Mal would have been far more happy staying, for between the womans words and her reaction to her little ride he was quite sure she was intent on "repaying" him rather quickly, but in order to keep her a secret he needed to return to the farm less they come looking for him. So with a frown he took leave, and without the worry of bucking Ryala off he moved at a much more rapid pace shaving a few extra minutes off his return time and making it within his guess of when his masters would return. As he returned to the field he slowed and began moving more casually in an attempt to hide any evidence of his leaving, and made sure to come from the direction of the water tower in order to portray the idea that he had simply gone to drink...but even still it didn't seem he had left unnoticed...

"Out for a run?" came the unmistakable voice of Varus, his master and owner, "Unlike you to leave for lunch boy...should I be worried?"

Mal turned to regaurd the man, seeing he had been atop one of the sheds, his kinds lightness of foot hiding him from even Mal's ears, "Of course not,I simply thought I forgot to close my door..."

Varus chuckled and hopped down beside the Dragonkin, his size practically laughable in comparison, yet still he held all the power, "And what could you possibly own worth stealing..."

"Nothing worthy of you of course..." Replied Mal, as Varus slowly un-clipped the whip from his belt, "But precious to me nonetheless m'lord..."

"Fair enough..." began the elf as he let the whip fall slack beside him, "Though we can hardly have the other slaves thinking it's okay to leave as they please...you are on my time after all whelp..."

Mal's eyes narrowed and he sighed...at least he had avoided the interest of what was so precious at his home...

~~~

In the three hours following the sky had darkened and the light droplets of rain had begun to fall, though the gloom threatened a far more potent storm close behind. The temperature, only recently comfortably warm had abruptly dropped into the middle forties, add in the steady wind and it was likely approaching the high thirties...a regular shift in weather on Phobos, especially so late in the year. Nonetheless Mal's home was warm and well insulated from both wind and rain and Ryala was left to her own devices, maybe food, or a bath, or some snooping if she was curious enough. Regardless the sound of Mal's return would be just loud enough to note if she were in the living room, the subtle splashing of his paws in the mud, and then more notably the notably different sound of humanoid footsteps on the wooden porch outside the door, "Ryala!" Came Mal's voice, although somewhat softer in comparison to the bass it had earlier, ""It's just me." He warned, more for her assurance then anything else as he opened the door and lightly looked inside, revealing a man in place of the creature from earlier.

The man, was reasonably handsome and of comparable height to the woman. His hair was dark yet somewhat ashy, and his eyes a bright yellow which were almost the same as his monstrous form...although slightly smaller. He wore no top and a plain pair of pants, his feet bare as his chest. His torso, while quite chiseled with lean muscle was also marred with scars both old and relatively new, from what exactly could be debated. "Sorry it took so long..." he called as he shook of some of the rain still clinging to his skin, "I got held up..." He added as he ran his fingers through his damp hair and looked into the house for the first time since his arrival...