Everest’s attention shifts the instant the word is spoken, the sound of ball cutting cleanly through the layered focus he has been maintaining between Fern and the prowling shape outside, his ears snapping forward into sharp, perfect triangles as the rest of his posture adjusts a fraction behind it, tension redistributing rather than disappearing, his tail lifting high with only the very tip beginning to move in a restrained, anticipatory rhythm.
When Fern repeats it, when the request becomes direct and unmistakable, the decision is immediate. He turns and moves at once, controlled but quick, crossing the room to the basket tucked neatly beside the chair where his toys are kept in deliberate order, nosing it open with practiced precision before selecting a blue tennis ball from among the others, careful in his grip so as not to damage it as he carries it back.
He returns to her without hesitation, closing the distance and lowering his head just enough to place the ball neatly at her feet, releasing it with quiet exactness rather than dropping it carelessly, his gaze lifting to her face immediately after, posture attentive and ready, the earlier vigilance toward the window still present but now threaded with something lighter and something expectant.
When Fern repeats it, when the request becomes direct and unmistakable, the decision is immediate. He turns and moves at once, controlled but quick, crossing the room to the basket tucked neatly beside the chair where his toys are kept in deliberate order, nosing it open with practiced precision before selecting a blue tennis ball from among the others, careful in his grip so as not to damage it as he carries it back.
He returns to her without hesitation, closing the distance and lowering his head just enough to place the ball neatly at her feet, releasing it with quiet exactness rather than dropping it carelessly, his gaze lifting to her face immediately after, posture attentive and ready, the earlier vigilance toward the window still present but now threaded with something lighter and something expectant.
Your eyes they take no prisoners
But I'd love to be your visitor
But I'd love to be your visitor
