Hushed Willows if we never make it back to california i want you to know i love you

Mali was still searching even as darkness set in since I think theoretically it should be evening by this thread maybe.  Obviously he wasn't having much luck, but he was still giving it a go because the other options were worse.  He still met the other children and their mothers with snarling words and shows of dislike and was bluntly going to refuse to be folded in to their group. There had to be something else.

His father's call was his salvation, and Mali barreled through the unfamiliar landscape in that direction. He showed up a little after Lily, barging in and interrupting anything that might have been being said, Where were you! Are the others with you? This is dumb, we need to go back and wait for them!  He was angry, tired, frustrated, and probably a whole other array of emotions, but none of them were good.