Jade Fern Grove did the stars whisper on the day you were made?

The yes didn't surprise him so much as it disappointed him — right up through her follow-up, until she got to her question. Then he was still disappointed, but surprised, too. He waited half a beat to see if she would laugh at him and say, just kidding! I know what those words mean!

She didn't, though.

"A rose is a kind of flower," he said, trying hard not to use the tone Esma had used on him. "And dust is, y'know." He kicked at some snow to reveal the dark earth underneath. "Whatcha got righ'chere. Dirt. But drier."

Her next answer was equally dry. Dusty Rose measured her with his eyes once more, and decided that she was not young enough to use that as an excuse. Her poor conversational skills were due to something else, and the coywolf wasn't sure whether he ought to be pitying or annoyed. In the end, he chose a little of both and tried very hard to hide it.

"It's water that runs underground," he replied. This, at least, was not something he expected others to know about this far from home. "You gotta dig to find it. And they do, where I'm from, 'cause there's no water anywhere else."

He weighed the merits of mining for more information about her home. Clearly, he needed to be more specific with his questions.

"Do you live with your parents?" he wondered. He had a guess, though. The girl didn't scream "well adjusted" to him.