[ sam sees the defensiveness in it, the way her jaw tightens, at his poke at her. he's not surprised in the least by the fire and stubbornness he sees reflected back to him. if anything, she's just about what he could have expected from the girl mal would not stop talking about.

there's a whole series of emotions that cross over her face, and sam suddenly feels a bit bad for hitting on what is apparently a sore point. his conspiratorial look drops to something a bit more concerned. ]

You don't need to defend yourself to me, Alina. I don't blame you two for trying to run- Mal's been trying to get you out of here since I met him. I'm more surprised it wasn't his idea. [ sam dips his head a little, trying to get alina to meet his eyes. he's picking up on a few things, here, but he doesn't know the girl well enough to assume anything at all. but that flash of guilt, that bunching of shoulders. god, these kids had it bad. ]

Where were you headed? [ a beat, and then sam gives a small, encouraging smile. he doesn't want this to feel like an interrogation - he's more curious than anything. ]