Hushed Willows Do not presume to teach me lessons.

She seemed agreeable. It was easier than he expected to coax acceptance from this stranger. His mother had always said it would take blood—the art of tooth and claw—before he could get what he wanted. He would not let this soft beginning to his quest change his desire nor his drive. When bade, Cru fell in to step beside the woman and followed after her with veiled caution just in case things went amiss. One can never be too careful.

When she began to ask him for details the boy had some things practiced—but he chose not to parrot those truths, and instead found it easier to be honest for both their sakes; it would be hard enough to keep up with any lies he spread and it was better to cater to this woman's good nature. I have never seen them, he explains. They are my mother's people mostly, relatives of her's, and I suppose, my blood too.

He licks his lips and watches the trembling willows for a moment, lost in thought. Feigning a sense of pensive concern. My mother... Wished that I would not be alone for my whole life, and wished that I find them.