Where wolf? There wolf!

[Grace Harper]

As she hurried home from her accidental Rendez-vous, grace quickly straightened her clothing and ran her fingers through her hair. She never wore makeup or jewelry, so she didn't have to worry about anything like that, at least. Still, she couldn't help feeling like her brother was going to know exactly where she'd been and what she'd been up to. She'd have to be careful not to lie--she was terrible at it, and he'd know in an instant.

Ooh, she really should have thought this through. But how was she supposed to when Inigo was looking at her with those eyes… She actually sighed like a lovesick teenager before she caught herself. She'd have to avoid that, too!

It was quite a way home--Malcolm had repeated his whistle again when she was about halfway, causing her to go from a walk to a run. She ran up to the house with her hand on her head to keep the wind from whipping her hair into her face and was all out of breath when she reached where Malcolm Harper was on the porch, watching her, and cleaning under his nails with the tip of his knife. Huh. So this was why everyone found him so intimidating… Usually, she didn't feel it.

"Sorry! I went out walking since everyone else was busy, and I got farther than I meant to."

[Malcolm Harper]

She had five more minutes before he'd whistle again, and then another ten before Malcolm went looking for his sister. This was unlike Grace, he was honestly surprised to not find her at home or with any of her friends. The boy's were inside playing, he could hear them playing whatever imaginary game they were doing. It wasn't that Malcolm wanted to make Grace feel like she had to be a prisoner in her own home, or for him to be overbearing, he just wanted to know where she was. Wanted to know that she was safe. There were things lately in the woods he didn't like. Something was going on, and he wanted to keep his ducks in a row. Especially with both Wynfrids gone. It made him uneasy.

He was out on the porch, an almost sour look on his face while he cleaned his nails with the tip of his knife. He could hear running then, and then the sound of boots on the porch. He didn't look up, already knowing it was Grace from the way she moved. He hid his relief fairly easily as some of the tension left his shoulders.

He finished the finger he was on and then glanced up at her. An unamused look on his face. He stared at her for a moment, taking in her disheveled appearance, most likely from her run home. He narrowed his eyes slightly before they shifted back to his finger nails. "Was it a nice walk?" He asked. His voice coming out in the deep, gruff tone he had.

[Grace Harper]

Grace nodded, first, still trying to catch her breath from that wild sprint. "Yeah! Very. I needed the quiet." she answered, probably saying more than she needed to. She plopped herself down on the steps and stretched out her legs, then raised her arms over her head and stretched side to side, too. That helped slow her heart and her breathing a little.

"How was hunting? E'rything ok?" she turned the subject on him, looking up at him with her wide brown eyes. "I was a little surprised when I heard you whistling for me."

A little surprised was an understatement, but she figured that was ok. It wasn't like she wanted to announce to her brother that he'd scared the living daylights out of her.