Blackfeather Woods bitter pill

This is my home, she tells him with such mirth to her tone that he is, for half a heartbeat, charmed by. It is not often that she is in good spirits (as far as he could remember from his last days upon the isle), and hearing her voice turn happy helps to lessen the oddness he feels within himself. The forest is not so ominous with her beside him.

I, uh, he mumbles, trying to find a way to answer her question, but his speech remains an issue. At most he can make out, Cave, mm, Mouh ged st, st, shh, ugh, he couldn't make the word stuck come out right so instead he breathes, Stuhg. Burr too, hmm, really none of it mattered. He couldn't explain how he'd gotten stuck or how long he'd been dragging himself through the dark; the look that passed over his features and darkened his good eye was one of contained horror, a rememberance of the worst of it.

Buh I 'ere, Shi-shu an' Reh — Reh-hin-nah, safe me. All this talking was hard on him, and he found his voice eventually petering out until it was only gasps and heavy breathing. His throat felt raw, but, he was also somewhat proud of what he'd managed. Reed's lessons had helped him get this far and he was thankful. Mou sighed against Maegi's coat and after resting his voice for a moment, he murmured, Mouh habby M'gee 'ere.