You need luck

Mal and @Huā had turned their paws towards the distant shore -- it was still a ways off, though, but maybe in the next day or two the sea would be before them. It had been what Hua had wanted, and maybe it had explained a thing or two when he'd reached it before. This time, though, he at least wasn't going to be alone. They might not have all the answers, but even a tiny bit was progress. And let's be honest, whatever Hua wanted, he'd happily do, if only to be able to keep himself nearby the one wolf who felt like a key to the answers he wanted.

Right now, though, they'd briefly separated to look for food over a wider area. She would just be a call away, but as it were, Mal was moving fairly swiftly across the foothills, eager to find something he could catch and bring back to her. He didn't want to be away long -- and he also wanted to prove he was (still?) able to provide for her -- history's details still weren't very clear, he hoped they'd clarify in time. So for now, his nose swept the breeze, and the lightly-worn trail he currently walked down. it would be good to find a hare or something like that. A fawn would have been a nice discovery, but he wasn't sure whether or not this was the time of year where he'd be fortunate to find one hiding. He was pretty sure it wasn't. So, hare, rodent, something... He'd search.
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 Uuufff... that one day with that lovely lady had been quite amazing. He felt like he was in love! Okay, maybe not "love" but wow, he hoped he got to see her again. He hadn't even learned her name but he certainly knew her scent. Everything about her was absolutely amazing. He was in a happy daze for the rest of that day all the way into this one where he wandered back towards Ichorwood in a happy stupor. He'd made sure to go bathe himself in a stream to wash away the smells which clung to him... but he'd neglected to eat. For the first time in his life.

 He was reminded of his hunger when he scented a deer herd nearby. He pondered going after them but knew he wouldn't be fast enough. He could always bring down a kicking doe easily enough with his strength but the problem was catching them. He usually had a hunting team for that so he left it alone.

 Maybe he'd find something else? So, while distracted by thoughts of the dark she-wolf, he began to sniff around for something a bit easier to catch. That's when he noticed the smell of someone else. Not his lovely company but of a male. Ever the curious one, he decided to follow that and then-- "Oh hey there! What are you up to?" He felt particularly chatty today. Almost as chatty as he was hungry.

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But he wasn't alone. Mal paused mid-stride, one paw held off the ground for a moment as he quickly assessed the bearish wolf that had appeared. The guy didn't trigger any sort of memories. He was just some big dude and a total stranger. That could be good or bad, but obviously Mal wasn't going to be sure right off the bat. But right now? He didn't feel like he could really trust some stranger that seemed to be particularly comfortable with barging on over. Did he need to protect Hua from this guy? Well, right now he wasn't going to take the chance. Besides, he was still trying to find himself in the confusion that the arrival here had left. It was all... Strange still.

The foot went down to join the others on the ground. “Uh. Hey. Just looking for what's around.” Pause. “You?” Look, the big dude wasn't invited to share whatever he caught -- he already had someone to split his catch with, whenever he caught it. He could probably outrun the guy anyway -- he didn't look really fast and Mal knew he was pretty good at skittering out of reach if he had to. So, he'd be a little cagey until he knew what was really going on. Call him paranoid but he really didn't want to risk the person that he felt was his tentative grasp on his past.
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 Mordecai shook his head nonchalantly. "Nothin' much. I was just headin' home from this forest with these weird red-sap-trees. They looked aaaaallll funny but they taste real good." He turned his head in the direction that he'd come from and pointed with a paw. "If you ever wanna try some of it, it's back thataway. You can't miss'em, really." Those trees were reeeeaaaaallll easy to find.

 And tasty.

 And it lead him to a lovely lady.

 Although it just occurred to him really what the other guy had said. "Oh! You need some help findin' anything? I've lived in these mountains since... uhm..." He paused, frowning as that rusty wheel in his brain tried turning. "Oh! Uh, since late winter... I think? Yeah, I woke up in some red forests sorta northwest-y of here so I know some things. Especially tasty things." He was real partial to tasty things.

 And rambling.

 "And some of the packs too! I'm in one of'em." And then he finally took a break from speaking as he smiled cordially at the fellow, dull brown eyes looking kindly at him.

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The face Mal made probably looked like he thought it was gross because there was no way that trees could possibly taste good, but though something was distasteful to him, it was more of a vague memory. It was one that wasn't right. Red sap trees. It wasn't a good memory, that was for sure. Conflict, stress, but right now the details beyond that were vague. He didn't want to go there, that part was clear, even if it might be somewhere familiar. But should he? It might reveal something. No. Not now. He'd rather accompany Hua to the sea than go somewhere that might not be the right place, and it might not be a good memory either. Maybe it was better to be ignorant.

