Nevermore, huh? Malina gave a affirming nod at the name, her eyes passing down to the girl once more with the slightest hint of a grin. Forced at little, perhaps, and yet she had surely mastered looking natural by now. Whatever the case, she committed the name to memory - after all, the girl had been a princess apparently. An heir. That kind of information was important, especially if they were to discern the future direction of the pack based on her impressions. If she proved to be as insatiable as, say, her father... then it'd surely be able to predict just where Asteraia was headed. Still, she was just a child. She had time to mature and time to prove otherwise. For the time being, it was Tobias and Tick Tock that was the major cause for concern (or a lack of, if they proved to be as such!). Really, Malina had no idea what to expect of the girl. All children were... odd at best, after all.
She had to, though, pass a small laugh at Galileo's mention of the girl's brother's name - a sound? Well, it certainly made Malina's own brow raise, though she was fast to comment back - "Don't worry, I've heard names just as strange, if not a little stranger. It must be a Moladion thing, I think." She added a little wink, a playful one at that directed down to the girl. Though, really, she had no idea if the gesture would be lost on her or not. Who could really tell with children, anyway? Strange, strange creatures that they were.
His question, however, cut her short as she glanced back to him with a cocked brow, a quiet hm? cutting in beneath her breath. Ah, it made sense! She had an ah-huh! moment herself, having forgotten that she still wore the brunt of a prior pregnancy on her frame. She had always been so thin, see, that it seemed to linger on her longer than others at time. It took some time for her muscles to seemingly suck everything back in where it belonged. Honestly, it had been one of the reasons she had vehemently despised pregnancy for so long. It always made her feel ever so unappealing.
"Born the spring just gone," she replied with a gentle dip of her head, allowing a small grin of 'motherly pride' (as they called it) spread onto her lips, "just the two, though. This time around, at least. They're difficult to keep contained in a place like the mountains, though. I'm always afraid they're just going to... fall off some day."
She had provided more than she needed to, or at least she had done her best to allude to such a thing. Indeed, she had neither that fear nor the intention of ever worrying about such a thing: her children were smart, after all. Or at least, not clumsy enough to miss the blatant lack of rock in front of them. It didn't matter, though. She had opened a dialogue and now, she had the opportunity to begin asking some more direct questions rather than focusing on the important task of giving off the illusion of trust. Besides, she quite liked this boy. He seemed smart enough and pleasant all the same. Hardly one she had expected to meet.
As for the child? Nevermore? Well, she had to keep passing glances back and forth to her. The girl's behaviour has been a little... unusual at the title of princess, and that had grabbed Malina's attention. Though she had done her best to put aside the girl for the time being, she had now turned her attention towards her fully once more as she scrambled about. Favourite, too? That had made her brow tilt up towards Galileo with an almost mischievous grin. So, if that were the case, did it mean Malina had found herself one of the higher ranked members?
When the girl spoke of killing, however, Malina could really not help but be genuinely surprised. Well, she had been thinking about it after all. It was a tempting idea to remove the possibility of a scourge and yet, she had to have some compassion for a child that had yet to even begin walking any specific path. Still, it felt odd to hear it from her mouth. Malina passed a concern look to Galileo before she lowered herself slightly, this time addressing the child. "What kind of monster would kill a child, Nevermore?" She questioned gently, offering the girl a warm smile as she lifted herself up once more, though her attention remained focused on the dark child. "I think you would be quite safe, at least, if you took your friend with you, don't you think?"
With that, she turned back to Galileo, though her eyes lingered between Nevermore and he for some moments. It was, at least, a good introduction to the idea, no? The idea of having him, perhaps, return to Spirane with some of Asteraia's youth? What better way to begin observing them and learning about the way they were treated? Ethically questionable? Perhaps. But effective. And results were what mattered. Nonetheless, she had to be sure to make the best of the situation and so, she tilted her head and inquired in a related vein. "Does Asteraia have many youth? I have to think about my own children, you see. Just because I don't belong somewhere, doesn't mean they don't - and vise versa. It's part of the joys of motherhood, I hear."