Gods, she was chasing after him?! What happened to the jumpy noble lady girl who was afraid of a deer? What was with all these teenage girls running into forests chasing after wolves?! Was this just something all girls went through that he never knew about? Like with horses or something?
But the wolf didn't stop long when Gardenia got down on her knees and stretched out a hand. The black-furred animal stopped only long enough to turn its sharp golden eyes towards her, and give out a short warning huff. Then it sprang back to its paws. This time the wolf didn't just run into the forest, but specifically dove into a dense undergrowth that Gardenia wouldn't be able to follow through. It hoped! Plus, she wouldn't really be willing to go that far from the camp, right?
Just in case she did try to keep following, the wolf turned, circling around until it was back at the stream, upstream of their camp. Here it stopped, looking back into the forest. Now what? His first instinct, of course, being the schmuck that he was, was to just abandon the whole endeavor. Sure, he might not get paid, but he also wouldn't end up burned at the stake when some innocent-looking girl claimed to be kidnapped by the wolf-man. It'd be too bad for Gardenia, but she wasn't his responsibility. It was unfortunately, but he hadn't been the one to raid her coach and kill her driver. Sure, he'd been willing to help her while it was advantageous to him, but...
But...
Well, maybe he would just keep tabs on her. That was easy to do as a wolf. Just, as long as it suited him, that was. She'd have to get herself to Opal Run or wherever or...
While the wolf was running through these options, perched tense on the edge of the stream, it was too focused on these human thoughts (always harder for the wolf to process) to notice the change about to happen. And, mid-excuse-making, Soren-the-wolf became Soren-the-man and, with his balance changed, Soren-the-man fell backwards into the stream. His clothes, at least, fell on the bank. He surfaced with a glum feeling. Knowing that, he couldn't really leave her.
Well... He was wet now. He'd say he'd gone to bathe. And just deny everything. Sure, why not? As long as he was consistent? She might think she was going crazy, but it'd just be the shock! Either way, that'd be her problem. Right? Ugh. Why couldn't he just leave her there?! Why was doing the 'right' thing always the worst?
So Soren, damp and shaking water from his hair with a casual hand, returned to the camp, 'surprised' to find Gardenia gone. He called out in an 'alarmed' voice, since he was very 'surprised.' "Gardenia? Gardenia?!"
Sure, this would definitely work.