Neverwinter Forest blowin’ off my mom, i don’t wanna go home

To Mal, this all seemed so unnecessary. He didn't have any idea why Kratos (and now Zephyr) were fussing, though -- they knew each other? Well, that was weird. Uhh. You know what, deal with it later if he could.

Mentally, Mal was pretty off-balance. Moreso than usual. It wasn't a mess -- it shouldn't have been one in the first place. He didn't like the tension in the air. They were supposed to worry about those outside not the weird reactions of the wolves in his own pack. Zephyr's response seemed especially out of place unless there was some huge chunk of history he was missing. No.. Get them moving, that'd be better, get foreign dangers out of the equation. Even if he was unsure of himself there were at least a few things he was (kind of) adamant about, namely the fact he'd been willing to help before and still was now, I already said I'd help him -- them. So come along and you can share stories and catch up when we're away from the border. And Mal had his own questions. Once he could figure out what they were. And he wanted to see the pup -- his -- but at the same time didn't want to say much because the possibility had been something he'd kept to himself. And now suddenly, there was the whole peanut gallery. Whatever. Move. He took a couple of steps and looked back to make sure they were coming.

And assuming they followed, he'd head towards the sort-of-thicket he'd been staying in. The snow was clearer, and he wasn't exactly sure where he left it but that hare pelt that Hua had brought had ended up somewhere in there too. Not a den by a long shot (far too drafty), but an improvement to just being in the open. And even if they didn't want to cooperate, that was where Mal was trying to herd them eventually.