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His gaze was starting to drift off target again.
It was incredibly frustrating to not be able to see this woman. Was she making an obscene gesture or simply walking away? By this point even Hodr had realized how rude he was being, but he was much too strung out to care. He was countless miles from his parents, likely going the wrong way with an empty belly and caught in an impending snowstorm. And now this woman was giving him an etiquette lesson? He snorted, then wiped his running nose along a sturdy front leg.
He had better things to worry about than her hurt feelings. As Spieden began making predictions, he turned and started shoving through the snow. The direction was based on where Hodr expected the woman was standing. He set his back perfectly to her and started breaking a new trail. The yearling was certain this was not the same direction he'd been headed in originally. The crust over the snow here was a solid sheet, requiring more effort than before. The sound of fracturing ice was not loud enough to drown out Spieden's prediction. A pair of brown ears swiveled back to her, but he kept going.
Why should he stop and be polite? She'd already proven her lack of usefulness. Maybe if Hodr stopped and thought about it, considered the big picture, he would have realized she could help. Lead him to shelter or found him another pack. But, he didn't stop and was too upset to think ahead. Hodr couldn't see the sharp 90-degree angle his path had taken. He couldn't realize that, little by little, he was frittering his energy away in a useless search.