He probably should have known better, should have suspected something when the bird flew past rebelling his presence, but he hadn't. Gaël was as immature and inexperienced as yearling should be, though he hadn't been sheltered and the boy had seen and met many his age who had endured a thousand lives' tragedies before their first birthday. He took it for granted. Struck curious, the hybrid's peculiar turquoise eyes searched for the flying rat that had somehow escaped his perspective, and while the boy had no intentions of hunting down the annoyance despite the grumble of his stomach, might have been bored enough to follow it for the sheer hell of it.
Instead, however, a shrill shout from behind demanded otherwise. He turned, dark ears perking and low-swinging ponytail swiping at the air as he moved. Big eyes focused on the targeting, coyote-looking child; the quick reflexes of his father's had the yearling throwing his arms up in surprise and awkwardly stumbling backward and out of the attacker's direct line of targeting, though the whole motion had hardly been anything graceful or intimidating. Circlet eyes wide, the big-boned hybrid stared at his attacker, clearly perplexed and clueless. "Hey, I didn't do anyt'in! I'm just lookin' around!" Slow realization as to his previous encounters provoked more explanation, of course, though the yearling did not yet lower his stupidly defensive arms and shouted over them instead. "I'm part coyote! I live here! I did not mean to anger bird!" Gaël's voice was thick with his accent, though he struggled to sound normal and less foolish in the presence of others, but it was no use. Something told him that conversation wasn't going to be of much use.