Blacktail Deer Plateau baby, can you focus on me?

His heart stopped momentarily as she mentioned the hot springs, remembering the last time he had strayed there. The girl. . .her fear. . .that scent. . .and poppies. Involuntarily, he took a step backward, before giving her a nervous smile. "It is nice there," Shale murmured.

Moving well away from that subject, he let his body language relax once more as he said, "Do you have any hobbies or skills?" It was a ridiculously basic question, to say the least, but his smile grew wider still as he remembered his and Pema's banter regarding hobbies and skills.

That girl had a way of crawling back into his mind, always.