Workin' Down the Crick
04-05-2018, 06:16 PM
The answer she gave wasn't one he'd expected. He'd expected a child's response. Perhaps something to do with imaginary foes or obstacles, maybe a hideout where she could jump out and scare others. But no, she'd responded matter of factly and with a surprising amount of maturity. The den had been too small so she'd found a way to fix the problem. That showed initiative. For one so young it was promising. Before he could respond the girl disappeared down the tunnel she'd constructed. She didn't give a reason; just simply looked him up and down and took off. Malleus eyed the tunnel skeptically. Was it something he'd said? His gaze flicked to the water around him. Maybe he'd been wrong about her maturity. Maybe any second now she was going to launch herself out of the reeds at him just to mess with him. A few moments later Malleus was forced to admit that he'd been wrong as the girl reappeared in the tunnel. Not that he was going to complain. With her the girl had brought the very things he'd been after. "Ah yes, " he rumbled happily, "those are what I was after, thank you." She'd picked many of them roots and all, and those are the ones he needed. Quickly he shimmied back onto dry land. He wasn't going to brave the leech infested water any longer than necessary. The girl had done him a favor. As for who he was... "I'm Malleus. And yes, we're family." It was unlikely that some loners had taken up residence here without the pack knowing and he was sure he'd know of any recently taken slaves, so who else could she be besides family? "I bet we're cousins of some stripe. What's your name?" |