Bitterroot Valley mary, mary, quite contrary

The guilty conscience of a snooper made Rickon start at the loud call of a shrill voice. His flinch turned into a whirl, where thereafter he scanned wildly for the source of his accuser's tone. The small barker had an equally small body, and his eyes did not find her until after she had moved enough to catch them. "Uh, huh?— well I was..." He realized several beats too late that he had been addressed by, and was answering to, a pup. Immediately, the lone wolf was put on edge. Not because he was afraid of the child, but more because he knew what often followed after unaccompanied minors: a savage and uncompromising parent.

What was he doing? "I was lookin' for something new," he tried neutrally, his eyes casually darting around them for the sudden appearance of an adult. As he wasn't going to approach the borders, and he especially didn't aim to move any closer to the girl, Rickon withdrew into a tall sit. There. Unassuming, right? "Any new things around here?"

Oh shit. Does she know what 'new' means? How old is she? How old am I? Is this even okay?! He tried to keep his face friendly and the internal panic internal.