Larksong Grotto firestarter

"s-eff is g-good. gro-w-wing f-fast," vuk stammered in her usual way, but she did not feel shame in jhala's presence. the girl turned her turquoise eyes aside to gaze unseeingly beyond herself and the beta at some distant point, shoring up her faltering resolve. 

"s-eff is n-not t-terich's s-on," the patchwork girl blurted, a cold relief washing her, followed quickly by her dread of jhala's judgment. "the r-ridge ... t-he ... m-man w-with n-no n-ame." vuk fell silent then, exhausted by herself and the emotions that cropped up wildly in her breast.