Swiftcurrent Creek I wanna hold you close

Ira's question reminded her abruptly that he was only a child, no matter how seriously he took himself or how mature he tried to appear. She might have asked a question like that before when she was young, but any memory of it was long gone. It was part of a whole family of questions that were both valid yet silly. Such questions almost always came from children, and almost always gave pause to the adults who were pressed for answers. As she regarded the lumpy bark, she realized she didn't have an answer, and offered him an honest shrug.

"I do not know the origin of words, princeling," she said, to appease his curiosity if nothing else. She supposed it would do no harm if he considered it blood, though its properties were distinctly different. He wondered if he could get stuck to it, a thought which brought a chill chuckle to the mambo's dark lips. "If you wanted to stick to it, then perhaps. I would advise against getting it on yourself, young king, unless you want a bald spot when you rip it off. You can lick it off your snout, but if it got in your longer hair..." The imagery of Ira with a patch devoid of fur was almost too amusing, even to Jinx. She cut her words off there to avoid sniggering aloud and triggering the boy's inconsolable temper.