Sun Mote Copse whispering her wishes to the threads

omg sorry for the wait on this! i'll be quicker
now so we can get this wrapped up for your trade <3 also, veteran is precious!

there was a beat of silence, and then veteran appeared, looking rather disgruntled. antha bit back her mild amusement at the situation, acquiescing easily to the boy's obvious excuses to get her away. of course, she said softly, smiling kindly at him; part of her was relieved to be given the opportunity to end the interaction here and now.
she bid the stranger goodbye and turned expectantly to veteran, allowing him to lead her away. when they, presumably, had moved out of earshot, antha spoke again. you have good timing, she praised, shooting him a slightly mischievous glance that said she had spotted his ruse. an important skill for a guardian-to-be. she didn't know for sure if veteran was one of the children issorartuyok had spoken of when he said several of them were aspiring guardians, but it seemed a safe enough guess. besides, if he wasn't, then perhaps he would be willing to tell her his real aspirations.