Wild Berry Meadow Tell everybody I'm on my way

Her tongue flashed across her lips self-consciously, then a wrist to dab her sodden chin. Whether she liked it or not, his opinion mattered to her, influenced her in a way she wouldn’t understand at this age. His attention to her appearance would be a foundational brick in her growing complex.

She was trotting alongside the gray sentinel, thinking about herself, thinking about him, what she must look like to him, before his voice drew her attention. Her ears twitched at first, slowly registering what he’d asked, and then her head bobbed in a little hmph. She couldn’t believe it hadn’t come up.

The surprised ebbed quickly. It wasn’t like they talked a lot or anything.

He wouldn’t look at her now, even as she fixed his profile with a searching stare. This turned into a frown, and she faced forward again, turning her glare to the path ahead.

It’s Needle, she said sullenly. And I don’t have parents. None that had come for her anyway. Maybe if he hadn’t looked away, maybe if he looked like he cared, she may have told him—

You got a name? She was quick to redirect the attention.