Blacktail Deer Plateau Social Casualty

Oh Scarlett, the poor girl ):

But Malachi was alone, and he held himself steady even in the presence of Scarlett's visible fear. He couldn't tell what ran through his old packmate's head, but her response was enough to make Malachi question his decision to meet her. His heart twisted when she recoiled, but he refused to let guilt steer him again. That had led him into this mess, and he would no longer listen to every direction it gave. But what rose instead to take guilt's vacant place was the icy burn of anger, not at Scarlett, but at the shadow of suspicion in her voice. No matter how justified she was in her mistrust, he loathed he had become a thing of dread for her. He bit his tongue and said nothing when she questioned him, not trusting his words to carry without the irritation he felt at himself rising inside.

Only when she pointed out his unwarranted presence did he speak, and the control of his voice surprised him. "I know," he said, and found himself dancing on eggshells again. He couldn't forget the fire in the snowy queen, and wondered briefly if it would be rude to simply turn and leave before he wrecked something else. "Your voice surprised me, that's all." He paused, considered, then said, "But what are you doing here?" It crossed his mind for a fleeting second that perhaps this was her home, too, but the land held none of her scent, and he wrote this quickly away.