Hoshor Plains Over Hill and Under Hill
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Ooc — Jennifer
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#1
All Welcome 
A hunt brought him farther than he normally roamed, and it wasn't even one that ended well.  No, Mal stood alone in the middle of the grassland, peering around for some sign of where the hare might have fled.  The one he chased seemed quite keen on going long distances in a relatively straight line but now in the thicker grasses it had vanished without a whisper.  He'd been looking for a sign or scent for a half hour or so at this point, more out of frustration that he'd lost the track entirely.  Chances were it went to ground in a hole he had missed.  But so it goes.

He squinted, looking for some sign beyond a breeze before finally giving up and turning back towards the forest.  He had a long walk ahead of him, and made a mental note that heading this far was probably a bad idea anyway.  He was still young enough that this was all a learning experience, but at least he could afford a bit of foolishness every once and a while -- he wasn't hurting or anything right now, it was just irritating.  Tomorrow, though, his paws would likely be a bit sore.  Gloomily, he prowled.
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Ooc — thalia
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#2
and behind him, prowled Isi. she hadn't meant to go far, but the distant figure out on the plains had lured her further, and now she followed at a distance, doing her best to remain hidden among the grasses. she was starkly aware, now, that there were twisted, depraved wolves outside their family circle, and was in no way going to make herself visible. but on the chance that he was one of the wolves that had hurt Drago, or merely interesting, she tagged along behind him - failing to realize exactly how difficult it was to remain hidden from a fellow predator on the shadowless plain.
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#3
Mal turned back at last, setting a path that would hopefully loop back one last time and maybe deliver his prey to him, but instead something else came to his attention.  He didn't see her at the moment, but he could smell her.  Something was kind of familiar about it, but Mal's memory of other people he didn't expect to ever see again was about equal to that of a goldfish.  That useless information was binned almost before he'd left Diaspora's borders.  Hell, had enough time passed that he'd even recognize the girl if he saw her?  Mal couldn't change his spots even if his attitude had changed and he'd maybe filled out a bit more, but kids grew fast, not that he knew -- he only knew that from the kid's perspective.

From the sort of begrudging surrender to the will of the world, he quite obviously changed in mood as he stopped in his tracks.  Mal halted, head raised, his nose twitching as he tried to find some sort of hint among the grasses.  Inquisitive, and because of the familiarity it made him cautious.  Maybe it was one of the freaks from the sea.  Or something.  He didn't exactly know many wolves.  I smell you, he sort of warned them.  If they were up to no good, he'd kick the snot out of them.  Not that he'd ever had to really fight other than to screw with that one idiot in the mountains, and he was pretty sure she'd been so aghast at getting chomped that the whole thing didn't count.  Bluff or not, he waited to see if they were going to respond or if they were really some no good creep.
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Ooc — thalia
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#4
oh, shit. she froze, attempting the channel grass and appear for all the world as if she belonged there, hunkering low and hopefully out of sight. salmon tongue darted out the lick her lips, mind turning as she considered. "I see you." she replied after a beat, "and smell you." she'd one-upped him there, and she was pretty sure that gave her the higher ground in this encounter. 

a moment passed, and then, "are you a fucker?" that was the word she'd come to associate with the type of wolf who would do to others what they'd done to Drago - it had been the word her father'd screamed on the mountain. she was aware that lying was easy - she supposed that fuckers did it all the time, but asking outright couldn't hurt, and she was sure she'd be able to tell if the stranger was the kind to attack pups. it was not a personality trait you could easily hide, she believed.
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Ooc — Jennifer
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#5
As she spoke his ears turned, then his head.  He was looking basically right at her -- or through her, at the very least it was the right direction.  But she seemed to be keen to stay hidden.  Chicken.  Sure, she had an advantage initially but the moment she opened her mouth, she kind of nixed most of it.  Sure, sound wasn't perfect but it focused his attention into the small area he had to pay attention to.  And it seemed Mal wasn't gonna announce her error to her if she couldn't figure it out herself.

But then she spoke again and that was a bit of a loop.  Wait what?  You know, in his limited experience in the world, he was pretty sure that word wasn't ever used that way.  He hadn't thought too hard about the age of the grass-creeper, but maybe it just made her sound pretty young?  If he paid a bit more attention to those fine details he'd probably find that scent or something would agree.

His own reply was kind of confused in that "why are you asking if the sky is green" kind of way, Uh.  No?  Maybe that was actually a lie?  It wasn't like Mal was well-liked.  Still.  if he thought he was bad at talking to people... Or are you trying to joke or something? Didn't really work.  Maybe she was making some kind of goofy face in the grass or something, but Mal's first instinct was to assume people were idiots.
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Ooc — thalia
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#6
he reveals that he is not, in fact, a fucker, though she remains out of sight until he asks if she's joking. Isi pops into sight then, scowl on her features. "no." she ascertains bluntly, getting a good look at the man of the first time. the oddness of his pelt is distinctive enough to warrant a flicker of recollection, which she chases until it turns into a memory.

"oh, you." she says, and relaxes slightly. he was the boy from the borders, the one who hadn't wanted to join but rather, was looking for something. someone? the memories she had of that single encounter were hazy, to say the least.
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Ooc — Jennifer
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#7
She was saved from being unrecognized only by the fact that he hadn't met too many wolves her age -- if she'd been an adult, he probably would have blanked entirely.  The fact that she recognized him was more of a clue that maybe he should search his memory a bit.  Still, this wasn't the place he was expecting to see her -- in fact, he wasn't expecting to see her at all.  Aren't you a bit far from home?  Mal wasn't scolding or anything, more confused at his own knowledge of the lay of the land.  Maybe he'd taken a particularly lengthy jaunt around the mountains somehow, but he was pretty sure the lake was pretty damn far away.  Another runaway like Cam maybe?  Maybe Mal himself should have done that earlier in his life too.  Either way, his opinion on kids that were far from what he believed was their home was pretty much "if they don't wanna be there IDC," though that was also likely because it's easier to not do anything.  Super responsible dude, right here.
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Ooc — thalia
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#8
"no," she answers again, shortly. "we've moved." she doesn't want to explain why or where, or drudge up any of that. she watches him in fickle silence a moment longer, and then, in an unusual display of interest in the lives of someone besides her family, asks, "did you find your sister?" 
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Ooc — Jennifer
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#9
Oh.  Guess that made sense.  Or something.  Whatever. Hopefully they didn't leave any of your family behind, he mused, irritated at his own memory.  That hadn't been the beginning of the end, necessarily, but it might have been the point of no return -- where he finally realized none of them gave a damn.  No, she probably had a couple of loving parents and everything was great.  Such was luck, he'd always be given the short end of the stick.

And then she asked another question.  There was a that slight pause as he sort of squared his jaw.  His response was properly standoffish, No.  They're gone.  Put quite a damper on his plans.  He was alone, completely, utterly -- just a few hangers on that pitied him enough to stay around.  They'd probably leave too.