Moonspear by a route obscure and lonely

Alya's ears flickered in understanding at his explanation. It made her think even more of Uncle Floki, to know what him being brothers with her father really meant. Satisfied that she knew the word, she listened to the rest of his words, nodding a bit at the end. If she'd never wandered off that fateful day, they would still have their Dashie.

"I'm glad we met," she said shyly, and if one of her parents had seen her, then, they might've thought she was Lyra. But she wasn't Lyra, she was Alya, and so her response was accordingly irreverent. "Duh," she laughed, hopping to her feet and going to fetch a leaf from the ground. She pranced back to Cypress with it held loosely by a tooth, and dropped it with a flourish at his paws. "Goodbye, Cypress. Come back soon, okay?"