A lean ginger form raced through the scattering of trees. He snapped twigs carelessly with his big white paws and caught some of his undercoat on a bush, but he didn't care in the least. He galloped through the fringe of woods for the fun of it, for the feel of a wolf that didn't have to read on the street anymore, at least for a while. When he got lonely, the city wasn't all that far away. He didn't have to face starvation like the actual wolves in the forest, or have nightmares about the hostile beasts that left big paw prints in the winter.
Nakkura dashed out into the meadow and leaped over a fallen log. He skidded in the grass and fell down among the green vegetation, rolling in the dirt. As he lifted his head, laughing, he could catch a whiff of something unusual on the breeze. He'd run into quite the assortment of odd beasts before, so he didn't panic. Instead, as usual, the canine was intrigued.
"Who's there?" he barked, tail wagging as he army-crawled through the grass a couple of feet. He got up and shook his dusty coat out before bounding through the grass.
He'd finally recognized the odor of a horse. From prior experience with the beasts of burden, he knew to keep a safe distance. He'd been nearly kicked far too many times by the creatures, even with people riding them. Peeking his head above the grass, Nakkura twitched his pink nose and then stared in surprise. "What's wrong with your forehead?!" he asked, shocked, as he darted through the grass toward the creature. He'd seen a Pegasus before, no big deal, but there was this thing coming out of its head. He crept forward to get a closer look, blue and brown eyes huge, abandoning all prior discretion.
