Neverwinter Forest harold...

Mallaidh does not mind the few days staying in the forest. It gave her more than a few restless hours of sleep a night and each day, she feels better. Eske did not lie when she said she would be fed and even if she doesn’t get four square fine-dining meals a day, she’s able to rebound relatively quickly. Her ribs show and her waist is still tucked but she doesn’t look like she’s going to disappear into thin air if she doesn’t eat right away.
 
The entire day isn’t spent with them but the girl doesn’t go far where the wolves have set up camp. She tries to make contact with one of them that she’s slipping off for a little while but occasionally she gets away unnoticed. Each place she goes has a purpose and she follows the trail she’s made over the last few days to the stream south of their home base, quenching her dried throat. Mallaidh licks away the water collected on her muzzle before shaking out her fur and settling down on the cool forest floor.

 she still doesn't believe it, her kinkajuú back and not angry, and what manner of blessing has been bestowed upon her pretty red crown because she doesn't deserve it, oh no. and now that she's back with her beautiful girl she'll never leave her aside again, except maybe just a little bit, just a little bit of wanderin' because it's in her blood and as long as she stays close it'll all be just fine. or at least that's the lie the diva tells herself until the next time she hates herself a little more for it.

but the forest is so lovely and deep, and so close by. and really she'd've come right home but, but, there's someone nearby and the curious witch dances closer, spotting the tiny black shape by the river. a child, definitely-definitely, and so scrawny, it tugs the starlet's heart strings, almost enough to not want to wake her but not quite. "oh," witchbaby breathes, a vision of red loveliness under beams breaking dense branches, "are y'okay, dear one?"

Mallaidh has gotten used to sleeping lightly, even in the presence of her new company, but she does let her guard down a little too far. She forgets there aren’t four other capable wolves around her and so she can only hear the bubbling stream not too far from her sleeping position. After that, she does not hear the crunching leaves across the way. When she hears the voice, she instantly jumps to attention and her head shoots straight up. Her ears fall back against her head and she blinks back her temporarily blurred vision to find the wolf in the distance. Her fur bristles at the back of her neck and she glances over her shoulder to see if any of her new friends have already quickly come to her rescue, as Etoille had the other day.

When she realizes no one is there, she shifts her weight, turning her eyes back over to the stranger as she slowly takes a step back.

of course the witchy-coy is mid-step into the stream when she sees the girl's reaction, and she pauses in the water, ears back. "oh, oh, it's okay," plaintively she cooes, a rather silly looking starlet with wet fur exaggerating long limbs. "i ain't gonna hurtcha - sorry for startlin' you there," witchbaby adds sheepishly, offering her brightest crooked grin as a peace offering. "my name's witchbaby, i just wanted t'check on you." 

she can't quite smell the other wolves present yet but even if she had the oblivious girl would be no less deterred, still a step short of that blasted thing called self preservation. but from her perch in the stream she does not move yet, fearful of sending the child running off into the woods - oh, no, maybe she's afraid of coyotes, and that's the problem, but then, oh: opportunity for a little cross-species friendship, 'cause it's so silly how wolves get around her sometimes. "can i cross over?" she asks, ears back up and still smiling - even with a wag of her tail or two, eager to show she's not threat but potential friend.

The other doesn’t come any closer, standing in the water as she realizes she needs to keep her distance. Mallaidh looks her over, then to the width of the stream and, one more time, over her shoulder. Witchbaby—what a weird name—promises not to hurt her and instead wants to check on her. I’m fine, she thinks, narrowing her eyes but Witchbaby still stays in place. It isn’t until she’s prompted with a question that she feels she can even remotely trust the other won’t hurt her and so, she inhales a deep breath, and nods her head. Though even with permission, the starving girl take several steps back to keep the distance between them.

