Phoenix Maplewood smile without a reason why

Her ears pressed forward at the foreign word. Chaiyya. She was interested in its meaning, but his question distracted her. "Oh, just swell," she said brightly, not bothering to make the lie sound convincing. She didn't feel like being humorously self-deprecating right then, so she went for satirical cheer instead. "Tip-top shape. If 'trampled by moose' is a shape." This line was delivered with a toothy grin.

Honestly, she was a little embarrassed by the effort it'd taken to get clean. She'd probably be feeling a lot less bruised if she hadn't dragged herself to the stream and back, but then she'd also be dirty and that just wasn't good for her emotional health.

"Did you come to taunt me with your dinner?" she asked conversationally, trying to look like she wasn't lonely and in pain.