Qeya River cursing pattern

"p-proverbially, mae!" lestan exclaimed, chastened and exasperated. but she was correct; he'd misspoken. no time to fix it now that a stranger was coming to answer.
long-limbed and hard-lined, he stared at the creek wolves, his tongue accented but his message more than clear.
"ah — we-we're f-from sw-swiftcurrent cr-creek. umm — th-there's a sickness going round. k-killing folk. called wh-white spit. it t-took one of ours, s-sir. we've b-been sent to w-warn everyone w-we can."