it takes a lot to not bound across the rest of the way, impatient as the starlet is, but her grace is rewarded finally with a nod and she climbs out of the water onto the shore, shaking off her fur. "thank you, darlin'," witchbaby sighs, dropping to her haunches rather than push her luck and approach too quick. she has noticed the distance newly put and now she can smell the others nearby but they are not interesting like this starved looking child is. "guess you ain't travelin' by your lonesome?" she wagers, head tilting. "still, you ain't lookin all that--" -- it occurs to her that she's probably old enough to take offense to witchbaby's thoughtless words, and the coywolf laughs, unashamedly switching dialogue -- "well, so long as you got folks lookin' out for you. say, what's your name?" that the girl hasn't spoken has not gone unnoticed but it doesn't occur to her yet that there may be a deeper reason for her silence - and like the lion-boy in the quarry getting the stubbornly silent to speak is one of her favorite games.

The other finishes the distance of the river before she plops down and doesn’t offer anymore advancement. Mallaidh eases up some, slowly allowing all four feet to plant firmly on the ground except the tippy toe touch she’d been standing in to flee if she had to. Everything else freezes in place, even as the other girl speaks and asks her a couple of questions. None of them are any she moves to answer right away, her eyes occasionally flicking away from the stranger to her surroundings. She licks her lips after a quiet moment, slowly letting her rump touch the ground but her knees remain in tight springs.

the girl does not run which witchbaby takes for victory, but she does not speak either and the red coy huffs slightly. "you ain't speakin' cause you cant or cause you don't wanna?" she asks, then pause, "though i guess you ain't gonna answer me on that one either, sooty baby?" hm, no, sooty was not quite the right word for the girl's coloration, was it? she hums but cannot think of an alternative and so lets it go, head still tilted as she watches the sprite for a moment before trying: "hey, ya wanna play a game?" pink eyes bright in the warm dark embrace of the trees as she drops into a playful stance, tail wagging.

A puff of air escapes her nose quickly, whether a laugh or scoff is hard to distinguish. Sooty baby. Perhaps it is a common thing to add baby to names and keeping her from becoming offensive. She knows she is young and incapable but she has managed this far without help only until recently. She certainly isn’t a baby.
 
She isn’t forced to answer any of the questions and her eyes drift away slowly, flinching only when the other makes a sudden movement and asks her to play. She thinks of Seri and her insistence to play though she left her hanging. Mallaidh never saw her again.
 
The younger girl does not get into any position to play but her eyes do widen and she sucks in a breath, spinning on her heels and dashing off in the opposite direction with purpose. It isn’t far that their camp is, nor far from where Eske found her originally, but she quickly locates what is left of the fox corpse: mostly skeletal. It only has three legs left but the meat and organs are all gone. She drags it back with only slightly difficultly and one stumble when she steps on the tail and is thrown into the ground.
 
When she finds Witchbaby still there (only a few minutes later) she drops the kill with a heavy breath, taking one end and shaking it with vigor, growling all the while.

  
 for a moment she's crushed, watching the girl speed off - not for any reason so selfless as genuine wanting for the girl's time, but because the game is over and the starlet plays to win. but something in the way the girl took off keeps her rooted for just a moment more and a moment's all she needs because she can see that inky form returning, disappointment immediately transformed into excitement.

"wassat?" she asks all wicked-crooked grin, but it's a question that doesn't need an answer, pink eyes fixed on the skeletal remains of the - whatever it is she doesn't bother trying to guess. from the growling and the girl's posture besides witchbaby knows what's up, and she eagerly fastens herself to a free leg and gives a firm tug, her own playful growls nearly a cackle as her beet-red tail lashes behind her.

