Neverwinter Forest dragged back, away

Mal had kept to himself the last week or so. Well, himself and his son -- and daughter now too, while Miriam was away --  with trips to ensure all were fed, borders were marked, but he didn't want to see people beyond that. He just wasn't ready, even if as days went on he was doing a better job at keeping things together. Why did Cupid have to die?

But that wasn't a question that was going to be answered any time soon, if ever. The world was just a jerk, end of story. So he was winding his way from the heart of the territory to the edges when he spotted a shadow that seemed slightly familiar coming out of the trees in front of him, but it took him a moment to place it. Tzila, was it? He hadn't noticed her when the pack had arrived at the borders, but then again, most of his attention had been focused on low-key (was it really low-key?) flirting with Hua at the time.

Mal's moods had been shifted several shades darker over the past week or however long it had been now, so his relatively blank expression shifted into a slight frown as he canted his head. She'd done a good job hiding out in his own forest. He was certainly not a social butterfly today.