Bearclaw Valley to go, to run, to go, to run

:DDD <3

the throbbing feeling in her toes soon tapers. ameline nudges ancelin's gift toward athalia, and while she hesitates at first, she soon accepts it and runs her tongue along the ridges.
the birds will come back, too, her guardian says. this prospect excites athalia. friends, she chirps, wiping away a ribbon of snot from her nose with her wrist. birds talk.
they still spoke to her in her dreams.
why leave? she retorts with a soft tilt of her head. birds. an-cel-in. why?