Emberwood oxytocin

"What did the tree do?"

She opened her eyes to find a massive creature staring back at her. Not much older than she—she could tell by the trace bits of puppy fat that still clung stubbornly to his bones—but much larger. She was reminded of the mocking dark man in the evergreens, and scowled, her shoulders stiffening as she straightened.

Fuck off, Blueberry said, voice dull. What did the tree do. He was either an idiot or a wisecrack, and she had time for neither.

The girl took a deep breath, and the scents that ebbed from him were neither familiar nor comforting. He smelled, she thought, of the sea, if only faintly.

Who are you, anyway? she demanded. This isn't neutral ground, you know.