Neverwinter Forest gentleman prefer blondes but i'm not classically trained

There was every chance Mal would have just gone on by had he not heard the curse.  He had a few little routines and didn't waver from them too much -- mostly because he was pretty sure he'd figured out things to do, so going [i]against/i] the things he knew was kinda risky.  Well, not really risky, but it was more likely to throw him for a loop and he wanted to keep up appearances of knowing exactly what he was doing.

Spoiler: he was mostly guessing.

Either way, he froze.  Blinked. That was Markus, wasn't it?  He turned to investigate, taking a couple of steps in that direction, pausing again.  Sounded a bit more serious than a stubbed toe or something, but what if he didn't want anyone checking in?  Or something.  Hell if Mal knew.  His behavior at times was more befitting a hermit than a pack wolf, but mostly due to lack of education.  Whatever.  He could at least pass by, right?  Mal turned and wandered that way, careful and making sure to try to spot Markus first. 

And he did, calling out, Markus?  What's up?  The spotty yearling certainly wasn't being bold about it.  If it turned out he wanted space, it'd be easy enough to go elsewhere.