Rising Sun Valley I'll go anywhere you want me

Malachi studied the girl from afar, allowing Scarlett the space to fuss over Linnéa to her heart's content. The cinnamon girl looked relatively intact, no broken limbs that he could see nor blood soaking through her fur. Aside from the burrs caught in her fur, she looked hurt more in dignity than in health, though he imagined she would feel the tumble come morning and likely in the days to come.

The boy quirked his brows at Scarlett when Linnéa scolded the woman with a reprimand of her own. Though he could see no signs of starvation on the white wolf, she was already of slight build, and that caused Malachi to take concern. As a child he had heard the tales of great famine, and though this winter had been kind, the dark season had yet to reach its pinnacle. So much could change over the next few weeks, and he couldn't risk any of his packmates neglecting themselves when decent prey could still be found. Though the leader decided Linnéa pleas were forceful enough without his own advice on top, he made note to keep an eye on Scarlett to ensure she did not ignore the youth's concerns.

Turning his eyes upon Linnéa then, he took her apology with a wry grin. "Sometimes the earth has different ideas," he mused, and a fleeting uncertainty passed his face before he rolled his shoulders and covered himself with a quiver of a laugh and a teasing glance. "I didn't know what you were, but definitely not something I wanted hurdling into my side."

His legs itched to keep moving, but he held himself with patience, hoping the girls would forget him enough that he could take a silent leave and slip into the night again. But Scarlett caught him, and this time with a prompt he couldn't deflect. Feeling his ears twitch back, the boy calmed himself before they could betray him, and he gave Scarlett a careful pause. "Don't worry. The Glacier will be fine." His forehead burned while he stalled. He wasn't keen on telling Scarlett or Linnéa he'd left without word, and so he searched for another explanation that would cover his rash predicament. Malachi paused a heartbeat before continuing, "But it's good I came across you here." His tongue felt dry behind his lips. "Something's come up that I can't ignore, but it will take me a number of days away from the Glacier to address. There's no reason to worry, but if you could keep an extra eye out for me while I'm gone, it would put me at ease until I return."