Although she had hoped to, she hadn't expected to meet him again. At least, not outside of the riverbed. There, she kept her distance and kept a close eye on him. It was odd, she knew, to be the one stalking him, as the roles were naturally supposed to be the reverse, but she couldn't help herself. The few moments they had spent together, regardless of how unpleasant they may have actually been when she thought of it all, had drawn her in and now she felt a genuine interest in the predator.

She had noticed, from her watch from afar, little things about him. How he moved, his postures, the way he spoke to his brother, or the panther that often accompanied them. She knew him now, his ways and his quirks, what amused him and what angered him.

So, with that in mind, she knew instantly the moment he spotted her out in the brush, she was in trouble. She knew she wouldn't be able to change his mind if he set it on killing her. She also knew that if he decided to hunt her, she would die. She was fast, but he was faster, and the weak always fell victim to the strong.

He paced in front of her, one corner of his mouth curled – though she couldn't tell if it was from idle amusement or sheer pleasure. She waited with baited from for him to do something, speak or begin the chase, anything as she ignored her body's natural urge to run. But, knowing him now, and all wolves like him, she knew if she ran, then he really would chase.

"I knew I couldn't get rid of you that easily," he muttered, still pacing in that horribly fluid manner of his. "I just knew it, that I'd find you again."

"I – it's a small jungle," she replied, hoping maybe some kind of quip would improve her chances of survival.

"Not really," he deadpanned, finally stopping in front of her. "And even so, you've been following me."

She blanched beneath her fur, swallowing hard as she stared up at him, unable to tear her gaze away from his. "I – I have not!" she defended quickly, knitting her brow together.

"Oh, please," he rolled his eyes, glaring down at her, "your stink hasn't left me since the first time we met. I'd know your scent anywhere." Before she could speak, he put a paw to her smaller body, easily knocking her onto her side and pinning her to the ground. "I can pick it up as easily as I can happen upon it."

His words made her tremble, and this seemed to amuse him, because Akru was suddenly sporting a grin as he held the quaking she-rabbit firm to the dirt with his paw. "That's right," he went on, and she had a feeling perhaps he was taunting her now, "if I wanted to, I could hunt you down just like that."

"...if you wanted to," Sakari dared to speak up, looking up to him with defiant, dark eyes. She let out a small gasp, trying to ignore the sudden bit of extra pressure he was applying to her smaller body.

"What?" he snapped, the grin turning into a bit of a snarl.

"You said, if you wanted to hunt me, then you could. B-but you haven't, so you can't want to," she said quickly.

This struck something inside of the Seeonee wolf, and all ferocity vanished from his features for a moment. How could he not want to kill her? She was a rabbit, mere fodder for him, and annoyance to boot. If anything, his urge to kill her should have been amplified, but now that it was brought to his attention, he had to admit it wasn't as strong as he felt it should have been. Was it because she had not been one to flee that night by the Blue Rock? Was it because she had gall enough to stand her ground, even now when they were far into the dense jungle and away from the safety of the river?

That could have been in, but he didn't dare admit it – not even to himself. He shook the thoughts from his mind quickly, and the snarl returned to his features as he stared down at the again-trembling she-rabbit.

"The Truce," he blurted out, and even if he knew it was a lame excuse, it was all he could come up with. "The Truce is still in affect, so no matter how bad I want to sink my teeth into you, I can't."

"B-but – " she started, brow furrowing again as she stared up at the wolf. Clearly, he knew she was easy game for him at the moment, so why was it he was using the Truce as an excuse? Quick as ever, she had to fight to keep her surprise and gratitude from showing, had to make him think she was none the wiser to his moral dilemma of sorts.

"But, what, rabbit?" he snapped down at her, gnashing his teeth for show. But whether it was for show or not, she still jerked beneath him.

"Nothing," she replied, and then glared as she pushed her way out from under his paw. "And my name isn't Rabbit! It's Sakari."

"Like I care about your name," he rolled his eyes, easing into a sit as he stared down at the smaller beast.

Her glare became sterner, which amused him. "Well, I just thought – "

"Thought, what? We're not on a name-basis," he informed her quickly, cutting her off half-way through her sentence.

"Then, what sort of basis are we on?" she inquired.

"The natural one," he snapped, and quickly leaned down and in, gnashing his teeth just inches in front of her face, which effectively caused her to stumble back and away from him. Once again, setting up a safe distance between them.

"W-why did you do that?" she nearly shouted, a front paw over her chest, as though that would calm her frantic heart.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Am I supposed to do something else with you?" he quipped, cocking his head to the side once he was sitting upright again.

"Y-you're horrible," she whimpered, and he took pride in the fear he was causing in her, reveled in the fresh scent of her adrenaline.

He shrugged one shoulder, that crooked grin sliding across one corner of his mouth again. "I like to play with my food."

"B-but you said – the Truce!"

"I never said I was going to kill you now," he pointed out, chuckling softly, inwardly. Though, he had to question if he ever would, or if this was all a ruse of some sort to maybe scare her away. Because some part of him did know that the chances he killed her were high, it was just the way things were; the Law of the Jungle. And another part of him, a small part he didn't dare acknowledge, didn't want it all to come down to that. She wasn't like the others, didn't cower in fear and run and hide from him, and he admired that boldness she possessed. He didn't want to be the one to destroy it.

"I'm saving you for later," he said after a few second delay, trying to make sure his thought process wasn't showing in the least. "When I hunt you, I want it to be the real deal. With no Laws or places that can keep you safe from me."

She suppressed a shudder. "Well, if that's how you want to play this game, then I'll be sure to give you a good chase."

He chuckled, the smirk evening out into something almost playful. "Good. I'd hate for it to be easy."

"Oh, it won't be," she assured him, trying to will up that bravado of hers. "I doubt you'll even catch me. I'm pretty fast, you know."

"We'll see how fast you are," he chuckled again, raising up to stand. This caused her to inch back, but he simply turned around, flicking his tail cockily in her face.

"What are you...? Where are you going?" she asked, watching as he started to walk away from her.

"Hunting," he replied, not even looking over his shoulder, though he did stop mid-stride, head lowered and eyes on the ground. He glared at the dirt and grass beneath his front paws, and found it hard to believe he was about to do this. But it felt right, and he was never one to deny instinct.

"Hey, Rabbit," he called to her, suppressing a laugh when he heard her sigh in aggravation. Before she could speak, he said, "my name is Akru."

Her frustration was gone almost instantly, and she stared ahead at him, wide-eyed, as he broke into a run. She wasn't sure how to take that, considering he had promised to hunt her once the Water Truce was over. She supposed, though, that all of the talk just minutes before had been just that: talk, to try and frighten her off. But why would he want to do that? Surely, he saw her as nothing more than food. It would make little sense for him to scare her away, when she was clearly such an easy meal. If she thought about it, she was practically giving herself to him with the way she followed him around.

But the facts were: he hadn't attacked her, had spared her life, even though he could have – and should have – taken it right then and there. By all rights, she shouldn't have been alive right now. However, she was, and she suddenly felt a rush of something warm and dangerous shoot through her.

She had gotten herself into a lot of messes in her relatively short lifetime, but this was, by far, the finest.