Timid. That was strange. Refreshing even. Malina had come to notice that many pups simply seemed to be born with an innate entitlement to the world around them and, by extension, the wolves in it. It gave them a sense of superiority before they could even move fast enough to avoid a swift paw to the face. So, she had to admit she was a little surprised to notice the girl seemingly squirm beneath her gaze. Perhaps it had been one of the factors that motivated her to extend some kind of kindness to the girl besides from the obvious (to Malina, at least). Besides, she saw a bit of herself in the child and, frankly, Malina liked that. How could she not? It had taken her years to come close to appreciating herself and so, she was damn well going to do it.

She grinned and relaxed a little more when the girl seemed to ease up; she relaxed her muscles, sinking into herself and the stone below just a little more. That was, at least, until the girl suddenly seemed to stiffen up; it made a brow rise and her ears stand taller as the child recoiled. Malina made no move however and instead, she merely watched and leaned back and away slightly, offering the child some lenience and space while she composed herself. In any case, Malina wasn't quite ready to leave the girl alone or for her to leave, either. She had gotten curious now and so, she waited as patiently as she could.

When the girl's answer finally did come, Malina immediately noticed the hesitant nature of it. She seemed to evaporate before the woman's eyes, sinking more and more into the rock and shadow; Malina, though, chuckled and grinned to herself, clearly amused by the sentiment before she responded in kind. "Funny that," she laughed, easing into herself once more in an effort to relax the child again, "I've always been good at that as well. Picking fights, too." She mused for a moment, staring up at the sky as she mulled over her thoughts for a moment and then - with an ah! of realization - "And eavesdropping! I've always been good at that too."

She shrugged off her comments, rolling slightly onto her side and watching up at the girl. For whatever reason, nobody had seemingly let this poor thing know that her skills weren't exactly bad - every pack had a thief, a spy, some slither of a shadow with a dagger in hand. Well, maybe Malina ought to be the one to do say: "Do you have a name?"