Witchbaby gives her only one question but it does not stop her. Mallaidh doesn’t have to drop and try to explain before her new friend picks up one end and begins to shake and tug too, encouraging her with growls that match her own. Her jaws clench tighter, holding onto the bone and tugs, pushing her front legs as anchor and her back legs as force. She can hear what little muscle and tendons are left tearing, stretching with each pull and threatening to snap somewhere delicate. Another rumble rolls from her chest and out her throat, snapping her head one good time into a shake until something, or someone, gives up.

 witchbaby loves to win but this is not her game - getting the child to talk is (or, well, respond, maybe she ain't talkin for other reasons and all), and the starlet is doing wonderfully on that front as far as she's concerned. bones clack between her teeth, her playful shrieks muffled into giggles, and when she meets the dusky girl's snap the carcass gives between them with a groan. the ruby angel cackles, snapping down around her spoils, one rendered leg, the rest left with the smaller girl. "reckon that makes you the winner," she says, but around the tender bone it comes out r'ck'n't m'ksy'ner, and she grins and dances with her prize.

There’s a lot more force behind her pull than she realizes and so when the fox’s leg snaps at the hip, she stumbles back so much that her front end comes off the ground and she plops roughly on her rump, the kill still securely between her teeth and drooping against her haphazard form. A grin of victory spears across her features but when she looks up to see she doesn’t have the whole thing, she drops what she’s kept to watch the other prance around with her own prize. Mallaidh’s head tilts a little to one side as she eventually stands back up, moving her nose down to the carcass and nudges it forward to give to her new friend should she want it.

she laughs as the smaller girl tumbles, still dancing with her well-won leg, but she drops it when the dusky thing offers the rest of the prize, pink eyes surprised. "aw, thanks ya, but y'won it fair an' square," witchbaby grins, nudging it back toward her. "i'll hold onta this one as a memento - or maybe a gift for my girl," she says thoughtfully of her prize-leg -- then laughs at herself, wondering what kinkajuú would think of being given a single leg bone as a gift - it certainly isn't a pretty shell or feather, but witchbaby finds the whole thing quite charming.

Her new friend does not take the prize and she offers a quiet whine and wrinkle of her nose when it is returned. She glances down to it and slowly pulls it back as she listens to her reasoning. The other is happy with the one she has, wanting to take it back to her girl. Mallaidh narrows her eyes a little with a slight tilt of her head and flop of her ears, though she does not voice the confusion. She licks her lips instead, straightening out her posture to pull the fox back in her direction.

of course it does not take much to prompt the scarlet witch to talk about her beloved, so the slight twist to the girl's expression is more than enough - besides, she wants to smooth out that lingering hurt. "oh, oh, she's my," she pauses, voice catching on the words she wants to say but can't, not really, "-- beloved, special person," the girl settles on with alaugh. "i ain't really ever said this out loud, but - i think i only like girls," she admits - maybe fairly appropo of nothing, but she suspects this silent child is a fair prop for such a confession.

Her expression is enough to trigger an explanation and Mallaidh listens as she fumbles over the right words. She does offer her a secret and her ears cup forward, wondering if it is because she has not yet spoken but it does not prompt her to speak still. She has questions, though, as her mind begins to rework previously defined ideas. I think I only like girls. Her experience in romance is nonexistence but she never had place for her growing desire. She is young still and her interest in another has never grown more than a sibling, or friend, but this information seems to change things that she doesn’t really know what to do with. Mallaidh clasps her teeth together and locks them lest she dare speak a question when she is not ready and, instead, saves it for a later time. Instead, she offers Witchbaby a smile and brief shake of her tail in her geniune expression of happiness for the stranger.

 she doesn't feel lighter persay but there is a bouncing in her chest, because it is nice to say it out loud even for just her own benefit. and speaking of her lady-love -- she's best to make haste, afraid of leaving kinkajuú alone for too long again. "pretty night angel, this has been fun," witchbaby chirps, and picks up her leg bone once again, "but i should get goin'. let's play again sometime!" 

Pretty night angel.
 
Mallaidh ears flutter upon her head, thinking about the names her mother had for her. Stinging develops behind her eyes and she flutters her eyes, nodding, and taking a step back. The other picks up the prize she’d won from their little tug of war and dances off with it and she watches the wispy thing disappear in the think of the forest. With her mind filled with questions to a new problem in her head, she looks down to the fox carcass but she does not pick it up. Instead, she turns around and retreats back to little group’s home base.