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Zero! -cling- It's been way, way too long!
(also, apologies for the delay, classes are kicking my ass this semester.)
African hunting dogs, as they were sometimes called, were blessed with acute senses. They were designed for an environment such as this one, tall grasses and limited vision. A wind this brisk was a rarity though, and Alacrity was aware she had company much later than she would have liked. Fortunately, she had trained herself to be alert even while resting, and therefore was not caught completely unawares. She heard him before she saw him, and in the evenness of his stride she read a creature familiar with his surroundings. The wind was at her back, though, and she was deprived of scent until the last. A coyote, she thought - the subtleties of canine scent still eluded her sometimes. (Besides, how many of her new neighbors would be able to tell the difference between a leopard and a cheetah by nose alone?) Out of habit, Alacrity stood as the fellow approached. It was polite to stand in formal situations at home, and the reflex worked well for introductions here: she could turn tail and run if need be.
Since it was he who approached her, she simply waited. Like most American canines, he was larger than she both in height and in frame. Looking in at him, she reconsidered her coyote label, although the coloration seemed about right. She noted his good physical condition, and his tattoos, and about then it became apparent that he was going to say nothing at all. The silence was beginning to get awkward when she broke it. "You sir," she commented with a small smile, "are staring." English was very clearly not her native tongue, but she spoke it clearly enough, even if her pronunciations had a distinct learned-by-rote feel.
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