He stood in the doorway. The frozen steak made a thud as he threw it in to the yard.

"No cutlery? Not even a plate? Think I'm some kind of stray dog?" Somehow the thoughts carried the air of a bark.

"I- I didn't think."

"Guess I'm not far off from one, nowadays." The piece of meat crackled as he tore in to it. He ate it in three large bites.

"Any more?" It asked.

"We have some chicken defrosting in the fridge. But my sister was going to cook with it tom-"

"I don't care. Go get it." It demanded.

Clint crept through the house. Meg was snoring on the couch. Throwing raw meat in to the yard would be difficult to explain.

The creature caught the breasts mid-air.

"I missed this. Good, human, food. I was growing tired of squirrels and chipmunks."

Clint didn't say anything. A temperate gust hit him. He shivered and stepped out in to the yard, closing the sliding door behind him.

"If you're not a hallucination. What are you?" Clint asked.

It finished the last piece of meat and sat down. The slender hind legs crisscrossed. Both forelegs set on the grass. The moonlight shone off the lighter parts of its coat. A somber glare fell on its features.

"I don't recon you know me. People used to. Not anymore."

"Do you have a name?" Clint asked.

"Hue-" The thought stopped mid-word.

The creature looked up at the moon. The breeze furled its hair.

"Coyotl. Coyote. Kayot. Whichever one's easier."

"What are you?" Clint asked.

It stopped it's moonlit pondering and looked straight at Clint.

"Why don't you answer that for me." It said.

"A coyote?" Clint asked.

"In a sense. An old one at that. Asking me what I am is the same as asking the sole pine where it came from. There may be an answer but im too far removed from it to tell you what it is."

"Are you going to curse me?" Clint asked.

"I'm still considering it. I may if you keep asking so many questions. But my stomach is full and im content. For now."

Coyotl started walking back towards the garden gate.

"Get more meat. I'll be back tomorrow."

It pushed the gate open with its snout.

Before leaving the yard it turned its head and added, "We've already established a linkage. You won't need to add Coyote hair next time. Spare you the trouble."

Clint felt the heat returning to his body. He hadn't even noticed how cold he'd gotten. He let out a shudder and sat down. He sat still for a few minutes. The only movement; the wind trying to carry his hair off. A small sob escaped. The fear was barely starting to dissipate but he knew it wouldn't fully leave.

He headed in to the house. It took too long to fall asleep.