Emberwood Searching seering.

He hadn't been sleeping, anyway, so his irritation upon being roused was less about the interruption of sleep and more the dictation of what he should and would do today. With a huff, he rose, and always kept a slight distance between himself and his father and brother—

Not by pure choice, mind. Jakub distracted easily; he found diversions in worms and insects along the way, and lost even more ground when the vivid color of a mountain bluebird showed suddenly amid tree branches just ahead.

He was aware of questions being asked him, every so often, and gave nods or shrugs in reply. He'd grown up not speaking much, and he wasn't about to start now. Words just seemed like a waste of breath.

Eventually, the dark trio came across a gray and white girl—a face he recognized. She'd nursed alongside him and his siblings, after Mother had gone away. 

Jakub was already inclined to dislike her for that reason—purely circumstantial—but then she called them the 'little boys.' The nerve! They were the same age! Any neutrality left in his gaze fell away, revealing barely-concealed disdain as he stared at her from his place at Father's shoulder.