So pre-occupied was the man, and so believing that few would dare to tread through these unpleasant lands (after all, he had yet to see signs of another soul for quite some time, and he knew that many disliked places such as these, humid and dank), that he did not notice that he was being followed. The way his own hooves sloshed through the water, the way the mud from his hocks splattered against the ground, and the way insects buzzed about his ears in the environment that was a breeding ground for decay was enough to overpower both his scent and hearing to where he was unaware of his company. Even more so as his back was turned and eyes scanning the earth about him with great focus.
And as such, the nervous man did not even realized that he was within the presence of this land's ruler, which was undoubtedly good for his heart, weary despite his young age, although he could not shake the feeling of eyes watching him.
But that feeling was always a faithful companion, and so he thought little of it for the moment, disliking the sensation of eyes boring into his backside, yes, but accustomed enough to it to be more interested in finding his new resting spot.
Of course, he should have paid attention to the feeling.
Of course he should have.
"Can I help you find something?"
The question wasn't one that was meant to frighten, quite simple, truly. It was nothing more than what it displayed in its words. It meant what it said, no hidden implications or insinuations, a true, genuine, question. A casual offer of assistance from one more knowledgeable of the lands to one who seemed almost lost.
Of course, such things were well known to the man that the words were spoken to, the accented voice one that bore no ill will and was quite clearly one that the small stallion had no need to fear.
Unfortunately, logic rarely trumps emotion, now does it?
The man had been in the process of taking a step forward when the question was asked, jerking a little as he suddenly seized, forward momentum causing him to rock slightly before he stilled, forehoof held aloft in the air. His ears had shot to the top of his head in surprise, and everything about the young man was suddenly very, very alert. Very attentive to what was going on. Ears were listening, muscles were tensed and ready for action, and pupils were blown wide in order to better take in what it was that had surprised him so, to better view the situation.
The head that those copper eyes rested within suddenly snapped around, almost enough to make one think that the man ought to have gotten whiplash from the sudden movement. It was not hard for those eyes to find the source of the disturbance, so bright was the figure in contrast to the surroundings.
The first thing he noticed was not her smiling expression, nor that she was in fact a mare, nor her lovely coloration nor anything else that might typically be noted at first glance.
Instead, the first thing he noticed was how visible those muscles were beneath that cream coat, how rippling the tendons in her neck were as she shifted slightly as she breathed. How toned her form was, and the underlying confidence of a warrior and leader in her stance, an unknowing air of dominance. After that, his mind began to do two things at once.
One, was to begin to register all the other facts others would commonly notice when looking at her, how she was a mare, how she was smiling, how she bore a garment on her form that appeared to be made of fur of a sort.
Two, the casual notes his mind had initially made, just simply jotting down observations of how strong and fit she was, and how she seemed to unknowingly stand with something of a dominant air, one who was experienced as a leader of a sort, were slowly being more firmly absorbed into his mind, truly being registered. And the part of his mind that had made these notes, was responding accordingly and promptly beginning to whirlpool into panic.
Oh fuck.
Fuckity-fuck-fuck.
What had he been thinking? He shouldn't have come here.
Yes, these lands were more difficult to navigate, and therefore the likelihood of running into others here wasn't as great.
But that just meant that those who lived here would be able to catch him before he could escape due to greater experience.
Oh dear Vespera, what in the name of Tempus had he been thinking? He should have gotten out of here the moment he saw the lands, should have gone running for the fields and plains as fast as he could. There, he was exposed, true, but at least if a chase broke out, whether one lived on the flat lands or not didn't change how quickly you could run. There were no hidden details in a flat land so that living in the area could give you an advantage over strangers.
He was clearly trespassing on someone's territory, if the confident way the other was standing was any indication. Her territory. She seemed to be waiting for a response.
Oh fuck, how long had it been since she asked him? Would he be attacked for taking too long? If she was as confident in herself as she seemed to be (or was he just projecting? No time to figure it out!) then she would clearly be wanting a response as soon as possible. She would clearly expect to be listened to and to have her questions answered in due time.
He didn't realize his body had slowly circled around to be facing her completely, or that his ears and neck and lowered, and lips slightly curled in slowly progressing fear until he was suddenly made aware of his body once more as he tried to open his mouth to speak. The attempt was a fruitless effort, for it appeared his jaws had locked themselves into their current position, and he doubted he could speak anyway past the lump in his throat.
Oh Vespera, no, he had to relax his lips. If his lips curled back to far, his wolf and canine teeth would be on display, as though he were a snarling wolf. That would clearly be read as a sign of aggression and cause for confrontation! Oh gods no, relax, relax, you have to relax your mouth so she doesn't think you're trying to pick a fight.
Oh fuck, wait, he still hadn't answered her! Fuck, calm down, relax your jaw, try to speak, you have to speak, you have to speak! Give her an answer, she wants an answer!
His voice cracked horribly as he finally pried his jaws apart, the sheer force over his own painfully tensed muscles giving him enough control of his body back for the moment so as to croak out his breaking response.
"S-Sorry... J-Just looking for a place to sleep, I didn't mean to trespass."
His broken voice arced higher in pitch at the final words of his response, and he tried to force a smile of some sort to play it off. It undoubtedly failed horribly, given how his ears were still nearly flattened, his eyes were blown wide and flicking desperately from the woman to the surrounding area, looking for an escape route. But he still tried.
Points for effort.
@Rannveig
OOC: He's a spooked boy.
