The forest leaves crunched loudly under large paws,
It was time. She knew Skye was right in one thing - she needed to get out, and set things right. Even in the tribe the shaggy female grew up in, she learned early on that conflict should never be left unsolved; it only brought more conflict down the road. With a heavy sigh, that day she lifted her tired body, scars still visible under her matted fur, and made the trek to Denali's home. The large female never got to thank her friend for saving her life, nor the wolf on the horse, but amidst the bleeding wounds and the desperation to get away, Mala never caught the woman's name.
Shoulders tensed as her large nose wriggled at the scents of the pack - the pack that attacked her for wandering on the beach. Ears caught the sounds of waves not far away, but the giant female's path ran to the borderline of the beach, still hugging the trees and the shade of the forest. The sights, sounds, and smells of the place only made Malachi remember that awful winter evening of the attack, and she could almost feel the stings of the scars on her back leg and chest. The memory weighed the large creature down mentally and physically - so much so that the shaggy female had to stop for a moment to catch her breath.
It had been a while since Malachi made such a long journey, as she had kept herself holed up in her cave the moment she could get up and walk (or even limp) again. But there was a bear near her cave, now, as Skye had shown her (through her own, mirrored reflection), and Malachi had been cautious to be around it ever since. Presently, she shook her massive head, opened her eyes, and pushed on forward past bramble and bush. A clearing opened up, a small, circular area surrounded by trees, that fed the forest grass into the sandy beaches to the right. The large female stopped there, her head spinning with the memory of the attack, but she swallowed hard.
And - as was taught to her in her tribe - Mala opened her muzzle and sent a greeting call into the air for her small friend, and perhaps his mother. The thought of the black female made her shiver, unsure of what would happen if she were to greet the honey eyed creature. In what was supposed to be an attempt at a howl came a mix of 'HNNNGGG'ing and guttural growls. They came in a couple short bursts before Malachi went quiet again, eyes and ears alert to the open space before her.
"speech"