Subversive clues resided in posture more than the voice; Cora's twenty years as a wild thing at the forefront of her life cued her into the most subtle of gestures and appearances; lessons learned and never forgotten, now woven into her nature like rusted metal. The stranger's stance took the edge of suspicion off, though it hadn't disappeared completely. Nor did a touch of caution that always accompanied strangers.
Especially strangers who were at least a foot taller than her. Handsome as he was, his scent screamed Beast more than many other species she'd come across in her many years--and Cora had come across too many to count.
Still, his congenial pleasantness was genuine, and deserved a response in kind. He meant her and her kin no harm, for now. She would speak with him, but that didn't mean he was getting past her just yet.
"There's always something to interrupt here," she responded with the slightest hint of a smile on her lips. "Were you looking for something--or someone?"