The feel of the creature’s paws in his fur was distracting, but not bad. It was like the feel of the pups, first reaching out to him when they finally emerged from the den with their bitch, carefully moving their feelers through his fur, learning the shape of him so that they would always know to whom they owed their allegiance. This creature’s “feelers” were not as supple, but their motion and intent were the same. It was almost endearing, and when the thing began to lightly work at the vines cutting at his throat and body he let it happen.

There was a sensation of disconnect between the creatures in this village and the one that was now sitting next to him. His instinct told him that there was no difference between this one and the ones that had hurt him and had tried to entrap him, but that new thing that had driven him into that clearing in the first place told him that, just as there were differences within the Pack, there were differences within these creatures. The King could feel this creature’s intent, and it was nothing like that which had tried to ensnare him. Should it change the King would be able to react in a split second. The creature was within range of his feelers, and just a couple of them would be enough to entangle the creature and smother the life out of it. He wouldn’t even need to bare his fangs to kill this fragile thing.

Whatever the creature was doing, it seemed to be working. The bindings slowly fell away, and he began to breathe easier again. When all of the vines were gone from his neck the creature began to move along his body.

The King snapped at it the first time it tugged at the rope on his legs, startling the creature much more than he had intended to. The snap had been a polite reprimand, a reminder that, while the creature may be unbinding him, the King was still the one in control. It was the kind of snap one of his own pups would have gotten if its nearby playfighting had gotten a little too intense for comfort, not intended to harm, simply to remind.

After the snap the King settled back once more, apparently turning its attention away from the creature. He was not one to admit it, even to the one helping him, but the King, in that moment, needed the creature’s aid. There was no doubt he could have gotten the things off eventually, but it would have required hours of uncomfortable gnawing and clawing, and would doubtless have shed more than a bit of his own blood. This chirping creature had saved him much trouble.

When the last rope fell away the King remained still for a moment, relishing in the slight tingling sensation the absence of the ropes created. But the prickles quickly faded, and as soon as they were gone the King decided he was no longer content to stay in place. He stood up in a quick fluid motion, towering over the creature/pup, and shook, causing his fur to flare out in a bright halo. Then he stretched, pulling the tension out of his body.

It didn’t matter if the encounter at the village had failed. The King had done more than enough moping over the past several days. There may be a new thing in his mind that was changing the way he viewed the world, but it did not change the King’s basic nature. He was a creature of action. When something didn’t work, it was time to find a different way. There was no sense in attacking a creature that had already survived a fight, and no sense in exploring a place that had already been explored. if the King wanted answers to his question, he was going to have to find them somewhere other than the strange clearing.

Perhaps this creature/pup would be able to aid him. These creatures seemed to be a part of the thing that was different about him. their actions in the clearing had not been made of clear instinct, but had seemed to rather follow something that he still did not quite understand. If it was in all of them, it was likely to be in the creature/pup as well. Perhaps he could use that.

The feather-like sensors waved gently through the air, taking in a better impression of it. He took a step forward, one giant paw almost as large as the creature/pup’s head. It had gotten its chance to touch him, now he wanted his chance to touch it. The feeler flew out quickly, wrapping around the its chest and holding it in place. The feeler squeezed just enough to let the creature/pup know that it could not escape, but not enough to hurt it. The sensors followed along after that, running along its body with ghost-like touches.