456 words.
In all honesty he hadn't truly thought that she was a female in any upstanding sort of position; she didn't carry herself with the stereotypical haughtiness of an alpha female. He didn't say anything, however, merely nodded, and remained quiet until she gave quite the enthusiastic answer to his well-meant question. Allowing a grin to surface and his tail to wag, his own speech carried its own hint of delightedness. “Well, congratulations! Is this your first litter?” Shortly before his permanent leave from his family home, his sister Toa became pregnant and while a large part of him had wanted to tear into the future pup's father for not asking permission to court her, an even larger part of him had simply been excited to see the cubs. Though he was not particularly good around the younger generation, it was obvious that he tried his hardest to keep them...occupied, if that was the correct word. The thought of ever being a dad himself was terrifying; he wouldn't exactly be the best role model and would more than likely mess up more than he would achieve.
Upon hearing the question that he had been silently waiting for, Kvæsir hesitated, drawing back his ears with a stitched brow. “Hunting...I suppose I'm about average, there, but I'm quick on my feet. I'd be an excellent herdskeeper; I can cover a lot of distance fast if you have a need for a patrol, or a scout. I've spent a lot of time reading, lately, and I've been studying different things about war and such- battle tactics, as they like to say. I've never used a weapon, but I'm sure I'd learn quickly. I usually do.” He hesitated, a sly smile snaking across his muzzle. “The rest of my “skills”, as you put it, are a tad more...” He frowned before deciding on the proper word, “Unorthodox. For example, I found a half-charred book of notes on how to tell if someone is lying, and I can name all the constellations- I suppose I just have small bits of knowledge on lots of things. And,” he added, corners of the smile twitching into a grin. “I can do magic. Well. Magic tricks. It's quite amusing, actually. I can play little things on a recorder. All in all, I guess the best skills I can offer Phoenix Valley are those that I can learn.”
The warm flush of embarrassment flooded his veins for a moment as he realized that he had just talked for a relatively lengthy piece of time only to essentially tell her that his marketable skills amounted to, well, shit. His amber eyes meeting her strikingly green ones, he offered a sheepish grin. “Next question, please?”