Duskfire Glacier across the universe

For clarity, Malachi's still a distance away from where you four are gathered.

When a woman's call sounded sharp on the evening air, Malachi did not hesitate to respond. Though the howl had not been directed at him, he found it within his responsibility to intercept the visitors at the border's edge, though a part of him still wondered at his right to do so now that Njal had returned to them. It felt strange acting as Alpha in his stead when the Northerner mingled among them again, but anyone could tell the man was not himself. The change upset the youth, but he tried not to dwell on the father's suffering as much as he had in prior days.

As he drew nearer the borderline, the youth caught sight of four wolves in wait, and he felt a stir of surprise. He'd only been expecting one. It was then he heard Danica's voice rise faintly from the cluster but, still pacing a distance off, he couldn't catch wind of her words. He felt unsettled then, as he had nights before when he'd met with her. But the boy continued forward at an even pace, setting his brow against the sensation he wrote off as paranoia and shaking his fur of the sudden discomfort. He could trust Danica. After all, Tuwawi had.