"Already?" Teige huffed. Aram waved up at Parker.

"Howdy!"

Parker looked rather startled, but waved back without saying. Aram turned back to Hawk, Teige, and Kim.

"Well, we'll catch up with y'all, I'm sure," he said, signing easily to Kim as he spoke. "Seeing as we're all going the same way."

Hawk couldn't make out everything he said to Kim, but he caught the question, and that he was talking about "the boy." Kim let him do this, and then answered rather smugly that "the boy" could--understand? tell?--what he was saying. The crooked smile was whisked from Aram's face, replaced immediately by a mortified flush.

"I'm sure, pal," Teige said loudly at that moment, shoving Hawk with his good arm towards the trailhead. Hawk realized he'd been watching this exchange fixedly. "You two take care. Don't let those humans claim ya, yeah?"

They left Kim and Aram at the shore of the creek and headed back up towards Parker. Teige's grin was almost too big for his face; Hawk looked self-consciously back over his shoulder as they went. Kim seemed to be telling Aram off, but she was smiling as she did it, and he was laughing embarrassedly.

"What?" Teige asked, and Hawk looked ahead again, glaring. "Are they talking about you?"

"Dunno," Hawk answered shortly.