Red Fern Forest I won’t back down

The tension of the situation was slowly starting to dawn on the wide-eyed pup. She didn’t understand why, but her mother seemed angry, teeth flashing at Malien, who’d gone almost limb, staying in place rather than come to greet Woya, as the other adults would normally do. Murky eyes flashed back and forth between the two, noticing the stark difference in their postures, though she did not fully understand what it meant. At least, not until the adults exchanged words. The silver man spoke in a very different tone than he had to her, and Woya answered in a voice that made her daughter shiver. True, she had never been on the receiving end of her mother’s anger, But Apolline could still sense the threat, now that all her attention was focused on it. She just didn’t understand why. Eyes wide, she looked from her mother to her new friend, her wagging tail finally stilling as a small whine escaped her throat. She’d been so excited to explore and didn’t at all understand how the situation had suddenly turned so sour. Thoughts ”Speech”

He had hoped Apolline would come to the rescue of the kind stranger she'd found, but - no. Her mother's irritation is a palpable thing, a tense, prickly aura needling its way through his fur to his skin and pressing, pushing, telling him to fuck. off.

Is he going to, though?

Hmm. Nah.

And good thing hope and expectations are two different things. He gives Apple a soft look, the slightest wag of his tail, as if to say, don't worry, it'll be alright- because somehow, it would. Tonight, safe and sound in their den, curled up and warm, it would be alright. Malien would (most likely) be long gone, a lesson learned about strangers and borders, and, well- he was sure even the mother's wrath would melt in time. It came from a place of love, right? That anger and worry? At least, that's what everyone's told him.

He dips his head a little further as those teeth come out. Bah. He throttles the urge to snort. "You're the first pack I've come across in a bit," he responds, half-expecting her to come at him for daring to take her offer seriously. The uncanny edge in his voice is gone, and he just seems curious. "Perhaps you could tell me where I've ended up?"

Of course he was going to keep talking. Woya had to fight her own urges as well, the first being to roll her eyes. A wolf of the moment, it did not matter to her what kind of personality he maintained behind those pyrite eyes. What she wanted was to get her daughter home where she was safe, and to handle this problem of elopement without a stranger's eyes and unpredictable influence. Making himself an obstacle to this now cemented himself on her shit list.

"Relic Lore," she answered, tone just as clipped as before, "and way too fuckin' close to my home."

It was the last 'hint' he would get to move along before Woya began to toss consequences at him. Her stature was not a match for his, but @Adelard's would be.

Even though she didn’t understand it, Apolline could sense the fight brewing, her skinny tail slipping between her legs as wide, anxious eyes followed the adults’ conversation back and forth. She wanted to intervene, defend her friend – who hadn’t even done anything wrong as far as she knew – but the brusque tone of her mother’s voice kept her silent. She’d never heard her sound like that before, and it was scary. Malien at least seemed as friendly as before, even sending her a comforting look before answering Woya’s question with his own. But the leader remained dismissive, the sound of her words making the meaning clear to the pup, even if she didn’t understand the words themselves. She couldn’t help but shake her head, confused and starting to get angry too. Here she was making new friends only for her mother to come along and chase them off! If she hadn’t been so frightened of that sharp tongue being turned on herself, she might have even spoken up. As it was, she could only send Lien a sad gaze, hoping he understood that she hadn’t meant for this to happen; I’m sorry…! Later explanations might help her to understand Woya’s reasoning and sympathise a little with her situation; but Apolline would never forget her mother ruining the first friendship she’d ever made. Thoughts ”Speech”

Well. This wasn't going to go anywhere productive at all (unless you were spoiling for a fight, which Malien almost never were) so he might as well cut his losses and follow her unspoken advice with as much sass as he could safely get away with. He sighs. This is stupid, all of it.

"Yeah, yeah," he goes, ears sweeping forward again and tail rising. Fuck you too. He begins to turn away, pauses for a split second to meet Apolline's sad eyes. His soften again, a faint smile rippling over his face. "I'll see ya around, Apple."

And with that he's gone, as quickly as needed to not get bitten in the ass, and as slowly as possible to provoke.

[ Mally out! <3 ]

That pissed her off, the stranger managing to press several of her buttons at once. Woya's gold eyes widened and her lips drew back with menacing intent, a low growl warning him. I'll see you around ricocheted inside her skull and she shot forward, snapping after tail and hocks to send him scampering rather than prancing off.

The anger had her shaking, and she had very little to say to her daughter in the heat of the moment. She only bid the girl to follow as she stormed her way back through the territory. This Malien would now be communicated to the other adults such as @Isomne and @Wrynn as a threat that was to be attacked on sight if he really did try to revisit the area.

When she was certain she could control her tongue again, she would strive to explain to Apolline the kind of danger she had put herself in, and why despite seeming perfectly nice the wolf she'd found was very untrustworthy.