Hushed Willows And through the merry flowers of June

Like blood from a stone. Lily nodded, her face serene, watching the way he frowned at the question. Could she blame him, really? Mali was surly, sure, but many children were. He had grown up without a mother and with an emotionally distant father (she loved Delight, but he was an enigma). The bulk of his interactions with Olive and Seabreeze--and herself, she hated to admit--were negative, scolding.

He probably just assumed she was here to nag at him over something that was, in his mind, at least, trivial.

Oh? Lily asked, smiling faintly. I'm quite fond of exploring, myself, though I don't get out much any more. She glanced down at her womb with feigned ire before looking at the young man again. I'll have to live vicariously through your adventures, she laughed. How're the mountains, this time of year?