Neverwinter Forest wasting time on climbing hills

She held back the urge to flinch when he corrected her on his name; she'd do her best to remember the change, not wanting to upset him any more than she already had. The boy did have a point even if Ibis was too nervous to really focus on it. Their parents should have prepared them for the world, not just hidden them away in their secluded willow forest - but Ibis had gotten out of there, she'd been places, she'd seen things, just nothing on the level that Mal described. It made her uncomfortable to think about how dangerous the world might actually, truthfully be. Was she somehow luckier than him? Ibis had been to many packs and aside from being easily lost in the wilderness, she had not run in to danger. That did not discredit Mal's own situation - all that he'd been through to flavor his view of the world; that was valid, and just because Ibis was unfamiliar with the aspects he spoke of, did not make it any less valid.

Still, she did not appreciate the vitriol he levied her way. It hadn't been her intention to rile him up or call him out as a liar — but that's how he took her words, and it left a bitter taste in her mouth. Why did everyone always think she was so innocent, so vapid, so bland? Nothing bad had happened to her, sure - but her experiences, and her adventures, were just as valuable as Mal's! Right now she was full of apprehension about furthering the conversation. At the very least he had stopped yelling at her and seemed more peaceful, but she had to wonder how long that would last. What if she set him off again?

We are, she murmured in agreement to his statement about adulthood; although she didn't feel like an adult, and would never look like one either. Um... Do you... Want to talk about it? She offered, even though hearing about bloodshed and death was so far out of her proverbial wheelhouse that Ibis would probably have nightmares for weeks if Mal did share further. It sounds like you've been through a lot of scary stuff, and I want to understand better. You -- you don't have to talk about it if you don't want to though. But I'm here and so is Okeanos, in case you ever... y'know, want to.

That was all she could do, wasn't it? Offer to listen, even if she wasn't equipped to handle the truths he might opt to share. Ibis was coming to the conclusion that her step-mother might've been right about her: she was a soft, useless, air-headed little girl and that might never change. That gave her something new to think about.