Tiptoe Through the Tulips (Open)

Kynn's throat clenched and slickened with saliva, his inner demons thirsting for more blood. While it was in his nature to lap up the excess, delicious red liquid, he was at a halt. There was someone here, and they had been watching him the entire time. He chastised himself. How could he be so blind, well, so scentless, that he couldn’t differentiate the smell of predator and prey? The wolf’s chest rumbled with a throaty growl, and his ears stood erect as he assumed a dominant position over his kill. There was no way some half pint was going to swoop in and go for a nibble. He was imagining having a glorious battle with some bear, and was startled out of his vision by a feminine voice from above him. Above him? The wolf tilted his head towards the sky and saw the feline. He gave her a look of confusion, scrunching half his face to show it. Mister wolf? Where the hell was she raised? He hadn’t been called ‘mister’ in years, and that was by a pup.

Stepping back so he didn’t have to crane his neck as far, he remained silent as she commented him on his hunt. Involuntarily, he stood a bit taller, his subconscious swelling with pride. So she had seen his kill. Wonderful! While he wanted to burst out and tell her all about what he was feeling when he drained the life from the fawn, he kept a stoic, sober face. What was she here for? And why had she been watching him purposefully? Kynn stuck his tongue out and scraped it against his teeth, savoring the coppery taste of new blood. It covered his muzzle and dripped down his chest and onto his paws. Why, yes, he was definitely a monster that haunted the children’s dreams. He opened his red slicked jaw to speak, but the cat suddenly burst out in an uncontrollable fit of nonsense. Kynn let another look of confusion flicker in his eyes, but it quickly shifted to annoyance and he half-heartedly bared his teeth at her for a fraction of a second. While she continued to ramble like a mindless pup, he went back and tore muscle from the fawn’s shoulder. It slid warmly down his throat and sat heavy in his belly, a sure sign that he was getting full. But alas, to wolves, there is practically no such thing as ‘full’.

He gobbled down another bite when the cat, known as Baylinx, apologized for her rambling and then prompted him to speak. “As one would say, cat,” He began, turning to face her as he ripped off another strip of flesh. He then purposefully spoke with the meat slinging down from either side of his mouth. “It’s impolite to talk with your mouth full.” But, since such a thick slice was tucked between his jaws, it sounded more like, ‘Itz impoligh to tall wiff your mouff full.’ With that said he turned his back on her and continued his meal. Kynn hid a smirk as he tugged at more warm meat. He wanted to eat more, to rub it in her face that he had something to eat and she didn’t, but his stomach suddenly reached capacity. His belly felt as though it would burst, and so he nudged it aside for now. His insides felt warm, and his body was content. It was now, he turned back around to glance up at the feline. “How long have you been there, hmm? I have to say, it’s a bit odd—if not creepy— to be stared at while enjoying breakfast.” He let a toothy grin cross his face before plopping down on his rump and licking around his chest and paws. Gah, blood was sooo good! He didn’t know why herbivores didn’t try it. Brown eyes flickering back up to the cat, he lifted his muzzle from his tongue bath to say, “My name is Kynn; incredibly handsome irresistible ladies’ man.” The wolf smirked, “And yes, I do insist you call me by my full name.”

Kynn rolled his shoulders at her answer. “I never said that I owned this place.” He said, nodding his head as if to punctuate his claim. He gave his muzzle another sweep of his long tongue, twitching his ears as Baylinx continued to speak. He had given her a good show? At the compliment he sat a bit taller, prouder, and planted a smirk on his lips. “Well, I do have excellent timing, don’t I?” He asked with a bit of a teasing tone. The wolf paused and knit his eyebrows together a moment. Mice? Sure, mice were a nice snack, but why would someone eat them for lunch? They weren’t that filling. Throwing the thought aside carelessly, he was spacing out a bit until the cat above him began to giggle. Kynn turned his attention back to her and tilted his head to the side, flexing the muscles in his paws. “I thought I said to call me by my fully name.” He said with a huff, rolling back over his tail and flopping onto his side next to the half devoured fawn.

“Just because you’ll call for me, cat, doesn’t mean I’ll return the favor.” He said with an extended yawn, flicking his tail off his legs. “I could be busy, possibly sleeping. And I don’t think I like you enough to choose you over sleep.” He said with a grin, rubbing his face on the green grass. It ultimately severed the blades and crushed them but the smell of the earth was something Kynn had always enjoyed. And besides, it tickled his skin. The wolf exhaled a labored breath and squinted his eyes against the sun that broke through the bare parts of the trees. “I’ve been here a while. A few years, give or take.” He said with closed eyes. He pondered the second half of her question. Pfft, he didn’t know. He was born around this area, and just lived here without the safety and protection of his birth pack. While he desperately craved the companionship of other wolves, he wasn’t the type to seek out others. Rather he’d let them come to him. “I suppose I came to this particular meadow in search of a good meal. I don’t live here though.” The wolf said, sliding a passing glance to movement out towards the opening. There was a moose and an elk conversing, and by the looks of it, the moose wasn’t too happy. Odd, typically he saw moose and elk stay around their own species, it wasn’t often he saw them together, friends or not. “Any what about you, cat?” Kynn asked, rolling his eyes up to the tree limb again. He noticed he was making a habit of calling her cat, rather then by her name. “How did you come about these lands? Birthed or traveled?”

While he had no particular interest in knowing her answer, he felt it would be a bit rude to just cut off mid conversation and go for a nap. Though Kynn really wasn’t much for manners, he didn’t want to make any enemies right off the bat. In fact, Baylinx was the first animal he had met within the last few weeks that cared to have a conversation with him. Well, she was the only predator out of that selection. And as they say, prey mingles with prey, and the predators dive in together. The wolf suppressed a yawn and while listening to her answer, went to licking the spicy blood off the pads of his paws. If she waited around long enough, she’d end up enjoying a portion of the kill. Kynn was wasteful by nature, and with his belly this full, he wouldn’t have to worry about catching anything within the next few days. He smiled inwardly as he imagined all of the sleep he’d be getting. Ahh, that would be divine.