River warily watched the horse animal, taken aback by its fervent protests; it smelled of anger and fear. Her pale eyes trailed once from the intense ocean gaze of the mounted werewolf to the animal's huge hooves. Seeing the creature up close, sensing its emotion, made her deeply grateful that this woman had stopped her. Though they would have made a good meal, River became aware that she never could have taken one down herself, and even more, she certainly would have been seriously injured, if not killed.
River raised herself slightly, though she did not relinquish her submissive poise entirely, her ears remaining pinned back and her tail lowered. As the other continued to explain, she spoke firmly and with the authority she deserved, but it seemed she had softened to River's willingness to submit and learn. Horses... River repeated to reassure herself that she could properly pronounce the name of the animals' species.
The hybrid had trouble understanding some of what the stranger said, and while she feared pestering her superior, more important was that she understood. Companion, like friend, yeh? she wanted to clarify, her voice humble, although she still found the idea of it slightly repulsive. The nameless woman was gently patting the horse's neck, her touch on the beast's coat tender and warm. And what do you mean, steed? It was another word she had never heard before, and she had no idea of what it meant.
If I had known these animals were your friends, I vould have searched elsewhere, she spoke to the woman's final words, sighing. I thought them easy prey, but I vill not touch them. She gazed up at the agouti woman with the sincerity of her promise blatant in her lilac-blue eyes. My name is River Hati. Yours?
.freebaug38 b {font-weight:bold; color:#3d6280; letter-spacing:1px; text-shadow: 0.1em 0.1em 0.1em #000000; }
.freebaug38 p {text-indent:0px; padding:6px 16px; margin:0px;}
.freebaug38 {margin:0 auto; width:459px; background-color:#000000; background-image:url(http://i.imgur.com/blWqK.png); background-position:top center; background-repeat:no-repeat; border:1px solid #8f9ba6; padding: 130px 0px 8px 0px; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size:12px; color:#8f9ba6; text-shadow: 0.1em 0.1em 0.2em #000000; letter-spacing:.6px; word-spacing:.9x; line-height:13.5px; text-align:justify;}
.freebaug38 p b:before { content: open-quote; }
.freebaug38 p b:after {content: close-quote; }
</style>
[/html]