“Uh. I dunno. We're heading to the sea but I've been there before so I pretty much know the way. It's just normal traveling type stuff, I suppose.” He was so uncertain if he should trust the guy. Bad ghosts. Uncertainty. Not wanting to lead this dude to Hua, no matter how amiable he was acting. It was a pile of stuff that didn't make him particularly open about his goals. “Unless there's something to be wary about?” That was something actually relevant though. And hopefully something not frequently lied about.
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 It looked as if the man wouldn't particularly want to go to the sap trees all too much... Ah well, more for him! He certainly would be making another trip back there at some point soon! He was always happy with going back somewhere with tasty food involved. Maybe even those onions... or maybe not? Onions might be the one exception. It was a type of food that fought you back... and not in the good way that prey did. And--and-- wait had he zoned out a bit? Probably, his gaze might have been a bit vacant for a minute there.

 What were they talking about again?

 Oh yeah! Travelling and junk. "Oh, alright then! That's real good! I bet travelling's good'n'fun. I ain't done it in a while 'cept for when I was going around with my best buddy a little while ago." Oh wait, it probably wasn't a while then. Hmm...

[indnet]"Hmm... wary about? Uhm.." He frowned, thinking really hard for a moment and then his eyes popped open in quite a contrast to his previous dull lazy expression. "OH! I know something!" He looked around at the trees as if they were being watched, real serious for a moment as he leaned forward and whispered. "The bees. If you wanna get some honey, you gotta be real careful about the bees. They sting something awful." He knew from experience.

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Yeah the guy seemed pretty harmless. Ish. Maybe a little annoying if he stuck around him too long. Thankfully Mal was pretty sure this dude wasn't gonna be following along for any extended period if he had an actual pack to go home to and stuff. Thankfully. More vague memories of something, but ones he couldn't pin down at all.

Though honestly the writer here gripes about the fact Mal never did find out what killed Cupid, just to top off the not-remembering cake. So instead of some latent trauma you get a frown and a,“I don't think I'd mess with them. But no like... bears or murderous psychos or anything?” A good question was why he jumped right from natural dangers to homicidal maniacs but that was a subconscious choice rather than one that was based on things he remembered. He just assumed the reason it came to mind was because it was totally the most evil thing he could think of. And yet, the idea made him a little uneasy. Why?
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 Wouldn't mess with them, eh? "Good good! That's real good." Or was it? It might be worth it a little if you could score some honey or knew a way to get some without pissing the bees off. As for the other thing?

 The brown wolf seemed to be thinking very deeply again, even had one paw come up to his maw as he tap, tap, tapped it in thought. "Uuuhhhmmm..." A pause and then. "Nope! Nothin' real super dangerous as far as I've seen." Or... actually... "Well... except maybe... there's a warlord guy that lives down south. Maybe you shouldn't, Iunno, hack him off or something?" Yeah, getting on a warlord's bad side might come with some unintentional repercussions. Like maye death.

 Hmm... maybe that's what he meant by that.

 "But I ain't seen no bears though." He wondered if he could fight a bear? Had he done so in a past life?

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Honestly he didn't know what to really make of the guy. Too happy or something. But then again, maybe Mal was biased -- there were the ghosts of past, currently-lost times that sometimes leaked in to the current day. He worried about himself, about Hua, about those who were lost and not yet found. 

His mood darkened a bit further then. “Like.. Far south? There's like a river or a bay something down there, right? On the other side?” He was very not interested in having to deal with that guy, or anyone like him. Mal needed to get his life together, and really didn't want some pointlessly aggressive fool trying to ruin what few good things he had grasp of. It was serious stuff. No bears and similar was ok, but there was something else lingering.
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 "Like... Far south?" The rotund wolf nodded his head in confirmation. "Eeyup! When you wander on down south there's this big ole river-type-deal --but you can cross it at certain spots-- and past that thing is like a real humid forest." He remembered it. Absolutely sweltering down there with that weird wet heat. Yuck. Made you feel all sweaty.

 "But yeah, there're some packs down that way too with one'of'em being lead by that warlord." He remembered that they were having some sort of alliance with him. That stinky, stinky man. Maybe he needed to eat more sweet things or something. Then he'd smell like fruits and berries. "Ain't really no packs out to the east though. Just a lotta empty plains an'such when we checked."

 And bees.

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On the bright side, having a nice big physical barrier between here and there was something he was keen on keeping. He'd mention it to Hua, and hoped that she'd agree that they'd keep the heck away from whoever it was. Mal just wanted to be somewhere safe and quiet and let his brain piece together the missing bits for a while. He didn't need additional drama.

Either way, Mal nodded slightly, absorbing the information. “Hopefully that guy stays down there, don't think I'll be heading that far. Zero interest in dealing with some dude who wants to beat everyone up or whatever either.” He crinkled his nose slightly in distaste. “That pack have a name or no idea?” He hadn't mentioned one, obviously, but Mal wasn't sure if that was due to lack of knowledge or just being kind of obtuse about the whole thing.
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 Mordecai gave a shrug and smile. "Didn't seem like he was real interested in goin' nowhere else." Then again, when had Mordecai been a good indicator of such things? His intuition on such things was dubious at best. He was just the doer. Point him in the direction of something that needed a good smashing or eating and he would get it done. Now, ask him to strategize or play 4D chess with the enemy? Well, you might be out of luck there.

