her shoulder before returning to her features. “They can move so fast!” Granted, he was talking about in comparison to their little bodies- he wouldn't have had any trouble catching them if there had been one or two. But it had been a non-luperci litter, and there had been eight of the devilish little things, each adding fuel to the others' flames.
Her seemingly eager anticipation of possibly seeing a trick done in the near future set his tail wagging so emphatically that a the few stray leaves that were lying crinkled around him were either roughed to bits or sent billowing away, their tattered edges snagging on the browning grass. “They really are fun; it took me a while to learn- or to find anything suitable to do them with- but it was well worth it. But I've been traveling for a while, and can honestly say I haven't really been in one place long enough to try them out on anyone. Maybe you'd like to?” Here, the black and white dog grinned broadly. That could definitely been spun and turned into a pick-up line in the future. Interesting.
It was funny how her liking of his “honesty” was mentioned, yet her last question for him could have easily been answered with his lack of truthfulness. He was not ignorant, however, and so knew better than to tell the truth- to buy himself time, he chuckled and spoke once more. “I suppose you can't just be happy with the skills, then, can you? But of course, I suppose everyone has their bad traits. Let's see...” He began, as if the list was going to be dreadfully long. “Physically speaking, I only have a very bit of wolf in me at all, so even when I shift I still stay small. As for the rest, I definitely tend to hold grudges.” He thought for a moment before deciding to leave his slight alcoholism out of the conversation; wouldn't be good for business. “I suppose the biggest thing may be that, because I was born a Luperci, I was just infected- and I'm by no means pure wolf- the virus hit my body pretty hard, and I still shift without being able to control it.” Conveniently side-stepping the bit where this only happens during a point of emotional instability, he continued. “I don't really like my Optime form much- if I was given a task to do, it'll be done on all fours if I have any say about it.”
He listened to the note as it drifted from his silvery muzzle, and found that a smile had been plastered across his features. He had always found the wolves' howls to be beautiful- mysterious, even. But suddenly his inability to howl was the least of his worries; apparently the Alphas would be on their way, and with them would come the decision of whether or not he would be allowed entrance to Phoenix Valley- something that, in true sincerity, he was rather looking forward to.