Swiftcurrent Creek Lallybroch

Laurel didn't remember anyone ever greeting her with 'ahoy'. Although his demeanour seemed friendly, almost in a bubbly way, Laurel still felt guarded as he approached. Perhaps because that demeanour meant that he might overstep her comfort zones. Still, when he jumped over the stream and approached she forced a smile onto her face, not wanting to seem like a sour old prune (turning five this year was getting to her more than she liked to admit).

Hi, she said, and though it was easy enough to put up her mask and look friendly, there was still something guarded about her body language that warned not to get too close; a tense guardedness that made her look a bit bashful, while the demon inside her head whispered all of her worst fears into her ears.