Phoenix Maplewood dancing to the beat of a midnight raga

indra had been worried he might harbor resentment for their unintended intrusion; it fretted her, and she bit her lower lip as she awaited his reaction. he accepted her apology gracefully, with a warm poise she would never have -- slowly, the doubt that fringed her features ebbed and her expression seemed almost neutral again.

he offered her an explanation, though she was not sure she deserved it. as he motioned towards an expanse of land she was unfamiliar with, she just nodded simply -- she knew very little of the world outside her bubble and did not want to offend him with her ignorance.

her gaze slid back to aditya, who at that moment seemed to be studying her. perhaps ithrik had soured her impression of men permanently, for she instinctively felt the need to cover herself somehow, to shy from him -- she stifled the flinch best she could though her gaze briefly hardened. she remembered what redshank had said to her -- in a roundabout way, to never trust strangers; she swallowed and considered lying.

in the end it was not in her nature to do so, and she begrudgingly replied with honesty: "bearclaw valley." besides, if he ended up being some evil, twisted man, if she was lucky the next time he called upon her she and laurel would be gone from that place. "do you know what this place is called?" from the way she asked, it was clear she knew the answer and was testing his knowledge.