Each moment Pariah seemed to want to sink further and further into the stones she had fallen upon. Her ears pressed low against her skull, she just wanted to sink into oblivion. Malina had been her savior and she had learned much from her in the years she had spent in the mountains. But she had known it was her time to leave. Only to be shepherded back into the mountain range. It was as if fate was unaware of her intentions and as though it was determined to create a feeling of suffering panic. Blood red eyes closed and she tried desperately to steady herself. Breathing deep she opened her eyes again to see a wolf standing before her, answering her question to no one.

She looked away from her masked captor. If they could have, her shoulders would have hunched even more. The confidence Mirage had exuded seemed to have seeped away from her in her continued failure. Being trapped and her attempts thwarted at every turn, Pariah was sure she had been trying to make the right choice. When Samus explained the dangers to loners these days, Pariah was possibly even more determined to leave. She took another heavy sigh and stopped herself. She thought about what Malina would have said about this. Her disappointment would have been deep and it made the pup even more ashamed of herself. Her eyes closed yet again as she tried to process these thoughts and feelings. This time when she looked up at Samus, she tried to pull forth a new sense of determination. She would eventually escape her confinement and set out to do what she felt she needed to do, even if it meant remove herself from the presence of others.

I would have been okay. She said softly, her voice hushed and almost muffled against her paws. I could hide. And she could steal. It would take a lot more time and a lot more effort for her skills to become perfected. Pariah tried to think about what to say to this wolf, the one who clearly did not know what it meant to be stealing a demon such as herself. You don’t want me here. Trust me. Considering how when she had first been in the mountains she had survived off the scraps of others. Stolen from their dens and into her stomach.