Phoenix Maplewood You couldn't stand to be near me.

They shared a look. The boy soon answered, and Tulukiri could tell he was serious - he didn't like home, wherever it was. She could relate.

Well you could always leave.

She regarded him a moment. He looked well fed, healthy - wherever he was from, they cared for him. When you're older maybe. I did that as soon as I was big enough.

Of course she hadn't really been ready for it, but Tulukiri had always been a headstrong sort of girl; the more her parents resisted her desires the harder she fought for them.

It occurred to her then - sharply, like a moment of clarity after a round of tinnitus - that she had never lived alone before. How different would that feel? Lonely, maybe.

Anyway, thanks kid. For the chat, and the snack. She was on her feet again. Tulukiri opened her mouth to say something else (along the lines of: find me when you're older, or something) but realized that it'd be weird.

She didn't know what the future held for her given what she knew of Natigvik's splitting numbers.