Noctisardor Bypass i will hold this house up with my own two hands

"no," she answered at bay, voice whet on the edge of the defensive; suddenly worried that skaigona took her for someone competent. unable to pin an age on her from looks alone, the girl's eyes flit about the scenery, anticipating inbound snaptrap jaws and weaponized motherly hustle. 

but after a few erratic heartbeats, and with no iminent mother, phaedra became aware that this child was presently a little ward of the shintangle, and she felt uncomfortable at once with the responsibility imposed on her. 

her future flashed before her eyes. i swear, i only looked away for a second! and i didn't notice the quicksand...

in the manner of someone uncomfortably scratching the nape of their neck, she looked warily down at her charge, feeling like odysseus caught between charybdis and scylla in the next few moments. 

"are you hunting?" she said to the little dryad, supposing children liked being asked adult questions. or whatever.