Moth was going to hover. She hated being hovered over. Sen was probably going to hover a bit too, maybe. She’d actually be lucky if she got one of the guys and not Moth or Everchime. Simply put, she had an easier time dealing with men than woman. It had always sort of been like that. Maybe she was projecting her mother’s indecency on Moth and the other women of Taviora, or whatever with that psychological crap she’d heard about, but it was just always so. She was good hanging out with the boys and, well, the younger girls weren't all horrible. At least they were easy to put in their place. But...

Oww...!

The dusty girl came to a halt almost as soon as she’d turned and begun walking down the narrow corridor, her right forepaw springing up from the ground in reflex as a sharp pain shot through her foot. Goddammit! She was battered, bruised, broken... Last thing she needed was a sharp rock wedged between her pads! Luckily, the thing wasn’t completely embedded and came out with a brisk shake of her leg, but still... Why the hell did Fate think she needed more wounds right now? At this rate, it would be a miracle if she made it home in one piece.

Caught up in her misery and self pity, Suomi had all but forgotten about how she’d left that boy to do whatever it is he was there to do in the first place. Die alone, weep in solace at his inability to be anything but an ass, follow her out of the cave... Which he was doing - following her. And she only cared to noticed the heavy thuds of his paws after he spoke up again.

”Much as I’d love to watch you walk away...” Suomi’s ears tightened their hold against her skull at the sheer audacity of his sexist remark, her teeth squeaking as they clenched tighter in her mouth. Could he be any more of a sleaze? If she wasn’t covered head to toe in lumps already, she would shoves those words right up his ass before he had time to continue, but honestly... She wasn’t feeling so well. Not well at all.

”You look like you could use... something.” Bravo. How eloquently put. ”You mean, medical attention?” Suomi snapped back with sarcasm, as if it weren’t already so ridiculously obvious what she needed right now. ”Because I certainly don’t need a babysitter or an escort and your bedside manner sucks, so why don’t you go screw. I could use a little less aggravation right now.”

She didn’t look back, not even a glance, but she knew he was still following her. If his heavy footfalls weren’t loud enough, there was the fact that she could feel the ends of their fur brushing slightly together now and then at the rear of her left flank. Normally, she might not have felt it, really - seriously, who notices something like that? - but when those follicles were embedded in painfully inflamed skin, swollen and sensitive, the barest of touch was emphasized. If he would just. Back. OFF.

He was only giving her enough room in the little, winding crevice so that they didn’t actually bump into each other. Which, honestly... That was the least he could do right now, bare minimum to not be a completely horrible asshole. Though he still was. An ass. She’d yet to witness any other personality trait.

Suomi, holding on to a small bit of futile hope that once they left the hole he might leave her alone, was content to give into the silence that fell between them after the previous exchange, but it didn’t last long. Out of nowhere, he was asking her if anyone would be worried about her. Really? ”What are you, some kind of serial killer?” she asked, her tone utterly disbelieving. ”Who asks that? Seriously?”

Despite the fact that her jeer could very well have been true, Suomi had discarded the thought before it had a foothold in her mind. It was just a meaningless phrase she’d thrown out there, nothing to take seriously... not in her mind. Besides, it wasn’t like this boy, who was probably the same age as her, could be a murderer. She’d know. She’d feel it. At least, she thought she would be intuitive enough to know. Regardless...

”I thought it was pretty obvious I was part of a pack,” Suomi continued, her voice grumbling a bit weakly as she fought to ignore the pain which was amping up by the second. ”If the medics don’t swarm me as soon as I get home, I’m sure Coza won’t hesitate to. They’re like that.”

Why she was even entertaining an answer, it was beyond her. Maybe she’d hit her head a little harder than she first thought. She did have a migraine creeping up. That would be lovely in about five minutes... not. Fate help this boy if he continued to prod her past that point. Battered or not, her meager tolerance for such shenanigans was just about run dry.