Blacktail Deer Plateau tumble down

Bring up to present is good with me! (: I'm still trying to bring Malachi into character, so apologies for any weirdness xD

He felt the shift of the wind, the reverse ruffle of the breeze through his fur, and took the change as his cue to leave. One second too late. Before he had the chance to abandon his watch the girl turned and fixed her eyes upon the copse where he crouched in wait. Malachi buckled down again. A curse hissed in his ears, against whose voice Malachi furrowed his brow and steadied himself. His eyes darted to her parents before shifting back to her, who had no doubt scented him, but hadn't yet seen him. Which meant he still had time. If she turned away, maybe he could still steal off -

But of course she had to take a bold step forward.

No, go back! Internally he urged her to turn around, but to the world he remained a silent shadow. He cursed her pride when she instead called out to him with boisterous fervour, and Malachi bit his tongue. He should have left when he still could - but who was afraid of children? Vexed at himself, the young man shifted and took only enough time to gather himself before he slipped from the shadows to a patch of forest where the sun dappled the undergrowth and now lighted his mottled fur. He rested his icy gaze upon her, and prayed she wasn't the sort to scream in terror at the sight of a stranger.