He was new to the pack, and therefore, very nervous. He was old enough now that meeting new people shouldn't have bothered him, but it was a difficult fear for him to overcome. Ash was worried that nobody would like him. He had friends back home, but they weren't here with him. How did he know that anyone would like him here? Maybe it had just been a fluke before. Maybe his hometown was so small that they had to befriend him, or they wouldn't have any friends at all. The whole thing was very uncomfortable.
For now he clung to the areas he thought would be most likely to be unoccupied. Ash was soothed by the calm and quiet meadow he had stumbled in, and decided to stay for a bit. He sat himself down on a large rock and was content with simply being surrounded by nature. It was quiet, but not silent. The breeze rustled the leaves of nearby trees, and there was a constant buzzing of insects of one sort or another. A foreign sound caused his ears to perk until he could identify it as some sort of song. His ears swiveled until he pinpointed the target, and was able to see it. A little girl. Naturally, she was not in Optime form, which made Ash feel awkward. He loved children, but it always felt so weird to be so tall and overdressed in comparison. Still, it was not worth it to change forms yet.
He liked watching her. It was a creepy thing to do, perhaps, but she was adorable. The little white form bounded through the field, looking so innocent and carefree. He hoped she wouldn't notice him, as he didn't want to scare her off. Suddenly the girl let out a sharp yelp and she stopped jumping around. Ash was alert, watching her in fear. Was she ok? What had happened? He had watched her and still didn't know what was going on. If he approached her, he ran the risk of looking like a complete freak by "just so happening" to be around at the time. Oh, but he couldn't stay back for his own pride. The pup was hurt.
Ash sprinted to her, all the while worrying that a sprint would look too desperate. He stopped a few feet away, then dropped down to a squatting position so that he did not tower above her. "Are you ok? I heard your yelp." Now that he was closer, he took the time to look her over and see if he could find the injury himself. It looked like it had something to do with her front paw, but he did not see any blood.
