her expression pinches slightly at the question, unimpressed -- only for her to bristle up. the brawny guy? admittedly she's not paid close enough attention to the island's inhabitants to know who that is. perhaps he's a lovely person to be mistaken for. reed doesn't care.
sniffing, she says (a touch haughty), "she is not." unfathomable that someone might not know her mother, as perfect and beautiful and important as she is -- nearly as much as reed herself. deigning to lower herself to explain this to the poor clearly wayward girl, the fearghal says, "she is a healer and a masterful botanist -- she looks like me."
oh, but she supposes she can't really fault the girl for not knowing, even if perhaps it would have been best to avoid taking a stab in the dark. tilting her head, she says, "what brought you here?" an offering to move beyond the awkward mixup. how incredibly gracious of her, no?
coddled as she is, reed has been fortunate enough to be only surrounded by those who loved her unconditionally and indulged her nascient arrogance. maegi does not seem to find it charming. this is... surprising, and she finds herself frowning in return, wondering what her deal is. thankfully for both of them she does not bait but answers honestly, apologising (as she should!). it seems they have a shared lineage in botany. reed is unsure if she likes that or not. she says, "my father went insane and abandoned me," an ungenerous portrait of the fearghal patriarch if not undeserved. (and little does she know maegi's similarities in that arena, too).
perhaps she is the one who should be faulted for not knowing anyone, apparently, outside of her family and the strange sable creature that leads them. but she does not let that phase her, nodding as if she knows exactly who maegi means. "where were you?" the fearghal asks curiously, her head tilting to the side. perhaps that is how she gained her deformities, she thinks, her eyes glittering with interest.
how bothersome! yes, yes, and a tragedy for them both, but reed is not pleased with all their similarities, with this strange girl who is more interesting than she is. it won't do -- reed will just have to maintain an alliance with her. a non competitive agreement. hmph.
she's never been confronted with the harsh realities of someone else's life. unsure what to do, the fearghal looks away until maegi turns the conversation to her. not addressing what she was told, she says, "i was born here," indicating with the delicate point of her nose the direction her birthing den lay in, "when we were very young still -- after my father vanished -- we left, my brother and i, our mother, our older siblings." geographically she can't quite describe -- she was too little to remember much, and more interested in her family's attention than in exploring, with one stark exception. "my father found me at one point and tried to attack me," reed adds -- half misremembering the details of the incident, half hoping to have some trauma to compete, see, i've been through it, too. but there is no anxiety on her face as she recounts, only a haughty sniff at the memory. "after, my mama took my brother and i back here."
it lacks a certain panache, she has to admit. frowning, reed pulls herself to her full (small) height, shrugging dismissively. "i like it best here," she says, "i'm sure you will too."
maegi's response is what she wants to hear. pleased, she preens a little bit, nodding in answer. "my brother droman," reed explains, making a dismissive gesture, "but not the others." she's not bothered by eirlys or celleach's absence particularly, her world still kept narrow.
'dark and full of trees' doesn't strike reed as enticing compared to the lush flora of the island, but to each their own, she supposes. "i'll help you," she decides, her tone leaving no room for argument. picking herself up she says, "one of my favorite places is this way," and starts to head there, expecting maegi to come along with her on this impromptu tour.
hm. "i never said you were stupid," reed says plainly, casting her gaze back to the ruined face of her companion from the wildflowers. (she'd just thought it. sort of!) still, when she speaks again, her voice has lost some of it's haughty edge. "an island is land surrounded by ocean on all sides," she explains, "i don't know if there's any others along this coast besides this one, but i think this one's the biggest."
maegi's attention is on the horses, not on her. she allows herself a tiny huff. "horses," she answers, stepping up to brush her shoulder against maegi's -- pay attention to me! -- taking on a slightly mischevious look. "we can get closer, if you'd like," she offers. chasing horses and such is not the sort of thing reed normally goes for -- she's much more excited by cataloging the flowers, for instance -- but if it will win her back into maegi's good graces, she'll go for it.
whatever tension lingers between them, reed is ready to forgive and forget -- maegi's going along with her superior vision, after all. when maegi confirms this -- whatever you want to do! -- she can't help but straighten slightly, radiating a pleased air. and she wants to earn this chance, too. her haughtiness rests on competence, and that requires actual effort from her, and she's glad to do it, so long as she's recognized for it.
the fearghal flashes a smile at her new friend, lowering herself against the earth. "quietly," she cautions, creeping toward the lazing ponies on the assumption maegi is right behind her. it's basic: sneak up, pop out, have fun? or something. it'll work.
reed hesitates. maybe this plan is a bad idea -- chasing horses doesn't actually seem very... fun. it seems sort of silly. frivolous. something droman would like. straightening slightly, she cuts her gaze to maegi, letting her shoulders lift and fall in a light shrug. "they'll run if we startle them," the girl explains, glancing back to the horses, "but maybe if we're -- careful in approaching, they won't mind us." this makes this sound as if it were her plan all along, of course -- mustn't let maegi think otherwise -- and very, very gingerly starts to rise, holding her breath. the horses don't seem to notice her yet, so, glancing at her new friend, reed takes a delicate few steps forward.
the horse closest to her snorts and lifts one hoof, unsettled but not threatened by the tiny wolf approaching. she stills, letting it adjust to her presence, and then sits, waiting for maegi to join her (if she so chooses).
it seems her switch was a good one -- of course, she's not a fool -- and, pleased with herself, she smiles at maegi indulgently. the horses seem to have accepted their presence, doing their graceful horse-y things. maegi's question makes reeds face scrunch up uncertainly. "i don't.. believe so," she says trying to recall if she's ever seen horse meat in the cache -- she's been too young for pack hunts, after all. they don't act like prey animals and frankly she doesn't fancy trying to get near those hooves. "i can't imagine why you would," she adds to this effect, frowning slightly as she watches one graze close by.