 "It was called the Nighthowlers!" He said confidently.

 Pause and then...

 "Wait..." He frowned, eyes narrowing at nothing in particularly as he tried to make the cogs in his brain turn. They were supposed to be sorta-allies too. Had he gotten the name wrong?

 Yeah, yeah he had.

 "No no! It's Nightwalkers!" And that was his final answer! He gave a resolute nod, feeling quite proud of himself for having remembered information he was supposed to remember anyway.

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At least to start it sounded fine. A distant danger, not worth dealing with or worrying too much about. He could live with that. And had things been left at that, so it would have been. Unfortunately, the name Nightwalkers picked at a buried old scab of a memory. Negative. A broiling sense of distrust. But what happened? Uncertain. Still vague. Something did, though. Maybe in the forest before. Neverwinter or whatever. Hell, this would be so much easier if he could remember.

Mal's expression cooled. “That sounds... Familiar.” And not in a good way. “I'd definitely say don't trust them unless you can confirm what they're saying from someone else. Gut reaction thing, I can't quite remember why.” Which was almost more troublesome than the thought itself. The name hit on a faint memory that just reeked of distrusting them. He'd see if @Huā remembered when he told her -- maybe she'd have a similar reaction.. Or something. But now it made him want to get back to her soon and ensure she was safe.
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Familiar? Now that was interesting! "Oh? Have you bumped into them before?" Wouldn't that be an interesting turn of events?

Don't trust them? Wow that sounded like important info to relay! He knew they were on some sort of not-quite-an-alliance-but-sorta-good-terms-thing with them but maybe Crux would like to know. "Okay! I'll be sure to keep that in mind! Oh, and I'll need to tell the prince about it." He was much better about taking in info and deciding what to do about it.

"Thanks for looking out! Hopefully you'll remember why you don't trust'em " or maybe not... If it was too bad.
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It would have been nice if his brain wasn't swiss cheese right now. Here he'd gone and forgotten important stuff and he couldn't share it. It was frustrating. Mal frowned, “It's hard to remember, it's all pretty unclear to me. From elsewhere. I'll talk to the others I know.” Hua mostly, but if he ran into Dirge again he could ask him too. Or uhh. What was the chick's name? Hydra? He might not remember them but theoretically they knew him, so... “Maybe they'll remember better. -- But as I've said, I'd double check important stuff they tell you. Don't just take it as truth.” Maybe he repeated himself a little. He wasn't even sure if they were necessarily super dangerous -- it was more like a memory with a bad enough taste to poison interaction with those people in the future. It made crossing the river even less appealing.

Honestly, Mal had pretty much binned his conversation with Crux so there wasn't even a chance of him figuring out the two were in the same pack. It was all very unimportant to him right now anyway. He had other things to think about, so instead, added, “Hopefully they'll just stay off in their little corner and nobody will have to deal with them. Would certainly make things easier.” Simple as that. Mal was now apparently out of things to say, too busy trying to untangle the memories.
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 The rotund fellow nodded his head, look quite --comically-- serious as he took in all of the information. "Lemme know what you find out!" Although how would the guy find him? "I live..." He looked back over his shoulder and pointed with his stubby tail, "Thataway!" And then his eyes were back on the grayish man before him. This was all so very important! He couldn't afford to forget! He had to make sure that Crux knew! "In a red forest. You can't miss it, really."

 Maybe Crux didn't know about how bad their allies were! Or that other wolves had issues with them... or maybe there was something he was overlooking and he was simplifying this waaaayyyy too much. Who knew?

 "I wish everything was as easy as that." But things always had a way of becoming more and more complicated, to the poor brown wolf's chagrin. Things needed to slow down so the poor fellow could keep up with them. Maybe he should go now to warn his prince about this. "Hey, man, thanks for the heads up! I'll go tell the prince about this!" And with that he would begin to trundle away with a bit more pep in his step. "You keep safe and all that!" Was the last thing he'd call out before continuing his slow trundle towards Ichorwood.

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He nodded, looking briefly where was indicated. That direction and that pack would eventually come up again, giving him a second reason. It just would be some time before Mal eventually did head that way. Timelines and all that. But he had a destination to visit later on once he'd sorted out some of the stray memory remnants and compiled them into something more coherent. 

But right now, things were wrapping up, and he replied simply, “Yep, uh, seeya.” It was probably a good thing he'd started off anyway, it meant Mal could get back to Hua, tell her about all this, and he could stop worrying about her. He was also pretty useless about conversations in general right now so this was a nice conclusion. He watched the guy leave, then started to turn back to go find Hua. It was only then he thought -- wait, did he even get the guy's name? Oh well. He could ask later or something.
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