Well, he supposed he would be confused too if he went to greet someone only to be met by someone who acted like a frightened predator backed into a corner. Fortunately for him, he'd never had to deal with that sort of situation. If he had, he probably would have just turned tail and ran. That was unfortunately because he was always the one acting like that, not anyone else.
His eyes were trained on her form, and so he saw each twitch of muscle fiber through her skin, saw the way she tried to make herself seem non-threatening. A distant part of his mind appreciated the consideration.
Her ears tipped forwards a little as he spoke, her head tilting as though she was the one confused, not him. Well, maybe they were both confused, then. He couldn't help that she startled him and he didn't catch what she said. And he supposed that his violent reaction was enough to confuse anyone.
It certainly wasn't normal, in any case.
"Sorry,"
That... was not what he expected to hear.
He had been expecting her to question him more, to press for the information she had wanted. He hadn't expected an apology.
What did she need to apologize for? He was the mess here.
"I didn't mean to scare you."
...Oh. He felt the frightened snarl slip off a little as he blinked in mild surprise.
He wasn't used to people apologizing for scaring him. He wasn't used to someone else taking the blame for his problems. He was more used to them just pressing on without a care.
It was... new.
It was... nice.
"I just... are you lost? Injured?"
He was far from lost, this was his home. As to injured...
His gaze momentarily flicked down to his hurt hoof, and he flexed it slightly, before he forced his vision back upwards, not wanting to give it away. Although if she was asking, then she must have already noticed.
Fan-tastic.
"I can leave if you want."
That was also new. He was used to people coming up and deciding to insert themselves into his space and life, not giving an opening to get away from it. He wasn't used to someone recognizing that maybe, just maybe, he didn't want company.
But... he had confused her too, and he knew his reactions were so nonsensical in their over-dramatized manner. She at least deserved something of an answer, for being considerate.
"I... I live... here."
He glanced around with the word 'here', indicating the swamp as a whole with his eyes. He didn't mention anything about his hoof, or answer her final question, not really sure how to respond to being asked if he wanted someone to leave. Instinctually he wanted to scream 'yes!', but she was the first person to ever ask him that, and so a part of him wanted to answer 'no'.
He just didn't know what to say, so he didn't say anything.
"I was just... walking."
He hadn't really been doing anything, so he tried to answer as honestly as he could. Because hey, he had been.
@Israfel
