((ARGH it ate my first post--rewriting--))
Richard seemed to come back to himself the further he was pulled back from the boundary, until finally he shook his head and came back to his senses. "Oh . . . " he said, and clutched his temples. Realizing the trouble he was likely in, he tried to shoot the big man a disarming smile. "I knew it was off-limits, but as a woods guide I thought I should know every area of the forest, even the dangerous ones."
When the hard look failed to leave Chase's expression, Richard started to fidget slightly. "Uhh, well, I'm glad that if I had to get caught by somebody, at least it was you, Chase." He was old friends with the warden, and knew that although the man looked gruff on the outside, he had the heart of a marshmallow. He liked to put on a mean face to scare children, but in the end they were always laughing. Chase was probably just pulling the same trick here to intimidate Richard. He wouldn't really punish him.
. . . would he?
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